Founder's Story - The Supplement Industry Is Broken: How Two Athletes Fixed It with Caroline & Sebastian Graeff | Ep. 186

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

Caroline and Sebastian Graeff share their inspiring journey from professional athletes to pioneering health supplement innovators. Growing up in a sports-centric family in France, they combined their athletic passion and entrepreneurial spirit to launch NAIAD. Focused on natural, clinically tested supplements for joint health, stress management, muscle recovery, and weight management, they emphasize authenticity, sustainable practices, and community empowerment to transform personal wellness and contribute to a greener future.Key Discussion Points:Origins & Inspiration: Their formative years in a sports-driven, entrepreneurial family and the transition from athletic challenges to addressing health needs.Identifying the gap in the U.S. market for natural, high-quality supplements.Product Innovation & Sustainability: Development of simple, single-ingredient formulas that are clinically tested and naturally derived.Commitment to eco-friendly packaging and carbon-neutral shipping.Community & Consumer Empowerment: Building a supportive community that educates and inspires sustainable, healthy lifestyles.Integrating wellness education with product offerings to foster long-term habit change.Takeaways:Authentic, sustainable products can redefine personal wellness and environmental impact.Community engagement and education are essential to long-term health success.A clear vision and commitment to quality drive innovation in the competitive wellness industry.https://naiadshop.com/Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out CoinFlip and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://coinflip.tech* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Kinsta: https://kinsta.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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In times of congestion, unlimited 5G and 4G LTE may be temporarily slower than other traffic. Domestic data roaming at 2G speeds. Additional terms apply. Hey everyone, welcome back to Founder's Story. Today we have Caroline and Sebastian Graf, co-founders of NIAID. And Caroline and Sebastian,

you have a very interesting story going from professional athletes to helping people, which we're gonna get into all that. I am very passionate about health. I think our audience always really enjoys to hear people talking about this topic because we are all stressed out entrepreneurs, founders, business executives, stress, overeating, I mean, joint health,

getting older, longevity, these are all things that we are very interested in. But before we dive into everything around the supplements and your company, can you share the story as to why did you even become founders? Hi Daniel, thank you for the introduction and thank you for inviting us to the show. So I'm Sebastien, this is Caroline. We both grew up in France in a very sporty environment because our father himself was a soccer professional player and he was as well a self-made businessman which helped us to instil in us the principles of discipline, resilience and ambition. And from a young age we were immersed in the world of sports, constantly challenging ourselves,

competing and learning the importance of perseverance. So for me personally, my passion was tennis. I pursued it at the highest level professionally, but also in college where I was a two-time All-American at Pepperdine University in a D1 school. And all those years it helped me with, it taught me the values of discipline, mental strengths, work ethics. When I was done at the university, when I graduated, I went back, started working with my father actually, in the mail order business.

And then after a few years, I went on and went on to start my own business, where I started focusing mainly on health supplements. My sister, which is icing now, she should go. I started focusing mainly on health supplements. My sister, which is I think now she should go. Yes, it's important to know that because it really shaped why we started this company. So myself, I used to be a professional athlete in snowboarding for France. And then I moved to the US over 20 years ago to finish studying and also become an entrepreneur. And basically I kept on having a very busy lifestyle, doing triathlons and a lot of outdoor activities like croc climbing, still skiing a lot.

And I started to having a lot of joint issues. And my brother said, you should try one of my supplements. I think you like it. Like, so I took it and after a month, it felt like a miracle. I was able to do a lot more and remove some of the stress before my long distance activities. And that's when we thought there could be something to be done in the US with that supplement. Initially it was just one supplement, a joint health supplement. And we decided to partner up and to launch NIAID, but we wanted to do it

different than what we were seeing in the U S we had a strong vision and mission. When it comes to products, quality of products, safety, but also sustainability. And, um, so yeah, we, we went in all in. It's amazing. I, that you have a brother and sister duo. I think some people are afraid sometimes to work with their family. Some people say it's great.

Some people have had a mixed experience. How has that been? And if it's been a great experience, what are some pointers to the audience who are also thinking about going into business with their family? For me personally, we grew up with our father who was, like I said, a self-made businessman. He loved the, I mean, he was crazy about working.

