005: Health in a Sip: Fuel Your Day with Functional Clean-Label Shots with Leslie Danford

Essential Ingredients Podcast

English - October 03, 2023 13:00 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MB - ★★★★★ - 127 ratings
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Previous Episode: 004: Functional Food— A Quick Fix Yet A Sustainable Aid To Monthly Cycles with Asha Caroll

Next Episode: 006: The Dirtbag Diaries: Chronicling the True Saga of Building a Better-For-You Snack Brand with Mark Gravel

“People are looking for easy and they're looking for their foods and beverages to deliver a lot of value to them. It's not enough anymore to just taste good. They want to know why it tastes good.” —Leslie Danford

Food is more than just a medicine. Food is health. By capitalizing on “superfoods” and other high-nutrient sources and leveraging advanced technologies to load their products with extra nutrients, we are now seeing a shift toward food products that promote convenience without compromising quality. With food companies pushing boundaries, the future of food is truly filled with excitement!

Founded by Leslie Danford, Vitaminis is a clean-label functional food and beverage brand. The company launched its first two products— juice shots providing immune support and gut health. Vitaminis aims to provide trustworthy "mini bites and sips. Vitaminis is focused on transparency and using clinical research to substantiate the functional benefits of its ingredients.

This week’s conversation provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs on validating ideas, building retail partnerships, and leveraging experts. It also offers a glimpse into the future of food and how brands are innovating to meet consumer demand for nutrient-dense, easy-to-consume options. Justine and Leslie also discuss the importance of clean ingredients and transparency in labeling, the challenges of being a solo founder, overcoming self-doubt, and more.

Meet Leslie:

Leslie Danford is the founder and CEO of Vitaminis, a clean-label functional food and beverage brand. Prior to starting Vitaminis, Leslie worked for a global spirits company in the beverage industry. She also briefly worked in the hospitality industry before being laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. This inspired her to pursue her long-time passion of starting Vitaminis. Under Leslie's leadership, Vitaminis has launched juice shots providing immune support and gut health. Leslie is focused on using clean, recognizable ingredients and being transparent about her products and their benefits. When not working on Vitaminis, Leslie enjoys networking with other entrepreneurs.

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Episode Highlights:

01:23 What Inspired Vitaminis

02:36 Defining Clean-Label

05:46 Addressing Natural Flavors

11:06 A Career Change to Entrepreneurship

16:15 Achieving Shelf Stability Without Compromise