Erica Groussman is a mom, wife, and wellness maven. She is the co-founder and CEO of TRUWOMEN, an indulgent nutrition company where they create natural and clean nutrition bars that tastes like classic desserts. Her products and the way she runs her company are empowering women and creating healthier products for a healthier world.
She is also the founder and CEO of Molluscum Away, a natural patch and ointment treatment to combat molluscum. Her family and her quest for total wellness inspired her to create both her businesses. In her free time, she is a fitness guru and is a wife to entrepreneur Mark Groussman and mother to two kids.
Please tell us a little bit about your company
TRUWOMEN, Inc. is a Denver-based nutrition company that introduces a first-of-its-kind food category, called Indulgent Nutrition™. Obsessed with blurring the lines between healthy and delicious, TRUWOMEN protein products celebrate the flavor profiles of the most iconic desserts using only simple ingredients that are Plant Fueled® and no junk.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
As a busy mom of two, I have always tried my best to stay healthy and eat right. However, the protein aisle is usually crowded with products full of lengthy and questionable ingredients, making it hard to commit to healthy. So, one of my big goals for TRUWOMEN was to make it easier for shoppers to feel proud choosing our products and sharing them with others. Throughout all our R&D, we committed ourselves to remain 100% vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, and free of sugar alcohols. Although it would’ve been much easier to use ingredients that are not plant-based, I am so pleased that we stayed disciplined in perfecting our indulgences to take on the flavor profiles of the most iconic desserts, using only clean ingredients.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
- One skill is determination. It’s important to stay determined, especially when faced with challenges. Facing bumps in the road can be frustrating and giving up can be the easiest decision. However, in order to be successful, you have to be determined to reach your goals.
- Another skill is organization. Staying organized can help you run your business smoothly ( LOTS OF LISTS).
- Lastly, you need to be open to change. The world of business is changing all the time and you need to be ready to shift gears and sometimes even pivot at a moment’s notice. From the new forms of technology to changing trends, you need to be on top of it.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
We are really excited about the expansion into Canada we currently have a rotation in Costco Canada East locations. Over the next six months, TRUBar’s Canadian momentum includes expansion commitments into approximately 800 Shoppers Drug Mart locations, as well as Rexall, Metro, and Loblaws locations. Additionally, TRU Brands expects to launch TRUWOMEN.CA, its own consumer-facing online store in Canada, in April.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Our bars are made with clean ingredients. Many nutrition bars have processed sugar alcohols, gluten, and other unhealthy additives. Although those bars might be high in protein, they’re overall not the best for your body. We focus on a holistic approach to wellness in our product, so the purity of the ingredients is just as important as the amount of protein or fiber.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Our favorite part of the marketing process is to interact with our customers and get that fresh feedback directly from the source. Pre-covid we would set up at our retail partners and sample new flavors and products. But now, we have taken the dialogue to social media. We host giveaways, polls, and hold engaging two-way conversations with our community to always know their needs.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
I find a challenge that any product-based business will face is managing growth while not sacrificing the quality of the product and customer service you deliver. This is why we have been deliberate in picking retail partners and grown very strategically.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
Always make sure to take Time for Yourself. There was a season of time during the beginning of TRUWOMEN where I put myself on the backburner. I quickly learned that in order to be the best version of myself, I had to feel like it. For me that means, taking time, even if only five minutes, to meditate and getting in physical activity.
One of the most inspiring books that I highly recommend, especially for those with ambitions to build a lifestyle brand is Start with Why by Simon Sinek. It discusses how some people and brands are always able to be more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others. It centers the books around ‘The Golden Circle’ a powerful concept that allows brands to be built, movements to be launched, and people to become inspired. Simon Sinek did a very popular Ted Talk around the book and it is a great way to get a high-level overview of the book in a few minutes.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I would become an affiliate marketer for the products I know, love, and trust. I would use the money to sign up for Shopify and build my own story, and the remaining dollars on Facebook and Instagram advertising to acquire customers.
What is your favorite quote?
“It’s so much better to promote what you love than to bash what you hate.”
– Jessica Alba
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Learn from your failure and then let it go. So much of creating a brand-new company is trying and failing. Because I am the ultimate go-getter, I have a hard time when things don’t quite turn out how I anticipated. At first, I would get really hung up on the mistakes and allow them to deter my motivation. Over time, I learned how to just simply let it go and keep moving forward.
How can we get in touch with you?
Find TRUWOMEN on Instagram at @truwomen and you can find me at @ericatruwomen.
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