[ad_1]
It’s been a 12-year journey for Purely Elizabeth founder Elizabeth Stein, and based mostly on her plans for the corporate’s subsequent part, she is simply getting began.
Stein, who started her profession as a holistic vitamin counselor, began the corporate in 2009 after going again to high school and studying about superfood components and meals as drugs, an idea that wasn’t as standard then as it’s now.
“It felt like a possibility out there for merchandise to assist folks,” she informed TechCrunch. “What we put in our mouths is among the most vital issues we are able to do.”
As Stein, CEO, labored with purchasers, she noticed the necessity for specialised meals, like gluten-free, and what began as a aspect venture — a blueberry muffin combine — was the catalyst for Purely Elizabeth and have become her first product earlier than transferring into granola, which is what the corporate is understood for at the moment.
Quick-forward to at the moment, and Purely Elizabeth, which has since added pancake/waffle combine and oatmeal, is among the high manufacturers within the breakfast class. Merchandise are non-GMO and embody components like historic grains, coconut sugar, probiotics and MCT oil.
The corporate goes after an more and more crowded international well being and wellness meals market that was valued at $733.1 billion in 2020 and is poised to achieve $1 trillion by 2026. Shopper curiosity for this house can also be attracting capital. Final week, I reported on smoothie firm Kencko elevating a $10 million Sequence A, and Athletic Greens, which created a each day vitamin beverage, saying $115 million on a $1.2 billion valuation.
Stein says the market has modified quite a bit since Purely Elizabeth launched. She remembers going to her first commerce present in 2010 and having to teach retailers on components like chia seeds, coconut sugar and coconut oil. At present, these components are available on grocery cabinets thanks partly to shoppers being extra educated on better-for-you meals and demanding they style good additionally.
Over the past 5 years, Stein has led the corporate’s progress to a 55% compound annual progress price and into 15,000 retailer doorways on the finish of 2021, up from 8,000 in 2018, she stated.
The corporate raised its first spherical of funding, a $3 million spherical, in 2016, and has now closed on $50 million in Sequence B co-led by the brand new SEMCAP Meals & Vitamin division (this funding marks its launch), and joined by co-investors Swander Tempo Capital and SEMCAP’s accomplice, Contemporary Del Monte. This offers the corporate $53 million in complete funding.
Stein plans to make use of the capital to develop the corporate’s crew of 30 to be round 40 by the tip of 2022. Purely Elizabeth may even be investing in new product innovation and also will be launching into a brand new class later this yr with its oatmeal, and debuting a model refresh in coming months because it leans into digital advertising to construct model consciousness.
“We’re at an excellent thrilling level the place we had unimaginable progress and now we’re at an inflection level and looking out on the subsequent part of progress,” Stein stated. “We needed to usher in the capital and companions to speed up that and take the model to the following stage by additional evolving the model so as to add extra enjoyable parts to carry it to life.
John Haugen, previously with Basic Mills, joined Purely Elizabeth’s board whereas as founder and managing director of Basic Mills’ enterprise arm, 301 Inc., which led Purely Elizabeth’s preliminary funding. He’s now the SEMCAP Meals & Vitamin managing accomplice.
He agrees with Stein that buyers are on the lookout for their meals to work tougher, however are now not prepared to make the trade-off of higher components over style.
“Elizabeth is exhibiting what may be performed to introduce trend-forward components to shoppers whereas additionally making merchandise that style higher than something in the marketplace,” Haugen added.
[ad_2]
