Michelle Obama, the former first lady, announced today that she is joining fledgling kids drink brand PLEZi as a co-founder and strategic partner as part of her ongoing efforts to fight childhood obesity.
Obama cited a long record of work on children’s health and nutrition, including her Let’s Move! initiative and a record of working with food companies and restaurant chains to lower calories and remove salt, sugar, and trans-fats from products, as well as famously establishing a garden plot on the South Lawn of the White House. The next step, she said, was for her to get involved in the food and beverage industry as an owner and stakeholder.
“I’ve learned that on this issue, if you want to change the game, you can’t just work from the outside. You’ve got to get inside—you’ve got to find ways to change the food and beverage industry itself,” said Obama, speaking at The Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival. “I’m proud to announce the national launch of a company designed not just to provide better products, but to jumpstart a race to the top that will transform the entire food industry.”
The theory will initially be tested by her work with PLEZi, a four-SKU line of beverages that is currently sold at Sprouts and Target stores. Sweetened with stevia and monk fruit, PLEZi is formulated to have 75% less sugar than average leading 100% fruit juices, and is fortified with fiber and other nutrients.
In a piece of distribution news, Obama announced that the brand was planning to debut in Walmart over the summer, and that it had recently been added to the company’s online store.
“I want other companies to know that PLEZi is coming,” she said, adding that an important part of the idea behind the company was to make healthier options available outside of the just high-end stores.
Obama’s announcement also referenced the long-term plans for the brand as a healthy eating and drinking platform that could encompass both snacks and other drink products. PLEZi has promised 10% of its profits to a broader movement to promote kids’ health, while Obama herself announced a donation of $1 million to FoodCorps Nourishing Futures Initiative.
A public benefit corporation, PLEZi is currently led by CEO Leah Dunmore, who was hired recently after a career in which she had worked on wellness-focused brands at companies like Hain Celestial, Kraft, and Mars. The brand was largely shepherded through the product development, sales, and marketing process by L.A. Libations and also received financial backing investment group Juggernaut Capital. The two companies first worked together developing ZOA for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
As part of the launch, Obama noted that she was bringing together a “kitchen cabinet” of public health and nutrition policy advisors. That team will be led by Debra Eschmeyer, the former Executive Director of the Let’s Move! Initiative and a senior advisor to President Barack Obama for nutrition policy. Sam Kass, the former White House chef and another Obama advisor, was also announced as the PLEZi board chair.
“I still believe that businesses can move faster when it comes to our kids’ nutrition,” Obama said. “Because I believe there is a way to build a successful company and do right by our kids… that we can make products that are tasty and healthy and good for the bottom line. And I’m putting some skin in the game to put this theory to the test.”
In addition to her work on nutrition issues from the White House, Michelle Obama has at least a passing familiarity with the food business – and one of PLEZi’s likely retail partners. From 2005-2007, while her husband was still a U.S. Senator in Illinois, she served as a corporate director on the board of TreeHouse Foods, which makes private label food and drinks for a wide range of retailers, including Walmart.
She resigned from the board in 2007; at the time, Walmart was under fire from the Democratic Party and union leaders over its labor practices.
During his two terms in office, however, President Obama and the retail giant forged a strong partnership, with the corporation supporting several of his initiatives, including his signature Affordable Care Act.