Transcript
Speaker: This is Aisle 42.
Speaker: Welcome back to Aisle 42. In this episode, I chat with Dominic Dubé, co-founder of Avaib Nutrition, brand that's redefining convenience with nutrient-dense, whole-food-based frozen smoothie cubes and innovative plant-based products.
Speaker: Dominic is tackling one of the biggest issues in the grocery industry, ultra-processed foods, by making it easier than ever to enjoy real, whole ingredients without sacrificing convenience.
Speaker: From expanding into new product categories like frozen smoothie bites and pops to rethinking sustainable packaging and direct-to-consumer strategies, Dominic shares how their brand is growing while staying true to its mission.
Speaker: Okay, let's get going with Dominic from Ave of Nutrition because the future of food starts now.
Speaker: Dominic, I'm glad we're chatting. I've been a user, a user, a consumer of your product for a while now. And in fact, just finished the last cubes that were in our freezer for for our smoothies. So I've got to restock.
Speaker: So don't hold that against me just yet. But I'm glad we're talking because I think the conversation, not only the fact that you're in Quebec, and I seem to be talking to a lot of food people in Quebec, which is wonderful. There's a good hub in Quebec.
Speaker: There really is. And so many of you guys are you know doing a great job of bringing your product out here in the West. And of course, a lot of brands out here are excited to um crack into the international export of Quebec, even if it's within Canada. And maybe some of these trade barriers are coming down ah across the provinces. But what you make and how you make it is so wonderful and you have a wonderful team. So I'm excited to get into it.
Speaker: But want to kick things off with the big question of season two, and that is looking ahead to the future What's the one big change in the food system that would excite you the most? I am becoming mean even more aware of the fact that The food in the grocery store is is ultra processed. And we've talked about ultra processed food for many, many years. But I've digged into the history of that. And I became quite passionate about the subject.
Speaker: How did we get there? How do we get to a point where I think 65% or 70% of the food in the grocery store is ultra processed? And the the history goes back you know quite quite a bit. i think it started in World world War II when they needed to find ways to preserve food and can it just because of the war effort. effort And then in the 80s and 90s, you had the tobacco industry that was under tremendous pressure that started purchasing big food.
Speaker: And so not a lot of people are aware of that, but I think it's Philip Morris, a big tobacco company that bought Kraft and general food. And you had like four or five big transactions. We're talking like $14 billion dollar transaction at that point where big tobacco wanted to get into, well, they wanted to diversify because the pressure on tobacco was really, really high at that point.
Speaker: And so they went into food and they brought in at that point other tools to basically make food more addictive, to market it super aggressively, and to lobby at the government level to do some crazy stuff, basically.
Speaker: And so when you know little bit of that background and you look at the grocery aisle, for me, what excites me the most about the next couple of years, it's going to be a transformation of those aisles. That go back because we're still going to have some processed food, but it's going to be some healthy version of processed food, stuff that actually fuels you and gives you the energy you need.
Speaker: versus space use six. So I think we're we're entering that transition. We've talked about healthy food for decades now, but it was really niche. We're now seeing it becoming mainstream. And you're you're seeing those big but food now struggling a little bit on their core lines, like Pepsi, I think, announced that they had some some challenging quarters. and And so I am really, really optimistic about the next couple years. And I'm super thrilled to be in that industry because we're going to see a lot of change.
Speaker: I agree. And healthier products, cleaner labeled products, simple ingredient products, I think plays a really big role in the you know health and nutrition of our families, of our bodies, of our communities. And one of the things that excites me about what you guys are making is that you're Especially, i mean, I'll be honest, and you get to speak to your product lineup in a moment, because I think there's some things that people might not be aware of. But when it comes to your smoothie pods, triangles, I'm not sure what to call them. Those wonderful little things that I... Trays, yeah. Trays, but they're not cubes. They're differently shaped. Yeah, they're triangles. Sure, there you go.
Speaker: The little triangles. But when I drink them, I feel energized and I feel like I did something good for my body. And I think that as the culture around, like you said, ultra processed foods and the consumer sentiment changes away from that, people are going to be looking for solutions that not only fuel their bodies, but excite them. So why don't take a moment and tell listeners about what it is that you guys make, because I have a feeling there's going to be some surprises for some folks.
Speaker: Yes, thanks for that. So we want to make nutrient-dense food in convenient format for everyday lives. And so the but product we launched in 2015, my wife and i we were at college back then.
