Current Status: October 2016 Ship

TL;DR: our anticipated ship date is being pushed back by 2 weeks (into mid-October).

We know how anxiously you’re awaiting your Ample. And for a lot of you, Ample is more than just a convenient and nutritious meal on-the-go; it’s a solution to very real health issues and lifestyle concerns. We’re receiving your stories, and believe us, we’re listening. We take our responsibilities as a food company very seriously, and while we aren’t minimizing the inconvenience of being patient, our number one priority is to develop the best product possible, that will deliver measurable health benefits. Thank you for sticking with us on this journey.

We know many of you will be disappointed, but we wanted to share with you a message we received from one amazing backer in response to our last production update:

“I wanted to let you know that I don’t care if you delay shipping until January 2017 because it may come down to shipping mediocre early or shipping perfection later. I, for one, wouldn’t be upset. I see a lot of promo material about being on track for shipping – I think that’s missing the point of having an awesome product trump logistics.”

He went on to offer his sincere gratitude. This warms our hearts, truly. Sure, “move fast and break things” — NOT when we’re dealing with people’s health. We promise delays on the front-end only signify we’ll be able to move that much quicker and more confidently later on. This isn’t an excuse – just fact.

Why the delay? What will I get out of it?

We found out that suppliers aren’t always legally bound to report all kinds of “extra” ingredients in their initial specs, and even where we were reading “100% X” we couldn’t be totally sure that somewhere in the manufacturing process there were actually a couple pesky other ingredients it came in contact with. Not a fault of our very conscientious suppliers, just a problem with the system – so don’t worry, ingredients weren’t just being thrown in willy-nilly, but rather for very specific mixability, absorbability or palatability purposes. Even still, we needed to make sure we were comfortable with every single base and excipient used, so we spent a little more time here. One of our biggest concerns has been with our unique probiotic blend. During the sourcing process, we found that it was customary to use maltodextrin (non-GMO but still corn-based) as an excipient. Now we’re making a completely new, customized probiotic blend that will remove the corn altogether, and one that will maximize the efficacy of these strands during the manufacturing process so that you will actually be able to enjoy the benefits. This requires a bit more time, but your gut will thank you!

Connor will be creating the master samples with expert formulators the second week of August. At that time, we will have a lot more information for you! Including a better timeline on Ample X and if and how far it might lag behind Ample. We’re hoping not at all and that everything ships out in October! Thanks for bearing with us through all the inevitable bumps so we can soon get moving!

How do I know this will be the only delay?

You don’t – and neither do we. It’s hard to convey a real sense of what manufacturing Ample looks like behind the scenes. It’s sourcing 20+ unique ingredients that need to come together in a perfect blend, and this is our first mass-scale production run, which means every single component has to be accounted for before we run. Bottles, caps, labels (we’ve re-sourced all of these too!), and making sure we’re jumping through all the right regulatory hoops to be compliant on this scale – something else we’re new at navigating.

Please remember that we’re a small team, working hard to get your Ample to you, but also needing to set up our company for long-term success and your long-term benefit. We want to make sure we’ll be around for years so that we’ll be able to continually improve upon our formula and develop the additional versions you’re all so looking forward to!

How do I update my order or shipping details?

To our Indiegogo backers, please make sure everything is correct and up-to-date in BackerKit. You can continue to make changes to your survey there, but please do not update your orders in Indiegogo anymore – we have fully transitioned the data off of the platform. If you have placed a pre-order after our Indiegogo campaign, please reach out at rona@amplemeal.com.

What if I have other questions?
We’re sure you absolutely do. We just ask that you practice patience as we continue to get answers for you as quickly as we can. We’re tackling a steep learning curve, but fortunately once we get through the bottleneck, we’ll actually have access to a wealth of information we’re going to be eager to share with you. In the meantime, please make sure you’re a part of our private Facebook group for Team Ample!

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