Elevator Talk Live: Cibáre

Speaker 1 [00:13] We're gonna bring up our next guest for Elevator Talk Live. Once again, you're watching Elevator Talk here at Nosh Live Winter 2023. Now coming to the table is John Allotti, who is the co-founder and CEO of Chibare. John, great to see you again. It's on. Yeah, all I have to do is speak into it. Hi, Ray, good to see you. Good to see you as well. You both know each other being from San Diego, I assume.

Speaker 2 [00:35] No.

Speaker 1 [00:37] Oh, how about that? Well, there's more than just, there's a connection deeper than just, uh, being from a certain region of the country. It's that you both started out and you both market. Bars, uh, yours is refrigerated, yours is not. So, uh, tell us all about Jabari, John.

Speaker 3 [00:53] Chibari is a father-daughter brand and uh to tell the story, I gotta kind of rewind about 10 years. I was taking a um I think we're back one slide here. There we go. Um, I was taking a gym class and, uh, some of the guys brought protein bars into the class one day. I'd never tried a bar, but I understood the benefits of ingesting protein following exercise and, um, I tried 11 day. It was not a perfect bar, and I thought it was awful.

Speaker 1 [01:28] Obviously, if it wasn't a perfect, come on.

Speaker 3 [01:30] And um, and that really, I know my way around the kitchen a bit. Uh, I started playing around um over the course of the next year, year and a half years with different nut butters and protein types and fruit bases. And eventually came up with a repeatable recipe that I was happy with, my co-workers enjoyed. Uh, my gym partners were, were asking for these bars. And um I would have been just completely content to continue on that path forever. And um back in about 2019, 2020, my, my daughter, who's now become my business partner, who does have a background in CPG and product development, she approached me and she said, Dad, uh, what do you think about adding probiotics to that bar and bringing it to market? And that began. A two year, uh, quest to scale the recipe, uh, locate suppliers, and in September of 2022, we launched Chobari. And, um, cibari is an Italian word. It means to nourish and it aligns with our mission which is to provide, uh, delicious probiotic snack bars for our consumers and um. And that's, that's how we got to today, you

Speaker 1 [02:54] know, I can confirm that these are delicious bars for sure, um, they are very great tasting and you know when I think about protein bars I don't often think about another functional component which is probiotic probiotics which is gut health. Um, how do you feel about that combination, Lee? You know, do you think it is a good differentiator for the vast number of brands that are on the market today?

Speaker 2 [03:17] I, I think probiotics continue to be um. Something consumers are looking for, um, and to try and find it in ways outside of dairy heavy products, um, I think there's space for that. So I think you're onto something that your branding is beautiful so nice, well done, maybe your daughter gets some of that credit. I don't know, but, um, well done. Uh, I think being in this a very crowded category, bars, of course, as you know, um, your point of difference really leaning in on what your point of difference is, right? To really stand out among the, uh, among the noise is will be

Speaker 3 [03:51] key. Thank you, thank you. Yes, it is a, a very crowded space as, as we knew coming into it, um, we're finding that out almost on a daily basis. There are a lot of, uh, very successful, very large brands that are, that are all vying for. You know, the consumer's dollar.

Speaker 1 [04:12] On that note, retail buyers are inundated with pitches daily from brands that are competing in very, very, um, in, in categories that are just packed with all different kinds of brands, um, and I'm curious to hear about some of those pitches that you've made to retail buyers, what the reaction has been like, and then I'd love to hear from Lee about how you should pursue those buyers if you hear no or if they wanna hear more. What's the, what's that next stage of conversation?

Speaker 3 [04:41] Well, you know, to, when we, when we created this bar, when I created this bar, I'm not a food scientist. I don't have a, a PhD in, in food science or have any understanding, uh, other than I understand what tastes good. And we created, I created a date-based bar with as simple a set of ingredients as possible. Um, and when I approach a retail buyer or any other. Prospect, uh, what I'm trying to explain to them is that your food really should not be that complicated. It, it really, you, if I got to get a phone out to Google an ingredient that's on my ingredient list because I don't understand it, I've done something wrong, uh, the consumer should be able to understand what that food is and where it's coming from very easily, and that's what we tried to do with Shabari, um. So, we're not adding any sugars at all to the bar. The bar is only getting its sweetness from organic dates. Um, the taste and texture, uh, is something we really tried to work on as we scaled that recipe up. Um, and, and the message is quite simple really to these retailers. Try the bar, tell us if you like it, and if so, um, we'd love to, we'd love to partner with you.

