Founder Stories: Sprinkle Bites, Rachel Kane

Jordan Buckner: [00:00:00] I'm really excited for my guest today on the podcast. I am talking with Rachel Kane, who is the co founder of Sprinkle Bites, which are sprinkles that are made with protein to make them a little bit healthier, especially for the kiddos. And excited to talk about the journey of launching the product and building the company.

Rachel, thanks so much for joining. 

Rachel Kane: Thanks for having me. 

Jordan Buckner: So tell me more about Sprinkle Bites. What are they and how did you come up with them? 

Rachel Kane: Sure. My co founder, Nicole, is from the Netherlands where she grew up eating sprinkles on toast, they eat sprinkles on toast every day as a kid in the Netherlands just to get.

I'll give you some of the statistics behind that. Just in Holland alone, they eat Hagelslag, which are chocolate sprinkles, on over 750, 000 pieces of toast a day. 

Jordan Buckner: Wow, this is amazing. I know. 

Rachel Kane: Almost 30 million sprinkles a year are consumed in that tiny country. And it's because they're made with 32 percent cacao.

So they're really like all [00:01:00] natural ingredients and really chocolatey flavor. They're not breaking your teeth like we have here in America. And so my co founder, it was very nostalgic for her to eat these. This as a lunch and a breakfast. So she started feeding it to her son and every one of his friends loved it.

So we sat down and thought, okay, how do we bring this concept to America? And then on top of that, how do we use sprinkles as a vessel for giving our kids the nutrients that they need? 

Jordan Buckner: I think that's really exciting. And so tell me about the actual product itself. How would you describe a product that you are launching?

Rachel Kane: So after doing some research on how are sprinkles traditionally made. We found a way to produce them by hand, small batch, in a commercial kitchen, and we developed our own recipe. We figured out the consistency and the texture and the mouthfeel of the sprinkles. We determined what size and shape we wanted it in.

We decided how much protein we wanted to have in a serving. And not just In a serving, but what we say is [00:02:00] a pre packaged resealable packet too. So we didn't want to just create this innovative formula recipe for a new sprinkle with added plant protein. We also wanted to create the packaging to be innovative as well, to fit into the busy lifestyles that everyone has, right.

To make it more convenient on the go. So therefore we have sprinkles with five grams of plant protein. based protein, sugar free. So even kids with diabetes, you know, can have it and then package it in a resealable stick pack. And in that stick pack is 17 grams of the sprinkles enough to fit on one piece of toast and gets you five grams of protein, which is almost 20, 25 percent of a child's daily recommended protein intake.

Jordan Buckner: I know one thing that's It was part of the reason I found the company is because your co founders like nostalgic use of sprinkles on toast. I'm curious as you're launching this product in the U. S., how your messaging and kind of positioning for the product is, might change based on the use of sprinkles here, right?

Because most of the time you think it's about sprinkles [00:03:00] in the U. S. of a ice cream topping. Has that changed how you are like talking about the sprinkles or positioning? Are you really just saying like, Hey, here's, Sprinkles and use it on anything or however you've been thinking about that. 

Rachel Kane: Yeah.

It's definitely going to be a mindset shift. I think we have to lean into how people are used to seeing sprinkles traditionally here and then introducing them to a new way. So educating them. visualizations, pictures, images, recipe ideas, in store demos getting them to just take a swig of the sprinkles themselves, because no one's really used to eating sprinkles just pure, and hint, you can now in the stick pack.

So it's not going to be weird to see someone on the street with a packet of sprinkles, Throwing them back to get their protein into their day to day. So you know, it is new, but I think once people get them in hand, what I've seen so far is that it just clicks and they have so many ideas within their own minds that they can't wait to try out with the sprinkles.

Jordan Buckner: Yeah, that's so much fun. I mean, in thinking about that, how are you going through your go to market strategy? Are you [00:04:00] focused on e commerce first? Are you going to try to get into retail? What's your approach? 

Rachel Kane: Yeah. So we actually started down three different channels right now just to even get some interest, right.

And to make sure that this idea is viable and it has Traction and it would succeed in a store and also to just do a little research on merchandising and planning. So we didn't want to go ahead and. And make a ton of inventory before we knew, you know, strategically which channel would work best for us.

