Be honest: what comes to mind when you think protein shake? I think of a powdery, chocolate-imitation tasting shake, most likely being consumed by a body-builder type. ICONIC, is not a protein shake, not in the typical meaning of the phrase. ICONIC is a healthy lifestyle beverage, made for the consumer on the go. Not only is it low cal, capping out at 130 calories per bottle, it’s delicious, filling, and all-natural. Sweet Lemon had the chance to sit down with Billy Bosch, the CEO and Co-Founder of Be Well Nutrition Inc., the New Orleans based company behind ICONIC, to talk about how the product came to be.
Billy Bosch, Co-Founder & CEO
Image by Connor Adamek
Bosch was working in consumer product sales and traveling constantly when the idea of ICONIC first started to form. Because of his travel schedule, he found himself regularly eating on the go but was dissatisfied with the selection of products that were offered as “convenient”. Granola bars dried out his mouth while performance beverages were packed with sugars and still weren’t even tasty. I mean, who really likes Power Bars and Muscle Milk? As Bosch put it, he wanted to “combine two needs – thirst quenching and filling – into one drink you could grab on the go.”
In the Fall of 2011 Bosch sought out a local nutritionist, Molly Kimball, in his hometown of New Orleans for advice on what product was right for him. He was shocked by the answer – there wasn’t one! According to Kimble, there was no product currently on the market that was nutritionally sound, filling, and thirst quenching. Sure she could recommend a few that were “ok”, but they all had “buts” to them – but it had too much sugar, but it wasn’t hunger satisfying. That was when Bosch set out, with the help of Kimble, to create a product without the “buts.”
The next two years were comprised of focus groups, market research, winning a coveted spot in the business accelerator program offered by Idea Village, and more research. The ICONIC team found that consumers weren’t attracted to the idea of an “all-natural protein drink”. As mentioned above, this writer certainly isn’t! Thus the idea of a healthy lifestyle beverage emerged. One that was easy for busy consumers to grab on the go, was satisfying, healthy, and most importantly delicious. According to Bosch, their goal was, “to differentiate themselves by tasting better than any other [similar] product, bar none.” Turns out when you refuse to compromise on anything, you end up with a pretty incredible product.
Fast forward two years and ICONIC is born! (Author’s Note: I’m sure Bosch would beg to differ with my interpretation of how quickly those two years went by) ICONIC officially launched in the New Orleans market in October 2013 with two flavors, Chocolate Truffle and Pure Vanilla Bean. Having already finished off a case of the beverage myself, I can testify that it delivers on every promise. Since I’m always rolling out of bed approximately 30 minutes later than I should every morning, ICONIC has become my go-to breakfast. A cool tip? It’s delicious as a replacement for creamer in your morning coffee! ICONIC leaves me feeling awake, aware and ready to take on the day. And those days when I know I’m going to indulge for dinner, I replace my typical sodium-packed frozen lunch with an ICONIC so I don’t have to feel quite as guilty when I go to bed. It’s the easiest and healthiest choice for my over-scheduled life.
So be busy. Be lazy when it comes to making meals. Be you, but be well. Be ICONIC.
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