Brand New Brands births first two companies
with $15 million in funding and a plan to nurture small brands. At
Expo West Jess Halliday caught up with founder and president
Will Rosenzweig to discuss the first offshoots of the venture.
In the first two months of this year, Brand New Brand gave birth to its first two functional foods start-ups: Lightfull Foods, which markets a smoothie for satiety; and Corazonas cholesterol-lowering chips.
Rosenzweig said that the 12 months prior to launch involved looking at a range of opportunities, assessing indications for success, and narrowing them down.
He looked at the most pressing health problems of our time, as evidenced in NIH and CDC data, and matched these up with innovations in ingredients development and a sound scientific basis consisting of clinical trials.
The 60 days prior to launch is rather like a runway: "If all the lights are green, you take off."
Of these 'lights', first and foremost the products had to taste great. Then, a strong reception by consumers must be established ("they understand what we have, and they want it"), there must be support from retailers, and the products must be capable of attracting raving fans, who will be almost evangelical in the support of the products and spreading the word.
Although Lightfull and Corazonas operate as separate companies, there is a strong dynamic between the two, which occupied adjacent booths at Expo West. "It is like a federation, with a common purpose," said Rosenzweig.
When NutraIngredients-USA.com first spoke to Rosenzweig, he said that the ultimate aim is to build strong brands which may be sold off to major food companies when they have become big enough to attract interest.
Although there is no timeline or pressure for this - ("the strategy is to build strong companies, and the strategic acquisition will take care of itself"), Rosenzweig also said that there is no sense in doing something that Kraft Foods might come out with.
"Our innovation is in quality, speed, and in-market learning."Moreover, many of the small brands entering the market are "kitchen table" products, which do not have the necessary scientific background to achieve large scale success.
In the case of the Corazonas chips, the formulation includes phytosterols (from soy), oats and beta glucan, all of which have been studied extensively for their cholesterol-lowering properties.
The intellectual property behind the Lightfull smoothie is based on the work of Dr Barbara Rolls at the University of Pennsylvania, a leading researcher on satiety.
"Satiety is created by eating foods high in fiber and protein, and in a thick delivery form so that you eat them slowly," said Rosenzweig. The formula also contains EGCG green tea extract, which as been seen to have a boosting effect on the metabolism.
In addition to being high in protein and fiber, it is also low in calories. "It is about eating the right calories."
Lightfull is currently stocked at Wegmanns, a mainstream retailer in the North West USA with a commitment to health and wellness.
Corazonas chips, meanwhile, are starting out in the San Francisco Bay area.
"We are looking to connect with early adopters, people that will make the product part of their regimen. I expect these products will find a very enthusiastic reception from a certain group of people, then we will see how they blossom to the wider market.
"It is not our job to change people's overall eating habits. People are always going to snack, we are not going to end up with a nation of granola-eaters. So if you are going to eat chips, you might as well eat these."
Once more, however, success comes down to taste: US consumer will not compromise one iota on taste. In the last 10 years natural foods have overcome the stigma that led people to assume they must taste foul if they are good for you.
Two more companies are in the pipeline for launch in September, and Rosenzweig is also working on another vehicle combining early stage venture capital and accelerated product development.
