Pitch Slam Volume 12 - Finals : Start Right Foods

Speaker 1 [00:13] All right, our final presenter of Pitch Slam 12, Nash Pitch Slam 12, is Kyle Rood, who is the co-founder of Start Right Foods. Kyle, come on up.

Speaker 2 [00:26] Sounds good. Thank you, Ray, and thank you everyone here for giving me the opportunity to present today. I'm very excited to be at the Natural, organic, sustainable and healthy food show because I'm talking about a product that lives in an aisle that you guys might not be well traveling these days, and for good reason. Uh, but before I convince you to go down the frozen breakfast aisle, I want to give you a story, a story of how we got into the frozen breakfast aisle. So my co-founder and I got fresh out of college, we're athletes, and thought, we need to solve the problem of getting something easy to eat in the morning that's filling and doesn't leave you feeling pretty terrible in a while. So we started Start right back in 2015 and launched convenient high protein breakfast and started with protein waffles. Here we are at our very first demo at Hy-Vee in Columbia, Missouri, armed with our three waffle irons and Clint's pickup truck for distribution, knowing absolutely nothing about what we're getting ourselves into. And yeah, we learned a lot. In the 3 years, we started growing into a couple of different chains and learned that finding co-manufacturing from our brand was actually going to be way more of a challenge than we thought. Turns out waffles are hard to make, especially those that are high in protein, gluten-free, and don't look like that other waffle brand. Anyway, we learned a lot, so we decided, let's build our own custom waffle manufacturing facility. So we did that in 2018. Uh, but, but that, by the time we had that up and running, it was actually a bit too late. There was a lot of frozen waffles saturating the market that were high in protein, and a lot of times it was hard. Into the thing as a brand. So we decided to do what any nimble entrepreneurs are. We sort of pivoted. We reconfigured our machinery to be able to also make these waffle slider breakfast sandwiches. And we really leaned into this as an even more convenient on the go breakfast option. And so we launched in Sprouts in 2020 with these two flavors, and we're really excited, getting kicked off. Then it was 2020. And, uh, things kind of ground to a halt pretty quickly. Uh, but we were able to say, let's focus on what does it look like at the end of this tunnel. So we really reformulated our product. We refreshed our branding to really stand out in the sea of red and yellows that are in the case, and we reinvested in our machinery. We got more efficient. We focused on making sure that we could do this even in supply chain issues that we possibly could be facing. So that way we'd be ready to grow. And we really have been growing lately. In the past 9 months, we went from those 400-ish Sprouts chains plus our local, to now we're in about 1700 stores, and we're ranging from the Walmart mass markets of the world with conventional consumers, all the way to Sprouts and Wegmans and a couple of other retailers in between. And what we're really focused on is using our capacity to make sure we stay in stock. We have a 98% in-store stock rate. That's what we're really focused on selling to the buyers. We didn't overextend our brand. But right now, we have a waffle machine headed in and it should be set up and running by next week, so we're really excited to keep growing. But we're definitely in a right time, right place kind of moment with our brand and where we're at, but it wouldn't mean anything unless we had the right product to go along with it. So we're from the Midwest, St. Louis, Missouri, and we're really focused on that health curious consumer that's wanting to do better, wanting to eat healthier. We want to give them that first step. So our packaging conveys a familiar and comfortable product. It's deliciously appealing, and it's at a competitive price point for the set. Once the product is in their hands, they're able to taste it and say, oh, these are real clean ingredients. It does have a standout flavor. And every time I eat this, I'm full till lunch. It's an excellent source of protein. That's our key focus on. And what we offer is 4 different varieties that have a wide range of consumer interests. We have our indulgent chicken and waffles that can be an anytime meal, classic sausage and egg, and then we have the healthier conscious ones, the turkey sausage and egg white, and just recently launched a plant-based sausage with egg. That way, we get the consumers who are trying to make that first step, which leads to a better nutritional, uh, decisions throughout the entire day, all the way to those who are meal prepping for every meal, but want to have the ability to fill those holes, especially in early mornings. So I want to show you guys something. This is not breakfast, public service announcement. Coffee is not breakfast. You guys really need to be eating something in the morning and it's so hard. Entrepreneurs, business professionals, especially moms with kids, getting everybody to eat something that actually enjoy and fills you up throughout the day, that's our goal. We want to be that platform to deliver those convenient high protein breakfasts at that morning crunch point where it's most hectic. And so when you get down the freezer aisle, now that I've convinced you all to go down there, you'll see that we do have competition that's very similar as far as nutrition and flavor profile, but we see two promises on the packaging in the aisle. First promise is, this is going to be delicious. Second promise is this is extremely healthy for you. Rarely do we see that promise that's followed through in both of those categories. And we really hope to be the one that also can say, we're delicious and we have the nutrition to back it up. So I want to return to these two. These are my co-founders's daughters, and yes, they are staged. They were told to stand there for my social media account. But as Clint likes to say, this is a real morning. They really wanted to eat those sliders, and they kept badgering him to eat those sliders. Luckily, he eventually said, Yeah, go ahead, eat the sliders, we're done with this. But what I want to say is what we want to do is make that easy family decision. Make your morning meal easy, convenient, out the door. So that way, uh, with Start Right, breakfast is solved. Thank you guys.

Speaker 1 [05:37] Nicely done, slide up over here so our cameras can get you. Um, Carol, waffle sliders, um, what do you think of that descriptor for this type of product? It seems pretty intuitive, right?

