We're delighted to announce the longlist for the Futureminded UK Product Pitch Competition 2021.
We received many applications and the standard was extremely high, but these 10 brands stood out as ticking all the Futureminded boxes. They're innovative, challenging convention with their categories and committed to making the world a better place.
Congratulations to all the brands who made the list, and watch this space for our narrowed down shortlist - coming soon!
Nourished
Producing vegan and sugar-free, highly personalised, gummy vitamin stacks, built using 3D printers, Nourished are on a mission to disrupt the vitamin and supplement industry – to change the way the world thinks, buys, and experiences nutrition.
Customers start by answering a few questions on existing health, lifestyle and goals and Nourished’s proprietary algorithm creates a personalised recommendation of seven nourishments best suited to your lifestyle and goals from an extensive list vitamins, minerals, and superfoods.
Futureminded credentials: Nourished use no single use plastic in their manufacturing process and boast a 2% or lower wastage rate in their production facilities. They’re made in the UK to keep their carbon footprint as low as possible, and every order is delivered in plastic-free, recyclable or home compostable packaging.
What we love: Aside from the innovative approach to helping us meet our nutrient needs in, it’s Nourished’s mantra that really sold them to us: “If anything in the world should be personalised; it should be our health and wellness.” We quite agree!
Treed CBD
A luxury CBD brand for the millennial consumer, Treed are taking an all-round approach to an increasing demand for CBD products by wellness consumers; in addition to providing high-quality CBD oils of varying strengths to combat the physical side effects of the fast-paced lives many of us now live, they also educate consumers on the cultural significance and history of cannabinoid-derived products.
Futureminded credentials: Their products are all-natural and 100% organic, have full traceability from seed to bottle and for every bottle of Treed CBD sold, they plant a tree, working directly with a not-for-profit organisation to make this happen. So far, they’ve planted well over 3000 trees.
What we love: That Treed CBD’s commitment to education goes far beyond just the ‘science-y stuff’: “As a black-owned Co-founder, what’s important to us is that we empower our customers to understand the histories that have shaped and continue to affect our world today. Understanding and acknowledging the past is how we are and will be able to shape a more prosperous future.”
OFFBLAK
Offering functional wellness teas in a range of innovative flavours, Offblak cut out the middleman when designing their product, engaging directly with consumers to understand their needs and desires. Consequently, they’ve been able to design teas boasting unusual flavours that consumers actually wanted and provide functional health benefits.
Their subscription model - which sees teas delivered directly through customers’ letterboxes – ensures that their purchasing process complements their customers’ lifestyles as much as the tea itself.
Futureminded credentials: Aside from their commitment to using the best, most functional ingredients across their categories OFFBLAK are also conscious of their environmental impact. They’re well on their way to becoming a certified B Corporation and the world-first Carbon Negative Tea company. Their ‘Zero To Landfill’ recycling campaign actively encourages customers return their used aluminium foil tea sachets, which they take to a specialist recycling facility.
What we love: That OFFBLAK’s steadfast commitment to being changemakers in the tea industry extends into every aspect of their business – from their initial market research to the way they supply their products to how they operate as a business.
Our Remedy
Our Remedy offers a range of sustainably packaged natural remedies for sleep, periods and anxiety; their products, which are 100% vegan and cruelty free, feature unique blends of CBD, adaptogens and essential oils, to create soothing natural remedies to support women and help them to have a happier period.
Futureminded credentials: Committed to being environmentally friendly, Our Remedy print using veg ink, use recycled packaging and ship in compostable mailers. They’re the only CBD brand in the UK offering plastic free re-fills, giving customers £5 off if they keep their pipette and order a capped bottle, saving perfectly re-useable pipettes going into landfill.
For every full price bottle sold Our Remedy also donate to Bloody Good Period, the UK’s leading period poverty charity: “Period poverty is a very real problem and we feel privileged to be doing our bit to help.”
What we love: The empathetic stance that permeates everything they do – not just from the point of view of giving back, but also their product design itself: “We wanted to create a remedy that people looked forward to taking, as this in itself promotes continued use - key to experience the full wellness benefits since it can take 1-2 weeks to build up in the body and take effect.”
C’go Drinks
A beverage for the health-conscious consumer in a hurry, C’go’s ‘breakfast-in-a-box’ oat-based drink contains multi-wholegrain cereals (oat, barley and wheat), blended with premium oat milk and a bespoke blend of seven B-vitamins, which can help to reduce tiredness, enhance metabolism, and support immune function. It is also high in fibre and calcium to support gut health.
The C’go range comes in three delicious flavours – Vanilla, banana (using real banana puree) and chocolate (with real Belgian chocolate).
Futureminded credentials: As far as we can see, it’s the first plant-based milk drink which delivers well beyond just oat milk, or even flavoured oat milk – it’s highly nutritious, functional, made from simple ingredients.
