Meet the Bone Broth Protein Bar with 20g Protein & No Protein Powder

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1:16At first, part of us said, let's just be like everybody else and make a bar that's clean and natural, but no sugar and the highest protein possible. what all the trends are nowadays. A lot of the bars out there want no sugar, artificial flavors, birthday cake, cookie dough, and still a ton of protein. And we said, after trying that one, said that's not us, that's not the way people should eat. And we wanted to really then make a bar that was just true to a whole food diet, real food ingredients, nothing you had to Google, everything that was real that you would eat by itself. And we said, okay, it's good to have some sugars and it's good to have fibers and it's good to have carbs and fats and protein.

1:55You can have it all in a real food manner. And that's the bar that we ended up creating. Hey, everybody. This is Caitlin Brooker, Managing Editor at Startup CPG. We are back with another founder feature. Today, I'm sitting down with Mackenzie and Nolan, co-founders of Whole Health Club, the first and only bone broth protein bar with 20 grams of protein that doesn't use any protein powder. Both of them spent six years as investment bankers on Wall Street. Mackenzie was at Lazard and the consumer group working on the Siete sale to PepsiCo. And then they decided they would both quit their lucrative jobs, buy an RV with two golden retrievers, and start living nomadically to do retail demos across the country.

2:38They went from zero retail doors in January to now over 200 retail doors, doing 90 demos in 90 days. We're diving into what the Siete sale taught them about the gap in Better For You brands at scale, why they chose bone broth instead of protein powder, how being founders on the ground personally selling bars completely changed their trajectory as a brand, and what it actually looks like to run a CPG company from an RV. We hear from founders on this podcast every week. If you're a brand and want to get new opportunities right in your inbox, text CPG to 833-605-7002. That's 833-605-7002 and we'll get you hooked up.

3:21As always, enjoy.

3:26Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG Podcast. This is Caitlin and today I'm here with Mackenzie and Nolan, co-founders of Whole Health Club. Hello, you guys. It's so good to see you. Thank you so much for having us. Of course. I mean, I feel like this has been a long time coming. We've been like, okay, let's do this. Let's record. Now we're doing it. Here we are. I'm so excited to share Whole Health Club with the world and to have you tell your story here on the podcast. Absolutely. So before we dive into all things Whole Health Club, Mackenzie, can you tell us what Whole Health Club is?

4:00Yeah, we are the first and the only bone broth protein bar and the only bar that has 20 grams of protein without the use of a protein powder. Boom. Simple. Done. I have so many questions, of course, as I do for all founders that are on this podcast. But before we get into that, can I know what your backgrounds are? Nolan, do you want to kick us off? Tell us a little bit about your background. So it simplifies it a little bit that we both were investment bankers for about six years. Mackenzie's got a cooler background than that, but I'll let her tell her half. I worked in investment banking for about six years to technology investment banking most of the time, but always had a passion for the CPG side of things.

4:44Very cool. By the way, just to give background, Nolan and I went to Indiana University together, which is where we met in accounting class. We are married. We are co-founders and partners alike. I spent about two years in consulting before making the transition over to banking. Spent about four years at Lazard in the consumer group, most namely working on Siete on their sale to Pepsi before I left. But yeah, it's a little bit about both of us. Okay, so now that we have established that you're both off the market, but Whole Health Club is on the market, now we can really get things going. Exactly.

5:19Great. Okay. The backgrounds are very interesting to me. And Mackenzie, you've told me before that the Siete sale that you went through in your past life was something that was very intriguing to you and why you wanted to start Whole Health Club in the beginning. So can you give us a little glimpse into what that world looked like for you in that moment where you thought, OK, I need to do something differently with my life? Yeah, absolutely. I think for a long time, we were considering what we could do outside of banking. It was a great jumping point for us in terms of starting our careers there and different things like that.

