From running a digital marketing agency to founding a predominantly DTC-driven CPG company, this entrepreneur is building your new favorite snack brand.
Nostolgia is super hot right now, with healthier alternatives to childhood favorites taking over grocery store shelves. Brands like Olipop and Poppi are reinventing soda, Magic Spoon and Schoolyard Snacks cereal... Caulipower pizza and NUGGS traditional frozen chicken nuggets. And now, for the first time, Chubby Snacks is bringing back the classic frozen PB&J... but healthier.
Chubby Snacks is the healthier, better-for-you alternative to traditional PB&J. Each sandwich comes packed with high quality nut butters and fruity, small-batch jams between organic wheat bread. We’re giving this household snack a much needed upgrade with ~75% less sugar, 30% less calories and higher contents of fiber and protein compared to leading brands.
Founder Dillon Geglio spoke with Foodboro about his journey to entrepreneurship, how working in the digital marketing industry inspired the brand, how he manages work/life balance while building a startup, and what he recommends for other early-stage food founders.
Before starting Chubby’s, what were you up to? What led to entrepreneurship?
Before Chubby Snacks, I ran a digital marketing agency specializing in paid media buying for ecommerce and CPG brands.
Before moving to LA in 2011, I always knew what a business owner was but really didn’t understand what an entrepreneur was. Growing up outside of NYC, a lot of my friends desired to work on Wall Street so entrepreneurship was never really discussed as an option. It wasn’t until I transferred to USC did I start meeting kids my age who were working on “side projects” and began labeling themselves as entrepreneurs.
It was then that I started turning ideas into business concepts. The first was HITCH - an anonymous online dating consulting platform. Similar to the movie with Will Smith, the concept was to help people struggling with communicating on dating apps (i.e. Tinder) to get dates. Although it never got off the ground, I was able to convince a couple of developers at UCLA to create the prototype for free.
After HITCH, I launched Original Grit. OG was a DTC hat & accessory brand with a charitable cause that provided everyday essentials to homeless veterans around Los Angeles. Even though we successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign and provided our “essential bags” to over 300 homeless veterans around Los Angeles, we ultimately closed down the shop as my inexperience in digital marketing made it difficult to build the brand. These experiences led me to creating Street Logic Media, the marketing agency I ran for 3+ years. During my time building Street Logic Media, my business partner Brett and I created Converlytics, the first chatbot marketing attribution tool. Within 6 months, Converlytics was acquired by ManyChat. At this point, late 2019, we began creating Chubby Snacks after noticing the better-for-you space blowing up.
Nostalgia is huge in food & beverage… with companies reinventing childhood favorites like soda (Olipop), cereal (Magic Spoon), and chicken nuggets (NUGGS) and more… but you are the first to bring a healthier PB&J to market… why this product and why now?
Yes, we’re the first brand to market. It wasn’t in the cards to launch our nut butter and jam sandwich business in the middle of a pandemic, but as they say, there is no perfect time to launch a product/company. We ultimately decided to move forward with our launch in June of 2020 and it served us well. Not only were we touching on the nostalgia trend with our PB&Js, but individually wrapped and frozen products were also trending during this time because of COVID protocols. At the end of the day, we created Chubby Snacks because we saw an opportunity. Nostalgia is huge, so is the need for better-for-you snack options. We saw this space as one that had not been disrupted yet with a huge market opportunity, thanks to the Uncrustable. There’s no doubt that the Uncrustable has a cult following, but everyone knows they’re not the healthiest snack to be eating. If you search Uncrustables on Twitter, oftentimes people refer to the product as a “guilty pleasure”. In our eyes, a product as convenient as a PB&J should always be a guilt-free snack.
Who in the industry do you turn to for inspiration? Any other brands in the industry that you admire?
-David Greenfield @ Dream Pops - He’s been a great mentor and advisor. Having built a vegan ice cream company, you can imagine how much insight he’s provided me! A super innovative brand with a trailblazer of a leader.
-Mark Samuel @ IWON Organics- He has the best work-life balance of anyone I know in CPG. It’s incredibly inspiring!
-Eli Weiss @ Olipop - He completely changed my mindset regarding Customer Experience. CX is not just a support channel, but an opportunity to increase customer loyalty and in turn revenue.
