2    |   FINDING A MARKET NICHE VIA THE IMPORTANCE OF CONVENIENCE

According to studies, 93 percent of consumers claim to want to eat healthier food. Unfortunately, less than one-third of the population (28 percent) have easy and secure access to healthy foods. Taking a couple of hours to prepare a pasture-raised broiled chicken entrée accompanied with organic quinoa and spinach salad might be feasible for a lazy Sunday afternoon. However, during busy work weeks, most people’s lunch options are probably limited to the surplus of fast-food chain restaurants next to their workplace or some frozen dinner that the company cafeteria has on sale.

Kevin McCray [IMAGE 1]  the founder of Kevin’s Natural Foods, believes wholeheartedly that healthy and delicious meals should be an option for people with limited time for cooking and food prep. According to a recent interview, Kevin says that “in the early stages I knew we had something exciting. We would host focus groups and met with hundreds of shoppers, showing them early product ideas and getting their feedback. At that point, I definitely knew then that we were meeting an unmet need by combining flavor, convenience, and health.”

IMAGE 1: Kevin McCray the founder of Kevin’s Natural Foods

Food brands should undoubtedly engage in a market analysis before launching their brand and product offering. However, knowing how to frame that research is essential for finding an unmet niche within the health food market and industry. While many food brands can easily recognize the growing consumer demand for healthier foods, Kevin combined that consumer desire with the reality of people’s busy lives. However, before jumping into marketing and launching their products, the company wisely tested the product before introduction.

To differentiate their products from other meal delivery services and food brands offering prepared meals that are supposedly healthier than the average TV dinner, Kevin realized that the company needed to focus on taste.  “We cook everything in our own facility and have two secret weapons: sous-vide meats and incredible sauces,” Kevin says. “Sous-vide is a French cooking method that is used by many of the country’s top restaurants. It delivers incredible results by cooking vacuum-sealed meat, in a hot water bath, at a precise temperature. The outcome is moist, fork-tender meats that we pair with our signature paleo/keto-certified recipe sauces for five-star entrées, ready in just five minutes.”

The company offers sauces, seasonings, signature “heat and eat” entrees and sides, and Thanksgiving gravy [EXHIBIT 1,2,3,4,5]. The meals are pre-pre-prepared, packed in an insulated cooler, and shipped to their customers’ front door. The pre-cooked chicken meals only need to be sautéed for 1-2 minutes and simmered with their Keto Certified sauces line. Some of their signature flavors/recipes include Thai-style coconut chicken, teriyaki chicken, lemongrass chicken, and cilantro lime chicken.

In a recent interview with The Paleo Foundation, Kevin says that: “Early on, before we developed the line, we would hold focus groups to hear from people that were trying to clean up their diet. The feedback was remarkably consistent––adopting a healthier way of eating always involved limiting the available options for their meals.

the ground. Recent surveys have found that at least a quarter of all entrepreneurs log more than 60 hours a week, almost double the national average.

One of the keys to the success of small businesses, however, is effectively delegating responsibility to the right people. In the case of Kevin’s Natural Foods, co-founder Dan Costa, along with the company’s chef Stanley Dimond, have led the charge in developing new products and flavors to keep their customers enticed. Kevin says that “the three of us make a great team. As chefs, Dan and Stan have been cooking up a storm together since 1985. The three of us determine together what products and culinary shortcuts our customers could use to make their lives easier and what flavors we think would hit home. With my background, I bring the nutrition lens, and those two have the culinary chops to bring our ideas to life.”

Building a functional team where vital business tasks and responsibilities can be delegated is not only crucial for a healthy work-life balance but can also reflect positively in business growth and financial success. A recent Gallup survey found that business leaders with “high Delegator talent” were able to generate 33 percent higher revenue streams than those companies led by owners who struggled with successfully delegating duties to key members of their team.

Kevin’s Natural Foods also thrived through continuing to innovate on their successful Certified Paleo and Keto Certified meals. While many companies might be satisfied with sticking what has worked in the past, Kevin understands that offering novel new products and flavors to their customers is essential in maintaining customer loyalty and satisfaction.

The company recently launched a new line of product flavors, including their Chipotle Lime Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala.

“The last thing they wanted is to promote something as Paleo or Keto only to get complaints that it didn’t comply with the diet. The certifications gave them an objective third party measure that they could trust.” When communicating with retail buyers and decision-makers, Kevin also mentions that “many retailers would request copies of the certifications during the item set-up process.”

A recent study by U.S. Bank finds that 82 percent of small businesses fail due to poor cash flow management. Spending money on third-party certifications, then, might seem like an unnecessary expense during those critical first years of carving out a market niche, building a solid base of loyal customers, and finding your way into new retail markets. However, Kevin McCray believes that investing in independent, third-party certifications at the outset of a brand launch can be a key to long-term success.

“I think certifications are an important asset when building a trustworthy brand that aims to appeal to people engaging with lifestyle diets or looking to maintain specific standards around the food they consume,” Kevin says. He believes that these certifications can “strengthen your position and can benefit the brand right out the gate when aligned with other product attributes critical for success such as flavor, convenience, etc.”

Though some brands may find that the certification process is rigorous, Kevin also believes that this exactitude and rigorousness can be advantageous for brands that successfully go through the certification process. He urges third-party certifiers to continue to be strong enforcers of their standards because “enforcement of the standards is what generates the trust. The more you can educate people on the enforcement, the better,” he believes.