Speaker 1 [06:06] Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. Uh, again, when you hear no or when retail buyers, uh, are maybe hesitant, you know, what should you do next, Lee?

Speaker 2 [06:16] Well, certainly appreciating, you know, they're gatekeepers of this busy category and you know they're there to read whether it's they think it's worth the squeeze or not and so once you do get your foot in the door on a retailer I think we're always very ambitious to get more and more and more. I think just making sure you're giving proper. Focus to the ones you are in, however big or small, and have it be your noisy, loud, aggressive proof point because that's gonna be your sell story for uh to continue selling your products. So whether that's an Araw or a mom's or whoever you step into um. It's, it's like let's just break records. Let's stand behind demo tables. That was our route in the early days just getting in one Whole Foods Market. Berkeley Whole Foods gave us a 30 day test just that one store, uh, this was back in 2006, so a lot of things have changed since then. This is when it was very regional and flexible, uh, or a bit more than it is today, but, um, so we did a demo for. Sign up to sundown for those 30 days and and sold $30,000 you know, so it's like oh you don't need much but to make your point, um, and then take that story and it's like you're you can start a movement, right? And I think what also is, uh, the name of the game today that we didn't have 20 years ago is social media so I think and obviously the revenue you can generate D2C and owning that narrative and owning that. That sale with your customer, um, and really using them as your like quick and easy way to test products and ideas, um, that's something that obviously is very different than 20 years ago and, and if you build up any type of book of business online or direct with consumers, I think retailers that just, that's another way to have a proof point if not in retail.

Speaker 1 [08:05] What about brokers? I mean, can you talk about a broker strategy. That maybe has worked for Perfect Snacks and that might be applicable to John and folks watching.

Speaker 2 [08:15] Certainly I think finding the right size broker for your brand um is super important it's like anything right? the right branding agency size for your business and so on and so forth so finding the right broker that's gonna that's large enough um to get the meeting or have some sway on and and obviously give you good direction and support uh but also as an. At the bottom of their list and so um you know they're more than ever there's you know, industry folks that have been there done that that are I feel like it's now with LinkedIn and everything you're so it's so much more accessible than it seems like uh years ago and so um it's like I think it's asking it's asking questions to the right people and being at events like this quite honestly that's why I continue to. Really enjoy jeez,

Speaker 1 [09:05] I, I 100% agree with you, Lee, about these events, and I say that with a little bit of, um, I, I, I'm not joking. I mean I think I'm a little biased in saying that, but being able to network and network effectively and meet people that can help you and truly believe in your brand uh is the most important thing that I've heard from entrepreneurs, and I've interviewed hundreds if not thousands of entrepreneurs to this point. Um, that being said, you know, how are you building out your team, John? Uh, you, you and your daughter, is it just still the two of you at this point?

Speaker 3 [09:35] It is, uh, we have some, uh, contractors that are, that are helping us for things like social media and, and, uh, some of the advertising that's going on online just to try and get the word Jabari out to people. Um, I completely agree with what you were saying about, about in-store demos. I think that is, we found that to be a very, uh, effective way of getting product to people for no charge on their part, um. The challenge is getting people then to um to come to your website or, or to really get that organic traffic coming in to, to convert on the website.

Speaker 1 [10:19] Well, I hope people are now aware of the website. What is the website again, John?

Speaker 3 [10:23] We are at www. Cibárefoods.com and we did have a QR on that last slide.

Speaker 1 [10:31] All right, well, maybe the QR isn't there, but you still, you still should head to Chibarifoods.com. John, it's been great, so great speaking with you. Head upstairs, please network. It's very important. All right, see you soon. Thank you.