Where is majority of your business right now… DTC or brick and mortar?
The first year of business was exclusively DTC. We knew if we wanted to compete in brick and mortar, we’d need to build a strong digitally native brand first with a solid foundation of customers in order to create the leverage needed to convince grocers to carry our products. As we move forward, we’ll continue to balance DTC and brick and mortar. DTC will be more of an experiential consumer play (i.e. new flavor and product drops) while retail will be where we drive volume and provide convenience for our customers.
As a founder, what do you do to take care of your health?
Health and wellness has always been a focal point in my life. Ever since being a kid, my mom celebrated living an active and healthy lifestyle. I always joke that my mom was reading nutrition labels before it was cool! The way I look at it is pretty simple. Running a business is like being a competitive athlete. You always need to be “On!”. I eat clean, I work out daily (stretching, weight training, cardio), and I get about 7 hours of sleep every night. When I achieve this, I typically have the mental clarity to win the day!
What advice do you have for early-stage entrepreneurs?
It’s simple. Consistency is key! There’s no doubt you’ll have terrible days or even weeks, but when you’re consistent, there will always be great days. For me, I like to be the first person up in the morning as it sets the tone for consistency. It doesn’t matter the news I get today because all of the work I did yesterday or last week or last month will provide great results that will take away any pain of a bad day.
What foods do you always have in your cupboards/fridge?
My favorite brands that you’ll always find in my fridge/pantry:
Nostolgia is super hot right now, with healthier alternatives to childhood favorites taking over grocery store shelves. Brands like Olipop and Poppi are reinventing soda, Magic Spoon and Schoolyard Snacks cereal... Caulipower pizza and NUGGS traditional frozen chicken nuggets. And now, for the first time, Chubby Snacks is bringing back the classic frozen PB&J... but healthier.
Chubby Snacks is the healthier, better-for-you alternative to traditional PB&J. Each sandwich comes packed with high quality nut butters and fruity, small-batch jams between organic wheat bread. We’re giving this household snack a much needed upgrade with ~75% less sugar, 30% less calories and higher contents of fiber and protein compared to leading brands.
Founder Dillon Geglio spoke with Foodboro about his journey to entrepreneurship, how working in the digital marketing industry inspired the brand, how he manages work/life balance while building a startup, and what he recommends for other early-stage food founders.
Before starting Chubby’s, what were you up to? What led to entrepreneurship?
Before Chubby Snacks, I ran a digital marketing agency specializing in paid media buying for ecommerce and CPG brands.
Before moving to LA in 2011, I always knew what a business owner was but really didn’t understand what an entrepreneur was. Growing up outside of NYC, a lot of my friends desired to work on Wall Street so entrepreneurship was never really discussed as an option. It wasn’t until I transferred to USC did I start meeting kids my age who were working on “side projects” and began labeling themselves as entrepreneurs.
It was then that I started turning ideas into business concepts. The first was HITCH - an anonymous online dating consulting platform. Similar to the movie with Will Smith, the concept was to help people struggling with communicating on dating apps (i.e. Tinder) to get dates. Although it never got off the ground, I was able to convince a couple of developers at UCLA to create the prototype for free.
After HITCH, I launched Original Grit. OG was a DTC hat & accessory brand with a charitable cause that provided everyday essentials to homeless veterans around Los Angeles. Even though we successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign and provided our “essential bags” to over 300 homeless veterans around Los Angeles, we ultimately closed down the shop as my inexperience in digital marketing made it difficult to build the brand. These experiences led me to creating Street Logic Media, the marketing agency I ran for 3+ years. During my time building Street Logic Media, my business partner Brett and I created Converlytics, the first chatbot marketing attribution tool. Within 6 months, Converlytics was acquired by ManyChat. At this point, late 2019, we began creating Chubby Snacks after noticing the better-for-you space blowing up.
Nostalgia is huge in food & beverage… with companies reinventing childhood favorites like soda (Olipop), cereal (Magic Spoon), and chicken nuggets (NUGGS) and more… but you are the first to bring a healthier PB&J to market… why this product and why now?
