This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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What do you keep in your desk drawer? What do you keep in your pantry or wherever is close at hand? For me, I would say always have a selection of protein bars. Sometimes I might just have one, but I often have a choice because there are just so many of them out there these days. Some of my favorites are from Good Snacks in Vega, as well as the Classic Cliff, but of course there are many, many more.
Now I tell you this not because it is an ad, but because it is a listener question. The listener we're gonna feature in today's Q&A is launching their own, and it sounds incredible except for the taste. One small problem there, but they assure us that they're working on it. So they're gonna have to solve that themselves. Otherwise, they're wondering what are the next steps to making their all-in bar a protein-packed profitable creation.
Protein-packed profitable creation, like a nutrition bar that makes money. That's what we're talking about. What is the best way to get to market? Detailed question and my answer coming up after this actual ad from our real sponsor. [Music]
Hey Chris, this is Emma from Austin, and I've been following your projects for a couple of years.
I've invented a new kind of protein snack I call the all-in bar. It works for people with almost every dietary restriction, including gluten-free, vegan, and low carb. As for how it tastes, well, that part is a work in progress. But I'm also thinking ahead, what are the steps to getting to market with my all-in-one bar? How can I be on the shelves at Whole Foods one year from now?
Thanks for any advice you can share with me. [Music]
Emma and Austin, thanks for the question. Hope you're doing well, and I'm excited to hear about this challenge. So let's think about it, the all-in bar. Great name, by the way.
Let's go all-in with one bar to rule them all. How can you in fact be on the shelves at Whole Foods? Also, I love the specificity of the goal. Whole Foods, one year from now, let's assume it's not just Whole Foods, but you want wide distribution. You want the all-in bar to be a big success.
Step one, that's on you. You gotta solve the small problem of taste, you know, because that's kind of, I don't know, that's a prerequisite for everything else, but I think you know that. So step two, I would say connect online and locally with other food producers. There's a whole industry. There are lots of resources.
There are food kitchens, commercial kitchens, and networks of people who are all making food and beverage products. I know in Austin, there's a great community of people doing just that. And in most other cities as well, and the great thing about this is it's not just big cities, right? Because people everywhere, they eat food, and they consume beverages. So even in smaller cities, you will be able to find like co-op kitchens and other people with the same goal, or at least a similar goal.
So I would say first and foremost, do that. And then online, there are lots of resources, guides, checklists, other networking events that you can attend virtually or in person. And a lot of the questions that you have are gonna be answered along the way there. Now step three, which you can also be thinking of simultaneous with step one and step two, or synchronous, you know, whatever the word is, invest as much time in branding as you do with the product itself, or at least invest a lot of time in branding. Like this is a very competitive space.
And I don't think you're gonna succeed with just a great all in bar. Even after the taste problem is solved, you're gonna need a hook, a story, great packaging. If you just go to a store like Whole Foods or another grocery store, you can see so many of these bars and so many of these like protein snacks and such. So you are gonna wanna make sure it looks great in addition to tastes great. And then step four is kind of to begin thinking about logistics and distribution.
And sure you want that big name grocery store, but what about your local co-op or your small local grocery store? That might be easier to get into and it will also give you some critical info. Like you're not gonna fail, but just in case you do fail at first, you would rather fail in a small test at a local store or two than with the big national distribution of that. Obviously they're gonna do some testing too, but you don't wanna fail in their test. So you wanna make sure you're well prepared to succeed by the time you get to that point.
Now I know that's a lot of steps, but this is a project that requires a lot of steps. It's a lot of work. Like there are many steps within the steps, but now at least you know what to do. You can start doing the work at least as soon as that all in bar actually tastes as good as it promises to be. So good luck, Emma.
I am cheering you on wishing you well. And I look forward to trying the all in bar. Okay, listeners, if you've got a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions, let me know what you're working on, what's going well, what's not. We'll continue to update our listeners about various projects along the way. New episode every single morning.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Sideuzzleschool." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
