Project Date: Summer 2016
Idea Stage: Full Baked idea
ELEVATOR PITCH
“Made With…” offers naturally preserved, freeze-dried vegetable powder blends in unique flavors for consumers seeking a convenient supplement to fortify their daily diets with more vegetables. Using fresh, unsaleable (too blemished for retail) vegetables sourced from California farms currently pending organic certification, “Made With…” is created to fill the nutritional gaps within a consumer’s daily diet, while also supporting local California farmers and reducing food waste.
"Made With..." leverages innovative technology and communication platforms, ranging from QR codes to monitor batch quality to engaging consumers to design their own vegetable blends, in order to deliver a superior experience and product.
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
Freeze-Drying is Better than Dehydrating
While both processes remove moisture from fresh foods, freeze-dry is preferable to dehydration because it better preserves flavor and nutritional value. Dehydrators require heat, which breaks down food’s vitamins and minerals by almost 40%. During the cooking process, dehydrated foods are transformed beyond its original texture and taste, turning raw meat into jerky or grapes into raisins. Freeze-dry, however, uses a cold vacuum process that extracts about 90% of the food’s water content without altering its composition. This vacuum allows the finished product to retain about 97% of its nutritional value and to be returned to its original state simply by adding water (Harvest Right).
Helping California Farmers Go Organic
Under the current organic certification process, farmers must wait three years while their soil transforms to adhere to the guidelines of the organic certification. During this transitional period, farmers suffer financial strain as they face higher labor costs and reduced crop production. Although “Made With…” can sell at a higher margin if marketed with organic claims, we believe that supporting these farmers will have a larger impact on sustainability and our bottom line.
Reducing Food Waste
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 20 to 40 percent of perfectly edible produce is tossed out due to cosmetic imperfections. This waste reverberates across the planet’s ecosystem, causing increased CO2 emissions and the inefficient allocation of water and other natural resources. “Made With…” collaborates with farmers to optimize saleable inventory, by prioritizing buying fresh produce that would otherwise not be sold at markets.
How Our Go-to-Market is Different
"Made With..." is a consumer food product that will make money through unit sales. In addition to pursuing traditional channels for distribution, such as farmer’s markets and grocery stores, “Made With…” will also rely on eCommerce to engage with our customers on a customized level. Through the website, customers would be allowed to design and order their own powder blends. Favorite blends will be selected as the next mainstream flavor. This level of engagement, coupled with traditional social media communication, will heighten the brand experience and excitement around healthy eating and sustainability.
Comprehensive Marketing Plan
The marketing plan is designed to prioritize consumer engagement by delivering a holistic communication plan. Brand awareness efforts will be concentrated through in-store activation, encouraging trial and purchase through demoing and display, and word of mouth, partnering with relevant media outlets and brand ambassadors. “Made With…” will establish meaningful dialogue directly with consumers through social media. Most importantly, the website is designed to be an information and commerce hub, where customers can follow up on product information or custom order small batch blends.
What We Are Not
“Made With…” is an intentional deviation from the current green Superfoods supplements dominating the nutrition market. “Made With…” is positioned to attract a mainstream audience who is looking to augment their primary vegetable consumption.