So in that we have some interest from some wholesalers, B2B wholesalers, like food service companies. We can sell it to them, not in the stick packs in bulk. They can use it as an ingredients in their menu, on their smoothies, at a juice bar, on an acai bowl, at franchise acai bowl places, right? Then the second channel is retail.

We talked to. Three different retailers. We're actually in the middle of getting onboarded as new vendor for two of them. And we're going to do a lot of in store demos and talking to customers. , they're not committing to purchasing like a ton of units right away, but they've agreed to partner with us to just [00:05:00] do a little bit more market research and see what category it really should be in, because there's We're really reinventing a brand new category here.

And then third is DTC. And we built some really strong relationships with a couple of celebrities and a couple of big influencers who have really enjoyed the product. So we have really strong relationships with them. And when we're ready, we have a plan to launch e commerce, DTC business. When we're ready.

I don't want to pull that trigger too soon. I want to make sure we have our operations in place to fulfill all the demand and make sure our product maintains its quality when we start producing at scale. So we will be launching big, I think the biggest channel is e commerce DTC, but I want to do that when we're ready to go.

Jordan Buckner: I'm really curious about when you're getting the product into the hands of potential customers, users, they're trying it, what are the number one things that they are saying to you in terms of feedback?

Rachel Kane: Let's think, one is they all want to put it on their smoothies and yogurts. That's like one big reaction. A couple of people have [00:06:00] been saying like they'll put it on ice cream. But it's mainly been put on bagels and cream cheese on top of toast with peanut butter added, doubling up that five to seven grams of protein you get with peanut butter on toast.

You can double that with one packet of sprinkle bites. A lot of people like the on the go convenient part. They can make anything fun that way. And. As far as like constructive criticism, I would say the cacao is everyone's favorite. The colorful version is pink, purple, blue made out of superfoods.

So we have purple sweet potato powder, blue butterfly pea flower powder, and pink dragon fruit powder. So everyone loves the nutrients they're getting from those, but it does taste a little more plant like. Forward, left, 

Jordan Buckner: no, that totally makes sense. And then what are the biggest questions that you have around the brand?

So in just thinking about like launching, I would say like, you know, whenever you launch your product, it's the hypothesis. And so you're like, Hey, we believe that people are most interested in protein. They're most interested in like adding more, you know, giving something [00:07:00] healthy for their kids. Right.

There's a lot of different directions. I'm curious in terms of like what you're seeking to answer. Yeah. Next as you're starting to like get the product in the hands of more people as you continue to like go on that journey towards product market bit, because that's one of my favorite things to talk about is really understanding, like, what are those key questions that need to be answered to know you like have something here?

Rachel Kane: Definitely. So we're using very high quality, expensive products. So to make it. More cost effective when we produce that scale. How do we find the right suppliers of our ingredients? So of those superfood powders and even the pure fair trade cacao, as we know is getting more expensive. Coconut sugar is a new trend now, and that's getting more pricey and higher demand, so the supply is low.

I think figuring out those costs will be critical to keep our price point. Can't have it be too high, can't be selling a stick pack for, you know, 7, 8 a packet which essentially is one piece of toast, right? So if you're going to grab that stick pack, we're trying to [00:08:00] keep it 2. 99 or lower. And then we also want to sell it in a box of 12.

Jordan Buckner: I like that. You know, it's always really interesting because as you're thinking about like where to like what the product is and the pricing to like get that value, right? You're using premium ingredients, all better quality. Prince Sprinkles is an interesting category as I think about it because it's been very commoditized for years in terms of like generic sprinkles.

You have no idea what's in them. They're like artificial colors and flavors. There's only one brand. And I can even think of is just trying to do like a basic sprinkle with better ingredients out there. Like not even protein. And it's. An interesting thing. I think there's both like a big opportunity because it's right for someone to come in with better products.

It's also a challenge. It's the beginning of me. You're like one of the first few companies to do that because right. As you mentioned the price, if someone's looking at jar tub of like sprinkles, just because they're not really made with real food, the price is really low. And so. It's like, how do you interrupt that consumer where you're like, they have to, know, there, I [00:09:00] think there's a lot more education around like, okay, that's not bad.

So people have like stopped using a lot of sprinkles or like feel bad about it. And then communicating like that you can feel good about the sprinkles and it has all these other benefits. I think you're right. You mentioned earlier that education is a big component and I do see that kind of with this.

