"One of the biggest business opportunities in the U.S. is to create a new, high-quality food company that cares about human health." Kettle & Fire co-founder Justin Mares said: He is working on new nutritious products that embrace the Make America Healthy Again.

原文標題：《Kettle & Fire如何利用骨湯打造價值1億美元的生意》

A few months before Kettle & Fire partnered with Hawaiian venison brand Maui Nui to launch a new line of bone broth, Justin Maress put a lot of effort into moving the partnership forward.

Before reaching the agreement, he and the Maui Nui team spent three nights in Hawaii, using night vision devices and long-range rifles to hunt invasive species axis deer. Each axis deer is killed in its natural habitat and supervised by a government inspector (similar to those in a conventional slaughterhouse). Mares himself transported at least 40 of the hunted axle deer to a nearby all-terrain vehicle, where they were then transported to a mobile slaughterhouse. Mares said he had witnessed what he considered to be the most ethical, small-scale animal slaughter in the United States. It's also good for the company's business.

"There's no better way to capture wildlife and turn them into nutrient sources than that." Mares said to explain why wild meat is often not available on the commercial market. That's why this bone broth from the company is so unique.

Deer Flavor Pick: Justin Mares, in collaboration with Maui Nui, co-founder Jake Muise and Kettle & Fire CEO Brian Hack to launch the Kettle & Fire Game line bone soup. IMAGE SOURCE: KETTLE & FIRE

35歲的馬雷斯致力於向全球最注重健康的消費者提供更健康的食品，近十年來，這一願景也成為Kettle & Fire骨湯品牌的發展動力。

He co-founded the brand with his brother Nick Mares in 1, and what started as a small business has grown into a large company with revenues of more than $0 billion (double the number two years ago). The market demand is strong, and the product is in short supply. Over the past five years, the brand's various range of nutritious bone broth products have been snapped up by loyal fans as soon as they went live.

Kettle & Fire's bone broth is simmered for 20 to 0 hours, and grass-fed beef is sourced according to a strict set of criteria to ensure the soup is rich in collagen, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Mares and his team also weeded out additives and ingredients such as seed oil, which had been criticized by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and supporters of Making America Healthy Again. Kennedy used to promote the benefits of bone broth on social media, and Joe Rogan, a well-known podcast host who has been a big fan of meat for years, is also a big fan of bone broth.

When producing bone broth, attention to detail is crucial.Mares terminated his partnership with Kettle & Fire after discovering that a supplier of natural flavors used a small amount of canola oil as a binder, in favor of another supplier that uses olive oil. Since then, the company has banned all natural flavors. In addition, the company tests the bone broth at its own expense to prove that it does not contain residues of the herbicide glyphosate, and proudly labels this information on the product packaging.

"It's hard and boring, not to mention fascinating. No one cares about this level of detail. "It's hard to believe that even as a company with some sourcing capabilities, we still need to know all our suppliers to ensure that the products and ingredients we purchase do not affect the health of consumers." ”

品牌的忠實消費者對此深感認同。過去九年間，Kettle & Fire還引領著一場回歸，讓湯品和高湯貨架重新擺滿富含天然養分的產品。如今，骨湯已不再是一個小眾產品：Kettle & Fire的產品不僅在全美2.2萬家全食超市（Whole Foods）、沃爾瑪（Walmart）和塔吉特（Target）等門店銷售，還開拓了品牌官網、亞馬遜、Walmart.com和Thrive Market等線上管道。在食品雜貨業湯品賽道上，Kettle & Fire的復購率位居前列，還為這個曾經不溫不火的品類吸引來了新顧客。

Hot topic: "Humans have a long history of eating bone broth. "The soup is so nutritious precisely because it's based on bone broth." IMAGE CREDIT: KETTLE & FIRE

"The hardest thing is to have great ambition and firm faith, and not waver. That's where Kettle & Fire comes in. ”

Sam McBride, a longtime independent director, said. He was previously the COO of Rx Bar, a protein bar brand that was acquired by Kellogg's for $6 million in 0. "They saw this trend early on, always adhered to strict procurement standards, and never deviated from their original intentions."

儘管Kettle & Fire增長不俗，馬雷斯仍希望公司暫不上市，按照自己的節奏發展。為此，去年年底，在麥克布賴德（芝加哥Colter Ventures的創始人）的協助下，他與弟弟買斷了公司早期投資人的股份。麥克布賴德從新投資者那裡籌集了4300萬美元，Kettle & Fire在該次融資中估值達到2億美元，約為公司年收入的兩倍。新投資者擁有馬雷斯所謂的“長期發展規劃”，樂於通過利潤分紅或未來被回購獲益，而非僅僅關注公司能否出售或上市。馬雷斯和尼克在此次交易后仍為公司少數股東。

With this capital support and momentum, Mares was emboldened to aggressively grow the company and promote what he believed was healthier food to the mass market. "My vision for the future of the food system is much more ambitious and clear than that of investors." "With more control, it's much easier to realize your vision," he said. ”

Today, Mares will continue to deliver on that vision as chairman, not CEO.

