June 25, 2025 • 28 mins
What happens when a food scientist and bodybuilder creates a snack that’s as nutritious as it is delicious? Dr. Juan Salinas, founder of Perfect Life Nutrition and creator of Pnuff Crunch, joins the Founders’ Forum to share his journey from Honduras to Shark Tank and beyond.
After two decades in the food industry, Dr. Salinas launched Pnuff Crunch—a high-protein, peanut-based snack designed for performance and taste. In this episode, he talks about the entrepreneurial highs and lows, his Shark Tank experience, and what it’s like to have Mark Cuban as a business partner.
He also shares how he's combining fitness, food, and purpose to inspire healthier lifestyles, and why he believes collaboration is key to scaling sustainable manufacturing.
Key Takeaways:
- Creating snacks that taste great and fuel performance
- The real impact of appearing on Shark Tank
- Overcoming manufacturing and scaling challenges
- Using fitness as a brand-building tool
- What legacy means to Dr. Juan
About Dr. Juan Salinas:
Dr. Juan Salinas is the founder and CEO of Perfect Life Nutrition LLC, a manufacturer of peanut-based and other plant-based protein snacks. A native of Honduras and now a resident of New Jersey, he holds a Ph.D. in Food Science from Rutgers University and a Master’s in Sports Nutrition from the International Olympic Committee. He started the company after spending over 20 years working as a snack innovator and product developer for several of the largest CPG food companies in the U.S. Combined with his passion for health and fitness, and his experience as a professional natural bodybuilder and amateur endurance athlete, he is on a quest to create snacks that are not only delicious but also nutritious.
Connect:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/pnuff/, linkedin.com/in/juan-salinas-76a7783
Instagram: instagram.com/pnuffcrunch, instagram.com/drjuanpnuff
Facebook: facebook.com/pnuffcrunch/, facebook.com/drjuanpnuff/
TikTok: tiktok.com/@pnuffcrunch, tiktok.com/@drjuanpnuff
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=wp45o5i7zhE
This episode is brought to you by The Plant a Seed Inspire a Dream Foundation; Empower a Child’s Passion. Go to plantaseedfoundation.org to learn more.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Announcer (00:00):
The following programming is sponsored by Marc
J Bernstein.
The views expressed do notnecessarily reflect the views of
this station, its management orBeasley Media Group.
Entrepreneur, author andfinancial consultant, Marc
Bernstein helps high-performingentrepreneurial business owners
create a vision for the futureand follow through on their
goals and intentions.
Ang Onorato is a businessgrowth strategist who blends
(00:21):
psychology and business togetherto create conscious leaders and
business owners who impact theworld.
Founders' Forum is a radio showpodcast sharing the real
stories behind entrepreneurshipas founders discover more about
themselves, while providingvaluable lessons and some fun
and entertainment for you.
Now here's Marc and
Marc Bernstein (00:40):
Good morning America.
How are you?
It's a sunny day inPhiladelphia.
We always start with thatbecause they say it's always
sunny in Philadelphia.
Absolutely not true, but it issunny today.
It's a beautiful day, and I amin the studio but virtually am
attached to Ang, who's with ustoday, and our guest, Juan, who
(01:05):
we'll introduce formally in aminute.
But once you understand whatJuan does, you'll understand why
this thought for the day is it,and my thought for the day is
you are what you eat.
Ang, comment on that.
Ang Onorato (01:19):
Well, it is probably one of our favorite
topics, Marc, and you know youare what you eat has never been
more appropriate for me.
I've prided myself on being afairly healthy, athletic, clean
eating, fishitarian, as I liketo say, for many decades, but
having had recent surgery, Ihave been alerted to the fact
(01:40):
that just really how importantwhat we eat, the right vitamins,
the right minerals, the rightall of it in the right, you know
, balance is so importantbecause our bodies are the most
important machine, because wedon't have anything else without
that.
So I'm super excited to diveinto Juan's story and this
product.
But, yeah, what you, what youare, what you eat the only
reason why we're here is ifwe're healthy.
Marc Bernstein (02:01):
Right, yeah, me too, and you know I won't go
into how I eat, but I'm mostlypescatarian myself.
But I'm always conscious of it,always thinking about it,
always trying to improve and getbetter, because it's difficult,
particularly when you're on theroad a lot and you're out
eating a lot and you'retraveling.
It's the hardest thing.
I'm pretty good when I'mstationary, but I'm not
(02:23):
stationary too much of the time,and that's sort of still
working on that.
So, juan, tell us about yourthoughts on that before we
formally introduce you and getinto your story.
Dr. Juan Salinas (02:33):
Hey Marc, how you doing guys, good morning,
you are what you eat, man.
How true is that?
Right?
Sounds like a really coolsaying, but, man, I've been
basically doing sports all mylife, so what I eat is very
important to my lifestyle, andeating clean, high protein,
(02:55):
that's what builds muscle andthat's what I need to perform
better in sports.
So I am what I eat.
Marc Bernstein (03:01):
So Juan has a product related to that and
we're going to talk about thatin a minute.
I have been munching on some ofit in the studio here as we've
been prepping and I'm a big fanof it.
But Dr Juan Salinas is thefounder and CEO of Perfect Life
Nutrition LLC, a manufacturer ofpeanut-based and other
plant-based protein snacks rightup our alley.
(03:22):
A native of Honduras and nowresident in New Jersey, he holds
a PhD in food science fromRutgers University and a
master's in sports nutritionfrom the International Olympic
Committee, so he's obviouslyvery involved with nutrition and
sports.
As he mentioned in his history,he started the company after
spending over 20 years ofworking as a snack food
(03:42):
innovator and product developerfor several of the largest CPG
food companies in the US.
Combined with his passion forhealth and fitness and
experience as a professionalnatural bodybuilder and amateur
endurance athlete, he's on aquest to create snacks that are
not only delicious but alsonutritious.
And he can be reached I'll justtell you this at um, uh, pnuff
(04:07):
crunch, p-n-u-f-f-c-r-u-n-c-hand at one p-n-p.
At web, at one p-nuff.
So, um, that's that's how youcan reach him and if you want to
email him, he's at one atpnuffcom, and pnuff is a great
name, and if you want to emailhim he's at juan@pnuff.
com.
And PNuff is a great name I dowant to start out with and then
(04:28):
we'll go backwards.
But Juan is somewhat famous forhis appearance on Shark Tank,
and it's one that you wouldremember if you saw it.
So tell us about thatexperience and Ang can give her
comments, because she saw it aswell experience, and ang can
(04:48):
give her comments because shesaw it as well.
Dr. Juan Salinas (04:49):
Um, funny enough, man that was.
That was just to put you in thetime frame.
You know like a time frame.
Marc Bernstein (04:52):
Uh, that was in 2020, wow so that was kobe the
year, yeah, so everything waskind of strange.
