Q&A: Good Karma CEO Doug Radi on Dean Foods deal

When Boulder-based Good Karma Foods launched in 2012, the goal was to bring a unique bundle of benefits to the plant-based milk category. And the answer was flax milk. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids and allergen-free (a differentiating factor in the dairy alternative category, where many options are nut-based), flax milk offers a taste profile that lets the main ingredient of whatever it's put in—whether it’s coffee or cereal—shine.

Fast forward to today, and Good Karma Foods has an innovative line of products on its roster including milk, drinkable yogurts and individual yogurt cups, and a new distribution and investment deal to go with it. Here, CEO Doug Radi pulls back the curtain on the brand’s new partnership and its big plans for the future.

What challenges were you trying to address by partnering with Dean Foods?
Doug Radi: It sounds so simple, but the number one question we get is, where can I buy Good Karma? As much as we’ve grown the brand and expanded our distribution over the last couple years, not enough stores and channels carry our products, so we get constant requests from consumers for different stores to please carry our products. So we had a huge opportunity to expand our distribution where our shoppers go. Signing a distribution agreement with Dean Foods allows us to leverage their system, which will enable us to more quickly expand our distribution.

They also made a minority investment in our business which will help us expand investment in consumer marketing, brand building and product innovation as we continue to expand the footprint of our brand. Dean Foods saw expanding their plant-based milk and dairy portfolio as a growth opportunity for them. So this gives them an opportunity to invest in the company. It was a perfect partnership.

Are there any distribution challenges you are still working on?
DR: The heritage and history of our brand is the natural food store. We’re available in all 50 states, and in most of the big natural food chains. What we’ve done over the last couple years is expand significantly in the conventional grocery channel, but we are still just scratching the surface. We are available in less than one-fifth of grocery stores. But plant-based milks are sold in almost 100 percent of stores. So we see an upside for something like a distribution partnership with Dean Foods to expand into conventional grocery, but also drug and convenience stores and foodservice.

When can retailers and consumers start to see your products on shelves nationally?
DR: It's happening today. We are rapidly expanding. We are available in more and more stores every day, and actively working via this new distribution agreement to unlock other potentials. So this is happening immediately.

What's next for Good Karma Foods?
DR: You'll see a couple things: obviously, one is expanded distribution. But we’ll also be expanding our product line, and one of the first things you'll see this holiday season is a flax milk eggnog and pumpkin spice nog. That’s a seasonal offering we’re excited about. We also plan to expand our cup yogurt area, and this is all building on our commitment to allergen-free and delicious tasting ingredients. We’ll also be expanding our investment in consumer marketing and inspiring messaging, to introduce more consumers to the Good Karma brand.

We are excited about all of those fronts, and have a tremendous amount of passion for the brand and where we can go from here with this partnership. At the end of the day, our mission is to inspire goodness and deliver fantastic plant-based dairy products to support families looking for those options. This partnership enables us to do more of that.

5 design elements retail foodservice can borrow from restaurants

Supermarkets and c-stores looking to get in on the dining game can build on some key elements of restaurant design to create a dining experience customers will seek out. At the NRA Show’s Foodservice @ Retail Summit in Chicago, two leading voices in the grocerant design world, Juan Romero of api(+), a design firm, and Tré Musco of Tesser, a brand strategy design firm, presented on the topic. Nicolas Granucci of Ecolab moderated the session.

Romero and Musco shared important design ideas and details to know if you’re looking to make your store a destination where customers feel welcome to stay, dine and enjoy.

"Consumers care about what the experience is like, and 90 percent of the information sent to the brain is visual," Musco said. "People form judgments instantaneously. In terms of design, perception is reality."

If a c-store or grocery store—known as a place to get gas or groceries—is to become a place to enjoy a meal, that means customers must perceive it as such.

"This is about leveraging your environment to create memorable experiences," Romero said. "Customers can spend the whole day eating and enjoying [in a supermarket]. There’s an entertainment value that’s happening in grocery design. The concepts inside supermarkets can go anywhere from fast casual to elegant to urban."

Romero described his epiphany 12 years ago when he visited a brand new, 80,000-square-foot Whole Foods in Austin, Texas.

"There was excitement everywhere … the graphics were together, the architecture was together … I saw an island with a bar setting and chairs, a juice maker, salads and adult beverages," Romero said. "It dawned on me that this is where supermarkets need to take food."

Borrowing design elements from the restaurant world is part of the process of creating a destination-dining environment within a supermarket or c-store.

Musco theorized that traditional restaurants deliver on three core consumer needs: care, convenience and quality. "Grocerants tend to miss out on the care aspect, that sweet spot of comfort," Musco said. He offered five ways that grocery stores and c-stores can bridge that gap:

Lead with change: "Consumers think of you in one way and have a hard time shifting gears," Musco said. He pointed to a new Sheetz dining room with an up-front kitchen and inviting dining room, a warm comfortable environment that makes a radical departure from old-fashioned gas station. "We learned early on that we had to go way forward with the change so heritage brands won’t get stuck in a certain place in consumers’ minds."

Be a place to recharge: "People think of lunch and dinner as mini breaks, so set up your interior as a place to stay and feel comfortable," Musco said, suggesting comfortable lounge seating, warm lighting and great music as ways to create that restorative environment. Big no-nos include cavernous spaces that look like a fluorescent-lit office. Go in the direction of richer and warmer.

Go with the flow: "If you’re a c-store or grocery store, you know what you’re good at," Musco said. "But customers know how restaurants work, and that’s not standing in line with the grocery carts." That means investing in digital technology like app-based ordering from gas pumps, for example.

Details matter: Details like restrooms should never be overlooked for a dining area within a grocery store or c-store. "Restrooms really matter," Musco said. "Customers 100 percent judge your freshness and cleanliness on your restrooms." Musco showed an example of the San Francisco airport’s bathrooms, which have areas to touch up makeup, guard rails to prevent getting a wet shirt while washing hands and a rack to place bags on while washing hands. Another detail to remember is better lighting on food that’s on display. Make it look as crisp and fresh as possible.

Dive into the deep end: "Customers don’t want to feel like you’re just adding a couple of tables because you had a little extra space," Musco said. Your supermarket dining area should feel like a dedicated space, not an afterthought or add-on that was hastily thrown together. He cited Kroger’s Fresh Eats as an example of a place that’s "as fresh as Chipotle and as good as your favorite $14 salad place."

To reach these goals, Musco encouraged getting feedback from not just customers but team members and managers along the way. They will be your eyes on the ground as to what’s working and what isn’t in regards to lines, flow and the overall operation. He also encouraged making bold moves and investing in the long run.

"Don’t cheap out on materials for tables, chairs and floors," Musco said, pointing out that today’s customers are fine with old-school materials like wood, marble and stone that get a patina over time. Plastic may be easy to maintain, but older materials have more authenticity in consumers’ eyes.

Another key point is to get everyone on your team (food and beverage, real estate, architects, financial people) in on every part of the process.

"This is a team sport," Musco said. "Get it right the first time, because it takes a lot of capital and time to redo it."

Also, don’t just focus on your new flagship/prototype stores, but instead think, "How is this [dining space] going to go into a 30-year-old store that has a weird footprint?" Musco said. "Value your assets as a grocery store and play that up."

---

This piece originally appeared on Nation's Restaurant News, a New Hope Network sister website. Visit the site for more restaurant trends insights.

5 design elements retail foodservice should borrow from restaurants

Supermarkets and c-stores looking to get in on the dining game can build on some key elements of restaurant design to create a dining experience customers will seek out. At the NRA Show’s Foodservice @ Retail Summit in Chicago, two leading voices in the grocerant design world, Juan Romero of api(+), a design firm, and Tré Musco of Tesser, a brand strategy design firm, presented on the topic. Nicolas Granucci of Ecolab moderated the session.

Romero and Musco shared important design ideas and details to know if you’re looking to make your store a destination where customers feel welcome to stay, dine and enjoy.

"Consumers care about what the experience is like, and 90 percent of the information sent to the brain is visual," Musco said. "People form judgments instantaneously. In terms of design, perception is reality."

