Chapter 4
Building a Brand That Resonates: Tasty
When best friends Shannan Swanson and Liane Weintraub became mothers, they were dismayed by commercial baby food options filled with sugar and preservatives. After making their own organic baby food, they decided to turn their passion into a business. Despite Shannan's family connection to Swanson & Sons, they had no food industry contacts and built their business from scratch.
Their approach to branding offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs. When they approached brand strategist Susan White, she halted their packaging discussions to focus first on brand identity. Through months of "psychoanalysis for your brand," they developed three core attributes: genuine, all-organic, and fun. Every aspect of their brand had to reflect these traits.
They deliberately chose vibrant turquoise packaging to stand out from the typical brown, green, and black organic products, creating a brand philosophy that combined 100% organic sustainability with a playful, childlike feeling-the perfect embodiment of their name: Tasty.
Nine months after launch, they pivoted from frozen baby food to organic fruit snacks after noticing their children treated vitamin gummies like candy. They identified a market gap for organic gummies without high fructose corn syrup or artificial ingredients. Working with a co-packer, they developed flavors that passed their simple test: if their kids liked a flavor as much as conventional treats, it made the cut.
Shannan's chef training helped them create authentic flavors like peach, tangerine and lemon in true-to-life shapes, avoiding artificial-tasting options. The gummies unexpectedly attracted adult customers too, leading to their tagline "Organic snacks for kids 2 to 102."
Their success came from their strong brand, genuine product advocacy, and energetic PR strategy. They focused on connecting with influencers rather than trying to reach every potential customer directly. Liane personally managed their social media, creating an authentic community through both giveaways and genuine conversation.
Their "hold our feet to the fire" approach meant publicly committing to initiatives like becoming GMO-free, which they accomplished within six months despite the "gut-wrenching" process of tracking every ingredient. This transparency reflected their core mission: changing the types of food they could give their kids by taking risks and acting on their beliefs.
The Tasty founders emphasize three key principles: First, invest as much in designing your brand as your product, since a strong brand can transfer to other products if needed. Second, clearly define your brand identity with three core words. Finally, ensure everything from packaging and PR to flavor development and hiring aligns with your brand identity.
Chapter 5
Mastering Food Safety and Scale: Evol
Phil Anson's journey from selling homemade burritos to fund his rock climbing passion to building a multimillion-dollar frozen food empire offers crucial insights into food safety regulations and scalability challenges.
After establishing regular sales of his fresh burritos to local retailers, Phil faced his first regulatory hurdle when a USDA inspector showed up. Because he was selling meat products wholesale, he needed a certified USDA facility-a requirement he hadn't anticipated. Though initially devastating, Phil quickly found space in a nearby USDA-approved kitchen.
He discovered food manufacturing regulations were exponentially more complex than restaurant cooking, requiring 300-page safety plans, extensive shelf-life testing, and rigorous scientific documentation to protect against microorganisms-making fresh food wholesale "about the most difficult path in the food world."
With USDA certification, Phil's business exploded as he could now sell to larger stores like Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage. His schedule became punishing-100-hour workweeks starting at 4 a.m. and ending after midnight. For years, Phil single-handedly cooked, washed dishes, made deliveries, and stocked refrigerators on a relentless Monday-Saturday schedule.
By 2007, after six years in business, Phil had an epiphany: the fresh wholesale model wasn't truly scalable. Food safety costs, distribution challenges, and shelf-life limitations were capping his potential. Meanwhile, Chipotle had proven nationwide that burritos could be premium food made with quality ingredients. Phil saw his opportunity in the freezer aisle.
After years of experimentation to solve the "mush problem," he perfected individually quick freezing burritos with calibrated moisture levels. His frozen line launched at Natural Products Expo West in 2008 to immediate success, with national distributors placing unprecedented orders. By 2009, Phil's Fresh Foods had completely transitioned to frozen.
Despite his manufacturing expertise, Phil lacked financial, branding, and sales knowledge. His breakthrough came through a college connection to Tom Spier, former COO of Bear Naked granola, and Brendan Synnott, Bear Naked's co-founder. They formed a partnership where Tom handled finance, Brendan managed branding, and Phil focused on food.
