Claude Tellis is the son of Louisiana State University Medical School’s first Black graduate. He knew he had big shoes to fill.
“I couldn’t force myself to go the medical school route like my dad, so I chose the business route,” he said.
“That way, I could be the next best thing: the father of preventative health in the Black community.”
Tellis’ career path has forged many firsts of its own.
Tellis is CEO of Naturade Inc., an Irvine-based vegan nutrition company on a mission to encourage the prediabetic Black community to adopt healthier diets.
It’s among the faster-growing businesses of its type in the country, thanks to several breakout partnerships.
A year ago, the company debuted at Costco, becoming what the company says is the retail giant’s first Black-owned nutrition vendor in its history.
Several other notable accomplishments took place in 2021: the firm earned the Earvin Magic Johnson Business and Healthcare Award, the Duke Fuqua School of Business May-Penn Award of Excellence, and the Nutrition Business Journal Mission and Philanthropy Award.
In September, Tellis was also honored as one of six winners at the Business Journal’s seventh annual Innovator of the Year Awards.
Attacking Diabetes
According to Tellis, people of color often live in areas where healthful food is scarce, called food deserts, which puts them at a predisposition to develop Type 2 diabetes. By partnering with several large retailers, Naturade aims to bring healthy food to the most underserved corners of the country.
“We are working to solve a food justice issue,” he said. “Now, the same nutrition options people have in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, are available to folks in neighborhoods with bodegas and liquor stores.”
A John Hopkins study suggests that prediabetics who lose about 10% of their body weight dramatically reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
“Many of my family members are in this category. Our goal is to make that super obvious to people like my family.”
Impacting Food Access
Tellis met his now-business-partner Kareem Cook while studying business at Duke University.
Cook, who grew up in the Bronx’s housing projects, always found it unfair that his mother had to take a bus and a train to get to a good grocery store, according to Tellis. Both men had family members with diabetes and cancer.
“We knew we wanted to impact food access in our careers,” he added.
They started with a healthy vending machine company, and took their mission to Sacramento, and successfully banned junk food throughout California’s public school system in 2002.
“That began our entrepreneurial journey together,” he said.
Then, they made their move to California, and in 2012, acquired Naturade, a near 100-year-old health and wellness brand. They established the company’s roots in Southern California—“the heartbeat of the health and wellness industry” and employ some 30 workers today.
Currently, Naturade offers 40 different plant-based products, from meal replacement shakes and protein powders, to vitamins and supplements. The company’s popular weightloss shake VeganSmart retails on Amazon for $25, meaning each serving costs under $2.
While adding fruits and vegetables is highly encouraged, “all you have to do is mix it with water, shake it, and boom,” Tellis said. “It tastes like $1 million.”
‘The Biggest and the Best’
In recent years, Tellis and Cook have worked hard to develop the Naturade brand, and revenue has grown about 25% annually. The firm counts backers such as NBA players-turned-entrepreneurs Magic Johnson and Grant Hill.
Tellis hopes to double or triple sales numbers this year, due in part to partnering with “the biggest and the best”—Costco, Target, Whole Foods and Walmart, he said.
Since the killing of George Floyd in 2020, Target has enlisted minorities to senior positions and partnered with several Black-owned companies like Naturade.
“Instead of running from the problem, they ran to it and listened to the young folks about what to change in their communities. They created solutions,” Tellis said, adding that Naturade products can be found on the shelves of 250 different Target stores today.
The company is also working with Whole Foods’ Whole Cities Foundation, a $150,000 grant program that supports community efforts to grow fresh produce in food deserts.
Naturade is also “doubling the mean” in Costco, selling 2,000 products in-store per week.
“We’re excited,” he added. “We believe we identified an opportunity gap, and we’re hitting our social mission.”
Orgain Sale
It’s a good time to be a nutrition-focused food business in Orange County.
Earlier this month, Nestlé Health Science announced a deal to buy a majority stake in Irvine’s Orgain, which describes itself as the leading plant-based protein powder and leading organic nutritional protein ready-to-drink shake in the U.S.
Terms of the deal were undisclosed; reports from last year placed a $2 billion valuation on Orgain, which is backed by L.A.-based Butterfly Equity, a private equity firm specializing in the food sector.
Butterfly’s website indicated Orgain’s sales top $300 million annually.
Green on the Screen
Tellis is expecting more publicity for his company and products later this year, via the anticipated launch of They’re Trying to Kill Us, a feature-length sequel to the award-winning film What the Health. It features hip-hop artists Jay-Z, Waka Flocka, and Public Enemy.
VeganSmart co-founder John Lewis, also known as Bad Ass Vegan, appears in the film and talks about Naturade. The Naturade team hopes the film debuts this month.
“We want to be on the airwaves, pushing healthy eating, and making it cool to the kids,” he said. “We want to help facilitate cleaner eating and a cleaner planet.”