He was a workaholic. And for us, it was natural at some point to work together. I mean, it happened just on a circumstance because she was suffering with her with her knee, but we always talked about potentially working together one day. So it really happened naturally. The biggest challenge is actually, I do live in Switzerland and she lives in California. So that's our biggest challenge. But we, yeah. We are, we very complimentary, you know, whatever strengths he has, it might be a weakness. Well, he knows the health supplement business really well since he's developed it in France and Portugal. And for me, I am more on the creative side. So we really balance all the tasks.

And, and like you said, the main objective it's been the time difference. No, that's great. You're working through the strengths of one another and you have complimentary skill sets. So it doesn't sound like you're gonna be stepping on each other's toes. So that makes total sense. You had instilled from your father, family

and understanding business was gonna be a thing for you. So let's talk about product market fit. So you create this product, you look at the market you want to go into is the US, which is obviously a very competitive market. What are you doing or seeing? Or can you elaborate on the things that really set you apart from what you were talking about earlier? Of course, Daniel, you're very right.

It's a big take to launch in the US in such a big market. So the first thing was we decided not to focus just on one product. We decided to focus on products that matter to us, and usually around lifestyle. So we have actually five products right now, joint health, stress management, muscle recovery, and weight management. So for us, it was very important that we feel connected to those products based on our lifestyle, our experience, and what we believe is health, is having a healthy life.

So how do we, so the big thing that I was telling you earlier, like it was important for us to have a very strong vision and we have very strong values that come with it. And so we use that as at our advantage to differentiate ourselves. So the first thing is our formulas. And actually most of our formulas, four out of the five products we have,

only have one ingredient. So they're very natural, they all come from nature. So we have the mangosteen for drone health, the lemon balm for stress, the lemon verbena for stress, for muscle recovery. But with that being said, the composition of our product is very simple, but it's about the bioactive ingredients.

That's what makes it so special. We're able to extract them in a way that allows us to make very efficient supplements. So it's not like, oh, I drink a lemon verbinati that will help me with muscle recovery. It may help, but really it's different. Not all products are equal. And then on matters of safety, our products obviously are tested for compliance in

the US and also in Europe. Our products are non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, free of additives. We're trying to stay very simple and clean. And that's huge for us. And I think it's a big advantage to focus on that in today's market. Consumers are very skeptical. And that's a big thing we've seen through our marketing and customer service. It's very important to customers. So that's our first way we differentiate ourselves. The other thing is our products are all clinically tested and proven, not just ingredients, which usually

you'll see companies, competitors, saying that they have clinically tested ingredients. We have clinically tested formulas. So there is no issues of two ingredients counter interacting. That could be negative interactions between several ingredients, which is the final product you actually put in your mouth, which is very important. And we believe we're one of the only people doing this. The third part is the sustainability part.

Being an outdoorsy person, I'm really a snowboarder and I do a lot of backpacking, backcountry skiing, et cetera. It's very important to us. So it was a very, for our audience right now, that is interested in becoming a sustainable company. It was very challenging to find, to look for non-plastic options when it comes to packaging. And we found a great company called Bio Bottles. And it's actually, it's a plastic that has specific technology that helps the plastic break down in a natural setting, which is fantastic because it's light, so it's great when shipping, but also it doesn't,

it prevents microplastic and you could recycle it and if you don't recycle it, it will eventually break down in nature settings. So that was the first thing and then when it comes to shipping, we partnered with a company called Sandal and we were able to ship carbon neutral, which is also very, without putting the burden on consumers with added costs. We have very, very competitive shipping rates. So we were very happy to be able to fill this sustainable objective. We still have to improve, of course, but we have no plastic in our shipments.