Speaker: I was doing mechanical engineering and my wife was doing psychology. ah So we were not in the food space. We were not entrepreneur entrepreneurs, but we had this idea, it this vision of transforming our hour mornings and the mornings of people around us with a nutrient dense product that you could make in an instant.
Speaker: And so that was the the idea with the smoothie cubes. So all the healthy functional ingredients pre-blended into a set of cubes that you can just mix with water and you don't even need to use a blender because it's pre-blended. You can just let the cube melt and shake it up.
Speaker: So as convenient as it can in a very tasty, fun, format and with the you know nutrient and functionality that come with it. So we've been doing that for nine years now, and we've launched also other projects products since then.
Speaker: But the focus has really always been about around convenience and nutritional density and and fun. So it has to taste good and look good. Well, it does taste very good. And I would consider myself a taste snob.
Speaker: I'm very picky. So I think you guys have done a great job on the flavor side of things. And my ritual has been to pop them in, ah I guess, like a shaker cup at night. And then in the morning, just, you know, three quick shakes or whatever, maybe five or six.
Speaker: And then I enjoy it throughout the morning. So yes it's ah it's it's a great product. And now you guys have pops, like freezer, like almost like kid treats. I would probably eat them, but I've never, I haven't seen them in store.
Speaker: So tell me about that innovation. Yeah, so we've done the Smoothie Cube, basically done the whole rainbow of colors and whole realm of possibility in terms of functionality.
Speaker: And then we're like, okay, what's what's next? And we tried in 2020, we went into the meal side of things. We tried like frozen cubes of soups and meals and frozen entrails.
Speaker: And that was quite a bit of a split from our core business. But the the idea back then that I had was... I want to, and I talked about processed food, and my goal was to transform the freezer aisle into a healthy destination.
Speaker: And so I had this big dream of like, you go to the freezer aisle, and it's the healthiest food in the grocery stores, because frozen is the best way to preserve nutrients and and food. So it's like, this section needs to be healthy.
Speaker: It makes no sense that it's processed. So I went pretty quickly in our business journey into branching out into soups and other stuff. And in retrospect, that was a mistake because the the smoothie category was was really what we were there to own.
Speaker: And so, you know, we tried that for two years and it was a failure, a very costly one to get into that category. But then, you know, we took the learning, took a step back and we said, okay, we,
Speaker: We're going to own the smoothie world first. And when, when we're done with that, then, you know, maybe through acquisition or, you know, line extension, we're going to go into other categories and trump transform them. But so in the smoothie world, there's different product that we wanted to launch a smoothie pops, which is the freezes you're referring to was one that we launched two years ago.
Speaker: And this year we're launching Smoothie Bites, which is an innovation that I'm pretty excited about. So the it's like a cube of smoothie frozen, but with a sorbet texture dip in dark chocolate.
Speaker: So this is to kind of elevate and bring some healthy stuff to frozen dessert, which is also- You had me at chocolate. Yes, yes, yes. And when we have also so like a plant-based protein that you can add to your smoothie.
Speaker: So this whole universe is where we're playing in right now. And walk us through some of these ingredients, you know, like the functional ingredients, some of the super foods that you guys lean into, like, what are you putting in these smoothie products?
Speaker: Yeah. So when we started the company, my wife was making a very complete, very complex smoothie. I would say that was like almost 10 years ago. And back then,
Speaker: Not lot of people were talking about superfoods like spirulina and camu camu and baobab and moringa. And still to this day, it's quite niche. But those are ingredients that are really, really nutrient dense. Like we're talking like 10x the amount of vitamin C you have in an orange or like five x the amount of iron you have in a cup of spinach, like like a tiny quantity of these ingredients, usually powdered ingredients, so brings tremendous amount of nutrients to your smoothie. So with a cup of smoothie, so 250 ml, you can end up having like
Speaker: 30, 40% of your daily value of some really key minerals, ah vitamins, ah your fiber, your protein, all through those superfoods. So the traditional way that big food would do that was to just like use lab-made vitamins, minerals, and just like lab-made stuff to enrich the food that they make.
Speaker: So the way we want to do is we want the food to be nutrient-rich, but from actual ingredients, actual fruits, veggies, seeds. And so those superfoods are really key to achieve that nutrient density.
