Cocktails, Mocktails, And Vegan Snacks Without Compromise With Jordan Engelhardt

 

Watch the episode here

 

People need to start limiting their sweet and high-calorie drinks. They're not good for you in the long run. That is why Skinny Mixes is trying to change that. They are a female-led team that has over 100 products that are all-natural. With Skinny Mixes, you can now enjoy a cup of coffee or cocktail without all the artificial ingredients. Join Corinna Bellizzi as she talks to the founder and President of Skinny Mixes, Jordan Engelhardt. Learn how she started her business and how she is keeping the liquor business all-natural.

 

 Key takeaways from this episode:

• How it is being a female-owned company in the liquor industry.
• What are the ingredients in Skinny Mixes' products and which one is Jordan's favorite?
• Why people need to stop taking in high-calorie drinks.
• The importance of sustainability in the beverage industry.

 

Guest Social Links:

https://skinnymixes.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-engelhardt-5a8852b9/

https://www.instagram.com/jordanfife56/?hl=en

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Cocktails, Mocktails, And Vegan Snacks Without Compromise With Jordan Engelhardt

Our episode is going to be one part interview and one part roundup from Natural Products Expo East 2022, which occurred in late September. I'll share with you some innovative new companies that I encountered and get our guest's input on what she sees happening in the natural and sustainable world of nutrition. I encountered our guest as Natural Products Expo East approached. I have been invited to a special event in which I would get to showcase their products in Philadelphia at a Skinny Mixers cocktail reception. These all-natural mixers for the calorie-conscious provide a better solution to those of us who enjoy a mixed drink, a healthier soda, and even flavored coffee drinks.

Her name is Jordan Engelhardt. She founded Skinny Mixes in 2009 in her mother's kitchen. She was determined to give her favorite cocktail mixes a healthier makeover. Skinny Mixes has since skyrocketed to global success. Its female-led team is innovating the beverage industry with better-for-you options. Skinny Mixes offers a wide range of over 100 products from flavor bursts or on-the-go use to all-natural margarita mixes, which might be my personal favorite, and so much more. They have been featured in Food and Beverage Magazine, BevNET, New York Post, and many more. Jordan, welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me.

It's a pleasure to finally have the opportunity to meet you face-to-face. Perhaps we're not enjoying a cocktail together but your team sent me quite the package. I had the opportunity to sample some. I have a Taco Tuesday that I host here with my neighborhood. We got to sample some of the different margarita mixes. I loved your spicy margarita mix.

That's my favorite too.

There's something more we have in common. We were supposed to meet in person at Expo East but you had to change your plans. Can you talk to us about why and the effect that may have had on your overall Expo East experience?

Sadly, we were all very excited to go to Expo East. We had planned a fun female founder happy hour where we had invited many other founders of companies, both big and small founded by females who had some success or were just starting. Sadly, we got word that we were getting a hurricane, which happens from time to time in Florida, especially in September. It made it difficult to travel, especially because the hurricane was supposed to be a Category 5 and hit our region of Tampa Bay where we're headquartered on the exact day that the show was supposed to start.

Luckily, we dodged the hurricane. Sadly, it hit Fort Myers, Naples, Captiva, and Sanibel pretty badly. The devastation is unbelievable. It's amazing the damage that has been done. Sadly, we couldn't be at the show but you never know. These storms are so big. You don't know exactly where they're going up until sometimes 24 hours if we're lucky in advance and sometimes a few hours. It's bittersweet because we're glad it didn't hit our area but we're super sad for the people South of us.

As we continue to cover topics on this show that relate to nutrition and health without compromising your ethics or the health of planet Earth, we're going to find more of these issues sadly arising or storms that are worsening because of the climate change we're all experiencing. If we can create more mindful products that perhaps use less sugar, which is expensive from a farming perspective to cultivate its energy expense, then we do a better job.

Isaac Berzin, who is the Cofounder of Vaxa Technologies, which makes Orlo Nutrition's omega-3s and spirulina, said quite simply in the interview that we eat light. If you think about all the sugar, calories, and things that you consume, you're eating something that was once light. It was grown by photosynthesis, and then an animal may have eaten it.

Even producing products like those that you've worked to create that retain fewer calories, you are eating lighter and a little bit greener. That is perhaps a greener connection you might not have already put together through your product, which is one of the reasons that I wanted to bring you on. A calorie is not a calorie in some ways but what you've worked to do by making something that is simple is great. Thank you.