Dr. Juan Salinas (04:58):
Um, so if you guys look at that episode, which
is season 12, episode 2, Ithink you will notice that the
set looks a little differentthan what it normally does and
you will see that the chairswhere the sharks are sitting
they look more farther out, andthat's because they were trying
(05:19):
to keep people more separatedbecause of the COVID.
Marc Bernstein (05:23):
But you were live in the studio.
I thought you were going totell me it was of the covet, but
you were alive in the studio.
I thought you were going totell me it was done virtually,
but you were in the live in thestudio though no we were like we
were live, yeah but, as youremember, la was shut down,
which is where the studio is.
Dr. Juan Salinas (05:34):
Yeah, so they had to move it to las vegas and
they recreated the whole set inone of the hotels there.
So, um, you know, a funny storythere is that you know, when we
got called out to go there, Ifigured I'll get to meet all the
sharks, and I think that theynormally do that.
They have a day when you go andmeet with them before you go on
the show.
(05:54):
But we didn't have any of thatstuff.
Obviously, they were trying tokeep people isolated, and little
did I know that I had to stayin a hotel without actually
leaving the room for seven daysbefore actually going into the
show.
Wow, I didn't know that part, sothey kept us there for seven
days and they will bring in thefood.
You know, like just knocking onthe door and they will just
(06:17):
pass a tray, close the door.
Marc Bernstein (06:19):
Wow, that was as much interaction I had with
other people did they put you upfor seven days at least, I hope
.
Did they put you up?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was anice room and they fed you, okay
so that part A nice view of thepool which I couldn't go to
Right Unbelievable.
Ang Onorato (06:35):
Well, if anybody doesn't get a chance, they
should go to YouTube and watchit.
And I'm just going to say, Marc, to your point, before we get
into the story that I was tuningin, because as a fellow Rutgers
grad, I was supporting myalumni friend.
We're not going to talk aboutthe physique, so everybody can
go watch it yourself and see howhealthy eating and Dr Juan made
a real impact on Mark Cuban inparticular.
(06:56):
I know you'll tell us a littlebit more about that, but yeah,
it was a great episode.
Marc Bernstein (06:59):
Well, I'll tell you, since no one else is saying
it.
So he came out dressed like thescholar doctor that he is and
he's starting to talk about hisproduct, the way I remember it,
and then he rips off his shirtbecause he's a bodybuilder and
obviously connecting health withnutrition and with the product,
and he got quite a reaction,especially initially from the
(07:21):
female shark or sharks, I forgetif there were one or two at
that time.
Lori, I think, was one of them,if I'm not mistaken.
Right, it's a pretty accuratedescription, right.
Dr. Juan Salinas (07:30):
Well, Barbara.
Marc Bernstein (07:31):
Oh, barbara, right Barbara, that's right,
that's right, that's right.
So, anyway, and check it outanyway, it was great, it was a
really great feature on there.
Was that a helpful experienceto you?
Dr. Juan Salinas (07:47):
I mean absolutely.
I mean it did so great for ourbusiness, especially online,
because at the time, you know,because of the COVID situation,
it was really hard to really domuch in the retail space.
So everything went online andhaving the show kind of put us
on the map, you know wherepeople could actually directly
order from our website or fromAmazon, where people could
actually directly order from ourwebsite or from Amazon, and so
(08:11):
we have this huge bump on sales.
As the show was starting, westarted seeing the numbers go up
, which is kind of crazy.
Marc Bernstein (08:22):
And you did get Ang mentioned.
Dr. Juan Salinas (08:26):
I think Mark Cuban invested correct.
Mark Cuban did.
Yeah, we are partners stillStill partners.
Nice, we work with him on aweekly basis oh, do you?
Marc Bernstein (08:32):
do you speak with?
Him are you working with hispeople or are you working with
him?
Yeah I mean he has a team.
Dr. Juan Salinas (08:40):
Yeah, so we work weekly with this team but,
whenever we have more of a highlevel strategic.
You know questions and you knowwe want to hear his his uh
opinion.
Then, uh, normally wecommunicate through email and
he's pretty quick to respond.
Marc Bernstein (08:56):
Is he nice, he, I, I, I'm with, I'm with Angie,
I'm a big fan of his.
I think he's a sensible,extremely bright guy.
Um so anyway.
So tell us about business.
Ang Onorato (09:07):
Sensible billionaire.
Marc Bernstein (09:10):
Um, our last show we did.
We did a show this morning andwe talked about the peaks and
valleys of entrepreneurs, whichthere certainly are, and because
we had a guest that didn't makeit, he got confused on the date
.
As it turns out, Ang Ang and Ijust spoke and we talked about
our own peaks and valleys asentrepreneurs, I'm sure you
(09:32):
haven't had any of those right.
Dr. Juan Salinas (09:40):
I don't know.
I'm a scientist and I used towork at a lab where we have an
apparatus called a gaschromatogram.
You guys ever heard of that?
TJ (09:43):
And if you look, at the output of that chromatogram.
Dr. Juan Salinas (09:45):
Really, what it's measuring is chemical
compounds on a complex product,but what it looks like is ups
and downs, ups and downs, upsand downs.
That's a chromatogram andthat's a very good picture of
what the entrepreneur journeylooks like.
So I'm very familiar with that.
Marc Bernstein (10:06):
By the way, I realized before we get more into
the journey we didn't reallytalk about your product, which
is because I've got it in frontof me in the way I realized
before we get more into thejourney we didn't really talk
about your product, which isbecause I've got it in front of
me in the studio.
It's called P-N-U-F-F Crunchpeanut puffs and I have the
cinnamon, which Juan and I agreeare our favorite flavor.
It's really delicious and I hadTJ, our engineer, try it,
(10:27):
because I'm already a fan and,by the way, this is I just need
to you, because I look for thehealthy ingredients and try to
eat very little in the way ofsnack foods.
But this particular one has oneserving of 130 calories, has
five grams of protein and onlythree grams of sugar and three
grams of fiber, which is reallygood as well.
So you would think that doesn'ttaste very well, but TJ was
(10:51):
hungry this morning, hadn'teaten breakfast, so he got to
try it.
And what did you think, tj?
TJ (10:55):
I actually really enjoyed it honestly.
I'm not a big healthy food guy,but I did really enjoy it
honestly.
Marc Bernstein (11:01):
I know you were kind of reluctant to tell me how
much you liked it because Itold you how healthy it was.
So I get that.
TJ (11:07):
Yeah, I'm not a big healthy food guy, but I mean, it
actually did taste really good.
It doesn't even taste like it'sa healthy food, honestly.
Marc Bernstein (11:14):
Right, that's the point, right Juan ?
So let's talk about that, let'stalk about how you developed it
and who you're marketing it to,et cetera.
