We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Pinedo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I’m a Drugless Practitioner. I work with people on diet modification and stress management for health concerns. My goal is to try to get to the root cause of the issue to avoid unnecessary medications. Two specific groups that I tend to work with are teachers and parents with children who have neurological struggles. With teachers metabolic syndrome is on the rise. I understood this was partially contributed to a very busy schedule with little time left over to meal plan or prepare for mornings specifically. Most teachers I worked with started their day with carbs and caffeine. They would inevitably not have a break long enough to eat much until the afternoon and by then the are relying on more caffeine and sugar to get through the day and are starting to crash. This trend goes on day and day until their metabolism tanks taking their adrenals with them.

Children who struggle with hyperactivity, are easily distracted, have a hard time focusing, and act out often have a similar type of diet: high in carbs and sugar, low in beneficial fats and protein. As an experiment I started making the first rendition of Coffee Bombs. They had several different names back then depending on who was using them, we ended up landing on Coffee Bombs because they were most often used by adults in coffee.

When Coffee Bombs were first born I was trying to simplify a way to add beneficial fats and proteins without all the work that went into those food groups. As a single parent I was also looking for something quick and easy I could use and I could give my son that he would also enjoy.

After one of my teachers reported she had lost 5 lbs without changing anything except adding a Bomb to her coffee in the morning I started to think I had a hit.

Fast forward a year with using them for myself, my son, my clients, and having co workers requesting them I met my business partner, Sarah Rioux. She thought more people should have access and there was a strong market for people looking for an easier and healthier morning routine. July 1st 2016 we officially launched Ladybird Provisions.

Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a Drugless Practitioner. I work with all types of people on diet modification and stress management for health concerns. I got into this field because my son was diagnosed with a neurological condition at 18 months old and none of the treatments were options for us. I started studying what other options may help and I kept coming back to diet being a trigger. At this point in my life I understood zero about nutrition. I had a typical American diet and had all the ailments to prove it. Arthritis set in in my teens, I always struggled with mood health, insomnia, weight and skin issues, energy, etc….but as I removed known triggers from his diet, I also noticed some of my issues getting better. By the time he was 4 you would have never guessed he was anything other than a healthy normal kid, some would say freakishly healthy. Lol, he had a six pack, ate almost exclusively fresh whole foods by choice, was athletic, reading and doing math.

When he started kindergarten some of his issues came back and I realized we were going to have to get teachers on board. I went back to school to learn more about how diet effects general health in people not diagnosed with a condition. As I learned more I started trying to teach others and eventually ended up working for Peoples RX helping people learn simple hacks to change their diet and using supplements as stepping stones to get on track. My focus was always teachers and parents having the most experience with those groups and really understanding how hard it is for them.

Finding easier ways to stay healthy is a constant struggle. A lot of companies will appear to be a great option, but when you read the ingredients you realize it’s mostly marketing. Companies knew people wanted to feel better, but were too busy to research every ingredient. That was my specialty. By really digging into what was available vs what was needed I started making my own products. Coffee Bombs had many renditions. My main rule was nothing could be artificial or added without a health related purpose. I got constant feedback from my co workers and that was how I met Sarah. She had just moved to Austin with her husband and started working at Peoples RX as a dietician. After trying the Coffee Bombs I had at that time she asked if I would be interested in trying to get them into retail stores. We started in farmers markets and at Peoples RX for a year getting feedback and making modifications, then in 2018 we were a finalist in HEB quest for the best which got us on the shelf in 20 stores.

Fast forward 6 years and Coffee Bombs are sold nationwide in over 600 stores. We launched a new line called Dry Bombs that has tryptophan added to the collagen to make it a complete protein, it’s dairy free, and shelf stable to compete with the protein powder and powdered coffee creamer industry.

It’s been a wild ride so far, it’s not easy being a company that goes against the grain. Our product is hard to produce because we refuse to compromise my main rule. Nothing is artificial or without health benefits. No preservatives, colors, artificial ingredients.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

Ladybird Provisions is mostly a boot strapped company. Sarah had some savings she used to do the initial launch, but it wasn’t much. By staying small and allowing organic growth we managed to pull it off with zero funding for 5 years and a small friends and family raise going into year 6. We are in the process of some pretty big growth options, so we are currently in our very first fundraise. It’s scary, but exciting.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Our products are very challenging to make because we refuse to alter the ingredients to make it easier. Neither of us have any experience in manufacturing which has been both a blessing and a curse. Luckily I am very good at coming up with creative solutions to problems so we have made it work. My rendition of a walk-in cool room for back stock is something I will forever be proud of. Coffee Bombs are made in our own facility, we have 2 pieces of semi custom equipment that help with the process, but most things are done manually.

Dry Bombs are made with a copacker. Finding a copacker was extremely frustrating. Everyone insisted that what we wanted to do was impossible and we would have to add flow agents, stabilizers, refined ingredients, all the things I refused to compromise. Just when we had given up, we finally found a tiny copacker outside of Houston who was willing to do it our way with the Dry Bombs. They worked diligently for months before they finally found a piece of equipment that would work.

Don’t give up! Don’t compromise your integrity because others say you have to! There is a growing number of people who are willing to do it the hard way because it’s the right way. It’s a struggle, but it’s worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ladybirdprovisions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladybirdprovisions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LadybirdProvisions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-pinedo-69588417/.https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-rioux-mba-rdn-ld-3169a414/

Image Credits
I own all photos