Speaker: That's so good. I love it. and And it comes out in the flavor too. So fresh tasting, which is wonderful. When it comes to the sustainability side of what you guys do and some of the values that you have, what are some of the decisions that you've made along the way over the last nine years that you know were hard to make, but that you feel really proud of?
Speaker: yeah So many, so many, but I'm going to share that story because I think it's important if if your if some of your listeners have food business or are starting food business. When we started, we wanted to create the perfect product for us.
Speaker: And so the product, of the original product was actually frozen cubes of smoothie without the inner tray. of plastic inner trade. And it was in a compostable paper bag and it was 100% organic.
Speaker: And so that was, you know buy our definition, the perfect product. But then we put that into the market at $14.99 and the compostable bag was taking moisture and the cubes looked horrible after three months in the freezer that was snow onto And the price tag was quite steep. And so we realized like,
Speaker: okay, that's not the perfect product, obviously, because we're not selling any. And so then you you kind of you kind of understand that the perfect product is something different than what you envisioned at first. And I have so many stories like that from founders that, you know, they start with the compostable, everything, and And you want to have something that provides the best experience of the customer. And so packaging is quite important. So plastic has been, unfortunately, quite inevitable for us at this point, the use of plastic.
Speaker: We truly hope that the technology will evolve where Compostable will become an option. But one area that I'm really excited about is the plastic neutrality or plastic negative certification in the interim.
Speaker: And I'm seeing this as a temporary solution for a food brand is you can compensate your the plastic you put into the market. And the way they do that is they build recycling facility in countries that don't even have waste management system.
Speaker: So that's really where the plastic in the ocean is coming from. It's from coastal cities that really have no waste management system. And I've visited some places like that ah in Columbia, some villages that their waste management system was the ocean.
Speaker: And they just didn't have anything. So this, uh, these company like repurpose global is building recycling and waste management facility with the dollars that North American brands are providing them.
Speaker: So I think this is a, this is a good interim solution until we can transform our packaging to where it's going to be really truly sustainable. And in the future, i don't know if it's going to take 10 years or 20 years, but I bet that all the food product we're going consume are going to be packaged as efficiently as an orange or a banana with comul like truly compostable material that's just going throw into your garden. I think that's the future.
Speaker: i think plastic, we're going to look back on plastic in 20, 30 years and be like, yeah, that was a bump in the road, but and and a needed one. But gladly, now we're packaging your food like nature nature always did it.
Speaker: So yeah, I think that that is an area I'm really excited about the packaging side of thing. It's not perfect the way products are packaged right now, but it's going it's going to get better. Love it.
Speaker: Well said. And I think doing what you can now and with your eye on the future, I think is a beautiful way to look at it. And yeah, you're right. You you can't affect change if you're not driving sales. So it's a very real part of the business.
Speaker: Speaking of sales, your brand is growing. You've been growing in the U.S. You and I were talking offline about, you know, your Instacart play in the U.S. as a way to sort of help support some of that U.S. expansion, as tricky as that is, and maybe even how trickier it may become.
Speaker: But we'll save that conversation for another day. What's in your sights for growth of your brand right now? Yeah, so we're nine years in, so we've we've experimented different things.
Speaker: Right now, we're really, really focused on smoothie and the smoothie world. We're going to grow through innovation, like the little smoothie bites that I talked about, the smoothie pops, the plant-based protein, ah some add-ons, some supplements you can add to your smoothies.
Speaker: So this is going to be big for us, innovation. The other area I'm focusing on right now is to work with retailers under their own brand to bring the innovation and the technology we've developed.
Speaker: ah to their retailers under their brand, so private label. I'm excited about this one because does bring the product and the quality of product at a better price because you don't have all those trade programs and blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: so So I'm excited about private label and we're have we have a yeah good amount of project we're working on right now. And the third one is something I'm really bullish about. It was really big in 2020, DTC, very, very big for us. And then it kind of dipped in 2022, 2023, and now it's starting to pick up again. So e-commerce, direct to consumer, we can bring so much more innovation quicker.
Speaker: You connect directly with a consumer, you provide them a great experience. And right now we're really heavily focused on Eastern Canada for DTC. ah We want to launch out West where you guys are and also in the West. So those would be the three key pillars for growth for us.
