NotCo eCommerce Success Case

eCommerce success cases return to the Oleoshop blog, and they do so in a big way. We are going to tell you what NotCo is (and what it is not), we will analyze the products, the business model, its communication, the use of Artificial Intelligence as a fundamental piece… all so that you get inspired by a company that sells much more than vegan foods.

This is one of those examples in which the idea weighs as much as the way of selling it. Precisely because of that very interesting mix, we have brought you the case of a company that says it is not one and that sells some products that are not either.

Get ready because we are going to discover together something that shows that not everything is already invented, as is usually said.

Many of these analyses start from the same premise: a person with a personal need looks for a solution for themselves and ends up scaling it commercially, since there are always other individuals with the same need. Pure matter of segmentation.

At NotCo it is not exactly like that, although it arises from the mind of an entrepreneur, it is not the profile we might imagine. Matías Muchnik is not vegan and does not come from the food industry either. He is a young Chilean. who simply wanted to reduce the consumption of foods coming from animals, for an environmental reason.

What does Muchnik find when he goes to the supermarket? Products that disappointed him, that were not really an alternative because their taste was different from what they were supposed to replace, had worse textures and, in addition, had to be cooked in a different way, which did not contribute to the experience being the best possible.

Then he thought: “the vegan food market is no longer something new; it has trajectory and, moreover, it seems that both techniques and products have become somewhat stagnant.”

With his business training, he did not take long to detect a clear opportunity. But he also understood that, in order to truly stand out, he needed to do something different. The key? Betting on technology as that differential value capable of making the difference.

To complete his team, he decided to incorporate two profiles that would help him reach the aspects he was not able to cover. He incorporated into the management of the future project Pablo Zamora, a doctor in biotechnology expert in the analysis of the chemical compounds of foods, and Kim Pichara, the most technological of the three, who was already at that time experimenting with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

After much analyzing and thinking about the subject, they came to the conclusion that foods can be understood as chemical and sensory structures, so that, if an algorithm was capable of decomposing and analyzing those structures, it should be capable of reproducing them with plant ingredients, offering a much closer experience.

Who is Giuseppe? A fourth partner? Well, in some way we could say yes.

Giuseppe is the name given to the set of algorithms that make up the Artificial Intelligence responsible for formulating its products. To do so, it analyzes thousands of plant ingredients and compares their characteristics with the chemical properties of products derived from animals. Then it looks for combinations of plants capable of simulating the taste, smell and textures of that specific product.

At first they were extraordinarily faithful to their name. They were a “non-company” that took shape, not in a garage, but in a small kitchen of an apartment in downtown Santiago de Chile. Without a factory, without products… only a good idea and an algorithm in beta phase.

They started with their own money and the resources they could get from friends and small investors. The problem is that the idea was too ambitious to be financed like that and, if they really wanted to scale, it was necessary to look for other formulas.

So they went to Silicon Valley, where the most powerful business accelerators were.

Such a novel approach as using artificial intelligence to design elements was very disruptive in 2016. So IndieBio, a Biotechnology accelerator, quickly noticed these Chilean guys (and Giuseppe, of course).

From IndieBio they obtained an economic injection of 250,000 dollars, mentoring both at a business level and at a scientific level and, in addition to this, access to multiple potential investors within the technology sector.

Then many more patrons came, and of a really important level. We are talking, for example, about Kaszek Ventures (investors in projects such as MercadoLibre) or Bezos Expeditions which, as you can imagine, belongs to a certain Jeff Bezos, yes, the same one who founded Amazon.

NotCo was clear that they believed in their idea, and they knew how to make investors see that the plant-based market could compete on equal terms with the rest of the “conventional” products thanks to technology. This has taken them to where they are today: in a leading position in their industry.

Notice that we have not yet talked about what they sell in this company. Well, it is time to take a look at those tech food products that they sell both online and in large stores and even in channels such as hospitality or with collaborations with food chains (some of their products can be found in the healthy options of McDonalds or Papa Johns).

Let us see some of those crown jewels and analyze the strategy behind them:

One of their first products, and one of the ones that work best. It is a plant-based drink, but with organoleptic properties very similar to cow’s milk. So much so that it can be used to consume on its own, or in recipes that would use animal milk.

If you have ever tried a plant-based sausage or burger, you may have been disappointed. Simply, our mind has a very clear and gratifying idea of what it expects, and alternative meats… do not taste like meat.

NotCo promises that even its fast food versions are perfectly enjoyable, and also with a contribution of protein and other nutrients that complete our diet.

In short, NotCo shows that real innovation is not only in the product, but in how you think it, develop it and tell it. They have managed to combine technology, sustainability and a clear value proposition to go far beyond the vegan audience.

A case that reminds us that, in eCommerce, the one with the best idea does not always win… but the one who knows how to execute it differently.