If a c-store or grocery store—known as a place to get gas or groceries—is to become a place to enjoy a meal, that means customers must perceive it as such.

"This is about leveraging your environment to create memorable experiences," Romero said. "Customers can spend the whole day eating and enjoying [in a supermarket]. There’s an entertainment value that’s happening in grocery design. The concepts inside supermarkets can go anywhere from fast casual to elegant to urban."

Romero described his epiphany 12 years ago when he visited a brand new, 80,000-square-foot Whole Foods in Austin, Texas.

"There was excitement everywhere … the graphics were together, the architecture was together … I saw an island with a bar setting and chairs, a juice maker, salads and adult beverages," Romero said. "It dawned on me that this is where supermarkets need to take food."

Borrowing design elements from the restaurant world is part of the process of creating a destination-dining environment within a supermarket or c-store.

Musco theorized that traditional restaurants deliver on three core consumer needs: care, convenience and quality. "Grocerants tend to miss out on the care aspect, that sweet spot of comfort," Musco said. He offered five ways that grocery stores and c-stores can bridge that gap:

Lead with change: "Consumers think of you in one way and have a hard time shifting gears," Musco said. He pointed to a new Sheetz dining room with an up-front kitchen and inviting dining room, a warm comfortable environment that makes a radical departure from old-fashioned gas station. "We learned early on that we had to go way forward with the change so heritage brands won’t get stuck in a certain place in consumers’ minds."

Be a place to recharge: "People think of lunch and dinner as mini breaks, so set up your interior as a place to stay and feel comfortable," Musco said, suggesting comfortable lounge seating, warm lighting and great music as ways to create that restorative environment. Big no-nos include cavernous spaces that look like a fluorescent-lit office. Go in the direction of richer and warmer.

Go with the flow: "If you’re a c-store or grocery store, you know what you’re good at," Musco said. "But customers know how restaurants work, and that’s not standing in line with the grocery carts." That means investing in digital technology like app-based ordering from gas pumps, for example.

Details matter: Details like restrooms should never be overlooked for a dining area within a grocery store or c-store. "Restrooms really matter," Musco said. "Customers 100 percent judge your freshness and cleanliness on your restrooms." Musco showed an example of the San Francisco airport’s bathrooms, which have areas to touch up makeup, guard rails to prevent getting a wet shirt while washing hands and a rack to place bags on while washing hands. Another detail to remember is better lighting on food that’s on display. Make it look as crisp and fresh as possible.

Dive into the deep end: "Customers don’t want to feel like you’re just adding a couple of tables because you had a little extra space," Musco said. Your supermarket dining area should feel like a dedicated space, not an afterthought or add-on that was hastily thrown together. He cited Kroger’s Fresh Eats as an example of a place that’s "as fresh as Chipotle and as good as your favorite $14 salad place."

To reach these goals, Musco encouraged getting feedback from not just customers but team members and managers along the way. They will be your eyes on the ground as to what’s working and what isn’t in regards to lines, flow and the overall operation. He also encouraged making bold moves and investing in the long run.

"Don’t cheap out on materials for tables, chairs and floors," Musco said, pointing out that today’s customers are fine with old-school materials like wood, marble and stone that get a patina over time. Plastic may be easy to maintain, but older materials have more authenticity in consumers’ eyes.

Another key point is to get everyone on your team (food and beverage, real estate, architects, financial people) in on every part of the process.

"This is a team sport," Musco said. "Get it right the first time, because it takes a lot of capital and time to redo it."

Also, don’t just focus on your new flagship/prototype stores, but instead think, "How is this [dining space] going to go into a 30-year-old store that has a weird footprint?" Musco said. "Value your assets as a grocery store and play that up."

---

This piece originally appeared on Nation's Restaurant News, a New Hope Network sister website. Visit the site for more restaurant trends insights.

