Eating the Natural Product Elephant

Stop! Before my fellow plant-based, vegan, righters of wrongs get up in arms, let me assure you that the elephant I am referring to is entirely metaphorical. No animals were harmed during the writing of this article.

There is an old saying, “When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.” I did a little research on the genesis of the saying, but it proved inconclusive. That, however, is immaterial to the point I wish to make.

Successfully launching, building, and scaling a brand in the natural products industry is a massive undertaking. The only way to do so is to take one small, methodical bite after another.

Most founders have no idea of what they are getting themselves into. They wish to bring something into the world that solves a problem or meets an unfulfilled need. They open the door to take their first tentative step only to be met by the ferocious headwinds of this industry.

When you think of all the building blocks that are needed to construct a viable brand, it can be daunting. You need to quantify the addressable market and validate the product/market fit. Make sure what you’ve created works for your targeted consumer and that there are enough of them to make the business exciting.

You must ascertain if the business you are constructing is scalable and if you are investment-ready. If you can answer yes to both, then you need to develop your growth hypothesis with clear revenue, velocity, and distribution targets. Of course, you are doing so understanding the cash implication of the hypothesis then formulating a capital strategy to fund those activities. Once all that is done, you have the fun of crafting a narrative and going out to pitch it to potential investors.

While all the fundraising joy is taking place, you hack your growth hypothesis in the market, developing omnichannel controlled experiments to validate the assumptions. You’re searching for “voice of consumer clarity” and the insights and learning needed to construct a model you can scale.

The next bite of the elephant is preparing to scale. This necessitates incorporating all that you’ve learned during your growth-hack experiments into a comprehensive go-to-market and brand activation strategy. You must also prepare to absorb growth working on your organizational design, personal leadership skills, and processes and procedures that must be in place in order to manage a growing business. Don’t forget; you’ll want to plug into the ecosystem so that you are surrounded by the people who can help you accelerate.

What I’ve described thus far is the concrete, but what about those elements that are more nebulous? Founders can find themselves lonely and isolated, spending far too much time with their doubts, fears, and insecurities. It is imperative to be a part of a founder community. Learning, sharing, supporting, one another on a journey makes the travel all the more rewarding.

Lastly, while not the most delectable of morsels, taking a bite of accountability is critical. At the very least, a founder should have an accountability buddy. OKRs should be developed, financials reviewed each month, deliverables tracked, and the overall brand strategy examined and recalibrated quarterly.

The above is not a complete accounting of every bite that must be taken. Instead, it’s more of a high-level description of the courses that will be served and consumed during the feast of brand building. You have to remember to take small bites and chew slowly.

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Elliot Begoun is the Founder of TIG; a 1:1 customized alternative accelerator focused on helping emerging natural product brands grow. TIG positions natural product brands to raise capital, prove their growth hypothesis, build community, and scale. TIG’s approach helps create investment-ready capital-efficient brands. Catch him at FoodBytes, the Hirshberg Institute, Natchcom, and find his articles in publications such as Huffington Post, SmartBrief, and New Hope.