This fall, FounderMade creator Meghan Asha invited industry leaders for an exclusive invite-only experience. Guests included influencers, editors, press, consumers, brand leaders, investors, retailers and more. “FounderMade organizes the world’s best conferences to discover and scale for consumer brands and retailers. Helping consumer brands scale their business and launch their innovations through our Discovery Show, invite-only CEO Summit, and membership program.” Asha continues, “Our mission is to help get the most innovative, inspiring brands get to the place they belong: in the hands of those who want them.”
The invite-only event took place inside Santa Monica’s historic Barker Hangar and while the sun gleamed into the hangar, dozens of innovative new companies in the health, wellness, tech, and cannabis space took up residence for the day. Guests came out in droves to explore, learn, and taste. Excited to meet the men and women behind new and existing brands, including some phenomenal CBD and hemp-made lifestyle brands, the day was educational, informative, and luxurious.
It was an exhilarating afternoon spent learning about everything from smart water bottles, women-owned vegan brands like Spero Food Company and the cleverly mindful Butterfly Superfoods nut butters and Disco Cubes, local culinary creators like OWL, hemp and CBD lines Pure Bloom and +CBD Oil to learning about a female-empowered hemp cannabis company whose sole purpose is to support women in the industry, Svn Space.
FounderMade is an empowering event created to showcase those bold enough to push industry boundaries who are change-makers in an ever-evolving industry. Each brand present had environmentalism in mind while being unwilling to compromise luxury and quality.
For more information, visit www.FounderMade.com.
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One of the most interesting items is the Butterfly Superfoods with a message on the jar that says—without apology, “no bullsh*t“. That bold declaration and the delicious line of products led to talking with Founder Jared Talla to get to the heart of the brand.
ATOD: The rosemary butter was one that intrigued me most. What inspired coming ho with savory butters?
The rosemary definitely surprises people and that’s why I love it so much—it’s different! Since I started the company with two sweet flavors (cinnamon vanilla and chocolate reishi), I knew I eventually wanted to create a savory option to balance out the portfolio. Plus, there aren’t many nut butter companies doing savory blends. One day my neighbor walked into my apartment with a bag of rosemary and sea salt flavored cashews. I took one bite and the rest was history.
How did you develop the brand? Was using uncommon nuts the ultimate goal in order to appeal to a range of consumers?
I started the brand because nut butters are my absolute favorite thing to eat. I grew up on peanut butter and then graduated to almond and cashew butters, but I was still unsatisfied. They were either too boring and plain, or had sugar and other ingredients I didn’t like. To satisfy my own cravings, I bought a little food processor and started making my own. I wanted to be creative just for the hell of it, and kept throwing in nuts and other ingredients that I loved with one underlying rule: no sugar. For months I made it for myself and gave it to friends who seemed to keep coming back for more. I decided it would be fun to sell it at the Farmers Market on Melrose Place and see what happened. Much to my surprise, people actually liked it. Fans now return on a weekly basis and bring their friends to try too. It’s still surreal to me.
Any new flavors in the pipeline? Or more products?
I’ve got a lot more flavors and a lot more products running around in my head!
Yes, eventually there will be new nut butter flavors and seasonal varieties, and once the brand is established, we will expand to different food categories. I have a few things in mind that I personally make for myself on the reg.
Where can readers find Butterfly Superfoods products (retail stores)?
We have a store locator on our website but we are in 11 specialty stores around LA, including Earthbar in West Hollywood, Brentwood, and Ocean Ave, as well as Rainbow Acres in Marina del Rey, and Besties Vegan Paradise in Hollywood. You can also buy our goods online*!
What is the most important message about your brand that you feel resonates most?
I think what resonates most is that I want this brand to be as transparent as possible. People seem to respond well to the “bullshit-free” written right on the label because we are sick of everything being so damn politically correct. I want to create a brand that feels like a real human is talking to you. I’m tired of unhealthy food companies claiming to be healthy, and boring marketing campaigns being a clone of the last campaign. The consumer today is more educated and can smell gimmicky marketing from a mile away. Enough of the bullshit people.
*ButterlySuperfods.com is currently redesigning their website and will be back soon.
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