Just days after signing their deal, Brendan called Phil with a single name: Evol-"love" spelled backward with a reversed "e." Though initially uncertain about the abstract concept, Phil grew to love it once he saw the actual logo. The challenge was transitioning a company selling $2 million in burritos across 400 stores without losing customers.
After rebranding to Evol with its clean, premium vibe, the company rapidly expanded distribution beyond natural channel stores like Whole Foods into the grocery channel's natural section. From 1,000 stores at launch in August 2009, Evol grew to 4,000 stores within a year and 7,000 stores today.
Phil now enjoys what he calls the "Golden Age of Evol," leading a multimillion-dollar brand with massive growth and an amazing team. His primary advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to clearly articulate your motivation. He cautions entrepreneurs to be optimistic yet realistic: "Everything is going to take twice as long as you think it will. It's going to cost twice as much and it's going to cause five times more brain damage than you ever thought possible."
Chapter 6
Manufacturing Mastery: Mary's Gone Crackers
Mary Waldner's journey from health crisis to gluten-free pioneer illustrates the challenges and opportunities in specialized food manufacturing. After suffering from mysterious digestive issues since childhood, Mary was finally diagnosed with celiac disease at age forty-three. The transformation after eliminating gluten was dramatic-she looked ten years younger and gained unprecedented energy.
As an avid baker, Mary embraced experimentation with gluten-free grains like brown rice and quinoa, creating crispy crackers that became an instant hit with everyone-not because they were gluten-free but because they were genuinely delicious. After watching hundreds of her crackers disappear at a holiday party, Mary had a revelation: she should manufacture and sell these crackers.
Manufacturing gluten-free products in 2003 meant pioneering without guides or advisors. Mary had to look beyond traditional bakery equipment, which relied on gluten's elasticity, even repurposing machines from the cosmetics industry. This created a unique manufacturing process that would be difficult for competitors to replicate.
When her husband Dale challenged Mary to find a truly gluten-free co-packer willing to work with their novel product, she methodically called every gluten-free company she could find until a small pizza crust company in Chico, California finally agreed. After refining her recipe for machine production, Mary and Dale eventually took over production within the co-packer's facility, quickly growing from one employee to twenty.
Initially targeting only celiac sufferers, Mary and Dale received consistent industry advice: don't put "gluten-free" on the packaging as it would make the product seem medicinal. Mary compromised with small wheat-free and gluten-free designations that wouldn't deter mainstream consumers. Their grassroots marketing focused on sending samples to over 400 celiac support groups nationwide and targeting the Gluten-Free Mall online store.
Despite having the perfect product at the perfect time, Mary and Dale faced their most challenging entrepreneurial experience when rapid growth demanded a factory expansion. They needed significant capital quickly, and while investment offers appeared, they made sure to invest their own money (including Dale's inheritance) to maintain ownership stake.
When Mary's Gone Crackers first moved from their co-packer's shared facility into their own 50,000-square-foot space in 2006, they occupied just a tiny corner. By 2012 they expanded into an adjacent 100,000-square-foot facility with 200 employees running machines 24/7. That same year, they secured their first national Costco deal, which required tripling production capacity.
Today, Mary's Gone Crackers has expanded beyond their original product to include cookies, pretzels, and baking crumbs-all gluten-free, nut-free, vegan, and organic. Mary reflects that her celiac diagnosis, rather than being limiting, opened up "a whole world of amazing ingredients" and led to a business that has sold over 8 million boxes of crackers in 10,000 stores.
Chapter 7
Leveraging Equity for Growth: Justin's
Justin Gold's transformation from homemade nut butter experiments to a multimillion-dollar business demonstrates how strategic equity distribution can fuel growth when cash is limited. As a vegetarian seeking plant-based protein for his active lifestyle in Colorado, Justin discovered nut butters as an ideal energy source but grew bored with commercially available options. He began creating homemade versions with additions like honey, maple syrup, and chocolate.
These creations became so popular with his roommates that he had to label jars with "DO NOT TOUCH!" warnings. Their enthusiasm suggested market potential, particularly since his handwritten "Justin's" jars resembled artisanal products sold at farmers' markets.
