Shopify Happy Hour

Healthy Donuts, Big Hustle: The Unfiltered Story Behind the Rise of Glonuts with Kristin Charbo

• Dan Cassidy • Season 1 • Episode 14

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In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, we sit down with Kristin Charbo, co-founder and CEO of glonuts—a clean, craveable donut alternative with just 1g of sugar. Kristin shares the honest story of building glonuts from her one-bedroom apartment kitchen alongside her co-founder (and now husband) Grover, hand-making over 100,000 donuts before scaling to national retail shelves.

We dive into how they approached retail without relying on digital ads, why packaging became their best salesperson, the challenges of manufacturing a totally unique product, and how they raised capital the scrappy way. Kristin also opens up about managing PCOS through diet and how that inspired glonuts' mission to make healthy snacking more fun and accessible.

Whether you're building a CPG brand or just love a good founder journey, this one’s packed with insights—and donut jokes.


Brands mentioned:


Chapters

00:00
Introduction to glonuts and Healthy Eating

06:21
The Origin Story of glonuts

12:14
Challenges in Manufacturing and Fundraising

20:13
Retail Strategy and Building Relationships

24:40
Marketing and Brand Differentiation

27:48
Future Plans for glonuts

Dan (00:00)
Welcome to the Shopify Happy Hour. On the show, you'll hear from Shopify founders, operators, and experts on growth marketing strategies, lessons learned from the trenches, and other nuggets of e-commerce wisdom shared over a different drink or snack each episode. Today, I'd like to welcome Kristin Charbo, co-founder and CEO of Glonuts, which are healthy, yummy donut things with just one gram of sugar. Kristin, welcome.

Kristin Charbo (00:25)
Thank you, Dan. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for chatting with me.

Dan (00:28)
Of course, I'm excited to have you. So I'm a big donut fan. Years back, I used to do CrossFit and I think just working out a ton and eating healthy, I was very attracted to super fatty delicious donuts. But years later, I'm doing a much better job of managing my diet and trying to find balance in it. So when I came across your brand, I was super stoked to try the products and learn about where you came up with the idea. So very excited for this conversation. But before we get into it—what are Glonuts?

Kristin Charbo (01:02)
Yeah, Glonuts are yummy donut things. We don't say exactly donuts because they're a little bit different than a typical donut. They're raw vegan, so they have a more dense, moist consistency. They’re made from clean ingredients that help you glow—like coconut, almonds, and monk fruit sweetener—so there's no impact on blood sugar. We use healthy fats like coconut butter and coconut oil. So you definitely have to be a coconut fan!

But we made them to give you the feeling of eating a donut without the feeling you get after eating a donut. For me—like you—I grew up loving donuts and eating them way too much. But I’d always crash afterward. So we created Glonuts as a donut you can eat every day.

Dan (02:09)
There was a time years ago where there was a diet program that Tim Ferris created called the Slow Carb Diet. For six days a week, you ate clean—lower carb—and then had a cheat day. My wife and I called it “Fatterdays.” I’d literally set an alarm for midnight Saturday and eat a donut and drink a stout.

Kristin Charbo (02:39)
Yeah, exactly! But then you crash afterward and feel terrible. So we created Glonuts as something that tastes indulgent but doesn’t mess with your blood sugar. One net carb per donut, which is great for people doing keto or low-carb.

Dan (03:41)
Let’s talk flavors. I’ve got the Snickerdoodle and the Powdered.

Kristin Charbo (03:46)
I have those too! Powdered is like the classic Hostess donut. Snickerdoodle is cinnamony and great as dessert. Pro tip—put a little jam on the Powdered one and it’s like a jelly donut!

Dan (03:58)
Let’s dig in. (eats) Wow, that crunch is real. It’s dense, coconutty, and delicious.

Kristin Charbo (04:05)
Exactly! The sweetness mostly comes from the coconut itself. And yes, they’re refrigerated donuts. Some people eat them frozen, some at room temp, and some warm them in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Dan (05:10)
Love it. So how did Glonuts come to life?

Kristin Charbo (05:13)
My now-husband and co-founder, Grover, and I were dating and trying to start a coffee business—not donuts. We were popping up in LA with cold brew on tap and made Glonuts to go with the coffee. I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and had to drastically change my diet. I couldn’t find a donut that didn’t mess with my blood sugar, so I made my own.

