I have been on the hunt for a well-rounded plant-based protein powder for quite some time, but only recently pulled the trigger. In my research, I’ve discovered that, despite there being an overwhelming number of options on the market, many products have hidden unhealthy ingredients, strange chalky consistencies, or not-so-yummy flavors. I also noticed that many state that they’re sugar free but still contain stevia or sugar alcohols. I’m personally just not a fan. I was even surprised to see that protein powders financed and marketed by major athletes were falling short of my health-focused requirements.
Enter Ritual’s vanilla organic pea protein powder - it’s delicious.
The product is drinkable enough that it can simply be combined with cold water and shaken, which is how it is presented in store when you’re offered a sample. I personally love to blend it into my smoothies so that my first post-workout meal of the day is a bit more filling and has more nutrients. Note that Ritual’s protein comes in 3 formulations - ages 18+, ages 50+, and a pregnancy & postpartum - because we’re not one-size-fits-all.
About Ritual
Ritual was founded on the principle that all ingredients in multivitamins and supplements should be transparent and traceable. Surprisingly, that concept was completely radical in the industry - even in 2016 when the company was founded. It’s a powerful move to push for transparency when it naturally exposes your competitors to all the things you’re doing right.
Ritual publishes an annual impact report that outlines increasingly higher standards for the company as well as their progress toward those goals. In 2022, Ritual became a Certified B Corporation (see more about what this means in a prior post here), made greater progress toward their goal of 100% sustainable packaging by 2025, and introduced a set of 22 “industry-leading standards” for their suppliers.
Another element to call out is that fact that Ritual is taking legislative action to protect consumer health. As of 2022, there were “no health-protective heavy metal limits established by the FDA for supplements and protein powders.” Ritual is attempting to change that and within their protein powder specifically, they test “every lot of Essential Protein for heavy metals, microbes, and over 250 banned substances in partnership with Informed Sport.”
About the Founder
Ritual was founded in Los Angeles by Katerina Schneider. At 4-months pregnant with her first child, Katerina found it difficult to find a prenatal vitamin with traceable ingredients that fully aligned with all of the medical recommendations on the market. She personally always had an itch to be an entrepreneur - following in the footsteps of her father - but hadn’t yet discovered a problem statement to which she felt deeply connected.
Katerina was born in Ukraine and immigrated with her family to Brooklyn in 1989. She shares that her family landed in the states with a suitcase and just $50 to their name. Throughout her childhood, math and science were always the primary focus, but she found that she naturally gravitated toward art and other creative outlets. After graduating, she went into investment banking and worked for Lehman Brothers, ultimately becoming part of the biggest bank failure in history.
Katerina characterizes the loss of her job at Lehman brothers as a blessing in disguise because she felt she was never meant to work in finance and ultimately, this set her on a path to later becoming the right-hand-woman to the CEO of Universal Music Group. Within this role, she found her professional confidence as she was given a platform to share her perspectives. Although her time spent meeting famous musical artists was once-in-a-lifetime, she learned that when she met the founders and CEOs of technology startups, such as Spotify, something inside of her came alive.
After joining a venture firm, she became pregnant and thus Ritual was born. Katerina cares deeply about health and wellness, so the name ritual came from the idea that investing in wellbeing shouldn’t be a routine or a habit, rather something that you look forward to and is positively engrained in your everyday life.
In learning more about Katerina’s experience as an entrepreneur, there were a couple of moments within the Behind Her Empire Podcast that made an impression on me. The first is that when she was a finalist at Tech Crunch, she vividly recalls being on stage and simultaneously leaking breastmilk - a moment that could seem embarrassing, but instead she reflects upon it with pride. It was a first for the audience to see a new mother in a founder role. The second moment was when she recalled struggling with postpartum depression after having her 3rd child during the height of COVID. She felt isolated and overwhelmed and caught herself in a very raw moment with her team on a video chat. Her vulnerability ultimately forged closer bonds with her direct reports and for this, she is extremely grateful.
Happy [protein] shaking.
x jz
Images | 1 | @b.g.mckay, styled by me | 2 | Ritual | 3 | The Proof Wellness | 4 | @b.g.mckay, styled by me
Note: I do not get paid for nor make money off of this post. All opinions are my own.