@brirud Any promo deal for Product Hunters who want to help buy some as gifts and evangelize? I'm thinking of buying a bunch for friends/family as Christmas gifts.
@n33co@ianmikutel We've never done a promo before but fuck it. I love this site. The support has been unreal. 15% discount through tomorrow night if you use the code PRODUCTHUNT.
EDIT: Fixed a small bug where it was adding on a shipping fee. Should be a good now for the full discount. -Brian
I have been eating a lot of Banza lately. It is pasta made from chickpeas. It does not taste quite the same as regular pasta, but when I cook it right, it comes very close. I love it because I do not have the carb crash a few hours later.
@EAWharton the man! We're doing a trade show as we speak and I'm huddled in the corner every few seconds checking my phone, lol. You are the best. Thank you for your ongoing support
@SacBookReviewer a very good q. @brirud might have better advice than me. For me, I like to let the pasta soak in hot, but not boiling water for about 5 minutes. Than I will usually put it in a skillet with a drop of oil, some veggies and Whole Food's Cuban Rub. Then I'll either add a little bit of parmesan or some marinara.
@EAWharton Agreed, great question. The best answer is probably two-fold.
1) Right now, Banza cooks very fast. We designed it to be convenient. Put it in hot water (not boiling) and then scoop it out. Pretty similar to how you would steep tea. Turns out people have strong instincts when it comes to pasta, and they don't often read directions. So...
2) In january, we are doing a product re-release that cooks more like regular pasta. Still cooks in 4-6 minutes, but at a boil.
When it comes to appropriate dishes, Banza can act as a direct substitute for pasta...
#Detroit!!! cc @brirud
How's this going? How has being on the reality show impacted your startup (tell us about your experience)? What are your plans expansion wise?
@eriktorenberg my man! First off, could not be more excited to be on PH. You guys are crushing it.
Yea, Restaurant Startup on CNBC gave us a nice boost when launching back in August. And getting a co-sign and investment from Joe Bastianich (co-owner of Eataly and business partners with Mario Batali) on TV has been fantastic from a credibility standpoint.
Since, we've been going all out focused on retail. Our goal is to change pasta the way Chobani and Greek yogurt changed yogurt, if that makes any sense. By providing a nutritionally superior version of a staple food, that tastes fantastic.
We're in 215 stores in the Midwest currently, and will be in 750 across the country by early next year. All very exciting things!
I just bought some. I eat a lot of pasta, so unless it's totally gross, I'll end up eating it all. It's a little disappointing that to "try" it, you have to order a whole case.
@brirud How did you do early testing, packaging, etc for this release?
@MattHartman thanks so much Matt! Really appreciate the kind words and support. Regarding the background.. I actually starting making this in my kitchen as a hobby. First by hand, then with a hand crank, then a small machine, a few steps in between and now were up to several hundred pounds an hour. It's a hard product to make, so it's been extremely iterative. We've really taken the "lean startup" approach to heart. Hope that answers your question. Thanks again! -Brian
Seems like a good idea. I don't really eat regular pasta anymore. So this could be a good substitute.
I was a little bummed that the homepage image shows a kid eating spaghetti and they don't actually sell spaghetti.
@iambrakes thanks for the kind words. Cute kid, right? Spaghetti is in the works, though unfortunately not yet available today. If you come out to Detroit I'd be happy to share some prototypes :)
Interesting idea. Note that on their landing page, they'e giving NET Carbs, which is calculated by subtracting the fiber and sugar alcohols from the amount of carbohydrates, which is actually 33g/serving in Banza. Not sure that's really worth $5/box, when a box of Barilla Plus is $1 at my local store.
@donaldhruska hey! Thanks for the feedback. I can appreciate a skeptical view. I myself am often a skeptical buyer. I can spend hours in a grocery store inspecting products (just ask my girlfriend.. it drives her nuts!). Barilla plus is a good product..better than regular pasta. That being said, Banza still wins dramatically in a side by side. Banza is also not made from wheat, or any grains for that matter. No sugar alcohols and all fiber is naturally occurring. Hope that clears things up a bit. Please keep any questions coming... Any skepticism will give me a clearer idea of what we should address in our copy
@brirud Thanks for the reply - I think once I figured out the landing page was talking about net carbs, I felt it was a little deceiving. I see you'll be distributing in the midwest soon - if I see it around Chicago I'll definitely give it a shot!
@donaldhruska great to know. We'll have to add a little disclaimer or something. In the meantime, check us out in Meijer or Eataly!
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I *think* I just bought 6 boxes. It never gave me a confirmation when I paid through PayPal - just bounced me back to the checkout page.
Overall I think the shopping UX is great. It's just at checkout, when I had to search for the tiny, faded 'checkout' link. A drag. 'Checkout' should be at least as prominent as 'add to cart' since it's the point where you get the most cart abandonment. Right?
Anyway, off to check my PayPal account to see if I'll be getting some pasta in the mail :)
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