Millennials are a fascinating breed (I should know, I am one). Older generations are quick to slate them, but they are pushing the world forward morally and ethically by not taking anything at face value. This generation is challenging the status quo, and as they quickly become the largest group of active spenders in the world, bars, restaurants and clubs are under huge pressure to stay on the pulse with the latest shareable innovations, whether it's a cafe in a ball pit, cocktails served out of umbrellas, or high security prisons hiding an alcoholic secret. There are so many super cool bars, cafes and restaurants out there, so what makes your environment and your menu worth talking about? I'm often under the impression that Millennials are viewed as irresponsible teenagers who care about nothing but their own self-absorbed Instagram profiles, but it's simply not the case. Millennials, Millennials, Millennials. Why should we care what they're up to? Times, they are a-changing. Within 18 months, Millennials will represent the UK's largest spending group of consumers. They are the fastest-growing generation of customers in the marketplace, bringing the greatest lifetime value. Importantly, their attitudes and behaviours are so different to Baby Boomers - often opposite - that businesses must get their heads around this in order to understand what they want. It's time to stop shaming Millennials and get some clarity... what age groups are we talking about here? Gen Z, iGen, or Centennials: currently 21 and under (born 1996 and later) Millennials or Gen Y: currently 22 - 40 years old (born 1977 to 1995) Generation X: currently 41 - 52 (born 1965 to 1976) Baby Boomers: currently 53 - 71 (born 1946 to 1964) Traditionalists or Silent Generation: currently 72+ (born 1945 and before) If 22 to 40 year olds aren't relevant to your business, then stop reading now. Not sure who your core customer base is? Head over to Google Images and type in Baby Boomers, then type in Millennials. Which group looks more like your customers? Yoga raves... how Millennials prefer to spend their mornings Cool versus cutting edge As a lifestyle brand, TrueStart have always had aspirations to grow into all areas of life where healthy energy is required, whether it's at the gym, at the station or on a night out. Understanding this group of consumers is paramount, and our research has highlighted four demands that Millennials expect their food and drink brands to fulfil: Consistency and innovation (which are vaguely opposing) Health and indulgence (also traditionally conflicting requirements) Control (over how they are going to feel, over what’s going into their body, over where their food and drink comes from, and even over how long things take) Experience (there’s a reason why Instagram is so popular!) Where gyms are concerned, these demands are covered extensively in this blog, but how do we apply them to a recreational environment? Competition has never been higher amongst bars, restaurants and night clubs. To win, they need to be cutting edge, with a talking point that does the marketing for them. There's also a major behavioural shift that bars, restaurants and nightclubs must also bear in mind if they want to enjoy and profit from the Millennial takeover... It's no longer all about the booze That's right, alcohol is taking a back seat. Research by Heineken last year found 75% of Millennials said they limited their alcohol intake on most of their nights out. They found the motivating factors were found to be self-awareness and staying in control. There are other reasons for this shift too; this is the first generation to have liberated the 'stiff upper lip', preferring to talk about problems rather than mask them with alcohol. Millennials are also more health-conscious and many consider the gym to be a non-negotiable part of their daily routine, which a hangover would get in the way of. "42% of Millennials are now drinking less than they did three years ago" As an older Millennial I can tell you that this is a gigantic shift even from when I was at University just ten years ago, when no one could care less about self control. That said, even Simon and I stopped drinking alcohol six months ago. Take it from us that there are only so many ginger beers you can drink until you are sugared out. Bars, restaurants and clubs can't simply ignore the facts, so what does this mean for them? Two things: 1. J2O, anyone? Adult soft drinks are critical to growth. Whether you've chosen to cut out alcohol completely or just fancy a sober night out, nothing is more of a turn-off that looking over the bar at a fridge full of Coca Cola and J2O. It's fundamentally boring. We all know where we can get a Coke if we want one - absolutely anywhere.  According to MyDrinkBeverages.com, the most successful adult soft drinks "usually contain something surprising and a unique flavour, for example, spicy ginger, chilli pepper, turmeric, cayenne pepper or a very specific herbal combination. Most of the time, these drinks are carbonated, refreshing and not too intense in terms of a taste profile.” NRM reminds us that "high-end no-alcohol drinks such as house-made sodas, fresh juices and other booze-free drinks, often with health claims, are helping" to drive up sales". Bonus points if the drink looks amazing. Head over to Instagram if you need a quick reminder of how much Millennials need to show everyone what they’re drinking. Important note: don't mistakenly believe you'll win by catering for the masses, ignoring the growing number of people who choose to drink less alcohol. Millennials are an inclusive bunch, and will opt to meet up somewhere that works for everyone in their group. 2. Quality over quantity Alcoholic drinks also need to up their game. Alcohol might be taking a back seat, but it's still firmly strapped in. The difference is that Millennials are far less likely to get smashed on a night out than their parents' generation, and instead they're after quality over quantity. Millennials might still want alcohol (albeit less), but don't make the mistake of thinking a fancy gin and tonic or pint of craft beer is going to cut the mustard (even Wetherspoons offer these now). These guys want experience and healthy indulgence, more coconut milk martini than piña colada.  