The Pitch: An apple-cider vinegar drink that’s easy to swallow
IN our ongoing series on Aussie-made innovations, we meet the Melbourne entrepreneur behind a beverage being touted as a healthy solution to dietary discomfort.
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In the latest instalment of our series on Aussie-made innovations, The Pitch, the experts examine a beverage touted as a healthy solution to dietary discomfort.
CAROLINE Chang says poor gut health led her to tinker with her diet to see if eating different foods made her feel better.
Having battled irritable bowel syndrome and candida, she experimented with going vegan, gluten free, paleo and detoxing. She even fasted for 14 days.
“They all worked intermittently, but I never really experienced long-term relief,” she said.
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Ms Chang said she did some research into food that had been linked to improved health.
One of the things she tried was apple-cider vinegar, which is touted in some quarters as a new superfood.
Ms Chang consumed it diluted with filtered water daily for two weeks and says it flipped her digestion, taking care of bloating and sugar cravings. But apple-cider vinegar is unpalatable for many people.
In late 2015, she started experimenting using a Soda Stream in her home kitchen, adding low fructose fruit such as raspberries.
Ms Chang said she trademarked and registered a business name and did some research on how to set up a food business in her kitchen.
As a graphic designer, she was able to design her own labels. She chose the name Applelachia. It’s a play on the Appalachian Mountains, known for its moonshine.
Ms Chang said the development of the business from kitchen table to outsourcing was quick yet challenging.
She employed her design skills to make business cards out of wood, which doubled as a bottle opener because early versions of her product needed them.
She started doorknocking and headed to well-regarded health food shop Terra Madre, in Northcote.
Ms Chang said she nagged the shop assistant to get a manager to speak to her. She handed over the bottle opener and the bottle and the manager drank the Applelachia and ordered two slabs on the spot. Faced with her first big order, she stayed up until 2am making the drinks to deliver the next day.
Everything was done by hand, from measuring the apple-cider vinegar to applying labels and sealing the bottles.
She didn’t have enough cartons, so had to borrow empty beer cartons from neighbours.
Ms Chang was approached by a distributor who ordered 500 bottles.
“I had to resort to finding a manufacturer to outsource (to), which was stressful as most bottlers are scared of the live culture in apple-cider vinegar,” she said.
She is now at the turning point. “I have got to the point where demand is building and to meet that demand, I need to fine tune my processes and systems,” she said.
Ms Chang said other businesses were already seeking to replicate her model.
“I am aware of them and work to stay ahead of them,” she said. She is finetuning her business plan and is about to relaunch the product branding.
Ms Chang is the first to admit the jury is still out on the benefits of apple-cider vinegar.
She said she benefited from drinking it and believed her product was authentic and her motivation sound.
Ms Chang said she was aware of some research being carried out by Monash University and the Baker Institute on acetate and its direct link on improving inflammatory diseases. Apple-cider vinegar is included in this study.
“There’s a reason why nutritionists, dietitians, doctors and our grandma recommend apple-cider vinegar,” she said.
Ms Chang said her innovation, like many, was the result of necessity. She said that after some time, she felt the balance in her stomach was restored.
“I then was able to eat pizza and drink wine on a Friday if I wanted to” she said.
Ms Chang said she invested her savings from her work as a graphic designer into the business.
Applelachia, which comes in four flavours, is now stocked in 400 outlets nationally.
What the experts say ...
John Downes
Business coach
WELL done Caroline. The Applelachia Superfood Soda range is off to a great start with a clear catchy brand, outsourced manufacturing and distribution and now, 400 outlets nationally. It sounds like the basis of a viable business earning you a reasonable living. I hope so.
In working on the business, I’d now ask: “What’s my Exit Strategy?”
Regardless of when you might, considering the question can lead the business in a variety of divergent ways. Here’s two:
Innovate and defend. Competitors are already paying you the greatest complement of imitation; trying to be same, same but different. The questions for you: Can you innovate and stay ahead of the pack; consolidate your position; and, defend your segment champion role? Is there enough funding in the business to support this worthy fight?
Capitalise and Exit. Given your distribution and customer loyalty, when is a good time to exit to your biggest direct competitors? Once your segment hits critical mass, the big soft drink manufacturers will either throw their product development at creating their own products to be supermarket-ready in 12 months. Or, they could buy an established product and brand to rapidly expand.
How could this work spiritually, financially and in lifestyle, in your path to future success? I wish you success, fulfilment and just rewards from your passion.
Vivian Vo
Mentor
THE market for health foods is undoubtedly increasing, and savvy customers are seeking credible buys. Applelachia has a cheerful design coupled with a catchy tagline “superfood soda”. Use your eye for design and creativity to build your brand’s “discoverability”.
When it comes to health food products, the overwhelming number of competing products make “discoverability” a challenge and conventional marketing is not enough. Get creative when planning your relaunch. Consider more online videos, contests, live demonstrations, and partnerships on social media as these can create attention, build interest and deliver value to prospective customers.
Providing education around relevant topics can further drive this challenge by connecting and partnering with health food specialists to provide credibility around the product and its ingredients. Demonstrate transparency and form trust by showing how products are made and through an inspiring story, what provoked the brand to start and why it exists.
Consistency plays a key role when it comes to building and maintaining customer engagement. Social posts need to be regular and relevant in order to build trust and to stay front of mind. Strategically manage and schedule posts ahead of time by using social media management platforms such as Hootsuite or Planoly. Encourage customers to share their own stories and experiences with the product and brand. All the best with Applelachia!
Bruce Hall
Mentor
Small Business Mentoring Service
I LOVE businesses that are created to solve a problem. Like many entrepreneurs, Caroline’s journey involved trial and error before she found what worked.
It is this journey, that holds the seeds of a great marketing story. As she has discovered, when you create something that fulfils a need in a different way, others are quick to imitate. But without a story, the competitor products are just that, products!
But product wrapped in a story, is something powerful that people will remember and share. It gives them a reason to buy!
The story elements are to be found in Caroline’s journey, the ups and downs. What worked and what didn’t. The story can also be strengthened by education around the product strengths and what they mean for the buyer. What is different about the product and what this means for the buyer. The processes used to ensure a quality product and again what they mean for the buyer.
The story could also include the risks associated with non-original, cheaper or mass produced, alternatives.
Combined, these elements could be developed into a powerful marketing story. A story that needs to be shared widely by adding a blog to the website, videos to YouTube and pumping content to social media.
Caroline has created the product. To go to the next level, it needs to now be wrapped in a compelling story.
Compiled by Claire Heaney
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