• by Les Luchter , July 14, 2022

GT’s Living Foods, a kombucha brand, is the subject of the first episode of “Behind the Wrapper,” a “how it’s made” TV series about wellness brands hosted by Marc Summers (Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare,” “Food Network's “Unwrapped.”)

Now in production, “Behind the Wrapper,” is planned as the launch effort of Better for You Media (BFY), a new venture from Peter Groverman, co-founder of 12-year-old Grovara, a global B2B marketplace for wellness brands.

Groverman told Marketing Daily that BFY is talking to both streamers and cable networks about picking up the show, whose revenue stream would be D2C sales shared by participating brands and BFY.

Meanwhile, 16 wellness brands are involved in “Battle of the Brands,” an eight-week competition series dubbed “the ultimate snackdown,” being waged at battleofthebrands.tv, where each brand gets a video posted and consumers vote for their favorite. This week, it’s Lemon Perfect, a lemon water beverage, vs. Mid-Day Squares, a vegan protein bar. Both brands have promoted their participation through videos on Instagram Stories.

The competition videos, running two minutes each, feature “audition” footage shot with Summers at March’s Natural Products Expo West Show. The eight weekly winners will be featured on this season’s remaining 21-minute episodes of “Behind the Wrapper,” with the losers set for season two, Groverman explained.

Brands will also get the chance “to secure funding from investors and global distribution,” according to BFY.

According to Lemon Perfect’s Peter Hufnagel, a special assistant to the CEO,“we are excited about any buzz or brand awareness that the ‘Battle of the Brands/Behind the Wrapper’ might generate.” (Lemon Perfect on Wednesday also named Jim Brennan, a former Coca-Cola sales executive, as president and chief revenue officer).

Others involved in the weekly “Battle of the Brands” are Tosi Snacks vs. Lesser Evil, Big Mountain Food vs. Cleveland Kitchen, Dandies vs Sunny Culture, Milkadamia vs. Super Coffee, Zolli Candy vs. Joolies, Plant Based Seafood vs. Crafty Counter, and Three Farm Daughters vs. Big Tree Farms.

Brands pitted against each other are in the same "weight class," according to BFY, being aligned by such characteristics as sales data, founding story, or social audience size. 

Another BFY Media series, “Food Diplomat,” is in preproduction. It’s described as a series that will “follow brands’ global expansion efforts and the road warriors making those supply chains possible."

BFY also promises news, home-shopping segments, podcasts and cooking shows in the future. The target audience? “Health-, brand- and socially conscious, positive-minded, tech-savvy, and physically active.”

Groverman’s title at BFY Media, by the way, is executive producer. His previous experience in that realm includes "Would Have," which was named Best Animated Short Film at last year’s Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Fla. You can watch it here.

The Next Unicorn Media Group is co-executive producer for “Behind the Wrapper” and “Battle of the Brands.”