Okay. And I think as you're going throughout this, finding ways of simplifying the messaging even, so it's like so straightforward where like people just get it right away. I think it's going to be like the key to starting to get some of that virality, which I think is there. 

Rachel Kane: Yeah. The snacking sprinkles, not for decorating.

 And honestly, once we build up our customer base online, when they go to the store, they know what they're looking for, right? It's not like I'm going to the store to buy sprinkles to decorate my cupcakes. I'm going to go to the baking aisle. And then I realized, Oh, wait, there's sprinkles with protein because those people aren't looking for sprinkles with protein.

They're making a sugary sweet. So it's not, I don't see it being in that aisle. But to launch. They're going to go to that aisle right in the beginning. And so I, we're probably [00:10:00] not going to launch there as our primary channel in the beginning. 

Jordan Buckner: Yeah. Retail is definitely hard because even with the brand I launched, TesSquares, we were making energy snacks that were like bite sized squares.

Essentially it was like a protein bar of bite sized squares that was infused with ingredients like tea, green tea, black tea. And we actually had a. Even one difficult problem because essentially there was like a protein bar in a multi serve pouch. So we had like a packaging innovation. We had a hero ingredient innovation with tea.

We had flavor innovation in terms of like having flavors like citrus green tea matcha, which there's like no other product in the market, maybe in beverage only that like had that. And honestly, like we did not fit in retail shelf. Mean like. If they put us by the protein bar set, those are built for like boxes and bars.

Like our standup pouch literally just didn't fit on the shelf, except for like the very top shelf. So we like, couldn't even get center aisle placement, even for the stores that want it to physically. And then if they place us by granola, we were way more expensive per ounce than the [00:11:00] granola was. And when we launched in the Whole Foods, we ended up kind of being in like the other snack category.

There's some other like. There's like one other bite product, it was like a granola bite. There were like kale chips next to us. And it was a challenge because no one went in that aisle looking for our product. And we had to like disrupt people through demos and promotions. And it was really expensive because basically we would have to like be in the store all the time.

And so I agree like retail is tough because People think sprinkles, they're going to go to the baking aisle, but that's not specific, that's a use case, but it's not like one of the ones that you're going after, but snacking. But if their thing is snacking, they're also not like going to the snack aisle, looking for sprinkles.

And so is this kind of catch 22 within retail that kind of leads to some of that education that you'll have to do? 

Rachel Kane: Yeah. Exactly, exactly. And trust me, I've taken packets of Sprinkle Bites and put them on the shelf next to the peanut butters. 

Jordan Buckner: Yeah. 

Rachel Kane: Okay, like, cause now they're all the peanut butters are coming out in packets.

So they don't look as weird next to the packets. So they could be there as a [00:12:00] topper. They could also be with the granolas. As the toppers or the bars, like the breakfast bars, or because they will be in a box and we can put them in a box. And so there are many different ways we can go about it from merchandising perspective.

We can also do just the shelf. The standup shippers and put those and set those up at the end of the aisles. There's a lot of options. We are talking directly to people and getting their input. I'm doing tons of surveys being like, where would you go buy this? Where would you look? 

Jordan Buckner: I love it.

Are you familiar with Little Bucks, founded by Emily Griffith? So, they are buckwheat seed essentially like a topper that you can use. You can eat them straight, you can like, top them on top of yogurt and some other areas. And I know like, she faced a similar challenge of building the business in terms of it didn't have a direct category.

Like it wasn't really next to the almond and pumpkin seeds and also didn't fit quite within granola. And so they kind of had to like build out their own set. And I know she's had a lot of learnings in terms of what's worked, what didn't work, how to build that educational use And [00:13:00] so that would also be just a really Great person, the founder talked to because I think the use case of using as like a granola top, at least on the adult side, right?

It's like a yogurt smoothie bowl. Granola topper is a similar use case in terms of how to interrupt those consumers. And maybe there's even some collaboration where it's combining both those products together or something. But I think there's a lot to learn in terms of building the category. What are you looking forward the most in the new year?

Rachel Kane: Oh, it's so exciting. So just in the past two months, maybe even less, we've built an email waitlist over 400 people. 

Jordan Buckner: Amazing. 

Rachel Kane: And I'm just trying to really keep engaged with everyone. So I send out weekly emails to the group. It's called the Sprinkle Bite. And it's a mix of like behind the scenes stuff with the company, but also like personal.

