August 8, 2025 • 23 mins
Brit Williams never set out to start a food company; she simply wanted to make her husband a better snack. Learn how a late-night experiment in 2015 grew into P&TY Granola, a Minnesota-based granola brand that champions both real food ingredients and the value of respect. In this episode, Brit shares the unfiltered truth of building a mission-driven business and the lessons her kids are learning as they watch her defy the odds.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey Brett, thanks for being here.
I'm so happy that I've gotten toknow you over the past few
months.
I feel so fortunate that ourpaths have crossed and we've
become peers in the foodindustry and friends and just
I'm really happy that you'rehere and working with me on
getting the new pantry out intothe world.
(00:21):
I'm so honored to be
SPEAKER_01 (00:22):
here and so happy to know you and get to like get to
know you and I'm really justhappy that our paths have
crossed and the amount ofsimilarities that we have.
Look at our clothes.
Look at what we're wearing.
I know.
I just love your vibe, so thankyou for having me on today.
SPEAKER_00 (00:45):
Do you want to share a little bit about please and
thank you for our listeners?
I think it just sounds a lotbetter coming from you than me.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
P&TY Granola Co.
is all about real food, realingredients, but being fueled by
respect.
So all of our products aregluten-free, dairy-free.
We make our own nut butters.
And the only sweetener we use isa honey out of Minnesota.
So we are Minnesota grown,certified.
(01:14):
And then everything that we makeis named after manners.
So everything that we try to dois just to bring a little bit of
respect, a little bit ofconsideration, like I want to
see you, I want to hear you.
And sometimes we just need alittle reminder about that.
So if our bars are so good thaton a daily basis, we're gently
(01:37):
reminded just to consider orthink outside of ourselves, I
think that we're doing a goodthing around that.
And then finally, everything iswrapped in eco-friendly
packaging.
So if you put that all together,it's real food, it's fueled by
respect, and we're taking careof the earth.
And so I think those threethings, we're doing an okay
(01:57):
thing with that.
SPEAKER_00 (01:58):
I love it.
I love what you're doing.
I just think it's amazing.
Thank you.
So let's get into it.
And let's start with someone ofa curveball.
What's something that'scompletely been unexpected um
that's happened since youstarted putting golden rule bars
out into the world i think imight
SPEAKER_01 (02:15):
bucket this into two different things so one is like
around the mission as i startedtalking about manners with
people and started talking aboutrespect it was it almost like
was surprising like when i wheni started it it resonated with
me right like around manners andhow important it was but as i
(02:38):
talked to other people they werelike this is really important
and there wasn't a single personout there that was like nope
don't care about that.
I don't care about respect or Idon't care about the golden
rule.
They're like, we need more ofthis.
And I care about that.
And wow, like if my kids eatthis, are they going to be like,
are they going to do manners?
(02:59):
Or like if I give this to mygrandparent, are they going to
actually like say thank you?
And they just kept talking abouthow important that was.
And that like resonated with me.
And maybe one of the mostsurprising things was just a
couple of weekends ago, I was ata market and she was talked to
me about my brand and I told herabout manners and why they were
(03:20):
named after those things and shestarted crying she was like this
means something and she's likethere's a reason why I stopped
and I talked to you and she justlike had tears rolling down her
face Because she was like,manners and respect mean
something.
And that matters to ourcommunity.
And we need more of that.
And so, sure, a granola bar thatsays thank you or sharing is
(03:44):
caring is a small piece.
But that's a part of the rippleeffect.
And I think that might be...
One of like the most unexpectedthings is like the biggest
impact that that can have.
And it actually is making animpact.
So that was one piece.
And maybe the other piece has todo with like this company is
(04:07):
showing me what I'm capable ofdoing.
I never knew that I could bringa company to where it is now.
I didn't think that I could growa CPG, a consumer package good
company.
I'm not a part of this industry.
I never knew.
about this industry and thisindustry is wild and there's so
many facets of this industry Inever knew about and so from
(04:29):
like branding and distributionand markets and doing things I
never thought that I could dowhile having a full-time job and
being a mom and a wife and likea friend and a daughter, I guess
it's kind of blowing my mind alittle bit about how capable
that I can be.
(04:50):
And so if I step back out of theweeds a little bit, because when
you're in it, it's kind of like,this is a lot.
Like, holy bazooka, this is alot.
But if you step out a littlebit, And you're like, I am
capable of doing some reallycool things.
And that's pretty wild to mesometimes.
SPEAKER_00 (05:07):
How amazing that your kids can watch you do that.
