Have your muffin and eat it, too
U-Be-Livin-Smart taps into the healthy food business,
Maybe you can have your muffin and eat it, too. At least, Canadian food start-up UBe-Livin-Smart thinks so. It manufactures four flavours of the “Karma”ffin, advertised as an all-natural muffin made without additives, nuts, gluten, oil or flour and packed with seven grams of protein, three grams of fibre and a serving of fruits and vegetables.
The Concord, Ont.-based firm claims they taste great, too. If you’re thinking, “Wow, how?” you’re not alone. U-BeLivin-Smart, which operates under P.S. Infinity Holding Corp., says what differentiates these 78 g muffins is a combination of quality ingredients and a patent-pending process that packs 10 lbs. of frozen fruits into a single pound of finished product without losing any nutrient value.
“There are a lot of muffins that are really cake in disguise,” said Tim Sinclair, one of U-Be-Livin-Smart’s four co-founders and co-owners. “We know [that] people are calorie conscious, but it’s not just about lowering the calories. It’s about getting the right calories.”
Mr. Sinclair has spent more than 20 years in the food business and has worked for popular brands like Campbell Soup Company and The Second Cup Ltd. He and the other co-founders have more than 75 years of combined experience in food marketing, R&D, quality assurance and sales. They’re hoping to cash in on a growing segment of the market that’s willing to pay more for tasty, healthy foods — one box of “Karma”ffins at a time.
Michael Wolfson, food and beverage sector specialist for the City of Toronto’s Economic Development & Culture Division, advises people hoping to cook up a moneymaking food business. Although Mr. Wolfson was not familiar with U-Be-LivinSmart’s business plan, he was impressed by the co-founders’ pedigree in the food business, saying, “It seems like they’ve got a lot of industry knowledge, experience and connections.”
In six months since the “Karma” ffin made its retail debut, its distribution network has grown from local grocers, markets and health food stores to the frozen food aisle in nearly twodozen retailers and almost 1,000 stores across North America, including select stores of Whole Foods Market Inc., Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc. and Overwaitea Food Group LP. The muffins, which are sold in packages of four at a manufacturer suggested retail price of $5.99, can also be purchased in batches of either six or 18 units through U-Be-LivinSmart’s online store.
But Mr. Wolfson says bringing a food product to market and onto store shelves isn’t the most challenging aspect of the process since “storekeepers are always looking for something new. Getting it off the shelf and into consumers’ hands is the tough part.”
The blue, yellow and white certified “Real and Natu ral , Nutrient Dense” label stamped on the back of “Karma”ffin boxes is how U-Be-Livin-Smart claims its muffins differ from the rest, a message the company took to Canada’s largest consumer food, beverage and cooking festival, EAT! Vancouver, this past May. It’s a variation of the “Aggregate Nutrient Density Index” (ANDI), one of many ratios that measure the amount of beneficial nutrients per calorie.
The ANDI scores foods on a scale of 1 (cola) to 1,000 (kale). According to internal company documents, the four “Karma”ffin flavours have an average ANDI score of 919.5. It’s a stark contrast to what U-Be-Livin-Smart refers to as the average blueberry muffin — made with flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, milk and blueberries.
It has an ANDI score of 189, or nearly five times less nutritious than the average “Karma”ffin. But the ANDI has its limitations. So does the term “nutrient dense,” which continues to draw differences in opinion from food experts as to what it actually means. That’s why U-Be-Livin-Smart promotes “balanced nutrition” instead by using ingredients that contain high-quality carbohydrates, fats, and proteins as well as vitamin and mineral content that delivers greater than 15% of the recommended daily intake for a 150-lb. woman.”
“Karma”ffins have a shelf life of five days at room temperature, 14-days refrigerated and 16-months frozen. Mr. Wolfson says the frozen feature may be the company’s impediment to future growth.” When do you go into a store and you’re looking for muffins, where’s the first place you look?” he asked. “The bakery. At least mainstream consumers do. That’s going to be one of their major hurdles.” But U-Be-Livin-Smart isn’t throwing all their eggs into one muffin.
The company is set to release three more confectionar y and supplement products later this year. According to a U. S.-based trademark website, P.S. Infinity Holding Corp. has filed for two more trademarks for fresh and frozen pizza dough, crust or cheese sticks and a variety of fresh and frozen bread.
David Sparling, professor at the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business and chair of the research unit Agri-Food Innovation and Regulation, says, “The current trend toward healthier food products is the biggest opportunity for food farmers and producers in Canada.”
These guys have both a product I think the market will be interested in and a [ patent- pending] process that will allow them to capture more value from that,” Mr. Sparling said. “If these muffins taste good and are well received, the people who buy those will be quite interested in tr ying the other products.”
Although Mr. Sinclair declined to confirm the exact products set to launch, it’s clear diversity is the hallmark of future expansion for U-Be-Livin-Smart.