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Cynthia Tice is the Founder of Lily’s Sweets and got her start in the natural foods industry before green juice was even cool. As supermarkets realized the staying power of natural organic foods, she began consulting retailers on how to launch or build out their natural and organic offerings. She also started advising brands about looking into launching natural and organic products. As a longtime user of stevia, Cynthia began experimenting making chocolate with stevia to satisfy her own need for a no-sugar chocolate, her favorite food. In 2011, the recipe was perfected, and Lily's Sweets was on the shelves at Whole Foods stores nationwide by 2012. Since then, Lily’s Sweets has been recognized by Forbes as a mission-driven company reinventing the packaged goods industry.
Jane Miller is the CEO of Lily's Sweets and has 30 years of executive experience in the food industry. She's worked for both startups and Fortune 500 companies and is also the Founder of JaneKnows.com, a career advice website geared toward young leaders starting their careers. Jane has held several other CEO roles in the natural and organic food industry including Rudi's Organic Bakery, ProYo Frozen Yogurt, and HannahMax Cookie Chips. She also worked for HJ Heinz as Chief Growth Officer, ran the Western Division of Bestfoods Baking, and spent the first 14 years of her career at PepsiCo, where she became the President of the Central Division of Frito Lay Snacks. In 2013, the Denver Business Journal awarded Jane the Lifetime Achievement Award for her mentoring of young professionals and startups.
How Cynthia got started in the natural food industry and why she chose to make chocolates with stevia
How Cynthia grew her business and team, and how she got funding
How Jane found and joined Lily's Sweets and what intrigued her about the company
The evolution to more conventional retail stores and how Lily’s Sweets has been giving back to the community
Similarities and differences between large and small CPG brands from a managerial standpoint
The biggest challenges Cynthia and Jane have faced in growing the business and their advice on pitfalls to avoid
The future plans for Lily's Sweets and Cynthia's expectations for her company when she first started
Cynthia and Jane's advice to fellow entrepreneurs on building a business
Cynthia Tice has always loved chocolate. But, the ones in the market weren’t healthy enough for her to eat a whole bar. She could only enjoy a small piece and that was not an option for her. So when stevia was granted GRAS status (Generally Recognized As Safe) in 2008 for use as a sweetener in food products, she set out to create her own chocolate made with stevia. Lily's Sweets was born.
Cynthia Tice and the current CEO for Lily’s Sweets, Jane Miller are on a mission to give back to their community by supporting causes and organizations that support the fight against childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. They also mentor young leaders to bring about positive changes in society.
G. Steven Cleere, host of the NexxtLevel Podcast, is joined by Cynthia Tice and Jane Miller from Lily's Sweets to talk about growing a healthy chocolate business. Cynthia and Jane talk about the company's history, giving back to the community, and the main similarities and differences between growing a large CPG company versus a smaller business.
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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