That's interesting.

That should be our goal every day. It's to continue moving that volley forward. I would love for you to tell the story of how you got inspired to do this and what that early phase looked like.

I got started back in 2008 or 2009. It started out of my garage and my mother's kitchen originally. There was a void in the market. There wasn't an easy way to have a low-calorie margarita. I took it upon myself and searched. I couldn't find the right product. I partnered with a couple of different food labs until my mother and I concocted the right formulation.

You're not using a ton of sugar. You're not using corn syrup. This is something that has naturally and easily identifiable ingredients. I've got your standard margarita here in front of me. It says, "Naturally sweetened real lime and agave," which is the only way I like my margaritas. You have water and cane sugar. Honestly, that is a way better option for something like a margarita. There's lime juice concentrate, organic agave nectar, citric acid, natural flavor, and then some natural preservatives as well as Stevia.

Stevia is how you cut down on the amount of sugar you're using but it didn't have an aftertaste or anything like that which you might expect from some of the lower-quality stevias that are on the marketplace. It was pleasant, not over-sweet. It's perfect. That's the feedback I got from my friends too. I'm not just saying my opinion here. It's part of why you've had this early success.

I have tried to do my Skinny Mixes at home with 1 drop or 2 of Stevia, a little bit of this, agave, and lime juice. Maybe I'll substitute some Meyer lemon because they tend to be a little bit sweeter and less tart. Honestly, you did as well as anything I've concocted in my little at-home experimental lab that's catered to my taste. It's great to see that in a finished product.

I appreciate that. That was the goal. We worked very hard on this formulation. There were a lot of different variations. It's not just about having low calories but about having the natural taste and not having any of the artificial sweeteners and making it easier. It takes time to squeeze all those limes, squeeze the agave, and concoct that margarita.

I was hosting a party where I made the decision specifically to only make from-scratch margaritas. The next day, my hands were cracked from all the limes I handled. The skin on the top of your fingers gets hit by all that citric acid. After a while, you see some damage to your skin. You're making it much simpler for me. One of the things that I wanted to connect with you on is the reality of working in this natural channel as a startup and ultimately doing so as a female founder. How did you find that you were accepted in the marketplace? Did it feel like you were received into warm arms? Did you run into challenges specifically as a female founder that you wanted to share with us?

It certainly wasn't easy. In the startup phase in the first few years, you're often looked at with pity a little bit, "You haven't made it yet," especially in the liquor industry. They tend to gravitate towards the bigger brands of liquor. It's a man's marketplace. The liquor industry is dominated by men. It was a little bit difficult. We worked hard and continued to innovate. We were accepted over time but we had to prove ourselves. Being a female-led team and being largely female makes us a little bit more unique and gives us a little bit more of an edge. Females are primarily our audience. We have an easier time innovating being that we are the audience.

 

That is on point but still, in our world, something like 2% of all VC funds goes to female-led companies. It can be challenging when you're in this early-build phase. You've been featured in the New York Post. That's not a small publication. You've made some strides. You come into the market with some success. You deserve a pat on the back for that. Startup culture is never easy.

Often when people start their brands as you had in the backroom or the kitchen and try to divine something that could be fantastic, they might be met with, "Maybe you should sell your formula to one of these big guys." You haven't done that. It's not like this says Jose Cuervo on it. Certainly, they would be a different company altogether in that realm. Kudos to you.

Thank you.

As we look at some of the other products that you've dove into, you have an assortment of more than 100, which I didn't understand when we first started this conversation. I was like, "They have a lot." Salted caramel is easily used in coffee or if I even wanted to make a spritzer or something to that effect. You are making zero-calorie products like this specifically to replace some of the less healthy syrups that we might have. If you go to Starbucks and you say you want the zero-calorie vanilla added, that's artificially sweetened.

I'm sure you know all about the ingredients and that you could probably educate our audience but in this one, you're using erythritol, which is also healthy for your teeth. It protects your teeth. It has sea salt, natural flavors, cellulose gum, stevia, citric acid, some vegetable juices, and natural preservatives. It's basic. It's clear, not scary nutrients that I would run away from. I wanted to know how you see these products entering the marketplace. Are they ending up at coffee bars and in the shelter? Are they mostly used for home products at this time?

