Sathish Iyyappan’s Post

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The story of Flamin' Hot Cheetos is an inspiring tale of innovation and determination, though some details have become controversial in recent years. Here’s a summary of the story and its debates: The Original Narrative Richard Montañez, a former janitor at Frito-Lay, has long been credited with creating Flamin' Hot Cheetos. According to Montañez, while working at a Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California, in the late 1980s, he noticed that the company's snack products didn’t cater to the growing Latino market. Inspired by Mexican street corn (elotes), which is often flavored with chili powder, lime, and cheese, Montañez took unflavored Cheetos from the factory and added his own blend of spices at home. He reportedly pitched his idea directly to Frito-Lay's executives, leading to the development and eventual release of Flamin' Hot Cheetos in 1992. Montañez's story became widely celebrated, turning him into a motivational speaker and author, inspiring many with his rise from a janitor to a successful innovator. The Controversy In 2021, the Los Angeles Times published an investigation challenging Montañez's claim. According to internal Frito-Lay sources, the product was developed by a team of professionals in the corporate office, not Montañez. While Frito-Lay acknowledged Montañez's enthusiasm and contributions to the company, they stated that their records did not show him involved in the development of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Montañez has defended his account, maintaining that he played a crucial role in pitching and inspiring the product. The Cultural Impact Regardless of who created Flamin' Hot Cheetos, the product has become a cultural phenomenon, especially in the U.S. Latino community. Its bold, spicy flavor and distinct branding have made it a favorite snack, even sparking recipes, merchandise, and viral challenges. Hollywood Adaptation The story has been adapted into a biopic titled Flamin' Hot, directed by Eva Longoria, which focuses on Montañez’s version of events and his inspirational rise from janitor to entrepreneur. It adds to the cultural legacy of the product and continues to celebrate the idea of determination and ingenuity.

Campbell's made headlines this week for what seemed to be a very non-newsworthy announcement...    Their desire to drop "soup" from their enterprise name, The Campbell's Soup Company.    This may come as a surprise—hasn't it always been simply "Campbell's"? And indeed, it's iconic logo only says Campbell's in scrolling script.     In fact, the only place consumers might bump into the enterprise name is if they pull out their magnifying glasses to inspect the backs of their cans.     Why then go through all the expense and effort of updating a name that consumers never see?    The answer lies in this simple truth we live by at Joe Smith.    Your #brand is the human expression of your business strategy.     It’s how you distill hundreds of pages of strategic plans and PowerPoint presentations into a form that connects with real people.     And who are these people?     It's not just your customers. It's first and foremost your employees.    Campbell's seemingly obvious enterprise rename isn't to blow customers minds about the breadth of their portfolio (which is, however, shockingly expansive, including shopper favorites like Goldfish and Pepperidge Farms.)    It's to drive unity across the business.     Because when employees are engaged and connected with their company—when they feel their work matters no matter what business unit they're in—the company benefits.     And from a statement made by Chief Executive, Mark Clouse, it sounds like Campbell’s gets this importance.     "We are ready to turn the page and enter a new chapter where we build on Campbell's transformed portfolio, strong team, and aligned and engaged culture with the goal to set the standard for performance in the food industry.”     Renaming an enterprise can be a high-stakes endeavor—but if you have your strategic priorities clear, it can be well-worth the risk. Well done, Campbell's.    #rebrand #rename #cmo https://lnkd.in/eaujgtGK

From the NYT the story about a USA food cooperative . What stands out for me is not its long term success but the way people are happy to disagree with each other. It’s the same round a board table if you want to make an impact on the future of the business you are helping to steer do not remain silent when you have something to say . Use use your voice and disagree. It’s ok and the decisions made will be better for robust discussions and different points of view around the table. All you need to do is leave your ego at the door.

🐣How to go from $0 to a $500,000 yeraly run rate selling fried chicken. 🐣When the first heightened alert happened, my chef and I had been experimenting with a new recipe for Curry Fried Chicken. I had been inspired by a restaurant in Salt Lake City that I really liked, and were planning to run a brunch special. 🐣But, when we went into yet another Covid lockdown, we said, heck it, let's launch this and see how it goes. So, with our partner Oddle, we put the menu, brand and website up in two days, ordered our chicken and went live, with some posts on social media with zero ad spend. 🐔 Day 1: Sold out, ordered more chicken 🐔Day 2: Sold out, ordered even more chicken 🐔Day 3: Sold out, realized we might have something here 🐔Day 4: Called the supplier over the weekend and begged for chicken even though they didn't deliver. My chef had to go to their warehouse on a Sunday morning to pick up more chicken At one point, one of our other chefs said that he couldn't eat curry anymore because he smelled it too much on a daily basis. 😛 That's the story of how we survived Heightened Alert One, selling fried chicken. After the pandemic ended, the brand didn't continue our hype, but we kept it on our Jekyll & Hyde menu. That's how fads come and go. But, a few clucky lessons here: 🍗 Being able to be flexible and pivot is key - we honestly had been preparing for another lockdown, and the experimenting allowed us to launch something quickly that allowed us to survive 🍗Taking advantage of situations - people were craving something new in each lockdown - we learned that and created something new each time 🍗You never know what's going to happen in life, so be like a chicken, and get ready to run around anytime like a chicken (with a head on)! #entrepreneurship #food #lessons #business #pandemic