So take me back to the earlydays.
Was there a moment that made youthink, this isn't just granola,
like this is something bigger?
What was that like?
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
So way back then, I...
started making granola barsbecause my husband Trevor he was
eating a granola bar that justhad no nutrition in it and I
looked at him and I was likethere's nothing in this he's
like yeah but it tastes good andI was like okay well let me see
if I can make you somethingdifferent and I we didn't have
(05:40):
kids at the time I had one joblike I could like make things
and like had all the time in theworld I made him a granola bar
and he liked it he loved thetaste I put like extra
ingredients in there and I waslike, this has nutrition.
And I was like, I can hide thisin there and put like peanut
butter and Nutella and flaxseedand like loaded it up with like
(06:06):
healthy oats and stuff likethat.
And he's like, yeah, this isgreat.
And that's the original granolabar.
That's the part of me, the blueone that we sell right now.
That's what started it all.
And he loved it.
And at the time, I didn't thinkanything of it.
That was just me making himgranola bars.
And then I made a flavor formyself.
(06:28):
And that now is the Sharing isCaring, which is the purple one.
And again, didn't think anythingof it until fast forward,
probably four years from then, Iwas doing events for Whole Foods
Local.
And I was event planner at thetime and I did road shows for
them.
And I brought my granola bars onsite because I just wanted to
(06:50):
bring something homemade for thestaff.
We're on site for long hours andstuff.
And the staff came up to me andthey're like, Britt, what's this
granola bar?
I was like, oh, I made it.
It's homemade.
Like, I just wanted to bringsomething for you guys since
we're on site for so long.
And they're like, this isdifferent than what's on site.
Like, you should do somethingwith it.
And they go, we will have tochange the ingredients in there,
(07:11):
though, because you don't havethe right ingredients.
It's not going to make it on theshelf.
But you have something that'sdifferent.
You should do something with it.
So it wasn't until 2019 untilsomebody was like, this is good
enough to be on the shelf.
You should do something with it.
And that's when I started toreally think, maybe.
(07:32):
Maybe.
I could sell something.
And so that's what started out.
SPEAKER_00 (07:36):
I love that some of your initial early recipes are
still part of the line and stillon your bestseller list today.
Yes, exactly.
That's awesome.
Who helped you as you werestarting to think about taking
it to that next level and movingfrom creating it at home to
becoming a business?
SPEAKER_01 (07:53):
So that first year, so it was the spring of 2019
into the summer and like earlyfall, I had like all of my
friends all of my neighbors allof my co-workers like their
friends i was selling granolabars on insta story i was like
(08:15):
doing survey monkeys like it waslike anybody that would try a
granola bar i just was like tellme your feedback tell me like is
it worth it i like i hadeverybody and anyone trying it
and it wasn't like like Just oneperson.
I was trying to like get it outbecause, you know, if your mom
(08:39):
tries it, great.
If your friends try it, great.
But I was like, I got to get itout a little bit further because
people were telling me I reallylike it.
I even like in those earlybetween 2015 and 2019, I gave my
recipe to people because theywere like, I love it.
Can I make it myself?
(09:01):
It's like, sure, absolutely.
Like, that's how, like, I didn'tthink about selling at all.
Like, I gave my recipe topeople.
Like, granted, the recipe haschanged since then.
So, like, nobody will be able toreplicate it.
But I, like, that first 2019, Iwas doing, like, SurveyMonkeys
(09:22):
and InstaStory and anybody thatwould try it.
And I got enough interactionfrom people.
And enough yeses and enoughfeedback.
And we iterated enough with thenut butters that we got it to a
place where it was like, I thinkthat this is worth it to like
(09:42):
give it a shot.
And so I built a website.
I got a certification throughCottage Food License.
And, you know, I went for like Itook the next step, basically.
SPEAKER_00 (09:54):
That's incredible.
So you really were usingcommunity feedback to continue
to make the product stronger andstronger and to the point where
you felt like, hey, I'm going tomake this a business.
Yeah.
Thank you.
What part of building please andthank you felt maybe
surprisingly easy?
And then what's been the partthat no one warned you about
that maybe kind of threw a curveball at you?
SPEAKER_01 (10:16):
The easiest part, you know, asterisk behind easy
because it's an iteration,right?
The branding part probably hasfallen into place and we've
taken iterations with it.
But manners and respect andalways coming back to that
intention has always been at thecore of who we are.
(10:39):
I've always come back to thatand the reason why we are doing
this, right?