Millennial customer + Bog Standard Cocktail = 😡 👎 While only 27% of Baby Boomers equate price with quality, over 40% of Millennials do. They're happy with spending the money as long as it feels like a high quality experience rather than a commodity. Instagrammability is a great measure of this. "Bars need to ask themselves honestly how cool their drinks menu looks as it's basically an exact indicator of how successful it's going to be." Remember the cardinal rule, "The more photo-friendly your food, the better”. Millennials love to talk, in "real life" as well as across every social media platform you can think of. Bars are already pretty cool, so what are they going to talk about? The one that's cutting edge. The one that has something new. How can you meet their demands? The reason we’ve done this research is because we wanted to take TrueStart out of the home and into the world, where it's needed most. We wanted to release a product backed by clear trends, that truly meets the needs of the soon-to-be largest group of active spenders in the country. We believe that TrueStart Cold Brew Coffee ticks all the boxes for the Millennial consumer, whether they fancy a healthy energy drink, an alcoholic drink or a grown-up soft drink. It's already making waves as the coolest new drink in town and is a seriously versatile investment for bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Cold Brew Coffee is growing incredibly fast in the US and is gaining real traction even here in the UK, despite the weather! Starbucks have said that cold coffee beverages will account for half of their revenue within 5 years, which is a huge statement. That’s where they see the gap and the growth. Traditional coffee has stagnated and anyone who fearfully sticks to their guns and relies on it completely whilst expecting revenue growth should not expect good news, especially in a Millennial-heavy environment.  As an adult soft drink, TrueStart Cold Brew Coffee is a real winner. You can pull coffee away from the crappy section of your menu and into the funky soft drinks. It's a healthy, natural energy boost (we all want to keep up with the party!) and to top it off, Millennials resonate with the brand across all aspects of their life. We've truly upped the cocktail and mixer game, Jägerbombs and vodka Red Bulls are so last year. You're serving Fever Tree, not Schweppes, so why is your coffee offering so bland? Even your regular espresso martini pales into insignificance in the presence of a cold brew coffee cocktail... The drink is a completely unique mixer for almost every spirit you can think of, from rum to tequila. The drink makes a great stand-alone chaser or you can get really creative and produce a whole menu of delights from this one investment. Pouring a TrueStart Cold Brew Martini on tap... the pinnacle of cool     And what about those 4 critical demands? How does TrueStart Cold Brew Coffee fit in with those, in a recreational environment?  Consistency and innovation - there's no arguing that coffee in a can in a bar is innovative. We'll take that over the dusty coffee machine in the corner any day! Consistency also goes without saying, there's theatre without the bartender having to worry about becoming a barista. Health and indulgence - naturally healthy with zero milk, sugar, fat, carbs or calories. You get the creamy indulgence without adding cream-based liquids, saving calories whilst looking cool and tasting epic. Control - better for you, for farmers and for the planet. This drink has full transparency down to the caffeine content, is 100% natural with no sugar or caffeine crash, not to mention ethically sourced by a cool British brand. Ticking all the boxes! Experience - TrueStart pours, cascades and settles just like a Guinness. It's a real talking point, and looks great on Instagram.  Innovate or lose It continually surprises me how many companies don't segment their customers by generation, which is the simplest way to distinguish (and generalise) behaviours, which in turn allows them to ensure they're meeting the demands of the correct cohort for them. It surprises me even more how many bars are still firmly focussed on the Baby Boomers as their top priority. They need to be investing in the future, because Millennials will provide the vast majority of their revenue going forward if they are not already. I speak to bars, hotels, restaurants and cafes who are doing nothing different to their competition down the road, and nothing really different compared with their menu 5 years ago. This is despite the fact that they tell me their customers are mostly 25-40. I’m writing this blog in the hope that more companies will recognise the need to really understand who their customer is becoming, and invest accordingly in the future. Millennial customer + Cold Brew Coffee = 😍 📷 🎉  Above all, I’m writing this blog to challenge perception on what is risky and what’s not. Is it a risk to invest in something new, on the new kid on the block? If your customers are of a generation that expects innovation, then the risk is undoubtedly in standing still. Millennials are here and spending, whether you're ready or not.

It's a surprising fact that gyms don't sell much coffee.  It doesn’t make sense. In a world where Wetherspoons and Greggs are cleaning up selling millions of coffees per week, why can’t gyms nail it? Health & fitness fanatics are obsessed with coffee (just take a look on Instagram), so what’s going wrong? The answer is simple: Gyms are not doing anything differently. When you think about it, there's a lot of competition. Coffee is everywhere and customers have so much choice. Cyril Lavenant, Foodservice Director UK at the NPD Group, a market researcher, says; "Already there's huge competition in the coffee market - it's not only the big coffee shops, it's everyone from fast-food to bakeries - everyone is offering coffee." Differentiation is key So why have decision makers been prepared to invest heavily in expensive equipment that produces the same coffee as everywhere else? This even applies to the UK’s coolest fitness studios, gyms and health clubs. These places are at the top of their game, each offering something unique to attract Millennial urbanites looking for something cooler than a bog standard gym. They know their members expect them to innovate, but they play it safe with coffee because coffee is viewed as an ‘easy win’. Then they wonder why there's been no real return. Millennials don’t want a full-fat latte from their gym... they want healthier, more exciting options from the place where they pay good money to work out in a cool environment. The coffee shop down the road which actually specialises in coffee will always win at lattes. It’s a different ball game with juices and smoothies, which sell well in gyms because they feel healthier than their traditional alternatives such as Lucozade and other fizzy drinks. There also aren’t fantastic juice and smoothie bars everywhere you look in the city, unlike the abundance of specialist coffee shops. Ultimately, everyone believes they should be making more revenue from coffee, and they just can’t pinpoint why they’re not. Some are more prepared to admit to this than others, but most are forthcoming once they realise that they’re definitely not alone. Gyms are getting cooler, but their coffee offering is not (image from Google) Take a look at your members Today's standard coffee menu has been designed primarily for Baby Boomers, which makes sense because for a long time, they've been the guys spending the most money. But today, how many of your customers are 50+? If the answer is not the majority, then your coffee offering is simply dated. Within the next 18 months, Millennials (those in their early 20s to late 30s) will overtake Baby Boomers to become the UK’s largest cohort of active spenders. This means that gyms need to consider Millennial expectations in absolutely every aspect of the value proposition.  