Dr. Juan Salinas (11:22):
Thanks, tj for that yeah.
Marc Bernstein (11:24):
I mean it's funny.
Dr. Juan Salinas (11:25):
It's the same thing, you know, products fell
in the market because they havethe right nutrition but they
don't taste good.
And my training and all theselarge CPG companies I used to
work for their main focus wastaste.
(11:45):
And that's kind of like theopposite, right?
Because they didn't care howmuch you know what was in it, as
long as it tasted really good.
And everything was based on dothe consumer love it?
Do they like it?
Do they think it's tasty?
And if they did, then theywould launch it.
My goal was to create the sameyou know feeling on people, but
(12:06):
with good ingredients cleaningredients, you know good
nutrition.
With good ingredients, cleaningredients, you know good
nutrition.
So, you know, initially myguide rails were it's got to
have high levels of protein, atleast five grams.
It's got to be low in sugar.
It's got to be higher in fiberand actually lower in fat than
(12:27):
most other snacks, right?
So if you look at the fat,about half of what your normal
typical you know potato chipsand things are Also gut friendly
, which I forgot to to say,which is really important as
well right, yeah, right, exactlyso.
And especially now you knowthere's a lot of um diets, you
know people that have uhrestrictions on the diet.
Excuse me, but I'm I wanted tomake sure they're easy on the
(12:47):
gut.
Marc Bernstein (12:48):
I wanted to chew it in the microphone just so
people know.
Meeting a couple as we'retalking.
Dr. Juan Salinas (12:53):
Because I know so much I like them.
I got a funny story aboutcrunch as well, because that was
.
You know, flavor is one thing.
Texture is something thatcomplements that flavor and
there's a lot of scientificevidence out there that for a
snack, having that crunch isessential.
It has to have it and there's alot of reason for it.
(13:13):
But basically, uh, that wasanother another thing.
Marc Bernstein (13:17):
My wife is very cognizant of that.
She'll say I have to have asnack, that's crunchy, and I was
like you're crazy.
But but through your rightthere there's a thing you know
that's the thing about thatthere are.
Dr. Juan Salinas (13:29):
There are methods of actually measuring
the crunch as well, where youput sensors here right behind
your ears, and then you chew onthe product and it captures the
sound and you can measure asyou're developing the product,
you can measure how much soundit's making and when it's the
right level of crunch.
Marc Bernstein (13:49):
So I'm very auditory and my wife knows this.
But food sounds can drive mecrazy, so she loves eating the
loudest food.
She can find the crunchy foodsis great, so we've adapted to
that over many years.
But anyway, I'm sorry, justadding a little humor.
Dr. Juan Salinas (14:08):
There's a lot of science behind these products
that we make in terms of makingsure that it does provide.
You know what people arelooking for, not only from a
satisfaction, but also from anutrition, and that's how you
know we came out with thisproduct so you have a great
product.
Marc Bernstein (14:24):
Um, how's it going from a marketing and
business point of view?
Dr. Juan Salinas (14:29):
yeah, well, I mean, I'm happy to say that
we're now on Whole Foods.
We're in Wegmans.
Ah, yes, I didn't know that sowe're in the Northeast so we're
in some of the local retailerslike ShopRite.
There's some Kings down inPhiladelphia, but I believe
there might be some Balducci'sAh, high-end Balducci's, high
(14:51):
end Balducci's.
So we're expanding as well asonline.
Right, that's kind of been abread and butter, especially
after COVID.
We have our own website andAmazon dot com.
You know where we can selldirectly to the consumer as well
.
Marc Bernstein (15:07):
I believe I bought them it was either your
website or Amazon before theywere in stores, so and I bought
a lot of them, so normally I askbags, so I'll stop at Whole
Foods later and get some.
Is it all all Whole Foods?
Is it all all of the stores, orNortheast so all the Whole
Foods in the Northeast Nice.
Um, so I'm, you know, we.
(15:28):
We were starting to talk aboutpeaks and valleys before and we
need to take a break right now.
So let's come back and talkabout peaks and valleys and
where you are and some of thestrengths you've built from
being an entrepreneur.
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Marc Bernstein (16:34):
We're back on Founders Forum, by the way that
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So pretty cool foundation, ifyou want to check it out.
So, anyway, we're talking aboutpeaks and valleys.
Pretty cool, yeah, it's reallycool, check it out.
So what kind of challenges haveyou had and how have you dealt
with those in business?
Dr. Juan Salinas (17:18):
Oh, yeah, I mean, the list of challenges
goes on and on, but I tell youone of the biggest challenges
that maybe some of our audienceyou know could relate to, and
that's the manufacturing side.
You know, every productrequires specific manufacturing
equipment to be made, andfinding companies that have that
(17:41):
equipment is the firstchallenge.
Second challenge is to makesure that you know how they do,
it is high quality andconsistent quality, and then you
know.
The third is to make sure thatwhat they're doing is not, you
know, something that could hurt.
You know, the consumer.
In our case.
You know we were searching forcompanies like that for the
(18:04):
longest time, but we have in ourproduct.
We have peanuts, and peanut isconsidered one of the list of
allergens here in the US andtherefore it needs to be
monitored and a lot of thecompanies that actually had the
equipment that we needed, whichis not that many in the US
(18:27):
already.
they, you know, were makingother products in the same line
and they didn't want to have apeanut-containing product in
there because of the possibilityof a cross-contamination.
So that's when the challengesstarted for us.
I mean, we've been in businessfor almost 10 years and we have
moved manufacturing facilitiesabout five times in 10 years, so
(18:53):
you can imagine every two yearsmoving out of your house.
Marc Bernstein (18:58):
But now you have a solution it sounds like We've
talked about.
I want to ask you about that.
And I also want to ask you ifyou're thinking about any
non-peanut products, becausethese allergies do seem to be
prevalent, at least byperception, in the US.
Dr. Juan Salinas (19:12):
Yeah Well, yeah, I mean, I got to say that.
You know, in terms of peaks andvalleys, every time that we
move from one location toanother, it seems things have
been improving.
So we haven't gone back.
That we moved from one locationto another, it seemed to things
have been improving, you know.
So we haven't gone back, whichis good.
So from the beginning to now,now we're in a position where we
think it's our last move.
Finally, and you know, we feelvery great about the quality of
(19:38):
the product and the consistencyof it and everything else.
So you know, that's kind ofwhere we of, that's kind of
where we're standing today.
Marc Bernstein (19:45):
Well, your solution, if you don't mind me
saying this, is really acollaboration, and I bring this
up cause we've had I've done alot of work with manufacturing
and we've had a guest on theshow named Lois Sonstegard who's
worked with a lot ofmanufacturers and she talks
about collaboration amongst them.
You know, if somebody has astrength and you need that
strength, you work together and,in essence, that's what you're
(20:05):
doing right now, correct?
