{"id":5116,"date":"2023-01-25T17:38:38","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T17:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/?p=5116"},"modified":"2023-01-25T17:38:38","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T17:38:38","slug":"new-england-teacher-turn-entrepreneur-sells-a-healthier-protein-powder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/25\/new-england-teacher-turn-entrepreneur-sells-a-healthier-protein-powder\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Teacher Turn Entrepreneur Sells A Healthier Protein Powder"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Drink Wholesome’s most popular product, their whole foods-based vanilla protein powder.<\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>Drink Wholesome<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack Schrupp started a whole foods-based protein powder company<\/a> from his kitchen, somewhat by accident. Last year, he had over $2 million in sales.<\/p>\n

A teacher, with an affinity for athletics, particularly skiing, Schrupp had always been interested in his diet and health. Yet when he started reading the ingredient lists on protein powders, he was disappointed to see that they were made with preservatives, stabilizers, and inexpensive ingredients that were not healthy for this gut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t have any chronic gut issues, but when I would have a protein shake, I just didn\u2019t feel good afterwards. I tried both vegan and non-vegan options\u2026and still got stomach aches or felt really bloated,\u201d he says from his New England home. So he started making his own experimental batches in his kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll admit, they didn\u2019t taste the best at first, but they worked, and it was a few simple ingredients that I had literally ground up myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2020, Schrupp began Drink Wholesome<\/a>, selling his protein powder mixes online, while still working a full-time job as a teacher at a boarding school. Yet the pandemic changed things for him; he could no longer do the in-person tastings he was planning on to get the word out about the company. \u201cI thought I\u2019d go to sporting events, races and give out samples. But that wasn\u2019t happening anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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So he focused on digital, primarily his website. While sales were slow at first, within a few months, the wholesome ingredients caught the eye of customers looking for gut-friendly options that were easier to digest. As word started to spread that his concoctions were lighter on the system, and thus, a better option for those battling conditions which limited their food options, he saw an uptick in sales. \u201cAt that point, I was just selling to family and friends and then I started getting orders from strangers and it sounds weird, but that was the best thing, people who didn\u2019t know me were buying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schrupp started to ramp up his inventory, using the cash flow from sales to buy more ingredients, expand his manufacturing, and eventually introduce new products \u2014 meal replacement drinks, in addition to protein powders, which helped a similar set of consumers looking to supplement their diet with an easy-to-digest formula.<\/p>\n

With a focus on clean, straightforward ingredients, Schrupp sources many of the essentials from American suppliers and growers: oats, almonds, eggs, peanuts, and chickpeas. And he\u2019s opted for actual foods, not natural flavorings. So there\u2019s real vanilla beans in his mixes. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy expensive, but you can\u2019t match that flavor,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

All of the ingredients, which rarely exceed 5, are listed on the front of the bag in big bold letters. It\u2019s a clear deviation from the typical ingredient list hidden on the back. When asked why other brands haven\u2019t taken this approach, Schrupp says, \u201cIt\u2019s expensive. Mine is definitely a more premium product.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using less expensive fillers and core ingredients, such as pea protein or whey, he says can help bring down costs. But those can often be the very reason why some people cannot stomach protein shakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be real. You should be getting most of your nutrients from real food, not supplements. But if you need more protein in your diet, or a convenient way of getting it, that\u2019s when you should be using a protein powder mix. Not the other way around,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n

Schrupp\u2019s growth has come with the usual challenges: with egg prices skyrocketing this year, he saw his costs triple overnight. Or when shipping costs were sky-high during the pandemic, he had to be a bit more prudent about where he looked to source international ingredients from. But he\u2019s been able to weather the storm. In fact, he had just over $20,000 in sales in 2020 when he launched; but in 2022, it\u2019s now over $2 million.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s reached that point when Schrupp will have to give up his day job this year, and focus solely on the business. \u201cI\u2019ll be the first full-time employee on the books,\u201d he says, laughing. So far, he\u2019s built the company by using a variety of contractors. His products are packaged by a facility that works with a New England-based granola company as well. He hires individuals for specific tasks. It’s an old-fashioned approach to building the business from the ground up, and based on sales, rather than flooding it with investment.<\/p>\n

Beyond just selling protein powder mixes, he\u2019s opening up the dialogue on nutrition\u2014even amongst the athletic circles he works and plays in. \u201cMany athletes know that protein is good for you, but they\u2019re not thinking about the source of that protein. In today\u2019s world of highly processed food, it\u2019s not just about getting in good fats and proteins, it\u2019s about which ones you\u2019re turning to daily. Think about it, if you\u2019re having that supplement or protein shake everyday, you\u2019re putting in more and more of those preservatives in your gut. That\u2019s not good over a long period of time,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep it real, foods.\u201d he says empathetically.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Drink Wholesome’s most popular product, their whole foods-based vanilla protein powder. Drink Wholesome Jack Schrupp started a whole foods-based protein powder company from his kitchen, somewhat by accident. Last year, he had over $2 million in sales. A teacher, with an affinity for athletics, particularly skiing, Schrupp had always been interested in his diet and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/imageio.forbes.com\/specials-images\/imageserve\/63d086644b2703bfc56e3ae6\/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&width=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5118,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116\/revisions\/5118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}