Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan OBrien.
THE BEGINNING…
It all began on the island on Maui, where Susan O’Brien first discovered raw foods after an introduction to local raw foods chef. Susan was instantly blown away with how this truly innovative approach to preparing food could provide such a delicious and satiating experience while featuring only plant-based ingredients that provide so many great benefits for the body.
She was particularly fascinated with how dietary fats (like raw nuts and organic virgin coconut oil) were used for their nutritious, heart-healthy and energizing qualities, but also to add a subtle sweetness and a luxurious mouthfeel to snacks and desserts. The notion of “have your cake and eat it, too” was solidifying within her, and she began to embrace an idea that was not commonly believed at the time; that clean, fresh, healthy ingredients can provide an indulgent experience. She knew she was on to something huge.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an entrepreneur is a crazy fun roller coaster ride for sure. The easy part was getting people to love our food and to be relevant during so many food trends from raw to gluten-free, paleo, keto-friendly and now the biggest ever movement being plant-based clean snacking. There have been many struggles along the way. The hardest probably is effectively managing distribution costs and trade spend. Feels a lot like throwing money down a black hole at times. Growing margins, so you can reinvest back in the business to help acquire new customers, is a definite struggle for much better for you CPG brands. Especially because we sell the higher quality of expensive ingredients.
More recent headwinds with distribution are happening with Amazon’s home delivery putting a strain on small LTL carriers around the nation. We have to wait much longer now to get smaller carriers to pick up less than truckload orders because there is a shortage of these “LTL” carriers.
Please tell us about Hail Merry.
We are the nation’s leading “fresh” refrigerated dessert snack. We make clean and FRESH better for you indulgent CUPS & BITES. Currently, we are most proud of our new Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup which is the first and only plant-based (no dairy) milk chocolate peanut butter cup ever! Think Justin’s peanut butter cup but this is NOT candy in any way. It is fresh (found in the cooler) and has an almond flour cookie crust and coconut oil chocolate ganache filling. We use only non-GMO and mostly organic ingredients. We sweeten with organic maple syrup and are also gluten-free. We have won five years in a row now the BEST DESSERT SNACK from Paleo Magazine. We have a very loyal fan base and have enjoyed much success over our 10-year run. I am proud of the kitchen that we built and that is now owned by one of our early investors Apogee Foods. We built an incredibly unique commercial kitchen. Truly one-of-a-kind that focuses only on plant-based foods from allergen free and organic ingredients. I am most proud of the jobs we have created and the lives we have touched as we grow awareness around plant-based snacking and how wonderful plant-based foods can taste and how they are can heal not only ourselves but the planet.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Picking fresh fruit from our families farm with my dad down in south Texas.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hailmerry.com
- Instagram: @hailmerrysnacks
- Facebook: @hailmerrysnacks
- Twitter: @hailmerrysnacks
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