So yeah, we've had iterationsaround it and probably around
year three is when I went intorebranding it with the bright
colors that you see.
It started in blacks and whitesand really simples and then I
(11:02):
went into leaning into thebright colors that are more
eye-catching with the granolabuddies and kind of more
movement and the smiley facesand stuff like that and I'm
really proud of where we'vetaken the brand and how
capturing it is and so I wouldsay that part is probably the
most rewarding and maybe theeasiest or the most the easiest
(11:25):
to lean into and and it feelsthe best because people resonate
with it the most, I think.
And so the branding part of itjust sits so well.
The hardest part is thisindustry blows my mind.
Like I didn't grow up in thefood industry in any way, shape
or form.
And so I went into it inprobably the most naive way,
(11:49):
shape or form.
So like retail distribution, thesales process, like the
paperwork, like handholding oflike I don't even want to get
into the details because it'sjust mind-boggling.
This industry blows my mind.
And I feel like if we coulddisrupt how retail works for
(12:14):
emerging brands, like, oh, wow,could we make a difference for
how people, brands get on theshelves and how consumers
receive brands and how people...
get real food and not processedfood and how money gets spent
within the industry becausethere's a lot of money spent in
(12:36):
in ways that you know i don'tthink is probably as economical
as we all would hope that it isand so i just the retail cpg
industry blows my mind, I think.
And that is probably the mostdifficult part of this company,
(12:58):
of owning this company.
SPEAKER_00 (13:00):
I just want to say, like, I think that you're a
badass for navigating it.
Just the fact that you'renavigating it and saying, like,
I believe in putting good foodin the world.
And there's maybe a lot that Idon't know.
And this is really, really hard,but I'm going to figure it out.
It's just, it's commendable.
It's just really awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (13:17):
I just like the people that live and breathe in
this world and understand itlike the back of their hand just
how like how your brain works islike wow really.
SPEAKER_00 (13:29):
Switching gears on the personal side you mentioned
that you're a founder, you're amom, you're a human.
How do you stay present for yourfamily when your brain might be
deep in founder mode?
SPEAKER_01 (13:40):
Well I try really hard.
I don't always get it right so Ipractice compartmentalization
really hard and so I think witha full-time job and being a
founder and trying to be presentfor my kids and my husband like
it's I choose to do quality overquantity so I am the parent in
(14:06):
the morning so I don't startwork until 9 30 so they get me
in the morning and so I don'ttake any meetings in the morning
and So I choose that time andthen I'm with them as much as I
can between when my workday endstill bedtime and then I work
once they go to bed.
(14:27):
And so...
I choose quantity and I try tolook at them in their eyes and I
try to listen to them, but Idon't necessarily get a ton of
time.
So I just try to make it as bestas possible.
And I don't necessarily get itright all of the time, but I'm
really hoping that they see thehard work and I'm hoping that it
(14:49):
all pays off in the end and thatthey see, you know, mom can work
really hard and and it createssomething really great for the
family and that they can seethat you can do a lot of really
cool things for the communityand for the family and show up
for us at the same time as well.
(15:10):
So talking about it anddescribing what's happening and
being transparent while I gothrough it too.
I might have emotions and Imight have feelings, but talking
about it Well, I do that too, Ithink is important.
I don't always get it
SPEAKER_00 (15:28):
right,
SPEAKER_01 (15:29):
but I certainly try.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Well, it sounds very intentional, being as present as
you can, bringing them along theride, let their understanding.
Yeah, fingers crossed.
Fingers crossed, yeah.
So on the days when you feellike you're maybe running on
empty with everything that'sgoing on, what might be your
go-to ritual or maybe a recipeor something that you do to help
(15:55):
to bring your mindset back tocenter?
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
On a regular basis.
So every day I prioritize aworkout.
So I get an hour to myself inthe morning that I just get to
do by myself, which I reallyenjoy.
So I get to do whatever workoutthat I want.
Sometimes I'm outside listeningto an audiobook or music or I'm
(16:19):
inside watching a show andthat's my hour where I'm not on
meetings.
I'm not talking to kids or...
my husband or I like I'm notresponsible for anybody other
than myself which I think isreally important for myself and
so I prioritize that and thatjust sets me up for the rest of
(16:41):
the day I'm just a better humanoverall when I get that time and
then I really love like when I'mon empty or things are just too
much I really love it when I canhave time when we just get rid
of work in some way shape orform if it's just sitting on the
desk with my husband Trevor andlike we're just having a glass
of wine and just hanging out bythe fire or we go to the
(17:04):
neighbor's house and just hangout and like talk about whatever
they're talking about and I justlisten or we just talk about
whatever I refuel by beingsocial with other people and
just being able to take my brainout of whatever work that I'm
doing because I tend to have alot of work so as long as I can
(17:27):
get myself out of that mentalityand put myself into a different
mentality and I found that Ilike physically have to do that
like me sitting by myself doesthat work Like my brain will
still be over here.