Yes, we’re the first brand to market. It wasn’t in the cards to launch our nut butter and jam sandwich business in the middle of a pandemic, but as they say, there is no perfect time to launch a product/company. We ultimately decided to move forward with our launch in June of 2020 and it served us well. Not only were we touching on the nostalgia trend with our PB&Js, but individually wrapped and frozen products were also trending during this time because of COVID protocols. At the end of the day, we created Chubby Snacks because we saw an opportunity. Nostalgia is huge, so is the need for better-for-you snack options. We saw this space as one that had not been disrupted yet with a huge market opportunity, thanks to the Uncrustable. There’s no doubt that the Uncrustable has a cult following, but everyone knows they’re not the healthiest snack to be eating. If you search Uncrustables on Twitter, oftentimes people refer to the product as a “guilty pleasure”. In our eyes, a product as convenient as a PB&J should always be a guilt-free snack.
Who in the industry do you turn to for inspiration? Any other brands in the industry that you admire?
-David Greenfield @ Dream Pops - He’s been a great mentor and advisor. Having built a vegan ice cream company, you can imagine how much insight he’s provided me! A super innovative brand with a trailblazer of a leader.
-Mark Samuel @ IWON Organics- He has the best work-life balance of anyone I know in CPG. It’s incredibly inspiring!
-Eli Weiss @ Olipop - He completely changed my mindset regarding Customer Experience. CX is not just a support channel, but an opportunity to increase customer loyalty and in turn revenue.
Where is majority of your business right now… DTC or brick and mortar?
The first year of business was exclusively DTC. We knew if we wanted to compete in brick and mortar, we’d need to build a strong digitally native brand first with a solid foundation of customers in order to create the leverage needed to convince grocers to carry our products. As we move forward, we’ll continue to balance DTC and brick and mortar. DTC will be more of an experiential consumer play (i.e. new flavor and product drops) while retail will be where we drive volume and provide convenience for our customers.
As a founder, what do you do to take care of your health?
Health and wellness has always been a focal point in my life. Ever since being a kid, my mom celebrated living an active and healthy lifestyle. I always joke that my mom was reading nutrition labels before it was cool! The way I look at it is pretty simple. Running a business is like being a competitive athlete. You always need to be “On!”. I eat clean, I work out daily (stretching, weight training, cardio), and I get about 7 hours of sleep every night. When I achieve this, I typically have the mental clarity to win the day!
What advice do you have for early-stage entrepreneurs?
It’s simple. Consistency is key! There’s no doubt you’ll have terrible days or even weeks, but when you’re consistent, there will always be great days. For me, I like to be the first person up in the morning as it sets the tone for consistency. It doesn’t matter the news I get today because all of the work I did yesterday or last week or last month will provide great results that will take away any pain of a bad day.
What foods do you always have in your cupboards/fridge?
My favorite brands that you’ll always find in my fridge/pantry:
Nostolgia is super hot right now, with healthier alternatives to childhood favorites taking over grocery store shelves. Brands like Olipop and Poppi are reinventing soda, Magic Spoon and Schoolyard Snacks cereal... Caulipower pizza and NUGGS traditional frozen chicken nuggets. And now, for the first time, Chubby Snacks is bringing back the classic frozen PB&J... but healthier.
Chubby Snacks is the healthier, better-for-you alternative to traditional PB&J. Each sandwich comes packed with high quality nut butters and fruity, small-batch jams between organic wheat bread. We’re giving this household snack a much needed upgrade with ~75% less sugar, 30% less calories and higher contents of fiber and protein compared to leading brands.
Founder Dillon Geglio spoke with Foodboro about his journey to entrepreneurship, how working in the digital marketing industry inspired the brand, how he manages work/life balance while building a startup, and what he recommends for other early-stage food founders.
Before starting Chubby’s, what were you up to? What led to entrepreneurship?
Before Chubby Snacks, I ran a digital marketing agency specializing in paid media buying for ecommerce and CPG brands.
Before moving to LA in 2011, I always knew what a business owner was but really didn’t understand what an entrepreneur was. Growing up outside of NYC, a lot of my friends desired to work on Wall Street so entrepreneurship was never really discussed as an option. It wasn’t until I transferred to USC did I start meeting kids my age who were working on “side projects” and began labeling themselves as entrepreneurs.
