A Vancouver Island-based company is making gains with a vegan supplement brand.
Edan Wolk and Melissa LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅, of Nanaimo, created Vegain, a line of gluten-, dairy- and soy-free sports nutrition products formulated from Canadian-sourced ingredients that has gained a following from vegan and non-vegan athletes.
Wolk and LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 launched Vegain in January 2023 and in November the company became the exclusive supplements partner for Ian Machado Garry, a top-10 ranked and undefeated welterweight in the UFC.
Wolk said he and LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅, who also own marketing firm No Bull Brands, have long been passionate about vegan sports nutrition.
B次元官网网址淲e were working in the corporate world for a while,B次元官网网址� LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 said. B次元官网网址淲e sold the company to a publicly traded company in Toronto and went to work for them, it was part of the sale contract, but we just found that B次元官网网址� ethics, anything we believed in, was always an afterthought. Everything was about dollars and cents, shareholders, which is important for a public company, we get it, but it was a really hard thing for us to wrap our heads around.B次元官网网址�
When economic tough times during the pandemic freed Wolk and LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 from contractual obligation, they sold everything in Toronto, moved to Nanaimo and started No Bull Brands, which allowed them to base the business on their values.
When the opportunity came to create their own plant-based sports nutrition brand, Vegain became their primary focus. Wolk said he and LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 worked with laboratories to develop a product that benefits customers and tastes better, while remaining plant-based. Vegain plant-based mass gainer was their first product launched.
B次元官网网址淭ypically, a lot of vegan products out there, they do taste like dirt, so itB次元官网网址檚 just trying to break that barrier for folks,B次元官网网址� Wolk said.
LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 said she and Wolk both enjoy fitness and were motivated to create Vegain because of a lack of product on the market that worked for them.
LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅, who grew up in the Comox Valley in a family that fished and hunted, said sheB次元官网网址檚 been plant-based since about 2011 when she attended university.
B次元官网网址淲e had all this abundance of food that I had a connection to,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 moved to Montreal and I was a broke student and I did not feel good about buying a family pack of wings from the grocery store B次元官网网址� That just wasnB次元官网网址檛 right.B次元官网网址�
Her intention wasnB次元官网网址檛 to go vegan, but to wait and make some money so she could buy ethical, sustainable meats and products.
B次元官网网址淏ut I was studying environmental sustainability at the same time,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪o between not eating meat and losing the taste for it and learning about the environmental impact of the animal industry I just seamlessly transitioned into that.B次元官网网址�
Wolk, whose lifestyle involves bodybuilding and competitive sports, found whey-based products heB次元官网网址檇 been using were negatively impacting him and was already experimenting with nutrition when he and LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 met in 2016.
B次元官网网址淲hen I met Melissa I was working in the restaurant scene in Toronto and I was taking her out all the time and B次元官网网址� realized very quickly the filet mignon and all the roasts and stuff just wasnB次元官网网址檛 going to cut it B次元官网网址� I knew it was important to her to just give it a good college try, at least, so I just started transitioning to being plant-based.B次元官网网址�
Wolk said once he switched his diet, his overall performance and energy B次元官网网址渓evelled up.B次元官网网址�
One area limiting vegan products breaking into markets is the vegan approach to marketing and packaging, LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sure if I say B次元官网网址榲egan proteinB次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 sure you can picture it. ItB次元官网网址檚 white and green packaging. ItB次元官网网址檚 very feminine, very earthy, kind of hippie, which is great, but thereB次元官网网址檚 a whole section of the population that doesnB次元官网网址檛 appeal to who would really benefit from these products,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎 mass-gainer? ItB次元官网网址檚 usually big boys at the gym who want to use this product. They might not care about veganism at all, but that association with B次元官网网址榶ou must be vegan, you must look and act a certain way to use these productsB次元官网网址� has deterred them from railing up their athleticism.B次元官网网址�
VegainB次元官网网址檚 bold packaging and marketing style has helped it make the breakthrough Wolk and LB次元官网网址橦eureux-Hach茅 were after.
B次元官网网址淲e wanted to build a community,B次元官网网址� Wolk said. B次元官网网址淭he majority of our customers arenB次元官网网址檛 vegan at all. We have bodybuilders that use our products B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 been really affirming having been approached by UFC fighters, Olympians, football players, NHL players in the last few months.B次元官网网址�
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