5:58But the Siete transaction was really the thing that pushed us over the edge, I will say. It was of the dozens of transactions that we had worked on, I think there were a number of others that the deal would get announced and really nobody cared about it transparently. Siete, that was not the case. I remember going on Instagram and social media later that day after the deal had gotten announced and seeing such a visceral reaction from the public. And I think that was really the most eye-opening experience for me. And it was the reality that people didn't trust this Better For You company being sold to a big food giant.

6:35and really that is what opened our eyes to the fact that most CPG brands start out their early years in this big growth phase and then they sell to either private equity or big food and for us we just saw that there really was a gap of people and brands doing better for you at scale and so that is what we are seeking to create with Whole. I have never seen a product like Whole health club before. 20 grams of protein packed into a bar that's not a brick. It's just an average size protein bar. It's very impressive. The fact that you're not using fillers, you're not using any powders. Okay. First, before we walk through that, whose idea was it to create these bars?

7:20Was this a joint decision or did one of you come up with this concept? It was a joint decision. I mean, I think Mackenzie is definitely the queen of bone broth. She definitely takes that side of things. Then it's really her. She's the one who came up with that side of things. But when we sat down to think about, OK, we don't want to use a protein powder away, a pea, a soy protein powder, where else do we get protein? And we started to think about that and came to the conclusion of bone broth. You want to give a quick little background on bone broth and why we drank it so much and everything? Yeah, bone broth.

7:50I mean, it's got some incredible benefits for you. It's great for your gut. It's got a lot of good collagen in it, which is great for supporting your joints, your muscles, hair, skin and nails, all of those things. I am an acne prone girly at heart. And so I can't do the biotin and even the whey protein. It really bothers my stomach. It makes me break out. And we knew that we had to find a better way to do it. In our old lives we were grabbing for protein bars all the time but the problem that we had with them was that the bars that were high protein were full of ingredients we didn't want to put into our bodies the protein powders the sugar alcohols artificial sweeteners things you can't pronounce have to google to see if it's going to kill you or not yeah and the more natural bars don't have the protein that you needed so for us as we started to shift our diets and try to eat this more whole food lifestyle protein bars were the biggest issue that we were running into and bone broth When we were in the office in New York, different teams, we would always be at this bone broth place at usually lunch to get, they literally serve it in a big coffee mug of bone broth.

8:57It sounds weird, and I was weirded out the first time. I got to the point of loving it every time we would go there, and it was filling, and it was nurturing. You just felt better after drinking it. So bringing it all back, we said, let's try and put this in a bar. And did you run into any issues when you were first trying to go through the ingredients that you were going to use? Okay, Mackenzie, you're like, yes, we absolutely did. The first recipe that Nolan made in the kitchen was complete sandpaper. We were preparing to design our packaging basically to educate customers of how they had to use it and pair it with yogurt and all of these different things.

9:31It was not even remotely a bar at the beginning. I think part of the reason is because we thought at first part of us said, let's just be like everybody else and make a bar that's clean and natural, but no sugar and the highest protein possible. What all the trends are nowadays, a lot of the bars out there want no sugar, artificial flavors, birthday cake, cookie dough, and still a ton of protein. And we said after trying that one said, that's not us. That's not the way people should eat. And we wanted to really then make a bar that was just true to a whole food diet, real food ingredients, nothing you had to Google, everything that was real that you would eat by itself.

10:09And we said, OK, it's good to have some sugars and it's good to have fibers and it's good to have carbs and fats and protein. And you can have it all in a real food manner. And that's the bar that we ended up creating after about months of developing. So it starts some time. The fact that you're just like, oh, you know, like cookie dough and birthday cake and bone broth. I'm sure somebody is probably listening to this episode right now and they're like, OK, that's what I'm going to make next. Bone broth, like cookie or cake mix or something. Who knows? I do want to share something that's pretty interesting and maybe other people listening are probably like, duh, and maybe you'll feel this way, too.