They're mostly used for home products at this time. Consumers want to have a way to have not only a less expensive morning latte, save time, and not sit in that drive-through but to have healthier with fewer artificial ingredients. We feel that we've accomplished all those goals. We're excited and proud that we got into Target. We have three different flavors available at select Target stores.

If you go onto our website, SkinnyMixes.com, you can put in the store locator and help support us. We got it. It probably hit shelves. Please support us. It's a good makeover to your morning routine. It saves money, time, and calories. It's amazing how many calories are in a Starbucks latte. It makes me crazy to think that these people and good friends of mine that are so conscious of their diets are still going through the drive-through, having their 200 to 300-calorie lattes, and sabotaging their week. Sugar not only is caloric but not good for you in general.

Skinny Mixes is a good makeover to your morning routine. It saves money, time, and calories.

It's almost like we're taught to think of the beverages we consume as not food or somehow not caloric. I don't think that's an accident. Soda companies want you to go and buy more Coca-Cola. They want you to go to Starbucks, go through the drive-through, get your venti because it tastes so delicious, and enjoy a good whopping equivalent of having a sixteen-ounce soda at the same time but you're thinking about it as a healthier option, "It's got milk or whatever in there," but you're adding a lot of sugar.

That's smart to start thinking of those things as caloric input as part of our day. As a liquid fanatic myself, I always have a cup of coffee or tea with me all day long. I drink water constantly and into my evenings too. I like to have a beverage on hand continually. I'm trying to have better habits around that and look at it as a nutrition source or something that's not going to ruin our diet and spike our blood sugar. It's a smart practice, especially as we have more people with waistline issues that are trying to battle the bulge.

We offer products from day to night. We have cocktail mixes. We spoke about coffee syrups. Syrups not only can be used in coffee but they can be used in baking. They can be used in plain yogurt and even water. We have a lot of different fruit flavors. Adding a splash to whatever beverage you would like to consume can transform it and not add calories.

There's a big trend to making virgin cocktails even at a lot of the parties and such where you will see a mint spritzer of one sort or another or a virgin cosmopolitan, which I didn't even think was possible but I tried one, and it was divine. There are plenty of options. It doesn't have to be alcohol-based. A lot of people at home use things like a soda stream to make their sparkling water. It's a greater alternative than constantly going out there and buying twelve packs of soda water or something to that effect. It uses less plastic overall. You can add the flavor of your choice quite easily.

It's very much better for the environment than buying all those La Croix or whatever your soda of choice is. We have a lot of consumers that take pride in building up their coffee bar or their fruit-flavored bar and being able to experiment, combine flavors, and have something different daily.

I love a watermelon-mint combination or something like that. What is your favorite recipe to make using your products?

I love dessert. I don't let myself have it. I love a nice cocktail. My go-to is probably utilizing the product. I have a lot of favorites. Probably the margarita is a close number two in our new lineup. I love our dark chocolate espresso syrup paired with a little fat-free half-and-half and some vodka. That's how I make a nice espresso martini, which also serves as a dessert at the end of the night.

 

 

My number two is that I love our new lineup of margaritas. You mentioned our regular margarita but the spicy margarita is my favorite blended with our peach. The natural peach blended with the spicy is a great spicy peach margarita. That's my new favorite before-dinner cocktail. I love a salted caramel latte, so that would be three.

That's beautiful. I imagine you have recipes and resources like that on your site.

There are endless recipes. The products are super versatile. We have everything from the boozy pudding that can be great at Thanksgiving to our new holiday recipes with some of our new holiday flavors, baking, waters, and cocktails. You name it.

You've given me an idea. I tend to make chia seed pudding for my boys at home. I often flavor it lately with either an almond extract or vanilla extract but now, I can try salted caramel or something like that too. I like to use oat milk because one of my sons is dairy-sensitive. There's oat milk, chia seeds, and maybe salted caramel. Who knows?

You have to send us a recipe. That sounds great.

I'll make sure I have it kid-tested and mother-approved first. We will move through that. One of the challenges of being in this alcohol space where you're making mixers for alcohol is that people get hungover when they enjoy their drink. Do you have any tried-and-true solutions in your community that have come up?

We have tested having margaritas with sugar and without sugar. That's an example. We have many other variations you can make many cocktails with. Sugar is what causes the hangover. Cutting that by about 75% does help the hangover. Other than that, it's drinking water and drinking a little less. The products are great for mocktails. You don't have to worry about having too much sugar or a hangover at all.