Justin resourcefully contacted local food entrepreneurs from grocery store product labels, turning brief informational interviews into valuable mentoring relationships. Following their advice, he took a $75 business planning course, utilized university business library resources, and developed a comprehensive 30-page business plan that helped him raise $150,000 from family and friends.
While securing funding, Justin faced manufacturing challenges when contacting co-packers. Large peanut butter companies claimed his recipes using honey or maple syrup "couldn't be done" because these ingredients would heat during grinding and damage their machines. During yet another rejection call, Justin had his breakthrough moment: "This is ridiculous. I have no problem doing this at home, and you're supposed to be the expert with all the fancy equipment? How come I can do it, and you can't?"
He realized the difference was his home food processor versus industrial nut grinders. This insight led him to purchase an industrial-sized food processor and handle manufacturing himself-a decision he later recognized as one of his best.
For two grueling years, Justin built his business from scratch-waiting tables full-time, making peanut butter during every spare hour, and selling at farmers' markets on weekends. His persistence in approaching Whole Foods paid off, and soon he had his nut butters in fifteen stores.
While working at REI, Justin had his breakthrough idea: single-serving nut butter squeeze packets for athletes. When manufacturers refused to produce them due to peanut allergen concerns, Justin invested $60,000 to purchase and recondition a 1980s hair-conditioner packaging machine. Initially, his squeeze packs failed when positioned as "energy packs." Instead of giving up, Justin repositioned them alongside his regular nut butters, priced them at 99 cents, and watched sales soar as affordable sample sizes.
With $1 million in sales but limited cash, Justin needed to build a team but couldn't afford top talent. His solution was equity compensation. He hired Lance Gentry, who had grown Izze Beverage Company from $1M to $25M before selling to Pepsi, offering him part cash salary and part company equity. This strategy became Justin's secret weapon for attracting talent.
Justin raised $1.2 million from sixty different angel investors (ensuring no single controlling stake), and used equity to secure a high-end redesign of his packaging. He extended equity ownership to all employees, who accept below-market salaries but work harder because they're part-owners. He also formed an advisory board of industry veterans, compensating them with ownership shares rather than cash.
Justin explains that leveraging equity was essential for his growth but emphasizes "it's not magical free money." He must maintain at least 51% ownership to keep control. By 2012, Justin's was producing 1.5 million jars and 30 million squeeze packs annually, sold in over 10,000 locations.
Chapter 8
The Power of Simplicity: Hint Water
Kara Goldin's journey from AOL executive to beverage entrepreneur demonstrates how simplicity can be a powerful market differentiator. After leaving her tech career to focus on family, Kara scrutinized her household's diet and was shocked to discover how many chemicals were in their convenience foods and drinks.
Concerned about her children's juice habit, she put everyone on plain water-including herself, giving up her 20-year Diet Coke addiction. But after two weeks, the family was drinking almost nothing out of boredom. In a moment of inspiration, Kara tossed chopped fruit into a pitcher of water and created a refreshing, flavorful drink that her family loved.
When other parents asked about her fruit-infused water and assumed it contained added sugar, Kara realized she'd stumbled onto something important: she wasn't compromising an existing product by watering it down or replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners-she was creating an entirely new, simple beverage that was an upgrade from plain water.
With $50,000 from their savings as startup capital, Kara and her husband Theo launched Hint. Through online research, Kara found a bottling plant in Chicago. What started as Theo's plan to help for a few months turned into a permanent career change as he became Hint's COO while Kara took on the CEO role.
Hint's biggest challenge was shelf life. Using cold-fill techniques preserved the authentic fruit flavors Kara wanted, but limited shelf life to just three months-far too short for distribution chains requiring at least six months. She approached a major beverage company executive who dismissed her concept, claiming Americans wanted "more sweetness with fewer calories" and that her unsweetened product might sell in San Francisco but never nationally. This rejection galvanized Kara to prove him wrong.
She ultimately chose hot-fill processing and developed a technique to maintain true fruit flavors by creating "essences" from oils and skins, sometimes combining fruits and vegetables to enhance flavors. By April 2007, they achieved a nine-month shelf life, later extending it to eighteen months.
