Wauwatosa-based
GenoPalate, a nutritional genomics company, has a new chief executive officer and a new long-term strategy as the company is unveiling its first retail partner among several more to come.
GenoPalate has selected Asheville, North Carolina-based
Earth Fare, a grocery store offering healthy and sustainable food choices, as its first retail partner. Earth Fare has 18 locations throughout the southeastern portion of the United States.
Through this partnership, Earth Fare customers at all 18 locations can scan a QR code within the wellness department to order an essential nutrition report from GenoPalate. The report will measure each shopper’s genotype. Shoppers can send in a pre-existing DNA file, such as a report from an ancestry company like 23andMe, or they can send a swab directly to GenoPalate’s labs. The report will educate shoppers on how their diet affects their health and even recommend certain foods.
“It would tell you the foods that are good for you, the foods you should avoid and what foods are available to purchase at Earth Fare,” said
Asif Naseem, chief executive officer of GenoPalate.
He joined the company’s board of directors in early 2023. Naseem refers to himself as a serial entrepreneur and he's previously worked at other companies with GenoPalate’s chairman of the board, John Byrnes.
“He (Byrnes) asked me to come in and look at the technology strategy of the company and see if I could develop a long-term vision for the company and scale it,” said Naseem.
In May of 2023, Naseem was approached by the board, along with founding CEO
Yi Sherry Zhang, to take over the role of CEO and execute his plan. Zhang is now GenoPalate’s chief scientific officer.
Naseem said now that GenoPalate has proven out its direct-to-consumer business model, the company is targeting corporations and enterprises with its products. Naseem envisions GenoPalate offering its products and services to corporations that would in turn offer them to employees and clients. He said the introduction of GenoPalate’s partnership with Earth Fare is the first step in this strategy.
“With (GenoPalate's) over 170,000 consumers -- and growing -- we have proven that there is an unmet need in the industry that is ripe for our science and technology to address and we’re very excited about that,” said Naseem.
There are additional benefits to GenoPalate’s new partnership with Earth Fare, including the fact that Earth Fare is now marketing GenoPalate’s services to its in-store and online customers. GenoPalate had already been providing clients with personalized meal recipes based on their genetic data. With the new Earth Fare partnership, GenoPalate customers can now send those recipes to the grocery store to have meals cooked. Eventually, Earth Fare shoppers who request an essential nutrition report will also be offered personalized vitamins, a service first launched by GenoPalate
last year.
“Our uniqueness is that any micronutrients are macronutrients that we recommend and provide are personalized. That is very unique in the industry,” said Naseem. “When you go to a store and pick up multivitamins, you’re hoping you get the nutrition you need. With us, you only get the micronutrients and macronutrients that you need based on your genotype, and nothing you don't need."
GenoPalate will be announcing several new partnerships with additional retail partners, including national chains, in the coming months, according to Naseem. He believes Earth Fare was the right choice for an initial partner because of its size.
“The reason we decided to go with a smaller store is so we could implement the services and learn from the process,” he said. “Then, we can take it to other stores.”
GenoPalate will be adding local and remote employees to support its growth, but Naseem didn’t give an estimate as to how many. He said consumers can expect to find GenoPalate’s products in more local grocery stores in the coming months.
