Posted on 4 Comments

March 2020 Update

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give you a quick update about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic – how it’s impacting Super Body Fuel, and what we’re doing about it.

Over the past week, orders have been coming in at an accelerating rate as everyone has started stockpiling food and supplies. We’re seeing an exponential inflection point with order volume more than tripling all of a sudden, and we’re not the only ones – Vite Ramen and other companies in this space have chimed in about this pattern. In other words, you may already have decided to stock up on Super Body Fuel, and if you haven’t yet, you’re probably thinking about it.

This is not a terrible problem to have, but we’re a small operation, and our ability to scale is limited. For now, we’re slightly backlogged, with delays anywhere from a day to a week, but it’s hard to say how bad things will get. At the moment, we’re ramping up our production schedule as much as we can without burning out and compromising our health, as well as stockpiling our own ingredients in anticipation of future demand.

As a registered food production facility following cGMP guidelines, we already have a lot of structures in place to ensure the safety and cleanliness of our product. But in light of this emerging pandemic, we’re taking even more precautions now to safeguard your health and ours. Our manufacturing team already wears gloves, masks, and hair nets at all times, and our warehouse team wears gloves. We wash and sanitize our equipment and work surfaces daily, and of course hand-washing is a frequent and required practice in any food facility. But we’re now keeping hand sanitizer by the door, sanitizing door knobs and faucet handles multiple times a day, and making extra sure to wash our hands for the full 30 seconds every time!

Fortunately, no one on the team is sick. To help keep it that way, we’re providing preventative supplements for free to the whole team, including Vitamin C, Vitamins A and D, Zinc and Copper, and immune-boosting mushroom extracts including Cordyceps and Turkey Tail. And of course, we all drink plenty of our own product. If you’re not already using our Fuel for the majority of your diet, we encourage you to consider adding extra Super Micros to your shakes to ensure that you get enough of these essential vitamins and minerals.

But if any of us do start feeling a little under the weather, we’ll make sure to stay at home to recover and avoid getting anyone else sick! Fortunately, we provide lots of options for paid time off, including unlimited vacation time and opportunities for paid self-education, so you don’t have to worry about anyone at Super Body Fuel working while sick just to pay the bills. We’re checking in daily with each other to report on any potential symptoms (none so far!) to ensure that nothing slips under the radar.

If you’re feeling healthy now and thinking of doing a multiple-day water fast to help reset your immune system, we’ve heard from some customers who find that supplementing with Super Electrolytes during the fast makes it safer and much more pleasant. Two teaspoons of Super Electrolytes with a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, dissolved into a big glass of water (and optionally with some stevia or monkfruit extract) is a good daily dose. Oh, and it’s also a good way to stay hydrated if you get the flu.

Most importantly, please take care of yourself! We’ll try to do the same. Get plenty of sleep, give yourself time to relax, wash your hands, and do the whole social distancing thing for the sake of yourself and everyone around you. Slow down the spread of this virus. And yeah, eat healthy. Don’t forget to stock up on oil or milk too! :d

And in other news…

As you may have heard, our latest formula update with the algae-based DHA came with some unintended consequences. A fraction of customers found that it made their shakes taste like seaweed – or worse, fishy! :o Obviously, this is not okay. So we reformulated to use half the DHA, with 400mg per day instead of 800mg, and over 500mg of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in total – still more than the typical fish oil supplement. We also revised our manufacturing process to mix the ingredient in only at the last minute, to reduce any exposure to air that could potentially increase the risk of oxidation. As a result, everyone who complained of a fishy taste has been happy with their half-DHA replacement, and we haven’t had any new complaints from this latest fix.

However, a few people still detect a hint of seaweed, even in the new batches. For now, the best solution is to let the mixture soak for longer in the fridge, but next we’ll be trying a DHA powder with a lower concentration of algal oil, which should reduce the smell and any risks of oxidation even further. This debacle has delayed the launch of our rebrand and new website by a couple of months, but it will be worth it to make sure we have the best product possible for the launch! :D

If you notice any issues, please let us know. All of our products and flavors should now be available in the latest, non-fishy formula, except for Keto Fuel Plain, which is on sale until we’ve cleared out the old stock. :) If you’ve tried the original DHA formula and didn’t have a problem, now’s your chance to stock up! ;D

Phew. :p

Thanks everyone, and stay well! <3

Alex Cho Snyder (axcho)

4 thoughts on “March 2020 Update

  1. O.o This was a surprisingly entertaining and very thorough message. I dig it. Just wondering, though.. how is the company now that it’s no longer March?

    1. Nevermind.. just saw that the Covid-19 link that follows you until it’s dismissed takes users to here, opposed to newer posts. My bad, lol.

      1. No worries! :) I’m about to send out a new update shortly, as well.

  2. thanks for being awesome!

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