10 natural brands to watch in 2014
January 8, 2014
![10 natural brands to watch in 2014 10 natural brands to watch in 2014](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltafc06db067aebac6/64cbf83cdb0bcc7a8de33eaa/NewHopeNetwork_Horizontal_RGB.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Elegant design is often the last thing you expect from a supplement company—a pill bottle and a structure/function claim usually do the trick for most vitamin sellers. But Stamba, a superfood multivitamin, may change all that. Not only does Stamba look good in its reusable violet glass bottle and wooden cap, it also melds perfectly with the burgeoning whole-food supplement trend. A blend of over a dozen frozen or slow dried organic superfood ingredients and enzymes, Stamba takes the whole-food multivitamin concept to a whole new level.
Nashville-based Everly—a brand of hydrating drink mixes—is the brainchild of founders Kyle McCollom and Chris Cole, who wanted to create a cleaner, better tasting drink mix than those widely available on the market. On top of realizing that goal, Everly also built mission into its business by providing a packet of oral hydration salts to children with waterborne disease for each box sold. Youthful, earnest and honest, Everly's founders have exhibited experience beyond their years and bootstrapped their way to a remarkably slick brand. With a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign already under their belts, expect more investors to show interest in this brand.
SmartyPants is a brand of dietary supplements that rode the crest of the gummy vitamin craze and has kept the momentum going. Co-CEOs Gordon and Courtney Nichols Gould started the company out of their house in 2010, making an all-in-one EPA/DHA/D3/multivitamin gummy supplement that was both kid- and adult-friendly. Since then the company has been on a rocket ride straight up. SmartyPants has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, on MSNBC and in People magazine; it has received recommendations from celebrity physicians such as Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. David Katz; and after recently raising $2.5 million through a convertible note, SmartyPants is ready to expand distribution and take the mass market by storm.
This Boulder-based brand has done what few have done before: taken a tired category (packaged nuts) and created something worth talking about. With delightful flavor combos like Mango Chipotle Zinger and Cosmic Maple Masala, Olomomo's packages of kettle-roasted almonds and pecans have made a splash at local farmers' markets, coffee shops and natural retailers. "Olomomo itself means a state of bliss,'" says founder Justin Perkins in his company's brand video, "but I actually made up the word. If you make up the word you get to make up the meaning." Perkins is definitely living his bliss now, since the brand just completed a capital raise through CircleUp and will expand its distribution dramatically this year.
This organic potato chip brand has one of the most moving and authentic brand origin stories. Jackson's Honest chips are different from other potato chips in that they are fried in coconut oil, a healthier fat that the company's founders discovered in their quest to find foods that would help their disabled son. Jackson's Honest is a small but growing brand, and recently closed a successful $18,000 Kickstarter campaign. To get a better view inside this inspiring company, view their brand video here.
Dang is a Berkeley-based toasted coconut chip brand founded in 2011 by Vincent Kitirattragarn. The company is named for the Thai nickname of Kitirattragarn's mother, who introduced them to the chips. They come in two flavors—Original and Caramel Sea Salt—and work well in salads, breakfast cereal, baked goods or just as a tasty snack. Expect big things from this brand in 2014—Dang has nabbed distribution in Safeway and Whole Foods Market locations across the country, it has been written up in the New York Times, and founder Vincent Kitirattragarn was named to Forbes' 2014 30 Under 30 list in the Food & Wine category. It's quite an impressive resume if you ask us.
This company is so promising it raised a round of over $3 million in financing through CircleUp—before the product has even launched. Sustain is a new brand of natural condoms started by none other than Seventh Generation founder Jeffrey Hollender. The company sources Fair Trade latex from a plantation where workers are treated ethically, and the finished product is free of many of the chemicals in mainstream condoms. Also on the Sustain team is Hollender's daughter, Meika, who will head up marketing. The Hollenders expect this brand to be far more marketable to millennial women, who do 40 percent of current condom buying but feel uncomfortable about purchasing existing brands. Expect this product on the market in February 2014.
TumericALIVE is a drink you have to taste to believe. A blend of ginger, cardamom, spearmint, honey, lemon, sea salt, cayenne and (yes) turmeric, TumericALIVE's Original Elixir has wedged open a whole new category of beverages. We like this brand because it hits so many hotspots in the market today—savory flavors, cold-pressed beverages, detox, yoga, and the natural anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin. It's certainly an acquired taste, but hey—kombucha caught on.
Elemental Herbs is a brand of balms, sprays and sunscreens based in Los Osos, California. The company's All Good Goop healing balm is made from five certified organic medicinal plants. The brand's production facility runs on solar power, its vehicles use only biodiesel, and its headquarters are located on a 55-acre organic farm. On top of that, Elemental Herbs is B Corp certified and is partnered with Green America and 1% for the Planet. A strong, simple brand with strong, simple values, we expect this one to go far.
This soap brand has mission built right into its business model. For each soap you buy, a donation of soap, fresh water or vitamins is made to children in need. In its short lifespan, SoapBox has donated to a dozen countries on four continents. In addition to building a strong philanthropic side, they've made a soap that consumers actually want to buy. Hear SoapBox co-founder David Simnick describe how he keeps his mission-based business profitable on NEXTAccelerator.com.
This soap brand has mission built right into its business model. For each soap you buy, a donation of soap, fresh water or vitamins is made to children in need. In its short lifespan, SoapBox has donated to a dozen countries on four continents. In addition to building a strong philanthropic side, they've made a soap that consumers actually want to buy. Hear SoapBox co-founder David Simnick describe how he keeps his mission-based business profitable on NEXTAccelerator.com.
Building a strong natural products brand requires a perfect confluence of several elements: an innovative product, an inspirational story, a motivated entrepreneur, and a team with business chops, moxie and, most of all, patience.
We've seen several brands over the last few years that have pulled together these elements and stand to win big because of it.
Here are 10 entrepreneurial brands, as curated by NEXTAccelerator.com, that are poised for a breakout year in 2014.
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