So I have to like physically putmyself with other people talking
about something else.
And then I can easily get myselfout of that.
(17:49):
And that fills my cup in manyother ways.
So I love being social andhanging out with people and
having that time to justrecharge.
SPEAKER_00 (17:57):
I love that.
So every founder kind of hits,what the hell am I doing all
from time to time?
Can you tell us about a momentlike that?
Maybe what happened and...
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
How you end up pushing through.
I might be in that moment rightnow.
You're hitting me at a time whenwe are executing a decision that
we made at the beginning of theyear.
So I'll kind of walk you throughit where...
At the last year, around thistime, we decided to look into a
(18:29):
flow wrapper, which is a machinethat wraps dates and seals your
bars.
So it's a machine that automatesa really manual process that we
were doing.
And it just creates a whole lotmore efficiency, helps us with
scale, all of those things.
And we applied for a grant tohelp pay for that machine.
(18:52):
And we got denied the grant justby like a few data points.
So in January, we had to decide,you know, do we want to stay
stagnant and we just continuethe manual process and we don't
really grow?
We just kind of like stay wherewe're doing and we just like do
(19:13):
farmers markets, a couple ofmarkets and we just see what
happens.
Do we actually stop?
and just not continue and justcall it?
Or do we fully invest and say,let's take a loan out for the
machine, let's invest inefficiency processes, a pricing
strategy that goes along withit, and sales, and really see
(19:34):
what is the potential?
Because I felt really stronglyaround the fact that we have
more potential, we have aproduct that is different, and
we have a mission that makes animpact in the community.
We thought really long and hardaround like our family life,
around the financials, aroundthe viability of the product.
(19:55):
And we said, I think there'sviability in that.
And we would be remiss if wedidn't give it, you know, the
shot that it deserved.
And so we made the decision.
We did all the planning.
We did all of the, you know, theplanning of it, the
conversations, the, you youknow, the packaging, the boxes,
(20:19):
the loan, all of that stuff.
And now we're in the execution.
And July was a really big monthof moving into the new kitchen,
getting the machine, getting itup and running.
We've had two productions in thenew thing, in the new machine.
I have mechanics there as we'respeaking right now, adjusting
the machine because it's goingto take some adjustments to get
(20:42):
the machine to meet our product.
And and to get it to run the waythat we need it to run.
And so that question is in theexact moment of, oh my gosh,
what did we do?
Did we do the right thing?
And I keep leaning back to, wemade the decision with the right
intention, with the rightpurpose, which I'm surprised
(21:06):
sometimes with like what I'mcapable of, and it comes back to
confidence, right?
And so when you get in thosemoments of, oh my gosh, what did
I just do?
It comes back to havingconfidence that I made the
decision because I had the rightintention.
We know that we can get thereach that comes with it.
(21:27):
And I would feel not right if wedidn't do the thing, right?
As we're doing it, it's showinggrowth and it's showing
excitement and people arerealizing and getting excited
with us.
So there's another pull that'scoming with the decisions that
we're making and the story thatwe're sharing as we're going
(21:49):
with it.
And people are following thejourney.
And so the reason why we'restill going through and we're
pushing through it is likepeople are coming along the
journey with us and they'rebuying the product and they're
still...
They're like excited with us.
And so I'm still really excited.
It just is, it's a lot there.
The learning curve is massiveand we just, I'm spending a lot
(22:12):
of time in operations andefficiencies and processes.
And I want to, you know, get outof that mode a little bit, but I
want to get it right.
And I want to get it so right sothen we can focus on the next
part too.
So I am in that moment rightnow.
SPEAKER_00 (22:29):
Well, it sounds like you're doing an incredible job
navigating it.
And I'm just so proud of you andeverything you've accomplished.
For anyone who wants to followalong, where can they join and
either try a bar or you cantouch with your drink?
SPEAKER_01 (22:45):
Yeah, so...
You can always find us online atptygranolacompany.com.
And I set up a promo code foryou.
So new pantry 15 for 15% off.
So any of your listeners can get15% off any of the orders.