What do they want? At TrueStart Coffee, we've spent a huge amount of time researching the Millennial consumer, specifically their food and drink habits.  We’ve concluded that Millennials want and demand four things. In no particular order: Consistency and innovation (which are vaguely opposing) Health and indulgence (also traditionally conflicting requirements) Control (over how they are going to feel, over what’s going into their body, over where their food and drink comes from, and even over how long things take) Experience (there’s a reason why Instagram is so popular!) This generation don’t want one at the expense of another, we want it all (I fall into this cohort after all). Ah, the gym selfie. Almost as popular as coffee amongst millennial gym goers! Put yourself in the shoes (or trainers) of a millennial gym goer who is at the gym. You're about to workout or have already finished and fancy a healthy treat, or a boost, or just a refreshing drink. Now let’s apply the above requirements to a traditional hot coffee offering, lattes and the like (yawn). First up, consistency and innovation. The coffee from a gym is unlikely to be very consistent. This is not because the gym is necessarily using bad coffee, but because the staff are not trained baristas. As far as innovation is concerned, some gyms are recognising this trend with things like coconut oil coffee, but for the most part the menu is very standard and generally packed with milk and sugar. Not exactly what you want or expect from your gym. Next we’ve got the demand for something simultaneously healthy and indulgent. Everybody knows that a latte is not overly healthy, but 70% of people in the UK choose milky coffee because they prefer the taste. It’s hard to convince these guys to opt for black coffee and even harder to convince sugar addicts that they’re sweet enough. Black coffee is much healthier, but only a minority of customers drink it, because it just doesn’t feel indulgent. They want something that ticks both boxes (which is why so many people use sweeteners, or eat cookie-flavoured protein bars). Healthy, indulgent and Instagrammable - we really do want it all What do I mean by control? We millennials like to control everything from what goes in our mouths to how we feel. Sometimes a coffee can make you feel wired, and sometimes you need more than one to get going. Sound familiar? Whilst most of us prefer a natural pick-me-up to a sugary energy drink, it’s the lack of control over how we’re going to feel that can put us off. We also want to control our nutritional intake (fat, carbs, calories etc), and now more than ever, we want to feel a connection to where our food and drink comes from. Experience is a biggie. There’s a lot of research to suggest that millennials prefer to spend money on experiences rather than things. We have a totally different mind set to the baby boomer generation. The coffee experience in a gym is generally bog standard - you don’t feel like you’re getting a full coffee experience, which you do get down the road at a coffee shop. When was the last time you saw someone post a photo of an average-looking coffee on Instagram?   Can you see why regular coffee just doesn’t tick the boxes?  Millennial customer + bog standard coffee = 😡 👎 How can you meet their demands? The reason we’ve done this research is because we wanted to take TRUESTARTⓇ out of the home and into the world, where it's needed most. We wanted to release a product backed by clear trends, that truly meets the needs of the soon-to-be largest group of active spenders in the country. We believe the future of coffee for gyms is TrueStart Cold Brew Coffee. Cold Brew Coffee is growing incredibly fast in the US and is gaining real traction even here in the UK, despite the weather! Starbucks have said that cold coffee beverages will account for half of their revenue within 5 years, which is a huge statement. That’s where they see the gap and the growth. Traditional coffee has stagnated and anyone who fearfully sticks to their guns and relies on it completely whilst expecting revenue growth should not expect good news, especially in a Millennial-heavy environment.  Put yourself back into those sweaty millennial trainers at the gym. You're about to workout or have already finished and fancy a treat, or a boost, or just a refreshing drink. Now let’s apply those previously identified requirements to Cold Brew Coffee. The key is to be as open minded as your customers here. Cold Brew Coffee opens up a new world for coffee. It’s just not the same drink, and that’s a good thing. Consistency and innovation. If you don’t know what Cold Brew Coffee is, it is brewed overnight in cold water to create a low-acidity drink that is smooth and bursting with flavour But is it healthy and indulgent? This is where I believe Cold Brew Coffee is a real winner. It is a refreshing, almost sweet drink despite the fact that there is no sugar, dairy, fat, carbs or calories. In fact, there is nothing added at all. This means you get all the taste benefits of a latte-type drink with none of the sugar and fat. Win, win! Control. This is unique to TrueStart, and it’s an important point. The caffeine content is reliable and consistent, so you know that you will feel great every time, with no crash or jitters. This globally unique selling point has been the driver behind the success of our retail range. Health-conscious, millennial consumers also feel a strong connection to the brand, which has established itself as the leader in healthy coffee here in the UK, growing largely via word of mouth. Experience. Cold Brew is a super cool experience in a gym environment, one that provides a talking point and generates a real buzz. The product is very Instagrammable and has a unique mouthfeel, similar to beer. TrueStart Cold Brew Coffee is also cold (obvs), which is much more refreshing before or after your workout than a scolding hot cappuccino! Millennial customer + something new = 🔥 🔥 🔥 Innovate or lose I’m writing this blog in the hope that more companies in the health space will take coffee innovation seriously, and stop wasting money on run-of-the-mill coffee offerings that add zero value to customers and bring no return as a result. This is particularly important now that Baby Boomers are taking a back seat - Millennials are the big spenders now. Millennial customer + Cold Brew Coffee = 😍 📷 🎉  Above all, I’m writing this blog to challenge perception on what is risky and what’s not. To the uneducated eye, Cold Brew might be perceived as a risk because it is the new kid on the block. Often this perception prevails amongst the same people that were prepared to believe that traditional coffee in the gym wasn’t a risk, even though there’s a better option in the coffee shop next door. To the educated eye it’s obvious that Cold Brew is an opportunity not to be missed, something to get excited about with your customers. The risk is in standing still, without a coffee offering that matches what your customers want. Millennials are here and spending, whether you're ready or not.

