Beverage Startups
Naturelly – an all-natural gelatine free Jelly Juice drink
DrinkPreneur Live 2015 which will be held in London on September 23 is the event for any kind beverage startups. We already introduce you with two entrants – LOVO and Hello Hungry. Now, it is a turn to meet another beverage startup – Naturelly. Today I’m speaking with Founder of Naturelly Dean Dempsey about their beverage project.
Can you tell us more how did you come up with an idea to start beverage business? Did you have any experience about beverage industry before this project? Can you share this story with us?
I was desperately struggling to find fun and healthy drinks and snacks that were full of natural goodness to stop those sweet tooth cravings when out and about with my two daughters aged 2 and 5. I constantly felt forced into purchasing unhealthy options with unnatural and artificial ingredients. This led me to the idea of combining a refreshing drink and filling snack into one treat. After searching the globe I discovered that in Asia, jelly drinks were extremely popular and thought a version inspired by Japan but suitable for kids in the UK market would do just the job. Jelly Juice was born and not only is it Naturelly Brilliant and healthy it’s also jelly good fun too. Over the last 15 years I have been a marketing agency leader working for brands like Pepsi, Red Bull and more recently AG Barr’s KA and now felt the time is right to bring that experience to the drinks industry and provide healthier alternatives for our children.
Why juice drink? What is special about Naturelly?
Naturelly Jelly Juice is both a great tasting juice drink and a scrumptious jelly snack for kids aged 2+. It’s gelatine free so suitable for vegetarians and those practicing religious diets. Naturelly has no added sugar, no added sweeteners and only 36 kcal. It also contains only 7g of naturally occurring fruit sugar. It is also the perfect after school and post sports treat for health conscious parents due to the special jelly we use called Gellan Gum which helps fill children up until meal time and helps to stop the demands for both a sugary drink and snack.
Today, our youngest generation is suffering from overweight. What are the main causes of such illnesses like diabetes, heart diseases and etc. Is Naturelly healthy for young kids?
There have been many bad influences that have had an impact on the weight of young children here in the UK and Europe, in fact 1 in 4 are obese by the time they leave primary school which is shocking to say the least. A lack of exercise, kids not playing out as much as they used to through being plugged into their games consoles as well as the amount of refined and added sugar in the food and drinks we give to our kids, have all contributed to them having an unhealthy lifestyle. Our mission is to help and inspire parents to help their children have fun and live healthier. Naturelly is both healthy and fun for kids, it is not just the product it is also and just as important the lifestyle too.
Through our brand values of being playful, imaginative and active we encourage parents to have fun with their children by playing out together as a family.
What kind of difficulties have you had since the very beginning of Naturelly project?
There are many challenges that we are facing from sales, operations, logistics, finance and production. The biggest difficulty so far has been production and working with different suppliers to create such an innovation that will be of the right quality and experience for parents and their children. We initially produced a small run for trial purposes in Cheshire and learn so much, this was needed in order to get feedback from parents, children, buyers and industry experts in order to provide what we now believe is the perfect solution.
This year DrinkPreneur Live attracted such retailers like Tesco, Waitrose, Petty Wood and Selfridges & In your opinion, what are the most important benefits Naturelly team will gain during the event?
The most important benefits of the drinkpreneur event is the amazing opportunity to meet industry professionals that have seen it done it, have stories to share and experiences I can learn from. I also welcome the chance to meet buyers who could be interested in our innovation and of course commercial partners like Petty Wood.
We are wishing you luck during competition and success for Naturelly. Do you have some advice for other startups?
Believe in yourself, believe in what you are doing, make a prototype, develop your brands core values and have a purpose of being. Experiment, learn, develop, experiment, learn, develop, try stuff and enter competitions, you will surprise yourself and you’ll meet interesting folk along the way. Be fearless – easier said than done though mind.
For more information about Naturelly visit their website.
Dean Dempsey
Founder of Naturelly
Director Healthier Brands Limited
Winner Grocery Accelerator 2015
