Amia is tackling migraines with trigger-free snacks, and now actress and director Jennifer Morrison is joining the team as cofounder and chief brand officer to further scale the business.
Morrison, who starred on “Once Upon a Time” and “House,” has dealt with migraines her whole life but has been able to manage them over the years by adjusting her diet, making Amia the ideal brand to work with. Jon Katz, Amia’s founder, learned about Morrison’s struggle with migraines through a medication campaign she previously did.
“I feel so lucky that Amia found me initially. It was just such a natural fit,” Morrison said, who was on location directing “Yellowjackets” at the time of the interview. “Jon and I were introduced because he had been working on trying to figure out a way to make a food brand that was migraine-friendly in the sense that there were no foods in it that would be considered triggers for migraines.”
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Amia, which launched in 2023, is aiming to reach the 40 million Americans who experience migraines. While the attacks can be triggered by an array of elements, including light and dehydration, food plays a key role for many. Some triggers include chocolate, gluten and caffeine. The Amia team works closely with several experts, including neurologist and founder of the New York Headache Center Dr. Alexander Mauskop; neurologist and founder of Headaches NYC Dr. Huma Sheikh, and registered dietician and partner at Migraine Strong Danielle Aberman, to ensure the products are safe for migraine patients.
“We want to make sure that in the broadest way possible, we’re avoiding foods that are known to trigger migraines,” Morrison said.
After trying out Amia’s trigger-free products, which include an array of baked oat and seed bars, $27 for nine, she was hooked.
“We became very fast friends. We totally bonded over what we’ve been dealing with with migraines,” said Morrison. “Now we’ve teamed up to try to bring this to the rest of the world.”
In her role as chief brand officer and cofounder, Morrison’s goal is to expand the brand’s reach and double down on its light and friendly approach to migraine messaging. While Morrison previously worked on a medication campaign, Amia is not your typical migraine brand. The packaging is colorful and the messaging is a bit more bold.
“We want it to feel literally friendly,” she said. “We want it to feel inviting, and we want it to feel like this product is your friend if you are dealing with migraines.”
According to Morrison, word of mouth will play a major role in introducing people to the brand.
“The bars are really speaking for themselves.…There’s a tremendous amount of repeat customers, which says a lot,” she said, adding that many either experience migraines or know someone who does.
In addition, Morrison plans to double down on social media messaging and use her own platform to further promote the brand.
“Social media is a huge way to reach people because it’s just an area where we can help educate people about what it means to be trigger-free,” she said. “As I’m a part of other projects in my life, and I’m talking about things in the world, and people are asking me about what’s going on in my life, I can share that this is something that I’m really passionate about.…[I can say,] ‘Hey, part of the reason my day goes well is that I’m able to take an Amia bar with me to set and not worry if I’m eating that on the go that I could possibly be triggering a migraine.”
As the brand is in 10 Central Market doors across Texas, retail expansion is a major focus for Morrison.
“Our vision is to make a whole line of migraine-friendly food products that would be available at grocery stores and ultimately, where every grocery store in America would have a trigger free aisle,” she said. “My hope would be in a year from now…we’re in 100 grocery stores.”