What we love: C’go pushes boundaries by creating a product that offers both sustenance and sustainability, thanks to the ingredients it uses and the packaging it comes in, without comprising on convenience – all three big wins for a savvy, modern consumer.
Purely
With three different options available - Wild Garlic, Nice & Spicy and Sea Salt – Purely are reimagining traditional plantain chips to provide tasty and healthy snacks to consumers looking for all-natural options in innovative flavours.
Playing their part in moving plantain chips from something you find in the ‘world food’ section of health stores to the main aisles of your local supermarket, Purely are helping shape what healthy eating looks like in 2021.
Futureminded credentials: While staying true to their Ecuadorian roots, their plantain chips are vegan friendly, gluten free, dairy free. Unusually, these plantain chips are free from palm oil, the product of which is considered a major driver of deforestation.
What we love: Purely’s focus on making their snacks accessible to everyone, whether you’re vegan, avoiding palm oil, have nutritional or cultural requirements.
Drop Bear Beer Co
The first female-founded alcohol-free craft brewer in the world, Drop Bear Beer Co. specialise in creating revolutionary craft beers below 0.5% ABV. Through their range of flavourful IPAs, stout, lager and pale ales, which unite under the motto “dropping the alcohol, perfecting the craft”, they’ve built a loyal base and are taking on major brands to be the go-to option for the sober curious consumer. Currently, they’re in the process of building the world’s only alcohol-free brewery!
Futureminded credentials: The Drop Bear Beer Co’s commitment to making sure their drinks are not only alcohol free but also deliver in other health-related aspects – their entire range is low in calories, low in sugar and made using 100% natural ensuring there are no nasty or unnecessary additives.
They’re also big believers in minimising their impact on the planet - from their glass beer bottles, cardboard shipping boxes with paper wrap to their mailing bags made from sugar cane, every bit of their packaging can be re-used or recycled.
What we love: There’s no denying that the market for alcohol-free beverages is growing by the day – in 2021, it’s estimated that over six million people in the UK took part in dry January – but finding one that’s also low sugar and additive free is no small feat.
Solo Coffee
Solo Coffee’s founders believe that there’s something powerful in doing one thing really well, and their Coffee Concentrate certainly packs some serious punch – a cold brew with the strength and mouthfeel of an espresso, that can be used for everything from making the perfect espresso martini to added to iced lattes. It even works for tiramisu!
Solo Coffee Concentrate offers speciality espresso when there’s no espresso machine in sight – which is right now, for most of us.
Futureminded credentials: Focusing on coffee as a functional beverage as much as a lifestyle product, Solo Coffee are bridging a gap between a traditional but arguably ‘been there done that’ coffee industry and those luminous energy drinks, often presenting as healthy drinks but high in sugar. Coffee concentrate looks cool and will wake you up, but not at the expense of your health.
What we love: Self-confessedly ‘nerdy’ about coffee, the founders’ love for coffee and commitment to great taste shines through their brand. We love that their product is so relevant for lockdown lifestyles – responding to the needs of the coffee lover who isn’t quite ready to invest in a home machine.
Jeffrey’s
With so much effort now put into gin botanicals, Jeffrey’s felt there was a need for a specialty tonic that matched their quality. From this was also born Jeffrey’s range of botanical cordials, which while working as mixers for gin, also stand their own ground as adult appropriate soft-drinks for those wishing to cut back on the alcohol but unwilling to miss out on the experience of a grown up drink.
Futureminded credentials: With unusual flavours – such as Yarrow, Rosehip and Elderflower – Jeffrey’s use of unusual and all-natural ingredients stand out from those commonly found in other alcohol-free mixers. Among those used is cinchona bark, sourced from Equador. Jeffrey’s choose to use chipped bark, rather than its cheaper powdered alternative, to preserve the taste and integrity of the ingredient.
What we love: The originality of Jeffrey’s products. Not only are the flavours and ingredients all interesting and unusual, but they’re also all made using only infusions, rather than extracts.
Oteas
Operating on a mantra of “Good for you. Good for the Planet”, Oteas create high-quality, non-GMO, organic tea that’s certified as 100% plastic free – a surprisingly unusual accolade for a tea company. Sourcing ingredients from all over the planet, they use whole leaves, whole herbs, whole spices and whole flowers to create full-bodied flavour profiles, unique blends and infusions.
Futureminded credentials: Their tea comes in a 100% plastic free package. The box is recycled and printed using vegetable ink, their tea bags are completely biodegradable and even the biofoil is home compostable: “If [it] were to end up in the ocean and be consumed by marine life, it is guaranteed to breakdown and safely be processed as an amino acid.”
What we love: That they’re shaking up the hot beverages industry by creating truly plastic free tea without the elevated price tag that often comes with these kinds of products and without compromising on the originality of their flavours – a cup of Black Tea With Caramel, anyone?