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Kellie Lee is the Creator and CEO of Rowdy Bars. She is an active and avid backpacker, runner, and outdoor enthusiast—which led to the creation of the health food brand. Like many entrepreneurs, the company’s genesis came about after a personal health crisis. After many hours in the kitchen, Kellie found herself perfecting an energy bar with the hopes of developing a snack she could take on backpacking trips with her husband.
Kellie refused to let her health obstacles halt the progress she had made. She discovered the health benefits of prebiotics and the yacon root superfood, and shortly afterward, the first Rowdy Bar was born.
The crisis that led to the creation of Rowdy Bars and how Kellie started making her healthy energy bars for business
Kellie talks about finding a co-packer, why she uses yacon root in her formula, and the different Rowdy flavors
How Kellie built an online presence, got into grocery stores, and developed her growth strategies
How COVID-19 has affected Rowdy Bars and the healthy foods market
How the company positions itself in the food market
Balancing production and sales while growing a startup
How Rowdy Bars differentiates itself from other healthy snack food bars
What Kellie did to boost sales following the cancellation of the Fancy Food Show and her experience working with Sprouts
Kellie's advice to people looking to start a food business
How Kellie decided on the pricing of her products when starting out and the biggest challenge she has faced growing the business
A lover of the outdoors, Kellie Lee used to cook her own food when going backpacking with her husband. But, this all changed in 2013 after she was diagnosed with gallstones and later hypothyroidism. With her health affected, she didn’t have any energy, lost interest in the things she once loved doing, and—frequently fatigued—couldn’t think straight.
Kellie was frustrated. So, she began researching healthy ways of living with and eating for hypothyroidism. Eventually, she came up with the perfect idea: healthy energy bars made with yacon root as a sweetener. The snack bars were a hit and helped improve her overall health. Once she started selling the energy bars to her co-workers, family, and friends, Rowdy Bars was born.
In this week's episode of the NexxtLevel Podcast, G. Steven Cleere is joined by Kellie Lee, the Creator and CEO of Rowdy Bars, to talk about Kellie's journey to find a healthy solution for her hypothyroidism. She talks about her initial challenge in finding a co-packer, her formula and flavors, how her company positions itself in the food market, and what she has been doing to boost sales during COVID-19.
2-Do Tuesdays by Kitchen2Shelf
Our podcast today is sponsored by Kitchen2Shelf, the educational arm of NexxtLevel Brands. Kitchen-2-Shelf provides online and in-person courses and workshops for CPG entrepreneurs at any stage of growth.
Whether you're an early-stage startup, a local growing business, or if you want to just expand your distribution to a national level, Kitchen-2-Shelf can help you learn what you need to know to grow.
Visit their website to get access to some free tools that can help you understand where your business stands.
Contact them today to find out how they can help you grow your brand and expand your business to reach its full potential.
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