RangeMe connects retailers with natural suppliers

Associated Wholesale Grocers recently announced a partnership with RangeMe, the online platform that’s been attracting buzz for its role in boosting discovery of new products for both retailers and suppliers. AWG sought the partnership to take advantage of RangeMe’s technology as it tries to scale its retail offerings for a few categories, including natural and organic items. We asked RangeMe founder and CEO Nicky Jackson about the partnership, the technology and RangeMe’s goals as a company.

What are RangeMe's goals with the AWG partnership? Does it change your offerings—and how so?
Nicky Jackson: The primary goal of the partnership between RangeMe and AWG is to help AWG scale its buying efforts for its member retailers in discovering unique and innovative items in the natural, specialty and organic categories as well as general merchandise, health and beauty. This partnership not only benefits our supplier community by giving them access to the buying power of AWG’s retailers spanning 3,800 stores and 11 wholesale divisions, but it also opens up the nearly 65,000 suppliers already active on the platform to AWG’s buying teams.

How can retailers get involved?
NJ: RangeMe is changing the way retailers and product suppliers do business by giving buyers an efficient way to discover innovative new products and manage the inbound product submission process. Retailers partner with RangeMe through a structured partnership whereby both sides collaborate for mutual benefit of streamlining discovery for retailers and suppliers in the industry—all on one platform. Implementation with retailers is seamless and simple; there is no downside for retailers to get involved. Every retailer is verified before they are able to access our closed and secure platform.

How do brands get into the system? Does that process look any different for large vs. smaller brands, and/or between categories?
NJ: With RangeMe, all brands are given equal footing—whether large or small—and brands can sign up for free via rangeme.com or through retail partner portals. One of our goals is to give buyers a standard way to look at products and brands that is easily digestible and allows them to save time while getting everything they need to make intelligent decisions. We give buyers the tools to narrow their preferences based on location, pricing, category, certifications, revenue size, years in business, distribution and more, to ensure that buyers are able to discover the right suppliers and brands for their retail offering.

How does RangeMe, and the collaboration with AWG, interface with distributors like KeHE and UNFI?
NJ: RangeMe is able to bring a new level of value to its retailer partners when working with the distributors that service them by fostering a tremendous amount of collaboration. This collaboration can be seen in the distributor finding a new innovative item on RangeMe and sharing the item with a customer (retail buyer) to get their feedback, all within the technology. Furthermore, retail buyers can find new items they want to take in store and simply share the items with their distributor contact right within RangeMe to facilitate the supplier setup.

Digital Disruption: The Numbers Don't Lie

Looks like this internet thing is here to stay. Obviously. As the line between online sales and brick and mortar blurs in some areas (and widens in others) supplement companies are wise to seek out the business opportunities. Not only are online sales the strongest growing channel for supplements, but the combination of marketing efforts between on/off-line represent a challenge for brands that are looking to truly gain market share.

This infographic is just quick snapshot of the data available in the 2017 NBJ Digital Disruption Guide and the insights that will be presented in the Digital Summit: Using Amazon and Influencers to Grow Online and On-Shelf Sales

Is your brand starting to sell through Amazon? Perhaps you're a mid-sized CPG with a well established Amazon store looking for ways to balance your faithfulness to independent retailers (we call this 'channel choreography'). No matter where you are in your growth stage - online sales are bound to be of important to your team. On June 14, join experts from NetRush (Amazon marketplace experts), LMS (entertainment and influencer marketing), Vega, and New Hope Network in 90 minutes of strategy, tactics, best-practices & much more. Register here.

5@5: The latest in sustainable packaging—food | Dairy manufacturer pivots to plant-based milks

Packaging food with food to reduce waste

Less packaging, reusable packaging, compostable packaging—these are all strategies that companies are employing to address the amount of waste in the food system. But a handful of entrepreneurs and academics are working on turning everyday foods or food waste products into packaging materials. A team of USDA researchers, for example, developed a material from milk protein that can be used as a lining or coating. A design company in New York is working on mushroom-based molded packaging material. And that's just the start of it. Read more at New York Times...

A dairy operation reborn: From cows to cashews (and other nuts)

Milk producers have struggled in recent years in the face of a dip in consumer demand, and as a result some have turned to organic or shuttered. Queens-based Elmhurst Dairy, however, instead made a big pivot: After nine decades in the dairy business, it became Elmhurst Milked, maker of plant-based milks from almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and walnuts. Read more at Modern Farmer...

