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Melissa Snover is an award winning entrepreneur and visionary in the food tech industry. Originally from New York and having studied Business Management and Political Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, Melissa moved to the UK to finish her studies at Lancaster University. Shortly after this, aged 23, she co-founded a financial services company, which she then sold in 2009 so she could redirect her creative skills into confectionery. Following that, in 2010, she founded the company FTF Sweets Ltd, UK, also known as Goody Good Stuff, which is the world’s first vegan, natural and allergen-free fruit gum. Then in 2015, she partnered with the successful German Katjes family corporation, so she was able to immerse herself in the world of food technology and 3D printing, which has since led her to start her current venture, Nourished – the world’s first truly personalized nutrition product.
In an exclusive interview with AsiaTechDaily, Melissa says:
I believe one of the main reasons that such a high percentage of startups fail is because of their founder’s lack of commitment and resilience. Running your own company is not about picking your hours; it’s about putting in all the hours it takes to make it a success and never giving up. Being an entrepreneur can be incredibly lonely, testing, and stressful and is certainly not for someone seeking status or looking to make some quick cash!
Another factor I think is down to a lack of support, whether that be financially, externally, or even from family and friends. I have always been fortunate to have an incredible support network around me, including family, friends, and business partners, and I have always sought out and taken advantage of government and local programs to help the growth of my businesses.
Read on to know more about Melissa Snover and her journey.
Melissa Snover: I founded my first business, a financial company, at the age of 23. Unfortunately, I wasn’t passionate about it and didn’t feel like I was making a real positive impact, so I sold the business a few years later.
As a vegetarian, I found it very frustrating that I couldn’t find candy without any galantine in, so I set about creating a vegan gummy range called Goody Good Stuff, which was the first of its kind on the consumer market.
Nourished, my current business, came from my desire to make my nutrition regime more convenient and enjoyable, and I now love eating my personalized Nourished stacks each day. I think it’s vital to create a product which you, yourself, are interested in and would purchase.
Melissa Snover: As a busy entrepreneur, I traveled all over the world and used to continually carry around different vitamins and supplements with me, which was extremely inconvenient. On one such occasion, I accidentally dropped my bag of vitamins all over the floor in airport security and had to crawl round in my suit and heels trying to pick them up. I knew there must be an easier way to take nutrition! I sought out to find a way to simplify the way we take vitamins and make the combinations 100% customized to the consumer. Of all the things we personalize, our health and wellness should be top priority!
Melissa Snover: At Nourished, we have created the world’s first genuinely personalized nutrition product by utilizing our patented 3D printing technology and vegan ingredient encapsulation formula. Customers can go on our website and complete a short questionnaire where we make a recommendation of 7 high impact vitamins and superfoods best suited to their lifestyle and goals. We have also developed 9 different Life Stacks, which are specifically tailored to different routines such as ‘High Flyer’ for busy professionals who travel a lot and ‘Packed and Stacked’ for those who have a vigorous exercise routine.
Nourished is disrupting the vitamin industry with our innovative 3D printing technology, which allows us to combine multiple active ingredients chosen by the consumer into one edible stack in a matter of minutes. Other products on the market offering personalized nutrition are unable to achieve this and simply pack different pills into the same packet. The inconvenience and hassle of taking multiple tablets a day are still there, and a lot of the time, the quality of supplements is deplorable due to the lengthy supply chain from manufacturers in China. Nourished provides a solution to people who dislike or are unable to swallow pills, while also ensuring they absorb the highest level of their active ingredients as possible. All of our stacks are made on-demand on-site at our HQ in Birmingham and shipped to the customer the next day, so they are still exceptionally fresh when consumed with higher efficacy.
Melissa Snover: We have just closed our seed investment round and raised over £2 million investment from VCs on an international level with a wide variety of expertise, including HenkelX, Apater Capital, and a number of high calibres business angels.
Melissa Snover: Our business is based on an e-commerce subscription D2C model. Customers pay £39.99 per month for their 28 personalized vitamin stacks, with regular incentives to introduce friends and family to Nourished and purchase subscriptions as gifts for loved ones. Our price model is excellent value for money as our market research shows that if a consumer purchases the same quality active ingredient separately, they can pay up to £100 more a month than the cost of a personalized box from Nourished. With a healthy margin of over 50% and producing costs in scaling economics, the business viability is assured.
We have 4 primary target demographics:
We reach these customer demographics in several ways. By exhibiting at consumer events, we can educate people about the concept of Nourished on a personal level, give out live samples to taste the product, and get consumer feedback first hand. We have found that events are very impactful at creating brand awareness and are incredibly useful for sales as we can give out exclusive discounts not available online. Our CEO Melissa often gets asked to speak at conferences and seminars about food technology and entrepreneurship, which is another fantastic opportunity for us to create more brand awareness and educate on the benefits of personalized nutrition.
We also have a very streamlined online marketing strategy and reach our target audience through social media and google ads. We have an online and offline affiliate program and partner with a vast range of companies and individuals to help promote Nourished. Besides, we have trialed out of home advertising in the form of billboards and digital ad campaigns at bus shelters, which have seen a peak in traffic to our website and the subsequent increase in sales.
