
This Week in CPG 02/10/25
News from W, Lotus Foods, Glonuts, My Better Batch, Tiny Sprouts Foods, Spritzal Cookie, Koia, Rotten, Daddy’s Homemade, Curious Elixirs and Daily Crunch Snacks.
Interview with Jeff Martin, Co-Founder of Pipcorn
Let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. How did your company get started and why?
When my sister and Co-Founder, Jen Martin, shared some recently-discovered heirloom popcorn with me, my immediate reaction was “We have to sell this!” I’ve always been a popcorn lover, but this popcorn was so unique. The shells were incredibly delicate and the flavor was like nothing I’d ever had. After much thinking, strategizing, and snacking, my wife Teresa, Jen and I decided to go all-in and turn these special heirloom popcorn kernels into a family business. In our first few years, we were popping around the clock and hand-packaging our own products to sell at local farmers’ markets. Our heirloom popcorn was an instant hit with the crowds.
Since launching in 2012, we’ve been fortunate to catch the attention of Oprah (made her Favorite Things list 3 times), Shark Tank Investor, Barbara Corcoran, and many others, quickly becoming beloved by celebrities, families, and on-the-go snackers across the nation. Always keeping the goal in mind of promoting diversity in the natural snacking space, Pipcorn continues to grow its product offerings and create better-for-you childhood favorites.
What is your product and how would you describe it?
Pipcorn offers four lines, Heirloom Popcorn, Heirloom Cheese Balls, Heirloom Corn Dippers, and Heirloom Crackers, all of which are gluten-free and Non-GMO Project Verified. All of these snacks are inspired by childhood favorites and reimagined with heirloom corn to create better-for-everyone, modern alternatives. Pipcorn’s key ingredient, the heirloom corn kernel, is delicate, tasty, and easy to digest.
How have you pivoted your business this year?
This has been the year of pivots for every brand. Presence on shelf is what we fight for all the time, day in and day out, so when the lockdowns hit, we were left pivoting in many ways! Initially, we re-focused a bunch of our in-store budget to support 3rd party grocery delivery apps. Strategically, we had to make sure we were just as visible on 3rd party delivery apps as we were in store. Next, we shifted a ton of attention online. We did everything we could do to increase our DTC traffic to attract new customers while making sure current fans stuck with us. Among many, many other pivots, getting a handle on supply chain was huge. How long would the initial bump last? What would happen after the bump? When would people be back in the stores? How long will this last? Like all of our peers, we had to make some informed (and uninformed) decisions to ensure we could continue operating at a high level while mitigating as much risk as possible.
What is your next challenge to overcome? What help are you looking for?
A challenge we are excited about is the launch of a new product in 3 weeks! This is our second launch during the pandemic (we launched our Heirloom Snack Crackers in April!) so there are obviously lots of interesting obstacles, like the biggest and most obvious one: fewer people are going into stores. But honestly, as an entrepreneur, the challenges are what keep us young and problem-solving becomes a way of life. It actually reminds me of the old days, where you just have to figure it out! We are grateful to be in a position where we are able to launch two new snacks in the past four months and give people something to enjoy while at home. We are so proud of our newest snacks, and want people to go out and try them at Whole Foods!
What do you predict for the food industry over the rest of the year?
I think we’ll continue to see a conscious effort to search out and support Black-owned and minority-founded brands. I’m hopeful in thinking this shift will be more than just an Instagram-fueled moment in time, eventually becoming easier and easier with buy-in from retailers, distributors, sales agencies, and VCs (to name a few.) Consumers making conscious decisions to spend their money with a Black-owned brand is phenomenal, but a retailer making a decision to stock their shelves with X% Black- and minority-owned brands has the ability to kick off a seismic shift in the industry. I think we’ll see some changes at that level.
Learn more at: www.pipcorn.com
News from W, Lotus Foods, Glonuts, My Better Batch, Tiny Sprouts Foods, Spritzal Cookie, Koia, Rotten, Daddy’s Homemade, Curious Elixirs and Daily Crunch Snacks.
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