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For Sale: Untapped Niche Food Business With Massive Wholesale Potential

Scot

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Are you still looking for your business idea?

Not sure where to start?


Have you considered buying a turnkey business with a fully fleshed out business plan and proven market?

Live Free Foods, one of the first Gut Health and Low FODMAP brands in the US, is currently for sale.

WeFunder Video Card 2.png


Business Highlights at a glance
  1. Customer Validation - Over 3,000 online customers, with 6,000+ bottles sold.
  2. Huge Market Potential - Low FODMAP has the potential to exceed the Gluten Free Market by 7x. Irritable Bowel Syndrome affect 1 in 7 people.
  3. Grocery Validation - Stocked in 100+ stores, receiving monthly reorders. Carried by KeHe distributors and in talks with UNFI.
  4. Wholesale Demand - Major USA grocery chains are presently fast-tracking Low FODMAP products into their lineup and waiving slotting fees.
  5. Early Mover Advantage - Only US Based brand focused on Low FODMAP currently on store shelves in the USA.
What is Low FODMAP and why is this market primed for massive growth?

46 Million Americans are estimated to have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBS. It is estimated that 1 in 7 people worldwide, 14%, suffer from Irritable Bowel. The best current treatment for IBS is the Low FODMAP Diet. This diet has been clinically proven to manage symptoms for up to 75% people who follow this diet. 65% of people seen by their doctor for IBS have had diet adjustments prescribed by their doctors

This diet is difficult to follow because very few products on grocery store shelves can be eaten. There is a laundry list of common ingredients that will cause symptoms of IBS to flare. Live Free Foods has formulated recipes that exclude these common ingredients and use safe flavor stand-ins and has had them lab tested and certified to be FODMAP Friendly.

Low FODMAP will be the next Gluten Free trend.

An estimated 31 Million American adults follow a Gluten Free diet. New Research shows that people with Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity would benefit better by following a Low FODMAP Diet vs a Gluten Free diet. Currently, only 1.9% of people suffer from Celiac Disease, while 14% of people suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Gluten Free projected US grocery revenues of $7.6B by 2020.

Current and Future Products

Our Salad Dressing line launched 2018, as a test to validate the market. Ranch is the clear leader in sales and popularity and is currently the ONLY Low FODMAP Ranch Dressing in the world. The products have been lab tested and certified Low FODMAP and Gluten Free. Current formulated dressings are Ranch, Italian and Caesar.

Line extensions were planned for Honey Mustard and Thousand Island dressings. Additionally, we had done consumer research on BBQ sauces and marinades. An easy line extension will be individual serving size packets.

Future products are endless. Most products available on grocery store shelves do not have a Low FODMAP equivalent.


Mass Market Potential

Over 2500+ stores are currently carrying Low FODMAP products. There is one large competitor, FODY Foods (Low FODMAP Foods | Foods for a Low FODMAP Diet | Fody Foods). It is led by Steven J Singer, the founder of Glutino which sold to Boulder Brands for $60M. He helped pioneer the Gluten Free market. His interest in Gut Health & Low FODMAP is an endorsement. To date, Fody has raised a Series A round of $2.25M. Other VC’s have stated they are interested in this market as well. Additionally, they have convinced many large chains to create a Gut Health section for their products. This opens the door for other brands like Live Free to join this existing section.

Chains such as Kroger, Albertsons, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Meijer, Wegmans, and United are creating sections specifically for Low FODMAP items. To date, we have paid $0 in slotting fees. Products in this category are being fast tracked onto grocery store shelves. This is not the usual food startup grind of spending absurd amounts for shelf space and sampling.

The Numbers

2018 Revenue: $50k
2019 Revenue: $37K

While the wholesale business grew significantly in 2019, capital dried up mid year for new inventory. I was unable to sell on Amazon due to lack of inventory, the largest revenue channel, and unable to fulfill some wholesale orders. The business was not yet profitable. However, the main reason for losses in the company were due to poor margins from our previous copacker. The new formulations with the current copacker greatly increased profit margins and would allow for profitability. It is my opinion, that with the capital to run production from the beginning with this copacker, Live Free Foods would have been profitable.