You can follow us on Instagram,ptygranolaco, Facebook, and then
(23:07):
we're also on Kowalski as well.
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
Thank you so much for being here with us today.
Really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_01 (23:13):
Appreciate it.
Hey Brett, thanks for being here.
I'm so happy that I've gotten toknow you over the past few
months.
I feel so fortunate that ourpaths have crossed and we've
become peers in the foodindustry and friends and just
I'm really happy that you'rehere and working with me on
getting the new pantry out intothe world.
(00:21):
I'm so honored to be
SPEAKER_01 (00:22):
here and so happy to know you and get to like get to
know you and I'm really justhappy that our paths have
crossed and the amount ofsimilarities that we have.
Look at our clothes.
Look at what we're wearing.
I know.
I just love your vibe, so thankyou for having me on today.
SPEAKER_00 (00:45):
Do you want to share a little bit about please and
thank you for our listeners?
I think it just sounds a lotbetter coming from you than me.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
P&TY Granola Co.
is all about real food, realingredients, but being fueled by
respect.
So all of our products aregluten-free, dairy-free.
We make our own nut butters.
And the only sweetener we use isa honey out of Minnesota.
So we are Minnesota grown,certified.
(01:14):
And then everything that we makeis named after manners.
So everything that we try to dois just to bring a little bit of
respect, a little bit ofconsideration, like I want to
see you, I want to hear you.
And sometimes we just need alittle reminder about that.
So if our bars are so good thaton a daily basis, we're gently
(01:37):
reminded just to consider orthink outside of ourselves, I
think that we're doing a goodthing around that.
And then finally, everything iswrapped in eco-friendly
packaging.
So if you put that all together,it's real food, it's fueled by
respect, and we're taking careof the earth.
And so I think those threethings, we're doing an okay
(01:57):
thing with that.
SPEAKER_00 (01:58):
I love it.
I love what you're doing.
I just think it's amazing.
Thank you.
So let's get into it.
And let's start with someone ofa curveball.
What's something that'scompletely been unexpected um
that's happened since youstarted putting golden rule bars
out into the world i think imight
SPEAKER_01 (02:15):
bucket this into two different things so one is like
around the mission as i startedtalking about manners with
people and started talking aboutrespect it was it almost like
was surprising like when i wheni started it it resonated with
me right like around manners andhow important it was but as i
(02:38):
talked to other people they werelike this is really important
and there wasn't a single personout there that was like nope
don't care about that.
I don't care about respect or Idon't care about the golden
rule.
They're like, we need more ofthis.
And I care about that.
And wow, like if my kids eatthis, are they going to be like,
are they going to do manners?
(02:59):
Or like if I give this to mygrandparent, are they going to
actually like say thank you?
And they just kept talking abouthow important that was.
And that like resonated with me.
And maybe one of the mostsurprising things was just a
couple of weekends ago, I was ata market and she was talked to
me about my brand and I told herabout manners and why they were
(03:20):
named after those things and shestarted crying she was like this
means something and she's likethere's a reason why I stopped
and I talked to you and she justlike had tears rolling down her
face Because she was like,manners and respect mean
something.
And that matters to ourcommunity.
And we need more of that.
And so, sure, a granola bar thatsays thank you or sharing is
(03:44):
caring is a small piece.
But that's a part of the rippleeffect.
And I think that might be...
One of like the most unexpectedthings is like the biggest
impact that that can have.
And it actually is making animpact.
So that was one piece.
And maybe the other piece has todo with like this company is
(04:07):
showing me what I'm capable ofdoing.
I never knew that I could bringa company to where it is now.
I didn't think that I could growa CPG, a consumer package good
company.
I'm not a part of this industry.
I never knew.
about this industry and thisindustry is wild and there's so
many facets of this industry Inever knew about and so from
(04:29):
like branding and distributionand markets and doing things I
never thought that I could dowhile having a full-time job and
being a mom and a wife and likea friend and a daughter, I guess
it's kind of blowing my mind alittle bit about how capable
that I can be.
(04:50):
And so if I step back out of theweeds a little bit, because when
you're in it, it's kind of like,this is a lot.
Like, holy bazooka, this is alot.
But if you step out a littlebit, And you're like, I am
capable of doing some reallycool things.
And that's pretty wild to mesometimes.
SPEAKER_00 (05:07):
How amazing that your kids can watch you do that.
So take me back to the earlydays.
Was there a moment that made youthink, this isn't just granola,
like this is something bigger?
What was that like?
