April 22, 2025 • 23 mins
Episode Description:
“I don’t have an MBA. I only have a food knowledge background, and that doesn’t make me an expert, either. But I know how to inquire and how to connect. So I have just been digging and grinding through my process, always finding the answers when I need them.” —Seena Chriti
Snack innovation is more than just creating a product—it's about telling a cultural story through flavor. Every bite carries the potential to bridge traditions and challenge culinary expectations.
Seena Chriti is a culinary arts graduate from Mexico City with a deep passion for food, media, and cultural storytelling. Her entrepreneurial journey transforms traditional Mexican snacks into modern, health-conscious offerings through her CPG brand.
Tune in as Justine sits with Seena to share her journey of launching a culturally inspired snack brand and how she navigated challenges in product development, market positioning, consumer education, scaling, cultural food innovation, and more.
Meet Seena:
Seena Chriti is a Food and culture expert with TV and print media experience. Her focus is on visual media, such as TV and video production of Food segments. Her passion is the relationship of food with culture, history, art, its meaning, and symbolism.
Seena has worked in television, newspaper, and magazines, always highlighting the historical or symbolic value of food so that it is never taken for granted since it is considered one of the most important aspects of human life. She believes that food is the only element of culture that enters our body and becomes part of us.
Connect with NextGen Purpose:
Episode Highlights:
01:52 Meet Seena
04:26 The Role of Incubators and Accelerators
08:41 Consumer Feedback and Product Adjustments
14:21 Exciting Innovations
20:38 Consumer Perception and Market Challenges
Resource:
Discount
Get a 10% discount when you shop at: https://paktlifoods.com/
Use discount code: 10%OFF
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Justine Reichman: (00:12):
Good morning, and welcome to Essential
Ingredients. I want to just sayhi to my friends and community
that are weekly listeners andviewers, and to those that are
new, welcome. Thank you fortuning in. And if you are new
and have never been here beforeand you're listening to the
podcast, know that you can alsowatch the videocast on YouTube.
And if you're watching thevideocast and you want to tune
(00:35):
into the podcast because youcan't quite get enough time
sitting still, you can watch itwherever you travel to. So you
can find us at iTunes,iHeartRadio, wherever you listen
to your podcast, it's calledEssential Ingredients. So again,
I just want to welcome you now,to those newcomers as well as
those loyal followers. We have avery exciting guest for you
(00:56):
today, Seena Chriti, who is fromPaktli Foods. I'm super excited
to bring her to you today. Sheis a brand on a mission to bring
delicious Mesoamerican snacks,so a brand new audience. So stay
tuned for this reallyinteresting conversation to
better learn and understand whatMesoamerican snacks are, where
(01:21):
you can find them, and whythey're better for you. You're
not going to want to miss this,so stay tuned. Good morning,
Seena, it's great to have youhere.
Seena Chriti: (01:30):
Thank you, Justine. Thank you very much.
Justine Reichman: (01:33):
I'm so excited to learn about Paktli. I
know we ran into each other, andI saw your booth at Expo West. I
tried your snacks, and I lovedthem. Not all snacks are created
equal, and yours were reallytasty. There was a lot to choose
from there, so talk to me alittle bit about what is Paktli.
Seena Chriti: (01:54):
So Paktli is a snack inspired by the Mexican
alegrias. It is made with puffedquinoa, millet, amaranth and
chocolates. The Mexican alegriasare made with puffed amaranth
and honey or chocolate, and wedecided to make it a very
elevated version of the Mexicanalegrias. Paktli means joy in
(02:16):
the language of the Aztecs, andalegrias means joy in Spanish. I
wanted to honor the name also,and I added the quinoa and
Justine Reichman: (02:21):
So what's your background originally that
millet to make them morerelatable to the market.
brought you into creating a CPGproduct?
Seena Chriti: (02:34):
Yeah, that's a beautiful question. I studied
Culinary Arts in Mexico City ina beautiful University Downtown
with a bachelors that lastedfive years, with a focus on food
and culture. That's my mainlove, food and media, and making
food known in different mediaoutlets. I've been involved with
TV, magazine and newspapers allmy life, and I always wanted to
(02:57):
have my own manufacturingcompany. And particularly, this
snack has been following me inmy head for 20 years, and it
started handmade and exactlylike I wanted it. I brought it
to market in Farmers Market's.But now, it is growing to a CPG
company. That's a term that Ionly learned after I started my
(03:18):
company. I've learned so manythings. At first, I just wanted
to create a snack. And now, it'sa CPG company.
Justine Reichman: (03:27):
Amazing. So coming from media and food, with
that being your background, itsounds like you had a lot of
experience in those fields, butnot necessarily as an
entrepreneur. So what was itlike to make that journey from
working in those outlets, to nowlaunching a snack, which has
(03:47):
become a CPG company as anentrepreneur.