Why am I Selling Live Free Foods?

Live Free was always a priority, but I was moonlighting on this while working a fulltime job in the pharmaceutical industry. Due to the Coronavirus my job is going to require all of my attention and I am now stay at home dad to a 1 year old while my wife works fulltime as a doctor. Also, because of personal changes and starting a family, I am tapped out in investing my own personal money. I’m looking for somebody to buy this company out that can finish what I started . I am truly passionate about solving this problem for those suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome and believe this brand can help millions of people. I need someone that has the available time and resources to make this a nationwide success.

What you get when you purchase Live Free Foods
  • Active Shopify website - www.eatlivefree.com
  • All Social Media Accounts - IG: @livefreefoods FB: @eatlivefree
  • Amazon Seller account with 4+ star reviews
  • 360+ member FB group
  • Active Registered Trademark for Live Free Foods
  • All Marketing assets both digital and physical
  • Introductions to copacking partner, with access to recipes formulated for the brand
  • Retail Buyer contacts: Lomar, KeHe distributors, and Kroger
  • Introduction to influencer relationships
  • Detailed financial projections and future product roadmap
  • Scraped Amazon customer list
  • Email list, including customers, newsletter subscribers, investors, and media contacts
  • 30 days of personal consultation for brand, market, and business
How you discover your Fastlane

In 5 years, Live Free will have helped Low FODMAP become synonymous with Gut Health. Most grocery stores will have a Low FODMAP section and Live Free will be a prominent feature. Around this time, larger brands will start turning more attention towards Low FODMAP certifications for their products and introducing their own line of Low FODMAP products. This will make Live Free Foods a PRIME acquisition target by one of the larger conglomerates.

It is easier for large brands to acquire innovation, versus starting their own sub-brands. Typical road to exit 4-7 years with 2-5x multiplier on gross sales based on comparable business exits.


Why its the perfect time to buy a business

With the Coronavirus relief packages available from the CARES act, if you purchase a business using an SBA loan, Tte SBA also will pay six months of principal, interest, and fees for new SBA loans made between March 27, 2020, and September 27, 2020. [Source]

Live Free Foods can be yours for $35,000

I've invested twice this amount to get here, but the second owner ALWAYS benefits from the early upside down investment. That's just the way this goes. I've spent my money learning how to make this business profitable. Now you get to take advantage of those hard earned lessons and grow it.




If you want a play by play of the creation and growth of Live Free Foods, or more details on the business you can read the 18 Page INSIDERS Thread GOLD! [Progress] Creating Specialty Food Products For Medical Diets

Additional details can be gained by messaging me on the forum.
 
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Vigilante

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I have followed this business from the beginning, and chatted with Scot over the development window. While I know nothing about the market potential, I know he has a good core concept here. Interesting offer Scot. Sad to see you having to shift, but for the right person it seems like it might be a great jumpstart with a turnkey business that needs time, attention and capital. I have also tried the product, and the reason it sells is it tastes good, which is more than I can say for other niche dietary related products on the market. You have a good start, and hopefully this business finds it's happily ever after.
 

Timmy C

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I remember reading your thread on the inside.

Proud of you for how far you have taken this mate, I hope another entrepreneur can snag this and make it a huge success.
 

Scot

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I have followed this business from the beginning, and chatted with Scot over the development window. While I know nothing about the market potential, I know he has a good core concept here. Interesting offer Scot. Sad to see you having to shift, but for the right person it seems like it might be a great jumpstart with a turnkey business that needs time, attention and capital. I have also tried the product, and the reason it sells is it tastes good, which is more than I can say for other niche dietary related products on the market. You have a good start, and hopefully this business finds it's happily ever after.

Thank you for the endorsement. You’ve been a huge sounding board through many of the steps in building Live Free. I hope someone else can pick up the baton and run with it.