With alcohol, sugar is really what causes the hangover. So if you cut that by about 75%, it really does help the hangover.

Mocktails was the word I was looking for. I was like, "Virgin cocktails."

Mocktails are a huge trend. I've been partaking as well.

I failed to get the information for this particular company but at Expo East, I encountered a mocktail liquor company. They had virgin liquors. There were selling a gin replacement, for example. It's the same basic texture. There are some juniper berries. They had a virgin tequila. They weren't tequila, gin, or vodka but they were making mixers with these liquor replacements that had some of the hints of flavor that you would typically associate with tequila or gin.

I tried their stuff because I wanted to have the experience. A spicy margarita is one of the products that they were offering. It didn't taste the same but it was pleasant. If I were having a little afternoon on a Saturday, I would love to have something like this poolside. It wouldn't affect my mental capacity. I could still be there and present with my boys and not be afraid of what might happen if one of them got dunked in the pool unexpectedly or something along those lines.

I've seen some of those companies. It is very interesting. It does pair well with our products and does allow a similar taste profile by adding boozeless cocktails. I'm on board.

Do you have any favorites? I wonder if you could even think of the brand that I might have missed. I forgot their name.

We were stationed right next to somebody at one of the last trade shows that we were at. I believe it was at Summer Fancy Food Show. The name is escaping me now but their products were pretty good. We did serve quite a few cocktails with them. It might come to me.

I have a couple of questions I've selected from my handy-dandy interview deck here. This one relates specifically to what you do in this business. What does your typical Friday night look like?

I have two girls. We typically have a movie night with some popcorn with a little less butter. I will usually have a skinny cocktail of some sort. I will make them a mocktail. We have been testing that. We have a new mermaid flavor we've been experimenting with. It's not new but it's new to them. We have a movie night, chill, and relax. It's fun.

I love that. It's very similar to my evening. I have two boys. By the time Friday night rolls around, I don't want to do the homework. I want to relax a little bit. I typically will have a drink. It might be a cocktail of some sort or a glass of champagne. I'll make the boys something. For our popcorn, I use an air popper. There's no butter or anything like that in there. I use some coconut oil and some Brewer's yeast because if you mix those two things together on popcorn, it's divine. There's barely any saturated fat. It's mostly MCT and some other oils in there as well.

I'll have to try that.

Coconut oil as long as it's the clean-tasting stuff doesn't lend too much of a coconut flavor. I get mine packaged in glass. It's not made from the super-dried copra, which is what they call coconut when it's in that dried state that you would make grated or shredded coconut with. In an earlier phase, it doesn't have as nutty of a flavor. When you add something like Brewer's yeast, it tends to lend it almost a buttered flavor. The kids like it. It gives them B vitamins. It's a healthy treat then. It's not full of butter or other less sustainable products. As a startup, this affects you, or as a company that has gone through that vast phase. Name something on your to-do list that never gets done.

I'm one of those that has a never-ending to-do list. I think about it constantly. I spend probably more on it than I am doing the things on the list. There are so many.

Minus filing.

That tends to not get done. I've been trying to clean out my garage for about a year or so. I'll go with that one.

I rely on my downloads folder perhaps too much. I know that things are in there. I'll search for it but on my computer, that space is quite full. This is mom life reality. I had my four-year-old in my office at one point. He was clicking around on the mouse. He erased my entire download folder.

That is tragic.

Thankfully, a lot of that work was saved in other places and the cloud because we live in that world. It's either backed up on email or somewhere else but it was tragic.

Thank God it was saved in the cloud.

I will go ahead and pivot for a moment since we have had this little fun interlude with the interview course. I would like to chat with you about some of the products I encountered at the show, get your thoughts, and also hear from you as we go through this. What changes might be coming for Jordan's Skinny Mixes as we head forward? We will start here.

I encountered a company that is claiming with their backup product to have the world's first patented alcohol detox system promoting liver protection, creating cellular energy, and improving cognitive function by combining NADH, which is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Nicotinamide is a very bioavailable niacin, theanine, and DNM, which is dihydromyricetin. I'm not that up to speed with which what this DHM is but I imagine that is one of the primary drivers. I don't know if this is something anybody has tried but I would love to hear from the community if they try something like backup and it works for them.

How do you take it? Do you take the product right after you're done drinking for the night?

It says, "Adults take one tablet in the morning. Take one additional tablet five minutes before large alcohol consumption."

I might have to test this out.