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
So way back then, I...
started making granola barsbecause my husband Trevor he was
eating a granola bar that justhad no nutrition in it and I
looked at him and I was likethere's nothing in this he's
like yeah but it tastes good andI was like okay well let me see
if I can make you somethingdifferent and I we didn't have
(05:40):
kids at the time I had one joblike I could like make things
and like had all the time in theworld I made him a granola bar
and he liked it he loved thetaste I put like extra
ingredients in there and I waslike, this has nutrition.
And I was like, I can hide thisin there and put like peanut
butter and Nutella and flaxseedand like loaded it up with like
(06:06):
healthy oats and stuff likethat.
And he's like, yeah, this isgreat.
And that's the original granolabar.
That's the part of me, the blueone that we sell right now.
That's what started it all.
And he loved it.
And at the time, I didn't thinkanything of it.
That was just me making himgranola bars.
And then I made a flavor formyself.
(06:28):
And that now is the Sharing isCaring, which is the purple one.
And again, didn't think anythingof it until fast forward,
probably four years from then, Iwas doing events for Whole Foods
Local.
And I was event planner at thetime and I did road shows for
them.
And I brought my granola bars onsite because I just wanted to
(06:50):
bring something homemade for thestaff.
We're on site for long hours andstuff.
And the staff came up to me andthey're like, Britt, what's this
granola bar?
I was like, oh, I made it.
It's homemade.
Like, I just wanted to bringsomething for you guys since
we're on site for so long.
And they're like, this isdifferent than what's on site.
Like, you should do somethingwith it.
And they go, we will have tochange the ingredients in there,
(07:11):
though, because you don't havethe right ingredients.
It's not going to make it on theshelf.
But you have something that'sdifferent.
You should do something with it.
So it wasn't until 2019 untilsomebody was like, this is good
enough to be on the shelf.
You should do something with it.
And that's when I started toreally think, maybe.
(07:32):
Maybe.
I could sell something.
And so that's what started out.
SPEAKER_00 (07:36):
I love that some of your initial early recipes are
still part of the line and stillon your bestseller list today.
Yes, exactly.
That's awesome.
Who helped you as you werestarting to think about taking
it to that next level and movingfrom creating it at home to
becoming a business?
SPEAKER_01 (07:53):
So that first year, so it was the spring of 2019
into the summer and like earlyfall, I had like all of my
friends all of my neighbors allof my co-workers like their
friends i was selling granolabars on insta story i was like
(08:15):
doing survey monkeys like it waslike anybody that would try a
granola bar i just was like tellme your feedback tell me like is
it worth it i like i hadeverybody and anyone trying it
and it wasn't like like Just oneperson.
I was trying to like get it outbecause, you know, if your mom
(08:39):
tries it, great.
If your friends try it, great.
But I was like, I got to get itout a little bit further because
people were telling me I reallylike it.
I even like in those earlybetween 2015 and 2019, I gave my
recipe to people because theywere like, I love it.
Can I make it myself?
(09:01):
It's like, sure, absolutely.
Like, that's how, like, I didn'tthink about selling at all.
Like, I gave my recipe topeople.
Like, granted, the recipe haschanged since then.
So, like, nobody will be able toreplicate it.
But I, like, that first 2019, Iwas doing, like, SurveyMonkeys
(09:22):
and InstaStory and anybody thatwould try it.
And I got enough interactionfrom people.
And enough yeses and enoughfeedback.
And we iterated enough with thenut butters that we got it to a
place where it was like, I thinkthat this is worth it to like
(09:42):
give it a shot.
And so I built a website.
I got a certification throughCottage Food License.
And, you know, I went for like Itook the next step, basically.
SPEAKER_00 (09:54):
That's incredible.
So you really were usingcommunity feedback to continue
to make the product stronger andstronger and to the point where
you felt like, hey, I'm going tomake this a business.
Yeah.
Thank you.
What part of building please andthank you felt maybe
surprisingly easy?
And then what's been the partthat no one warned you about
that maybe kind of threw a curveball at you?
SPEAKER_01 (10:16):
The easiest part, you know, asterisk behind easy
because it's an iteration,right?
The branding part probably hasfallen into place and we've
taken iterations with it.
But manners and respect andalways coming back to that
intention has always been at thecore of who we are.
(10:39):
I've always come back to thatand the reason why we are doing
this, right?
So yeah, we've had iterationsaround it and probably around
year three is when I went intorebranding it with the bright
colors that you see.
