What Happens When a Food Entrepreneur Meets a Michelin Star Chef? You Get The #1 Pasta on Amazon. Michelin chef x food entrepreneur = $131 billion opportunity.
By Entrepreneur Store Edited by Jason Fell
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Imagine how well a great-tasting pasta with just 9 calories and zero net carbs would sell.
You don't have to imagine: It's Skinny is already the top-selling pasta on Amazon. And with the global pasta market worth more than $131 billion, investors everywhere are taking notice.
It's Skinny started when co-founder Bryan Guadagno had to change his diet after being diagnosed with esophagitis. He quickly realized that most "healthy food" brands were anything but. These brands loaded their products with carbs, unhealthy vegetable oils, and inorganic and artificial ingredients.
There had to be a better way. And with more than 50 million people in search of foods that fit their diets, finding a solution had the potential to be lucrative.
Guadagno teamed up with Barb Axleson, whom he knew had experience with food companies like Unilever and Campbell's Soup, and Elad Barkan, a Michelin-star chef, to start It's Skinny. Their mission: To help the millions of people who feel cheated by the food industry by giving them a truly natural, low calorie, gluten-free, and tasty option. It's been a stunning success.
It's Skinny is already the top-selling pasta on Amazon. They're growing by more than 80% each year, the company says, reaching a $10 million revenue run rate today. That's earned them investments from Tim Draper, the Elevator Syndicate, and more. And to keep fueling their growth, they've opened up the opportunity for everyday investors to join them.
That means you can invest in It's Skinny and share in their growth. And they have a very ambitious growth plan. But before we get to that, let's take a look at exactly how they've been able to achieve this success.
It's Skinny's secret ingredient.
Being from New Jersey and New York, Guadagno and Axleson grew up loving pasta. So they teamed up with Barkan, a world-class chef from a Michlin Star restaurant in Italy, to make pasta that checks all the boxes.
"I'm Italian so I'm hardwired to love pasta," Guadagno says. "But pasta is an inflammatory food, particularly pasta crafted from domestic and enriched wheat, and it's loaded with carbohydrates."
Rather than using wheat or other genetically modified substitutes found in most pasta, the team turned to a special plant from southeast Asia called konjac.
Konjac is high in fiber and has no excess carbs. The noodles take on the rich and flavorful taste of any sauce, cheese, or meat you'd usually cook with pasta. It's Skinny, which comes in spaghetti, fettuccine, and angel hair shapes, has a texture similar to al dente pasta.
Guadagno explains, "My team and I created It's Skinny to mirror the taste and texture of conventional pasta but with a non-grain base to avoid inflammation and unnecessary carbs."
Using konjac, It's Skinny created the simplest and most convenient way to eat better without sacrificing taste. An entire 9.5oz bag has only 9 calories, 2 grams of fiber and exactly 0 net carbs, the company says. It's Skinny doesn't need to be boiled so consumers can make most meals in less than five minutes.
But creating a better pasta on paper is only half the battle. What's really exciting for investors is that consumers are loving it.
The top-selling pasta on Amazon is just the start.
It's Skinny's great-tasting, 9-calorie pasta is a hit. It's already the top-selling pasta on Amazon, beating out traditional brands like Barilla and legume-based competitors like Banza, the company says. They've racked up more than 3,300 5-star reviews on Amazon with people calling out the delicious taste and lifestyle compatibility. As Guadagno says, "We consistently receive stories about consumers who are also on a lifestyle improvement journey with It's Skinny being a huge help in their efforts."
Even better? People aren't just trying it, they're repeatedly buying it. More than 6,300 people subscribe on Amazon, meaning they buy it automatically each month. It's Skinny boasts a 19% higher repeat purchase rate than other pasta brands on Amazon, too.
It's Skinny doubled household penetration in 2023 and expects to double it again in 2024, the company says. But this is just the beginning. Less than 1% of households have tried It's Skinny, meaning their expansion potential is wide open. And they have an ambitious plan to scale. They aim to expand to national retailers like Costco, Kroger, Target, and more. They have the potential to add more than 20,000 new retail doors, the company says.
Plus, they're developing new product lines to grow their reach. They've already announced It's Skinny Mac, a gluten-free mac and cheese that boasts just 5 net carbs and 2 grams of fiber per serving, the company says.
Their short-term goal is $30 million in sales by 2026. In the long-term, they aim to be a household name and a staple in your grocery's shelves. It's no wonder investors are lining up to grow with them.
The table is set: You can invest in It's Skinny.
Normally you'd have to be an accredited investor or a Wall Street hedge fund to invest in a private company like It's Skinny. But they're opening the doors for anyone to join them as an investor.
It's Skinny plans to use investor capital to accelerate their growth across three channels:
- Retail distribution: Fuel their brick-and-mortar expansion and increase same-store velocity with at-shelf promotions.
- Direct marketing: Drive more traffic to their website through digital ads and email marketing, driving new sales and repeat buyers.
- Digital marketplaces: Leverage digital marketing strategies to drive awareness and findability of their products on platforms like Amazon, Instacart, and retailer websites.
A who's who list of investors is already on board, including Tim Draper (who invested $1M), Kip McClanahan of Silverton Ventures, Elevator Syndicate, and more.
And you can join them as an It's Skinny shareholder. To learn more about this opportunity and share in their growth, head to their website by clicking here.
Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Its Skinny REG CF offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.itsskinny.com
