Kickstarter’s all-or-nothing model means missing a financial goal means losing all pledged funds — a high risk scenario and hard lesson learned by super seed blend brand PlantChi’s Founder Jessica Hamel.
Hamel launched a campaign on Kickstarter earlier this year with a goal of raising $12,500, but external challenges, including devastating wildfires in California and weather-related market shutdowns in Colorado, disrupted key sampling opportunities and negatively impacted the campaign.
After a few weeks on Kickstarter, Hamel cancelled the campaign and launched a new campaign on IFundWomen, a crowdfunding platform for female entrepreneurs.
IFundWomen offers women-led brands flexible funding options that allow for more room to soft launch their product and still have room to pivot the business if needed, Hamel explained.
For PlantChi, Hamel learned through the crowdfunding process that potential funders were interested in the values of the company which for PlantChi is an emphasis on delivering convenient nutrients to consumers.
PlantChi offers four different super seed blends that deliver specific nutrients like complete proteins, omegas, iron, B vitamins and fiber, that can be sprinkled on whole foods, according to the company. The Nude Blend features hemp chia, sesame, pumpkin and flax; Umami Wave contains a mix of spirulina, dulse and puffed amaranth; Cheese Tease’s blend has nutritional yeast and hemp hearts; and Sweet Ritual features cinnamon, cardamom, hemp, flax and chia seeds.
Avoiding the ‘wellness hacks’ trends through simple communication
One of the biggest challenges for Hamel is educating consumers who need more clarity around the benefits of super seeds and how to use them as an accompaniment to daily meals, she said.
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“I have to figure a way to get all of that information that is in my brain - that I think is so easy to understand about the product - out there to the consumer,” Hamel explained. She added calling out the nutrients and ingredients in simple terms on the packaging helps clarify the product’s use.
She continued, “Super seeds have a ton of nutrients and a ton of benefits, but you could really overwhelm the consumer with all of that. Also, with my brand I am trying to be a little anti-wellness wellness. We are against the wellness hacks” of over explaining ingredients to the point of suspicion.
Rather, Hamel said she is focused on delivering information that is easy to understand, like “complete proteins, fiber, omegas” and highlighting nutrients that consumers already understand.