In line with Will Nitze, founder and CEO of IQBAR, success in a aggressive market requires discovering its uncompetitive niches. He did that together with his flagship protein bar, which is plant-based, low-sugar, and plainly labeled. That was seven years in the past when he launched the corporate with a $75,000 Kickstarter marketing campaign.
Quick ahead to 2025, and IQBAR additionally makes IQMIX (hydration) and IQJOE (espresso). All promote mind well being with out competing in opposition to one another.
Will and I not too long ago mentioned his journey, from the preliminary capital increase to scaling income, including merchandise, and managing wholesale channels. Your complete audio of our dialog is embedded under. The transcript is edited for readability and size.
Eric Bandholz: Give us a fast rundown of who you might be.
Will Nitze: I’m the founder and CEO of IQBAR. Our hero product is dietary bars, however we additionally make IQMIX for hydration and IQJOE for immediate espresso. Roughly 55% of our income is wholesale; our direct-to-consumer ecommerce web site and Amazon account for the stability. We’ve raised just below $10 million since our launch 7 years in the past.
Bandholz: How do you stand out in such a aggressive market?
Nitze: The hot button is breaking down the competitors into subcategories. Within the protein bar market, the saturated class is animal-based components. However if you concentrate on plant protein, low sugar, and clear labels, you’ll be able to carve out an area with a lot much less competitors however nonetheless substantial. It’s about discovering the uncompetitive niches inside the broader aggressive panorama.
I bought into this area as a private ardour. I used to be dissatisfied with my software program job and commenced exploring low-carb diets, ultimately touchdown on keto. I used to be particularly concerned about mind meals and seen that, on the time, nobody was providing ready-to-eat choices. Most mind vitamin is available in tablet or powder kind. I launched a Kickstarter marketing campaign that raised $75,000, validating the idea. From there, we pivoted based mostly on buyer suggestions, specializing in protein and clear labels.
The mind angle is helpful and differentiated, but it surely’s the deal nearer, not the deal opener. Individuals store our merchandise based mostly on the protein rely — the place it got here from and the way full it’s — after which sugar.
Our technique has been to develop the product line with out cannibalizing our core bar product. Many manufacturers prolong their product traces in ways in which compete with their current gadgets, like shifting from bars to peanut butter cups. We wished our new merchandise — hydration and low — to enrich our bars, aligning with our mind and physique vitamin mission however not competing. We additionally thought of shelf stability and ease of manufacturing.
Bandholz: You’ve simply 9 staff. How do you preserve such a lean crew whereas scaling?
Nitze: Recognizing my weaknesses is crucial. I’m not nice at hiring, so I depend on a trusted circle. My spouse is our chief advertising officer and head of ecommerce. I preserve a detailed reference to everybody on the crew. We use exterior companies for pay-per-click advertisements, search engine marketing, and Amazon administration. We work carefully with these companions and our producer to maintain issues operating easily with fewer full-time staff.
We by no means decide to long-term company contracts with out an exit clause. Most companies function on annual phrases, however we guarantee we are able to go away with 30- or 60-day discover. We’ve labored with our Amazon company for over two years; they know our enterprise inside out. We applied a bonus construction for them to incentivize efficiency. This deal labored effectively for each side, because it aligns their objectives with ours.
Bandholz: How did you develop your wholesale technique?
Nitze: Once more, our enterprise shall be 55% wholesale this yr. We imagine in an omnichannel strategy, particularly brick-and-mortar retail. Digital-first is crucial for constructing credibility within the retail world. We will present potential retailers information from our ecommerce web site, such because the variety of prospects of their commerce space. Brokers play a key position in retail progress, particularly these related with giant chains, equivalent to Walmart and Costco.
The hot button is to work with retailers who pay rapidly. Amazon, for instance, pays each two weeks. Past that, elevating cash is essential. Some folks idolize bootstrapping, however elevating funds lets you scale rapidly. Within the early levels, you want capital to fund stock, which turns into the spine of your small business. One other key’s having a excessive gross margin, which lets you reinvest into extra stock. In the end, scaling up helps preserve money stream.
Bandholz: Was it onerous discovering a producer?
Nitze: It was a problem. Our first co-packer — the corporate making the meals and packaging and labeling it — was nice for small volumes however couldn’t scale. Finally, we switched to a co-packer that would deal with increased volumes. This course of was painful, because it meant high quality management disruptions. However as soon as we discovered the correct companion, we might scale considerably. Now, we’ve got a co-packer that may handle tens of millions of models yearly, and that’s been important to our progress.
Bandholz: The place can folks contact you?
Nitze: Attain me by our web site, EatIQBar.com, or LinkedIn.