Seena Chriti: (03:52):
I don't have an MBA. I only have this food
knowledge background, and thatdoesn't make me an expert
either. But I do have a researchbasics, so I know how to
inquire, and I also know how toconnect. And I'm very
resourceful. So I have been justdigging and grinding through my
process, always finding theanswers when I need them, and
(04:15):
really being open and receptiveto my intuition. And I have
really built not only a networkof people that helped me, but
I've also become a resource forothers, and finding the right
places to help me incubate in myjourney. And I also have been
very lucky to be part ofincubator kitchens, and also
accelerator programs that havegiven me a lot of the tools to
(04:39):
continue on my journey, ongoinglearning process.
Justine Reichman: (04:42):
Sshare a couple of the key reasons why
you find those incubators wereso integral to you being able to
build the company that you havetoday. What were the three
takeaways from that?
Seena Chriti: (04:55):
Yeah. So at first when I was researching the
recipe in my house, getting themolds, the image and the design
all together at once, I found anincubator kitchen in Cincinnati
Justine Reichman: (05:05):
I know you launched the company in 2020.
that gave me the place where Icould get my license to be able
to have a food business, which Iwouldn't have been able
otherwise. And they also toldme, we have a Farmers Market, so
you can also sell there. So itgave me those two outlets to
start. Once I was in it, then Istarted getting into the
(05:27):
ecosystem of food businesses inCincinnati. So then I got a
grant from Main Street Venturesthat gave me $30,000 so those
And as you said, you kicked off,your selling it at Farmers
things have been integral to mygrowth. And like I said, I've
Market. Can you talk to us alittle bit about how you went
been part of some acceleratorprograms. So 10,000k Goldman
Sachs was a huge one. And for mein Cincinnati, that helped me to
(05:48):
build a growth plan where I washad to be very ambitious with
it. And after two years, I seeand I accomplished it. And then
last year, one of my key oneswas I was part of the PepsiCo
greenhouse accelerator programfor Latino owned businesses in
the US. And that one wasincredible. I had mentors from
(06:08):
Pepsi for six months, soeveryone has given me a takeaway.
from Farmers Market's to stores?
Seena Chriti: (06:26):
So coming from a background of my college and
what I knew about cooking, forme, the most natural way was to
sell in Farmers Market. It's theeasiest way for you to present a
product to the market and to getfeedback instantly. So it was a
way for me to get productrecognition and validation right
(06:48):
away and feedback. And I alsostarted in local stores, mainly
coffee shops, to understand whatmy target market was. And
Farmers Market have been themost magical way for me to
obtain what I need. So one ofthe key takeaways in the
beginning was a woman came to meon one of the markets, and she
(07:08):
said, I am in Cincinnati. So shewas a Kroger buyer. And she
said, I'm a fan of your product.I buy at my local store, but I
have feedback that I want togive you. So she said, your
snacks are too large. They usedto be like a big circle
handmade. And she said, they'retoo crumbly. I need them in a
bite size, in a pouch. That'sthe only way that you will grow.
And she became my angel, and Ikept seeing her in expos, and
(07:33):
she's a very important figure inthe natural world that she found
me in the market. So to me,markets are magical. I also
found my co Packer at Finleymarket one day browsing, talking
about chocolate. So yeah, myadvisor was a Farmers Market's
buyer.
Justine Reichman: (07:50):
Talk to me a little bit about what people's
reception? How they receive theproduct as you're showing it in
your very first experiences atthe Farmers Market? What are you
hearing and seeing from people?
Seena Chriti: (08:03):
I learned a lot. I learned about patterns of who
likes to buy in the family. Inthe beginning, I was shocked to
see a lot of women coming. Andthen when a man would come, they
would say, oh, it's very nice.Let me give it to my wife to see
if she likes it. So they neededthe approval of the wife to buy.
But I have also been surprised,a lot of women ignore me, and
(08:26):
the husbands come and buy fromme. So I'm just always learning
to be open and to be receptiveto whatever comes my way. I've
learned so much, and I'vereceived so much feedback. I
really have confirmed a lot ofmy ideas in the markets.
Justine Reichman: (08:41):
What did you learn, though, from them? I know
you learned from that woman thatit was too big and too crumbly,
but were there any other reallyintegral takeaways that you
learned from the people, yourconsumers, that helped change
the product?
Seena Chriti: (08:54):
Yeah, that feedback that she gave me was
confirmed all along. A lot ofpeople would come and tell me,
oh, they're too large. I cannoteat them in my car. I also
received people that said, thisis such a good snack that I
don't care about the size. Ijust want to buy it myself. And
they became repeat customers. Itwas very important for me to
(09:16):
express that we are Latinoowned, and that the people that
helped me are hand making itwith me, with seven Latin women
that would make 3,000 pieces. Sothat was an integral part of my
story, and I really feltcompelled to say it. Now, things
are changing and growing. Sonow, I'm with the Co Packer with
a machine that makes it in abite size. So now, I don't have
(09:38):
that story of it being handmadeso beautifully. So now, I have
to recreate something alsosatisfying for the customers to
be proud of. But yeah, I thinkmy biggest takeaway of the
markets has been thateducational part because people
are like, wait, why chocolate?Healthy? It sounds too healthy
(09:59):
for me. Or I don't need vegan,so I don't want to try it. Or
I'm not gluten free, so I don'twant to try. You can still enjoy
a snack. It's just chocolatewith puffy grains, but they
happen to be clean. Sosometimes, I wish I would just
be selling a donut that peopledon't need an explanation about
that. This is a very educationalproduct, and it has to be told
(10:19):
in a very easy way for people tograb it.
