Sleep supplement keeps couple rested and in business

With two children under the age of 5, Adrienne Doring couldn’t sleep. Doring is like millions who struggle with lack of sleep, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Hesitant to try any over the counter products because she was nursing, Doring had to do something. A friend suggested using fruit extracts after seeing a Dr. Oz television segment about their benefits.

“I was skeptical fruit would do the job,” Adrienne Doring said about using extracts from goji berries, passion fruit and tart cherries.

“I tracked down the extracts powders, tried them and they worked.”

Within a year, the Dorings launched their own 100 percent fruit-based Berry Sleepy, a capsule supplement they say is a natural sleep aide.

“Other things work, but this is a healthy choice,” Adrienne Doring said. “People don’t wake groggy from using our product.”

The Dorings officially launched Berry Sleepy, made from the three fruits, in January 2013, operating from their suburban Johnson County home.

“We found out about baby No. 3 a week after we launched the product, so that really upped the ante,” Greg Doring said.

Berry Sleepy retails for $39.95 for a 60-capsule supply; a regular dosage is two capsules. It is sold through the company’s website and in 25 area retail locations including natural food stores, some Hy-Vee locations and chiropractic offices.

The Dorings hold a trademark on their product and contend it works; each bottle label advises consumer to check with a healthcare professional before beginning use of the supplement.

Q: How did you go from concept to product in a bottle?

“We didn’t have a big business plan, but we would cheer each other on,” Adrienne Doring said.

Adrienne Doring worked for the Kauffman Foundation — dedicated to entrepreneurial education and assistance — and she used her knowledge to help build Berry Sleepy. For Greg Doring, it was a stretch of sorts. He had been a regional director for Catholic ministries on college campuses, although he does have an executive MBA from Benedictine College.

“It was a big leap into selling a fruit sleep aid supplement,” Greg Doring said.

After research through the Internet, the Dorings worked with Adrienne’s brother, who is a pharmacist, to create the formula for the supplement.

“He was especially crucial for research, making sure they (the fruit extracts) were safe together,” she said. “We also worked with other pharmacists and nutritionists on the formula.”

The next step was connecting with a compounding pharmacy that produced the initial batches for sampling with family and friends.

Q: Where did you turn for manufacturing, bottling and fulfillment?

Once again, Adrienne Doring’s brother provided some recommendations for manufacturing. With a thumbs up from the test group, the Dorings moved forward with producing large quantities of Berry Sleepy, first out of California. As demand rose for the product, the Dorings switched manufacturing to Florida to a facility that could produce more. In the beginning, order fulfillment was done out of the couple’s house; now it is handled out of fulfillment centers in Michigan and Utah.

Initially, the Dorings used their own finances to fund the operation and they did everything. The couple turned to crowdsourcing to help develop Berry Sleepy’s marketing materials.

“We put up $300 for the winner that designed out logo,” Greg Doring said. “We would give feedback on the design and they would make changes. It was a cheap, easy way to get a great logo.”

With little money for marketing, what did the Dorings do?

“We relied on social media and word of mouth to get the word out,” Adrienne Doring said.

Q: Recently you moved your company from your home to an office. Why?

Earlier this year, Berry Sleepy received an infusion of capital from the addition of several partner investors in the business including two from the Kansas City area, Tim Prior and William Dugan.

“They found us through a local magazine that had written a story about us,” Adrienne Doring said. “These investors had an empty office, so we moved … although we had not been looking for office space.”

“We decided it was a good opportunity,” said Greg Doring. “It’s been great. I generally miss the kids … but I get a lot more done.”

The recent capital infusion is also allowing the Dorings to make website upgrades as well as get a new bottle design for the product.

Q: What has proven to be the most daunting for you with the business?

“Logistically, getting it off the ground and trying to balance the kids and the business,” Greg Doring said. “There would be days I felt I didn’t get anything done. There’s also the stress of doing it all ourselves.”

Marketing Berry Sleepy has proven challenging, according to Adrienne Doring.

“Just getting the word out,” she said. “Being rookies we didn’t know what to expect.”

These days the Dorings have fewer sleepless nights, thanks not only to Berry Sleepy but with the addition of their business partners. They’re already thinking about future products.

“The hope is for a gummy version or something for kids,” Greg Doring said.

“Hearing from people that it works is so rewarding,” Adrienne Doring said. “It’s a cool blessing that it helps people.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2014 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Sleep supplement keeps couple rested and in business."