A Profile in Partnering: How One Partnership Made All the Difference for The Purple Carrot

Subscription startup The Purple Carrot transformed itself with Mark Bittman’s help

Andy-Levitt-photoIn early 2014, Andy Levitt, future CEO of The Purple Carrot, watched Forks Over Knives, a documentary that highlights how harmful animal-based and processed food diets are for us and how they contribute significantly to obesity, chronic disease and other degenerative conditions. Having spent 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Levitt had seen first-hand how the Standard American Diet contributes to chronic health conditions, how billions of dollars are spent on treatments that focus on symptoms, and not nearly enough energy is spent on creating lasting change and real solutions.

Deeply touched by the film, Levitt left the pharmaceutical industry to become part of the solution. In October 2014, Levitt launched The Purple Carrot, a subscription-based company that provides vegan plant-based meal kits to individuals and families.

“It felt to me like a great opportunity to make a difference,” said Levitt. 

Since the company’s launch, TPC’s business model and offerings have changed dramatically, and Levitt was gracious enough to share his journey with Subscription Insider. In this case study, we’ll tell you how The Purple Carrot first started, how it evolved, and what’s next for the subscription-based startup. 

The Purple Carrot Logo

Early days at The Purple Carrot

After seeing the documentary, Levitt spent the next nine months developing the idea that would eventually grow into The Purple Carrot. Levitt had seen how the convenience economy had created a marketplace for meal kits, so he felt there was room for another company, but he wanted his to be different and to really stand out. He wanted to focus on a plant-based diet that was not only convenient, but that was also appealing to folks who wanted healthier options than fast food or processed meals.

With a bootstrap budget, Levitt focused on proof of concept in the beginning.

“I was looking to prove the model that people wanted plant-based meal kits and would want them on a regular and recurring basis, especially if they were not vegans,” Levitt said.

At launch, The Purple Carrot offered simple, packaged vegan meal kits with raw, fresh ingredients and plant-based recipes from popular chefs, food bloggers and restaurants. With only regional capabilities, Levitt and his small team shipped meal kits that would feed families of four to 25 states using a pay-as-you-go business model. This worked for a while, but Levitt knew that his recipes were limited in scope and there was an opportunity to grow the business that he couldn’t yet foresee.

purple-carrot-process

Enter Mark Bittman 

In 2015, Levitt was introduced to food writer and “How to Cook Everything” author Mark Bittman by Purple Carrot investor David Mayer. After many discussions, Bittman resigned his position as lead food writer for the New York Times and became a partner in The Purple Carrot, helping Levitt reimagine the company and take it to new heights. Fueled by his passion for a healthier American diet, Bittman now designs all of The Purple Carrot’s meal kits, helping to transform the company and provide new opportunities for growth.

“The business changed dramatically in a year’s time,” said Levitt. “We have a more refined, elegant offering.” 

On The Purple Carrot’s website, Bittman explained why he left a coveted position at the New York Times to work for a subscription start-up.

Mark Bittman

“The junk food that dominates the Standard American Diet (SAD), is not really food at all, because it does our bodies and the environment more harm than good. Industrially-produced animal products are especially harmful to the environment, damaging to human health, torturous for animals and bad for our souls.

But many people don’t have the time or energy or the inclination to plan and shop for plant-based meals. When I met Andy Levitt, the founder of Purple Carrot, I recognized that his idea – starting a meal kit company whose primary goal was not to make money but to save the planet and help us restore our collective health -?was something I could get behind. More, Purple Carrot is about plant-based food for everybody. It’s convenient and affordable, and our kits yield the best and most satisfying plant-based meals in town. I know, because I’m developing and testing the recipes.

The benefits of vegan meal kits are profound: We can connect farmers and cooks in new ways; we can encourage everyone to eat better; we can improve health, help weight loss strategies, and reduce environmental impact. And at TPC, we’re working on even more big ideas.

But the main idea is to make the healthy, principled, and good-tasting choice the easy one. That’s the mission, and it’s consistent with what I’ve long done: try to get more people cooking better food.

The bottom line is this: I want to be part of a force that works for a better food system, for one that provides food that is fair, green, affordable, nutritious, and tasty. I hope you’ll join in that mission.” 

The Purple Carrot’s evolution

As Levitt and Bittman were forming their partnership, CEO Levitt was working on other changes to The Purple Carrot that would help it grow in a more sustainable way. The changes included:

  • Rebranding The Purple Carrot when the partnership was announced in November 2015
  • Adding a two-person meal kit offering
  • Migrating to a subscription-only service
  • Setting up a second distribution center in California, expanding the company’s service area to 70% of the country

“The main takeaway is that we fundamentally changed the whole texture of our business from being a small regional player to being part of the national conversation around meal kits,” Levitt said.

The 411 on TPC

During its first year, Levitt and the TPC team learned what worked and what didn’t, and they adapted to better meet the needs of the meal kit marketplace. Here’s what The Purple Carrot looks like now, 18 months in:

Sample of ingredientsSubscription offerings and pricing:

Two-person vegan meal kits: 3 meals per week at $68 per week

Family Plan vegan meal kits: 2 meals per week at $74 per week

Distribution:

Meal kits are prepared and shipped from two locations: New York and California.