The night before when you're starting your first cocktail, take a pill, and then the morning after.

I'm intrigued by this one. I'm going to write it down. There are so many of these products out there but I have researched a little bit about what would detox the liver. I'm pretty sure I read about some of these three ingredients.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, Thionine, and Dihydromyricetin are ingredients that can detox the liver.

I'm not sure about that DHM. I'm sure I'll hear about it from somebody. They will say, "I know all about it." I figured this one was interesting. One of the challenges we have is that my kids like to drink from straws. I have six packs of metal straws that I always forget to put into my purse before I go out with them but I came across this company called Pasta Life. They have rice straws. They call themselves Pasta Straws but it's made with rice. It's gluten-free.

There's something else to know about rice. Rice is something that's not allergenic. People shouldn't be allergic to it. They could drink through it. They stay in their existing state for at least an hour. They don't melt on you or anything like that. I gave one each to my boys when I returned from the show. They loved them. They didn't survive much of what they were drinking because they started chewing on them and then ate the straw but it's better than a lot of the other options presently available.

In this world of beverages, you're looking at things like a coffee that you might have with your salted caramel syrup and whatever dairy that you're into. I learned that I'm dairy-sensitive. I shifted my consumption from dairy to oat milk in my coffee but the challenge I have with that is the oat milk. All of the oat milk on the market have added fat that comes from seed oils. It's an omega-6. It might throw my system off balance. I work hard to have my omega-3s and my omega-6s on par for optimal health.

That's something that we also work to educate about from Orlo Nutrition's perspective because of the fact that they are so rooted in omega-3s from algae. It's vegan-sourced and fully sustainable. It's giving you polar lipid forms so you have the most absorption. All of that is great but if you overconsume omega-6s, you're going to fall out of balance. This is a culprit in my reality. I've been looking for ways to come away from oat milk that is augmented with so much omega-6 seed oil for something else.

I found Bored Cow. They are making animal-free dairy milk and creating identical proteins to milk but from fermentation and using bacteria and things like this. Even though I'm dairy-sensitive, I'm not lactose intolerant or anything like that. I took a little sip because I wanted to see what it was like. It had a very similar mouthfeel to something that would be probably 2% milk. They didn't seem to have full fat on their hands but they also didn't use exclusively seed oil for the fat.

It was a better option for somebody who isn't dairy-sensitive and who also doesn't want to have cow milk from a cow. I'm very interested to see what continues to develop in this arena. Their slogan is, "Give cows a break," which is cute. For any vegans that can do milk but choose not to or any people who can do milk and choose not to, that could be a great option. They could make things like Starbucks replacements along with Jordan's Skinny syrups.

It's a cute idea. It sounds like that could be super successful. Everybody is looking for a milk alternative and something that tastes like milk, which we're all accustomed to.

 

Perhaps there are trade show collaborations afoot where you can get positioned next to these people at a show and create some special products.

We like oat milk here. There are a few that gravitate towards coconut or almond milk but oat milk has such a decadent taste. There's typically too much fat.

It's the inborn use of seed oil. People are educating themselves on this but one of the things that you will learn if you overconsume omega-6s is that it triggers your brain to consume more. There's a good reason to balance your omega-6s to omega-3s if you're also watching your waistline. Omega-3s seem to induce less consumption. Your “I'm-full” triggers come in sooner but if you consume something like a bag of chips, there's a good reason behind the fact that you might have a hard time stopping. You want to eat all the chips.

I'm not familiar, and I'm sure other people aren't. We have all heard of omega-3s but omega-6 is not a term I'm familiar with.

We get into this in an episode with Stuart Tomc because I interviewed him. He works with CV Sciences and the CBD and cannabidiol space. You're talking about hemp products with or without THC mostly in the CBD place. He and I worked together for many years in the omega-3 realm and dove deep into the research together of the reasons that omega-3s are so beneficial to your health. What ends up happening if you overconsume omega-6s is that you throw your system out of balance. Omega-6s are in all the corn oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, and canola oil you consume.

If you go to your grocery store and you're doing something as simple as saying, "I'm going to eat more salads. I'm going to go ahead and get some beautiful grains and nice vegetables. I'll have this meal with my low-calorie Skinny Mixer cocktail in the evening and feel good about what I've done," yet the solid dressing you got says it's made with olive oil, which you know to be healthy but it's not olive oil in there. They give you a smidge of olive oil and mostly canola oil or soybean oil. What happens is you get way more omega-6.

