![]() ![]() We knew that the product worked well across different geographies. We knew that the product worked well across different channels. And that is going to stunt your growth because without good performance, why would another retailer bring you on board? So, when we started the conversations with Costco, we had a lot more data. And on the other hand, if the product does not perform well, then you are stuck because you lose your credibility in that store or in that chain. You need the resources to afford those channels. From the onset, we have always wanted to be in large retailers, but from a exposure standpoint, in terms of brand equity, in terms of familiarity with the type of product, if you expand too quickly into these channels, you are at risk. The slotting fees are crazy and the cost of marketing support is really high. And so, unless the brand could really land in a major retailer and land across different geographies, we wouldn't really be able to live that mission. And by people, we really mean a broad range of people. Specifically, our mission is to improve people's lives by inventing better convenient foods. Pruisken: Our mission was and is today, to be a ubiquitous snack. Knox: That expansion has continued and today you are in new formats like Costco. What led to you looking at these more traditional channels? We expanded to Peet's Coffee, and then eventually we got into Starbucks. Then we expanded into Whole Foods, regionally. And from there, we were able to build a nice business and then start expanding into different channels. We were very early on that bandwagon and were one of the first snacks at Google, at Facebook, at Yelp, at Dropbox, you name it. We pivoted in our go-to-market strategy and moved the business to the Bay Area for a while. We did this because we realized that tech companies were giving snacks away for free to their employees. Because we could clearly see colleges we visited and helped merchandise the product, we had significantly better performance than in colleges where the product sold out and it would take three or four days to restock the product. We had gone to about 30 college cafes, but we realized that to merchandise our product in each of these locations required distribution support and merchandising support. Where is there natural product market fit? And where's the cost of acquisition of a customer the lowest, given the resources that we had? We first started selling to college cafes. So we started by thinking about where the product could really move. It was really important to us to have the independence and be able to propel the business forward versus taking a lot of investment upfront, diluting ourselves out of the company. Pruisken: We wanted to grow the business and generate revenue and generate cash. ![]() Knox: When you launched, what was your initial go-to market strategy for the brand? Way Day 2023 Is Officially Here These Are The Best Deals So I thought if we could make it healthier and make it accessible in the US and it has this appeal, it could be the next big cookie. And we knew from Holland that the stroopwafel can be an universal product. And so, we thought, well, if we could take this product, which rivals these products in tastes and reduce the sugar levels significantly and make the product more nutritious, we'd give people a better option. Sugar is a bad thing, and if you look at cookies by and large, whether it's an Oreo or a premium Tate's, they both have north of 10 grams of sugar per serving. ![]() And we thought low sugar was the critical mega-trend that we're going to see grow and grow over the next 20 plus years. ![]() And so, we had to have a bridge essentially, to connect the consumer to our product. And then, the second thing is, what do people really care about? And so, we already had a product that was totally foreign. One is, we wanted to create a product that actually had an impact, and we wanted that impact to be as profound as it could be within snacking. Pruisken: Part of it was value-driven and then part of it was understanding our consumer and what they wanted. We realized a couple of things. Knox: That first product was more in the cookie space, not the better-for-you space. What led you to re-engineer the product to lower the sugar and increase the fiber? ![]()
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