Latest news with #SakaraLife
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How The Founder Of Trubar Went From Mom On A Mission To Launching A $50 Million Snack Brand
Trubar's rollout in Target reflects the momentum from the brand's expansion into 15,000 new retailers secured in 2024. Most people walk into Target with a mission: get in, get what you need, and get out. For Erica Groussman, a trip to the retail chain last month meant something more. 'Seeing Trubar on the shelf at Target for the first time was a 'pinch-me' moment,' says Groussman, founder and CEO of Trubar. 'After years of work, to walk in and see it there was surreal.' But browse any snack aisle and it's clear there's no shortage of protein bar brands to shop from, with Kind, RxBar, MacroBar, and Quest among the competition. Trubar seeks to differentiate itself by tackling a growing debate in the nutrition world: are seed oils beneficial or harmful? Colleen Coffey, lead nutritionist at Sakara Life, wrote in a Sakara blog that the chemical processes that govern a majority of industrial varieties are 'not only harmful to the environment, but also harmful to our bodies—and particularly our endocrine system.' Trubar emphasizes its ingredients are seed oil-free, as well as gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-alcohol free and plant-based protein bars. This helped Trubar find its way into more than 15,000 retailers, including Whole Foods, Costco, Amazon, CVS, and more. Since its debut in 2019, Trubar has surpassed $50 million in revenue in 2024 (with the next goal to do $100 million annually by 2026). Trubar's success started from a mom just looking for a better protein bar, she says. 'The early days were tough. I was juggling being a mom while trying to get a business off the ground. There were moments—late nights, long weeks—when I wasn't sure it would all come together. But I never let that uncertainty stop me from moving forward.' Miami-based Trubar offers 12 indulgent, dessert-inspired flavors, with festive names like Daydreaming About Donuts and Smother Fudger Peanut Butter. The bars are designed for busy, health-conscious consumers. "I started Trubar because I couldn't find a protein bar that tasted indulgent but was made with clean ingredients that I trusted," she says. Groussman grew up watching her mom try a million different diets, but wanted to create something that felt fun, satisfying, and not restrictive for herself and her two children, now ages 11 and 13. 'I wanted it to taste like dessert, but make it with real ingredients that made you feel good." Before there were factories, trucks, offices, distributors, or even capital, there was just family and constant runs to the post office. Groussman's loved ones helped pack and ship bars by hand from their kitchen, one by one. 'In the beginning, we were doing everything ourselves—including shipping. My family was a huge part of those early orders. It was truly a team effort and a reminder of how scrappy startups really are at the start.' Erica Groussman's startup was acquired by Simply Better Brands in 2021, a brand accelerator in the global protein-based nutrition category. Groussman shares that she "bootstrapped, rebranded, pitched, repitched, and built a business from the ground up.' After about three years of operating as a self-funded business, she grew Trubar into a well-capitalized brand by selling a majority stake to Simply Better Brands Corp., leveraging institutional support to scale its operations. Today, Trubar has surpassed one million bars sold per year, and pulls in an estimated $1 million in monthly Amazon sales. But Groussman adds that's not to say that her job as Founder and CEO gets any easier now that Trubar 'seems' to be a well-oiled (but not seed oil!) machine, especially when the 9-5 is only half the career. 'Like every working parent, some days feel like a win, others like a juggling act. I focus on being present where I am—at work or with my kids—and I've learned to accept that balance isn't always perfect. Having a great team at home and at work helps a lot.' Like all moms and entrepreneurs , Groussman says every day tests her ability to problem-solve. 'Whether it's a supply chain delay, a packaging issue, or a last-minute retailer change, part of leading a brand is solving problems quickly and calmly. I've learned to trust my team and focus on solutions, not panic.' What once started in her home kitchen has turned into a brand name supported by a devoted base of health-conscious moms, kids, fitness enthusiasts, as well as celebrity fans like Bethenny Frankel and Halle Berry. 'Scaling while maintaining our standards is our biggest challenge,' Groussman admits. 'Trubar is indulgent but clean. As we expanded into more retailers, it was essential not to compromise on quality, sourcing, or our brand voice.' The company now manufactures in multiple U.S. plants to meet demand and partners with national warehousing and logistics firms for distribution across Amazon, retail chains, and direct-to-consumer channels. A dedicated ops team oversees inventory and freight—'a complex system that's only gotten tighter as we've scaled,' she says. Next up? More flavors, strategic partnerships, and new product iterations. 'We're constantly experimenting with new concepts that feel nostalgic, delicious, and still align with our clean ingredient standards.' And speaking of nostalgia, Groussman says she has goals to distribute in her current home of Miami and birthplace of upstate New York. 'More airports and on-the-go channels, too. Anywhere people snack—we want to be there.'