Omega-6 causes a slight rise in inflammatory compounds in your system, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and cytokines, which stimulate inflammation in your system without enough omega-3s in your system to return to normal because omega-3s help to develop anti-inflammatory cytokines, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes, which act like hormones and regulate systems in our body. If you don't have these two things in balance, then you get more inflamed. You also get hungrier. The signals to your brain that you might be full don't occur as readily, and you overconsume. Turning on the triggers to eat more is something we should probably do less of, especially if we're trying to lean our waistlines.

I'm going to have to learn more. I'm intrigued.

I could give you a download anytime. This is something I've read probably too much on enough to be dangerous for sure.

I'm mostly concerned about my kids but I'll take you up on that.

Get them to take an omega-3 every day. I take our omega-3 from Orlo. The soft gels are tiny. I have some right here. My son takes one of the DHA every day and swallows it fine. There's no issue, just a little bit of water, and it's down the hatch. It's protective. It gives him at least about 150 milligrams of EPA and DHA combined 175 or something like that. He's protected. He's getting enough to help stimulate his brain, attention, focus, and all that jazz. It's good.

I was doing that and the Nordic Naturals that you're affiliated with.

I was second in command there for almost a decade. I've since pivoted exclusively to being in the algae space. Orlo Nutrition sponsors this show. If people are curious, they can go there to learn more. The primary difference between what we're doing with Orlo and something like fish oil is that our product is in the polar lipid form, which gets right into your tissues. It's absorbed readily into the system. It doesn't have to be broken down or go through enzymatic processes at all. You are assured to get the benefit much more quickly with a lower dose.

You can take a small pill and also get the benefit. At the same time, you're getting something that is vegan, sustainably grown, and cultivated, and that has the benefit of technology working behind it to ensure that all of our production processes are using green energy. It's super cool. Anybody who reads this qualifies for a 10% discount. Use the coupon code NWC10 for Nutrition Without Compromise at checkout at OrloNutrition.com.

The same goes for Skinny Mixes. I failed to mention that sooner. Anyone reading this is eligible for 20% off of their entire purchase. The coupon code is CRUNCHIT. I have on my to-do list to look more into Orlo Nutrition. I'm excited for my children. Thank you.

I'll send you some to try. There was one more product I wanted to be sure that I connected to from Expo East specifically because it relates to also working to limit your calories and provide a healthy snack. That is Herbaland. They made this product called Snacks with Benefits. It's vegan protein. You get 8 grams of plant-based protein with 16 grams of fiber per serving, which is huge at only 130 calories. It's gluten-free and Non-GMO Project-verified.

The ingredients that are included weren't completely out of this world. I'll share them with people because when I posted this on TikTok, people asked for the ingredients. It includes soluble tapioca fiber, a protein blend with pea protein, brown rice protein, chickpea powder, lentil protein, and then also some prebiotics including Isomalto-oligosaccharide, vegetable glycerin, some purified water, agar natural flavors, citric acid, natural annatto color, natural beta-carotene color, organic stevia leaf, papaya powder, kale powder, and organic sunflower oil.

Overall, there's nothing crazy in here. When I did open it, I thought one thing initially. They look a little bit like dog treats or cat treats because they're a little brown or tan, not what you're used to from a gummy but they taste nice. The texture, unlike other gummies, because there's so much protein in it, is a little grittier but they're nice. I gave them to my kids. Benedict wanted to finish the whole pouch. I thought that would be a bad idea with how much fiber is for such a little guy. I had to take it back from him. He got about a handful, loved it, and then tried to grab it back from me a little bit later.

If you have children and you're trying to give them a healthier treat, that could work. The other thing I liked about this particular company is that the packaging that they provide is compostable, which is surprising because it had this metallic sheen and then another plastic piece inside. I've been meaning to look into how exactly they did this because it could be another way to level up even what we're doing at Orlo Nutrition because they must be food-safe. I'm not sure what the shelf life is on this.

This one in particular says, "Expiration of February 2024." It has to be at least a year since I got these in September 2022. This leads me to my last question about your brand specifically. We could round up with Jordan's Skinny Mixes and what's coming next. I know that you're presently packaged in plastic. Working with glass can be very hard because of how heavy it is but is there anything that you are working on from an initiative perspective to work to become a little bit greener or build into even more sustainable packaging?

