California-based meal replacement maker Soylent is ringing in the New Year with the launch of Soylent Complete, a new line of functional shakes intended to meet growing demand for “customizable nutrition.”
The Complete line features two varieties: Soylent Complete Protein and Soylent Complete Energy. The former product is a new SKU featuring 30 grams of plant-based protein (compared to 20 grams in a standard bottle), 5 grams of branch chain amino acids (BCAAs), 1,000 mg of omega-3 healthy fats and zero sugar. The energy drink is a reworked version of Soylent Stacked, a nootropic-infused line which launched last year. It contains a blend of B vitamins, caffeine, L-theanine, L-tyrosine, alpha-GPC and 15 grams of protein. Both drinks are available online for $33 per 12-pack of 11 oz. bottles.
According to CEO Demir Vangelov, the company is increasing its focus on functionality and customizable nutrition, which provides for different niche need states. The Complete line launched online this month but is scheduled to rollout into retail stores later this year, depending on how it performs in ecommerce sales.
“One thing that we’ve discovered this year from consumers is that as folks become more educated about nutrition, they’re starting to fine tune their nutritional intake over a course of a week,” Vangelov said. “So now people can say, okay, maybe I have a regular Soylent for certain times of the week, but then when I need to supplement certain things that I believe my body’s missing, I can now use Complete to heavy up on certain macros.”
The brand has experimented with unique need states in the past, including the discontinued Soylent Bridge (which was intended for snacking) and Stacked lines. The experiences from those products — both of which were sold exclusively online — helped inform the company’s approach to Complete, Vangelov said, which is intended to eventually compete in brick and mortar stores.
The decision to merge Stacked into the Complete line came about because the product’s branding was not immediately understood by new consumers. Though it sold well among the brand’s core shoppers, nootropics are still a new trend that is not yet established within mainstream channels and Stacked’s packaging failed to communicate that it was an energy and focus drink, according to Vangelov.
“It’s one thing when you are solely focused on online sales to create different brands and products and you can manage them in a different way,” he said. “So we have seen great success with retailers where they’re becoming more interested in this customizable nutritional space and as we were talking to them, they wanted a product that speaks to the consumer on shelf.”
Complete’s launch follows a transformative year for Soylent that saw shifts in its leadership team and overall strategy. Vangelov joined Soylent as its CFO and COO in 2018, but assumed the chief executive role in February 2020 following the departure of Bryan Crowley. Prior to Soylent, his past jobs have included the joint CFO and COO position at Califia Farms and serving as CFO and interim CEO at Oberto Snacks.
In November, Soylent founder and former CEO Rob Reinhardt stepped down as chairman of the company’s board of directors after several political blog posts written on his personal website went viral. Reinhardt still remains on the board and Vangelov said the move has not led to any changes in strategy or operations.
While ecommerce remains the core focus for Soylent, Vangelov said the brand continues to expand in retail but that challenges caused by the pandemic have led to a slowdown in certain channels. He said sales in retailers such as Walmart have remained strong, while convenience accounts such as 7-Eleven have lagged due to a lack of foot traffic. Looking ahead, Vangelov aims to grow the brand’s presence in the drug channel, but is primarily looking towards going deep in key regions including California, the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast.
However, the brand has stopped working with New York-based DSD distributor Big Geyser, which it partnered with in 2018, but Vangelov said the company has signed with a different distributor to service the region.
“I would say we’re taking a more aggressive growth this year into certain classes of retail trades that we’ve never been in,” he said. “We want to make sure that we take the learnings that we’ve gained over the two-and-a-half years or so that we’ve been in retail and really apply it in a successful way to new distribution.”
The pandemic has also led to other internal shifts at Soylent. According to Vangelov, the brand has shored up its supply chain to meet the demand and in April it reopened online sales to the Canadian market, which it had previously discontinued in 2017. In the third quarter, Soylent released a reformulated version of its entire RTD line reducing sugar to 1 gram per 14 oz. bottle and improving flavor.
Operationally, the company has transitioned to a full time remote working environment which will continue even after the pandemic is under control; Vangelov said the lease on Soylent’s Los Angeles office space came due in October and was not renewed.