Justine Reichman: (10:23):
What role does education play for you in
getting people to betterunderstand your product?
Seena Chriti: (10:28):
It's integral in my journey, but you have to have
Justine Reichman: (10:29):
It's a learning curve. There's a
learning curve to these things.And I'm sure that building this
a product that speaks foritself. I can't be in the
shelves talking about it, so Ihave worked with consultants in
order to help me say themessage, as well as possible in
my packaging where people arenot deceived when they see the
product. They expectcrunchiness, and it's not
(10:50):
crunchy. It's puffy. So I had toexplain in the package that it's
a puffy, pillowy snack so thatpeople wouldn't be deceived.
Even though I'm not telling themit's crunchy, but that's what
they expect. So all of thosethings that I have had to work on.
(11:14):
product is getting on the job.You're learning how to do all
these different things. So withthis learning curve, how did it
feel like for you to go throughthat process?
Seena Chriti: (11:29):
I feel very privileged and honored to be
able to be in this journey. I amvery thankful that I have been
able to achieve what I have. Itmay not be yet a profitable
company that is sustaining myfamily, yet. On the contrary,
I'm giving it all my time andresources. But what I have
(11:51):
learned so far, and the basicsthat I have achieved are value
of such high value. Now, it'sready for it to scale, and I
have a completely retail readyproduct.
Justine Reichman: (12:10):
So going from one industry to now being an
entrepreneur, to kicking offyour business, first at the
Farmers Market, now in thestores. What was the biggest
obstacle to date that youexperienced with going from a
smaller format like the FarmersMarket to rolling out to a much
(12:31):
larger format like the grocerystore?
Seena Chriti: (12:34):
I think I am now going through that pain point of
understanding what are myobstacles. The main obstacle,
which was a throughout from yearsecond up until now, was
actually finding the resourcesand the right technology to make
the buys. It took me a long timeto locate the right technology,
(12:54):
and then to find the money to beable to buy it. I had to become
certified woman and minority toget a loan from the state with a
0% interest to buy my $100,000machine. So so now, I have the
machine. And now, I'm scalable.Of course, had to go through all
the process of rebranding and reunderstanding, so that is done.
But now, I have only sold in 40,70 local stores. I didn't need a
(13:19):
system. I didn't need anything.And now, I don't have inventory
systems or CRM to go through myclient. My roadblock now is
understanding how to growwithout getting messy, how to
actually flow. So all of that isanother huge learning curve, and
I'm still on my own. I can't payan operations director and a
(13:42):
sales director, so I need tofigure this out very soon before
I start growing. And I'm alreadynational in home goods. I
already launched in a thousandstores, but I need to implement
systems.
Justine Reichman: (13:57):
Yeah, it's really important. And I think
it's the difference between,when we kick off a new venture,
we're very scrappy, but there'sa point where you have to become
strategic. And so it sounds likeyou're at that pivotal time
where you've gone from beingscrappy because you're doing it
all yourself, and you're gettingit all done, to now realizing
(14:17):
you need to implement and be abit more strategic about how you
go about doing it so that youcan continue to grow and explode
at some point. So are there anyother traditional snacks that
you see that will be part ofyour future growth?
Seena Chriti: (14:35):
So the original snack in Mexico is actually
binded with something calledpiloncillo, which is a
combination of molasses withhoney. It's a very, very
interesting flavor. I tried todo that at first, but I wasn't
able to make it stable enough.So I would like to venture into
(14:56):
natural binders like Agavesyrups and things like that. I
like the idea of using theancient grains because that's
not only does it tap into Mexicoand Latin America, but it is
also with the trend that is nowso sought after of puffed
ancient grains, which arebecoming really huge. If I go
into other types of snacks, Ijust want them to be very clean.
(15:21):
I don't want to be another chip,even if it's that's already too
conventional for me.
Justine Reichman: (15:27):
I think it's also interesting. Because
traditionally speaking, if youlook at all these different
cultures, the snacks and thefoods that we've had over time,
and you look back a coupledecades, they weren't always so
healthy. And now, the focus hasreally pivoted to being healthy
and transparent. And I thinkwhen you speak of cultural
foods, oftentimes, we are tryingto figure out how to make that
(15:50):
2.0 version. How do we make thatversion with better for you
products? And it sounds likeyou're going through that
process in this moment too toexplore something that's
culturally really important, andyou want to bring to the market
here. But equally, think abouthow to do it in a better way.
Seena Chriti: (16:10):
That's exactly my target customer. The one that is
open to trying foods from othercountries, especially Mexico,
which is a very popular countrywhere people like their street
food, but they are also lookingfor healthy versions of those
authentic, ethnic foods. That isthe customer that I'm looking
for. The one that is adventure.The other day, I was in a
(16:31):
sampling in a in a store, and Istarted describing my product as
a Mexican product that'shealthy, that's gluten free,
organic. And he started backingoff more and more as I was
talking. And at the end, hesaid, I'd rather stick to my old
American stuff. And he left. Iwas about to yell at him and
say, hey, hey, it's okay. We aremade in the US, but we are
(16:53):
giving you something different.I was so impressed by his
reaction.
