When plant-based smoothie line Koia launched nationwide at Whole Foods Market in 2016, CEO Chris Hunter believed it would take time for the brand to reach its eventual goal of playing outside the natural channel.
Things didn’t quite turn out that way: in the short span of just a few years, Koia has grown into the conventional grocery, convenience and club channels as well as food service. Yet, according to Hunter, the brand has continued to design products with the natural consumer in mind, though never more explicitly than with its newest release, Thrive — a three-SKU line of oat milk-based, allergen-free ‘mood booster’ refrigerated smoothies launching this month.
The refrigerated line includes three flavors, each with different functional ingredients: Miracle Matcha (labeled as “energy blend”), a matcha-based smoothie with spirulina and moringa; Chill Chocolate (“tranquility blend”), which contains ashwagandha extract and l-theanine; and Golden Turmeric (“vitality blend”), made with turmeric powder, ground ginger and black pepper. The suggested retail price is $3.99 per 10 oz. bottle; the standard size for Koia is 12 oz. Each variety contains 150-190 calories, 3-5 grams of sugar and 6-8 grams of protein.
With its use of functional ingredients and allergen-free positioning, Thrive is meant to “intentionally show our support for the natural channel consumer,” Hunter said. The line, Koia’s first product to feature oat milk, will be sold at natural grocery stores including Whole Foods and Sprouts, and will not be pitched to retailers outside of the channel.
“We’d always been thinking about how we develop specifically for the natural consumer, who is a little bit more discerning in terms of their wants and needs, a little bit more open to some of the new or emerging trends and ingredients,” he said. “We decided this was the right time to launch something catered to that channel.”
Thrive marks Koia’s second new launch of the calendar year, following the debut of Koia Coffee earlier this year. However, Hunter said the brand has continued to also “innovate responsibly” through incremental changes. Two new flavors — Chocolate Peanut Butter and Keto Cookies ’n’ Creme — were launched in March, while Koia Keto was recently reformulated to reduce total net carbohydrates from 5 grams to 2 grams across the line. The company also collaborated with Sprouts on its first multi-serve product: a 32 oz. bottle of Koia Coffee in two flavors: Warrior, which contains cordyceps and maca, and Genius, which contains lion’s mane and rhodiola.
That line, launching at Sprouts on August 24, is meant to fill a specific retailer request, underscoring how product innovation at Koia is closely linked to its relationship with its key partners and channel strategy.
“We have lots of discussions about how to innovate responsibly,” he said. “But we also recognize, being a refrigerated product, that we have to have good innovation partners in line with places to sell products.”
That approach has helped the company recover from challenges during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though some channels did see higher velocities than others, Hunter said Koia recorded its best sales ever in July.
“One of the reasons we feel it is responsible is this isn’t us developing things and just trying to shove them into places,” Hunter said.“This is us either getting feedback from consumers about what they want, from a retailer about what they want, or from working with a few retailers for a long time to develop a product that fits their ongoing needs.”