Food is Better Nude
Nūd Fūd (pronounced nude food) was created by Holistic Nutritionist Julie Kirouac, who set out to create snacks that would not only be convenient and delicious, but would be of the utmost integrity and not exclude anyone, regardless of dietary restriction. Their snacks are organic, raw/vegan, gluten-free, GMO-free, and tree-nut free. We caught up with Julie Kirouac to hear about her entrepreneurial highs and lows in starting up a new business.
iB: You’ve mentioned that your inspiration for starting Nud Fud was the lack of choice when it came to finding healthy snacks in Canada compared to the United States. How challenging was it to start in such a niche market?
Being in a niche market has its benefits and challenges. One benefit would be that we are unique and have fewer competitors than in other categories. This is great from one aspect, but because there are few companies in the market, consumer education can become a challenge. Finding our place in some stores can also be difficult as these categories didn’t exist before.
I was very fortunate to have started at a time when raw and vegan foods had been around for a few years already. It would be almost impossible to be in stores on a mass scale 10 years ago.
How do you validate that your product is nutritious rather than just “empty calories”?
In my opinion, no validation is required! If a company needs to spend millions of dollars to try to convince consumers their products are healthy with mass marketing campaigns, the product is likely not very good for us.
We have to undo all the damage those types of mainstream campaigns have done reducing food to a single nutrient furthering our confusion around food and nutrition.
We are simple. We are full of good calories that come from organic and whole ingredients packed with good fats, fiber, carbohydrates, protein, micronutrients all wrapped in a product that tastes amazing.
We have 3-5 organic ingredients in our products and all are words a young child could pronounce.
My whole philosophy as a holistic nutritionist is to focus on whole and unaltered foods, in a “naked” and true state.
What are the benefits of eating food that is raw, organic, and vegan and how do you convey this message? Is it more than just a passing trend?
Our foods fall into many ‘trending’ categories. These categories we do fall into happen to be extremely healthy for both us and the environment and they are trends that are not only here to stay, but gaining in popularity!
Eating foods that are raw, vegan, whole, and organic means you will be eating as minimally processed and close to nature as possible. Due to the lack of processing, it also means you will be getting the most nutrients possible out of the food and in a way nature intended.
It is also important to mention the things that aren’t in these foods, such as preservatives, artificial colours/flavours, denatured ingredients, or pesticides to name a few. Feeding your body organic, plant-based and nutritious foods means you will be giving clean fuel to your cells and lessening the load and stress on your body.
This can mean you will look and feel better, possibly avoid illness and increase overall performance and longevity.
Our goal is to educate people about living a more holistic lifestyle and how food choices affect health. We are not preachy nor do we have an “all or nothing” approach to health. Every little bit helps.
How do you apply holistic principals to making your products?
Each ingredient has a nutritive property and is kept as whole as possible with minimal processing. We make each small batch by hand. We soak our seeds and dehydrate at 112F to ensure the product stays raw and nutritious.
What has been your most profound wake-up call as an entrepreneur? Which challenges have you encountered?
Being an entrepreneur is great but there have definitely been challenges. Mine have been meeting consumer demand and educating consumers about real nutrition.
A challenge for us is the large corporations that portray themselves as being healthy with big budgets and cheap products and rely on the confusion and ignorance of the public. This can make it difficult for people to navigate through the many claims on products to find what is truly healthy, like our products.
There are many days all I do is damage control, which is not as fun. Trying to prepare for the future can be difficult as well as staying motivated when things don’t go to plan.
Another challenge is running the business alone, which can feel like Atlas holding the world.
Not getting paid and being overworked are some other things that aren’t always fun!
How will you grow and expand Nud Fud in the months and years ahead? Any plans for Vancouver, being one of largest markets for organic food in North America?
We are expanding into other parts of Canada. The Vancouver market we have started in but getting momentum in new markets can be slow-going. I was surprised to visit Vancouver and find even less raw products than in Toronto. We are excited to explore more opportunities in the West.
We are also heading to LA this spring to expand to the USA, which is of course very exciting for us.
I am looking for world domination as there is room for nutritious products everywhere!
What impact do you hope to leave on the food industry and the lives of your consumers?
My dream is to educate as many people as possible through mainstream media about eating healthy and not buying into trends and marketing hype in regards to foods.
I want to be seen and regarded as a company with high integrity and honesty only to serve and help people live healthier lives.
I also hope with our increased popularity there will be more and more plant-based nutritious products springing up.
This means I will get to walk into any store and have tons of food options! (All for selfish reasons in the end!)
How did being on Dragon’s Den affect you and your business?
Dragons’ Den was such a great opportunity. The show promotes Canadian businesses to millions whether a “deal” is made or not.
Without Dragons’ Den, I would not be as far as I am today. The show gave my business such great exposure and gave me confidence as a business owner. I was so flattered to have been chosen out of the thousands that auditioned to be aired and receive a ‘deal’ on-air (although it did not go through after and we are not using Jim Treliving’s money!).