August 2018 Amber Grant Awarded to Wasatch Nectar

On Sunday, we announced our August Amber Grant finalists.

Today, we’re here to reveal the $1,000 recipient and the qualifier for our $10,000 year-end Amber Grant. Congratulations to Kristen Moffatt, Owner of Wasatch Nectar. Kristen shares her path to entrepreneurship — and much more — in our interview below.

*You can follow Wasatch Nectar on Instagram.

Video Transcript

WN: Share the story of how Wasatch Nectar came to be

KM: I have always been very active and driven by outdoor adventure! This was a major driving factor in creating Wasatch Nectar.

The lack of healthy, trail friendly energy bars and gels available started to deter me from bringing any nutrition with me when I would go out for the day. The artificially flavored sugar syrups were becoming increasingly difficult to stomach. Skipping out on nutrition all together in the summer heat of Utah is not a viable option, which became evident one day while biking. I was out on a long ride, which was getting more difficult as the temperature continued to rise. Just as I was getting off my bike to rest and get a drink of water, I almost collapsed on the trail! I had completely bonked and really felt the results of my poor decision to skip out on my nutrition.

After I got home, I decided I would start packing something I could tolerate on the trail. I have always loved honey, and its unique sugar profile of both glucose and fructose makes it ideal for sports nutrition fuel. I started enhancing honey from my own bee hives with electrolytes. Soon after I was even mixing in other foods for added health benefits and for flavoring. I was so excited to finally have my ideal nutrition product to take on the trails with me. My friends and family all loved it and requested it frequently. This was too good to keep to myself, so I decided to name my product and start a business. My business was named Wasatch Nectar after the Wasatch mountain range in Utah.

WN: What’s unique about the honey — and the products — that you produce?

KM: Our honey is sourced from local beekeepers and is never heated nor pasteurized in order to preserve the healthful properties raw honey has to offer. The natural sugar profile of honey makes it the ideal fuel for sports nutrition. We then enhance the product with electrolytes that are depleted when we sweat.

We offer our product in convenient packets for on-the-go nutrition, which is critical for athletes. Additionally, Wasatch Nectar is offered in jars for home use. This is appealing for anyone seeking healthy and unique products. Each Wasatch Nectar flavor is enhanced with electrolytes and flavored with real food. No artificial ingredients, no preservatives, and no added sugar!

WN: What challenges do you face as the owner?

KM: One of the biggest challenges of being a startup business owner is having the time and capital to scale with it. As with me, many food entrepreneurs spend every waking moment and their entire paycheck starting their business – using the funds for packaging, permits, advertising, etc.

The limited funds leaves further production difficult to pursue. Many companies fail at this point, even though they have an excellent product. The possibility of falling into this category keeps me uneasy. I am currently spending every minute — outside of my full time job as a dietitian — advertising, networking, attending events, and (most importantly) making product, to make sure Wasatch Nectar succeeds!

WN: How will you scale this business?

KM: This question is one that I considered in the very early stages of Wasatch Nectar. I wanted to be able to create a product that was both sustainable and scalable. Honey fit the ticket of sustainability, as I am able to help local beekeepers sell their honey and keep a consistent market demand for it.

Scaling the business was a bit more difficult. I spent many hours researching different packagers that met my requirements, and after many failed attempts finally struck gold with a supplier who had my vision. We have been able to work with each other and establish a simple and easy process for packaging Wasatch Nectar. As demand grows, production of my product will actually become easier!

The most critical part of scaling a business is increasing the demand for it. This is where good marketing strategies and good connections become critical. My main marketing strategy is to get the product in the hands of athletes. I have been getting Wasatch Nectar involved in local races and sporting events and I am continuing to look for additional marketing avenues to help scale Wasatch Nectar. You can only worry about scaling when people are buying!

 

WN: What piece of advice would you give to an aspiring female entrepreneur?

KM: Starting up a business is intimidating to say the least! My main advice to anyone interested in starting their own business is to take it one step at a time — but always think ahead to the long term goals of the business. The many steps in getting started — then working towards generating sales and growing the business — can be very overwhelming. Taking one step at a time makes your aspirations feel more attainable. I remind myself this each day, and it really helps me remember that I can do this! I would encourage everyone to try this approach.

Another thing I have found to be critical is listening to the people who believe in your product. There are always too many people willing to tell you why it won’t work, or how it’s a waste of your time and money, or how there are too many people that have already done it. In my experience, the people who believe in your product also have the most valuable feedback. Ask them questions of what they liked and why. That’s where my product has developed the most, and for the better. The people who love your idea also want you to succeed, so listen to them!

WN: If you have anything else to share, please do — this is your platform!

KM: Wasatch Nectar is available on WasatchNectar.com and now you can have it to your doorstep in two days using your Amazon Prime account!