I remember reading your thread on the inside.

Proud of you for how far you have taken this mate, I hope another entrepreneur can snag this and make it a huge success.

Thank you. Anyone who’s read that thread knows how much of my soul I put into Live Free. I hope someone else recognizes that as well.
 
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Vigilante

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Thank you for the endorsement. You’ve been a huge sounding board through many of the steps in building Live Free. I hope someone else can pick up the baton and run with it.



Thank you. Anyone who’s read that thread knows how much of my soul I put into Live Free. I hope someone else recognizes that as well.

I didn’t realize you had a registered trademark
 

Greg R

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Over the last two years, I've seen first hand what @Scot has created with this business. I even worked a trade show assisting him with the business. Scot's Live Free accomplishments are tremendous, getting into multiple major grocery chains. With several reorders from them.

With a small SBA loan like this, you can get an approval in a matter of days. You can also wrap in a nice capital injection in the loan and structure a deal that would put the company on a path to success.

I have no doubt that this would be a great business for someone looking to break into the food industry as @Scot basically took this 3/4ths of the way. You just need to get it past the finish line.

It has been amazing to watch the progress thus far. Great job @Scot!
 

Scot

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Over the last two years, I've seen first hand what @Scot has created with this business. I even worked a trade show assisting him with the business. Scot's Live Free accomplishments are tremendous, getting into multiple major grocery chains. With several reorders from them.

With a small SBA loan like this, you can get an approval in a matter of days. You can also wrap in a nice capital injection in the loan and structure a deal that would put the company on a path to success.

I have no doubt that this would be a great business for someone looking to break into the food industry as @Scot basically took this 3/4ths of the way. You just need to get it past the finish line.

It has been amazing to watch the progress thus far. Great job @Scot!

Thanks for the shout out Greg. You’ve been an awesome help through building Live Free. Would have liked to have been able to bring you out to one of the big trade shows too.
 
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G-Man

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@Scot has great proof concept on the product line in the form of very enthusiastic customers.

He has also already gotten to 2.0 version of the product and gone through a copacker change. Tons and tons of value just in those two things.

Aside from that, he’s also gotten retail distribution and the product is carried by a major distributor.
This thing is ripe for somebody to take it to the finish line.
 

Kak

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If you have some dry powder going into this downturn, opportunities abound. This is one of them. I am intimately aware of the kind of connections and business Scot has done with Live Free. We have kept in touch over the last 24 months or so.

Not only do I think it has immense potential in a growing category, I believe that money can be raised with the right profile of opportunity documented. We have gone over a lot of this stuff together.

Personally, I am bullish on dietary sensitivities... I think, as we learn more and more about the human body, we seem to find more and more link between the body's response to food and overall health. It is a growing category. I believe it is crack for investors, and multiples are high.

I am so confident in this business, as a matter of fact, that whoever buys this can just be accepted into my incubator program, sight unseen, if so desired.
 
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ZCP

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With some SBA fuel and full focus, this would be a solid start to fastlane.
AND you get Scot's help.

What you will learn and do will be the biggest benefit. Right @Greg R ?

Don't half a$$ it. Go in 'full a$$'!
Get this one over the hump and you have the Gold gumball.
Keep the INSIDERS thread going and we'll push you.
 
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Vigilante

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With some SBA fuel and full focus, this would be a solid start to fastlane.
AND you get Scot's help.

What you will learn and do will be the biggest benefit. Right @Greg R ?

Don't half a$$ it. Go in 'full a$$'!
Get this one over the hump and you have the Gold gumball.
Keep the INSIDERS thread going and we'll push you.


Scot you might also consider just letting it sit dormant for a bit and coming back to it. You have way more IP here than the current ask.
 

Scot

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I am so confident in this business, as a matter of fact, that whoever buys this can just be accepted into my incubator program, sight unseen, if so desired.

Wow, Kyle thank you! That is an awesome offer!


Scot you might also consider just letting it sit dormant for a bit and coming back to it. You have way more IP here than the current ask.