Justine Reichman: (17:00):
I think it's interesting. Because people,
they don't want to transportthings from all over the world.
They want them to be made here.There's less of an issue around
fossil fuel and all thesedifferent things, so it's
interesting to see how peoplereact. And there's a real focus,
both on whether it's organic orlocal, and which one do you
choose, and what's better forthe environment, and what's
(17:21):
better for us. So I honestlythink had he known it was made
in America, but infusing theculture of Mexico, maybe there
would have been a differentresponse.
Seena Chriti: (17:35):
Yeah, he didn't have the patience for me to tell
him more information. But I wasvery shocked by that, and it
happens a lot also in FarmersMarket's. When they start
rejecting just by the fact thatit's not within their habits, so
if they're not big and theythink they cannot try a dark
chocolate-
Justine Reichman: (17:54):
Yeah, I sometimes I think we're better
off calling it somethingcompletely different, just a
snack and leaving all the otherthings out, because I think it
creates a barrier for those thatare afraid of it. Understanding
that some of what they eat isvegan, and some of it is gluten
free, it's just not there's nosignage attached to it.
Seena Chriti: (18:18):
I have a friend who was a very successful
cracker brand that's glutenfree, and she doesn't even call
it on her packaging because shedoesn't want to scare people
off. And she knows that glutenfree people will know.
Justine Reichman: (18:33):
When you look forward, you've been doing this
company since 2020. It's 2025now. When we look at the next
few years, what are your goals?What are you hoping to achieve?
Seena Chriti: (18:43):
I'm hoping to continue learning and to be
sustainable. And yes, I wouldlove to grow. But again, it has
to make sense. So I will launchin Sprouts' innovation section
in September. It's only a threemonth trial after that. I don't
know. I would like to, at somepoint, connect with Whole Foods,
and see if I can exploresomething there while I
(19:06):
understand my operations and myproduction process to be always
on top. And yes, I would like tobe a very sustainable company
soon.
Justine Reichman: (19:18):
Oh, I think I loved your product when I tried
it there. How many flavors doyou have? I have four flavors.
Can you talk to us a little bitabout the flavors?
Seena Chriti: (19:28):
I have white chocolate and milk chocolate.
And then the two dark ones arevegan with dark chocolate, with
blueberry and cacao nibs, andextra dark chocolate, which is
70% with cranberry and cashews.And they all have the same basis
of puffed amaranth, quinoa andmillet in the same proportion.
Amaranth is the smallest, andquinoa is the middle, and millet
(19:50):
is the puffiest. So that onegives a lot of the volume.
Justine Reichman: (19:54):
Wow, amazing. So perhaps you'll see other
flavors down the road.
Seena Chriti: (19:59):
Yeah. Yes, yes. I have a few that are being
evaluated now. Hopefully by nextyear, they will be out. I just
wanted to consolidate the bitesfirst, and the first flavors,
and then see what goes next.Because innovation requires a
lot of energy, and it's not justwhatever packaging. It really
(20:20):
needs a lot of investments, soit's hard.
Justine Reichman: (20:22):
So before you kicked off Paktli, what was your
Seena Chriti: (20:25):
I don't know. I think that one, the Mexican
favorite snack?
alegria has always been one ofmy favorites. But to be honest,
mine are much better now. Thequality of the chocolate of the
ones in Mexico, did you ever tryit when you lived there?
Justine Reichman: (20:41):
I don't remember, where do they sell
them? Do they sell them to HumX, or do they sell them at
Superama?
Seena Chriti: (20:49):
Everywhere in the streets, they're round.
Justine Reichman: (20:53):
Yes, I've seen them. Yes, yes, yes. We're
gonna have to try those again.
Seena Chriti: (21:02):
Yes, yeah. And the ones with maple chocolate,
the quality of the chocolate isreally inferior now, like they
don't taste well. So now, myMexican friends are all begging
me to sell them. Because when Igo, I just give them away to my
friends and they're like, wherecan I buy this? Because I don't
care, I spend so much moneytaking samples to Mexico.
Justine Reichman: (21:23):
Well, Seena, it was so great to catch up with
you. I'm really excited for yourproduct. I'm really excited to
see you in more stores. Forthose folks that want to connect
with you, maybe they are in thebusiness, maybe they're curious
about investing orcollaborating. What's the best
way to connect with you?
Seena Chriti: (21:41):
Thank you very much. Yes, I'm open to many
types of collaborations withbrands, with professionals and
investors, of course, andstores. They can contact me at
Seena, S-E-E-N-A@paktlifoods.com. My website is
paktlifoods.com,P-A-K-T-L-I-F-O-O-D-S.C-O-M.
Justine Reichman: (22:04):
awesome. Thank you. So Seena, for those
tuning in today, whether they'rewatching the video or they're
listening to the podcast, we'vecome to the end. Is there a
special discount we can offerthose listeners?
Seena Chriti: (22:16):
Yes, they can go to my website and can use the
code 10, then the percentagesign, OFF, all taps, (10%OFF).