Coffee comes in waves. As you can imagine, there's a lot of opinion surrounding the exact definition of each one, not to mention what the next wave will be. Coffee is the world's most highly traded commodity after oil, so it's all pretty fascinating. This potted history ends with my thoughts on where coffee is going next. After all, who doesn't love a debate? Before the tide Before the first wave, coffee houses had been becoming more and more popular all over the world, from the Middle East to Europe. They were places for people to come together and put the world to rights over a stimulating, caffeinated drink (what's really changed then?!) In the 15th and 16th centuries, coffee houses, or 'Qahveh KhaneH' became very popular across the Middle East. By the 17th century they had reached Europe. Benjamin Franklin was a big fan of coffee houses, using them as offices during his European trips. Franklin even created the Franco-American Alliance of 1778 at a French café called Procope. First wave - mass market Given the popularity of coffee, it was never going to be long before entrepreneurs saw a huge market for a product that would be affordable enough for every home. The first wave of coffee happened from the early 1800s and was all about the mass market. With a focus on increasing consumption, coffee went from a luxury for the upper classes to a drink that could be found in every middle class kitchen. Coffee was heavily marketed for its unique flavour and the first wave was responsible for turning coffee into the major commodity that it is today. With brands like Maxwell House and Folgers leading the way, there were plenty of revolutionary packaging innovations like airtight cans, and strides forward with processing and marketing that would shape the world of coffee forever. A Maxwell House advert from the early 1900s. Their slogan "Good to the last drop" was one of the most successful marketing lines of its time. Like most mass-market movements, this first wave is criticised for sacrificing quality and taste in favour of convenience and the mass production of cheap coffee. Second wave - experiencing speciality Artisan coffee is not new. The second wave was defined by the rising enjoyment of specialty coffee, starting in 1966 at Peet's in San Francisco and quickly birthing Starbucks, which really got going after Howard Schultz made it his mission to bring the joy of a European espresso-based drink in a social setting to the USA (Pour Your Heart Into It is a great read).  Peet's Coffee & Tea, Berkeley, California in 1969 - still open for business today! With an emphasis on roasting styles and coffee origins that eventually made way for the third wave, the second wave of coffee consumption elevated the Arabica bean and made it clear that quality coffee was not the Maxwell House that everyone had become used to. The popularity of coffee house brands like Starbucks meant that speciality coffee had to scale fast but be very consistent. The focus was on marketing and the result was homogeneity, and it has been argued that it was a rebellion against this homogeneity that really kick-started the third wave. Third wave - crafting the cup Starting in the 1990s, the third wave of coffee is characterised less by the social experience and more by the coffee itself. Marketing was to take a back seat as artisan production methods began to rise, with improvements at every stage. This impacted everything from how plants were grown to the relationship between growers, traders and roasters, to how the beans were roasted. Direct trade was born, as was single-origin coffee, latte art and brewing devices such as the V60 and Chemex. Trish Rothgeb of Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters (who coined the term "coffee wave" in the first place) said "The third wave is, in many ways, a reaction. It is just as much a reply to bad coffee as it is a movement toward good coffee."  Trish Rothgeb, co-founder, co-CEO, director of coffee, and roastmaster at Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, who made their name as part of the third wave of coffee Trish was referring to the homogeneity brought about by the likes of Starbucks, and championing the uniqueness of each cup. The idea was to view coffee as a foodstuff, from a culinary perspective in the same way that you would high quality cuisine.  Fourth wave - great coffee on every corner There's certainly a lot of debate surrounding the definition of fourth wave coffee. Personally, I buy into the concept that it was primarily about taking the artisan movement of the third wavers and making it more accessible. For me, the rise of independent, speciality coffee businesses over the past 15 years has characterised the fourth wave, making unique and delicious coffee available in every home, on every high street and in every village, largely thanks to the internet. Independent coffee shops serving quality coffee are now the norm The fourth wave also saw coffee fanatics shift their focus from love to obsession, carrying out what can only be described as science experiments with ideas such as extreme precision brewing. Although unlike some, I don't agree that this scientific approach of the few defined the era.  The third wave brought craft coffee to the fore, but the fourth wave made it the norm. Coffee snobs are no longer a rare breed and can now be found in every group of friends, every office, every conversation!  Fifth wave - beyond the beard If there's a debate about what the fourth wave of coffee represents, there's certainly a debate about whether a fifth even exists. I certainly believe it does. Fifth wave coffee goes beyond the beard. I'm obviously being tongue-in-cheek, but the bearded hipsters that defined fourth wave coffee have become fairly tedious and routine. To me, fifth wavers are as open-minded with their coffee as they are with their approach to life, looking for exciting experiences and a bit of adventure that they can enjoy with their friends and post about on Instagram.  A step ahead: cold brew coffee is proving itself as the perfect balance between health and experience As far as I can tell, coffee waves come with changes in consumer behaviour. Millennials have recently become the largest spending consumer cohort and are driving the largest change in consumer behaviour since baby boomers started earning a wage. In an interesting combination of traits from each of the previous waves, they're interested in social experiences, convenience and ethics. What's new is they want it all, including a transparent supply chain, and an understanding of the health properties (of all food and drink, not just coffee).  We're in the early years of the fifth wave right now, so only time will tell how exactly it will be defined in years to come. I believe that successful brands be prepared to take risks and challenge current attitudes, with more concern for what's next than what came before. It's time to get inventive. Cold brew coffee is massively on the rise, with its inherent smoothness introducing coffee to consumers at a younger age than ever, a welcome replacement for sugary energy drinks. Coffee is becoming fashionable in bars and even nightclubs. It is as exciting to the under 40s as it is baffling to the over 50s and only one thing is for sure - coffee is about to enjoy another makeover.

