Nature's Wild Berry: Sweetness without a Sweetener
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
For the 217th feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with Nature's Wild Berry and Co-Founder, Hank Watt. They don't believe in going on diets, only lifestyle solutions. Let's skip the buzzwords, overpromising and "miracles," and get straight to what delivers results. They take a different approach to healthy choices built around enhancing taste with proven effectiveness. Always free of GMOs, sugars and preservatives and sustainably farmed in the United States.
Nature's Wild Berry - The Flavor Enhancing Wild Berry Turns Sour Sweeter Than Sugar In 30 Seconds! Unlock hidden flavors that make healthy food taste like candy! Natures Wild Berry is a freeze dried ledidi berry that gives you sweetness without a sweetener. People are aware that they should curb their sugar intake and we don't think the answer is more or better artificial sweeteners - we think the answer is real food and this solves for both!
"Together Talks" feature # 217: Nature's Wild Berry presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
Did your business partner use the berries at his restaurant? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
Story of how it was created?
I didn’t want to start the company. That’s the thing. I didn’t want to start a food business company.
I thought I was going to start a tech company, because my passion is technology. My first two companies were in the smartphone world.
So I had no intention of being in the food business. My best friend who was in the food industry gave me plenty of warnings about his restaurant. He paid over $20,000 in rent because he was successful, and restaurants are always risky. I also worked in a restaurant for 11 years on the front end as a food server and a trainer.
I told myself that when I retired, I would never go into food again, nothing to do with food.
Then he introduced me to this magic berry, Nature’s Wild Berry that you had, and it blew me away. He proved it to me, and before I knew it, it had transformed my life. I started giving these frozen berries, which cost about $7 each, to my friends, coworkers, and bosses.
A funny thing happened. You know how when you go into a cellphone store, you pick out a phone, and the majority of the time you’re talking about the plan? It’s a one or two hour event. I would help people pick out their phone and plan in the first 15 or 20 minutes. Then for another hour or two, we’d be talking about the berry. I’d give them a demo and they’d have a million questions. How does this work? Why does it work? Where is it from? What can I use it with? What are you using it with? What’s your success?
That took up so much time that I knew I had something special. But at $7 a berry, it wasn’t scalable.
So I thought, I’m just going to put it on Google Alerts. When anyone does anything with this Miracle Berry, Ledidi Berry, or Synsepalum dulcificum, the scientific name, I would know. I set all the Google Alerts you could think of, and no one was doing anything with this berry.
Three years went by. I waited for someone to do something with it.
During that time, I was watching movies, and I let movies change my life. Part of the reason I moved to L.A. was to be with my brother, who’s a filmmaker. Movies have changed our lives.
I was watching this documentary, the sequel to Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. That movie originally got me onto the berry because I knew I needed better macro and micronutrients. I had always rebelled against my mom. You never listen to your mom. She has the best intentions, but you think she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She has a master’s in nutrition and was always trying to get me to eat healthy, but it took a movie for me to actually want to do it for myself.
I couldn’t stick with it, but then the berry came into my life. I started enjoying the transformation because it didn’t taste “healthy.” It tasted like candy. Everyone kept telling me how great I looked. And flattery doesn’t work on me, except for all the time.
So here I am giving demos of these $7 berries, and everyone is telling me I need to do something with it.
After three years, the sequel to Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead comes out. I won’t ruin it, but you see that the main guy regained all the weight, over 300 pounds, because he consumed food emotionally. We call ourselves emotional eaters. Some people call it a disorder. I think it’s more human to call it emotional eating. I don’t think you can remove emotion from food. It’s what keeps us alive.
I saw that sequel and realized, the reason I hadn’t rebounded was because I was satisfying my sweet tooth the whole time. I wasn’t sacrificing. This wasn’t torture like it was for him.
After three years of no one doing anything, I finally told my restaurateur friend, we have to make this a business.
He agreed under two conditions. One, it had to stay pure, no additives or preservatives. Two, we couldn’t compete in frozen or refrigeration. If you leave this berry on the counter for two hours, the protein disappears. Two days in the fridge, gone. Two weeks in the freezer, gone.
So we knew we had to dehydrate or preserve it another way. We couldn’t compete with companies that have unlimited money in frozen distribution.
I agreed, and that’s how we started.
Did your business partner use the berries at his restaurant?