 

Moving beyond meatballs, IKEA wants to be an incubator for food innovation

The world's biggest furniture retailer is inviting startup companies to apply to spend three months in one of its labs with access to its prototype shop, a test lab and the expertise of its scientists. One of its key areas of focus for the incubator is food innovation. Read more at Quartz...

 

Natural food stores enjoy longevity, offer alternative options in Greater New Haven

Several Connecticut natural products retailers are celebrating milestone anniversaries, including Thyme & Season (20 years), New Morning Market (45 years), FoodWorks (25 years) and Edge of the Woods (40 years). Read more at New Haven Register...

 

Your coffee is from where? California?

It turns out that California's avocado trees provide perfect shade for coffee bushes. About two dozen growers in the state—faced with increased competition from Mexican imports and rising real estate costs—are part of what may be the first serious effort to commercialize coffee from the continental U.S. Read more at Las Vegas Sun...

 

Reduce stress with mindfulness

If you’re feeling stressed—or worse, burned out—you know how it can affect your job performance and your home life. But relieving that stress is easier than you think. And research shows it.

Research at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center supports the growing body of good research demonstrating that mindfulness training decreases the response to stress. Members of the medical school’s intensive care unit participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based training which included meditation, breathing exercises, yoga and gentle stretching.

If you get stressed working in natural products, whole foods or nutraceutical industry, imagine the stress of working in an ICU where everything you do has a life or death consequence. If ICU members get the results they did, what kind of result might you get?

Study participants completed a questionnaire about their stress level before and after the eight-week training. Researchers also collected saliva samples to study the biomarkers of stress reactivity.

The findings were amazing. At the end of the study, the participants reported no change in how much stress they had in their job. After all, they were still dealing with life-and-death situations and decisions. However, the measures of their stress reactivity decreased 40 percent, while a comparison control group showed no change at all.

The 40 percent decrease in the biomarkers of stress reactivity reflects a change in the sympathetic nervous system, which controls excitement (the flight-or-flight survival response). Another astonishing part of this finding is that the participants weren’t aware of this change, but their bodies certainly were!

Here's a beginning breathing exercise to help enhance mindfulness. This breath meditation exercise will take you to the next level:

Beginner breath relaxation: using all of your senses to enhance awareness

• Choose a place to be alone. A quiet place with few distractions allows you to better focus.
• Sit comfortably. Sit so you can pay full attention to only your breathing. If possible, sit in a chair or a position that you aren’t likely to fall asleep in. Sitting without back support will also keep you from dozing off.
• Start with your hand on your abdomen. Breathe in, keeping your chest and abdomen as relaxed as possible, until you see and/or feel your hand on your abdomen gently rise as your breath fills the lower part of your lungs.
• Use your mouth and nose. As you breathe, inhale through your nose and exhale out your mouth. Practice this until it becomes comfortable.
• Become aware of sound. Listen to your breath. What does it sound like as you breathe into your nose and the air goes deep into your lungs? Does it sound the same or different when you exhale out your mouth? Continue paying attention to the sound until you can hear the nuances distinctly.
• Notice feelings. Observe how the air feels as it comes in your nose and how it feels as you exhale out your mouth. Note the temperature of the air and the sensation in your nose, throat and airways. Notice the feeling of your abdomen and chest expanding. Then notice what your breath feels like, all the nuances
• When your mind wanders from paying attention to only your breath, which it will, gently bring your awareness back to the above details.

Developing mindfulness by paying attention to your breath gives you much greater control of your stress reactivity, just like the ICU study participants. Everyone can gain much greater control over their stress reactivity and, therefore, their emotions. How will you do it?

TC North, PhD, is co-author of the best selling book, Fearless Leaders, a high-performance executive coach and leadership speaker. He eats clean, is a dedicated supplement user, was a keynote co-presenter at the 2016 NBJ Summit and is committed to helping the industry create consumer trust.