去年1月，他聘請布萊恩·哈克接任公司首席執行官，負責日常運營。他的弟弟尼克（曾在2019年入選《福布斯》30 Under 30榜單，當時馬雷斯已年滿30歲）於2020年卸任首席運營官一職后便不再負責公司日常運營，但仍留任董事會成員。尼克是2016年彼得·蒂爾（Peter Thiel）獎學金獲得者，與人共同創立了另一家名為Light Labs的食品毒素檢測公司。馬雷斯則參與創立了初創公司Truemed，幫助消費者使用健康儲蓄帳戶（HSA）或靈活開支帳戶（FSA）資金支付慢性病根治費用。

Bitter and sweet: Justin Mares's (left) teared ligaments in his younger brother Nick (right) when he was 26 years old, making him realize the benefits of bone broth for the first time. IMAGE CREDIT: KETTLE & FIRE

"Justin is a big-picture thinker," CEO Huck said of his predecessor, "and he has a keen eye for consumer trends that helps build a forward-thinking business." ”

When Justin Mares was 3 years old, his 0-year-old brother Nick tore two knee ligaments while playing football, and this was the first time he felt the benefits of bone broth. As a Crossfit enthusiast, Justin quickly realized that a better ratio of Omega-0 fatty acids, as well as a full spectrum of amino acids such as collagen and gelatin, could help improve health and recovery. He also found that there are many consumers in the market who want to improve gut health, hair condition, and more through nutritious bone broth.

However, this was a gap in the market at the time – he searched for major brands and couldn't find a bone broth product that could be stored at room temperature and made from 100% grass-fed ingredients.

Bone broth has been passed down for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine and has a place in the history of commerce in the United States.

It used to be the core ingredient in many of Campbell's products, but most of the bone broth products commonly found on supermarket shelves today have evolved into "technology and hard work" made with powders and artificial nutrients, and many mass-produced soup bases are not even made from real bones.

"Over the past four or five decades, bone broth has shifted from the traditional process of time-consuming boiling of nutritious whole foods to the use of low-quality meat and bones for short cooking with natural flavors and additives to create a false umami taste." "Bone broth has a long history of human consumption. The soup is nutritious precisely because it is based on bone broth. It's a pity that the traditional boiling process is no longer in use. ”

The Mares brothers were determined to produce a bone broth product that would be simmered for nearly 24 hours. From the very beginning of the brand, they have pledged to use the highest standards of raw materials: only cow and chicken bones, which are humanely grass-fed for life – these animals are fed on natural pasture from birth to slaughter, as opposed to the "grass-fed" label that is partially to later grain-fed and fattened on the market.

That's why Kettle & Fire emphasizes that its products are made from "grassfed-and-finished" bones. (Multiple peer-reviewed studies support these health claims: In 3, a study of fatty acids and antioxidants in grass-fed and grain-fed meats found higher levels of vitamins A and E, as well as antioxidants that fight cancer.) Two studies in 0 also found that grass-fed meat contained better quality Omega-0 fatty acids and other nutrients. ）

The launch of Kettle & Fire coincided with the rise of the Paleo Diet, which emphasized eating ingredients such as animal offal and seasonal fruits, which were said to have been eaten since the Stone Age, and the Keto Diet, which focused on high fat and low carbs. According to SPINS, a grocery industry market tracker, sales of foods labeled on the paleo diet or ketogenic diet increased by 5% to 0% year-on-year, with the former reaching $00 million in sales and the latter reaching $0 billion.

"Consumers are waking up to the fact that the nutrient density of food is inextricably linked to quality." "If you're using a factory farm and you're using a short-term cooking process, you're not using high-quality ingredients," Mares said. Fundamentally, the final product will have a significant reduction in nutrient density and significantly fewer health benefits. ”

Mares' passion and belief in his products is not only a personal obsession, but also part of the company's culture.

He worked at the emerging food incubator of yogurt brand Chobani in 2016, when the brand's billionaire founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, shared his dilemma after bringing in outside investors who didn't really recognize the company's unique culture and standards. Eventually, Ulukaya bought back the shares of these investors and insisted that Chobani would never go public and would be wholly owned by herself.

受烏魯卡亞策略的啟發，馬雷斯兄弟在Kettle & Fire的融資上採取了極為謹慎的策略。2016年，他們籌集了不到100萬美元，兩年後又籌集了1600萬美元的風險投資，這一輪融資由洛杉磯的Cavu Consumer Partners領投。

在接下來的18個月里，Kettle & Fire利用這筆資金將銷售網路從3000家雜貨店擴展至10,000家。隨著業務版圖擴大，公司推出了湯品系列以及適合生酮飲食的高蛋白產品線，銷售額突破3500萬美元。

With these broader product lines, Kettle &Fire became profitable for the first time in 2020 years. Over the next two years, the brand launched Costco and Walmart, a move that rocketed sales.

Kettle & Fire's core product line is beef and chicken bone broth. In 2021, the brand also launched the "Regenerative Agriculture" line of chicken and beef bone broths, selling on the environmental benefits of the farms where these bone broth ingredients are sourced. Although the term regenerative agriculture is not officially defined in the federal government's food labeling regulations, Kettle & Fire has adopted the term because its chicken and beef suppliers follow five principles of soil health, which include keeping plant roots alive in the soil and growing a variety of crops. (These suppliers are also certified by Whole Foods Market.) ）

"It's not our most profitable product line, but we want to be one of the leading brands that really drives the food system in a positive direction." "I wanted to find more opportunities to invest in the idea of nutrient density. ”

此外，Kettle & Fire還與Maui Nui合作，推出全新鹿骨湯系列產品線。Maui Nui的聯合創始人兼首席執行官傑克·繆伊斯（Jake Muise）將這種模式描述為“更類似於野生三文魚捕撈，而非傳統漁場養殖”。未來，該公司計劃尋求更多類似的合作專案，例如開發野牛骨湯等。所有新產品都將在自有工廠生產——今年春季，品牌首家製造工廠將在賓夕法尼亞州蘭開斯特正式投產，創造150個就業崗位。

"One of the biggest business opportunities in the U.S. is to create a new, high-quality food company that cares about human health." "It's not just about making the most addictive, high-margin, super-tasty products that have a lot of negative health effects. ”