That’s actually how we first started. He did not continue the restaurant after 2013 because the rent was too high, about $25,000 a month.
His restaurant was raw vegan, the strictest type of vegan. They only eat raw foods under 118 degrees. His customers were extremely militant about it.
He couldn’t sell desserts because he used raw honey, and they rejected honey as an animal product. If something on the menu isn’t selling, you’re losing money.
So he asked me, as the guy with the biggest sweet tooth, to help judge desserts using the berry. His favorite flavors were bitter and sour. And what does this berry do? It turns sour sweet and blocks bitterness.
For most of us, we love sweet and savory and don’t love bitterness, so he asked for my help. But then the restaurant closed before any changes were implemented.
Later, because he had a long relationship with UNFI, we brought the product to them. They gave us incredible advice. They told us we weren’t ready for national distribution and needed to build awareness first. That was their way of saying no.
Looking back, a no is a gift. It saves you from losing a ton of money. At the time, it hurt. I took it personally. But I should’ve been grateful.
Nine years later, we’re ready for retail.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
Mike Fata and Ari Raz are two of my mentors. They both told me to max out online exposure before entering retail.
Retail gives you three seconds to grab attention. People go in to get what they came for and leave. If you demo and you don’t sell out every time, something is wrong. You need to recalibrate.
It took us nine years to understand our customer and we never stopped making improvements. Our new packaging just launched on Amazon. It has a 10-year shelf life, is UV protected, oxygen sealed, and printed directly on the tin.
If your retail partners aren’t excited, you’re not getting the most out of them. We’re creating case packs people are proud to carry.
Delisting is death in retail. Costco, Whole Foods, Sprouts, those become your number one customers. You cannot fail them.
We’ve had over 500 million views across social media. 3,500 influencers, 65,000 affiliates. We can drive customers to stores.
I applied for Shark Tank in 2017 and 2018 and never heard back. It was too soon. In 2022, I finally had a story to tell.
Be patient. Timing is everything.
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
My first company, MobileCom, taught me that if you don’t own your product, you don’t own your future.
My second taught me not to fight regulations. You will lose.
That’s how I found the Miracle Berry. I became obsessed with learning the latest thing that what was “generally regarded as safe.”
Since then I learned that being first doesn’t matter unless you’re first to mind. Never brag about being first. Brag about being best.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
I like working with people. Every day is different. You don’t punch a clock. You work too much for that.
It’s like preparing for Everest. If you love the underdog story, this life is for you.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
My proudest moment was watching our Shark Tank episode with my mom, brother, and friends on May 5, 2023.
I’ve watched the show since 2009. I bit my nails every episode. I thought a competitor would get my favorite sharks before us.
In 2022, I messaged casting directly, just asking them to confirm my application. Two weeks later, we got the call.
Being likable matters. Trust matters. You could have a winning lottery ticket, but if people don’t trust you, they won’t take it.
We liked our producers but it was more important that our producers liked us. We gave every person on set the experience.
Thousands, tens and hundreds of thousands of people build a brand, not a founder alone.
The power of partnership?
Mark and Lori are incredibly involved. But it is one of those things where you get what you put in.
They’ve helped every day. Best decision we ever made.
What amazes you about selling out demos?
We flip people’s expectations, not just their taste buds. Bitter, sour, probiotic foods suddenly taste amazing.
But going from impossible to undeniable, that's the magic.
People try it come back to buy gifts for others. That’s why our second purchase average is higher.
This berry isn’t one-time, it’s shareable.
Most recent good news?
We’re now able to publicly talk about clinical use cases.
The berry helps with taste issues from chemotherapy, pregnancy, dementia like Alzheimer’s, and COVID.
We can accept HSA payments now. This just became official.
It’s no longer anecdotal. It’s becoming mainstream now.
Piece of Advice
Always consider the other person’s perspective.
In retail, don’t say, “Put me on the shelf.” Say, “Here’s how I make you money.”
Nature’s Wild Berry lifts the entire store basket.
It’s not a gamble. Watch our demos. Watch our velocity.
Different doesn’t mean risky. It means opportunity.
Promo Code
Purchase from their website, Nature's Wild Berry, and use promo code below!
"TogetherTalks" -> 20% off!
Community Callout
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Nature's Wild Berry and Co-Founder, Hank Watt, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!
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