I founded Otamot by accident – I simply wanted to make my daughter Evelyn one healthier meal, one night. She’s a typical 9 year old who isn’t a huge fan of veggies, but she loves pizza and pasta, and I love cooking, so I focused on making her a veggie-filled tomato sauce that was delicious and nutritious. Once she asked for more, I thought maybe other parents could use the same help as me.

Otamot is a line of organic, veggie-filled tomato sauces that are nutritious and delicious. Organic Essential Sauce is our hero SKU, containing 10 organic veggies, is high in fiber, and the most versatile of the three. Organic Carrot Bolognese, containing 9 organic veggies, takes a plant-based approach on your typical bolognese sauce, replacing meat with tons of minced carrots. Organic Spicy Sauce, containing 12 organic veggies, is also high in fiber, is filled with heat from three peppers, and is the most delicious, nutrient-dense spicy sauce you will ever taste. All three sauces are certified USDA organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, Whole30 compliant, and contain no added sugar or preservatives. They are also extremely versatile and can be used in countless dishes from pasta to pizza, soups to hummus, Bloody Marys to stews, and so much more.

We put a greater emphasis on our PR and influencer efforts since sampling hasn’t been possible. We are also focusing on going deeper with our current retailer partners versus trying to go far and wide. QVC has been a really great outlet for us as well, with our top performing show moving 20,000 jars of Otamot in 8-minutes of airtime.

We began exporting to China, and are exploring other overseas markets. The challenge is finding the right partners in those markets who you can trust to help build our brand globally with minimal upfront time or capital so that we can remain focused on building our brand here in the U.S. Another challenge is driving trial at the retail level. Supermarkets are no longer the exploratory mazes that many people enjoy getting lost in for hours, and instead have turned into one-way, one-lane highways where shoppers feel compelled to get in/out as soon as possible with limited acknowledgement or interaction with new brands. People are buying more of what they know, and less of what they don’t.

A lot of great, undercapitalized food brands will fold in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19, leaving more room for growing brands to take on the established brands. Consumers are going to focus more on convenient, better-for-you products, making room for newer brands to make an impact. UNFI will continue to increase its market shared due to the type of foods they carry, and their logistical engine. A handful of great supermarket chains will fold because they didn’t adapt to consumer’s growing preference to shop online. Amazon will likely double its food sales.