Navitas Now and Then: Reflections On The Ride Of 15 Years In Superfoods

Nov 9

When I think back to the summer of 2003, I remember the exciting, yet apprehensive feeling that settled in to permanently live with us when the idea of Navitas first came to life. Our friends Paul and Lisa had been importing Maca for sale in Australia and knowing we were in transition with work, thought it might be a good fit for us too. Zach and Paul had a long history of traveling together in their 20’s, sharing a profound curiosity about different cultures and traditional foods abroad. It was through these early experiences that Paul was introduced to the miracle plant Maca from Peru. As is typical of an entrepreneur, Zach saw infinite possibilities for a business beyond Maca and comfort with the risk, while I stared at my pregnant belly of six months with a mix of hope, trepidation, and a fair amount of skepticism. After all, we had only been married for a little over two years, not yet ready to be parents, much less for the enormous responsibility of the “other baby” we were about to raise. But we both came of age embedded within the Grateful Dead community and therefore the idea of starting a health food company fit squarely within our personal ideologies. Convinced that traditional superfoods would help Westerners live healthier lives, we forged ahead with nothing more than the vision of what could be and a nominal personal investment. We had no idea then that Navitas would evolve to become a wellness lifestyle brand supporting health seekers like us and helping to advance organic agriculture in the process.

As Navitas celebrates 15 years in business, I am amazed at how far we’ve come. So much has changed since the beginning, both within the industry and personally throughout these years. Several pivotal moments and instrumental people have helped to create a confluence of success for the company. As we celebrate this milestone, it seems fitting to honor each of those crossroads and the amazing people that share our story because without them, we wouldn’t be here today.

Timing is Everything

During our inception in 2003, sales of organic food products was reported to be between $10-11 billion dollars annually. Market demand for healthier products would steadily increase over the years and the Organic Trade Association reportsthat sales for organics reached a record breaking $49.4 billion dollars in 2017. Alongside this trend, the global wellness industry (beauty, nutrition & fitness) skyrocketed from a $68 billion-dollar industry to a to a whopping $3.7 trillion-dollar enterprise between the years 2003 - 2015. These numbers reflect a consumer backlash to rising lifestyle related disease rates, obesity and mental health disorders that threaten population health as we know it. It also demonstrates that as the public becomes more educated about the health hazards embedded in our environment and in our food system, more are turning to organic every year.

Leading By Example

In 2003, there were only a few companies importing traditional superfoods like ours to compliment the wide array of homegrown organic products on the market. We were fortunate to fill an industry niche, succeeded in taking the products nationwide at the right time and as a result, became the early pioneers of the superfood category. This distinction has always kept us committed to staying true to who we are at the core - endeavoring to put the health of people and the planet first by sourcing the highest quality products cultivated through organic, sustainable farming practices as our guiding principle.

Coming Alive in 2005

Having moved from a home-based business to the Novato business park the prior year, we set the ball in motion for having the ability to scale as needed. It was do or die time and the company needed more manpower and more money to expand to the next level. Friends Ward & Carolin came through, partnering with us to distribute Navitas on the Canadian market. With that and a small loan from family we added Cacao and Goji berries to the line alongside our flagship product Maca. Both the move to our current headquarters in Novato and the addition of Cacao and Goji proved to be the catalyst we needed. Undoubtedly though, the most critical part of 2005 was the initial branding by our friend and current Creative Director Judy Hemming that would transformthe brand to visually represent the phrase, “Power Foods for the Modern Lifestyle”. With its eye-popping colors and simple, modern graphics, the line changed from hippie to chic overnight, opening doors to an entirely new demographic of health seeking individuals.

Connecting The Dots

The next three years were spent hustling, spread thin with a skeleton staff. My brothers John and Mike moved north to lend a hand with operations over the next couple of years, offering a critical lifeline right when we needed it. Zach focused on sales and making connections at places like Expo West, in Peru and abroad. As usual, he made decisions based on his gut feelings, both of who to trust and what next steps would be worthwhile. We landed accounts with Whole Foods and Amazon by the end of 2006, expanded our warehouse space in Novato and added a few more staff members.

After a long period of contemplation, I returned to school to become a nurse while helping out with the business part time and raising our toddler. For the first time in years, Zach and I began to go our separate ways professionally for the good of the family and with the intention of widening our safety net. While I may not have been physically present during those years, the trials and tribulations of Navitas would continue to come home each and every day, and for all the years that followed.

Ready For Prime Time

Navitas continued to experience sustained growth throughout the devastating economic downturn of 2008. Despite the tumultuous times, and perhaps as a result of them, consumers were still willing to invest in personal wellness and premium nutrition. We began innovation that year and expanded from single ingredients to the addition of convenience snack foods with the launch of the Power Snacks. At that point, we had upwards of forty products and many more ideas in the pipeline about others that would follow.

We took a huge gamble that year and invested in a large 20 x 20, fully customized trade show booth and positioned ourselves in the middle of the action at Expo West. Our booth was gorgeous and its presence and location at the show demonstrated that we were finally ready for prime time. Sales were growing at an incredibly fast pace and it appeared as though we were moving from fickle start-up to a profitable enterprise. During that period, we tripled the size of our Novato campus and had fifty employees.

