Technology Saves A Food Company

PerfectlyFree will continue to be a success.

Sometimes you have a great recipe, or a great idea for a food company, yet the reality is that of the 15,000+ new foods and beverages introduced each year less than 10 percent make it on to the store shelves and a small percentage of those are still around three years later. 

And that’s what almost happened to Breathable Foods. Their concept was based on a proprietary process to encapsulate compounds to help consumers with sleep, anxiety or energy in an edible skin. They raised a lot of VC dollars and launched a product - Aeroshot Energy, a competitor to 5-Hour Energy, but the company was sent a warning letter by the FDA. 

Fast forward and the company is now called Incredible Foods, has a new CEO who once led Ocean Spray and has 5,000 supermarkets stocking Perfectlyfree bites, a dairy-free frozen treat that is free of allergens. And more importantly it tastes great – and received a score of 89 on Phil’s Food Reviews when it first launched. 

Here’s what I said then: I know these are touted specifically as an allergy free dessert - but you don't have to have a food allergy to love these. A great caramel shell with a vanilla inside that is made from a recipe of coconut cream and rice syrup. Each piece is just 30 calories, one gram of fat and 6 grams of sugars. Nothing artificial. There is a slightly different taste to the end note, but this is a great and healthier alternative. 

PerfectlyFree will be continuing its success. Between 1997 and 2011, the prevalence of food allergies in children increased by 50 percent, according to a Center for Disease Control and Prevention – that translates to  about 15 million Americans with food allergies, including 5.9 million children under age 18.  

Over a year ending in October, unit sales of Perfectlyfree bites increased by 186 percent, the company says.