We’ve developed a love/hate relationship with carbs. While we crave eating foods with carbohydrates especially those made with grains, our waistlines and overall health may not share the same love. BetterBrand is a science-focused consumer food tech startup that has developed its own proprietary grain formula to make baked goods less-carb-heavy. The company’s signature product is the “The Better Bagel” that’s a bagel made with its proprietary formulation and plant based-protein that has the carb equivalent of 2 banana slices. The BetterBagel is found in over 1500 stores nationwide including Whole Foods, Giant, and Bristol Farms. BetterBrand grew revenue by 800% last year and is on pace to match this feat in 2023. The company plans to expand internationally and expand its product offering with 16 new SKUs coming online this year.
LA TechWatch caught up with BetterBrand Founder and CEO Aimee Yang to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the company’s total funding raised to $9.7M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
BetterBrand closed a $6M Series A at a pre-money valuation of $170M. Per Crunchbase, only 150 sole female founders have ever raised a Series A over $5 million from institutional investors, and it’s a huge honor to have set a historical record in valuation among this group.
Our round was led by Verso Capital, a company that has led investments in some of the leading businesses in the food tech sector, including Impossible Foods, This Isn’t Meat, and Eat Just. Additional investors include Gaingels, Craft Lane, Kyle Vogt, Chris Hollod, Glenne + Jeff Azoff, and so many more.
Tell us about your product or service.
BetterBrand is a consumer food tech company leading innovation in the multi-trillion-dollar refined carb space. Our hero product ‘The Better Bagel’ transforms the traditionally carb-heavy bagel into the net carb equivalent of two banana slices, while adding 26g of plant-based protein. Better products are made with clean, non-GMO, all-natural ingredients, and no added sugar. We’ve added nutritional functionality with fiber and protein and have unlocked a world where you don’t have to sacrifice, compromise, or worry.
What inspired the start of BetterBrand?
I’ve always been passionate about health and wellness and, like many women, have had a complicated relationship with food over the years. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to break the cycle where we’re conditioned to associate “guilt” or “deprivation” when it comes to what we eat. I used to dream of a world where we could freely without worry of weight gain or negative health consequences – that’s where BetterBrand was born. We are working to make that world a reality.
How is it different?
Our innovative “grain-changing” technology powers our differentiated approach toward nutrition. Through our proprietary recipe and process, we’re able to transform traditionally carb heavy foods into foods that still offer an incredible taste and experience, but are functionally great for you. The Better Bagel for example, has 90% fewer carbs and 250% more protein than the average store-bought bagel – and is on shelves at more than 1,500 retail shelves today. We are truly changing the consumer experience with food for the Better to empower the consumer, and change limitation into joy and freedom.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
The refined carb industry is a multi-trillion-dollar industry, consisting of multiple segments including bread ($291B by 2030), pasta ($64.4B by 2030), pastry ($171.2B by 2028), and much more.
What’s your business model?
BetterBrand is available online on our website, and is available in over 1,500 stores in the United States including Whole Foods, Target, Sprouts, Fresh Market, Gelson’s, Bristol Farms, Giant, Harmon’s, Lassen’s, Plum Market, Wild by Nature, FoxTrot, and more. We’ve been growing quickly, about 800% from year to year, are on track to see a similar increase from 2022 to 2023.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
The current economic climate has only catalyzed the shift in consumer behavior we were already seeing: customers have high expectations for the foods they buy and are less willing to compromise on taste or experience. We offer a clean, Non-GMO Verified, plant-based product that offers functional benefits to the most discerning eaters, and caters to so many different groups of people – from people looking for low carb, high protein, etc. Going beyond that, I think our mission, of proving the impossible is possible, really resonates to consumers – and we’re really inspired by and appreciative of the community we’ve been able to build.
What was the funding process like?
We feel really lucky to have a group of incredible believers in BetterBrand in our corner. We started the process by re-engaging with our seed and pre-seed investors – and things just catalyzed from there. I think that a world fueled by freedom, hope, and joy is one that is easy to get behind.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
I think the biggest challenge for any early-stage investor is making difficult decisions about who you welcome to your cap table, and then working through the strategy of how much to raise, when, and from whom. We’ve always been operationally efficient and didn’t need a massive check – so keeping it lean made sense for us.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our investors recognize the incredible potential of our growth, product differentiation, innovative technology, and large-scale market opportunity. There is a tremendous $10+ trillion market that is largely untapped. With the results we have achieved at an unprecedented scale and speed, our vision to design the future of food is already being actualized!
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We’re set on building our international distribution, as we will be expanding across North America and Europe. We also have exciting new products coming soon – we’re planning to unveil more than 16 new SKUs before the end of the year – so get ready!
What advice can you offer companies in Los Angeles that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Be efficient, make sure your margins are healthy, spend the time to really understand your customer, and find creative ways to drive revenue! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with growing organically – I think a lot of people get caught up in the concept of ‘raising’ – and before they know it, have ended up giving away way too much – unnecessarily. Taking capital from investors is a big decision – you’re getting on the wheel and you’re not getting off until you exit. Make sure to really think that through.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
The BetterBrand mission is to make the impossible possible, so we are going to continue to live that through practice. We are constantly innovating on product in order to drive the best possible consumer experience. Since initial launch, we’ve shipped a number of new flavors – most recently launching the ‘The Pretzel’ and ‘The Sesame’ Better Bagel SKUs – which, to date, includes ‘The Classic’, ‘The Everything’, ‘The Cinnamon’, and ‘The Chocolate Chip’. We’re quickly spanning into new product categories and are expecting to triple our SKU count by the end of 2023, and will continue to lead innovation in the refined carb space.
What’s your favorite outdoor activity in LA?
My place in LA is four blocks from the beach in Santa Monica – I’m a beach girl through and through!
