Rogue One Inc (fka ROAG)

[Pres46]

Article about Harvest Soul.

Mention of facility in Norcross, GA. Waiting on info to see if that is the new Harvest Soul operation. Looks like growth is on the way afterall.

Also the first missile fired accross the bow of our competitor Chuice. Nice serve by Quirk, now lets see if its an ace or if Chuice returns serve.



The Pitch: Harvest Soul lands in stores
SUBSCRIBER CONTENT: Jun 5, 2015, 6:00am EDT
Lisa R. Schoolcraft
Industry Focus EditorAtlanta
Business Chronicle
Email | Twitter
Harvest Soul Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fresh Promise Foods, launched a new
“chewable” juice line in late 2014, and in January, Harvest Soul Chewable Juices were picked
up by all 32 locations in Whole Foods Markets’ South region.
The Alpharettabased
Harvest Soul, has a plant in Norcross and the product, a blend of organic
fruit and vegetable juices mixed with bits of nuts, seeds and berries, is also for sale online. But
company President Kevin P. Quirk expect the juices to expand to other natural food retailers as
well. Here, Quirk explains how Harvest Soul came about:
Q: What problem are you trying to solve? With the huge growth in the bottled fruit and
vegetable juice business, it seemed to us that consumers are probably “over” relying on juices
to supply a lot of their daily nutrition. Unfortunately, many of the popular pressed juices on the
market today are low in fiber, because it’s “juiced” away.” These juices are not very nutrientdense.
They are also pretty high in sugar and may even have sweeteners added, like honey.
Most consumers, while they think they’re getting all the essential vitamins and nutrients from
their juices, may not be.
Q: What’s your solution? We created Harvest Soul Organic Chewable Juices to meet this
gap in the juice category. Our juices, which are certified USDA organic and nonGMO
project
verified, are blended fruits and vegetables, not pressed, so they retain quite a bit of dietary
fiber and we also add no sweeteners, like honey. We then add in bits of nuts, seeds and
berries to provide even more fiber and protein, which also encourages chewing, the most
important stage of digestion. When we chew, our bodies release powerful enzymes that help
unlock all the nutrients of the food we’re eating. Also, chewing and drinking a fiberrich
blended juice helps regulate sugar spikes, so it’s a much more healthful way to eat and drink.
Chewing can also help us regulate caloric intake, which helps in weight management as well.
Harvest Soul juices are HPP Fressurized to maintain freshness and shelf life through a
proprietary high pressure processing method and are never heat pasteurized, which negatively
impacts vitamin and nutrient levels.
6/5/2015 The Pitch: Harvest Soul lands in stores Atlanta
Business Chronicle
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Q: Who are your customers? Our customers are educated about making healthy food
choices and are aware of what they’re putting into their bodies. They are mostly adults of all
ages, both male and female, and they seek out wholesome, organic products that provide a
solid base of nutrients. They’re tired of mainstream products filled with additives, chemicals,
sweeteners and fillers. They want real food.
Q: How does the company make money? We launched our Harvest Soul Organic
Chewable Juices on our online store in December 2014, and soon after our juices were
accepted for distribution in all of the 32 Whole Foods locations in the South region. Soon we’re
launching two new chewable juice flavors to join Green Fusion and Tropical Fusion — Berry
Banana Fusion and Veggie Beet Fusion. We have plans to expand our distribution within the
natural and organic channel throughout the South and beyond.
Q: What is the size of the market? According to Natural Foods Merchandiser 2015,
refrigerated high pressure processed functional juices grew over 107 percent last year to reach
$25.5 million. This segment continues to experience tremendous growth as consumers seek
out healthier, whole food products that aren’t altered with additives, sweeteners and added
flavors. They want the real food to shine. It’s all part of the clean label movement —
consumers want to know what’s in their food, and better yet, they want to be familiar with and
trust the ingredient, which is often not the case with labcreated
ingredients that are
impossible to pronounce.
Looking at organic only, the organic food and beverage market is expected to top $50 billion in
2015, growing at double digits versus single digit growth of traditional, nonorganic
food and
beverages.
Q: What is the competitive landscape? There really aren’t other organic “chewable” juices
in the marketplace today, but there are some nutrientdense
nonorganic
juices. One local
juice, Chuice, is blended fruits and vegetables, but is not organic and does add honey as a
sweetener, raising sugar levels. We believe Harvest Soul Organic Chewable Juice has created
the organic chewable juice category, but also realize our competition comes from more
traditional coldpressed
juices, both organic and conventional, like Suja, Evolution Fresh and
Blue Print, as well as local juices like Arden’s Garden.
Q: What’s your background? I have spent more than 20 years in the consumer product
beverage industry with AnheuserBusch
Inc., The CocaCola
Co. Inc., working with Minute
Made brands, as well as White Hat Brands, a children’s wellness company I founded and later
sold.
Q: What is your capital raised/sought? Harvest Soul is currently undergoing an equity
raise, raising $1 million of growth capital to support further expansion in the natural and
organic channel, both in the South and the West Coast and the launch of two new flavors.
Q: What’s your advice to other Atlanta startups? Patience, Perseverance and Passion. If
you have these three things, your likelihood of success increases exponentially. Having said
that, it helps to have a strategy and a great product that satisfies a need that is currently being
underserved and the necessary funding to execute.
Harvest Soul Inc.