You know, lessons learned and everything. And I really want to keep building that community. And I think we're going to get a lot of excitement when we get closer to launch with our new content. So we're doing a bunch of photo shoots we just finished up. So I'm excited to like [00:14:00] produce those pictures and videos and make it real and really do a lot of that education we were talking about earlier in a nice professional, like.

Clean way through our social media and in person and interviews like this. But I think the photography is really going to be key. People have to see it and I'm excited for people to see it, see the sprinkles, the actual sprinkles. These are not like powders that we're calling a sprinkle or dried herb or a seasoning, you know, that we're calling a sprinkle, like it's actually physically a sprinkle.

Jordan Buckner: I mean, that's really exciting. I know building a company is very exciting, but it's also very challenging. I'm curious, what have been your most helpful resources as you have been building the company? 

Rachel Kane: Your podcast for sure. That is how I learned about SecureCPG insurance. They were really, really, really helpful to work with.

It's different getting an insurance for a CPG company and we'll get a regular generic business insurance. So it was really helpful. You know, to have that referral. And then obviously I listened to your podcast [00:15:00] interviews with different retail buyers to understand their process and the terminology. I am not from this industry.

I'm in tech. And I think that's number one, number two, immersing yourself in other communities of founders. For me, it's female founders and also female founders that are mothers. That, and third, female founders that are mothers that are also doing a day job and an established career. Because I work, like I said, actually in tech as my day job.

My co founder is an art implementation business development consultant. Like we both have 18 plus years careers that we've built in business. We have three kids, two kids. She has two, I have three. You want that support network. And you want a safe space to ask your stupid questions. We're smart people, but if you're new to CPG, there's a lot to learn.

Jordan Buckner: People have gone, been there through it and have handled each of those experiences and get it. 

Rachel Kane: Willing to help. So female factors world is number one, like. Top of the charts, Beth community, the chat room, the live summit events. I'd say yours. I'd say startup CPG Slack. Amazing. [00:16:00] We are also working closely with the founders market.

I'm in outside of Philly. So founders markets in Lancaster, they do all 3PL distribution warehousing. They also have a consultancy called the lasagna box. They've been wonderful to guide us. And. Lastly, in the Slack group of Startup CPG was how I found my food scientist, Maya Toft. She's from Toft Consulting.

She started her own consulting company after leaving Clif Bar, who's doing protein bars for 20 years. And she's been amazing too. So we've been very resourceful in finding experts in each of the areas of the CPG business that you need, and then really just leaning on them for their expertise and executing.

Off of their advice. 

Jordan Buckner: Absolutely. I love that. And I love that you've been able to find so many great resources and get into the communities. Because there's a lot to learn. This is a really complicated industry. Every single like decision and channel and its own learning curve and you're doing everything right to start on that journey and to set yourself up for success.

And as he just yesterday [00:17:00] interviewed another founder Marilyn Yang And what she's actually like also working full time has been working full time running her business for I think three, four years now she's still working full time kind of into it. And it's because she's learned that, you know, she can, have more optionality and control over the business as she's able to, you know, use the funds from working to also invest into the business and I have to rely on investors early and be able to prove out that product market fit and that there's a business there. And then, you know, now she's getting ready to look for funding because the business is kind of at the right stage.

There are 3000 doors all just. You know, self funded and, you know, using some debt products as well but it's really exciting. So there's lots of opportunities out there for founders who are working full time as well to build successful companies or not. If you want to jump in, do it full time, like there's also options.

One thing I always love sharing is that there are options for different ways of building a business and find what works best for you.

 I think Rachel, I'm excited about your journey. Thanks so much for being on today and on the podcast. And I can't wait [00:18:00] to catch up in a couple months to see how things are going. How can people, and when can they get your sprinkles? 

Rachel Kane: Yeah, everyone can go check us out at sprinklebites.Com and you can buy a four pack for 10 right now today.

So we are selling those four packs just to keep getting feedback from people, building up our wait lists, you know, our official email lists. So it's a really great way to introduce yourselves to snacking sprinkles, sprinkle bites and also follow us on social media. We're on Tik TOK and on Instagram.

Our handle is actually high hungry meet bored. We help kids stop saying, I'm hungry. I'm bored with healthy sprinkles. 

Jordan Buckner: I love it. And so much fun. Rachel, thanks so much for being on today. 

Rachel Kane: Thank you.