10:49But I have had blood sugar issues since I've had a baby. And one of the things that I noticed, I wore a continuous glucose monitor for a little while just because I wanted to see what my blood sugar was doing during the day. And I noticed that at nighttime, my blood sugar would dip and then I would wake up in the morning and my blood sugar would be high, which was something I experienced when I was pregnant too. Had gestational diabetes, probably a broken record for many people who have listened to these podcasts before. Anyway, one thing that I found that really worked for me that kept my blood sugar from dipping and spiking was drinking bone broth before bed.

11:29Maybe that is something that people who are listening are like, OK, yeah, duh. To me, that was groundbreaking because I was able to just have one cup, one serving of bone broth before bed. Wasn't anything fancy either. It was like Kirkland brand from Costco. Organic, but not anything fancy. and I'd have one cup and drink it before bed. Fine. I was totally stable throughout the night. My glucose monitor would not beep and I wouldn't feel a spike in the morning. Does that feel like something that would resonate with your audience and the people who are buying your bars too? I mean, it sounds like the people who are purchasing your products and the people who are creating them yourselves are reaching for these things because you're living fast-paced lives and you're trying to not cut corners, but sometimes you do have to cut corners.

12:19So what do you do to keep yourself stable? Yeah, I do know our bars have a low glycemic index and I always thought it was because of the dates. But now I'm wondering if the bone broth and the dates are working together. Yeah. And like dates are a much lower on the glycemic index than honey, which is still lower than cane sugar and things of that sort, which is why we chose those sugar sources. But that's super interesting to hear that bone broth at night. We drink bone broth almost every morning before and really on an empty stomach for different reasons of really just coating our gut lining and giving it that, you know, you have the best analogy.

12:52You said it's like when people put nails in walls, you put a coat of plaster over it. That's kind of what bone broth does is fills in all the holes within your gut. So that's really interesting. We'll have to look into that further. Great to hear that it had that sort of benefit. I don't think I've ever shared that before. That's just like something that I found that worked for me. And hey, who knows? You know what? People forget that bone broth has been around for thousands of years. Like, it's not new. It might be popular right now, but it has been around for a long time for a reason. So true.

13:22And I honestly don't think I had heard of bone broth until maybe the pandemic days. Maybe it was a little earlier than that, but I think people are probably making so much food at home at that point. And they're like, OK, what do I do with the scraps? All right. So I think you have a super interesting story. Your background is really cool, very inspiring. You did mention that you saw this response from the public with the Siete sale and you still felt inspired to create this bar and put your brand in the public eye. Have you pictured what your life might be like if you sell one day and what the public perception might be of Whole Health Club?

14:05Yeah, I'm going to take a step back and just try not to ramble, honestly, because no one knows I could go on and on about this. I think for us, we are focused on building that next better for you platform brand. I think as a consumer that is attempting to switch to a more non-toxic, more natural lifestyle, the grocery store is a very overwhelming place. And a lot of the onus falls on the consumer to flip over the package and to read the ingredients. And I think something that we struggled with was going to the grocery store now has become a fun thing, but in our past lives was a chore that we had to go do.

14:47And to flip over and read every single ingredient label starts to add time and time and time. So I think for us, what we are seeking to build is a brand that regardless of what product we put out there, consumers know and trust that they don't have to read the ingredients because they already know that we have done the legwork from them. And that is really what we are trying to do. I think food is a natural place for us to start, but I think a lot of this ingredient transparency can be applied to a number of other categories, whether it be pet food, home care, feminine products, baby. Pretty excited sometimes we need to calm ourselves down.

15:27There's a lot of things we want to do. But to your question, our focus is not on selling. Our focus is really on building a platform that exists for consumers that can trust what we are putting out there. I really like that answer. I feel like that's very honest. And of course, it sweetens the deal a little bit if you can sell one day. But I think it's refreshing to hear that that's not the goal. Yeah. I think I speak to a lot of founders who get in this game and they want to sell and they want to get rich. And a lot of times it doesn't happen very quickly. But I think the fact that you gave up lucrative jobs to create this platform is really cool.

