Our Ocean Story

By Daniel, CEO and Founder of Organics Ocean

Starting Organics Ocean was a decision made after trudging through the most gut-wrenching time of my life. 

 

My name is Daniel. I'm a self-published author, a scientific researcher, supplement formulator, and an 11-year entrepreneur... and this road, was not an easy one.

Please note: The following breakdown of legal events reflects my opinions, and perspective, alone. There may be other details involved that I wasn't made aware of, so this detailed account is for "entertainment" purposes, only.

the formula that worked

Seven years ago I launched my second supplement brand, NuLevel Research. We formulated a product named "Crave" to help people with cravings; those with a history of overusing alc*hol, smoking, other substances, and sugar.

While casually researching online, I stumbled across a long list of scientific studies on a protein called NAC. In correct doses, NAC can help with decision-making and compulsive actions... 

In short, studies on NAC show reduced frequency and intensity of cravings associated with all sorts of compulsions... from alc*hol, to food, to narc*tics and even "compulsive hair pulling."

I was shocked at what I found. Why didn't anyone know about this? People were struggling with cravings all over the world and right there, buried in Google Scholar - science saying this inexpensive amino acid (NAC) may drastically help.

So I took just under a year, built out the formula for Crave with formulators in the USA - we used high doses of NAC to help with cravings, and started offering it online. Customers were getting incredible results, and the feedback was shocking. I honestly didn't believe some of it...

"I've been trying to quit drinking for 6 months and nothing worked except Crave" - Customer email

 

"You don't understand what this has done for my family." - Customer email

 

"I've been stuck on hero*n for two years. Nothing I tried worked. This helped me stop when nothing else would." - Customer email

Crave was rapidly climbing the ranks online and on Amazon, finally making it to "Amazon's Choice" product. My company and our impact published paid features in all the big news outlets: NBC, ABC, LA Wire, Kivo Daily, Medium, and NY Weekly.

the investigation

And just a year later, as C*VID was raging across the country, the F** (internet watchdogs) launched an investigation into NuLevel Research with an aggressive and demanding email. They said I was "trying to cure addiction," to "freeze all files and documentation" and "stop operations immediately."

How could this happen? My website was compliantly written and reviewed by one of the best law firms in Atlanta, I thought to myself. They said the risk profile was very low. And everything we are selling is legal and our claims are compliant.

My thoughts continued racing... but it didn't matter. They were not after the truth. They wanted us to go away, and were convinced that we were breaking regulations.

In my opinion, elite health groups aren’t incentivized to help us get healthy. They make more money when we are sick. I think this is pretty clear. And, these guys knew we were a startup and couldn't afford to fight a never-ending legal battle to prove innocence.

At the time NAC was being tested by the medical establishment as a cure for C*VID. They were trying to claim it as a pharmaceutical even though it had been sold as a dietary supplement for 70 years.

The motive seemed highly questionable... were they trying to monopolize the profit associated with the v*rus... and to eliminate any business that stood in the way? Or was that just a convenient conspiracy that fit my mental defense mechanism?

The F** didn't care that our customers were happy... that 75% of our new customers came back to purchase again... that our website had 8 disclaimers saying "Crave is not a cure for addiction,"... they didn't seem to care about facts, our legal efforts, or our intentions.

After they dug around our files and my attorneys claimed again and again that we did nothing wrong, they offered us "one way out"...

I had to shut down the company and never sell Crave again and they would go away...

Reluctantly, and after many emotional nights and heated discussions with my legal team, I agreed. I burned $50k+ in inventory at our warehouse (had to literally set it on fire), cancelled thousands of customer Crave subscriptions, and laid off my staff.

The company, the customers and the incredible formula I'd spent years building were torn down in days, without any regard for our positive efforts, employees, reviews or our customers' stories.