When you're first starting, it's always challenging because there are always financial issues when you're starting. Specifically, when I started this company, I started with a $5,000 loan from my mother and never borrowed from there. That's probably one of the things I'm most proud of but with that comes that packaging and some of the more premium ingredients that you feel strongly about aren't at your disposal. We did start with plastic. It was at our disposal. It was easier.

We're aware that there are better options. We are looking at many other options that are much greener and take up less space in the landfill and more concentrated variations. It still is a better option than buying 48 cans of whatever your favorite soda is or other options but most certainly, that's top of mind. We are cognizant of that and looking at alternatives while trying to make sure that we offer options that the consumer can afford and not break the bank.

Buying 1 plastic bottle is still a better option than buying 48 cans of whatever your favorite drink is.

As we prepare to wrap this show, I want to go ahead and say I appreciate everything that you have shared with us. I didn't know that one of these bottles was equivalent to 48 cans. Is that what you're coming to then?

Yes. You add a dash to your coffee depending on preference. It lasts for quite a while. Rather than having a ready-to-drink or going through the drive-through from a sustainability approach, it's much better for the environment.

Especially if you're making it a habit of going to Starbucks every day. You get that cup and the plastic top every single time. They don't fill it into your personal cups any longer due to COVID. We have all seen movement away from some of us greenies out there. I stopped going out for coffee for that reason because I didn't want to contribute extra plastic to the world. I appreciate that.

The plastics you're using are among the most recyclables. These will fit in most recyclable bins and ultimately end up in the 2nd or 3rd life from that particular perspective. Are there any thoughts that you would like to leave us with or any insights having done a quick roundup of some of the brands that I encountered at Expo East or perhaps as a mom, what you might change or integrate?

All of the brands are super interesting. It's nice to see people innovating and creating better-for-you products to make all of our lives a little bit easier. You and I are both busy moms. I would leave the audience with that. Hopefully, we make life a little bit less stressful so that the moms out there can enjoy their cup of coffee or nighttime cocktail without calories and artificial ingredients. If you haven't tried our products, please give them a try. We offer that coupon code CRUNCHIT. I hope you will give it a try. Please go to your local Target, support a newer startup company that is all-female-founded and mostly female-led, and support a small company out there.

 

What a great and insightful conversation we have had with Jordan Engelhardt over at Skinny Mixes. I hope you've enjoyed our roundup and that you're inspired to get into your kitchen and try some of her mixes out. You can find them, as she mentioned, at Target and also on her website at SkinnyMixes.com. You can use the coupon code CRUNCHIT at checkout to enjoy an exclusive 20% off for our audience.

As always, you can always visit OrloNutrition.com as well and get an extra 10% off your order with the coupon code NWC10. That will stack with any existing promotions on the site, including our present holiday bundle, which can get you a whopping 27% off plus free shipping. If you combine it with that NWC10, you could qualify for as much as 37% off and try both the omega-3 product of your choice and the immunity booster product itself with spirulina.

If you have questions about what we covered or topics that you would like us to dive into, please reach out via our social channels @OrloNutrition or send me an email directly to Hello@OrloNutrition.com. As we close this show, I hope you will raise a cup of your favorite beverage, coffee, tea, or even one of the Skinny Mixes with me as I say my closing words. Here's to your health.

 

 Important Links

• Natural Products Expo East
• Skinny Mixes
• Isaac Berzin - Previous episode
• Vaxa Technologies
• Summer Fancy Food Show
• Pasta Life
• Orlo Nutrition
• Bored Cow
• CV Sciences
• Nordic Naturals
• Herbaland
• Non-GMO Project
• @OrloNutrition - Instagram
• Hello@OrloNutrition.com
• https://www.SkinnyMixes.com/blogs/cocktail-recipes/hot-girl-margarita
• https://Mompops.com/
• https://Munchrooms.com/

 

About Jordan Engelhardt

Jordan Engelhardt founded Skinny Mixes in 2009 in her mother’s kitchen when she was determined to give her favorite cocktail mixes a healthier makeover. Skinny Mixes has since skyrocketed to global success and its female led team is innovating the beverage industry with better for you options. Today, Skinny Mixes offers a wide range of over 100 products from flavor bursts for on-the-go use, to all-natural margarita mixes, and much more. Skinny Mixes is the leading brand for low-calorie and low-sugar syrups and mixes and has been featured in Food & Beverage Magazine, BevNet, New York Post, and many more.