Gluten Free Pizza Crust: Rustic Crust

So this week I guess I'm just tooting the horn of the some of the products from our portfolio companies. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and enjoy what you've helped to create. My wife recently started s gluten-free diet. Since then, it's been amazing to hear of how many other people are gluten free as well. Celiac disease now impacts one in every 133 people in the US -- and besides celiac, there seems to be a growing number of additional people for whom gluten has other negative consequences -- that are not officially "celiac," but being gluten free keeps them healthier. There are many great gluten free products out there right now too, so you really don't have to miss out too much.

One great new product (yes, this is where I'm tooting our own horn), is Rustic Crust's new Gluten Free pizza crust. My wife has tried many gluten free crusts over the past few months -- by the time some of these plates with the "pizzas" on them make it back to our sink, the only thing my wife ate was the toppings. Some crusts out there are horrible. But she likes the Rustic Crust crusts. I found another blog today where a review said the same thing. This person wrote:

It was a hit. I liked it a lot myself- and thought that it was one of the few pre-made gluten-free crusts that I would actually buy again, if I can find it closer to our area.

Here's a picture of the pizza this person made. If you want tot get this crust, request it at your local store - you can also buy direct from Rustic Crust.

Now I'm just waiting for some awards for Rustic....

Be fine food skin care: Best New Brand

Following up on my last post, Be fine has been named the "Best New Brand" in facial skincare by Shape Magazine.

Shape writes:

Be Fine , a new line of plant-based skin care, earned high marks from Shape editors and testers. The biggest crowd pleaser: Eye Blossom Miracle Eye Serum ($30), which contains natural ingredients like flaxseed oil and cucumber and lightens dark circles after just a few applications. Spa expert Mary Bemis compares using it to a cold compress: "It refreshed my skin and de-puffed my eyes." The product also features peptides, which help stimulate collagen production, thickening the skin so shadows become even less noticeable over time. Testers were also impressed by the single-dose packaging (each pod contains enough serum to last a week). (from $16; befine.com)

This is great third-party validation of the product line. Shape’s Beauty Editorial Advisory Board includes:

• Jeanine Downie, M.D., is the director of Image Dermatology in Montclair, N.J., is board-certified, and frequently appears on the Today show as a consultant. She tries every product before telling her patients to use it.


• Mary Bemis is a spa expert who launched insidersguidetospas.com and is the founding editor in chief of Organic Spa magazine. When testing products, she looks for efficacy as well as how a product makes you feel overall.


• Darrell S. Rigel, M.D., is a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center and president of the American Society forDermatologic Surgery. He believes in low-cost, high-quality skin care.


• Ruth Tedaldi, M.D., is the founder of Dermatology Partners Inc., in Wellesley, Mass. She also practices cosmetic dermatology at the Sports Club/LA in Boston. What matters to her when trying new products? Results!

Food-based Skin Care

Food-based skin care is on the rise....and our portfolio company Be fine food skin care (TM) is at the forefront. CEI Community Ventures led the Series A round in Be fine in mid-2006 and in 2007, the brand became an "a" launch in skin care at CVS -- overnight, the brand was in 6300 stores. CVS saw the trend and acted. A recent article titled "Food based cosmetics on the rise" states that:

Food based ingredients make up part of the fast growing market of organic and natural based cosmetics, a market that is set to continue to grow in coming years.

And the venture capital community knows it too; one of Be fine's competitors (I say competitor, but the best thing for the market is for this brand and for our brand to do well and growth e market together -- this is clearly not a zero-sum game), Yes to Carrots, completed a $14MM venture round a few weeks ago, led by friends at Simon Equity Partners and SF Equity.


Skin Care and Food


Taking care of one’s body, inside and out, is perhaps the most important things a person can do. And since skin is the largest organ of your body, it’s only natural that it should be a priority. Up to 70 percent of what is put on skin gets directly absorbed into the bloodstream. Be fine food skin care has created a gourmet menu carefully designed to rejuvenate your starving skin.

Be fine food skin care uses food as active ingredients; each product combines food ingredients in a way that cleans, tones and moisturizes or treats skin. Skin recognizes food products and knows how to utilize them easily. Food chemistry is like the chemistry of your body, so products made from food are easily absorbed. Be fine food skin care is for people hungry for skin care that promotes health, wellness and natural beauty with ingredients good enough to eat.


Awards and Accolades


The world is beginning to notice that Be fine food skin care is a collection of high-quality, high performance products. We recently met with a venture fund interested in investing in the company. He started the meeting by pulling out a list of eight Be fine products his wife has been using for over a year and the six other "science-based" (e.g., chemical heavy) products she used to use.


Below is a list of awards and editorial mentions that Be fine has received, just in the past few months:

• June Issue – Allure Magazine – ‘Editors’ Favorites’ Eye Blossom Feature
• July Issue – Glamour Magazine ‘New Stuff You’ll Love’ feature on Rough Spot Lemon
• July Issue – O Magazine ‘Love That’ feature on Warm Clay Mask single serve packettes
• July/August Issue – Natural Health Magazine ‘Body Beautiful’ story featuring Rough Spot Lemon
• August Issue – Shape Magazine feature on Cooling Peel Off Mask on ‘Simple Summer Beauty’
• August Issue – Harpers Bazaar Magazine features Eye Blossom
• August Issue – Ladies’ Home Journal Home Journal – Eye Brightening Treatment mentioned in "How to Turn Back Time" Feature
• August/September Issue – TV show the “Sustainable Planet” will feature a seven-minute segment on Be fine food skin care (exact air dates TBD)
• September Issue – Shape Magazine ‘5th Annual Shape Beauty Awards’ Eye Blossom names as the winner in the ‘Best New Brand’ category
• October Issue – Natural Health Magazine Annual Beauty Awards names Eye Blossom as winner in the Eye Cream category