Speaker: I think the the D to C play, especially if the consumer experience is really elevated and that, you know, that they are rewarded for being on your website and being a subscriber, either to your email list or better yet to your product, that they feel that you guys are making something for them and that they are a part of what you're not only making, but maybe innovating.
Speaker: think there's something really special about that. And obviously as the brand, being able to cultivate first party data and nurture those relationships in the way that you want, it means that you've got that direct connection.
Speaker: And it's a beautiful thing for a brand like yours to be able have that, that audience and that consumer base in your back pocket. Yeah. And I'm going to add that for a frozen brand,
Speaker: We're very, very fortunate to have that DDC because it's very rare that a frozen brand can be successful online for many reasons. One of them is that logistics is extremely expensive and you need to put a lot of product in a tiny box to make it work. So think of pizza or even entries or There's a lot of categories that are really, really hard to do DTC in frozen.
Speaker: and But herb cups that you've you've seen them, they're they're really tiny. They're really compact. So you can stack like 30 of them in a tiny box. So we have kind of really the perfect product for DTC in terms of shipping efficiency.
Speaker: So really fortunate about that. And yes, we we can connect directly with consumer. We can innovate quicker. And it's just fun. It's a really fun part of the business. And I've seen DoorDash starting to come up in a lot of conversations where brands are leveraging some of these delivery platforms as ways to distribute from either a hub or even from a retailer you know around those types of things.
Speaker: So are you guys, what kind of partners are you working with to make sure that this frozen product is getting where it needs to get? And and I mean, not abandoned on a doorstab on a hot sunny day.
Speaker: Yes. So luckily the the world has evolve evolved in their direction, right? With Amazon Prime that, you know, promised you two days next day or two days deliveries.
Speaker: So the the logistic network has become very efficient for next day. So they didn't create the network for frozen brands like us or for, you know, fresh meal kits. Like it was created because people, the customer expect delivery the next day or two days.
Speaker: And so we tap into those very efficient delivery companies that support Amazon and the and Walmart and the likes. And it just happens that our product is frozen, but I don't even know like when they distribute the box, it's just that they have to deliver it within one day or two, whatever the product is.
Speaker: It could be like toothbrush or vive that's what they do. And so. The only difference is we pack it with dry ice and insulation so that it will withstand the two days, even if it's like 20 degrees outside.
Speaker: So yeah, them the the efficiency of delivery has become quite impressive, even for remote area. Love it. That's so great. Well, what's next? What's coming up? You got, well, like I said, tariffs aside, what what some of the things are you excited about this coming year?
Speaker: So many things. Like one of the things personally that, I'm tackling right now is I've always been quite far from the marketing in my company. It was my partner, and my wife, and now we have two kids and she's ah stay at home. It was her dream. and And so she's taking more of a step back from the day-to-day in the company. And so we tried different things. We tried to hire people in marketing and delegate and it was it was not successful. And so I was like, okay, I need to I need to learn, i need i need to learn to trade. And so I've, I've been spending a lot of time on our marketing in the last couple of months. And now all the content, all the social, we've pivoted our brand account to a personal brand kind of play.
Speaker: And so I'm creating content and stories and, and it was really uncomfortable at first, but now I'm taking ah some pleasure out of this because it's very creative. You think about concept, you create all the time.
Speaker: And so I'm really excited about building the brand to another level with a personal story, a twist to it. So that I would say is what has brought me the most fuel and drive for, for this year.
Speaker: Although we have great innovation and, other stuff, big project we're working on. This is new. And after nine years as a you know business owner, sometimes you need that newness, that spark to give you a year, two year of drive.
Speaker: right I actually have been, yeah my social feed, my Instagram feed has been serving up more of what you've been doing lately. So I think the algorithm gods are being extra favorable because it's hard sometimes you don't get served up from the brands that you love and follow. You know, you don't always get the notification or get get it in the feed. So it's been great to see you putting yourself out there the way you have. So great job.
Speaker: Nice, nice. Well, thank you for the time and for everything that you guys make, and how you make it. It's a beautiful product and excited to see you guys continue to grow. And yes, especially out here in the West, if you don't mind me saying.
Speaker: Yes, we're working on that. And thanks for inviting me and for the conversation. Thanks for listening to this episode of Aisle 42. Please head on over to avavenutrition.com to learn about their products and more importantly, where you can find them.
Speaker: Okay, that's it for me. I'm Corwin Heber from Ethical Food Group, and I'll see you the future.
