Folk Revival

Oatmeal is a $1B category but it's a sleepy category with little innovation. This is where we saw an opportunity to disrupt and innovate. Today, consumers are seeking more protein and fewer carbs from every meal and snacking occasion, making this trend one of the fastest growing and enduring in the food industry.

The hot cereals on the market today (Quaker Oatmeal, Bob's Red Mill, Cream of Wheat) have remained largely unchanged for decades. They typically offer oats and perhaps some sweeteners, nuts and fruit, and voila, you have the hot cereal you've seen for decades in the breakfast aisle.

Between 2017 and 2021, protein claims grew at a CAGR of 17.9% in cold breakfast cereal launches and 11.4% in hot breakfast cereal launches (Innova database 2022).

Data shows the market for protein of all kinds continues to grow, with American consumers looking for low carb/high protein options for breakfast (i.e. the Keto diet). Folk Revival aims to be part of this growing trend.

Breakfast: The Most Ritualistic Part of the Day

Numerous studies and statistics show that many people eat the same snack/meal for breakfast almost every day, whether that's a smoothie, yogurt, fruit, or in our case, a hot cereal. Approximately 68% of Americans eat the same thing for breakfast at least 2x/week.

If we can help shift consumers' behavior towards a healthier and cleaner breakfast with functional ingredients, Folk Revival can be an everyday staple for people across the country. 

Breakfast Has Been 'Revived' with Folk Revival

Introducing Folk Revival hot cereal! Each cup boasts 20g of protein and less than 5g of net carbs. This is approximately 3x the protein of typical oatmeal and less than 1/5 the net carbs!

Why Do We Use Acorns?

Our mission is to deliver functional nutrition by reviving heirloom and heritage foods. The hero ingredient in our hot cereal is Acorns. First off, they have nutritional benefits such as polyphenols, antioxidants and minerals. Secondly, they are highly sustainable because oak trees don't require any toxic agricultural inputs and they help absorb carbon and fight climate change. They are a versatile heritage ingredient that we can integrate into a wide range of familiar foods. These powerful little tree nuts can be an important part of a more sustainable food system.

Environmental Benefits

• Acorns are a HUGE under-utilized food resource right under our feet.
• Oak trees require no cultivation, irrigation, or toxic inputs.
• Oaks absorb carbon and help fight climate change.

Taste and Health and Benefits

• Acorns have a delicious, nutty flavor. They are naturally gluten-free and have been consumed for ages.
• They contain high levels of polyphenols and antioxidants.
• Naturally gluten free, lower in fat than most nuts, and are a good source of minerals.

Folk Revival is the first national food brand to bring up-cycled and wild harvested acorns to market!

Who's Really 'Hot' in the Hot Cereal Category?

As mentioned above, we have strived with our hot cereal line to be clean and offer functional ingredients such as acorns and other heritage ingredients not found in other cereals.

Our product has more protein, fewer carbs, and is keto, paleo, and grain free with virtually no sugar added, differentiating Folk Revival from the competition.

The Market Opportunity in Premium Breakfast

We chose to launch with hot cereal cups because we knew this is a large category lacking significant innovation. Grocery buyers are looking for new and exciting products to help grow their categories, and there is nothing currently on the shelf like Folk Revival. Also, we launched with cups specifically because cups make up a significant percent of the category, and are great for trial.

Our Traction and Distribution

Folk Revival is new, but we are already in approximately 100 stores, and performance is exceeding our expectations. We are growing a robust retail and DTC business!

Our main points of distribution thus far are: Citarella's, City Acres, and various independent health food stores and Co-ops. Folk Revival was also recently authorized by Central Market, an important TX based specialty chain.

We are also now partnered with one of the strongest natural food brokers in the country, iLevel Brands, who manages partnerships in national and regional accounts such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Albertson's, Kroger, Wegman's, Fresh Thyme, Costco and many more.