16:06Not only did you give up your jobs, I mean, where are you reporting in from right now? Where's your van parked? We are in Michigan right now. The RV is parked in Chicago at the moment. So we are out of it for a few weeks, but we'll be back on the road mid-August. And for anybody who's listening right now and isn't familiar, they gave up their jobs. You carry around this sign when you're at trade shows. And what does it say? We quit our jobs on Wall Street to start this brand. Yes. And it's also plastered on the back of our branded RV that we are basically living in and traveling around the country right now.

16:43Okay. This is going to inform another big part of the conversation because it's not just the two of you. It's also your two dogs as well living in that RV. and now you are nomads and you're nomads for your brand. You are the billboard everywhere you go. You got this beautiful wrap on your RV. And where were you at the start of this year as far as retail doors go? Zero. Zero doors. January 1st. Up to probably April. We had a few onesie twosies up to April, but really none up until like mid-April. And where are we at today? We are north of 200. With a lot going on in Accra. Of course, of course, because you're essentially in a mobile office, but now you have that flexibility to really be on the road all the time.

17:31What has that done for your brand? It might sound really exciting at first, but has it had its downsides? I got to know the tea. Yes and yes. So the reason we did it in the first place was we would do our sample days in New York City outside of a farmer's market last summer before we had anything. This was just sampling the product to get it out there. and it went super well. Now, obviously Manhattan's a different beast, but people loved coming there, loved meeting us. We loved meeting them and they got to try the product. We said we need to replicate this in store when we decide to shift to retail.

18:05That day came sooner than later when we got picked up by Central Market down in Texas. So we knew that we needed to be down there for more than just three days, a weekend, two weekends. We wanted to be down there for months at a time because it didn't feel right to just sit in New York, work on our computer when we could be selling bars. So after some convincing, we ended up on a whim buying an RV, moving down there. And it has been amazing in a lot of ways. It's been a lot of fun, but for the business, it has done wonders. Like us being there, I mean, any demos are beneficial, but as founders, especially being boots on the ground, when people come up to the table, they try your bar, they're usually interested in the product.

18:42And then when they might see whether it's our business card or a flyer with our face on it, like they look up and say, oh, that's you. You're the founder. To either of us, that is what then really gets them excited. And I think there's many instances we could think about where customers then bought 15, 20 bars where we sat and talked to them for a half hour, whatever it was. So it's been amazing, but it's definitely been challenging at times too. I think it's definitely been an adjustment. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have an identity crisis at the beginning of January when we first moved down to Texas.

19:13I mean, I think for us, so much has changed in the last 11 months. We haven't even hit a year with the business yet. And I think it's just been an adjustment, right? Like obviously our old lives were very different. We were working very different jobs. We were working very different hours for very different people. Honestly, we were just living a different life in New York City to go from Wall Street and that lifestyle to RV parks in Texas. Like it's definitely a change, But I think for us, what we've come to realize now is that we have so many people supporting us because we are putting our whole hearts into this.

19:52No pun intended. I feel a Valentine's Day campaign coming on. You know, we've got retailers investing back in us now. And I think it's because we are committed so much to it. And so I think it's starting to pay off. Plus, we've gotten to see so many different national parks and just things that we would not have otherwise. So it's now coming full circle for sure. Wow. And I think I saw that you did 90 demos in 90 days. Yeah. That is insanity. What are you doing to take care of yourselves besides eating your bars? The first and biggest thing always is sleep. Getting a good night's sleep will take care of you for the entire week.

20:39So sleep is something that we never compromise on. The second thing I will say is just the way that we eat. Like I said, we try to eat whole foods as much as possible. Which in the RV is actually very doable. For those of you who may not know, we have a full fridge and kitchen and everything. So you might be thinking, how is that possible? The third thing I will say is having two golden retrievers keeps your mind and your mentality like a goldfish because they are always getting into fittings. And so for better or for worse, we do not have much time to sit and dwell, which I think as a founder is a positive thing.

