Founder Stories
Blume's Superfood Lattes are available at 1000s of stores including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore and Target. Here's how they did it.
In 2017, Blume Founder Karen Danudjaja was working in commercial real estate and taking 5 coffee meetings a day. The caffeine and sugar really started to affect her wellness and that led her to experimenting with superfoods in her kitchen to create a healthier alternative. Her father was actually the one who introduced her to superfoods and the benefits of turmeric when she was a child. Naturally, a turmeric latte was the first blend that the brand launched with.
Blume’s very first customer was a smoothie shop I visited on my way to work - they ordered 30 Turmeric lattes! Today, we’re available in thousands of retailers across North America
Karen Danudjaja
Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
At Blume, we're creating a kinder wellness world.
We're tapping into superfoods to lead a global wellness change that is rooted in kindness for both people and the planet. We create plant-based, functional beverages made with organic superfoods and without refined sugars that support your energy, digestion, sleep, skin, gut health and hydration. We fill cups with wellness rituals you can feel good about indulging in.
Café menus often need more caffeine-free and refined sugar-free options. The supplement aisles are super clinical and confusing. Blume is here to be your intro to wellness and help you manage caffeine, sugar, and your gut microbiome!
It’s not easy telling everyone about your silly mistakes and failures, but startup life is a bumpy road and it’s important to me to make sure other entrepreneurs know that they’re not alone.
Karen Danudjaja
What were some of the the key milestone moments for your business?
Blume’s very first customer was a smoothie shop I visited on my way to work - they ordered 30 Turmeric lattes! Today, we’re available in thousands of retailers across North America, including grocery stores, specialty stores, and mom-and-pop shops. We’ve recently launched into Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, and Target.
What tools and apps do you use to run your store?
Currently we sell on Shopify, use Klaviyo for email marketing Tidio for customer service and Bazaarvoice for review collection.
Given your experience from the beginning, what’s the #1 piece of advice you have for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to launch their own eCommerce venture today?
Just to start! The first step is always the hardest. Don't wait for the perfect moment - we're all learning and growing as we go.
What are the easiest and the hardest parts of this business for you? When do you feel the biggest motivation? What kind of challenges do you face?
Out of Blume, I’ve surrounded myself with so many champions. Connecting with like-minded people has been without a doubt the easiest and most rewarding part of the journey.
The biggest challenges I’ve faced as a first time founder and CEO is imposter syndrome and comparison. While imposter syndrome has been pervasive for me during this journey, my advice to other women in business is to let go of the idea of perfection. Perfection really doesn’t exist. It’s an amorphous idea. We shouldn’t let it get in the way of progress, and it can really hold you back from being happy, enjoying the journey, and celebrating the wins. When you compare yourself to other people, you have no idea what their experiences are and what’s going on under the hood. It’s so much more important to focus on you and what you can control and what you want your life to look like than it is to look outside for validation or proof of concept.
I’m also working on sharing all of the little ups and downs of running a small business on our social media channels. It’s not easy telling everyone about your silly mistakes and failures, but startup life is a bumpy road and it’s important to me to make sure other entrepreneurs know that they’re not alone. It can be a really lonely journey without community.
If you are looking for a simple way to enhance your daily rituals with lattes, done better, try Blume's Superfood Lattes today!