Alejandro Velez, co-founder of Back to the Roots, describes how the company validated customer demand for its home aquaponics kit before mass production.
Assertion Partly supported
Velez: Back to the Roots products are in over 14,000 stores globally
“And these amazing products, which are ready to grow, ready to eat products, a mushroom farm, a water garden, a garden in a can, and now organic breakfast cereal and breakfast toppers that are now sold in over 14,000 grocery stores around the country, and Canad…”
Assertion Partly supported
Back to the Roots reached every US Whole Foods in three months
“We put this in, in one Berkeley Whole Foods store. Within three months, we were nationwide with Whole Foods, every single store in the country”
Assertion Supported
Whole Foods, Petco, and Nordstrom launched Water Garden nationwide together
“So we took that buzz and went back to Petco, went back to Whole Foods, went back to Nordstrom, and for the first time ever, those three retailers took this product on nationwide. So we had a national launch with Whole Foods, national launch with Petco, Nationa…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Velez: Back to the Roots is Costco's #1 organic cereal
“We're the number one selling organic cereal in Costco nationwide.”
Assertion Partly supported
Velez: Post, Kellogg's, and GM own 90% of $10B cereal market
“Three Goliaths, Post, Kellogg's GM, running the show. They own 90% of this ten billion dollar industry”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Velez: Whole Foods was the only grocer to respond to early pitches
“We took that same bucket, walked it into every single grocery store in like a 50 mile radius from Andronico's, every Andronico's in Berkeley and Oakland. We went to Farmer Joe's. We went to Berkeley Bowl. At the time, there was only one Berkeley Bowl. We walke…”