Let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. How did your company get started and why?

As two busy working millennials, we found it difficult to source functional and delicious snacks that are sustainable. Millennial consumers in our target demographics are often left to choose between unpronounceable ingredient labels or another high protein fitness bar, neither of which offer impact behind the brand. We saw a potential to create a purpose-driven brand that reflected the changing needs of consumers today. Food waste loses businesses around $1 trillion dollars a year lost opportunity. In coffee production that’s 20 Billion KG of coffee fruit waste that ends up in landfill which presents an enormous missed economic opportunity, and resulting environmental and social degradation. The discarded coffee cherry is an incredible superfruit that is rich in antioxidants and can be the key to bringing some economic prosperity to coffee growing communities. I was born in Colombia and migrated to Australia at a young age. In Australia, I grew up knowing coffee as more than a beverage. It was common for my parents to make pastes with coffee and turmeric to treat skin burns, as well as fertilizer for plants and root vegetables. The known health benefits and high antioxidants of the superfruit always intrigued me as I grew up working in my family’s coffee importation and coffee training /cafe businesses. After a few months of research and an origin trip, Lachlan our other co-founder and I, registered I Am Grounded company, an upcycled food company making healthy functional snacks with a sustainable difference.

What is your product and how would you describe it?

I Am Grounded make functional upcycled energy snacks made with natural ingredients. Our purpose is to make snacking deliciously healthy and sustainable. Our current product line consists of 3 key flavours which we developed over the course of 2019 by handmaking each bar to test the viability of utilisng a novel food product such as coffee fruit. Our 9 AM, 3 PM, PICK ME UP energy bars are strategically placed within known moments of Australian snacking habits. One with coffee, one during the 3 pm slump and another for that pre or post-workout or long workday. 87% of Australians say that convenience are a top factor affecting snack choice. The role I am Grounded aims to play in our customer’s lives is to provide easy ordering and on-the-go distribution points for that height on convenience.

How have you pivoted your business this year?

I think it’s impossible not to have pivoted your business during these challenging and uncertain times. We’ve made sure that our business is digitally proof and are utilising our skills and knowledge to set up robust e-commerce and e-retailer strategies that allow us to focus on D2C while B2B recovers. We are passionate about solving the problem of convenience but also the anxiety often faced with daily/weekly shopping visits to our grocers. Consumers are looking for more transparent, local and natural ingredients, prioritising a low contact transactions. More consumers will go Offline to Online with a 62% growth already seen in Australia according to the latest Neilson report on COVID-19 and consumer behaviour.

What is your next challenge to overcome?

I think the brunt of COVID after-effects have yet to come in Australia, as we brace for 2nd stage lockdowns in multiple cities, we are left uncertain about how our relationship with stockists will be affected. We’re looking to grow strategically and will look to 3rd party fulfilment centres as well as couriers to do more of that heavy lifting for us.

What do you predict for the food industry over the rest of the year?

Food commerce will grow and continue to grow, we will see the growth of clout kitchens, and virtual ordering platforms capitalizing on this growth. We will also see a movement towards health and wellness with a focus on plant-based eating and of course supporting local and wasting less. Upcycled foods with a sustainable impact will be made in everyday essential food items.

Learn more at: I Am Grounded – I Am Grounded Pty Ltd