TJ (20:08):
Yeah, exactly.
Dr. Juan Salinas (20:09):
I mean we were talking before, Marc that it's
really hard for startupcompanies to be able to sustain
a full manufacturing facility.
You know it's a lot of payrollthat goes into it maintenance,
equipment maintenance you knowrent right, which is very
expensive, and so if you don'thave enough volume to cover all
(20:30):
those expenses, you're basicallyon the negative at all times.
So finding our solution was tofind a partner where we can, you
know, put our machines in theirfacility and then work together
in terms of developing newproducts and utilizing those
equipment to manufacture notonly our product but also new
(20:52):
innovation, innovation that wecan present to other companies
or retailers for their ownprivate label retail products.
So that's kind of the solutionthat we found and it's been
working great for us.
Marc Bernstein (21:08):
What's your future look like we talked about
.
If this were a year from todayand you and I are talking which
hopefully we will be and you'relooking back on the last year,
what would have to happen, Juan,for you to feel like that was a
successful year in yourbusiness and your life?
Yeah, I mean.
Dr. Juan Salinas (21:28):
I think for our business, for PNF, we were
looking to expand more,especially here in the Northeast
.
As I mentioned before, we'restarting with some retailers we
have a list of other retailersthat we're talking to for 2025,
and that's going to be a successyear for us.
We're looking into potentiallystarting a whole couple of new
(21:48):
flavors also next year, just tokeep the flavor rotation fresh.
And personally for me, you knowI'm I'm more of a, a creator.
I love creating new stuff,especially with protein.
That's my thing, um, so Ialways have all these new ideas
that I want to create, um, whichnow, with this new partnership,
(22:10):
you know, they are going tobecome possible, because they do
have, uh, different sets ofequipments and and other
machines that create differenttypes of products and, and so
the opportunities now man to me.
I just analyze, I feel soexcited, like a little kid, you
know, in a playground and beable to just, you know, try
(22:31):
different things and see, youknow, I can't wait to come up
with something that we canpresent to some of these
retailers and get them excitedand get some really cool
products out there to the market.
Marc Bernstein (22:43):
Nice, I was starting to ask you before do
you see any non-Peanut products?
So you have people withallergies.
You'll have something.
Dr. Juan Salinas (22:52):
Yeah, I mean, I think for the Peanut brand.
I mean, that's the basis of ourbusiness, that's what made us
different is because we havePeanuts on that.
So for this brand we'll staywith it.
However, you know we're lookingto create other products that
don't have peanuts in it, thatmight have, you know, a similar
form of a similar texture, butwithout the, without the
(23:16):
allergen.
Marc Bernstein (23:16):
Maybe different kind of nuts, something like
that.
Dr. Juan Salinas (23:20):
Yeah, I mean that looked a couple other nuts.
The main thing is to come upwith plant.
You know, for us it's justplant-based proteins are great,
and what I want to make sure isthat whatever plant-based
protein I put, the combinationof it gives you a what we call a
complete protein profile.
So it's a protein that you canactually utilize, that your body
(23:41):
utilizes, a protein that youcan actually utilize, that your
body utilizes.
So there's, you know there's somany sources of protein that
are plant-based, like peas,beans, you know all kind of
legumes, and so we'reexperimenting with so many of
them that don't necessarily haveto have a knot in it, for
instance.
Marc Bernstein (24:00):
You know, I'm curious because you're a
bodybuilder are you plant-basedyourself, or do you also eat
animal products, or yeah, no,I'm not.
Dr. Juan Salinas (24:09):
I'm not plant based.
Okay, um quickly.
However, I have been, I'veknown a lot of plant-based
bodybuilders.
I know that it's sustainable.
You can, you can do it.
I've heard that.
Yeah, uh, probably it's alittle more challenging, I think
, just because you got to findthe sources of protein.
You know, you got to think alittle harder maybe, but it's
doable.
(24:29):
And, um, there's some greatproducts out there that are just
plant-based, you know.
So I'm excited to where it'sgoing, because I think at some
point maybe we'll all becomeplant-based so ang and I are
excited about that as well.
Ang Onorato (24:49):
Ang, you have any questions.
We have only a few minutes leftand I've been talking a lot.
Yeah, no, I was just going tokind of put a summary on.
You know we started out talkingabout you are what you eat and
so your Shark Tank experienceabout getting that messaging out
.
But I'm kind of curious for youwhat are you seeing now, one as
you're moving forward, to getpeople to share your passion in
this way, specifically forprotein right, because there's
so much out of the market.
How do you help people kind ofcut through that and say, hey,
(25:10):
getting the right protein, thishas, you know, incremental
effects on your health.
Is there things that you do tohelp that messaging?
Dr. Juan Salinas (25:18):
Yeah, I mean we're trying different things
Right now.
I came up with a yeah, I meanwe're trying different things
Right now.
I came up with a fitness plan.
So this fitness plan I kind ofhelp promote, you know, healthy
eating as well as exercise, andwe're actually using these
(25:42):
almost as an add-on benefit toanyone that purchases our
products.
It's almost like not only areyou purchasing a healthier
product, but here's some ideasof how you can establish a good
diet regimen that is morehealthy and also get into doing
some exercises.
I show different routines onhow to get more.
(26:03):
You know, more exercise duringthe day, so that's one way that
would help me.
Marc Bernstein (26:06):
Is that on your website?
How do people access that?
Dr. Juan Salinas (26:10):
Yeah, that's on the website.
If you scroll on the first pagehalfway through, you'll see my
picture there with a little book.
Marc Bernstein (26:17):
Oh nice, by the way, I think, in branding, I
think that's like a newer thingthat's happening.
I, as an example, I drinkmatcha tea and I order it from a
company called Rise.
It's, you know, made withmushroom products, R-Y-Z-E, and
I started getting all thesethings from them, where now I
actually journal daily with them.
(26:38):
They give you thoughtfulquestions each day and it keeps
a running tab and a secure site,and I've got like 154 days, I
think I'm up to of, ofjournaling with them, and so I'm
always going to buy thatproduct.
Because of that, I thought itwas brilliant because it, you
know, connects your healthy mindand spirit to the tea and it
makes sense to, you know, attachjournaling to it, and I think
(27:01):
yours's a great idea too.
I'm going to check that out aswell.
Exercise with Dr Juan.
I want to check that out.
Dr. Juan Salinas (27:10):
That was one of the first things, I want to
get people to be active, sothat's one of my passions,
that's one of my goals.
Marc Bernstein (27:17):
Nice.
That's great, Given that,because you're doing some
important work.
What?
Are your thoughts about yourlegacy.
Dr. Juan Salinas (27:27):
So, in terms of legacy, I mean, you know, the
whole Shark Tank thing isgiving me a little bit of
celebrity thing, I think.
You know, sometimes I walk intoplaces and some people
recognize me.
