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I get a buzz anytime I find out a product I like was founded by a woman or a company is led by a woman.
Earlier this year, I reached out to Bundle Organics to try out their prenatalÂ organicÂ juices. This very new company has created the easiest way to get your prenatals in, seriously. I asked if I could interview the Bundle Organics co-founder, Kwany Lui, on the business and she was game!
Meet the Co-Founder of Bundle Organics, Kwany Lui!
There are a few catalysts that caused the creation of Bundle Organics.
(1) One thing that was surprising to me that I learned from Dr. Errol Norwitz, who is Chair of the OB/GYN Unit at Tufts Medical CenterÂ in Boston, and is now an advisor to Bundle Organics, was that prenatal vitamins donâ€™t necessarily meet 100% of your daily vitamin and mineral needs.Â You also need to take in extra minerals and vitamins that are required to grow a healthy baby through your regular diet as well (e.g. breakfast, lunch, and dinner).Â I thought the prenatal pill was the end all be all, but it of course makes complete sense that you still need to maintain a healthy diet, especially since everyoneâ€™s body absorbs vitamins and nutrients differently.
(2) My co-founder, John Mascari, and I saw many friends and family members who struggled to get the right balance of nutrients in their diet during their pregnancy.Â Even though most women take prenatal vitamins, everyone still worries about their nutrition and whether they are getting the minerals and vitamins they need from their diet.Â As you know, pregnancy is a trying time for women â€“ youâ€™re inundated with information what to do -or not do- during your pregnancy, and your body is changing in unexpected ways.Â Expecting moms have enough to worry about during their 40 weeks, so we wanted to create Bundle Organics as a delicious and convenient solution for expecting moms to get the nutrients they need without the worry.
(3) And lastly, having lived in Manhattan and as you are probably also familiar with in California, fresh-pressed juices very popular.Â However, when youâ€™re pregnant, the OB will advise you to avoid anything unpasteurized because you donâ€™t know how cleanly washed the fruits or veggies are that go into the juices, or how long the juices have been sitting out for.
Alas, Bundle Organics was born – a tasty, pasteurized juice designed specifically for expecting moms, made with organic fruits and veggies, and fortified with OB/GYN-recommended nutrients that complement prenatal vitamins.
It took us about a year to go from idea to actual product.Â If you work on a business that is more tech based (e.g. a website or app) or a non-consumable product, the path to market should be a lot quicker since you donâ€™t have to go through certain approvals (e.g. USDA organic certification, etc.).
3. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Â I think a great way for us to have initially tested the market would have been launching a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign.Â Not only are these type of crowd-funding platforms great for allowing the brand and founders to tell their story, drive PR and media attention, but they also allow you raise capital to pre-sell products so that you donâ€™t have to give up any equity in your business before getting into market.Â For entrepreneurs who are just starting out and want to have some proof of concept before investing all their savings into an idea, I would highly recommend you look at some of these crowd-funding platforms.
Since we are fairly new to the market (we launched in February 2014), the world is truly our oyster!Â We have a good eCommerce presence right now â€“ Bundle Organics is available on our website Bundleorganics.com, as well as Amazon.com, Diapers.com, and Abesmarket.com.Â However, weâ€™re looking to expand into more brick-and-mortar distribution this upcoming year.
Itâ€™s difficult to pick a favorite child but Iâ€™m slightly obsessed with kale (if I donâ€™t eat kale salad a few times a week, my body starts craving it).Â I also love ginger and try to incorporate it into my diet as much as possible.Â So with that said, if push comes to shove, I would say our Kale Apple Lemon Ginger juice in my favorite.