And to be honest, it can be usedrepetitively.
Justine Reichman: (22:31):
Awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that
tip with us. We'll make sure tolet our community know. I want
to thank you for joining us. Iwant to thank our community and
our friends for tuning in todayto learn about your journey and
the importance of culture, andits role in food, and how people
are diving into that in today'senvironment where transparency
(22:53):
and sustainability are soimportant, so thanks so much for
tuning in. And if you watch uson Youtube, don't forget that
you can download us on any placeyou listen to podcasts, whether
it's iTunes or iHeartRadio atEssential Ingredients with
Justine. We'd love to have youdownload and subscribe, leave us
a message or a review. You canalso follow us on Instagram
(23:16):
@essential.ingredients, we'llfollow you back. And we'd love
to connect and hear what youwant to hear from us.
Good morning, and welcome to Essential
Ingredients. I want to just sayhi to my friends and community
that are weekly listeners andviewers, and to those that are
new, welcome. Thank you fortuning in. And if you are new
and have never been here beforeand you're listening to the
podcast, know that you can alsowatch the videocast on YouTube.
And if you're watching thevideocast and you want to tune
(00:35):
into the podcast because youcan't quite get enough time
sitting still, you can watch itwherever you travel to. So you
can find us at iTunes,iHeartRadio, wherever you listen
to your podcast, it's calledEssential Ingredients. So again,
I just want to welcome you now,to those newcomers as well as
those loyal followers. We have avery exciting guest for you
(00:56):
today, Seena Chriti, who is fromPaktli Foods. I'm super excited
to bring her to you today. Sheis a brand on a mission to bring
delicious Mesoamerican snacks,so a brand new audience. So stay
tuned for this reallyinteresting conversation to
better learn and understand whatMesoamerican snacks are, where
(01:21):
you can find them, and whythey're better for you. You're
not going to want to miss this,so stay tuned. Good morning,
Seena, it's great to have youhere.
Seena Chriti: (01:30):
Thank you, Justine. Thank you very much.
Justine Reichman: (01:33):
I'm so excited to learn about Paktli. I
know we ran into each other, andI saw your booth at Expo West. I
tried your snacks, and I lovedthem. Not all snacks are created
equal, and yours were reallytasty. There was a lot to choose
from there, so talk to me alittle bit about what is Paktli.
Seena Chriti: (01:54):
So Paktli is a snack inspired by the Mexican
alegrias. It is made with puffedquinoa, millet, amaranth and
chocolates. The Mexican alegriasare made with puffed amaranth
and honey or chocolate, and wedecided to make it a very
elevated version of the Mexicanalegrias. Paktli means joy in
(02:16):
the language of the Aztecs, andalegrias means joy in Spanish. I
wanted to honor the name also,and I added the quinoa and
Justine Reichman: (02:21):
So what's your background originally that
millet to make them morerelatable to the market.
brought you into creating a CPGproduct?
Seena Chriti: (02:34):
Yeah, that's a beautiful question. I studied
Culinary Arts in Mexico City ina beautiful University Downtown
with a bachelors that lastedfive years, with a focus on food
and culture. That's my mainlove, food and media, and making
food known in different mediaoutlets. I've been involved with
TV, magazine and newspapers allmy life, and I always wanted to
(02:57):
have my own manufacturingcompany. And particularly, this
snack has been following me inmy head for 20 years, and it
started handmade and exactlylike I wanted it. I brought it
to market in Farmers Market's.But now, it is growing to a CPG
company. That's a term that Ionly learned after I started my
(03:18):
company. I've learned so manythings. At first, I just wanted
to create a snack. And now, it'sa CPG company.
Justine Reichman: (03:27):
Amazing. So coming from media and food, with
that being your background, itsounds like you had a lot of
experience in those fields, butnot necessarily as an
entrepreneur. So what was itlike to make that journey from
working in those outlets, to nowlaunching a snack, which has
(03:47):
become a CPG company as anentrepreneur.
Seena Chriti: (03:52):
I don't have an MBA. I only have this food
knowledge background, and thatdoesn't make me an expert
either. But I do have a researchbasics, so I know how to
inquire, and I also know how toconnect. And I'm very
resourceful. So I have been justdigging and grinding through my
process, always finding theanswers when I need them, and
(04:15):
really being open and receptiveto my intuition. And I have
really built not only a networkof people that helped me, but
I've also become a resource forothers, and finding the right
places to help me incubate in myjourney. And I also have been
very lucky to be part ofincubator kitchens, and also
accelerator programs that havegiven me a lot of the tools to
(04:39):
continue on my journey, ongoinglearning process.
Justine Reichman: (04:42):
Sshare a couple of the key reasons why
you find those incubators wereso integral to you being able to
build the company that you havetoday. What were the three
takeaways from that?