You guys have told us that you want flavours, and we've listened! #TEAMTRUESTART have been having a hilarious time in the development kitchen and we wanted to share some of the stories with you. Flavours can be a tricky business, so after Simon and I's obligatory first stab at home with our Vitamix blending random ingredients with TRUESTART Coffee, we headed to Willy Wonka's Flavour Factory (at a top secret location here in the South West!) to meet up with flavour experts Marc and Wendy, who have worked tirelessly with us to discover what really goes with coffee - whether you'd expect it or not!   We've chosen to work exclusively with natural extracts and flavours which are both sugar free and vegan. There are plenty of milky, sugary coffee-based drinks out there already and if TRUESTART Nitro Cold Brew Coffee has proved anything, it's that you can convert die-hard milky coffee fans and achieve insane smoothness and sweetness in a more subtle way, without adding unnecessary dairy and calories. So how does the development process work? Good question... We lock ourselves in the development kitchen We throw a ton of ideas out there - a mixture of our own and yours, of course! Marc and Wendy carefully blend a first recipe for each (while we watch in awe) We all taste each recipe and feed back. What are our initial thoughts? Do we think the flavour has mileage, or is the reality just too weird? The next round of recipes is created and we tweak them to perfection! We don't sleep for days - is this the caffeine or the excitement? Who knows Here in the development kitchen we have more (extremely sensitive) scales than your pet goldfish, and boy do we need them. You would be amazed what a difference a single grain of sea salt makes. It's the difference between enhancing an awesome flavour profile and drinking what tastes like actual sea water. Salt?! I hear you cry! What on earth have we been up to in there. As you'd expect, the more conventional flavours were obvious winners. Things like vanilla, caramel and chocolate. There's a reason these are loved by the masses and they absolutely have their place. Not ones to play by the rules, we're looking to broaden our horizons and create refreshing yet somewhat familiar flavours with a punchy TRUESTART twist. They obviously have to score perfectly on taste, and maybe these conventional flavours can help carry something more unusual. We tried fiery, spicy, creamy, sweet and everything in between! Citrus flavours were contentious and we had loads of fun experimenting and debating. Let's take lime. Zingy and refreshing, or does it just taste like flat Corona? Both, since you ask! Coconut was one of my faves. There's a whole world of delicious and not-so-delicious herbs and spices out there and I was amazed at the different provenance makes - Cornish sea salt tastes completely different to regular salt. It's not always as you'd expect either - pure Madagascan vanilla was not to my taste at all, but I absolutely loved the blended vanilla from various regions. It was naturally sweeter and more flavoursome. It turns out that some pretty whacky combinations worked really well with TRUESTART. Unsurprisingly, there were plenty that didn't! Whilst I'm not going to give away everything just yet, I can tell you that we have now trialled a number of absolute winners, each with their own personality! Now to decide which to launch first - so there's of work still to do. We’re so excited for our summer range launch! What flavours with coffee win your vote? Are there any weird and wonderful combinations you've tried and loved, tried and hated or always wanted to try?! This is your chance to have a say by voting on what you'd like us to create! VOTE NOW via the below links.   Vote for and add your flavour ideas here!Vote for and add your general ideas here!

Simon & I started TrueStart to prove a point. To prove that you can build something incredible from nothing that makes people feel good, by being honest, open and true to yourself. Also to prove that you can do business the right way, by truly caring about people, your customers, your suppliers and the world around us - you don't have to cut corners at the expense of others! The eagle-eyed amongst you have noticed that something is going on... something big. And you are right. We asked you to get involved in shaping the future of TrueStart and you responded to our surveys and voted on our polls in droves. Big up to all of you who joined the co-create group! The results have been wonderful to read (I shed quite a few tears actually!) and have massively energised us to take TrueStart to the next level for you. So first... some insights into the real you Yes we like fitness, it's really important to keep healthy and do things you love with great people... but the bikes we ride and the trainers we run in are only a small part of our true selves. We wanted to learn a little more about you and the results made us smile! 75% of you want to try Nitro Coffee and Cold Brew Coffee (lots of you commented that you haven't seen it on sale yet) and 82% of you want to try new coffee products in general, so it's awesome to see you guys are with us on the innovation side of life too! We asked you to describe TrueStart's personality in 3 words and we LOVE what you came back with! This image shows all words that were used twice or more in your answers. The larger the word, the more often it was used.   We asked you to describe your attitude to life and you really are a positive bunch of go-getters! We asked you what you would do if you could do anything you wanted for the day and you didn't let us down, so much activity and a little bit of coffee to power you through of course! We saw some genuinely hilarious responses to this question, plenty are not publishable and we had everything from the very specific... First I find the coolest, most banging car I can find and get hold of the keys. Then I drive to all my friends' places of work, barge in with an old skiing balaclava and kidnap them. From there we go to the airport and sweet talk our way into a private jet, which we take over to a remote island and bungee jump into the sea. We swim to shore and dry out on the beach before hiking our way to find the best feast imaginable and spend the evening dancing naked around a fire pit. To the active... Run through forests, up mountains and down trails. End up covered in mud before swimming in a lake, stoking up a bbq and sleeping in a bivouac on the side of a cliff. To the downright random (this has to be my favourite)... Flood the London Underground with strawberry jelly! And what did you ask us for? There were some very creative and amusing answers - one of my faves was caffeinated bananas! Here are the most prevalent points from your answers... You LOVE THE COFFEE and want us to focus on that! Simple. We won't get distracted by things like bars and clothing as part of our core range in the future - what we do best is the super clean, energising coffee with no crash that started us on this incredible journey! We are leading the way in coffee innovation. You want to see us launch a READY TO DRINK, on the go product... watch this space!! You also want EXCITING FLAVOURS and NESPRESSO PODS and MORE FRESH COFFEE... don't say we don't listen :)  You love the PERSONAL TOUCH and the fact we really care 💙 This will never change, we can promise that! Many of you have asked for BETTER AVAILABILITY, especially in the supermarkets. This is something we're working on, with new products that you will want to enjoy every single day, so they're perfectly suited to broader distribution. Finally, SUSTAINABILITY was high up on your list. This is a biggie on our agenda and we are so glad you agree. We have put the planet first going forward and will be making some huge moves to becoming the most sustainable brand you know! What are we doing about it? We are excited to announce that we are doing ALL of these things. On 26th June, we'll be unveiling the true TrueStart - a vibrant rebrand and new products that we've been working really hard on and cannot wait to share with you. Thank you for the overwhelming support for us and TrueStart to keep taking on the big boys as an exciting new challenger brand. We won't let you down! Above all, thank you for being you. Bring on 26th June... Helena & Simon #normalisboring #divein