Our Launch in Whole Foods: January 2024

We recently learned that Whole Foods Market has authorized three Folk Revival flavors in approximately 165 stores across four regions stretching from Maine to Mississippi. We will be ramping up production in December 2023, with product appearing on shelf in January 2024.

We forecast Whole Foods will generate over $200k+ in revenue alone.* Needless to say, this is an incredibly important development for the brand, but it's also just the beginning.  With there being 515 Whole Foods Market stores in the US, there is tremendous room for growth in 2025 and beyond.

*Projections not guaranteed

Our Team: Experience Growing Natural Foods

We have an exceptionally strong and experienced team supporting the brand. David Cantor, our Founder and CEO, has been growing natural and organic food brands for over 20 years, starting his career in the industry at Mars in their skunk-works Health & Nutrition Division. More recently, he led Marketing, Innovation, and R&D for Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods, a leading veggie burger brand, helping to grow the brand 5x, resulting in a successful exit to Private Equity. Prior to joining the natural foods industry, David earned his master's degree in Nutrition from Tufts University, focusing on food and agriculture policy. Prior to that, David ran a small organic vegetable farm in Northern New Mexico.

David has assembled a high performing team of colleagues from his time in the industry, working with the best of the best- to provide cross functional support across the business.

Future Innovation and Vision For Folk Revival

As Folk Revival was taking shape, we were clear that we wanted to build a brand that could extend into multiple categories and eating occasions. While we are launching with Hot Cereal, we are planning to expand into other breakfast categories in the next two years, and eventually build out an umbrella brand that you will be able to find in multiple parts of the grocery store, as well as food service.

Objectives for 2024 include:

1. Gain distribution in 500 stores in 2024. We are well on our way with natural independents, Whole Foods, and Central Market added and shipping. Additional wins will be announced shortly when they are confirmed.

2. Support strong in-store velocity at our anchor account Whole Foods Markets, through influencer, geo-targeted campaigns, PR, couponing and demos.

3. Finalize innovation Platform 2 for 2025 launch. Preview innovation with top customer targets such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Wegman's and and a few select conventional accounts.

Supply Chain / Vertically Integrated Investors

We have built a strong and scale-able supply chain, which includes our hot-cereal contract manufacturer. Our unit economics improve as we scale the brand, with efficiencies built into our contract manufacturing contract. As our volumes increase- our tolling fees decrease in a predictable fashion.

We forecast healthy margins above 40% as our business scales.* We have secured investment from our acorn supplier as well as our contract manufacturer which is driving down costs out the gate and will continue to decrease costs as we grow.

*Projections not guaranteed

Financials

Our financial growth is based on a reasonable and achievable growth in store count and new item introductions. As we grow from a few hundred stores to several thousand, and from our first 4 hot cereal items to new Folk Revival innovations, sales will increase accordingly. Distribution and new innovation are the engines for all natural food brands! 

*Projections not guaranteed.

Perks For $1,000 and Up Investments

When you invest $1,000 or more, you will not only get delicious cups of Folk Revival sent to your door, you will also receive a custom-branded and limited edition hat and at the $2500 level, you will also receive a custom branded mug.

Why Invest in Folk Revival?

Folk Revival is a rare opportunity to be at the early stage of a rocket ship that we see as a $100MM brand opportunity.  Our total addressable market is $6.7B. Ultimately, there are many reasons to bank on our company. It really comes down to two main areas: The product and the team.

Highly Differentiated Product and Concept:

• Uniquely focused on heirloom and heritage foods.
• Introducing Acorns-as-food to North America.
• First high protein, low carb cereal available in retail.
• Strong traction in both DTC and Retail.
• Scaleable brand across channels, days parts and need states.

Strong Founder & Cross-Functional Team:

• 20+ years of success growing natural and organic start up brands.
• Extremely strong cross-functional team providing thought leadership and operational support.
• Investor eco-system includes our acorn vendor, contract manufacturer, and national sales broker.