Seena Chriti: (04:55):
Yeah. So at first when I was researching the
recipe in my house, getting themolds, the image and the design
all together at once, I found anincubator kitchen in Cincinnati
Justine Reichman: (05:05):
I know you launched the company in 2020.
that gave me the place where Icould get my license to be able
to have a food business, which Iwouldn't have been able
otherwise. And they also toldme, we have a Farmers Market, so
you can also sell there. So itgave me those two outlets to
start. Once I was in it, then Istarted getting into the
(05:27):
ecosystem of food businesses inCincinnati. So then I got a
grant from Main Street Venturesthat gave me $30,000 so those
And as you said, you kicked off,your selling it at Farmers
things have been integral to mygrowth. And like I said, I've
Market. Can you talk to us alittle bit about how you went
been part of some acceleratorprograms. So 10,000k Goldman
Sachs was a huge one. And for mein Cincinnati, that helped me to
(05:48):
build a growth plan where I washad to be very ambitious with
it. And after two years, I seeand I accomplished it. And then
last year, one of my key oneswas I was part of the PepsiCo
greenhouse accelerator programfor Latino owned businesses in
the US. And that one wasincredible. I had mentors from
(06:08):
Pepsi for six months, soeveryone has given me a takeaway.
from Farmers Market's to stores?
Seena Chriti: (06:26):
So coming from a background of my college and
what I knew about cooking, forme, the most natural way was to
sell in Farmers Market. It's theeasiest way for you to present a
product to the market and to getfeedback instantly. So it was a
way for me to get productrecognition and validation right
(06:48):
away and feedback. And I alsostarted in local stores, mainly
coffee shops, to understand whatmy target market was. And
Farmers Market have been themost magical way for me to
obtain what I need. So one ofthe key takeaways in the
beginning was a woman came to meon one of the markets, and she
(07:08):
said, I am in Cincinnati. So shewas a Kroger buyer. And she
said, I'm a fan of your product.I buy at my local store, but I
have feedback that I want togive you. So she said, your
snacks are too large. They usedto be like a big circle
handmade. And she said, they'retoo crumbly. I need them in a
bite size, in a pouch. That'sthe only way that you will grow.
And she became my angel, and Ikept seeing her in expos, and
(07:33):
she's a very important figure inthe natural world that she found
me in the market. So to me,markets are magical. I also
found my co Packer at Finleymarket one day browsing, talking
about chocolate. So yeah, myadvisor was a Farmers Market's
buyer.
Justine Reichman: (07:50):
Talk to me a little bit about what people's
reception? How they receive theproduct as you're showing it in
your very first experiences atthe Farmers Market? What are you
hearing and seeing from people?
Seena Chriti: (08:03):
I learned a lot. I learned about patterns of who
likes to buy in the family. Inthe beginning, I was shocked to
see a lot of women coming. Andthen when a man would come, they
would say, oh, it's very nice.Let me give it to my wife to see
if she likes it. So they neededthe approval of the wife to buy.
But I have also been surprised,a lot of women ignore me, and
(08:26):
the husbands come and buy fromme. So I'm just always learning
to be open and to be receptiveto whatever comes my way. I've
learned so much, and I'vereceived so much feedback. I
really have confirmed a lot ofmy ideas in the markets.
Justine Reichman: (08:41):
What did you learn, though, from them? I know
you learned from that woman thatit was too big and too crumbly,
but were there any other reallyintegral takeaways that you
learned from the people, yourconsumers, that helped change
the product?
Seena Chriti: (08:54):
Yeah, that feedback that she gave me was
confirmed all along. A lot ofpeople would come and tell me,
oh, they're too large. I cannoteat them in my car. I also
received people that said, thisis such a good snack that I
don't care about the size. Ijust want to buy it myself. And
they became repeat customers. Itwas very important for me to
(09:16):
express that we are Latinoowned, and that the people that
helped me are hand making itwith me, with seven Latin women
that would make 3,000 pieces. Sothat was an integral part of my
story, and I really feltcompelled to say it. Now, things
are changing and growing. Sonow, I'm with the Co Packer with
a machine that makes it in abite size. So now, I don't have
(09:38):
that story of it being handmadeso beautifully. So now, I have
to recreate something alsosatisfying for the customers to
be proud of. But yeah, I thinkmy biggest takeaway of the
markets has been thateducational part because people
are like, wait, why chocolate?Healthy? It sounds too healthy
(09:59):
for me. Or I don't need vegan,so I don't want to try it. Or
I'm not gluten free, so I don'twant to try. You can still enjoy
a snack. It's just chocolatewith puffy grains, but they
happen to be clean. Sosometimes, I wish I would just
be selling a donut that peopledon't need an explanation about
that. This is a very educationalproduct, and it has to be told
(10:19):
in a very easy way for people tograb it.
Justine Reichman: (10:23):
What role does education play for you in
getting people to betterunderstand your product?
Seena Chriti: (10:28):
It's integral in my journey, but you have to have
Justine Reichman: (10:29):
It's a learning curve. There's a
learning curve to these things.And I'm sure that building this
a product that speaks foritself. I can't be in the
shelves talking about it, so Ihave worked with consultants in
order to help me say themessage, as well as possible in
my packaging where people arenot deceived when they see the
product. They expectcrunchiness, and it's not
(10:50):
crunchy. It's puffy. So I had toexplain in the package that it's
a puffy, pillowy snack so thatpeople wouldn't be deceived.