Wow, what an adventure the past two years have been since we started TRUESTART Coffee. Although filled with fun, frolics, amazing people (YOU!) and fantastic highs, Simon and I are big on listening to our gut and have not been able to shake the feeling that we need up our game to another level yet! Why? We love sport, but it’s not our whole lives. Cycling is awesome, but so is a rave. We want it all! From talking to our customers as much as we do, it’s clear that they feel exactly the same. We never wanted to build an elite sports nutrition brand (there are already plenty of awesome ones out there!), because TRUESTART stands for so much more than that, and so do you! We’re not about fitting in and taking ourselves seriously, and nor are our customers. We’re about unlocking the adventure in every day, and being confident to push against the grain. We’re about getting the most out of life. We’ve started to feel restricted, which is the opposite of why we started TRUESTART in the first place, so it's time for more.  We're heading into the wild... (this is me doing exactly that in Canada) We have been doing a helluva lot of soul searching over the past few months. Maybe it was sparked by the fact that we're having a baby, it made us zoom out big time! We realised that what we want is a bolder, brighter, more fun and less serious future for TRUESTART. This is a much more accurate reflection of who we are and how we want to make people feel - vibrant, energised and wild for life. After all, normal is boring! It has become really clear that we need to make some changes to our brand to realign TRUESTART with it’s legitimate destiny. People drink TRUESTART to feel awesome, so it should fit into your entire lifestyle, not just the sports bit. This meant our product range needed an overhaul too. We’ll never lose the awesome feeling that TRUESTART gives you, but we want to deliver it in exciting new ways that fit with our customer’s lifestyle, habits and desires. The success of TRUESTART Nitro Cold Brew Coffee has proved to us that our gut is telling us to do the right thing - push boundaries with the product and be more available than “just” sports coffee. It's time to embrace an adventure! Pic from @oyaroundtheworld So, what's next? In many ways this is a story of TRUESTART’s coming of age. When Simon and I first had the idea for TRUESTART, way back before we launched our first product, we knew we wanted to build an iconic brand that represented our mind set and life philosophy of ‘going all in’. We asked each other loads of questions, until we fully understood our 'why'. Why are we doing this? What do we want TRUESTART to become? How do we want this brand to make people feel? We’ve always believed in having a strong purpose, without it there’s no passion. And without passion there’s no motivation. Without motivation, we’d never get through the tough days! The answer to all of those questions has never changed, we’re just learning how to communicate it better. We’ll never sit still, where’s the fun in that? We’ll also never hedge our bets, because trying to please everyone is a recipe for disaster. We have embarked on a journey to unleash our true selves (cheeky throwback there for those of you that remember our first ever tagline - “unleash yourself”!), and with your help we are preparing to launch a rebrand that we are so incredibly excited about and proud of. Something bold, confident and irreverent. Something that represents everything we stand for. We cannot wait to share it with you! How can you be involved? You are a big part of TRUESTART’s evolution. If you’d like the chance to be part of our co-create panel and have top-secret first access to what’s coming as well as valuable input into our new products (as well as the odd freebie!), click here to fill in a quick survey and leave your email at the end!  Let go of normal, jump into extraordinary It's time to embrace an adventure Follow the path less travelled, make a splash Liberate yourself to do the unexpected Awaken your senses and go wild for life

The team at TRUESTART HQ have some news to share. Brace yourself... it's a toughie! We've decided to discontinue the TRUESTART Hero bars. But... WHY?!This hasn't been an easy decision, but one we've made as part of our renewed focus on what we do best - incredible, energising coffee that makes you feel amazing!OK I get it *wipes tear from cheek*, so what's next?We have some really exciting new products launching this summer and want to say a massive THANK YOU for your continued support as we grow into the world's #1 energising coffee brand. We honestly couldn't do this without out you and the rest of #TEAMTRUESTART. And remember... sometimes good things need to end for even better things to begin! Much love,  Simon and Helena #TEAMTRUESTART

As we prepare for a huge 2018, we've taken a breather to look back our biggest ever year as a community. Across the world, more of you than ever have joined #TEAMTRUESTART and are upping the game with every cup of coffee you drink.

Like millions of people across the world, I always dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. I tried a lot of sports when I was growing up but never really found "the one" for me. I first discovered running whilst at university, when I signed up for the 2006 Bath Half Marathon. The challenge of running so far seemed incredible to me and I quickly became a huge running fanatic. Two years later on a work placement I stumbled across the world of triathlon when I read something about IronMan, and I thought... wow... that is ludicrous... how could someone EVER do that?! ... I couldn't shake it from my head so within 3 weeks I had signed up to the 2009 Wimbleball 70.3, bought myself some goggles, a basic road bike and I was off. I quickly developed an obsession for triathlon and posted some pretty good results in a fairly short space of time, so I turned my focus to Age Group qualification. Like it is for so many people, this was a dream and something that I could see within my grasp.  