Brian and Corin Mullins are the founders of Holy Crap.
When you sell the product of the moment, it’s not so much a matter of growing your business as managing your growth.
The product of the moment — if you haven’t heard — is seeds. Chia, hemp seed and buckwheat are the new superfoods, packed with complete proteins, beneficial oils and fatty acids and loads of fibre, according to their devotees.
Arjan Stephens of Nature’s Path
Richmond-based Nature’s Path has a well-established line of organic cereals and granola bars, but the natural dominance of oats and nuts is being threatened by their hemp-based granola and the fastest-growing addition to the firm’s product line, Qi’a, a cereal made from whole chia, hemp and buckwheat groats.
Health Canada defines a functional food as one that provides physiological benefit or reduces the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional function. That includes foods that are fortified with additional fibre, extracts and herbal preparations, living cultures such as yogurt, and eggs with enhanced Omega-3 fatty acid content derived from specialized feed.
But it can also be something as simple as a seed. The United Nations went so far as to declare 2013 the International Year of Quinoa, an ancient grain rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids and iron.
“We are creating foods using ingredients that provide well above average nutritional value and that have a specific function related to heart health, brain health or digestion,” said Arjan Stephens, executive vice-president of sales and marketing for Nature’s Path.
“What’s important for us and our customers is that it’s not coming from a vitamin or highly processed nutraceutical, but a whole food.”
Hemp Plus Granola is one of the company’s most popular products despite the fact that most mainstream retailers in the United States refuse to stock it because of the hemp leaf on the label. But the chia-based Qi’a is selling so fast, it’s expected to surpass Hemp Plus in sales as major grocery chains in Canada and the U.S. pick it up.
“There were people in our own company that thought only the really dark green people would eat it, but we’ve found it has really wide acceptance,” said Stephens, who is also the company’s leader of research and development.
He characterized Qi’a’s sales growth as “exponential.”
“People always tell us we are so lucky to have been in the right place at the right time with these natural and organic foods,” said Stephens. “It’s easy to be an overnight success when you’ve been doing it for 28 years.”
But Nature’s Path and their local competitors, Holy Crap and the newly launched Ra Energy, are in the right place.
The Canadian functional foods and natural health products business has grown from $2.9 billion in revenue in 2005 to $11.3 billion in 2011, according to a just-released report from Statistics Canada.
Sunshine Coast-based Holy Crap breakfast cereal is still managing 25-per-cent annual growth since a now-legendary appearance on the CBC TV program Dragon’s Den two years ago, according to co-founders Brian and Corin Mullins. Holy Crap’s low-glycemic blend Skinny B has accounted for a large chunk of the company’s sales growth.
After making about $58,000 selling Holy Crap from a folding table at the Sechelt Farmers Market, the Mullinses had to cope with nearly $5 million in orders in the year after Dragon’s Den, largely on the strength of online sales, which represented 90 per cent of their business.
But widespread acceptance by mainstream supermarket chains — they are now in more than 2,200 stores in Canada alone — has dwarfed the online business. The product line will hit 47 Kroger QFC stores in Seattle by the end of the year, their first U.S. market.
Among the challenges they share with their competitors is the roller coaster 350-per-cent price fluctuations of organic chia, which has soared from $2 to $7.50 per pound wholesale.
Holy Crap has recently expanded its footprint into warehouse spaces in Wilson Creek and Gibsons in preparation for the launch of single-serving cereal bowls and a new product, Holy Crap Plus, a hot organic oatmeal.
“Whole and organic and non-GMO is what people want right now,” said Brian Mullins.
Holy Crap’s product line ticks a lot of boxes for health-conscious consumers: sugar-free, salt-free, non-GMO, gluten-free and organic.
“We’re finding that moms especially are looking for non-GMO foods for their kids,” said Corin Mullins. The Mullinses believe single-serving portions will make their line even more kid-friendly.
Toronto-to-B.C. transplant Adam Hart and Richmond-based Sun Rich Fresh Foods have just launched a new line of food toppings made from shelled hemp, unshelled sesame, sprouted buckwheat, chia and flax called Ra Energy.
Though similar to breakfast products such as Holy Crap and Qi’a, Ra Energy is packaged in packets that easily slip into a purse or lunch bag and shakers that are meant to stay on the table throughout the day.
A naturally sweet version can be added to conventional cereals or yogurt, while a garlic-flavoured version is suited to salads, soups and hot foods.
Company co-founder Adam Hart came up with the formulation while tinkering with his diet after being diagnosed as pre-diabetic at just 25 years old.
“I was pre-diabetic, suffered from food allergies and asthmatic,” said Hart. “I was already on several medications, but when I was prescribed Lipitor to control my cholesterol I knew I had to change things.”
Since then, Hart has transformed himself physically with exercise and a diet that includes whole plant-based foods, especially seeds, as its cornerstone. He works now as a corporate wellness coach, chef and author of The Power of Food.
“I never filled that Lipitor prescription,” he said.
Ra Energy products are appearing now in Overwaitea and Save-On-Foods stores.
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