21:17Everybody thought we were insane for quoting our jobs that paid well to start a business where we had no paycheck, moving into an RV to Texas and then getting two puppy golden retrievers at the same time. I mean, you might be. Probably are, but we just look at it a different way, right? Of like, they can never be sad. So why not have them around us? And it genuinely, like hot take or not, is one of the best decisions we've made. Yeah. I need to meet them. Yes. We inquired with a fancy food to see if we could bring them and we have to get them registered as service dogs. So maybe next show. Okay.

21:52Yeah. Next time. And I think lastly, just know when we can being active, which honestly was really hard. I think doing 90 demos. We had a perfect workout plan laid out for the two, three months and definitely did not stick to it as much as we would have liked to. But you make some sacrifices. You're not able to do everything, but we try to do as much as possible to keep right in our mind, our body, all that. Wowie. What do you feel like you are prioritizing these days as far as your brand goes? Anything you're doing to expand your team or expand your relationships with retailers? is what's on the roadmap for you?

22:29All of the above. All of the above. I think a big thing for us is visibility, which is also why we apply for every startup CPG event ever under the sun. Everyone should do that. Which has been amazing and genuinely, despite Caitlin being on the call, have led to most of our opportunities. Yeah. Seriously. I think visibility is a big thing for us. That would be first and foremost. We are also hiring our first employee. They will be starting in August with us. They also quit their job on Wall Street to make this protein bar, which is super exciting. They are an ex-colleague of ours. And maybe looking to hire somebody in marketing later in this year.

23:10First heard here. If anybody wants work for us, let us know. Let us know. And that is serious. We are starting to think about that. Just as we grow in it, turning that into the retailer side of things, we're still focused on building out the DTC and online channels. but retail, we just learned early on from our customers. They wanted us to be where they were, right? They didn't always want to have to buy online and wait. They wanted to grab it at an airport or at a grocery store, a bodega, wherever it was. So making that pivot toward retail, we've really doubled down in a lot of ways. And I think right now, I mean, that's kind of the biggest thing we're working toward and tracking toward is getting in the right doors, not just the most doors and all the doors because we've actually been approached by some of the larger conventional retailers so far.

23:55And it's probably not the right time. We've determined it's not the right time yet. We want to completely just crush the natural channel, the Whole Foods, the Sprouts, the stores of that sort first. Nice. So it sounds like natural, organic, large retailers, and maybe even independents is the way that you're trying to go right now. Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure you have plenty of them listening right now. So you know where to find them. Yeah. okay before we wrap things up i want to know where you see whole health club in five years i mean the question i want to know personally you can tell me about your brand after but do you see yourself living in an rv in five years or do you see yourself having a home base honestly i don't think i want to get rid of the rv full time it's kind of cool to have maybe we'll like when we make some money i'll create an airstream or something nicer but But it's actually fun to camp, but five years.

24:47I mean, I think part of us, we said earlier, we would love to, and it's all about the right timing of doing these things, which we'll have to fill out as we go of when would be there. I mean, like pet, right? Pet food. We have two golden retrievers, as you heard, and we definitely spoil them or said differently. We feed them what we think they should be fed versus junk that a lot of pet food is. It's really just a question of when would be the right time to go into something like that, because we don't want to cut the food side of things short. Right. We want to make sure we have all of our attention on that until it is the right time to pivot.

25:18But I think, I mean, maybe that's more of a 10 or 15 year goal of being in the other categories. Whereas right now would be being one of the top selling protein bars out there. But five years, you want to go back to New York or where you want to go? Now we're getting real intense here. We definitely want to go back to New York. I mean, we're going to do it as long as we see real benefit in doing it. there will come a point where it's not beneficial for us to run the company on the road anymore and need to build out a team and be around the team or just run the company that way as opposed to just doing demos.