While Everipe recently entered Walmart stores with shelf-stable smoothie packs featuring freeze-dried fruits and veggies, Catalina Crunch smoothies are far lower in sugar, with each cup containing around 180 calories, 6g protein, 14g fat, 3g sugar, and 5g net carbs.
Founded by Krishna Kaliannan, who was diagnosed with diabetes and epilepsy as a senior in high school and put on a keto diet (which is sometimes recommended to people with certain types of seizures), Catalina Crunch cereal was a hit right out of the gate, generating online revenues of almost a million a month just a year after launch as shoppers embraced more low-carb options.
The ready-to-make smoothies - launching on the firm's website starting at $89 for a pack of 12 - “provide all the nutritional benefits of fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies but add the convenience of shelf-stable product consumers can order, store, and make quickly at home,” said Kaliannan, who has an educational background in systems engineering, mathematics and statistics, and had already founded two companies before turning his hand to breakfast cereals in his late twenties.
'The market was seeking a convenient keto-friendly smoothie blend'
Each smoothie cup is ready to make: consumers open the cup, pour the ingredients into a blender, and add water and ice, he explained.
“Consumers love smoothies because they are convenient and taste great. They are also a good way to increase veggie and fruit intake. However, most smoothies currently on the market have a ton of sugar that comes from added High-Fructose Corn Syrup, various fruit purees, ice cream, concentrated fruit juices, and similar ingredients.
“We wanted to introduce a product made with wholesome ingredients, focused on nutrition and great taste but also add the convenience of a product that can be stored and made at home. Most of our customers are carb and sugar-conscious, and we know that the market was seeking a convenient keto-friendly smoothie blend – we hope we have answered that call.”