We BEEF'D Up our portfolio! Our family office has made a bold new investment... and it’s delicious. Happy to announce that we just invested in Righteous Felon Craft Jerky . That’s right folks...not another tech startup, not a hot AI platform… we’re putting our money where our mouth is. Beef Jerky, you ask? Well, we figured, we wanted to be on the ground floor of a flavor revolution, and be a part of the future of snacking. After all, beef jerky isn’t just a food...It’s a lifestyle. A chewy, flavorful, slightly spicy lifestyle. We met the founder Brendan Cawley in of all places Costa Rica nearly 3 years ago and loved the jerky, and the company so much we figured it was finally time to take the next step and put our money where the beef is. (Sorry, I’ll stop.) Some Data: Just in the U.S. alone, the beef jerky market was valued at around $5.8 billion in 2023. This market is expected to continue growing as consumer demand for healthy protein-rich, convenient, and healthy snacks increases. With acquisitions in the space by brands like #Conagra, #JMSmucker and interest from private equity players like #vmgpartners and others this space seems ripe for investment. Will we make billions? MAYBE. Will we snack responsibly? DEFINITELY. #Snackonomics #righteousfelon #beefjerky They're now available in Costco, Wawa, and Kroger along with Amazon Prime & online! https://lnkd.in/gKxFmEck  They have been featured in Men's Health, Forbes and of course my kitchen.

I'm getting excited for Thursday's official launch party for my "Food Margins" book, not least because it's in such a historically-resonant space. The former Minute Tapioca factory in Orange was originally an economic-development project, built on spec, and occupied at first by a shoe company that only stayed for a few years. Minute Tapioca took it over in 1902, expanded it bigly, and stayed until 1962 when its parent company, General Foods, moved the operations to Delaware. (One of my favorite lines from researching this history: a local editorial at the time that declared "No true New Englander will like Delaware.") The factory was home to a furniture company when Fred and I first moved to the area in the late 1980s. But that went the way of so many independent firms trying to compete with giants and big boxes, and by the early 2000s it had become what it is today: a business incubator space that incubated, among many other things, the new food co-op that became Quabbin Harvest. The book launch will be at Honest Weight Artisan Beer (you can't have a repurposed industrial incubator space without a craft brewery) between 4 and 7 pm on 5/23. Drop by if you're in the area, or come early at 3 pm for a tour of the factory that I'll be leading, drawing on some of the stories I tell in the book. Copies will be available for a special event price of $20, and everybody who comes will get a bonus "missing chapter" that had to be cut when we were tightening up a too-long manuscript during the revision phase. It tells the story of the original "honest weight" campaign, which was, sadly, not all that honest.

If milk is wasted, it becomes yogurt. Yogurt is more valuable than milk. If it gets any worse, it becomes cheese. Cheese is more valuable than yogurt and milk. And if grape juice turns sour, it turns into wine, which is even more expensive than grape juice. You're not bad because you made mistakes. Mistakes are experiences that make you more valuable as a person. Christopher Columbus made a navigation error that led him to discover America. Alexander Fleming's mistake led him to invent penicillin. Don't let your mistakes depress you. It's not practice that makes perfect. It's the mistakes we learn from that make perfect!. Credits to whom it may concern . #opentowork #virtualassistant #creativeenterprenuers #ScheduleManagement #virtualassistant #creativeentrepreneurship #executiveassistant #productivityhacks

In today's world, one of our favorite snacks is potato chips, which hold a staggering $30 billion market value. In the past year alone, Lays (chips) reported selling 372 million packets in the US. Even Bill Gates has invested in agriculture, cultivating potatoes on 14,000 hectares.  #BusinessStory But can you believe this billion-dollar couch snack was invented out of sheer frustration? Let's rewind to 1853, in New York. George Crum, a chef at Moon Lake House Restaurant, faced a particularly picky customer who kept sending back his French fries, complaining they were too thick. Frustrated, Crum decided to slice the potatoes paper-thin, fry them to a crisp, and heavily season them with salt.  #Innovation To his surprise, the customer loved them! This accidental creation became known as “Saratoga chips,” drawing visitors from far and wide to taste Crum’s crispy invention. #Perseverance Cary Moon, the restaurant owner, later tried to take credit and started distributing potato chips in boxes. However, Crum’s true legacy emerged in the 1860s when he opened his own restaurant in Malta, New York, where he served baskets of chips to every table.  #CreativeThinking The local delicacy of Saratoga chips remained popular until the 1920s when a salesman and entrepreneur named Herman Lay (yes, that LAYS) began mass-producing and distributing potato chips nationwide. #Inspiration 👉 The moral of this story? Even in moments of frustration, perseverance and a bit of out-of-the-box thinking can lead to extraordinary innovations. George Crum's legacy reminds us that the next big idea might come from the most unexpected places. #SuccessStory So, next time if you feel stuck, remember Crum's story. Keep pushing forward, think creatively, and you might just create the next game-changer. Do you agree? Comment below!

Ever have that moment where inspiration strikes, and you just know you have to chase it? That's exactly what happened back in 2005. I wasn't always in the dry fruits business. But I had a deep appreciation for dry fruits. That's how the seed for Sethji was planted.  I just didn’t want to create a normal product; I had a vision. I wanted Sethji to be more than just a brand. I wanted it to be a symbol of healthy snacks. Now, creating Sethji wasn't just about a single idea. It was a journey of experimentation and collaboration.  I teamed up with a group of passionate individuals who shared the same vision.  Together, we poured our hearts into developing the perfect product. - Countless hours were spent testing different ingredients and combinations to create a taste that was both unique and delightful. - Every detail of Sethji's packaging is meticulously crafted to reflect the brand's story and values. The result? Sethji, a product that's not just delicious, but one that embodies the passion and vision of the team. We're excited to share more about Sethji's story. Stay tuned! — I am Pankaj, the Founder of Sethji Dry Fruits, and I am here to cater to all your dry fruits needs! Connect with me in my DMs. #InspirationStrikes #EntrepreneurJourney #BusinessVision #HealthySnacks #InnovativeProduct #CollaborativeEffort #PassionateTeam