That's not what I want really.
If I had to leave a legacy ismore about you know.
I think you know, be cool tohave created a product that
(27:52):
people could resonate and knowthat they could make their life
better, you know, reach theirgoals, their fitness goals or
their, you know, help lifestylegoals.
Um, when I, when I hear peoplesend me messages, you know, on
on email or instagram saying,hey, I just discovered a product
, I'm, oh my god, love it andit's done so great for me and
(28:13):
all this stuff, that's that'skind of what that makes me feel
great.
That that's the kind of legacyI want to leave.
Marc Bernstein (28:20):
So you're doing good while building a business,
which is great.
Listen, I think we're out oftime today, so I really
appreciate you being here.
It took us a while to gettogether, dr Juan Salinas, but
great story, great product.
Wait, before we go.
I got to, I had to crunch.
(28:41):
I don't usually push products,but I love this one, so I needed
to say that.
Have a great week.
See you next week on FoundersForum.
The following programming is sponsored by Marc
J Bernstein.
The views expressed do notnecessarily reflect the views of
this station, its management orBeasley Media Group.
Entrepreneur, author andfinancial consultant, Marc
Bernstein helps high-performingentrepreneurial business owners
create a vision for the futureand follow through on their
goals and intentions.
Ang Onorato is a businessgrowth strategist who blends
(00:21):
psychology and business togetherto create conscious leaders and
business owners who impact theworld.
Founders' Forum is a radio showpodcast sharing the real
stories behind entrepreneurshipas founders discover more about
themselves, while providingvaluable lessons and some fun
and entertainment for you.
Now here's Marc and
Marc Bernstein (00:40):
Good morning America.
How are you?
It's a sunny day inPhiladelphia.
We always start with thatbecause they say it's always
sunny in Philadelphia.
Absolutely not true, but it issunny today.
It's a beautiful day, and I amin the studio but virtually am
attached to Ang, who's with ustoday, and our guest, Juan, who
(01:05):
we'll introduce formally in aminute.
But once you understand whatJuan does, you'll understand why
this thought for the day is it,and my thought for the day is
you are what you eat.
Ang, comment on that.
Ang Onorato (01:19):
Well, it is probably one of our favorite
topics, Marc, and you know youare what you eat has never been
more appropriate for me.
I've prided myself on being afairly healthy, athletic, clean
eating, fishitarian, as I liketo say, for many decades, but
having had recent surgery, Ihave been alerted to the fact
(01:40):
that just really how importantwhat we eat, the right vitamins,
the right minerals, the rightall of it in the right, you know
, balance is so importantbecause our bodies are the most
important machine, because wedon't have anything else without
that.
So I'm super excited to diveinto Juan's story and this
product.
But, yeah, what you, what youare, what you eat the only
reason why we're here is ifwe're healthy.
Marc Bernstein (02:01):
Right, yeah, me too, and you know I won't go
into how I eat, but I'm mostlypescatarian myself.
But I'm always conscious of it,always thinking about it,
always trying to improve and getbetter, because it's difficult,
particularly when you're on theroad a lot and you're out
eating a lot and you'retraveling.
It's the hardest thing.
I'm pretty good when I'mstationary, but I'm not
(02:23):
stationary too much of the time,and that's sort of still
working on that.
So, juan, tell us about yourthoughts on that before we
formally introduce you and getinto your story.
Dr. Juan Salinas (02:33):
Hey Marc, how you doing guys, good morning,
you are what you eat, man.
How true is that?
Right?
Sounds like a really coolsaying, but, man, I've been
basically doing sports all mylife, so what I eat is very
important to my lifestyle, andeating clean, high protein,
(02:55):
that's what builds muscle andthat's what I need to perform
better in sports.
So I am what I eat.
Marc Bernstein (03:01):
So Juan has a product related to that and
we're going to talk about thatin a minute.
I have been munching on some ofit in the studio here as we've
been prepping and I'm a big fanof it.
But Dr Juan Salinas is thefounder and CEO of Perfect Life
Nutrition LLC, a manufacturer ofpeanut-based and other
plant-based protein snacks rightup our alley.
(03:22):
A native of Honduras and nowresident in New Jersey, he holds
a PhD in food science fromRutgers University and a
master's in sports nutritionfrom the International Olympic
Committee, so he's obviouslyvery involved with nutrition and
sports.
As he mentioned in his history,he started the company after
spending over 20 years ofworking as a snack food
(03:42):
innovator and product developerfor several of the largest CPG
food companies in the US.
Combined with his passion forhealth and fitness and
experience as a professionalnatural bodybuilder and amateur
endurance athlete, he's on aquest to create snacks that are
not only delicious but alsonutritious.
And he can be reached I'll justtell you this at um, uh, pnuff
(04:07):
crunch, p-n-u-f-f-c-r-u-n-c-hand at one p-n-p.
At web, at one p-nuff.
So, um, that's that's how youcan reach him and if you want to
email him, he's at one atpnuffcom, and pnuff is a great
name, and if you want to emailhim he's at juan@pnuff.
com.
And PNuff is a great name I dowant to start out with and then
(04:28):
we'll go backwards.
But Juan is somewhat famous forhis appearance on Shark Tank,
and it's one that you wouldremember if you saw it.
So tell us about thatexperience and Ang can give her
comments, because she saw it aswell experience, and ang can
(04:48):
give her comments because shesaw it as well.
Dr. Juan Salinas (04:49):
Um, funny enough, man that was.
That was just to put you in thetime frame.
You know like a time frame.
Marc Bernstein (04:52):
Uh, that was in 2020, wow so that was kobe the
year, yeah, so everything waskind of strange.
Dr. Juan Salinas (04:58):
Um, so if you guys look at that episode, which
is season 12, episode 2, Ithink you will notice that the
set looks a little differentthan what it normally does and
you will see that the chairswhere the sharks are sitting
they look more farther out, andthat's because they were trying
(05:19):
to keep people more separatedbecause of the COVID.
Marc Bernstein (05:23):
But you were live in the studio.
I thought you were going totell me it was of the covet, but
you were alive in the studio.
I thought you were going totell me it was done virtually,
but you were in the live in thestudio though no we were like we
were live, yeah but, as youremember, la was shut down,
which is where the studio is.
Dr. Juan Salinas (05:34):
Yeah, so they had to move it to las vegas and
they recreated the whole set inone of the hotels there.
So, um, you know, a funny storythere is that you know, when we
got called out to go there, Ifigured I'll get to meet all the
sharks, and I think that theynormally do that.
They have a day when you go andmeet with them before you go on
the show.
(05:54):
But we didn't have any of thatstuff.
Obviously, they were trying tokeep people isolated, and little
did I know that I had to stayin a hotel without actually
leaving the room for seven daysbefore actually going into the
show.
