Sustainable Business Practices: The Dr. Smood Way to Health-Conscious Growth
In our podcast series, I Built a Company That Makes a Difference, we speak with small business owners balancing sustainability with running a successful business venture. We discuss all things small business, environmentalism, and the lessons learned.
In this week's episode, we spoke with Oliver Sindlev, the Co-Founder and Vice President of Dr Smood, an authentic, premium, and growing food brand offering health-conscious consumers the best choices for pantry staples, condiments, sauces, and snacks. Oliver talks about the origins of the Dr. Smood brand (whose name is a clever play on the words "smart" and "food"), the challenges faced during its early days, and the innovative strategies for future expansion.
Read on for some highlights from our conversation.
source: www.drsmood.com
Dr Smood's origins: Keeping it clean for the planet's well-being
Dr Smood's inception in 2013 was influenced by Denmark's thriving juice culture and growing health trends. Identifying a market gap where major brands were cutting corners on ingredient quality, the company set out with a dual mission: to prioritize genuine health benefits for consumers while also championing the well-being of our planet and, in turn, creating a more sustainable future.
In 2015, after two years in the making, Dr Smood launched its first cafe in Miami's Wynwood, quickly adding a second in South Miami. Oliver recalls that early feedback shaped the brand, with its standout feature being a color-coded mood system, guiding customers to health benefits like "immunity" and "detox" through their menu choices.
"...how we actually kicked off the brand, in the beginning, was creating this six color code mood system...so each product that we were offering had a color code to it, and each color would represent a certain mood...for example, immunity, it could be detox, it could be power for protein..."
"A lot of people, they, of course, know, okay, that there's a few ingredients out there or many ingredients out there that are good for me, but what does it actually do for me? So that's what we wanted to educate people on, and we did that by color coding each product..."
Navigating the waters: From choppy starts to smooth sailing
Oliver recalls that during the first six months of Dr. Smood's operation, the team grappled with challenges brought on by their lack of experience in the food industry. Despite the teams' diverse backgrounds, they recognized the need for some seasoned hospitality heavyweights to join the ranks.
As Dr. Smood expanded, the team developed a growth strategy to strengthen its position in the market. A vital part of this plan was setting up a sustainable commissary kitchen model designed to support the rapid growth of the business as they opened more locations.
"...we have a commissary kitchen model because we wanted to make sure that we were completely in control of all processes...getting things from distributors or other co-packers like, you know, not that we don't trust anyone other than ourselves, but like we want to stay as close as possible."
Covid-19 saw the brand transition to an e-commerce model, introducing a range of pantry-staple products like pasta, sauces, bars, and supplements. Oliver shares the team also revamped their physical stores, drawing inspiration from their e-commerce successes to enhance the in-store experience. This led to a transformation from a quick-service approach to a more laid-back bistro-style ambiance.
"...the Covid challenges...it was hard...we knew we had to do something. The first couple months of Covid, immunity was a big thing, so we put together these detox packages and shipped them to people's homes, full of immunity-boosting juices and other superfoods."
Star power: Future plans for Dr Smood
In their future plans, Dr Smood is set to innovate with an "incubator" initiative, where they will collaborate with high-profile celebrities and athletes. Oliver explains that this collaboration aims to roll out new products that stand out for their nutritional value and top-tier quality. Alongside these developments, the brand is also committed to continuously enhancing the customer experience in its physical stores, refining its brick-and-mortar sustainable business model.
"We came up with a third arm that we call the incubator because Dr. Smood has always been great at product. Uh, everything we do is great for you. And we started getting a lot of appreciation from top athletes and big celebrities out there. They came knocking on our doors and wanted to work with us."
To listen to our complete conversation with Oliver and discussions with other entrepreneurs making a change in a big way, visit our website and listen on Apple Podcasts.