With my new mission in place, (Bala Triathlon GB Qualifiers) I wrote to dozens of brands in the sport. Brands that I admired with products I loved. I simply asked what so many people ask of TrueStart now... "this is why I love your brand, here are my recent great results, here is my current objective and vision of what I want to achieve in the sport long term. Can you please support me in some way?" I didn't get one response... not one. Not even a "sorry but good luck". I was left feeling a bit dejected. I knew deep down that I was just one guy out of thousands with the same dream but it didn't sit right with me that the sport that I put my heart and soul into and the brands I admired so much had simply ignored me when I reached out. Fast forward a few years and I still wonder what I might have achieved if I just had a little more support? What could I do about it, to help the thousands of athletes out there, just like me, who just needed someone to believe in them... What if I could sponsor everyone? When I started TrueStart with Helena, it was really important to me that we use this incredible opportunity to build a brand that can make a difference to every single athlete out there and help them achieve what they set out to achieve. I quickly found out that it is not realistic to sponsor everyone with free products or take on traditional sponsorship deals. It's also not very authentic to buy yourself ambassadors as so many other brands do. So what do we have to give? We have a huge a passion for sport and massive belief in everyone who engages with us. We put a huge amount of energy and time into the community around TrueStart and expect nothing in return. Since day one, Helena and I have been dedicated to every person who buys into and believes in what we are building. We know thousands of our customers by full name, sport, PB times, recent injuries, next challenge and more... and we love it! You are all the inspiration behind what we do and I want every one of you to feel like you are supported by us as a brand and as people. We are not elitist, we believe in everyone. Whether you are breaking world records or walking your first ever mile, we support everyone just the same. With advice, belief, courage and friendship. Training, racing, recovering, learning and everything else that comes with sport, can be lonely. That is where #TEAMTRUESTART comes in - it's a virtual team that spans the globe, of people who are upping their game in sport and life. It's a place where ideas are shared, encouragement is given, success is celebrated and failures are accepted.  With #TEAMTRUESTART, we are building a sense of belonging and community that so many people crave. We are honoured that you have joined us and that we are able to share this journey with you. Representing in the real world Hundreds of you already represent #TEAMTRUESTART when you train or race, by wearing our kit. Nothing makes me happier than when I hear someone in a crowd cheering on another person wearing TrueStart kit. It's a real-world representation of the awesome online community we are building. Now we are taking this to the next level. From today, anyone who purchases TrueStart kit to represent the team when they are training and racing, will get exclusive access to the #TEAMTRUESTART Portal for life. Completely free. So what's inside? Exclusive deals from our awesome partner brands. This is our way of saying thank you and giving you an extra layer of support to help you achieve your personal goals. You will also find occasional free race entries in there and will be the first to try new products as they launch! And don't worry, those of you who have purchased TrueStart kit in the past, you are already eligible for free access! Thank you for your support and for being part of #TEAMTRUESTART :)

Helena Hills Co-Founded TrueStart Coffee with her husband Simon, something that took a whole lot of courage! Here she explains what courage means to her, and why she and Simon gave up everything to go all in on TrueStart. WHAT DOES COURAGE MEAN TO YOU? Feeling able to try things you didn't think were possible, able to have a positive mind set. I believe you can only do that when you completely understand the consequences of doing versus not doing, have a network that genuinely supports you and the daily motivation to constantly up your game. That's what TrueStart is all about. WHY DID STARTING TRUESTART NEED EXTRA COURAGE? I guess for two reasons; firstly because we were turning our back on stable, successful careers (there's obviously a huge amount of risk involved in startups) and secondly because we decided to bring a brand new concept into the world, disrupting two well established sectors (coffee and energy drinks). It involves an awful lot of hard graft and passion, particularly on the down days!  WHERE ARE YOU FINDING THAT COURAGE FROM ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS? People. #TEAMTRUESTART to be precise - that's our customers and supporters who have been completely incredible since day one. They're bought into the same values and the same mission to launch a million personal challenges by encourage people to up their game in sport and life. #TeamTrueStart are a very inclusive, positive bunch. SUMMARISE YOUR STARTUP EXPERIENCE SO FAR IN ONE SENTENCE. Highs so high and lows so low that I didn't even know they were possible - I feel completely honoured to be able to impact the growth of others, and absolutely fulfilled when our customers smash their limits to pieces. WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER ONE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO BE COURAGEOUS AND UP THEIR GAME WITH THEIR NEXT PERSONAL CHALLENGE? Surround yourself with people who will push you forward, not hold you back.

Hi team, Helena here. I'm incredibly proud to announce that at the Natwest Everywoman awards this week, I (well - TrueStart) was awarded the hugely respected accolade: Brand of the Future. Here's what everywoman had to say: The winners of the annual NatWest everywoman Awards, the UK’s most prestigious awards for female enterprise, were announced this week. For 14 years these annual awards have identified and championed the women behind Britain’s most successful businesses, from promising start-ups in their early years of trading to established international companies. These women are the epitome of entrepreneurial excellence whose companies’ combined turnovers amount to over £47million. Helena Hills of TrueStart Coffee from Bristol has been named the winner of the Brand of the Future category – awarded to a young brand that demonstrates huge potential for growth, sponsored by The White Company. Helena Hills was inspired to create TrueStart Performance Coffee when she experienced heart palpitations after drinking a coffee to get energy before a triathlon. TrueStart is the only coffee in the world designed to improve sports performance, providing an alternative to sugary energy drinks and synthetic pre-workouts. TrueStart It is clean, completely natural, and crucially gives you the perfect caffeine boost every time, with a controlled 95mg in each serving. Category Judge, Chrissie Rucker MBE, Founder of The White Company, adds; “We are delighted to sponsor The Brand of the Future Award. At The White Company we put the brand at the heart of everything we do and over the years I have been lucky enough to be given some really wonderful pieces of advice from colleagues and mentors. It has helped the business grow and develop enormously. I hope by sharing some of this experience with the winner it will be helpful for another young brand with a great future ahead of it”. I feel really honoured and hope that this opportunity to work with Chrissie will help us to make TrueStart into the impactful brand that we want it to be, a brand that connects people who help each other up their game in sport and life. If you don't follow #TeamTrueStart on Snapchat, here are some photos. And the winner is... Chrissie Rucker MBE (Founder & Chairwoman of The White Company) announces Helena Hills from TrueStart Coffee! I genuinely didn't prepare for a speech, which in all honestly was because I didn't want to visualise the situation only to be let down. It was awesome to address a room full of such influential people that have done so much for women in business. Thanking Simon - long suffering husband and Co-Founder! -, Chrissie, everywoman, all of #TeamTrueStart and of course, Entrepreneurial Spark who have been with us all the way.     Thank you so much for all your support. TrueStart are on a mission to launch one million personal challenges, start yours today and find out more about using caffeine to up your training game.

