Electrobites were created as the direct result of numerous conversations with Equine Elixirs clients who expressed their desire to have an electrolyte product they could use to replenish lost minerals, and to increase hydration for horses on the go, whether in the ring, at the show, on trails, or trailers. You'll want to hear this, and will no doubt be as excited about Electrobites as we are!

Transcript

HOST: Here we are with Elizabeth and Kim from Equine Elixirs again. So excited to see you both.

KIM: Thanks for having us.

HOST: Okay, I have to say, Liz's name when she logged into our Zoom call said “so very tired.”

LIZ: It says I'm very tired and sleepy, but I'm already feeling so much more energetic.

HOST: You have to stand up and give the power pose, right? Anyway, it's such an exciting moment. The last time we spoke, we were talking about the new gummies that came out, and they've been out for a month now. Kim, they're taking off, right? Everybody's buying them and rolling with them.

KIM: Yes, we're trying to keep up with the demand. The gummy machine can make about 12,000 gummies an hour. And at any given time, we might have one or two jars on our shelf because they're getting out the door faster than we can stock them. But it's been a wonderful response, and we're super excited to be running the machine all the time.

HOST: They [Equine Elixirs] have signed up for TikTok. We've just started a TikTok account, and one of the things they're putting up is people are sending the greatest videos of their horses when they hold up a gummy container, and these horses go nuts. It's really very funny. Don't you agree? I mean, you could not pay a horse to do what they're doing.

KIM: I can't get enough of them. We get so many videos and photos from our customers, and they are the highlight of our day when we see the horses putting their noses in those jars.

HOST: Well, keep it up, everybody, send in whatever videos you've got, and we love to put them up when we can. But today, Liz, we’re going to talk about the next set of gummies you’re launching. And it's Electrobites. Just walk us through why you picked Electrobites as the next gummy to do. And is it going to be the same thing as the past gummies where it pretty much takes effect immediately? I just attended this class on how electrolytes are as equally difficult to get in cold weather as they are in hot. I always think, "Oh God, I've got to hydrate in hot weather, not so much cold weather," so I did want to talk about the sort of science around that. But let's start with why you're doing Electrobites now.

LIZ: So the reason we're doing Electrobites as the next gummy is because that seems to be the type of product that our customers are looking for. When I ask people, what types of products are you currently using that you wish performed in a different way or were more user-friendly, what would you want to see us make? And something that came up that I was really surprised to hear was electrolytes in a form that did not have to be fed in their feed—something that you could give on the go, because a lot of horse people get very concerned when they're on the go with their horses, either traveling or at a show, that they're not drinking enough and that the electrolytes are not being replenished properly. And having to set aside the time and space to be able to set up a meal for them where you actually put the electrolytes in the feed is often not feasible. Some people will give electrolytes in the form of a paste that comes in a tube, but that can be very messy, and the horses don't really like it. So I started thinking about ways to feed electrolytes in a better medium. And of course, now that we know how to make a gummy matrix, we can put anything we want in it, so that's how we came up with Electrobites, the perfect way to feed your horse electrolytes on the go.

HOST: So how quickly do they work? So I'm going to go show my horse. I'm getting ready to lead the horse from the barn out to the ring. Do I do it at the gate? I mean, how quickly is this going to work, or do I do it an hour before? How does this work? How are you measuring the execution of it?

LIZ: Well, typically you don't want to give electrolytes right before a horse is going to be taken away from water, because the whole concept of electrolytes, when you give it to horses, is that it's going to make them thirsty and make them want to drink. So you don't typically want to give it right before the horse is going to go in the ring, because that's just going to make the horse very thirsty when it's supposed to be focusing and performing. So more likely what you would do is when the horse comes out of the ring, you would want to replenish the minerals that are lost, so you would give Electrobites then. Or, if you've got horses that are trailering and you have to stop periodically to give them water breaks, you would want to give them Electrobites and then give them a few minutes to drink. So it's not the type of thing that you would give right before you go into a class. It's a type of thing that you give after the horse has exerted itself and has lost those minerals, and they need to be replaced.

HOST: OK, well, inquiring minds want to know. We've got pink Himalayan salt. We've got red Hawaiian salt, and it tastes like banana. Where does the salt taste go?

LIZ: Well, the other ingredient that you forgot to mention was the banana extract. The banana extract that's in our Electrofresh product, which is what the Electrobites come from, is what gives it the banana taste. And it's still salty. It's not that the salt is gone, it's just that the banana extract sort of cuts the saltiness and makes it much more palatable for the horses.

HOST: OK, tell the truth. Have you had one?

LIZ: Of course.

HOST: OK, Kim, have you had one?

KIM: I actually have not eaten one yet.

HOST: OK, are you going to?

KIM: Oh, of course. I'll eat anything that we make.

HOST: OK, Liz, what does it taste like? I mean, did you feel like you wanted to drink water after? How did you feel after you had one?

LIZ: Like I was thirsty and wanted to drink some water. I actually found it quite pleasant tasting, especially once we got the formula right. There were a couple iterations of it before the final one, and I said to myself, "I can't feed this to a horse. I don't like the way this tastes. Why is a horse going to like the way this tastes?" So I do taste absolutely everything that we make here, and I'm confident that the horses are going to like it.

HOST: OK, well, that sounds like a really good plan. I have to say, you know, Kim works and does all the marketing, and what's making me laugh is a lot of the questions that are coming up on Instagram are about when are you going to make these for people? Like, is there a piece of you that's saying, "Hey, we could translate this and probably open a whole new market share. The stuff you're putting out there are things I want." So have you thought about it at all? Is there any conversation?

KIM: Anytime that topic comes up, it's usually in the form of a funny story from a customer. For example, we have a customer who tells us that she has to hide our products from her husband because he snacks on them in the tack room. So that's usually the context with which this conversation comes up. But no, we do not have any plans to make any calming products for riders, which we get requested all the time.

HOST: Well, actually, that's the kind of product that people could keep and slip to their, you know, "Here, honey, come over here, let me give you a little gummy to chew. You know, it's your vitamin."

HOST: Anyway, what's next?

KIM: I'll keep that quiet for now. There is a plan!

LIZ: I can tell you that for the next gummy, I've already had several samples of it made in different production runs. I have given them to several top Grand Prix riders to use and test. And the funny part is that there were three Grand Prix riders in different parts of the country that were experimenting with it over one weekend in the summer, and all three horses that used this particular gummy on that weekend won the Grand Prix in their respective parts of the country. One was in Florida, one was in California, and one was in Michigan.

HOST: By the way, that's all we need to say. So everybody can look forward to the announcement. Kim will let us know when that's going to be. Thank you, ladies. Thanks for this new product. Very exciting, especially because everyone is talking about how this is needed no matter what the weather.

LIZ: Thank you so much!