Curation and products:

Mark Bittman designs all of the recipes for the meal kits which include raw, pre-measured ingredients to cook the weekly vegan meals. Recipe cards with photos and step-by-step instructions are included as well. All ingredients are 100% plant-based, and TPC sources as much locally and responsibly-grown ingredients as possible. None of the ingredients include GMOs. All subscribers get the same meal kits and recipes change weekly.

“These are meals you might not cook on your own,” explained Levitt. “The value to subscribers is taking the thought out of figuring out what to make for dinner.”

TPC’s unique selling proposition:

  1. Convenience
  2. Joy in the experience
  3. Ability to build confidence at home as a cook
  4. Explore new flavors that you might not experiment with otherwise
  5. Cost savings in getting pre-measured ingredients – you aren’t buying more than you need and you aren’t wasting anything 

Marketing:

Word of mouth has been the most effective marketing tool for The Purple Carrot so far. In addition, the company has used Facebook and Google AdWords. 

Sample purple carrot meal“Sincere and honest customer recommendations to friends and others who trust them for advice has propelled our business significantly,” Levitt explained. 

Sample meals:

For the week of March 20, the meals are Pan-fried Yuba Cake with the First Taste of Spring, Persian Bean and Lentil Soup with All the Toppings, Roasted Root Veggies over Creamy Couscous with Herb Sauce (pictured at right).

Details, details:

  • Currently, TPC doesn’t support allergies and they don’t track flavor profiles or preferences.
  • Subscribers can pause, skip or cancel at any time. They log into their account online to skip the week’s delivery.
  • Meals are delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on where the customer is located.
  • Meals are guaranteed. TPC has a dedicated customer service team and a 98% satisfaction response rate with their customer service so far.

Benefits of the subscription model

Moving from a pay-as-you-go-model to a subscription-only service provided TPC with several advantages, including being able to better estimate order volume and having greater visibility with customers.

“We had a lot of questions from customers who thought they had a subscription, because there has been a lot of great work done by others in the category that subscriptions are the way of the world,” Levitt said. “For us, becoming a subscription company created a level of ‘stickiness’ to our product because people are using it week after week.”

From the beginning, Levitt thought they’d eventually move to a subscription model, but he wondered how people would react when they actually made the switch.

“We were confident enough in our product to make that change,” Levitt said.

This was also an important move in terms of the company’s long-term value.

“Subscription companies are more highly valued,” he said. 

Of course, one of the primary advantages to any subscription-based business like The Purple Carrot is the recurring revenue a steady customer base offers.

“It is a customer acquisition-driven business. The more customers you can acquire and retain with a remarkable product, the more chance you will have to create lasting impact and change,” Levitt said.

Industry trends

The subscription meal kit industry has evolved alongside TPC. Companies like The Purple Carrot are getting more visibility in the press, and people better understand the value of the product. Consumers also have a better grasp on the dangers of meat-laden diets. 

“Everything is growing positively in the meal category,” Levitt said. “We’re proud to be part of the national conversation of meal kits.”

Industry-wide, Levitt anticipates that companies will get better at packaging meal kits to reduce waste which is a general issue across the board. He also thinks there might be some consolidation of meal kit companies in the latter half of 2016 or 2017.

What’s next for TPC? 

The company is just coming off a significant round of changes, so the company will continue to tweak and hone its offerings. However, another area of focus for Levitt and the TPC team is to emphasize that their approach is truly mission-based. It’s about education and explaining why plant-based eating makes sense from a health, environment and humanity perspective.

“We’re excited about the work we are doing now to help communicate our value proposition more effectively to consumers. The data is so compelling about plant-based diets; we’re looking forward to sharing that information in the months ahead,” Levitt said.

Insider Take: 

The Purple Carrot started out as a simple, plant-based meal kit for families using a pay-as-you-go model. Eighteen months later, the company has evolved dramatically, moving to a subscription model for long-term sustainability and forming an advantageous partnership with Mark Bittman that strengthened their mission and raised their visibility. In those 18 months, The Purple Carrot has tested and tweaked its offering while growing its customer base.

Subscription startups can learn from The Purple Carrot’s mission-driven subscription company:

  1. Allow your product and business model to evolve over time. What you originally imagined for your company might be good, but new opportunities could make it great.
  2. Be open to possible partnerships that can help you grow beyond your expectations, strengthening your mission and your likelihood for success.
  3. The food business is extraordinarily complex, with far more variables and interdependencies than one would imagine on the surface. Having a great team of people who obsess about the details and the end customer experience is absolutely essential to long-term success.
  4. For those looking to enter the market in 2016, understand that the space gets more crowded, so make sure your product is remarkable and differentiated, and confirm that you have a solid product-market fit.
  5. Focus on your mission which should drive everything you do.

A Profile in Partnering: How One Partnership Made All the Difference for The Purple Carrot

Photo Credit: Pixabay

 

 

 

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