Since launching in October 2019 in the UK, we have also received a considerable amount of positive press, both nationally and internationally. Most recently, I was asked to speak on Sky News and BBC World News to explain the concept, and the show was watched by thousands of people all over the UK and around the world. This kind of exposure is invaluable in getting credibility to the concept while also creating brand awareness on a vast scale.
Melissa Snover: Start-ups typically have a restricted budget for marketing, but it is hugely important to create vital brand awareness and drive sales. A strong social media strategy will help to connect you with your customers and develop a sense of community and doesn’t have to take up much budget. Streamlined, targeted, and creative ads are also crucial to get your USPS seen by your target demographics and increase traffic to your website.
Melissa Snover: It’s essential to know your target demographics, how to talk to them, and what’s important to them. Don’t waste valuable marketing spend trying to reach them with a confusing or diluted message, or by not accurately establishing your targeting.
Melissa Snover: I was lucky to be supported by trusted VC advisors throughout our seed round. I received a tremendous amount of interest from the investment industry due to our innovative developments in personalized health and nutrition. I have met with a wide variety of investors throughout the process. I am hugely grateful for the expertise and guidance of the VCs who have come on board.
Melissa Snover: Securing seed funding is no mean feat, but it’s a necessity for any entrepreneur or business owner looking to bring a brand or product to market.
Raising funds as a female entrepreneur has certainly had its challenges. According to ‘Female Entrepreneurs’ research by Beauhurst, just 7% of tech companies are entirely female-founded, in comparison to 12%, which are founded by a mixed team of males and females and 81%, which are altogether male founded.
The recent Rose Review (a study by the government into the gender gap in UK entrepreneurship) showcased the disproportionate amount of money going to male founders (and also coming from male investors). The review reports, ‘Start-up funding is the #1 barrier mentioned by women non-entrepreneurs: women launch businesses with 53% less capital on average than men, are less aware of funding options and less likely to take on debt.’ I experienced this to a degree during our seed round, but I am proud to have overcome them and raise the most amount of capital in a seed round from a female founder in the UK to date.
It can be challenging to navigate the VC and funding eco-system for anyone. However, when you consider the findings from the recent Rose Review, it’s clear that there are still some additional challenges to overcome to give equal opportunities across the board.
I do, however, feel that we are starting to see a shift in attitudes towards investment in female first businesses within the investment community and hope that the seed round raised by Remedy Group demonstrates that and acts as inspiration for others.
Melissa Snover: We have expectations to exceed our Seed Round in our Series A, which we hope to open later in 2020, depending on the current COVID-19 global crisis. Our Series A will focus on our expansion into new markets in the UAE and the USA, and we will be seeking investors who will be strategic in that development.
Melissa Snover: We believe Nourished a place in any market where there is a preference for personalized, premium products, and a demand for innovative healthcare solutions. Our goal is 2020 and 2021 is to launch Nourished into the UAE and the USA, and from there, we will most likely expand into Europe. We currently have inquiries for partnerships from a variety of retailers on a global scale and are very excited to bring personalized nutrition to consumers all over the world.
Melissa Snover: It is vital to understand the cultural distinctions between different geographical markets and ensure that your message is the right tone for each separate demographic. You also need to be versatile and innovative with your product range and make adjustments to your offering, depending on the preferences, regulations, and demand in each new market you launch.
Melissa Snover: I believe one of the main reasons that such a high percentage of startups fail is because of their founder’s lack of commitment and resilience. Running your own company is not about picking your hours; it’s about putting in all the hours it takes to make it a success and never giving up. Being an entrepreneur can be incredibly lonely, testing, and stressful and is certainly not for someone seeking status or looking to make some quick cash!
Another factor I think is down to a lack of support, whether that be financially, externally, or even from family and friends. I have always been fortunate to have an incredible support network around me, including family, friends, and business partners, and I have always sought out and taken advantage of government and local programs to help the growth of my businesses.
Melissa Snover: “If it were easy, everyone would do it!” This is very appropriate advice when launching a new product and every time we come up against a challenge. I have to remind myself that creating innovative technologies and disrupting your industry is difficult because no-one else has ever done it before.
At Nourished, we have invented our 3D printing technique and ingredient encapsulation formula, so there is no guide book we can refer to when we encounter a difficulty. It is how you overcome those obstacles and find a solution that sets you apart from your competition. Hopefully, your experiences allow you to path the way and inspire other budding entrepreneurs and visionaries.
I have learned through managing and dealing with a wide variety of employees, suppliers, and business associates that, in general, people naturally want to live up to a good reputation.
If you put your trust and enthusiasm into people, they very rarely disappoint. Also, I’ve learned it’s impossible to win an argument. If you continue to fight, the other person will either think you are wrong or have their ego bruised so severely it will damage your relationship altogether.
Melissa Snover: When I was younger, I used to get worked up if something went wrong, and I would lose a lot of sleep and taunt myself over it. Now with a few years of experience behind me, I have more resilience in the face of challenges and have learned to cope with setbacks better.
I wish I knew back then that everything would be OK in the end and that, somehow, I would make it work; but that is almost impossible to do without experience and hindsight!
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