As we walked the Expo West floor yesterday, we asked new natural products startup founders about the courage that it took to get started and keep persevering on the journey. All of the founders pointed to their deep, rich vision as something that brought them through the inevitable challenges. Here are some of the snippets that we heard:
- “We are a mission with a company, not a company with a mission.” – Ryan Devlin, This Saves Lives
- “Our approach is to be beyond reproach.” – Ron Kenan, Hnina Gourmet
- “We made something that we like.” – Dean Eberhardt, Hoplark
- “My friends are all soaking up the sun on Spring Break, and I am here soaking up all the knowledge I can to grow my business.” – College junior, Bri Makaric, Brite Snacks
Hacking Alzheimer’s
Speaking of courage, Renee went to Dr. Dale Bredesen’s talk on reversing cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease and was impressed by the courage Dr. Bredesen has in revolutionizing treatment options for this growing epidemic. Instead of seeing treating Alzheimer’s as the medical field typically does – by hacking on a specific factor – Dr Bredesen recognized through extensive research that Alzheimer’s is the culmination of many, many factors, which explains the lack of success on a singular pharmaceutical solution.
“If you would have asked me early on in my career if I would be up here telling you that sleep, meditation, brain training, and joy impact cognitive health, I would have laughed. But, if we take a data-led approach, we can’t deny the data.” – Dr. Dale Bredesen
While this may feel tangential to the natural products industry, it is actually very connected. Forces like these advances in the treatment of cognitive decline are driving more consumers to look for food and supplements that help, instead of hurt, their health. Dr. Bredesen emphasized the importance of diet, along with exercise and good food choices. The consumer belief that “what I eat doesn’t impact my health, so I’m going to make my food choices based on taste alone” is more deeply undermined with each passing year, the consumer tension of being able to find options that taste good and help them achieve the health they desire grows.
Melanie and Renee are headed back today but The Garage Group’s coverage of Expo West doesn’t end here. Stay tuned and subscribe for our report which should be released by the end of March.
And if you haven’t already, check out their Day 1 and Day 2 updates, along with our 2017 and 2018 reports.
Update as of March 26: The report has been officially released! Please enter your information below to receive.
[pardot-form id=”6742″ title=”Expo West 2019 – Report Download Form”]