After solving their shelf life problem, Hint gained traction at trade shows and caught Whole Foods' attention. Kara firmly believes entrepreneurs should fund initial stages themselves: "That seed money should be from your hard work and in your name." Hint eventually took on only one significant investor, but only after establishing market dominance.
After successfully entering the New York market, Kara analyzed sales data to refine Hint's product line. She discovered adults enjoyed the "Hint Kids" flavors but felt awkward carrying the label, prompting her to consolidate everything under a single brand. More importantly, she realized her exotic flavor combinations weren't selling as well as basic varieties like strawberry, raspberry, kiwi, mango, and watermelon.
Five years after launching, Hint had become ubiquitous-appearing on primetime TV shows, dominating Silicon Valley tech campuses (Google employees called it their "official beverage"), and available in grocery stores and Starbucks nationwide. Kara embraces her role in the health-conscious zeitgeist: "We're providing a simple, straightforward solution to that customer desire. Drink water, not sugar. So simple, and so life changing."
Chapter 9
Creating Irresistible Buzz: Popchips
Keith Belling found himself hiding potato chips under his sandwich at lunch, ashamed of his daily fried snack habit. When healthier alternatives like soy crisps and baked chips failed his taste test, his entrepreneurial instincts kicked in. Partnering with friend Pat Turpin, who had run Costco's snack manufacturing business, they discovered a rice cake factory that used heat and pressure to "pop" rice-and realized they could apply this technique to potatoes. This would create a third category beyond fried or baked: popped chips that were both delicious and healthier.
Before finalizing their purchase of the rice cake plant, Keith conducted online market research through Zoomerang. He surveyed 100 self-identified snackers about their opinions on chips. The results confirmed his instincts: people found fried chips tasty but unhealthy, and baked chips healthy but tasteless. When asked what "popped" meant to them, respondents used positive words like "yummy," "healthy," and "light." Most importantly, 85% expressed interest in trying popped potato chips-an exceptionally positive response.
With personal capital and early investments, Keith and Pat hired food technologists and chefs to develop their product line. These experts created 10-15 varieties of each flavor, tweaking ingredients and processes until they achieved the perfect taste profiles using all-natural ingredients.
Keith interviewed over 25 design firms, seeking one whose aesthetic matched his vision for a fun snack brand. He selected Turner Duckworth, appreciating their dual San Francisco-London presence and British packaging aesthetic. For the name, Keith hired two naming firms who spent six weeks generating thousands of options, but couldn't find one that met all three requirements: likability, trademark availability, and URL availability. In a moment of inspiration, Keith suggested "Popchips"-which remarkably had both an available URL and an abandoned trademark.
With the name secured, Keith selected a design featuring a black background with vibrant color bursts for each flavor, creating a rainbow effect on store shelves. For the brand's voice, he hired a copywriter who captured the fun, wisecracking personality he envisioned. The writer even created a playful "Snackers' Credo" that perfectly embodied the brand's identity.
By early 2007, Popchips had everything in place-name, logo, identity, packaging, and product-but getting on retail shelves was just the beginning. Keith knew the real challenge was getting consumers to take products off those shelves. Rather than rushing to distribute everywhere, he strategically chose to launch at Safeway, the nation's second-largest grocery chain, which was based in the Bay Area like Popchips.
After successfully launching Popchips in the western United States through Safeway, Keith set his sights on conquering Manhattan. Without his San Francisco connections, he devised an intensive sixty-day campaign to create maximum buzz on a modest budget. His three-part sampling strategy was ingenious: First, distribute over 250,000 samples at targeted events like charity races and Fashion Week. Second, execute an "Influencer Campaign" by sending personalized care packages with handwritten notes to 2,500 connected New Yorkers across various industries, each with "Pop It Forward" cards enabling recipients to send samples to three friends. Third, organize "snack breaks" at 200 companies through insider "Popstars" who championed the brand.
The results were staggering: from $6.5 million in sales during their first full year (2008) to nearly $100 million just four years later. Nielsen crowned Popchips the fastest-growing potato chip brand in America. For Keith, his lunch routine had come full circle-now enjoying his own creation alongside his sandwich, the very "B.F.F." pairing featured in their ads.
