Christine Day intends to do for Richmond-based Luvo Inc. what she did for Starbucks Corp. and Lululemon Athletica Inc.: oversee significant retail expansion while building a loyal following.
The former Lululemon CEO and Starbucks executive told Business in Vancouver that she plans to keep Luvo based in Metro Vancouver, even though the city is an unusual choice for the healthy fast-food purveyor's headquarters.
While they're sold in about 5,000 grocery stores in the U.S., including major chains such as Kroger, Albertsons, Costco and Safeway, the company's products are not yet available in Canada.
Luvo's top executives are scattered across North America – one in San Francisco, another in Los Angeles and others in New York and Texas.
The company employs 100 staff to make meals in a Chicago suburb. According to the its Richmond-based president Stephen Sidwell, who founded Luvo and recruited Day, the company outsources the rest of its production to third parties, which have manufacturing facilities in metro areas across the U.S.
"We've adopted the philosophy that we're looking for the best of the best [executives]. We don't care where they live."
Luvo employs about 30 of its 50 corporate staff at an office in Richmond on Bridgeport Road near Knight Street. It is hiring locally for staff who have expertise in everything from marketing to product development to accounting.
Luvo's genesis came in 2011 when Sidwell opened Lyte Kitchen in Palo Alto, California. That business expanded across the U.S. into a chain of five restaurants – all focused on nutritious food low in sodium, sugar and fat. Its line of Lyte Kitchen flash-frozen meals was launched in 2013 in 91 California grocery stores.
Sidwell changed the grocery brand to Luvo because the restaurant served different items.
He and Day this year plan to launch Luvo kiosks in hospitals, hotels and sports stadiums. The kiosks would be licensed to operators such as Compass Group.
"It would be their employees but our concept and our menu," Day said. "They pay for the capital costs, and they train the people. We provide base training and the food and oversight to ensure that it conforms to our brand."
Luvo products are also on Delta Airlines flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
"Delta is interested in expanding that [internationally," Day said.
Darren Tristano, who is executive vice-president at the food sector research firm Technomic, likes the concept of Luvo having both grocery items in stores and separate kiosks.
"It gives you a strong brand footing within the retail market, and as the reputation for the restaurant grows, that will lend greater leverage for the retail brand."
Tristano said the biggest challenges for Luvo will be scaling up its distribution to handle increased supply and demand and keeping its items affordable.
"There is a higher demand than supply for healthier branded foods at the retail level." •