Even though I'm not telling themit's crunchy, but that's what
they expect. So all of thosethings that I have had to work on.
(11:14):
product is getting on the job.You're learning how to do all
these different things. So withthis learning curve, how did it
feel like for you to go throughthat process?
Seena Chriti: (11:29):
I feel very privileged and honored to be
able to be in this journey. I amvery thankful that I have been
able to achieve what I have. Itmay not be yet a profitable
company that is sustaining myfamily, yet. On the contrary,
I'm giving it all my time andresources. But what I have
(11:51):
learned so far, and the basicsthat I have achieved are value
of such high value. Now, it'sready for it to scale, and I
have a completely retail readyproduct.
Justine Reichman: (12:10):
So going from one industry to now being an
entrepreneur, to kicking offyour business, first at the
Farmers Market, now in thestores. What was the biggest
obstacle to date that youexperienced with going from a
smaller format like the FarmersMarket to rolling out to a much
(12:31):
larger format like the grocerystore?
Seena Chriti: (12:34):
I think I am now going through that pain point of
understanding what are myobstacles. The main obstacle,
which was a throughout from yearsecond up until now, was
actually finding the resourcesand the right technology to make
the buys. It took me a long timeto locate the right technology,
(12:54):
and then to find the money to beable to buy it. I had to become
certified woman and minority toget a loan from the state with a
0% interest to buy my $100,000machine. So so now, I have the
machine. And now, I'm scalable.Of course, had to go through all
the process of rebranding and reunderstanding, so that is done.
But now, I have only sold in 40,70 local stores. I didn't need a
(13:19):
system. I didn't need anything.And now, I don't have inventory
systems or CRM to go through myclient. My roadblock now is
understanding how to growwithout getting messy, how to
actually flow. So all of that isanother huge learning curve, and
I'm still on my own. I can't payan operations director and a
(13:42):
sales director, so I need tofigure this out very soon before
I start growing. And I'm alreadynational in home goods. I
already launched in a thousandstores, but I need to implement
systems.
Justine Reichman: (13:57):
Yeah, it's really important. And I think
it's the difference between,when we kick off a new venture,
we're very scrappy, but there'sa point where you have to become
strategic. And so it sounds likeyou're at that pivotal time
where you've gone from beingscrappy because you're doing it
all yourself, and you're gettingit all done, to now realizing
(14:17):
you need to implement and be abit more strategic about how you
go about doing it so that youcan continue to grow and explode
at some point. So are there anyother traditional snacks that
you see that will be part ofyour future growth?
Seena Chriti: (14:35):
So the original snack in Mexico is actually
binded with something calledpiloncillo, which is a
combination of molasses withhoney. It's a very, very
interesting flavor. I tried todo that at first, but I wasn't
able to make it stable enough.So I would like to venture into
(14:56):
natural binders like Agavesyrups and things like that. I
like the idea of using theancient grains because that's
not only does it tap into Mexicoand Latin America, but it is
also with the trend that is nowso sought after of puffed
ancient grains, which arebecoming really huge. If I go
into other types of snacks, Ijust want them to be very clean.
(15:21):
I don't want to be another chip,even if it's that's already too
conventional for me.
Justine Reichman: (15:27):
I think it's also interesting. Because
traditionally speaking, if youlook at all these different
cultures, the snacks and thefoods that we've had over time,
and you look back a coupledecades, they weren't always so
healthy. And now, the focus hasreally pivoted to being healthy
and transparent. And I thinkwhen you speak of cultural
foods, oftentimes, we are tryingto figure out how to make that
(15:50):
2.0 version. How do we make thatversion with better for you
products? And it sounds likeyou're going through that
process in this moment too toexplore something that's
culturally really important, andyou want to bring to the market
here. But equally, think abouthow to do it in a better way.
Seena Chriti: (16:10):
That's exactly my target customer. The one that is
open to trying foods from othercountries, especially Mexico,
which is a very popular countrywhere people like their street
food, but they are also lookingfor healthy versions of those
authentic, ethnic foods. That isthe customer that I'm looking
for. The one that is adventure.The other day, I was in a
(16:31):
sampling in a in a store, and Istarted describing my product as
a Mexican product that'shealthy, that's gluten free,
organic. And he started backingoff more and more as I was
talking. And at the end, hesaid, I'd rather stick to my old
American stuff. And he left. Iwas about to yell at him and
say, hey, hey, it's okay. We aremade in the US, but we are
(16:53):
giving you something different.I was so impressed by his
reaction.
Justine Reichman: (17:00):
I think it's interesting. Because people,
they don't want to transportthings from all over the world.
They want them to be made here.There's less of an issue around
fossil fuel and all thesedifferent things, so it's
interesting to see how peoplereact. And there's a real focus,
both on whether it's organic orlocal, and which one do you
choose, and what's better forthe environment, and what's
(17:21):
better for us. So I honestlythink had he known it was made
in America, but infusing theculture of Mexico, maybe there
would have been a differentresponse.