Wow, I didn't know that part, sothey kept us there for seven
days and they will bring in thefood.
You know, like just knocking onthe door and they will just
(06:17):
pass a tray, close the door.
Marc Bernstein (06:19):
Wow, that was as much interaction I had with
other people did they put you upfor seven days at least, I hope
.
Did they put you up?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was anice room and they fed you, okay
so that part A nice view of thepool which I couldn't go to
Right Unbelievable.
Ang Onorato (06:35):
Well, if anybody doesn't get a chance, they
should go to YouTube and watchit.
And I'm just going to say, Marc, to your point, before we get
into the story that I was tuningin, because as a fellow Rutgers
grad, I was supporting myalumni friend.
We're not going to talk aboutthe physique, so everybody can
go watch it yourself and see howhealthy eating and Dr Juan made
a real impact on Mark Cuban inparticular.
(06:56):
I know you'll tell us a littlebit more about that, but yeah,
it was a great episode.
Marc Bernstein (06:59):
Well, I'll tell you, since no one else is saying
it.
So he came out dressed like thescholar doctor that he is and
he's starting to talk about hisproduct, the way I remember it,
and then he rips off his shirtbecause he's a bodybuilder and
obviously connecting health withnutrition and with the product,
and he got quite a reaction,especially initially from the
(07:21):
female shark or sharks, I forgetif there were one or two at
that time.
Lori, I think, was one of them,if I'm not mistaken.
Right, it's a pretty accuratedescription, right.
Dr. Juan Salinas (07:30):
Well, Barbara.
Marc Bernstein (07:31):
Oh, barbara, right Barbara, that's right,
that's right, that's right.
So, anyway, and check it outanyway, it was great, it was a
really great feature on there.
Was that a helpful experienceto you?
Dr. Juan Salinas (07:47):
I mean absolutely.
I mean it did so great for ourbusiness, especially online,
because at the time, you know,because of the COVID situation,
it was really hard to really domuch in the retail space.
So everything went online andhaving the show kind of put us
on the map, you know wherepeople could actually directly
order from our website or fromAmazon, where people could
actually directly order from ourwebsite or from Amazon, and so
(08:11):
we have this huge bump on sales.
As the show was starting, westarted seeing the numbers go up
, which is kind of crazy.
Marc Bernstein (08:22):
And you did get Ang mentioned.
Dr. Juan Salinas (08:26):
I think Mark Cuban invested correct.
Mark Cuban did.
Yeah, we are partners stillStill partners.
Nice, we work with him on aweekly basis oh, do you?
Marc Bernstein (08:32):
do you speak with?
Him are you working with hispeople or are you working with
him?
Yeah I mean he has a team.
Dr. Juan Salinas (08:40):
Yeah, so we work weekly with this team but,
whenever we have more of a highlevel strategic.
You know questions and you knowwe want to hear his his uh
opinion.
Then, uh, normally wecommunicate through email and
he's pretty quick to respond.
Marc Bernstein (08:56):
Is he nice, he, I, I, I'm with, I'm with Angie,
I'm a big fan of his.
I think he's a sensible,extremely bright guy.
Um so anyway.
So tell us about business.
Ang Onorato (09:07):
Sensible billionaire.
Marc Bernstein (09:10):
Um, our last show we did.
We did a show this morning andwe talked about the peaks and
valleys of entrepreneurs, whichthere certainly are, and because
we had a guest that didn't makeit, he got confused on the date
.
As it turns out, Ang Ang and Ijust spoke and we talked about
our own peaks and valleys asentrepreneurs, I'm sure you
(09:32):
haven't had any of those right.
Dr. Juan Salinas (09:40):
I don't know.
I'm a scientist and I used towork at a lab where we have an
apparatus called a gaschromatogram.
You guys ever heard of that?
TJ (09:43):
And if you look, at the output of that chromatogram.
Dr. Juan Salinas (09:45):
Really, what it's measuring is chemical
compounds on a complex product,but what it looks like is ups
and downs, ups and downs, upsand downs.
That's a chromatogram andthat's a very good picture of
what the entrepreneur journeylooks like.
So I'm very familiar with that.
Marc Bernstein (10:06):
By the way, I realized before we get more into
the journey we didn't reallytalk about your product, which
is because I've got it in frontof me in the way I realized
before we get more into thejourney we didn't really talk
about your product, which isbecause I've got it in front of
me in the studio.
It's called P-N-U-F-F Crunchpeanut puffs and I have the
cinnamon, which Juan and I agreeare our favorite flavor.
It's really delicious and I hadTJ, our engineer, try it,
(10:27):
because I'm already a fan and,by the way, this is I just need
to you, because I look for thehealthy ingredients and try to
eat very little in the way ofsnack foods.
But this particular one has oneserving of 130 calories, has
five grams of protein and onlythree grams of sugar and three
grams of fiber, which is reallygood as well.
So you would think that doesn'ttaste very well, but TJ was
(10:51):
hungry this morning, hadn'teaten breakfast, so he got to
try it.
And what did you think, tj?
TJ (10:55):
I actually really enjoyed it honestly.
I'm not a big healthy food guy,but I did really enjoy it
honestly.
Marc Bernstein (11:01):
I know you were kind of reluctant to tell me how
much you liked it because Itold you how healthy it was.
So I get that.
TJ (11:07):
Yeah, I'm not a big healthy food guy, but I mean, it
actually did taste really good.
It doesn't even taste like it'sa healthy food, honestly.
Marc Bernstein (11:14):
Right, that's the point, right Juan ?
So let's talk about that, let'stalk about how you developed it
and who you're marketing it to,et cetera.
Dr. Juan Salinas (11:22):
Thanks, tj for that yeah.
Marc Bernstein (11:24):
I mean it's funny.
Dr. Juan Salinas (11:25):
It's the same thing, you know, products fell
in the market because they havethe right nutrition but they
don't taste good.
And my training and all theselarge CPG companies I used to
work for their main focus wastaste.
(11:45):
And that's kind of like theopposite, right?
Because they didn't care howmuch you know what was in it, as
long as it tasted really good.
And everything was based on dothe consumer love it?
Do they like it?
Do they think it's tasty?
And if they did, then theywould launch it.
My goal was to create the sameyou know feeling on people, but
(12:06):
with good ingredients cleaningredients, you know good
nutrition.
With good ingredients, cleaningredients, you know good
nutrition.
So, you know, initially myguide rails were it's got to
have high levels of protein, atleast five grams.
It's got to be low in sugar.
It's got to be higher in fiberand actually lower in fat than
(12:27):
most other snacks, right?
So if you look at the fat,about half of what your normal
typical you know potato chipsand things are Also gut friendly
, which I forgot to to say,which is really important as
well right, yeah, right, exactlyso.
And especially now you knowthere's a lot of um diets, you
know people that have uhrestrictions on the diet.