Its funny, I've had a couple of conversations with interested buyers this week and selling a business to someone is just like selling it to investors. And the more I talk about it, the more I'm reminded why I love this business so much. Trust me, if I had a magic button to inject capital into the business, I would definitely take this advice to heart.
 

AllenCrawley

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@Scot do you have any serious inquiries?

It’s a no brainer, folks!
 
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Scot

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@Scot do you have any serious inquiries?

It’s a no brainer, folks!

I have two so far. Have had a great call and ongoing emails with one and a initial call with a second next week.
 

Bigguns50

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Sounds like an UGG shoes story in some ways which means it could be huge.
 

Merging Left

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Trust me, if I had a magic button to inject capital into the business, I would definitely take this advice to heart.

Have you sought outside capital? If you had access to it, would you want to keep going with this? It sounds like there are factors other than just money driving this decision for you.
 
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Scot

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Have you sought outside capital? If you had access to it, would you want to keep going with this? It sounds like there are factors other than just money driving this decision for you.

I've spent the better part of the last year and a half seeking outside capital from seed groups, angel investors, VC's, and even crowdfunding. I've pretty much exhausted every option I can think of to get outside capital into the business.
 

CareCPA

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I've spent the better part of the last year and a half seeking outside capital from seed groups, angel investors, VC's, and even crowdfunding. I've pretty much exhausted every option I can think of to get outside capital into the business.
I don't want to wade too deep into this, but I would bet that if someone spent the next 12 months optimizing some of the operations issues that @Scot has already identified, it would be much easier to raise capital in a year.
 

amp0193

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I got to watch Scot start this company from the beginning, and he demonstrated again and again the opportunity, with his wins landing large retailers, and a radical customer following.

The business had margin problems. Which he fixed by switching co-packers, but unfortunately not until running out of cash and hitting a dead end trying to get more.

The fact that some of these retailers are taking a chance on this diet category is a big eye opener on what trends are coming.

Scot told us repeatedly about how this is going to be the next gluten free, and he could very well be right. IBS is a real issue, and causes my wife a lot of problems, and it's been a tough couple of years trying to navigate it. I know there's millions out there dealing with the same.


This would be a great business for the right person willing to step in and take it to the next level.
 
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ZCP

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Bump! Just getting coaching from @Scot on raising funding / pitching to investors would be worth the price of admission.
 

amp0193

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Surprised this thread is still open and the business hasn't been snatched up yet.

What I've learned from starting and growing a few businesses is that the hardest part (at least for me) is getting started.

The branding, the concept, the product design, the formulation. Figuring out the business model.

Once all of that is in place though, my skills as a visionary and marketer really shine, and I'm ready to put down the gas pedal.

Maybe you're the same.

@Scot was on to something, and he's already done the hard part for you.


Just needs some TLC, some money, and someone with some hustle to take it where he originally envisioned... and beyond.
 

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Scot, it's a great project, for sure! Somehow it remembers me a time, when I was at the same situations, and well, I've been facing the same issues when I was making incorporation of my company which I've been starting from scratch.
 
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fastlanedoll

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How much profit were you making? :p And around how much capital do you need to raise to keep it going?
 

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I just read through all your progress since the very beginning, every threads I was so eager to finally see your website. So now that it's public, going through it got me thinking of all the hard work and effort you must have put into it, how you didn't gave up after failing your first venture and stuff. GOD this is inspiring ! When I watch the little animated video that explain " who is live free foods ?", I got goosebumps and Im not gonna lie, I got emotional a little bit... I am such a b*tchh ! :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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Scot

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Update on the sale, @JustinY is the new owner of Live Free Foods and I'm beyond excited to see where he will take this brand. He's also joined @Kak incubator, Kill Bigger.

I know BIG things are in store for Live Free Foods under Justin's leadership.
 

Ravens_Shadow

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Now I can continue to eat the best ranch I've ever had! Woo hoo :D
Congrats @JustinY.
 

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