Hi everyone, Helena here. This post is a special one, about something we’ve been excited about for SO long! For the past 9 months, we’ve been hard at work on our new product range. I’m telling you – it’s lucky we’ve got a never ending supply of caffeine! So here it is - The power of TrueStart in your pocket, which we call The Hero Bar! SO WHY HAVE WE DEVELOPED A BAR? I’ve always made my own bars (and brownies!) with TrueStart, and all the time I hear new recipes from you guys too. From the marvellous Mel at Wonderfuel, making delicious energy balls powered by TrueStart, to so many of you adding it as an extra ingredient into your cooking and baking. We even have one guy who eats TrueStart by the scoop…(!) so we heard you loud and clear! People cleared wanted TrueStart on the go, more convenient and as a bigger part of their sports nutrition and general diet. The challenge for us was deciding how we make a completely natural, super convenient, edible version of TrueStart? Something that tastes absolutely awesome and is perfect for taking on the bike or throwing in your gym bag? What next then? Well, we needed a recipe and some inspired flavours. Time for the experts to step in and join us in some heavily caffeinated brainstorming sessions, and who better than some of the geniuses behind Nakd, Trek and 9BAR?! After plenty of weird and wonderful ideas (Remember the “Ballnut” and the “Raspotato” – Steve? << ask Steve when you see him...), we eventually stripped everything back to basics and developed what we believe to be the ultimate energy bar!  NAILING THE RECIPE From our experience and needs as athletes, we decided on a wholefood bar based on oats, seeds, nuts and TrueStart Performance Coffee, bound with coconut oil and agave nectar. It would come in 4 functional flavours with a Hero for everyone, whether you’re fruity, nutty, veggie or just obsessed with coffee! The bars are all gluten free, suitable for vegans, contain at least 5g of protein and crucially deliver the same 95mg of natural caffeine as a scoop or sachet of TrueStart Coffee!It hasn’t been an easy process. I remember when the (official) version 1.0 was complete. They tasted great, but failed the hand bag test and ended up as a bag of oats! Not ideal – we hadn’t even taken them out on the bike yet! Back to the drawing board. Version 1.0 - too dry Version 2.0 - too chewy Version 3.0 - arabica nailed! Version 4.0 - cherry is amazing, give us more cherry Version 4.1 - more cherry is a WINNER Version 5.0 - beetroot, the surprising slam dunk! Version 6.0 - brazil nuts… too bland Version 7.0 - can’t taste the pistachios Version 7.1 - STILL can’t taste the pistachios Version 7.2 - just take the pistachios out Version 8.0 - no Steve we can’t have the ballnut Version 9.0 - peanuts are yum (thanks to David, George and Marc for pushing us on this one!) Version 10.0 - peanut butter, wow. Keen on the peanut. Can we have more? Version 11.0 - combination of peanuts and peanut butter is a crunchy yet smooth ridiculously awesome winner Version 12.0 - broke the machine… 4 weeks delay...! Version 13.0 - a little tweaking, a touch more coconut oil and fingers crossed... Version 14.0 - nailed it Worth the wait...  TESTING, TESTING AND MORE TESTING! Each and every version was trialled by people we met at events, by our ambassadors, our friends, our family (thanks for letting us hi-jack so many family meals Sarah), #TeamTrueStart training runs, in meetings, whenever we could share them really. We asked people how to improve them, not just if they “liked it”.  The bars came with us on runs, lived in our top tube bags for hundreds of kms, got bashed about in the van and sat patiently in the office trying to avoid getting devoured by David, our resident Hero bar aficionado. The minor changes between each version inched us closer to the dream bar – massive kudos to Simon and Sioned, who worked tirelessly to absolutely nail the recipe. We’ve heard that Sioned has some well-caffeinated squirrels in her garden... Finally, we were happy. Great feedback was rolling in and the Hero was ready to reveal itself the world! And then – the bar failed the full scale trial. This was a big set back, and upsetting when we were so happy with the recipe. The equipment couldn’t cope with the consistency of the ingredients and had broken down, so we were back to square one which pushed the launch plan behind by four weeks. Never one to let a setback get the better of him, Simon was upbeat and straight back into development. Version 14.0 (!) is the best thing you’ve ever tasted. I was nervous that we wouldn’t be able to achieve the same level of awesomeness again, but in a blind taste test with 30 caffeine-hungry office workers, version 14.0 won hands down over the previous one! It was unanimous and I was relieved – everything happens for a reason. Most of all though, we were excited! TrueStart HQ was buzzing (even more than usual) and #TeamTrueStart were in for a treat!   WHY THESE 4 FLAVOURS? Getting the flavours right wasn't easy and was so important! We wanted them to be unique, inspired by functional ingredients and taste perfect. Here at HQ, everyone is completely mixed on which flavour is their favourite. For me, it's the Beetroot. For Steve, it's Cherry. Sarah is torn between the Original Arabica and Beetroot. For David, it's the Peanut Butter (he thinks... but his consumption suggests he's just addicted to all of them!). For Simon, he just can't decide. Apparently today it's the Cherry, but yesterday it was the Original Arabica and on Wednesday it was the Peanut Butter! I guess this can only mean one thing; they're all pretty ace. Originial Arabica - this guy was a no brainer! For the die-hard coffee lovers.  Coffee & Cherry - a fruity combination with an extra antioxidant boost from the sour cherries. Coffee & Beetroot - a winning curve ball with an extra nitrate boost provided by our friend, beetroot. Coffee & Peanut Butter - a truly epic combo providing extra protein from the peanut butter.  NAMING THE HERO As I’m typing I’m remembering so much! Naming the bar was a big job in itself. Do we just simply call it the “TrueStart Bar”? Not very imaginative, is it? How about Pace? TrueBar? Lift? None of them had the impact we wanted, or projected the massive awesomeness of the bar! With a serious brain block going on, the 4 of us decided that heading over to a sunny roof terrace for a Friday pint was the answer. It was there that the ideas started flowing and Simon said, “I’ve got it – the HERO bar! Everyone needs a hero sometimes”. He was right, and it was perfect. And so, the Hero was born. DESIGNING THE HERO That’s not the whole story though. Nailing the product is just one part of it - have you noticed how absolutely epic the Hero bar looks? This is down to Dan and Cole from Brond, our incredible branding partners. These guys are the creative geniuses behind all our products. They are truly part of the team and we owe them a huge thank you for the massive amount of work they have put into the Hero. We feel flipping lucky to have such talented and patient guys supporting us, who are as passionate about TrueStart as we are! I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve worked well into the night with them, after an identity crisis and I know there are plenty of times they’ve worked well into the night on the packaging without us too! Dan and Cole were involved in everything from the name to the tasting to the packaging. We’re proud of the huge attention to detail - have you spotted the cyclist, runners and swimmer training hard on each bar? THANKS TO YOU! Finally, we’d like to thank the groups of customers who have been so passionately involved in the bar. From everyone who took part in our initial surveys to those that have tested the bar in training and racing. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This product is a testament to what we can achieve when we work as a team, it’s a product that was created with you and for you. GETTING YOUR HANDS ON A HERO You can pick up a Starter Pack right here and try all 4 flavour bars and also 3 sachet of coffee for only £9.99 including delivery! Helena & Simon #TEAMTRUESTART #UPYOURGAME