It was then that I started turning ideas into business concepts. The first was HITCH - an anonymous online dating consulting platform. Similar to the movie with Will Smith, the concept was to help people struggling with communicating on dating apps (i.e. Tinder) to get dates. Although it never got off the ground, I was able to convince a couple of developers at UCLA to create the prototype for free.
After HITCH, I launched Original Grit. OG was a DTC hat & accessory brand with a charitable cause that provided everyday essentials to homeless veterans around Los Angeles. Even though we successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign and provided our “essential bags” to over 300 homeless veterans around Los Angeles, we ultimately closed down the shop as my inexperience in digital marketing made it difficult to build the brand. These experiences led me to creating Street Logic Media, the marketing agency I ran for 3+ years. During my time building Street Logic Media, my business partner Brett and I created Converlytics, the first chatbot marketing attribution tool. Within 6 months, Converlytics was acquired by ManyChat. At this point, late 2019, we began creating Chubby Snacks after noticing the better-for-you space blowing up.
Nostalgia is huge in food & beverage… with companies reinventing childhood favorites like soda (Olipop), cereal (Magic Spoon), and chicken nuggets (NUGGS) and more… but you are the first to bring a healthier PB&J to market… why this product and why now?
Yes, we’re the first brand to market. It wasn’t in the cards to launch our nut butter and jam sandwich business in the middle of a pandemic, but as they say, there is no perfect time to launch a product/company. We ultimately decided to move forward with our launch in June of 2020 and it served us well. Not only were we touching on the nostalgia trend with our PB&Js, but individually wrapped and frozen products were also trending during this time because of COVID protocols. At the end of the day, we created Chubby Snacks because we saw an opportunity. Nostalgia is huge, so is the need for better-for-you snack options. We saw this space as one that had not been disrupted yet with a huge market opportunity, thanks to the Uncrustable. There’s no doubt that the Uncrustable has a cult following, but everyone knows they’re not the healthiest snack to be eating. If you search Uncrustables on Twitter, oftentimes people refer to the product as a “guilty pleasure”. In our eyes, a product as convenient as a PB&J should always be a guilt-free snack.
Who in the industry do you turn to for inspiration? Any other brands in the industry that you admire?
-David Greenfield @ Dream Pops - He’s been a great mentor and advisor. Having built a vegan ice cream company, you can imagine how much insight he’s provided me! A super innovative brand with a trailblazer of a leader.
-Mark Samuel @ IWON Organics- He has the best work-life balance of anyone I know in CPG. It’s incredibly inspiring!
-Eli Weiss @ Olipop - He completely changed my mindset regarding Customer Experience. CX is not just a support channel, but an opportunity to increase customer loyalty and in turn revenue.
Where is majority of your business right now… DTC or brick and mortar?
The first year of business was exclusively DTC. We knew if we wanted to compete in brick and mortar, we’d need to build a strong digitally native brand first with a solid foundation of customers in order to create the leverage needed to convince grocers to carry our products. As we move forward, we’ll continue to balance DTC and brick and mortar. DTC will be more of an experiential consumer play (i.e. new flavor and product drops) while retail will be where we drive volume and provide convenience for our customers.
As a founder, what do you do to take care of your health?
Health and wellness has always been a focal point in my life. Ever since being a kid, my mom celebrated living an active and healthy lifestyle. I always joke that my mom was reading nutrition labels before it was cool! The way I look at it is pretty simple. Running a business is like being a competitive athlete. You always need to be “On!”. I eat clean, I work out daily (stretching, weight training, cardio), and I get about 7 hours of sleep every night. When I achieve this, I typically have the mental clarity to win the day!
What advice do you have for early-stage entrepreneurs?
It’s simple. Consistency is key! There’s no doubt you’ll have terrible days or even weeks, but when you’re consistent, there will always be great days. For me, I like to be the first person up in the morning as it sets the tone for consistency. It doesn’t matter the news I get today because all of the work I did yesterday or last week or last month will provide great results that will take away any pain of a bad day.
What foods do you always have in your cupboards/fridge?
My favorite brands that you’ll always find in my fridge/pantry:
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