U-Be-Livin-Smart is Toronto-based company that produces nutrient-dense, gluten-free, nut-free muffins, vitamins and healthy candy with no additives or preservatives
With more than 75 years combined experience in the food industry, Tim Sinclair, Sherri-Ann Harrison and Paul Do know that most packaged foods have little to offer in terms of nutrients or health benefits.
Their vision is to revolutionize the food industry and in the summer of 2012, they launched U-Be-Livin-Smart, a Concord, Ont-based company that produces nutrient-dense, gluten-free, nut-free muffins, vitamins and healthy candy with no additives or preservatives.
"Most of us had spent all of our careers in food and knew that most of the nutrients are baked out for convenience – and saw an opportunity to invent a nutrient-dense food product and secured a global patent," Mr. Sinclair, the company CEO, says. "Instead of taking all the bad stuff, such as trans-fat, sodium and now gluten out, we said what if we just left the good stuff in and didn't add the bad stuff."
Their 'Karma'ffins muffins, for example, are packed with nine grams of protein, four grams of fibre and a serving of fruits and vegetables and are sold in supermarkets in the Canada and U.S. Its newest product, Pocket Treats chewy candies, containing eight grams of protein, a serving of fruit and olive oil, is sold in 400 Wal-mart stores across Canada.
For every package of U-Be-Livin-Smart products purchased, the company donates nutrient-dense product to feed a person in that community through a nearby food bank. Mr. Sinclair says many people who rely on food banks or other forms of assistance are nutrient-starved, even though they may look overweight, because they can't afford fresh, healthy food and eat nutrient-poor options instead.
The goal of the company's Feed 88 Million program is to feed 88 million underfed and undernourished people over the next 10 years, and so far, the program has fed 500,000 people across North America and by March, will have fed 1 million. Mr. Do experienced hunger as a young man as did Mr. Sinclair, who while growing up in Saskatchewan as one of six kids, says his mother occasionally had to use a food bank to feed her family.
Q: How are you building your brand?
Tim: I've been in the food business a long time and I did what every food company does. I made cold calls across Canada to Loblaws, Sobey's, Metro, Longo's and Wal-mart. You have to go present your product. We've had great response from retailers. We've got something truly innovative that has no additives or preservatives, has high nutritional value, is gluten-free and nut-free and tastes great. Retailers love that. We've gained 12,000 distribution points in North America in the last 18 months.
We aren't a big food company and can't afford national advertising. We work with the Celiac Society and we work hard on consumer wellness shows. Once people sample one of our products, they're sold on it. We have to build our brand one consumer at a time. We tell people if they really like our product, to tell someone about it.
If it doesn't taste good, consumers won't buy it but from the response we get, people love the taste.
Q: You have said that North America is facing a food insecurity epidemic. What is a food insecurity?
Tim: When you take it from the perspective of a household and look at North America and children and adults having a viable life, there are basic needs we have from a nutritional perspective. We need water, quality protein, quality carbohydrates – that's fruit and vegetables – and quality fat. Much of our food is overly processed and overly cooked, so a lot of the nutrient value is getting stripped out and is contributing to the global obesity crisis. We think anything that has fat is bad, but fats like those from avocados and olive oil are good.
Some people don't have the means to have fresh food every day and it's hard for them to get adequate nutrition through the food they can afford to buy. We want to create affordable nutrition that can be afforded by anyone. A package of our muffins is $4.99 and a full serving of fruits and vegetables, with no additives or preservatives.
Q: How do you make money if you sell your products at a price point even those on a modest income can afford?
Tim: We work hard with suppliers to secure our supplies at a good cost. As a startup, we wouldn't make money the first 12 to 18 months. Whatever we made, we invested back into company and now we are making money. It's really about making choices about how we spend our money and not to overspend.
In many companies, $10 to $15 of every $100 is spent on marketing – we don't spend that. We choose to use that to feed people. We watch our pennies. When we travel, we use sites like Hotwire and Flight Network to find cheap flights and we don't fly first class.
We have a very modest factory in Toronto with 15,000 square feet and we have a pay-as-you-go approach.
Q: What have been your biggest challenges?
Tim: Our products are nutrient-dense and are not the easiest products to explain, so in-store sampling isn't enough. We have 25 employees in Ontario and 150 sampling people across North America who work part-time – many are nutritionists and dieticians. We need someone who is passionate about we're doing and can explain it.
Also, because our muffins have no additives or preservatives, their shelf life is five days. This means we have to sell them in the frozen food section of supermarkets and it has been a challenge to educate consumers to look for them there.
Q: You recently received a loan of $990,000 from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). How will you use this funding?
Tim: We will use it to buy equipment and commercialize the process for making our products and to increase business.
Q: What's your advice to other would-be entrepreneurs?
Tim: Be committed to the process as opposed to committing to the end point. I'd rather commit to the current situation rather than 10 years down the road.
People ask us if we're going to sell the company, but I don't know. We are having fun, we are enjoying it. It's hard work and there is no free lunch. It's way harder than people think. But if you are committed to the process, not the end point, you'll be fine.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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