Ithaca Hummus: How Chris Kirby Turned a Farmers Market Stand into a National Brand

In this episode of This Dude Started Something, we sit down with the Hummus King himself—Chris Kirby, the founder and CEO of Ithaca Hummus. What started as a small stand at a farmers market has now turned into a multimillion-dollar brand found in over 10,000 stores nationwide. Chris takes us through his journey from burnt-out chef to entrepreneur, revealing the key moments that turned a single hummus flavor into a household name.

We get into the real grind of starting a food business—figuring out how to market a perishable product, the challenges of scaling production, and how going deep before going wide set Ithaca apart from the competition. Chris also shares his take on flavor innovation (spoiler: cinnamon butter hummus might be on the horizon), his passion for Bitcoin, and his latest project, Sat Chats, a show breaking down Bitcoin for beginners.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a food empire—or if you just love hummus—this episode is for you. Plus, stay tuned because we’ll hopefully be hopping on Sat Chats soon!

A huge thank you to Chris for coming on the show—go grab some Ithaca Hummus at your local grocery store (except Walmart… for now). And if you haven’t already, subscribe to Sat Chats on YouTube and follow This Dude Started Something for more inspiring stories.