My life's purpose was vaporized in an instant. And it was at that moment, I fell to the floor of my little office in Eugene, Oregon, devastated, broken, and in tears.

starting over

You see, after building a few businesses I realized that I only want to build things that make a difference - things that I care about. I had already made money. And being "successful" didn’t provide enough fuel for life. There had to be a motivator, something in addition to money, to build and maintain hard things.

I thought to myself…. how do the tech guys do it? How do they only build things for money and no other purpose?

After losing NuLevel, I didn't know what that "thing" was. What else was I supposed to build? There was nothing else.

So I did nothing. Over the next 1.5 years or so, I learned how to run YouTube ads, and that’s it. Sharpening my ecommerce skills…

Waiting for the next idea with enough motivation to run with it.

Two years later, I stumbled across sea moss. I started digging around and the findings were interesting - similar to NAC. I'd briefly heard of sea moss before, but the nutrient density was something I'd never known before.

I found that sea moss contains 92 of the 102 minerals, this superfood was being reported to positively impact many areas in the body... and again... why didn't anyone know about this?

From weight and thyroid support, to joint health, to killing acne-causing bacteria and reducing wrinkles... there were A LOT of wild health claims by sea moss fans over time - it had been used since around 600 BC in Asia in traditional medicine.

To make matters more interesting, the infamous (and controversial) promoter of sea moss, Dr. Sebi, mysteriously passed away in police custody after promoting this specific seaweed publicly.

We have large mineral deficiencies sweeping the globe because our food is slowly becoming more synthetic, and our fast-paced lifestyles warrant unhealthy choices. Universities estimate over 75% of us aren't getting enough magnesium, and around 95% of adults are chronically dehydrated.

Sea moss is very mineral-dense and looks a lot like if nature made a multivitamin. I was intrigued.

But there were a few big problems...

1: The F** was rumored to be trying to take sea moss off the market (could be internet rumors).

2: Sea moss is hard to consume, and can contain heavy metals.

3: The raw moss is impossible to blend, it’s hard to measure, and the flavored sea moss gel can go bad just a couple of weeks after it's opened.

If the benefits were anything like the rumors, I had to figure out a solution…

At the same time, I was monitoring the glaring magnesium issue, mentioned before… 75% of adults not getting enough? Magnesium glycinate is an excellent way to increase magnesium levels… why doesn’t everyone know about this?

Between magnesium glycinate and sea moss, and attempting to help plug the holes of mineral deficits in our diets, I had enough fuel to build something again.

And, Organics Ocean was born.

building something different

We first launched the business with an organic sea moss capsule that may be more nutrient-dense than sea moss gel itself, and stays fresh for years…

And, magnesium glycinate formula that’s 30-40% stronger than competitors, sourced from the Dead Sea instead of China, has no unnecessary additives.

I wanted to build something different. The supplement market is corrupt too, and customers deserve products they can trust.

Not marketing trends…

It is Ocean’s mission to bring you formulas that work, so you can consistently and easily consume the minerals and nutrients you need, without missing days or having a perfect diet.

The other products we formulate, like organic vitamin D3+K2, black seed oil, magnesium citrate, organic calcium, iron, etc. are all formulated with care.

Any products we bring you, will be for a reason. We are selective. We only sell things that work, which is why we don’t stock everything under the sun like other brands.

We will always have your best interests at heart, and fight against the corruption of the mainstream supplement industry.

We show you all the ways supplement brands cut corners for profit, and then we do the opposite…

1 An in-house customer support team instead of an overseas call center

2 Transparent lab results that are posted publicly

3 Randomized third-party analysis

4 Quality ingredient sourcing

5 Study-supported dosing instead of proprietary blends

6 Showing all negative product reviews instead of deleting them

7 Letting you control your monthly subscription instead of making it impossible to cancel

Nobody will be as transparent as us.

To our customers, thank you so much for being here. This has been a steep hill to climb, and I am happy you are part of our comeback story.

I’m pretty sure, this is what better feels like.

Daniel
CEO and Founder of Organics Ocean