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This article was created in partnership with FlavCity to explore the brand’s business evolution and clean-ingredient product lines. All source material was provided by FlavCity. If you buy something using a link on this page, Forbes may also receive a small share of that sale. Sponsored by FlavCity Forbes Vetted Victoria Hess, Forbes Staff Forbes Vetted In the summer of 2024, Bobby Parrish and Shawn Bushouse sat in a South Florida resort conference room developing a vision for a new kind of food brand. Parrish, a video creator and wellness influencer with more than 18 million followers across his social media platforms, is widely known for the better-for-you recipes he shares on YouTube, as well as his Bobby Approved app, which is designed to help shoppers identify quality grocery store options. Parrish reached out to Bushouse—a veteran executive of several global consumer packaged goods giants—to help expand the FlavCity brand, “launching solutions into the gaps Bobby’s content was shining a light on,” Bushouse says. Their goal: to change how Americans eat and drink through, as Bushouse puts it, “real ingredients and real talk.” Since Parrish and Bushouse’s partnership began, FlavCity has achieved over 100% year-over-year growth as a business, kicked off a partnership with Target and added a line of instant latte mixes to its collection of protein smoothies and other beverages. Now CEO, Bushouse has helped assemble a broader FlavCity team that shares his and Parrish’s mission. “We are casual, uncomplicated and genuinely oriented around making a difference,” Bushouse says. “We feel nature provided a pretty darn good palette to paint from, so [our ingredients are] an extreme back-to-basics. When you see a FlavCity product, you essentially already know what’s in it by the front of the pack.” FlavCity founder Bobby Parrish and CEO Shawn Bushouse began their partnership to expand the brand in the summer of 2024. Fueling FlavCity’s Growth Core to FlavCity’s business model is Bushouse positioning it as a “juxtaposition brand”—so it stands out in opposition to other products within the same categories (e.g., coffee drinks, smoothies and electrolyte beverages) that are not clean-ingredient-focused. All of FlavCity’s offerings contain ingredients derived from whole foods, with no gums, artificial or natural flavors, or preservatives. Many also have no added sugar. Another priority is saving time and money for customers, according to Bushouse. “In the coffee space, it has become so commonplace in the American routine to drop into the cafe for a $6 latte,” Bushouse says. “We are very pleased with [our new] lineup of instant lattes that can be shaken or stirred into that daily routine to save time, money and a lot of added sugar.” Bushouse and Parrish say FlavCity’s products are different from others in the wellness space because of their simplicity. “We are blessed in the year 2025 with so many high-science nutrition influencers and brands on the cutting edge of ingredient formulation, but we are going the exact opposite way,” Bushouse says. “Most of the time, frankly, [we operate with] a throwback mentality,” Parrish says. “For example, isn’t it a novel theme that lemonade should have, I don’t know, maybe lemon? Maybe a vanilla latte should have actual vanilla. Perhaps a peanut butter chocolate protein smoothie should have actual peanut powder and organic cocoa leading the ingredient panel.” A Shared Content And Commerce Strategy Alongside FlavCity’s product lines, Parrish continues to create wellness content for his social media following. He says the two components of the business build on each other. “There are thousands of channels for health and longevity that are set up as a push model,” Parrish says. “But I think folks resonate with my channel probably because I align content in more of a pull model, generating content that is being asked for. The same exists in [our strategy for] consumer packaged goods expansion. We don’t specifically look to expand X number of products by some made-up date. It’s genuinely only when and where consumers tell us there is a valid void.” FlavCity's protein smoothies are made with 100% grass-fed whey and other real-food ingredients. Key to both content and commerce for FlavCity is how the brand views its audience, Parrish says. “I always think of my audience and our consumers as friends and people we’d come in contact with day-to-day,” he says. “In content, I speak like I do in real life.” Bushouse agrees. “The primary goal of our education platform that is largely executed by Bobby’s content is to expand that universe of people that value simplicity as a movement,” he says. “With our products, even if you don’t specifically care about the ingredient profiles, the products still taste great. I always think about my mom as we develop products: a tough customer who won’t change long-term habits unless it tastes really good. When she started proactively asking for more of our products, I knew we had something unique.” Thoughtful Leadership Since stepping into the FlavCity CEO role and recruiting a broader employee base, Bushouse has operated with what he calls “hyper-thoughtful entrepreneurship”— a leadership style crafted over years of executive-level experience in the consumer packaged goods space. “I’m someone who will obsess about the up-front business modeling before moving an inch,” he says. “As I ask employees to dedicate their career and their family’s livelihood to a mission, I want to ensure they feel and share my confidence with specifics. Once the plan is established in strong detail, I find it’s structured to have a lot of fun along the way. I would like to think that my teams enjoy the journey as much as the destination.” Bushouse and Parrish designed FlavCity Café instant latte mixes to stand out as clean-ingredient options in the coffee space. Looking Beyond 2025 According to Bushouse, much of FlavCity’s growth in the next five years will be focused on bringing its existing suite of products to the domestic mainstream, with an emphasis on retail. “We want to be where people make their shopping decisions, so more distribution in retail will be something we slowly roll out with exaggerated partnerships to engage the consumer,” he says. As for long-term goals, “we will continue to educate consumers about what we eat and drink every day, launch products in categories where we perceive a true void exists and actively support investments in other brands out there covering the category voids,” Bushouse says. FlavCity’s protein smoothies are now available at Target locations nationwide, and according to Bushouse, you can expect more than just products on shelves. “Together [with Target], we crafted a wild launch strategy that will really give customers multiple different ways of interacting with FlavCity,” he says. “Buckle up!” FlavCity Products 25 Grams Of Protein, No Blender Needed FlavCity All-In-One Protein Smoothies A scoop of one of FlavCity’s smoothie powders delivers 25 grams of protein from 100% grass-fed undenatured whey and 10 grams of grass-fed bovine collagen, as well as nutrients from fruit and mushrooms. Choose from seven flavors, including Vanilla Cream, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Berries & Cream and Butter Coffee. Mix with water or your favorite milk and enjoy. Visit Shopflavcity.com to purchase 10 single-serving packets with your choice of flavors for $39.99 or a 20-serving bag of a single flavor for $59.99. Ten-serving bags of select flavors are available exclusively at Target for $29.99. Instant Latte Mixes With No Mystery Ingredients FlavCity Café Whip up a hot or cold latte at home for less than $3 with the new FlavCity Café line. Each of the six flavors (Vanilla Latte, Chocolate Chunk Mocha, Salted Caramel Macchiato, Cinnamon Dolce Latte, Brown Sugar Latte and Sweet Almond Drop Latte) is made with 100% grass-fed whole milk, bold coffee and natural ingredients like cinnamon and cocoa. Most of the flavors have no sugar added, while Salted Caramel Macchiato and Brown Sugar Latte contain minimally processed organic coconut sugar. Twenty-serving bags are available for $54.99, or you can purchase a variety pack (6 single servings of each flavor) for $24.99. Bushouse’s favorite flavor is Vanilla Latte, while Parrish switches up the flavors he chooses every day (but claims Brown Sugar Latte as his top pick). Does FlavCity Have Clean Ingredients? All FlavCity’s protein smoothies, functional beverages and FlavCity Café mixes contain ingredients derived from whole foods, with no gums, artificial or natural flavors, or preservatives. Many products have no added sugar. The company uses a third party to lab-test ingredients to ensure they are free of harmful chemicals. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