It started in blacks and whitesand really simples and then I
(11:02):
went into leaning into thebright colors that are more
eye-catching with the granolabuddies and kind of more
movement and the smiley facesand stuff like that and I'm
really proud of where we'vetaken the brand and how
capturing it is and so I wouldsay that part is probably the
most rewarding and maybe theeasiest or the most the easiest
(11:25):
to lean into and and it feelsthe best because people resonate
with it the most, I think.
And so the branding part of itjust sits so well.
The hardest part is thisindustry blows my mind.
Like I didn't grow up in thefood industry in any way, shape
or form.
And so I went into it inprobably the most naive way,
(11:49):
shape or form.
So like retail distribution, thesales process, like the
paperwork, like handholding oflike I don't even want to get
into the details because it'sjust mind-boggling.
This industry blows my mind.
And I feel like if we coulddisrupt how retail works for
(12:14):
emerging brands, like, oh, wow,could we make a difference for
how people, brands get on theshelves and how consumers
receive brands and how people...
get real food and not processedfood and how money gets spent
within the industry becausethere's a lot of money spent in
(12:36):
in ways that you know i don'tthink is probably as economical
as we all would hope that it isand so i just the retail cpg
industry blows my mind, I think.
And that is probably the mostdifficult part of this company,
(12:58):
of owning this company.
SPEAKER_00 (13:00):
I just want to say, like, I think that you're a
badass for navigating it.
Just the fact that you'renavigating it and saying, like,
I believe in putting good foodin the world.
And there's maybe a lot that Idon't know.
And this is really, really hard,but I'm going to figure it out.
It's just, it's commendable.
It's just really awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (13:17):
I just like the people that live and breathe in
this world and understand itlike the back of their hand just
how like how your brain works islike wow really.
SPEAKER_00 (13:29):
Switching gears on the personal side you mentioned
that you're a founder, you're amom, you're a human.
How do you stay present for yourfamily when your brain might be
deep in founder mode?
SPEAKER_01 (13:40):
Well I try really hard.
I don't always get it right so Ipractice compartmentalization
really hard and so I think witha full-time job and being a
founder and trying to be presentfor my kids and my husband like
it's I choose to do quality overquantity so I am the parent in
(14:06):
the morning so I don't startwork until 9 30 so they get me
in the morning and so I don'ttake any meetings in the morning
and So I choose that time andthen I'm with them as much as I
can between when my workday endstill bedtime and then I work
once they go to bed.
(14:27):
And so...
I choose quantity and I try tolook at them in their eyes and I
try to listen to them, but Idon't necessarily get a ton of
time.
So I just try to make it as bestas possible.
And I don't necessarily get itright all of the time, but I'm
really hoping that they see thehard work and I'm hoping that it
(14:49):
all pays off in the end and thatthey see, you know, mom can work
really hard and and it createssomething really great for the
family and that they can seethat you can do a lot of really
cool things for the communityand for the family and show up
for us at the same time as well.
(15:10):
So talking about it anddescribing what's happening and
being transparent while I gothrough it too.
I might have emotions and Imight have feelings, but talking
about it Well, I do that too, Ithink is important.
I don't always get it
SPEAKER_00 (15:28):
right,
SPEAKER_01 (15:29):
but I certainly try.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Well, it sounds very intentional, being as present as
you can, bringing them along theride, let their understanding.
Yeah, fingers crossed.
Fingers crossed, yeah.
So on the days when you feellike you're maybe running on
empty with everything that'sgoing on, what might be your
go-to ritual or maybe a recipeor something that you do to help
(15:55):
to bring your mindset back tocenter?
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
On a regular basis.
So every day I prioritize aworkout.
So I get an hour to myself inthe morning that I just get to
do by myself, which I reallyenjoy.
So I get to do whatever workoutthat I want.
Sometimes I'm outside listeningto an audiobook or music or I'm
(16:19):
inside watching a show andthat's my hour where I'm not on
meetings.
I'm not talking to kids or...
my husband or I like I'm notresponsible for anybody other
than myself which I think isreally important for myself and
so I prioritize that and thatjust sets me up for the rest of
(16:41):
the day I'm just a better humanoverall when I get that time and
then I really love like when I'mon empty or things are just too
much I really love it when I canhave time when we just get rid
of work in some way shape orform if it's just sitting on the
desk with my husband Trevor andlike we're just having a glass
of wine and just hanging out bythe fire or we go to the
(17:04):
neighbor's house and just hangout and like talk about whatever
they're talking about and I justlisten or we just talk about
whatever I refuel by beingsocial with other people and
just being able to take my brainout of whatever work that I'm
doing because I tend to have alot of work so as long as I can
(17:27):
get myself out of that mentalityand put myself into a different
mentality and I found that Ilike physically have to do that
like me sitting by myself doesthat work Like my brain will
still be over here.