Excuse me, but I'm I wanted tomake sure they're easy on the
(12:47):
gut.
Marc Bernstein (12:48):
I wanted to chew it in the microphone just so
people know.
Meeting a couple as we'retalking.
Dr. Juan Salinas (12:53):
Because I know so much I like them.
I got a funny story aboutcrunch as well, because that was
.
You know, flavor is one thing.
Texture is something thatcomplements that flavor and
there's a lot of scientificevidence out there that for a
snack, having that crunch isessential.
It has to have it and there's alot of reason for it.
(13:13):
But basically, uh, that wasanother another thing.
Marc Bernstein (13:17):
My wife is very cognizant of that.
She'll say I have to have asnack, that's crunchy, and I was
like you're crazy.
But but through your rightthere there's a thing you know
that's the thing about thatthere are.
Dr. Juan Salinas (13:29):
There are methods of actually measuring
the crunch as well, where youput sensors here right behind
your ears, and then you chew onthe product and it captures the
sound and you can measure asyou're developing the product,
you can measure how much soundit's making and when it's the
right level of crunch.
Marc Bernstein (13:49):
So I'm very auditory and my wife knows this.
But food sounds can drive mecrazy, so she loves eating the
loudest food.
She can find the crunchy foodsis great, so we've adapted to
that over many years.
But anyway, I'm sorry, justadding a little humor.
Dr. Juan Salinas (14:08):
There's a lot of science behind these products
that we make in terms of makingsure that it does provide.
You know what people arelooking for, not only from a
satisfaction, but also from anutrition, and that's how you
know we came out with thisproduct so you have a great
product.
Marc Bernstein (14:24):
Um, how's it going from a marketing and
business point of view?
Dr. Juan Salinas (14:29):
yeah, well, I mean, I'm happy to say that
we're now on Whole Foods.
We're in Wegmans.
Ah, yes, I didn't know that sowe're in the Northeast so we're
in some of the local retailerslike ShopRite.
There's some Kings down inPhiladelphia, but I believe
there might be some Balducci'sAh, high-end Balducci's, high
(14:51):
end Balducci's.
So we're expanding as well asonline.
Right, that's kind of been abread and butter, especially
after COVID.
We have our own website andAmazon dot com.
You know where we can selldirectly to the consumer as well
.
Marc Bernstein (15:07):
I believe I bought them it was either your
website or Amazon before theywere in stores, so and I bought
a lot of them, so normally I askbags, so I'll stop at Whole
Foods later and get some.
Is it all all Whole Foods?
Is it all all of the stores, orNortheast so all the Whole
Foods in the Northeast Nice.
Um, so I'm, you know, we.
(15:28):
We were starting to talk aboutpeaks and valleys before and we
need to take a break right now.
So let's come back and talkabout peaks and valleys and
where you are and some of thestrengths you've built from
being an entrepreneur.
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Marc Bernstein (16:34):
We're back on Founders Forum, by the way that
commercial from Plant a SeedFoundation was a foundation
started by Gene Rice and hiswife, a former guest, a very
successful guy in the executiverecruiting business, who
basically is dedicating his youknow, his next phase of his life
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(16:58):
wouldn't otherwise be able toget them.
So pretty cool foundation, ifyou want to check it out.
So, anyway, we're talking aboutpeaks and valleys.
Pretty cool, yeah, it's reallycool, check it out.
So what kind of challenges haveyou had and how have you dealt
with those in business?
Dr. Juan Salinas (17:18):
Oh, yeah, I mean, the list of challenges
goes on and on, but I tell youone of the biggest challenges
that maybe some of our audienceyou know could relate to, and
that's the manufacturing side.
You know, every productrequires specific manufacturing
equipment to be made, andfinding companies that have that
(17:41):
equipment is the firstchallenge.
Second challenge is to makesure that you know how they do,
it is high quality andconsistent quality, and then you
know.
The third is to make sure thatwhat they're doing is not, you
know, something that could hurt.
You know, the consumer.
In our case.
You know we were searching forcompanies like that for the
(18:04):
longest time, but we have in ourproduct.
We have peanuts, and peanut isconsidered one of the list of
allergens here in the US andtherefore it needs to be
monitored and a lot of thecompanies that actually had the
equipment that we needed, whichis not that many in the US
(18:27):
already.
they, you know, were makingother products in the same line
and they didn't want to have apeanut-containing product in
there because of the possibilityof a cross-contamination.
So that's when the challengesstarted for us.
I mean, we've been in businessfor almost 10 years and we have
moved manufacturing facilitiesabout five times in 10 years, so
(18:53):
you can imagine every two yearsmoving out of your house.
Marc Bernstein (18:58):
But now you have a solution it sounds like We've
talked about.
I want to ask you about that.
And I also want to ask you ifyou're thinking about any
non-peanut products, becausethese allergies do seem to be
prevalent, at least byperception, in the US.
Dr. Juan Salinas (19:12):
Yeah Well, yeah, I mean, I got to say that.
You know, in terms of peaks andvalleys, every time that we
move from one location toanother, it seems things have
been improving.
So we haven't gone back.
That we moved from one locationto another, it seemed to things
have been improving, you know.
So we haven't gone back, whichis good.
So from the beginning to now,now we're in a position where we
think it's our last move.
Finally, and you know, we feelvery great about the quality of
(19:38):
the product and the consistencyof it and everything else.
So you know, that's kind ofwhere we of, that's kind of
where we're standing today.
Marc Bernstein (19:45):
Well, your solution, if you don't mind me
saying this, is really acollaboration, and I bring this
up cause we've had I've done alot of work with manufacturing
and we've had a guest on theshow named Lois Sonstegard who's
worked with a lot ofmanufacturers and she talks
about collaboration amongst them.
You know, if somebody has astrength and you need that
strength, you work together and,in essence, that's what you're
(20:05):
doing right now, correct?
TJ (20:08):
Yeah, exactly.
Dr. Juan Salinas (20:09):
I mean we were talking before, Marc that it's
really hard for startupcompanies to be able to sustain
a full manufacturing facility.
You know it's a lot of payrollthat goes into it maintenance,
equipment maintenance you knowrent right, which is very
expensive, and so if you don'thave enough volume to cover all
(20:30):
those expenses, you're basicallyon the negative at all times.
So finding our solution was tofind a partner where we can, you
know, put our machines in theirfacility and then work together
in terms of developing newproducts and utilizing those
equipment to manufacture notonly our product but also new
(20:52):
innovation, innovation that wecan present to other companies
or retailers for their ownprivate label retail products.
So that's kind of the solutionthat we found and it's been
working great for us.
Marc Bernstein (21:08):
What's your future look like we talked about
.
If this were a year from todayand you and I are talking which
hopefully we will be and you'relooking back on the last year,
what would have to happen, Juan,for you to feel like that was a
successful year in yourbusiness and your life?
