It’s been a monumental year of growth for a Guelph-founded company, and they have no intention of slowing down.
Beck’s Broth was launched by holistic nutritionist Beckie Prime in 2021 as a bone broth hot chocolate company, operating out of 10C Shared Space. By 2022, the product was sold online and in four retail stores throughout Wellington County and Waterloo Region.
A lot has changed since then.
For starters, in 2021 bone broth hot chocolate was often met with confusion and raised eyebrows; family and friends begged Prime not to quit her day job in pursuit of such an unconventional product. But in the past year it’s taken social media by storm, with people often sharing their own recipes and touting its benefits.
Fortunately for Prime, Beck’s Broth was ahead of the curve.
“Now we are set up to lean into the growth and the hype about the bone broth hot chocolate industry,” she said. “It sounded crazy in the beginning, but I feel like that’s how all good things sound in the beginning.”
The good-for-your-gut drink is now available in over 200 retailers as well as online and on Amazon Canada. Just last week, the product debuted on the shelves of the wellness section in 20 Indigo stores across Canada – the first bone broth sold in the store.
Seeing it on the shelves for the first time at the Stone Road location was a surreal moment for Prime and COO Domenique Mastronardi.
“It feels so cool,” she said. “When I first saw the Indigo logo pop through my inbox, I could not believe it.”
They even launched an exclusive five pack for the store.
“We went from selling in the farmers market to small independent retailers across Guelph and KW and then slipping into the GTA, and now being in 20 Indigo’s across Canada just feels incredible.”
She added this is a soft launch, and if the product does well they can do a full roll out in all stores.
The product itself looks a little different, too, and is now manufactured in Burlington to accommodate their growth.
“The biggest changes happened in September of 2023,” Prime said. “Prior to that we were selling our product in glass jars.”
Trying to get the product in more stores was proving difficult, “because our jars were frozen in the freezer section, and no one was looking for bone broth hot chocolate in the freezer section.”
They spent months innovating the product to turn it into a powder formula instead; it’s now sold in single serve sachets.
Not long after, Mastronardi came on as the COO.
The pair met attending small business events in Guelph. Mastronardi had just finished her Masters in biological engineering with a focus on sustainable food product development at the U of G, and owned her own food business as well.
“I was really just drawn to everything she was doing,” she said of Prime. “I love the product. I struggled with my own gut health issues at the time, so I felt personally aligned with the product. It felt like all the stars were aligning.”
They’ve since added two more team members, and are anticipating more.
The flavours have expanded along with the team as well. from hot chocolate and coffee to matcha and seasonal flavours like mint hot chocolate.
After launching on Amazon in November, they did over $128,000 in sales, a jump that continued into December.
“Before that, $45,000 was crazy for us. That was pretty exciting,” she said.
Besides the sudden popularity on social media, Prime said the growth is largely due to their new teammates and community support, including financial and mentorship support from local organizations like Farm Credit Canada, Boundless Accelerator and 10C.
Though it might be trending online, bone broth isn’t anything new.
“It’s such an ancestral food because it’s rich with vitamins, minerals, collagen, and that high quality protein,” Prime said. “It’s so easy for your body to absorb all the nutrients. It helps to reduce any inflammation.
“In the beginning, I wanted to create something that was sustainable, that’s not creating more waste for the environment. So we were able to take these bones, give them a second life, and extract all the nutrients.”
So what’s next for Beck’s Broth?
They’re intending on growing their current Canadian market while breaking into the U.S. More seasonal flavours are on the horizon (hopefully, they say, a pumpkin spice flavour for the fall). They also received a grant from Boundless Accelerator to develop a bulk (scoop and tub style) option, which they hope to launch by the spring.
“We want you to be able to walk into your favourite grocery store and see Beck’s Broth. That’s a huge goal of mine for 2025,” she said.
“Now is our moment. Bone broth hot chocolate is trending all over TikTok, and we’re really the only brand that’s focused on (it). We just know that we need to maximize who we are as a business right now more than ever.”
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