So I have to like physically putmyself with other people talking
about something else.
And then I can easily get myselfout of that.
(17:49):
And that fills my cup in manyother ways.
So I love being social andhanging out with people and
having that time to justrecharge.
SPEAKER_00 (17:57):
I love that.
So every founder kind of hits,what the hell am I doing all
from time to time?
Can you tell us about a momentlike that?
Maybe what happened and...
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
How you end up pushing through.
I might be in that moment rightnow.
You're hitting me at a time whenwe are executing a decision that
we made at the beginning of theyear.
So I'll kind of walk you throughit where...
At the last year, around thistime, we decided to look into a
(18:29):
flow wrapper, which is a machinethat wraps dates and seals your
bars.
So it's a machine that automatesa really manual process that we
were doing.
And it just creates a whole lotmore efficiency, helps us with
scale, all of those things.
And we applied for a grant tohelp pay for that machine.
(18:52):
And we got denied the grant justby like a few data points.
So in January, we had to decide,you know, do we want to stay
stagnant and we just continuethe manual process and we don't
really grow?
We just kind of like stay wherewe're doing and we just like do
(19:13):
farmers markets, a couple ofmarkets and we just see what
happens.
Do we actually stop?
and just not continue and justcall it?
Or do we fully invest and say,let's take a loan out for the
machine, let's invest inefficiency processes, a pricing
strategy that goes along withit, and sales, and really see
(19:34):
what is the potential?
Because I felt really stronglyaround the fact that we have
more potential, we have aproduct that is different, and
we have a mission that makes animpact in the community.
We thought really long and hardaround like our family life,
around the financials, aroundthe viability of the product.
(19:55):
And we said, I think there'sviability in that.
And we would be remiss if wedidn't give it, you know, the
shot that it deserved.
And so we made the decision.
We did all the planning.
We did all of the, you know, theplanning of it, the
conversations, the, you youknow, the packaging, the boxes,
(20:19):
the loan, all of that stuff.
And now we're in the execution.
And July was a really big monthof moving into the new kitchen,
getting the machine, getting itup and running.
We've had two productions in thenew thing, in the new machine.
I have mechanics there as we'respeaking right now, adjusting
the machine because it's goingto take some adjustments to get
(20:42):
the machine to meet our product.
And and to get it to run the waythat we need it to run.
And so that question is in theexact moment of, oh my gosh,
what did we do?
Did we do the right thing?
And I keep leaning back to, wemade the decision with the right
intention, with the rightpurpose, which I'm surprised
(21:06):
sometimes with like what I'mcapable of, and it comes back to
confidence, right?
And so when you get in thosemoments of, oh my gosh, what did
I just do?
It comes back to havingconfidence that I made the
decision because I had the rightintention.
We know that we can get thereach that comes with it.
(21:27):
And I would feel not right if wedidn't do the thing, right?
As we're doing it, it's showinggrowth and it's showing
excitement and people arerealizing and getting excited
with us.
So there's another pull that'scoming with the decisions that
we're making and the story thatwe're sharing as we're going
(21:49):
with it.
And people are following thejourney.
And so the reason why we'restill going through and we're
pushing through it is likepeople are coming along the
journey with us and they'rebuying the product and they're
still...
They're like excited with us.
And so I'm still really excited.
It just is, it's a lot there.
The learning curve is massiveand we just, I'm spending a lot
(22:12):
of time in operations andefficiencies and processes.
And I want to, you know, get outof that mode a little bit, but I
want to get it right.
And I want to get it so right sothen we can focus on the next
part too.
So I am in that moment rightnow.
SPEAKER_00 (22:29):
Well, it sounds like you're doing an incredible job
navigating it.
And I'm just so proud of you andeverything you've accomplished.
For anyone who wants to followalong, where can they join and
either try a bar or you cantouch with your drink?
SPEAKER_01 (22:45):
Yeah, so...
You can always find us online atptygranolacompany.com.
And I set up a promo code foryou.
So new pantry 15 for 15% off.
So any of your listeners can get15% off any of the orders.
You can follow us on Instagram,ptygranolaco, Facebook, and then
(23:07):
we're also on Kowalski as well.
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
Thank you so much for being here with us today.
Really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_01 (23:13):
Appreciate it.
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