Speaker 3 [05:47] Yeah, I mean, I, I know you started by saying the frozen breakfast aisle is kind of slow, but I'll be honest, on my side I feel like I'm getting pitched a frozen breakfast item at least once a month and everyone says it's super hot and exciting. Um, the only thing I'd say about the term sliders is that it feels like it's gonna be small and it is really filling, so I don't know if that actually like, and that's the messaging you just talked about. I'm not sure slider is the right word.

Speaker 1 [06:16] Need to get to try these products and if so, you know, what do you think? We heard a lot of good things coming out of Kyle. I was like, maybe I should have had a few of these. Yeah,

Speaker 4 [06:23] you know, I really enjoyed them. We had the chicken, was it turkey or the turkey turkey sausage turkey sausage with, yeah, and um it was great. I think the consistency is awesome. It did taste, the waffle tasted like it just had a hint of sweetness. Maybe it was my imagination because it was a waffle, but it was, it was the, the flavor and the taste is really on point.

Speaker 1 [06:45] Holly, I, I think I asked this, uh, yesterday as well, but I mean, you know, the breakfast aisle, uh, it seems like there's some traction going on there, and it seems like, you know, start right could fit in pretty well, but that's just my opinion. What do you think of that opportunity?

Speaker 5 [06:57] I agree. I, I wanna add to it. We thought it was delicious. What I really liked about it was, um. You know, a Belgian waffle, uh, a real Belgian waffle has like sugar in it, you know, those little cubes and or maple syrup if you go to McDonald's, let's say. So I also love it that it didn't have a strong taste either way. So I think about your chicken and waffle, um, I could add buffalo to that, which is big in Cincinnati for everyone who loves Taste of Belgium. Uh, chicken waffles is great. Um, one thing about the flavor I just want to note is I think a few of us said the turkey could use a little more flavor to it, but I love that you could taste each flavor as mild. I wanna say, I say all that because I do think you have a great little cut out there for being healthy and providing the waffle with the egg white only in turkey. I, I think is really meaning, a little gap that we have in the market for sure. And I also agree with the slider because. I think that could uh turn someone like me away that I, I like uh something hefty like the one of the examples on there and you, it's a really, it's a good size so perhaps uh rethought of that word could really help as well, but what I would say is especially great not only the flavor, but, uh, your packaging, you nailed it that you could merchandise. either way you go along, you go up depending on the shelf and the needs. So I think that was really great that the image is great and the package orientation options are really great too.

Speaker 2 [08:17] Thank you for all of that. Yeah, and with the waffle sliders, we debated that for the longest time. Do we say breakfast sandwich? Do we say waffle sliders? And it was really a, how do we stand out moment, but we, it's good feedback.

Speaker 3 [08:27] Can I say one thing just to add on to Holly's is I was really impressed with your price point as well, and I think that's a key lesson for a lot of people in the audience is you're thinking about the every consumer and not just a premium consumer. So when you're talking about the frozen aisle and really fitting in, to me that is such a key part of the product. One

Speaker 5 [08:47] more add to that, I would reconsider line pricing to have your one skewed. Different that internally just causes challenges for some retailers and and promotional opportunities. If there's an opportunity to to do that differently, it might

Speaker 2 [08:59] be good. We were line price until we launched the plant based and that became a big challenge, um, but you're right, having our own manufacturing, as much as a pain and challenge as it was, has allowed us to be a little bit more efficient and get the product into the right places at the right price point and we really have been growing on that, uh, we're able to deliver that price point.

Speaker 1 [09:17] Ibrahim, um, coffee is not for breakfast. I, I 100% agree with that, but to start right, articulate why it belongs in your hands for breakfast every morning.

Speaker 6 [09:27] I think so. I think first of all, the, the food photography is great. I think the packaging is great, so kudos to the team that worked on it. Um, I do have one question on the, on around the gluten free and why you chose that as like the core attribute on the waffle side.

Speaker 2 [09:40] Yeah, and that was a, a vestige from the original launch of the protein waffles. We found a recipe that had a gluten-free recipe that just tasted better and performed better. In a frozen category, we're reheating, that becomes very challenging to get that crisp, uh, waffle that still is not dry and still tastes pretty good. And so it carried alongside and we did have Gluten-free large on our packaging when we started. We've moved it a little bit less, uh, visible. I think someone in the audience or some speaker today said, if you promote gluten-free, you're really limiting your audience. So the fact that it is gluten-free does help us get into more doors, but we don't actively advertise that it is. And one of our skews, chicken and waffles, is not gluten-free. So it's one of those things that

Speaker 4 [10:21] you might even consider just putting it on the back because I do think you don't want to necessarily narrow that down, but the people that are looking for it will look for it. And, and find it there, but, um, I, I have the same concern or question regarding gluten-free.

Speaker 6 [10:33] I know I have one second, but I, I might, I might take a slightly stronger approach and say you could either get rid of gluten-free or you could go for a higher protein, lower carb waffle. It seems like it's just sitting in between two options right now. If you think it's that unimportant that you wanna deemphasize it and maybe even move it off the front panel, I then question, do you need it and could you get even better price points without it, so. That's my, that's my two cents, but it's a great, great product and positioning.

Speaker 1 [10:58] I appreciate that. Fantastic. Thank you so much, Kyle. All right.