Brand Feature: bellie

What is bellie?

bellie is a prebiotic digestive aid that uses a new super-ingredient to improve gut health. It’s backed by doctors and labs across several universities, including the University of Chicago.  We were frustrated by the rise of gut problems in society and our own struggle looking for gut-safe products. Even products that listed themselves as “gut-friendly” turned out to have some problematic ingredients, and only used that label as a marketing gimmick! Our own experiences with irritable bowel syndrome were so debilitating that we’ve made it our purpose to bring people products they can trust. 

How has JAI Development helped you? 

JAI Development created two delicious SKUs that helped us succeed in our university accelerator and earn one of the highest payouts (2nd highest behind this year’s winner) in its history, at $100,000 (this still seems insane to us). JAI has also helped us with flavor advisory, co-packer conversations, and other bev logistics. Plus, they’re super friendly and easy to work with. 

3. Tell us more about the competition!

The College New Venture Challenge (CNVC) is the dedicated undergraduate track of the Polsky Center’s nationally-ranked New Venture Challenge program. The program runs for ten weeks and includes several rounds of ideation, business development, and pitching to investors. 

This year, the CNVC entered its 12th year of launching incredible undergraduate businesses including Cubii, Sokowatch, MoneyThink, Quevos, and Fronen.

bellie won second place in the CNVC, receiving over $100,000 in investment from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and several angels, and has since raised additional angel funding. 

bellie formally launches this Spring in Chicago-based retailers and is continuing to fundraise. Be on the lookout for them soon!