Purely Elizabeth x 301 Inc. Announcement

Why now? Why did you decide to pursue this partnership?

Growing a natural foods company is not easy. While I’ve been extremely fortunate to get the brand to where it is today, I also always felt that to really grow and scale into the greater vision that I have for the brand, it would require additional capital and strategic expertise. I’ve been extremely selective of who that partner would be as I wanted to make sure they would not only bring resources and value to the table, but culturally be a great fit. Our team is thrilled to have found that in 301 INC.

What will the investment be used for?

Currently, our team is pretty lean with only 10 employees. We’ll be able to expand and bring in additional hands so that we can all have better focus, which will allow us to scale. In addition, the funds will go towards marketing new and existing products and getting samples into more people’s mouths.

What’s the future vision for Purely Elizabeth now with the help of 301 INC and their parent company, General Mills?

I’ve always envisioned Purely Elizabeth as a lifestyle brand – getting into several different categories in the marketplace, ultimately changing the way we eat. I’m confident with the help of 301 INC and the extended capabilities of General Mills, we can innovate quicker and really see the vision come to life by putting more products on the market using the most nutrient rich, innovative ingredients.

When you started Purely Elizabeth, was this something you ever truly thought would happen?

I started Purely Elizabeth in October 2009. At the time, there were hardly any healthy gluten free products on the market. I was a holistic nutrition counselor and looking for better for you, great tasting, gluten free products for my clients. In 2007, while attending nutrition school at Integrative Nutrition, I learned about ancient grains, superfood seeds, inflammation, gut health, etc…ingredients and concepts that were not known outside of that community. I saw an opportunity to provide better-for-you products on a small scale (I thought I would start the business as a side project and simply sell to clients, friends and family), however, overnight it really grew into something that consumers were yearning for. Back then, we were ahead of the trend with the ingredients we were using and I truly believed the products would only be of interest to a very small set of consumers. Fast forward to today, being in so many mainstream retailers and now having the interest of 301 INC to partner with us…I’m just pinching myself.

Does the idea of working with such a BIG food company concern or worry you?

No, I think that is the old way of thinking. I could not be more excited to partner with 301 INC, they are one of the most well respected groups in the industry. I feel lucky to be partnering with such a fantastic group of individuals who will not only be a great fit to help scale and grow the business, but will also culturally align with our company. Truly, the 301 INC team holds the same beliefs we do in helping to bring better-for-you products to market.

Ultimately, we cannot wait for all the opportunities and ways we can grow with this new partnership.

As always and always will be, we are here to help you Eat Purely. Live Purely.

XOXO, The Purely Team