Unfortunately, the stress grew along with the size and the responsibility of additional people reliant on the company’s success. With that came new concern over management capabilities and Zach felt strongly that the time had come to move from what had always been a scrappy entrepreneurial business to a more professionalized operation in order to meet the challenges inherent with the rapid growth.

Team Building

By early 2012, Zach began the process of bringing on key people who would bring knowledge and creativity to help Navitas transition into the next stage. We needed to tighten up the financial side of things in order to improve our lending capabilities with the banks and meet the persistent demand for increased production. Ira Haber was hired as CFO, who eventually evolved into the current COO role. Ira brought with him a calculated, systems approach to the business from years of experience in the food industry. Soon thereafter, Greg Hingsbergen came on as our Senior Accountant and played a key role in helping Ira transform operations to become more efficient and data driven. As a result, Navitas finally evolved from a family style business to a bona fide professional operation. Although the change was necessary, it signified the end of an era and took time for many of our long-time employees to embrace and appreciate the change.

In 2013 Brooke Golden was hired to lead the marketing department, which had historically been combined with sales and was long overdue for some creative direction of its own. Years later Greg Hingsbergen would be promoted to VP Controller with a permanent position on the executive team. Around the same time, the effusively positive force Peter Hartman became our VP of Sales. With that, the executive team was rounded out and remains in place today.

Practicing What We Preach

Also in early 2013 while working as an RN, I became increasingly disillusioned with what I came to believe was primarily a sick care system, rather than a healthcare system. I was moved into action by watching the CNN documentary Escape Fire that put all of my feelings into context and I decided at that point that I would devote my career to empowering others to engage in self-care and prevention strategies, which in turn could alleviate the burden on our healthcare system. I was proud that Navitas was a prime example of health promotion in action, educating consumers about the value of a nutrient-dense, plant-based diet and promoting a lifestyle that will effectively reduce the burden of disease. Although we were small compared to other companies that had Workplace Wellness Programs in place, I felt it was essential that we had an internal example for our team that aligned with the mission and values of the company. By Fall of that year, we officially launched the Navitas Wellness Program. Although the concept was embraced from the start, the true synthesis into our brand identity was still to come.

Crossroads

In May 2014 we hit one of the most challenging moments in our company’s history with the devastating news that our Chia Powder and Omega Smoothie Blend was being recalled. The whole experience was devastating because we had always taken pride in sourcing the highest quality ingredients and performing rigorous testing upon arrival of the products to the US prior to allowing anything into production. Perhaps the most disturbing part for us was that our products were meant to promote health, not threaten it. Nonetheless, it affirmed the need to double down on food safety and supply chain vetting and as a result we improved our practices.

From a personal standpoint, the news of the recall hit Zach and me very hard. Not only did it induce overwhelming fear and anxiety about the company’s future, we both finally felt the heavy weight and burden of the risk at hand. Needless to say, it precipitated a period of deep introspection and a re-evaluation of priorities. By the end of that year, we decided that the time had finally come to bring in a financial partner who could help the company overcome the challenges inherent to the food industry and to help us strategize for the future. After much deliberation, Zach chose to work with Encore Consumer Capital, a Bay area investment group with sincere leadership, expertise and a wide network of talented individuals to draw from.

Coming into Our Own

In 2016, Navitas underwent a re-brand and finally came into our own as an established wellness lifestyle company. Our name changed from Navitas Naturals to Navitas Organics, a move that was long overdue given the ambiguity of the word natural in the organic food industry. Since we had always been exclusively organic, it was a necessary change and allowed us the opportunity to refresh our look in a new and creative way. It achieved the desired goal of celebrating the lifestyle brand we had become, opening the door to diversifying the product line in the way it had always been envisioned.

As a healthcare provider, I am extremely proud of the direction the company has taken over the last few years. The brand has evolved to fully represent the integrity of health and wellness in product innovation, company culture and marketing. Our mission to provide people with nutrient-dense foods that nourish the body and mind from the inside out has guided us throughout our 15-year history. We feel this is important because it provides a foundation for healthy living and fosters a positive outlook to get the most out of this journey called life. Five years later, our comprehensive Wellness Program is robust and supports employee’s with multiple opportunities to engage in healthy behaviors within their workday so that they have more time to do what they want and need to do when they return home.

Thankfully, Zach and I have weathered the storm and have come out the other side with immense appreciation for the journey. We are grateful first and foremost for ALL of the people, far too many to name here, who have played an important role at Navitas in one way or another over the last 15 years. But I would be remiss if I didn’t take this moment to recognize the integral contributions of Jeff Minehart, Jamie Carr, Cahill Walsh, Roger Gutierrez, Juan Gonzalez and Luis Orozco – who like those mentioned above, have stuck it out with us since the early years. The future of Wellness looks bright and as more and more people discover the positive benefits of living a healthy lifestyle free from disease, we will continue to see a dramatic shift in the way we perceive the world. There can be no greater reward in life than this.