Beverage Startups
The Success Story of Pulve Drinkable Meals
Given high pollution levels, frequent stress, and sedentary lifestyles, today’s consumers tend to seek out opportunities to improve their health. However, registering for a gym membership is not enough. On top of that, getting sufficient nutrition from food and beverages is essential to leading a healthier life. Among companies that offer nutrition in novel forms and tastes is Pulve, whose co-founder, Steven Gijsman, has joined me today.
1. Every brand has an interesting story behind it. What’s Pulve’s?
Well, my colleague and co-founder of Pulve Ruud Speyer and I are no strangers to the gym, and we do frequent obstacle runs. Every time we came home from an intense workout we wanted to replenish our energy levels and repair our bodies with wholesome nutrition.
We used to toss everything we could find from oats, berries, peanut butter, MCT oil, protein powders and spinach in a blender, give it a quick spin and drank 500 to 700 easy calories so that we could continue our daily schedule. After a while we would optimize the shakes, purchase everything in bulk and directly saw market potential for a growing segment of people. The rest is history.
2. “All of the ingredients in Pulve’s products are derived from European-based sources.” Why do you think that it is important for consumers to know that?
We guarantee that all the ingredients come from European based sources. The simple answer is that Europe has the highest standards when it comes to food safety, traceability and control authorities.
We hear and read too many stories and reports of in particular Asian based companies who do not have the best intentions when it comes to food safety.
That is one of the reasons why we source our ingredients from EU companies.
Does this mean that all the food and supplements that are being sold in the EU are safe and tested? Unfortunately, no. The recent egg scandal with contaminated Fipronil is a clear example that there is still much work to do.
Companies who value ethics and food safety should do their rigorous testing procedures to ensure constant quality.
To ad to that, we only work with companies who are HACCP, BRC and ISO certified to ensure good safety regulations and that our suppliers and Pulve are on the same level with it comes to food standards.
3. Although liquid meals are increasingly popular among consumers, Pulve’s products come in powder form. What advantages do Pulve’s products have over its liquid competitors?
We started out with a powder-based Pulve. This has a couple of reasons. For starters, our preferred blender already possessed the know-how and the knowledge to make powdered products. Secondly, pasteurization, which is a step that is needed for liquid meals is a bit complicated, but we are looking into it with our partners. The advantage that the current Pulve has over it is liquid competitors is price, different macro split and meals can be tailor-made a bit more to one’s preference. All with all, a liquid Pulve product is something that is worth exploring, but for now, we stick with the current powder form.
4. Pulve comes in only one flavor: vanilla. Do you plan to release any new flavors soon or ever?
Yes, most definitely. We get this question allot, and the projection is to add new flavors to our assortment in the nearby future. We will let enthusiasts know as soon as possible when they can get their hands on some new fresh flavors.
5. Releasing high-quality product is not an easy or quick process. What kind of difficulties have you faced during Pulve’s development?
To be honest in a strange way, luckily, indeed it is not an easy and quick process. Otherwise, everybody would do it. We have had our fair share of misfortunes as well. A couple of difficulties we found along the way was finding the exact formula and the ingredients that were necessary for a premium brand. Mixing a total meal replacement product is not easy. We were looking for a particular kind of taste and palatability, and it took a lot of taste testing and consumer panels to find just the right blend. Armed with data from consumer panels which we combined with the knowledge of our team of dieticians, biochemists and flavourists, Pulve was born.
With that, we also wanted to be the first company who offered a 100% biodegradable pouch but did not want to offer a less qualitative product. This was a whole project on itself. Finally, we followed through and found the right partners and we able to offer our customers a 100% biodegradable pouch. You can read more about this here..
What a lot of start-ups tend to forget is the logistical and E-fulfilment aspect. Customers these days’ demand very fast shipment and preferably next day delivery. It took some time to find the right E-commerce partner but we can confidently say: Ordered before 10pm, shipped the same day!
6. Social media affords businesses an opportunity to reach their target markets within seconds. It seems that Pulve’s Instagram account is a key platform for communicating with consumers. In your opinion, what shouldn’t professionals do with their social media platforms?
Yes, social media is important for us. Indeed we spend relatively more time to our Instagram account then Facebook or Twitter. Pulve is not only food; it is a lifestyle as well. We our proud of our design and love you share this. Instagram visitors are more likely to see beautifully designed products, persons and behind the scene activities. This is what we love to share. Also, the most conversations are starting on Instagram, not sure you why haha 😉 .
A few years ago most people on Facebook where visiting Facebook to check their friend’s images, now Facebook becomes more and more an advertising/video based platform. Not saying that we would not share our updates out there anymore 😉 Just stay tuned and follow our page.
7. Many brands seek to become lactose-free, gluten-free, and vegan. Do you think that the trend is a necessity for businesses or a passing phase?
I would say it is how you define necessity. There is a tendency going on about market demand for lactose, GMO, and gluten-free From the other side, businesses are offering a complete product that contains the least amount of allergies and ingredients with a bad reputation. So that it is available for a growing population. I would argue that as more and more people use MRP’s and see the value of these products, the more diversified the products will become.
8. Where do you see Pulve five years from now?
That is a tough question. Product wise, Pulve will deliver a broad range of liquefied and powdered products. And not necessarily total MRP’s but also different types. There is a significant element of serendipity in which we do not know how the market will take shape but we are sure we will find new and innovative products and food solutions along the way. I think the main question would be if total MRP companies evolve the way they currently do, or if companies grow exponentially and come up with even more creative solutions for growing market demands. Whatever the outcome, a lot is going to happen regarding food and food production innovations. Exciting times are coming for us all.
For more information visit Pulve website.