Dan (06:50)
And then it blew up?

Kristin Charbo (07:00)
Totally. People kept asking if we shipped. We didn’t know how to ship cold product, so we just delivered locally. Our first year we made, packed, and delivered 100,000 Glonuts out of our one-bedroom apartment kitchen.

Dan (08:12)
That's wild. How did you split responsibilities?

Kristin Charbo (08:27)
I got laid off in 2019, right before the pandemic. Grover was freelancing. So we decided to give it a real go. I did deliveries, Grover cleaned and prepped. At 4 PM we made dough for the next day while listening to podcasts. We did that five days a week.

Dan (10:00)
Did the recipe change over time?

Kristin Charbo (10:05)
Only slightly! The only change was adding cocoa butter when we moved to a co-manufacturer to improve consistency. Otherwise, it’s been the same.

Dan (10:45)
What were your biggest challenges?

Kristin Charbo (10:51)
Two things: manufacturing and fundraising. We had no off-the-shelf solution. We had to build a custom line, which was expensive. And to raise money, you need sales. To get sales, you need manufacturing. Classic catch-22.

Dan (13:14)
So how did you fund it?

Kristin Charbo (13:16)
Friends and family. And angel investors—especially former founders who understood the grind.

Dan (13:34)
What was more valuable—capital or connections?

Kristin Charbo (13:44)
You need both, but capital was essential. It takes time to raise from angels, and it delays execution. If I started again, I’d raise a bigger round faster.

Dan (14:46)
Let’s rewind—how’d you get into Erewhon?

Kristin Charbo (15:19)
Getting into retail is slow. Buyers are bombarded. We used a “drip campaign” approach—sending updates, progress, wins, customer feedback—until we got a yes. It worked with Erewhon and other retailers and distributors too.

Dan (17:54)
So just “following up” doesn’t cut it?

Kristin Charbo (17:57)
Exactly. No one responds to that. Show traction. Be useful.

Dan (18:04)
You've clearly nailed product-market fit. But how have you grown with almost no paid ads?

Kristin Charbo (18:31)
We focused on retail because shipping cold products DTC is expensive. We put money into packaging and built a community through word of mouth and organic content. Our packaging was bright and fun. Most healthy brands look bland—ours doesn’t.

Dan (21:19)
That fun shows in your brand and in your social content too.

Kristin Charbo (22:26)
Thanks! We made a series called Highs and Glows—kind of like SNL’s Weekend Update. We shared self-deprecating updates about our journey. People loved the honesty and humor.

Dan (24:34)
What’s next for Glonuts?

Kristin Charbo (24:36)
We scaled down to focus on our top two SKUs (Snickerdoodle and Powdered). Now that we’ve dialed in manufacturing, we’re launching new flavors and looking for a national retail partner.

Dan (26:01)
Well, I hope we get you in North Carolina! Also—both flavors are amazing. Let’s do a speed round:

Dan (26:21)
Most recommended books?

Kristin Charbo (26:24)
Taylor Jenkins Reid novels—Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Light and fun.

Dan (27:01)
Under-the-radar product?

Kristin Charbo (27:09)
Kif—a probiotic kefir water. Amazing for gut health. Looks great, tastes better.

Dan (27:45)
A previous guest actually mentioned Glonuts as their pick. You’re famous!

Kristin Charbo (27:58)
What?! That’s amazing. I didn’t even know them!

Dan (28:14)
What do you do better than most people?

Kristin Charbo (28:22)
Relationship building. I love connecting with people—retail partners, customers, distributors. It’s all about community.

Dan (29:19)
Favorite shopping experience?

Kristin Charbo (29:25)
Offline: Erewhon—beautiful stores, amazing discovery.
Online: Zara’s mobile app. Great UX, easy checkout, beautiful visuals.

Dan (30:34)
Brand founder we should interview?

Kristin Charbo (30:37)
Sydney from French Squirrel. Brilliant, driven, one-woman show. Amazing POV.

Dan (31:16)
Where can people find you?

Kristin Charbo (31:22)
@eatglonuts on Instagram and TikTok. Website: eatglonuts.com. Or reach me directly: kristin@eatglonuts.com.

Dan (31:43)
Kristin, thank you so much for bringing Glonuts to market—and for sharing your story with us on the Shopify Happy Hour.

Kristin Charbo (31:56)
Thanks, Dan! This was so fun.