To perfect their recipe, the founders didn't just experiment randomly. They carefully deconstructed a high-end chocolatier's almond with a knife to understand its unique properties and palate, which informed their own development.
Related Insights
Instead of copying what top competitors do well, analyze what they do poorly or neglect. Excelling in those specific areas creates a powerful differentiator. This is how Eleven Madison Park focused on rivals' bad coffee service to become the world's #1 restaurant.
In their search for a scalable process, the founders experimented with a completely unconventional method: using a paint sprayer and heat guns to coat almonds with chocolate. While it failed, it demonstrates a crucial, scrappy innovation mindset.
Dylan Field defines taste not as an innate gift but as a point of view developed through a repeatable process. It involves experiencing something, asking "why do I like or dislike this?", and understanding the canon that led to its creation. This allows you to build a framework for judgment.
When the Target buyer asked if they had supply chain issues before offering a chain-wide launch, the founder instantly said 'nope'—despite producing in a 'chicken coop.' This bold move secured the deal, forcing them to rapidly scale.
To secure one of their first major corporate accounts, co-founder Chrissy Holler bypassed traditional channels by sneaking into the Google campus cafeteria. She found the chef and pitched them directly, successfully getting the product stocked for employees.
To boost visibility for their risky chain-wide launch, the founders negotiated for a coveted end cap. Instead of a hefty fee, they offered Target an exclusive peanut butter almond flavor, turning product development into a powerful marketing asset.
The co-founders credit their success to their complementary skills. Daughter Breezy provides the relentless execution ('jet fuel'), while mother Val, the 'visionary,' has an innate ability to see long-term consumer trends before they materialize.
When 40,000 lbs of almonds arrived rancid just before their Target launch, the founders' emergency plan was to deploy an 'army' of friends to buy out bulk bins at every local grocery store and Costco to meet the deadline.
Hamdi Ulukaya attributes Chobani's success in scaling without sacrificing product quality to his extreme operational commitment. For years, he rarely left the factory floor, ensuring standards were met firsthand. This underscores the value of deep, physical immersion for leaders in manufacturing and operations.
Unable to find a co-manufacturer through traditional means, co-founder Breezy Griffith scoured esoteric chocolate blogs, found a chocolatier's comment, reverse-engineered their screen name to find a phone number, and cold-called them at home.