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Nutritional Delivery Service Sakara Life Hosts Pop-Up For Supplements
The pop-up is designed around its new wellness supplements, launched in February and includes a ... More liquid multivitamin, metabolism gummies and sleep capsules. Since its launch in 2012, nutrition delivery service Sakara Life has offered an aspirational form of wellness. But, from April 4 and April 5, that aspiration becomes more accessible with the brand's first-ever pop-up. The pop-up is designed around its new wellness supplements, launched in February, and includes a liquid multivitamin, metabolism gummies and sleep capsules. The Sakara Supplements Pop Up in SoHo, New York City, features three distinct spaces. Attendees enter through a gallery space focused on a manifesto behind each supplement product and statistics that explain the purpose and need behind each. Then, people will move into another room where a live performance artist will livestream for 24-hours across Sakara's social channels, focused on going throughout her day and wellness rituals. Lastly, attendees will exit through the retail shop, which is also Sakara's first ever retail space where they can buy the new supplements and receive a gift with purchase. Sakara has experienced impressive growth since its inception, considering the premium price of nutrition delivery services. Sakara programs start at $140 a week, while competitors like Thistle market their starting price at $42 per week and Methodology is around $420 a week. As Forbes previously reported in 2021, the company employs more than 200 kitchen workers who use equipment that allows them to wash and dry 8,000 pounds of produce, fill 2,000 soup cups and bake 4,500 muffins every hour. In an interview with Bloomberg, Henry Davis, CEO of Sakara Life, described Sakara as profitable and said that it had no current need to raise venture capital. As of 2021, Sakara Life had raised a total of $20 million in outside capital and was expected to reach $150 million in 'profitable' revenue that year, according to a press release. The supplements are expected to generate around $15 million in sales, according to Davis. 'The strategy was to come in and focus on [both] the core business and the product and supplement space to help people live the Sakara life,' he said. 'Supplements often feel like an afterthought. Your medicine cabinet is full of beautiful beauty products, and a tremendous amount of effort goes into the packaging and experience, and then your supplements live in what I call 'the drawer of shame.'' The pop-up is one element of Sakara Life's overall marketing campaign for the supplement line. Sakara regularly hosts in-person meetups, live events and podcast series, dinner parties, et cetera. Tierney Wilson, CMO of Sakara Life, described the pop-up as an extension and deepening of that strategy. For now, the supplements are being marketed toward existing Sakara customers. Approximately 75% of new supplement purchases are from existing customers, said Davis. Furthermore, since the supplements debuted, the brand has experienced 172% growth in new user traffic to its website, a 44% increase in comments on social media, and a 36% higher follower growth, indicating the interest behind the products. According to Launchmetrics data shared with Forbes, in 2024, Sakara earned $3.6 million in Media Impact Value, a proprietary Launchmetrics metric that tracks the impact of influencers, print media, celebrities, official third-party partners and a brand's own media channels. Between January and February of this year, Sakara has garnered 6% more MIV than the prior year. 'We have new products, so we can tell new stories to new customers and bring them into the Sakara world in ways that we haven't been able to until now,' said Davis. 'It's [now] about balancing what we can learn from our community and our customer base, delivering what they're asking us for, and then using that as the opportunity to go and speak to [new] people.' Perhaps even more notably, the supplements will be sold via Amazon and Happier Grocery, representing Sakara's first retail distribution outside of its e-commerce. As younger consumers continue to prioritize their health, nutrition and overall wellness, meeting those people where they are is key to Sakara's expanding business. 'The No. 1 thing we're focused on for Sakara is how to nurture and continue to build our community and give them offerings that interest them at different points throughout their life,' said Wilson. 'We understand that the consumer has a time and a place for how they engage with us.'
