It’s one hell of a start-up business story, that’s for sure. Born to a very fitness-focused family, Chloe Van Dyke was on the look-out for a nutritious endurance drink that would benefit her sister and father, a competitive triathlete and swimmer respectively. When her research didn’t turn up anything that was full of nutrition but free from added sugar and caffeine, they went about creating their own.
“I studied neuroscience at university and did a postgraduate diploma in Alzheimer’s and then studied herbal medicine, so I’ve seen a lot of superfoods and have done a lot of research on ones coming through the door,” says Van Dyke. “Chia really stood out as being rich in the nutrients that most of us tend to need more of.”
The runner’s friend
Chia seeds are teeny tiny and super-potent – one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world. Filled with omega-3, magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron, they’re also packed full of fibre. But it’s what happens when you soak them in water which is where the magic lies – they develop a gel coating which also makes them super-hydrating.
In Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run, he wrote about the Tarahumara Indians, an ancient tribe known for their mammoth long-distance runs, who relied on soaked chia seeds to stay hydrated. He referred to the drink as ‘10,000-year-old Red Bull’ and suddenly chia seeds were the world’s greatest super food.
Van Dyke, a keen trekker, had done the research and knew her stuff, so decided to put the chia seed theory to the ultimate test on a trip in 2012.
“I went to the Himalayas – a great business opportunity – and I took the chia seeds with me,” Van Dyke says. “I hydrated them and also took some blackcurrant powder with me. I was in very high altitude for most of the walk and water was quite limited. I just really noticed it kept me going – it made me feel full, it sustained hydration, and the magnesium is really good for muscle cramps.”
Once back down from the mountain, Van Dyke returned to Nelson, teamed up with her father and they started playing around with the formula. The natural drink business of CHIA was born.
The pair kept it local at first – trialling it with the Nelson swim team, gauging interest from the town’s supermarkets. Then they went bigger – taking it to Wellington and testing it in the country’s coolest cafés.
“That’s when we knew it was going to work as a business, because it was really embraced by the culture there,” Van Dyke says. “It started out as an endurance drink but that’s now only about 5% of our market. [The market] evolved for us, as opposed to us deciding on it.”
The key, Van Dyke says, was avoiding marketing it as an ‘alternative’ drink. From the word go, they wanted it to fit into cafés, not specialty stores.
“I didn’t want to go down the so-called hippie route, I wanted to bring health into the mainstream. The label was designed around something that would look good in a nice café, not something that would only suit an organics shop.”
The beauty of CHIA is the simplicity – the final bottled product isn’t far removed from the DIY mix Van Dyke took to the Himalayas with her. Like all successful entrepreneurs she saw an opportunity and took it – and didn’t let her lack of experience in that area stand in her way.
“I didn’t know anything about market-ing or accounting or distribution, and all of that I learned along the way,” she says.
But her neuroscience background came in handy, because she knew the facts behind the hype. “When I turn up, I don’t know how to sell you something. I just tell you what it is and how it works.”
Sunny home of success
Nelson has a recent history of local products making good on a global scale – Pic’s Peanut Butter and Proper Crisps both came from the sunny small town – and Van Dyke said there were a lot of companies who were welcoming to the brand, on the premise of ‘stick with us while we’re starting out, and we’ll stick with you down the line.’
That initial promise of long-term success only works so far though – you have to eventually have the results to back it up. CHIA has. Stocked throughout New Zealand, it’s now shipping to Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and South Korea, and Van Dyke estimates the company produces roughly 30,000 bottles a month, with either her or her father still present for the initial product tasting.
“The timing has been perfect,” Van Dyke says, of the health drink movement. “But we’re still stuck in this health stage where people think things are healthy by seeing what’s not in them – no added chemicals, low calories. ‘Eat this – it’s like you haven’t eaten at all’. But that isn’t healthy – healthy is a positive action.
“I would love it if people, particularly women, could learn to love food more and not look at it as a bad thing.”
Words by: Emma Clifton
Photo: Tim Cuff
