Exploring Life & Business with Lizanne Falsetto of Betterland Foods

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lizanne Falsetto.

Hi Lizanne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I come from a large, loving Italian family. My grandfather was an incredible gardener and butcher, and my grandmother was an amazing cook. She was also very conscious of heart health and disease because those unfortunately run in my family. Her talent and drive led me to learn a lot about the connection between food and health, including understanding the difference between carbs, fat, and protein. My whole childhood, I was brought up with organic fruits, vegetables, livestock, and fresh eggs – my entire life was about food from farm to table, and my dream was to become a chef.

In 1990, I was busy with my modeling career and needed food to bring with me on the go, but every existing portable option was low in protein and high in sugar. I found I had sensitivities to sugar and gluten but felt really good on protein. My brand came about very organically from a personal need, but the roots of my family taught me a lot about food in correlation to growing a passion, showing love, and providing energy. I often say that thinkThin was really developed when I stood tearing apart my grandmother’s peanut butter cookies in my kitchen, so I could have them with me throughout the day. My family gave me the tools I needed to create thinkThin and betterland foods, because I knew I wanted to have food in my life to make me live longer and give me energy. Back in the 90s, when you traveled through an airport, you weren’t even able to buy an apple. I was solving a personal need, which then evolved into creating a product and brand. It’s the same thing with betterland; I wanted to bring dairy back into my life, but I can’t handle milk. I love to cook, my Italian love language is in the kitchen, and cooking is the way that I express that. betterland came about with a personal need to create real milk that didn’t bother me and was better for the planet.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, it hasn’t been a smooth road! Every entrepreneurial business involves an immense amount of challenges, time, and dedication. When you’re going up against the food world, you’re going against large CPGs, (and a ton of hurdles). My goal is to bring food to the forefront for human health in a way that doesn’t compromise taste or harm the planet. There have definitely been bumps in the road, but we wouldn’t be the company we are today without them, and we’ve finally created the product we desired.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
betterland foods™ is a food and beverage disruptor on a mission to build a better future for people and the planet. We offer products that taste delicious, are better for human health, and are better for our planet. Created by protein pioneer, female entrepreneur, and mentor Lizanne Falsetto (founder and former CEO of think! protein bars), betterland foods™ launched our first two products to the market this year in 2022: betterland milk and woo™ chocolate bars. Lizanne disrupted the industry (thinkThin! was the first ever protein bar on the market to highlight “gluten-free” on its packaging) and is part of the food revolution. She broke into the nutritional bar category and wrenched it open and is thrilled to be doing the same trailblazing work with betterland. betterland milk™ is the world’s first cow-free dairy alternative milk made with microbes to hit the retail shelves. There’s an international, cow-free dairy arms race right now to turn cow’s whey protein isolate made with precision fermentation into a delicious, drinkable, and sustainable milk alternative. The betterland foods™ team was the first to crack the code on turning that ingredient into shelf-stable, delicious, unflavored plant-based milk that tastes and performs like regular cow’s milk.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I developed this brand during COVID. The pandemic drastically shifted consumers’ values and behaviors around what we eat, how we take care of ourselves, and the potential dangers of compromised immune systems. We all saw how people who had compromised immune systems were often the ones on ventilators who got sicker than anyone else. So I think when you’re in the middle of a pandemic and you think about disease, you then start to think about how you can be healthier and take better care of yourself. That was probably the biggest takeaway for me.

Pricing:

• Milk and candy are commodities, and we use premium products.
• We deliver premium products while being conscious of the downward economy.
• Food costs have gone up by 10%.
• We’re a commodity item. 90% of people eat candy, and milk has always been a commodity – especially our milk because it has a 12 months shelf life. Instead of buying almond and oat and goat and hemp and soy milk alternatives, you could have a one-stop shop with our product. So we’re being very conscious of the price point in the way that we’re going to market, but I also believe that consumers understand that premium means premium. If people are buying food that’s better for them, it’s because they want to feel better, and we’re happy to provide that.

Contact Info:

• Website: betterlandfoods.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlandfoods/