Necessity is the mother of invention. That’s what led many entrepreneurs to create their product or service innovations in the first place — and that adage is definitely in play as businesses large and small are forced to pivot, almost daily, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold.
Many cash-strapped sustainable startups pull together whatever resources they
can to attend annual trade shows such as Natural Products Expo
West, counting on the exposure to get
themselves momentum in the marketplace. So, how do they cope when the show
doesn’t go on? Here are a few sustainable food innovators that are practically
giving it away (and some that actually are) to get their products to the masses.
Image credit: Regrained/Facebook
Berkeley, Calif-based ReGrained, which upcycles spent brewery grains into
nutritious snacks, was just one of hundreds set to launch their latest
innovations at Expo West this month. Now, the company has launched its new
ReGrained Puffs virtually, with online buyer meetings for retailers — plus, a
presale offering with free shipping to lower barriers to trial for consumers.
ReGrained’s new line of crunchy, savory, puffed chips are made through a
"twin-screw extrusion" process, through which a blend of ReGrained
SuperGrain+ and Non-GMO organic corn is expanded and dried, not fried. The
company is offering consumers free shipping and 25% off on all web orders of the
Puffs and ReGrained bar value packs, so folks can keep their pantries at home
stocked.
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“A big part of being an entrepreneur is staying solutions-oriented and pivoting
with short notice,” ReGrained co-founder and Chief Grain Officer Dan
Kurzrock told Sustainable Brands via email. “When planning for 2020, this
wasn't even remotely on our radar. Now, how we handle this situation will be a
defining factor for our year. We aren't looking to use this crisis as an
‘angle,’ which we are seeing some of. We simply need to adapt to the situation
and keep moving forward to the best of our ability. A crisis like this could
easily ruin a small brand. Our mission is too important to let that be us!”
Read more about ReGrained Puffs
here
…
Image credit: Akua/Facebook
NYC-based Akua makes superfood snacks from ocean-farmed kelp
— which can feed the planet sustainably while reversing climate change and
restoring health to the world world's oceans. In what would’ve been its first
showing at Expo West, the two-year-old startup was set to launch two new flavors
of its Kelp Jerky (Spicy Chili & Lime and Hibachi Teriyaki) and its new Kelp
Bites — a slightly sweet, probiotic-packed snack (made of cacao, sunflower
butter, dates, kelp and raspberries), created in partnership with Biohm
Health.
Akua co-founder and CEO Courtney Boyd Myers told SB via email that both
launches have been postponed for now, as the company finalizes packaging for the
new kelp flavors and works on virtually attracting investors to help launch the
Bites and other upcoming products (“Let's just say it's a lot harder to get an
investor to try our forthcoming Kelp Burger on a call …”). To try and
accommodate people’s food needs as more and more are being ordered to stay “safe
at home,” Boyd Myers said Akua is for now working with DIY packaging (vs.
purchasing properly designed packaging, which has a 6-week timeline; plus most
packaging suppliers are shutdown right now) to quickly release
bulk Kelp Jerky bags, as well as Kelp
Pasta.
In the meantime, the company continues to give out samples as it prepares to
launch the new jerky flavors on Amazon in the coming weeks.
Image credit: Brainiac Kids
Meanwhile, San Francisco-based Brainiac® Kids —
the first line of children’s food products developed specifically to support
brain development — decided that, in lieu of the planned launch of its new
Applesauce product line at Expo West, it would literally give away product to US
retailers hungry for innovation — and donate all of the product that would
have been served to Expo West’s planned 90,000 attendees to local food banks
instead.
“As a certified B-Corp we look to create benefit for the community, so what
better way than through giving?” CEO and founder Jonathan Wolfson,
previously the founder and CEO of
Solazyme (now known as
TerraVia),
said in a statement. “At this difficult time, let’s find a way for parents to be
able to stock up on shelf-stable Brainiac Kids products, for retailers to try
the product for free, and for us to keep the momentum we would have enjoyed from
a successful Expo.”
Brainiac® Kids has so far released yogurt and now applesauce products fortified
with its proprietary BrainPack® — a blend of Omega-3s including DHA, as well as
Choline, which are crucial for brain development.
“This latest launch of applesauce pouches is an important step for the company
proving the concept can cross multiple kids’ food categories,” said President
and co-founder Mark Brooks. “We were told by many industry experts that it
would be impossible to get meaningful amounts of Omega-3s, particularly DHA,
into a shelf-stable product like applesauce; and we are thrilled that we were
able to find a way to bring this item to families nationwide.”
Learn more about Brainiac® Kids products here;
interested buyers can contact them
here.
Image credit: Back to the Roots
And,while they’d planned to skip the event this year, Expo West veterans Back
to the Roots are another company that’s reaching
out to get its products into the hands of those in need during this uncertain
time — for free.
From now through the end of April, the Oakland, Calif.-based startup is giving
away its home gardening kits to at least 500 educators, daycare workers and
parents around the country, for educational fun while school’s not in session.
“It's an uncertain time right now for so many, but if we band together, support
each other, and look to serve our community in whatever big or small way we can,
we think the sustainable products community can come out of this stronger and
more ready than ever to change the paradigm for business,” co-founder Nikhil
Arora told SB via email. “This is a chance to show the world a different side
of business — not giving into fear, panic and hysteria; but leaning into
compassion, creativity, and care.”
Fill out this
form
to apply to receive a free gardening kit for your quarantined kiddos. Or, get a
20% discount on any home grow kits with the code GrowTogether20.
Published Mar 19, 2020 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET
Sustainable Brands Staff