At just 24 years old, Andrew Gravdahl is working to transform the way people think about their morning coffee.
As the owner of Complete Creamer, a first-of-its-kind protein-packed coffee creamer, Andrew is working to carve out a unique niche in the food and beverage industry. With 15 grams of protein in just 2 fluid ounces, Complete Creamer is poised to become a game-changer for health-conscious coffee drinkers.
However, bringing a food product that is this groundbreaking to the market is no small task.
Not knowing anything about the space and hearing, ‘this isn’t going to work,’ could have been enough to stop us, but we had this drive to push forward and prove it could be done.
The Explosive Beginning
The idea for Complete Creamer came to Andrew in an unexpected— and messy—moment. Sitting in a Wisconsin restaurant, he tried to add a protein packet to his coffee. The result? A burst packet and protein powder everywhere. Frustrated, he turned to Google to find a liquid protein coffee creamer but came up empty-handed. That’s when inspiration struck. He texted his brother, Jayce, and together they decided to monitor the market.
“A month or two later, we just said, ‘Why not us?’ And now, we’re in the final stages of bringing this product to market, about to get ready to bring into market,” Andrew said. “That took a long time though.”
In total, Andrew and his brother Jayce have taken about three years to get to this point. Many would have quit much sooner.
“We started off by going to a food research lab in California—they told us it wouldn’t work. Every meeting felt overwhelming at first,” Andrew said. “We had no idea what to say or do.”
Despite the initial challenges, Andrew and his brother, an economics major from the Air Force Academy, leaned on their entrepreneurial spirit and expertise.
“Not knowing anything about the space and hearing, ‘This isn’t going to work,’ could have been enough to stop us,” Andrew said. “But we had this drive to push forward and prove it could be done.”
Eventually, their breakthrough came at South Dakota State University’s lab, where initial batches proved the concept was viable. “That’s when we knew we had something,” Andrew said.
Building Connections To Overcome Barriers
Creating a new product often requires significant resources. The two brothers funneled paychecks and savings into developing the product, and Andrew found resources such as InnovateND and SCORE that were great in seeking industry connections as well as additional funding. Through programs like SCORE, he connected with seasoned business coaches who offered invaluable advice. One early supporter even connected him with the founder of SunButter, whose network opened doors to additional resources.