Yeah, I mean.
Dr. Juan Salinas (21:28):
I think for our business, for PNF, we were
looking to expand more,especially here in the Northeast
.
As I mentioned before, we'restarting with some retailers we
have a list of other retailersthat we're talking to for 2025,
and that's going to be a successyear for us.
We're looking into potentiallystarting a whole couple of new
(21:48):
flavors also next year, just tokeep the flavor rotation fresh.
And personally for me, you knowI'm I'm more of a, a creator.
I love creating new stuff,especially with protein.
That's my thing, um, so Ialways have all these new ideas
that I want to create, um, whichnow, with this new partnership,
(22:10):
you know, they are going tobecome possible, because they do
have, uh, different sets ofequipments and and other
machines that create differenttypes of products and, and so
the opportunities now man to me.
I just analyze, I feel soexcited, like a little kid, you
know, in a playground and beable to just, you know, try
(22:31):
different things and see, youknow, I can't wait to come up
with something that we canpresent to some of these
retailers and get them excitedand get some really cool
products out there to the market.
Marc Bernstein (22:43):
Nice, I was starting to ask you before do
you see any non-Peanut products?
So you have people withallergies.
You'll have something.
Dr. Juan Salinas (22:52):
Yeah, I mean, I think for the Peanut brand.
I mean, that's the basis of ourbusiness, that's what made us
different is because we havePeanuts on that.
So for this brand we'll staywith it.
However, you know we're lookingto create other products that
don't have peanuts in it, thatmight have, you know, a similar
form of a similar texture, butwithout the, without the
(23:16):
allergen.
Marc Bernstein (23:16):
Maybe different kind of nuts, something like
that.
Dr. Juan Salinas (23:20):
Yeah, I mean that looked a couple other nuts.
The main thing is to come upwith plant.
You know, for us it's justplant-based proteins are great,
and what I want to make sure isthat whatever plant-based
protein I put, the combinationof it gives you a what we call a
complete protein profile.
So it's a protein that you canactually utilize, that your body
(23:41):
utilizes, a protein that youcan actually utilize, that your
body utilizes.
So there's, you know there's somany sources of protein that
are plant-based, like peas,beans, you know all kind of
legumes, and so we'reexperimenting with so many of
them that don't necessarily haveto have a knot in it, for
instance.
Marc Bernstein (24:00):
You know, I'm curious because you're a
bodybuilder are you plant-basedyourself, or do you also eat
animal products, or yeah, no,I'm not.
Dr. Juan Salinas (24:09):
I'm not plant based.
Okay, um quickly.
However, I have been, I'veknown a lot of plant-based
bodybuilders.
I know that it's sustainable.
You can, you can do it.
I've heard that.
Yeah, uh, probably it's alittle more challenging, I think
, just because you got to findthe sources of protein.
You know, you got to think alittle harder maybe, but it's
doable.
(24:29):
And, um, there's some greatproducts out there that are just
plant-based, you know.
So I'm excited to where it'sgoing, because I think at some
point maybe we'll all becomeplant-based so ang and I are
excited about that as well.
Ang Onorato (24:49):
Ang, you have any questions.
We have only a few minutes leftand I've been talking a lot.
Yeah, no, I was just going tokind of put a summary on.
You know we started out talkingabout you are what you eat and
so your Shark Tank experienceabout getting that messaging out
.
But I'm kind of curious for youwhat are you seeing now, one as
you're moving forward, to getpeople to share your passion in
this way, specifically forprotein right, because there's
so much out of the market.
How do you help people kind ofcut through that and say, hey,
(25:10):
getting the right protein, thishas, you know, incremental
effects on your health.
Is there things that you do tohelp that messaging?
Dr. Juan Salinas (25:18):
Yeah, I mean we're trying different things
Right now.
I came up with a yeah, I meanwe're trying different things
Right now.
I came up with a fitness plan.
So this fitness plan I kind ofhelp promote, you know, healthy
eating as well as exercise, andwe're actually using these
(25:42):
almost as an add-on benefit toanyone that purchases our
products.
It's almost like not only areyou purchasing a healthier
product, but here's some ideasof how you can establish a good
diet regimen that is morehealthy and also get into doing
some exercises.
I show different routines onhow to get more.
(26:03):
You know, more exercise duringthe day, so that's one way that
would help me.
Marc Bernstein (26:06):
Is that on your website?
How do people access that?
Dr. Juan Salinas (26:10):
Yeah, that's on the website.
If you scroll on the first pagehalfway through, you'll see my
picture there with a little book.
Marc Bernstein (26:17):
Oh nice, by the way, I think, in branding, I
think that's like a newer thingthat's happening.
I, as an example, I drinkmatcha tea and I order it from a
company called Rise.
It's, you know, made withmushroom products, R-Y-Z-E, and
I started getting all thesethings from them, where now I
actually journal daily with them.
(26:38):
They give you thoughtfulquestions each day and it keeps
a running tab and a secure site,and I've got like 154 days, I
think I'm up to of, ofjournaling with them, and so I'm
always going to buy thatproduct.
Because of that, I thought itwas brilliant because it, you
know, connects your healthy mindand spirit to the tea and it
makes sense to, you know, attachjournaling to it, and I think
(27:01):
yours's a great idea too.
I'm going to check that out aswell.
Exercise with Dr Juan.
I want to check that out.
Dr. Juan Salinas (27:10):
That was one of the first things, I want to
get people to be active, sothat's one of my passions,
that's one of my goals.
Marc Bernstein (27:17):
Nice.
That's great, Given that,because you're doing some
important work.
What?
Are your thoughts about yourlegacy.
Dr. Juan Salinas (27:27):
So, in terms of legacy, I mean, you know, the
whole Shark Tank thing isgiving me a little bit of
celebrity thing, I think.
You know, sometimes I walk intoplaces and some people
recognize me.
That's not what I want really.
If I had to leave a legacy ismore about you know.
I think you know, be cool tohave created a product that
(27:52):
people could resonate and knowthat they could make their life
better, you know, reach theirgoals, their fitness goals or
their, you know, help lifestylegoals.
Um, when I, when I hear peoplesend me messages, you know, on
on email or instagram saying,hey, I just discovered a product
, I'm, oh my god, love it andit's done so great for me and
(28:13):
all this stuff, that's that'skind of what that makes me feel
great.
That that's the kind of legacyI want to leave.
Marc Bernstein (28:20):
So you're doing good while building a business,
which is great.
Listen, I think we're out oftime today, so I really
appreciate you being here.
It took us a while to gettogether, dr Juan Salinas, but
great story, great product.
Wait, before we go.
I got to, I had to crunch.
(28:41):
I don't usually push products,but I love this one, so I needed
to say that.
Have a great week.
See you next week on FoundersForum.
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