I mean, we're really trying to stay true to this value. So, and lastly, so at NIAID, we are not trying only to sell products. What we're trying to do is also to educate and empower people to adopt a healthier and more balanced lifestyle. So throughout our journey in sports, wellness, Caroline and I have learned that true wellbeing comes from daily habits, mindful choices, and a commitment to continuous growth. That's why we focus on providing the knowledge and tools to help our community thrive. We share personalized e-books, weekly wellness tips, and nutritious, easy-to-make recipes

in order to make it easier for people to integrate elsewhere routine into their daily lives. And our goal is to inspire movement, encourage self-care, and foster a deeper awareness of our choices, impact both our bodies and the environment as well. So it's really important for us. Like, you know, it's like nowadays, you can say it's easy. Like when you take a, like, for example, a weight management product, oh, you're going to lose so and so kilos or pounds. But if you don't put some efforts

on your side, it's not going to happen. This is going to help you. And what we want to try is to have to change this mentality where people have just a better structure in their life and those products, all of them for different things, it will help them. Yes, we want to build sustainable habits, help people build sustainable habits in the long term. So it's not just taking a supplement, but maybe meditating, going on walks and moving your body. So we're trying to emphasize also on

educating our consumers. I'm really blown away because you've thought about a lot of features and a lot of benefits more so than just the product alone. For example, you said the formulations versus the ingredient being looked at in terms of efficacy, you community building things, giving people education and know how, as well as, you know, standards from the bottle being, you know, the bottle to the shipping, you've really thought about every step of the way. And I would say, you know, European standards from what I've seen in supplements are much higher. The US is not always, you know, they allow a lot of things that I know Europe won't even allow

in ingredients. I'm curious with all of these things that you've that you've created and all of these amazing benefits and stuff. Did this just become an organic thing? Did you plan on, okay, we're gonna have sustainable bottles and we're gonna do tests on the formulations or was this something that came along the way? What was your process in determining, we're gonna do all, because it seems like it's a lot of things, amazing things,

but I'd imagine in the beginning it would be tough to know everything. But did you plan this all or did it organically happen? Yes, it was part of the plan because Sebastian's background in health supplement came from the mail order industry for the most part. He also did a bit of e-commerce, but it was mostly cataract sales

and very little about branding. And for me, branding is big. And I feel like when people connect to a brand, they get inspired, they listen. And with this, with what matters to us between the sustainable part and the education part, that was non-negotiable when we decided to launch. I mean, it's with someone, they are just very eco-friendly anyway. So I don't think he realizes how much more difficult it could be in the US.

But it took a long time to find the right partners and to make sure that as a young company, we don't get penalized, should I say, from higher costs. Or we do not penalize the end consumer, right? Because at the end, we want our consumer to be able to purchase a product without having to purchase because the bottle might be too expensive. So we were really able to find great partners in that realm, and we're very happy. I remember a time when a last-minute project threatened to derail our schedule

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That we were able to accomplish those objectives for sure. Like I already said. No, this is really great. I'm very, very impressed. We've talked to other founders that have been doing supplements. I've never seen anyone who has focused or who has planned out so many of the pieces along the way. I'm very impressed by that. I want to try this. I have joint issues in my knee. I need and I love Yangosteen. Like I need to get this product and I got stressed and I want to you know be in the best shape of my life.

So if you want to get in touch with you and they want to maybe find out more about the products about your journeys how can they do so? They can visit our website www.niadshop.com so it's They can visit our website, www.niadshop.com. So it's N-A-I-A-D-S-H-O-P.com. We also have a couple of products on Amazon right now. We have our stress management and our joint health product also on Amazon.

And you can follow also of course on the social media. Yes. On Instagram and Facebook. Well, Caroline and Sebastian, on Instagram and Facebook. Well, Caroline and Sebastian, this has been great. I'm very, very impressed by what you've been doing. I'm super inspired, I think other people, not only to try your product, but also to live their dreams

about maybe working with family members, planning out and being more strategic with the launches of their products, services, whatever they're doing in their company. I think this has been a great conversation. And thank you so much for joining us today on Founder's Story. Thank you very much, Danielle. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye. For a limited time at Verizon, you can get our best price ever for a single line. Just $45 per month when you bring your phone, which is less than you spend on too-tired-to-cook takeout every week. Get one line on Unlimited Welcome for $45 per month with auto pay plus taxes and fees.

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