Two years ago Bernadette Kooijman started her own company with the aim to contribute to the worldwide fight against obesity. Bernadette: “After a long day at the office I sat on the couch watching a commercial about the “pizzaburger”. That was the moment I woke up and decided to do something.
Healthy has to be a habit
Bernadette studied Food Technology in Wageningen. “My ambition is to increase the vegetable intake by making products more appealing and tasty as well”. Healthy eating shouldn’t be a difficult choice, it has to be a habit. If that would be the case, people would automatically eat less fat and sugar, and more vegetables and fibers”, Bernadette says.
Tortilla’s
No Fairytales started with a carrot and beetroot tortilla, the first worldwide. 45% of the tortilla exists of vegetables, and it is a source of fibers. By eating two tortillas you already consume about 36 grams of vegetables. Not only that, the veggies also make these tortillas delicious. Bernadette tested many products by tastings in shopping malls. “The first one was too dry. The next one didn’t taste like veggies. Finally, when 71% liked my product, I decided to go on with the recipe” After a long development process, No Fairytales can produce on a large scale. At the moment, the tortillas are available at the Cool shelf of the Albert Heijn (next to the fresh pastas) and the first sales figures are above expectations.
Scaling up
Another product line consists of fermented vegetables. The team working on these products are: Christian Weij (the fermentation specialist and writer of the book “Verrot lekker”), Kramer’s zuurkool (the largest Sauerkraut producer in The Netherlands) and professor Eddy Smid of Wageningen University & Research. These products are expected to be available for consumers in 2017.
No Fairytales is being discovered by bloggers and consumers. Recently, Janny van der Heijden, culinary publicist and presenter of the popular television program “Heel Holland Bakt”, published a recipe in which she used the No Fairytales tortillas.
The support of StartLife
No Fairytales received a loan via the stage-gate program of StartLife. Bernadette: “The loan was really welcome for me as a starter. I had to spend a lot of money, for instance to select a good packaging and design of the brand. My account manager at StartLife, Jans Hoekman, helped me to connect with the right people, like a website developer and a social media expert.” Jans Hoekman: “I really belief in the success of No Fairytales. Not only because it provides the market its demand for healthy alternatives, but also because it is very tasteful. Only healthy doesn’t work.”
Where the name No Fairytales comes from? “I don’t sell fairytales, my products are fair and transparent. What you see, is what you get”, says Bernadette.
For more information and recipes: www.nofairytales.nl