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What about a direct comparison to other substitutes like Huel? Huel is made from natural stuff as well, and is optimised for health. Using a disposable bottle per serving doesn't sit well with me as an environmentally conscious person, have you thought about a different method of packaging?
@sammycdubs hey Sam! Thanks for the questions!
RE: Packaging:
Yes, I've thought of another package. Eventually, we'll do bulk powder, but right now, most of my customers are looking for super convenience and will otherwise not use Ample if it requires a blender bottle. Blender bottles make it significantly less portable. I decided for the medium arrangement in that it's still in a bottle (bad) but isn't as heavy as shipping liquid (good). We'll also be looking into compostable containers early next year.
RE: Huel:
Huel's ingredient list for reference:
Ingredients: Oats (Contains Gluten), Pea Protein, Flaxseed, Brown Rice Protein, MCT Powder (from Coconut), Vitamin and Mineral Blend (Maltodextrin for Carrier Purposes - less than 0.7%), Potassium (as Potassium Citrate), Chloride (as Potassium Chloride), Calcium (as Tricalcium Phosphate), Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid), Choline (as L-Choline Bitartrate), Vitamin E (as D-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Niacin (as Niacinamide), Vitamin A (as Retinol Palmitate), Pantothenic Acid (as Calcium-D-Panthothenate), Vitamin D2 (as Ergocalciferol), Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin K1 (as Phytonadione), Riboflavin, Chromium (as Chromium Chloride), Copper (as Copper (II) Citrate), lodine (as Potassium lodide), Molybdenum (as Sodium Molybdate), Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 (as Cyanocobalamin), Selenium (as Sodium Selenate), Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla Flavour System (Vanilla Flavour, Gum Arabic, Sucralose).
Many of the same things I've said about Soylent apply here. If you'll notice, the word "natural" doesn't have a ton of meaning if all but the first row of ingredients is basically just a powdered multivitamin. In terms of real ingredients, Huel has Oats, Pea Protein, Flaxseed, Brown Rice Protein, and coconut (kind of). If I may be blunt (apologies), it's just pretty basic.
The fact is, there are LOTS of competitors, and people have been doing it for YEARS. Soylent, Huel, 100% Food, Core, Slimfast, Ensure, etc. Except from Ambronite (which does it right), they're all just a relatively simplistic form of nutrition. 1-2 forms of carbs, fats and proteins, plus a standard multivitamin blend. The nutrition value varies surprisingly little. Usually use poor forms of multivitamins. Very little fiber, and certainly no pre-biotics or greens.
My issue is that, in an effort to make a nutrition label that looks like it's got it all, we basically play to the test i.e. the FDA label. But, since the FDA label itself is outdated and largely inaccurate, we go for nutrition label looks at the expense of real nutrition. I apologize for being blunt, and I don't mean to be offensive.
For more on this point about FDA values being outdated and our preoccupation to "play to the test", so to speak, check out my blog here: http://www.amplemeal.com/the-fda...
Thanks for the questions!
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This is great compared to soylent. I appreciate the more holistic approach to the nutritional profile, and that you are introducing different profiles for different groups of users.
As an avid believer/follower in epigenetics/nutrigenomics, I'd love to see a truly customizable version in the far-future so that someone with adverse reactions to many foods (not allergies) could specify their target nutrition input and food types and receive a truly customized meal fit for their genome. That's a product I'd love to see or even work on.
@kisea This is our eventual plan. We're starting with cohort studies (double blind, peer reviewed) to test different versions against people. Eventually we'll be get more customized as we go forth. We'll likely never get fully customized -- i.e. choose what you want and we'll make it-- because that cant scale with current technology in a cost effective way. but we can have epigenetics data on lets say 6-12 versions, we can recommend something that is pretty damn close to "optimal" for the large majority of people.
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@connor_p_young Very cool to hear that. It would be really impressive to do mixes on the fly.. Never say never!
Another place I see this vertical going is integrating food allergy tests, genetic, hormone, deficiency tests, etc. Low test, high estrogen? Eat this, supplement that, delivered to your doorstep. Today, there are just too many factors, and all of this data is expensive to get, hard to interpret yourself, and isn't related in a way that is actionable without considerable effort. It's all trial and error in a silo. I'm excited to see where your company, and the industry go. There's just so much room for improvement and opportunity. World changing stuff really.
@kisea completely, that's certainly the direction we're going. The traditional food industry is way behind the times and can definitely use some leveling up!
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@connor_p_young I'm impressed Connor. Just looked at the ingredients and read about the choices you make. My wife is the real specialist (nutri-epigenomics, applied to dissease onset and development) but this seems really good. Love how you are debunking fat is bad! And that you're brave enough to follow biology instead of the indeed outdated FDA label.
I've been lucky enough to be an early user of Ample and I just wanted to share my story. I met Connor (the founder of Ample) about a year ago when I moved in with him. I was super impressed with the depth of knowledge and passion he has for fitness and nutrition. Before he started making Ample, Connor was (and still is) a great source of well researched and thought out advice for ways in which I (and others) could eat and exercise better. I'm a really health conscious guy, so this advice was invaluable. However, I'm also the CTO of a startup so I often don't have as much time as I'd like to make the healthy food I know I should be eating.
When Connor started making Ample, I was one of the first people who put their hand up to give it a try. It seemed like a good way to eat well without having to invest a lot of time into sourcing and preparing good ingredients. I've been using the product whenever I can get my hands on it ever since: From the days when it came in a ziplock bag till the most recent bottle based version. It's become a part of my morning routine for a few reasons. Firstly, using Ample means I no longer have to stress about whether a meal (usually breakfast) is good for me, and whether I'm getting all the nutrients I should be in my diet. I trust Connor greatly (super smart guy with high integrity), so I trust the product he's put together (plus, he's been really transparent about what goes into the product and why, so it is easy to independently verify). Secondly, Ample is very quick to prepare and it keeps me full up to and beyond my next meal (I usually don't get lunch till at least 1:30, so it's important that I'm not started to feel hungry soon after breakfast). Finally, Ample just tastes good. I really don't know why, but I miss having it on the mornings when I've run out and I'm stuck eating regular breakfast foods.
Ample is one of the few products I buy on a regular basis, and also one of the even fewer products which I recommend to other people frequently. Happy to answer any questions from people who are thinking about giving it a shot.
I love the brand and I love that this product uses natural ingredients. I could see using it from time to time. But i'm skeptical about how this category of products is being pitched as a healthy, long term alternative to actual meals. Humans evolved to eat real food. Preferably in company of other humans. Nothing is ever going to improve on that.
@paul_shustak hey man, I completely agree! We're not about replacing real *healthy* food with people (maybe pizzas if you consider that "real"). My stance is, eat real healthy food when you can. Have Ample on the occasions you can't. I just ate brussels sprouts, liver and an avocado for lunch, and plan on doing so for a really long time. But when I'm at work and the only option is 4 Clif bars or a burrito, I choose Ample. We want to be the best packaged food possible.
So happy to see this on PH. I've had the pleasure of tasting it, and it is fantastic! Did a great job of making something so healthy, so delicious! Highly recommend it.
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@connor_p_young you're well informed 😉,another one why vegetables are healthy: chlorophyllin and selenium
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