Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Joe Magliano, CPO and co-founder of Otherworld, located in New York, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Otherworld addresses human and planetary health through plant-based pancake and waffle mixes stacked with superfoods that are good for you and good for the planet. The team of world-class chefs and registered dietitians have reimagined childhood classics with their superfood-packed, no sugar added, 100% plant-based pancake and waffle mixes.
We built Otherworld to create a net positive impact and reinvent the way people consume healthy and sustainably-made food. We use locally sourced and upcycled ingredients across all of our mixes, tackling food waste through every mix. The majority of our ingredients are upcycled. Our metal packaging is 100% recyclable and is made from recycled material. There is absolutely no plastic involved in anything we create. We measure our carbon emissions and offset our shipping. We are on the path to carbon neutrality, working with Planet FWD to help us get there.
While most of our competitors use animal products such as milk, butter, and eggs, all of our products are 100% vegan, and all of our future products will be 100% vegan and feature upcycled ingredients. We use only clean ingredients in our mixes - no added sugar, no dairy, no nuts, no soy, no GMOs, nothing artificial, ever. We are focused on nutrition: each tin contains ten full servings of fruits and vegetables. We source all ingredients and packaging materials from North America, and we are continuously working on building local and circular supply chains.
Tell us about yourself
Jen, my co-founder, and I met in college and have been friends for over a decade, bonding over our shared love of food, nutrition, and a desire to create a positive impact through our food system. We both grew up eating pancakes or waffles every weekend for breakfast...and sometimes even for dinner! As we learned about health and sustainability, we begrudgingly stopped eating our favorite foods because we found it difficult to find pancakes and waffles that were healthy, tasty, and climate-conscious. The inner kid in us wanted to change that.
We learned that, like us, millions of people love pancakes and waffles, but many eat them only on the weekends or for special occasions due to the milk, butter, eggs, and sugar found in traditional mixes. We wanted to reimagine our beloved childhood favorites, so we teamed up with some of the world's best chefs and registered dietitians to create the tastiest, healthiest, and most environmentally-friendly pancake and waffle mixes.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our biggest accomplishment has been launching only five months ago and selling out of our first product run.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
There is no off switch on your business, and there are never enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to get done. This requires us to be laser-focused on the important things each day.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Find a great business partner. This is one of the most important relationships you will ever have in your life, so be sure to choose wisely.
- Find a scalable idea. Not all good ideas can scale, so find something that can grow and is useful to a large group of people.
- Look for all the ways you might be wrong instead of trying to confirm your opinion.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://eatotherworld.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatotherworld/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatotherworld/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eatotherworld
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eatotherworld/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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