TAYLOR COLLINS, co-founder, EPIC Provisions: We want to reclaim meat as a superfood
Like gourmet jerky brand KRAVE, EPIC is driving a new wave of upmarket meat snacks designed to appeal to a broader audience, and has proved that “you don’t need to dress up in a sasquatch costume and market exclusively to college-age boys” to sell meat bars, says co-founder Taylor Collins.
Revenues at EPIC Provisions more than tripled to $6.8m in 2014, and are on course to triple again to $20m in 2015 as the EPIC brand - which first hit shelves in 2013 – continues to lure new consumers to a category (premium meat snacks) that has rapidly gone from lukewarm to red hot.
While securing national distribution out of the gate with Whole Foods in its launch year was the kind of break most entrepreneurs can only fantasize about, EPIC has earned its space on shelf and proved that what many people might consider to be a niche product can have mass appeal, says Collins, who has since moved beyond meat bars into bites, bits, and jerky mix products combining fruits, jerky, nuts and seeds.
And while the brand’s meteoric growth has been financed thus far with the founders’ savings plus cash injections from angel investor Cameron Smith and Boulder Brands Investment Group, Collins says he is open to partnering opportunities, should the right partner come along.
“While we absolutely recognize we are making an impact today, if the opportunity came with the right strategic partner, we would absolutely do it, because it could take what we’re doing and our mission to a level we could never have accomplished in maybe five or six or 10 years.”
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Pictured: EPIC Provisions co-founders Taylor Collins and Katie Forest