Founder's Story
The Supplement Industry Is Broken: How Two Athletes Fixed It with Caroline & Sebastian Graeff | Ep. 186
Fri, 14 Mar 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://www.avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Kinsta: https://kinsta.com* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.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
Chapter 1: Who are Caroline and Sebastian Graeff?
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 taught me the values of discipline, mental strength, 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 to start my own business, where I started focusing mainly on health supplements. My sister, which is I think now she should go.
Chapter 2: What inspired the Graeffs to start NAIAD?
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 U.S. over 20 years ago to finish studying and also become an entrepreneur.
But basically, I kept on having a very busy lifestyle, doing triathlons and a lot of outdoor activities like rock climbing, still skiing a lot. And I started having a lot of joint issues. And my brother said, you should try one of my supplements. I think you'll like it. 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 U.S. with that supplement. Initially, it was just one supplement, the 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 so, yeah, we went in, all in.
It's amazing 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 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're very complimentary you know whatever strength 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'm more on the creative side. So we really balance all the tasks. And like you said, the main objective is being the time difference.
No, that's great. You're working through the strengths of one another and you have complementary skill sets. So it doesn't sound like you're going to be stepping on each other's toes. So that makes total sense. You know, you had instilled from your father, you know, family and understanding business was going to be a thing for you. So let's talk about product market fit.
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Chapter 3: How do NAIAD products differentiate in the U.S. market?
So you create this product. You look at the market you want to go into is the U.S., 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 U.S. 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 the big thing that I was telling you earlier, 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 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 joint health, a lemon balm for stress, lemon verbena for muscle recovery.
But with that being said, the composition of our products 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 verbena tea. 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 U.S. 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 conicute acid formulas.
So there is no issues of two ingredients counter interacting. You know, there could be negative interactions between several ingredients. We test the final product you actually put in your mouth, which is very important. And we... 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 not... to look for non-plastic options when it comes to packaging. And we found a great company called Bio Bottles.
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Chapter 4: What sustainable practices does NAIAD implement?
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.
Yes.
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, are you going to lose so and so kilos or pounds? Yes. 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 uh more so than just the product alone for example you you said the formulations versus the ingredient being looked at in terms of efficacy you community building things giving people education and know-how uh as well as you know standards from the bottle being uh 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 U.S. 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 created and all of these amazing benefits and stuff, Did you did this just become an organic thing?
Did you like did you plan on, OK, we're going to have sustainable bottles and we're going to we're going to do tests on the formulations? Or was this something that came along the way? What was your process in determining, you know, we're going to 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.
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Chapter 5: How does NAIAD encourage a healthier lifestyle?
Young company, we don't get penalized, should I say, from higher costs. 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.
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