Seena Chriti: (17:35):
Yeah, he didn't have the patience for me to tell
him more information. But I wasvery shocked by that, and it
happens a lot also in FarmersMarket's. When they start
rejecting just by the fact thatit's not within their habits, so
if they're not big and theythink they cannot try a dark
chocolate-
Justine Reichman: (17:54):
Yeah, I sometimes I think we're better
off calling it somethingcompletely different, just a
snack and leaving all the otherthings out, because I think it
creates a barrier for those thatare afraid of it. Understanding
that some of what they eat isvegan, and some of it is gluten
free, it's just not there's nosignage attached to it.
Seena Chriti: (18:18):
I have a friend who was a very successful
cracker brand that's glutenfree, and she doesn't even call
it on her packaging because shedoesn't want to scare people
off. And she knows that glutenfree people will know.
Justine Reichman: (18:33):
When you look forward, you've been doing this
company since 2020. It's 2025now. When we look at the next
few years, what are your goals?What are you hoping to achieve?
Seena Chriti: (18:43):
I'm hoping to continue learning and to be
sustainable. And yes, I wouldlove to grow. But again, it has
to make sense. So I will launchin Sprouts' innovation section
in September. It's only a threemonth trial after that. I don't
know. I would like to, at somepoint, connect with Whole Foods,
and see if I can exploresomething there while I
(19:06):
understand my operations and myproduction process to be always
on top. And yes, I would like tobe a very sustainable company
soon.
Justine Reichman: (19:18):
Oh, I think I loved your product when I tried
it there. How many flavors doyou have? I have four flavors.
Can you talk to us a little bitabout the flavors?
Seena Chriti: (19:28):
I have white chocolate and milk chocolate.
And then the two dark ones arevegan with dark chocolate, with
blueberry and cacao nibs, andextra dark chocolate, which is
70% with cranberry and cashews.And they all have the same basis
of puffed amaranth, quinoa andmillet in the same proportion.
Amaranth is the smallest, andquinoa is the middle, and millet
(19:50):
is the puffiest. So that onegives a lot of the volume.
Justine Reichman: (19:54):
Wow, amazing. So perhaps you'll see other
flavors down the road.
Seena Chriti: (19:59):
Yeah. Yes, yes. I have a few that are being
evaluated now. Hopefully by nextyear, they will be out. I just
wanted to consolidate the bitesfirst, and the first flavors,
and then see what goes next.Because innovation requires a
lot of energy, and it's not justwhatever packaging. It really
(20:20):
needs a lot of investments, soit's hard.
Justine Reichman: (20:22):
So before you kicked off Paktli, what was your
Seena Chriti: (20:25):
I don't know. I think that one, the Mexican
favorite snack?
alegria has always been one ofmy favorites. But to be honest,
mine are much better now. Thequality of the chocolate of the
ones in Mexico, did you ever tryit when you lived there?
Justine Reichman: (20:41):
I don't remember, where do they sell
them? Do they sell them to HumX, or do they sell them at
Superama?
Seena Chriti: (20:49):
Everywhere in the streets, they're round.
Justine Reichman: (20:53):
Yes, I've seen them. Yes, yes, yes. We're
gonna have to try those again.
Seena Chriti: (21:02):
Yes, yeah. And the ones with maple chocolate,
the quality of the chocolate isreally inferior now, like they
don't taste well. So now, myMexican friends are all begging
me to sell them. Because when Igo, I just give them away to my
friends and they're like, wherecan I buy this? Because I don't
care, I spend so much moneytaking samples to Mexico.
Justine Reichman: (21:23):
Well, Seena, it was so great to catch up with
you. I'm really excited for yourproduct. I'm really excited to
see you in more stores. Forthose folks that want to connect
with you, maybe they are in thebusiness, maybe they're curious
about investing orcollaborating. What's the best
way to connect with you?
Seena Chriti: (21:41):
Thank you very much. Yes, I'm open to many
types of collaborations withbrands, with professionals and
investors, of course, andstores. They can contact me at
Seena, S-E-E-N-A@paktlifoods.com. My website is
paktlifoods.com,P-A-K-T-L-I-F-O-O-D-S.C-O-M.
Justine Reichman: (22:04):
awesome. Thank you. So Seena, for those
tuning in today, whether they'rewatching the video or they're
listening to the podcast, we'vecome to the end. Is there a
special discount we can offerthose listeners?
Seena Chriti: (22:16):
Yes, they can go to my website and can use the
code 10, then the percentagesign, OFF, all taps, (10%OFF).
And to be honest, it can be usedrepetitively.
Justine Reichman: (22:31):
Awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that
tip with us. We'll make sure tolet our community know. I want
to thank you for joining us. Iwant to thank our community and
our friends for tuning in todayto learn about your journey and
the importance of culture, andits role in food, and how people
are diving into that in today'senvironment where transparency
(22:53):
and sustainability are soimportant, so thanks so much for
tuning in. And if you watch uson Youtube, don't forget that
you can download us on any placeyou listen to podcasts, whether
it's iTunes or iHeartRadio atEssential Ingredients with
Justine. We'd love to have youdownload and subscribe, leave us
a message or a review. You canalso follow us on Instagram
(23:16):
@essential.ingredients, we'llfollow you back. And we'd love
to connect and hear what youwant to hear from us.
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