In this episode, we talk to Sarah Goodman, the founder and CEO of Chiwis. Chiwis is a natural snack food company based in Squamish, British Columbia.
After making her own kiwi chips to bring camping, hiking, or binging Netflix, Sarah decided to share these healthy treats with friends and family. They were then dubbed as "healthy tasting sour patch kids" and Sarah began the journey to create her brand.
“If someone else has the ability and they have the facility, the staff, the safety certifications and all that, don’t reinvent the wheel — use them!” — Sarah Goodman [0:18:24]
In the two years of growing her company, Sarah has been able to get her product into over a thousand stores and is working in the US markets. Chiwis now has five different flavours of all natural fruit chips. One big goal of the brand is to use as much up-cycled fruit as possible to decrease food waste.
You’ll hear how Sarah started her company, the journey toward her first sale, and how she used the COVID-19 pandemic to pivot. She shared that she raised the majority of the money for Chiwis on Zoom wearing a hoodie!
“Until I started really loving what I was studying — I just couldn’t give a shit.” — Sarah Goodman [0:41:31]
Her entrepreneurial background in technology has shaped how she is building her company.
This episode dives into the potential of consumer packaged goods, and how to build a brand. and how to finance it.
She shares her experience as a woman in tech and finance. Don’t miss out on this empowering episode.
KEY POINTS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Sarah gives listeners a personal introduction and background.
How snacking on kiwi chips on hikes in the backcountry lead Sarah to founding Chiwis.
Numbers on Chiwis as a company and how she’s growing the company.
The research behind producing the product.
She tells the story behind her packaging.
More about her first sale and what the journey towards it looked like.
How she used the COVID pandemic to rethink, rescale, and grow her company.
She tells about her experience as a woman in tech and finance.
Why it’s important to know your numbers and be transparent when pitching your idea.
Sarah shares about the members of her advisory board.
Sarah gives those starting out in entrepreneurship some great advice.
LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
PROMO CODE: CHIWISLOVE
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