Retail Sales of Bare Life Hot Cocoa to Debut October 6

West Hartford start-up Bare Life’s first product is an innovative instant hot cocoa that is organic, non-GMO, dairy free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, kosher, paleo, and vegan. Founder Ali Lazowski will be leading the debut of retail sales of the new coconut hot cocoa with a special “community tasting” on Saturday, October 6 at Essential Health, also having its official Grand Opening that day, in the Elmwood section of West Hartford.

The twin debuts will take place during the popular annual Park Road Parade. Essential Health is one of the first retail businesses to sell the distinctive new hot cocoa product. They are located at 74 Park Road. Essential Health is a chiropractic practice with massage therapy, sauna, yoga and a co-located Natural Foods Market. An array of special events will be offered throughout the day.

Lazowski began conceiving of her business in a doctor’s office – many doctor’s offices, in fact. The allergen-friendly food startup began with a crowdfunding campaign last fall. It was her simultaneous battles with cancer and Lyme disease that inspired her to explore her love of food and launch a business. She began by creating Bare Life's coconut hot cocoa mix — organic, Kosher, vegan, gluten free, Paleo and produced locally — and by writing Bare Life's first sweets-centric cookbook, soon to be published.

"We are excited to be carrying Bare Life products at Essential Health as we support local health minded suppliers that align with Dr. Allie's strict guidelines," said Amy Wadsworth, Marketing Manager at Essential Health.

Bare Life products are sustainably sourced and locally-made in a gluten-free facility. Ingredients in the coconut hot cocoa mix, Bare Life’s inaugural product, include organic cacao powder, organic coconut sugar, organic coconut milk, organic ground vanilla and Himalayan salt.

“I am thrilled to partner with Essential Health, and grateful that they are making Bare Life’s hot cocoa readily available to consumers in West Hartford,” Lazowski said. “I am tremendously impressed with their commitment to healthy living and well-being, and the impressive array of products they have assembled to complement their medical practice.”

In addition to local production, Bare Life partners abroad also contribute to their local communities. Bare Life sources from a cacao farm in Ecuador which uses part of its proceeds to contribute to local schools, community centers, and education programs. Proceeds from Bare Life’s green lids (on large hot cocoa jars) will go to the 4-H Foundation, a national youth development and mentoring organization with an educational focus on science, healthy living, and food security. Bare Life is also committed to responsible sourcing, from sustainable and organic farms that are either fair-trade certified or provide fair wages and working conditions in line with the fair-trade philosophy.

More information about Bare Life is available online at www.eatbarelife.com In addition to retail sales, products can be purchased online. The interest in natural products is underscored by recent statistics:

• 133 million Americans or 40% of the population live with chronic illness, and even more are affected by them
• 15 Million Americans have food allergies
• 22% of the American population have food sensitivities (tied for the highest food sensitivity rate in the world)

Bare Life’s hot cocoa’s glass packaging, not only keeps food safe from chemicals like BPA, found in plastics, but it is also recyclable. In addition their shipping boxes, packing inserts, packing paper and even packing tape are all recyclable -- helping reduce waste and pollution. Their packing “peanuts” are made with organic starch, are biodegradable and dissolve in water.

Bare Life has been featured in numerous publications and participated in reSET's 2018 Impact Accelerator, winning third prize at its Venture Showcase this spring. Ali Lazowski was recently selected by Hartford Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 award recipient, and was featured this week on Better Connecticut on WFSB-TV.