How Martin Acosta Built Kiwa Into a Worldwide Brand From the Andes Mountains

What does it take to turn a tiny Ecuadorian snack company into a global brand sold in more than 30 countries? In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, Dan sits down with Martin Acosta, founder and CEO of Kiwa, to break down how a $24,000 acquisition evolved into an internationally distributed CPG business built on sustainability, direct farmer relationships, and relentless product innovation.

From sourcing nutrient-dense vegetables across South America to manufacturing chips nearly 9,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains, Martin shares the behind-the-scenes realities of scaling a food company in one of the world’s most competitive retail categories.

You’ll hear how Martin:

• Bought a struggling plantain chip business and transformed it into a global snack brand.
• Built direct trade relationships with farmers across Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia.
• Used trade shows as the foundation for landing major retail and private label partnerships.
• Expanded beyond plantain chips into vegetable chips, native Andean potatoes, cassava products, and pet snacks.
• Navigated the shift from branded products into private label manufacturing for large retailers.
• Leveraged high-altitude manufacturing to create a unique chip texture and quality.
• Balanced sustainability, product quality, and scalability while growing internationally.

We also get into the bigger picture:

• Why differentiation matters more than ever in crowded CPG markets.
• The evolution of private label and how it changed the food industry after COVID.
• Lessons learned from scaling too aggressively during the venture capital boom.
• Why trade shows and real human relationships still outperform cold outreach in retail.
• How product innovation trends emerge — and why chasing trends too late can hurt brands.
• The realities of manufacturing, distribution, and scaling globally from South America.
• Why passion and long-term mission alignment are critical when building a consumer brand.

🥔 Whether you’re building a food brand, launching a CPG product, or fascinated by the operational side of global retail, Martin’s story is packed with practical insights on manufacturing, innovation, and standing out in competitive markets.

Brands & Mentions:

• Kiwa
• Walmart
• Costco
• Aldi
• Latam Airlines
• Avianca
• Runa
• Mikuna

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Kiwa & Martin Acosta
02:24 High-altitude manufacturing & sourcing in Ecuador
05:05 Buying a $24K snack business
10:13 Trade shows, distribution & retail growth
15:19 Private label vs. building a brand
20:34 Product innovation & entering the pet category
23:19 Why most CPG brands fail
28:32 Speed round & final thoughts

Transcript

Dan Cassidy (00:00)
Welcome to the Shopify happy hour. On this show, you'll hear from Shopify founders, operators, and growth experts on marketing strategies, lessons learned from the trenches, and real e-commerce insights all shared over a different drink or snack each episode. Today's guest is Martin Acosta, founder and CEO of Kiwa, a global brand of premium vegetable chips and better for you snacks sold in more than 30 countries worldwide.

What started with five employees, basic machinery and a mission to connect farmers to world markets has grown into a purpose-driven brand focused on wellness, sustainability, regenerative agriculture and creating vibrant products that positively impact both consumers and farming communities across South America. Martin, welcome to the podcast.

Martin (00:40)
Thank you, Dan. Thank you for inviting me.

Dan Cassidy (00:41)
Awesome, fantastic. Well, first off, know, one of the one of the favorite parts of this podcast is trying the products. So I've got here with me a couple different bags. One is the vegetable chip mix. So for anybody at home, this is a combination of beet cassava parsnip. Didn't know there were parsnip chips, but that's amazing. Plantain and sweet potatoes. I'm about to dive in and get this going. And what do you have over there, Martin? What are you going to be trying?

Martin (01:07)
I have this for my kids here. these are tortilla chips made out, they are grain free, made out of cassava. And this is the chili lime flavor, which is their favorite. I also have plantain croutons, which are like a topper, so like a salad topper.

Dan Cassidy (01:23)
Nice, love it, love

it. So where are all of these vegetables and products being sourced? Where are they being grown?

Martin (01:29)
mostly in Ecuador, in South America. So sometimes we have to buy from Peru and from Colombia as well, but mainly Ecuador.

Dan Cassidy (01:36)
I got excited and didn't cheers. So cheers to you. Thanks for coming on. Appreciate you being

are super nice. Definitely earthy and you can tell it's real. That's not like, for lack of a better word, crap products that are not real food. You can tell this is like a dense chip that is...

vegetable based, so really solid so far, just like light flavoring, really good crunch, the right amount of salt. So first bite, but so far really nice, well done.

Martin (02:07)
Thank you very much. the beetroot chips, try those because they only have beets. We've seen in other brands, they usually have a sweet potato and they use beetroot juice to color it. So you can read it in the greeting list, but ours is a real beet.

Dan Cassidy (02:24)
That's amazing.

we dive into your journey, I always like to nerd out about how products are made. So can you talk to us about the process from

product gets created? What does the process look like from vegetables and actual ingredients being grown to then turning into this beautiful bag of chips that I'm consuming right now?

Martin (02:45)
So the first thing is that we have to realize that we are based in my home country. So the reason why I came back after my graduate studies and working for a private equity fund in a British private equity fund.

was because I was amazed of the nutrient density and all the things that happen in this country because it's really one of the most mega diverse countries in the world. So it's a tiny country. In two hours I can be in the snow cap mountain, in four hours I can be in the jungle, in four hours I can be at the beach, know, any time of the year. And really, so it's fascinating what we can source here, right? So we are sourcing from nine out of the...

21 provinces and yeah sometimes we have to buy as well from Peru the sweet potatoes and from Colombia other products so we work directly with farmers that means that we have technical guys on the fields every day they are visiting them you know so they are part of our team really and

Through that work, we created a direct trade program where we provide them technical assistance, of course, but also fixed prices for all year long. All year long, it's the same price because here we don't have the four seasons. We only have the rainy days and the sunny days. That's

the farmers, sometimes they are associations of farmers, they gather their raw material. In the case of plantains and cassava, they have to peel as well. So they send the product already peeled to us. We received them in our manufacturing facility, which is located at almost 9,000 feet above sea level. So very high up in the Andes Mountains.

get the raw materials, we make sure that everything is processed under the right way. We have all types of quality certifications, including BRC. BRC is, like, you start with good manufacturing practices, has up, you know, and you get up all the way. And BRC is really the highest standard that we have seen, higher than any other GSI equivalent. So we have these parameters, we work in our own facility.

Yeah, sometimes we peel them, sometimes wash them. You know, they go through the production line. In the case of tortilla chips, you know, they are dehydrated

it depends on the raw material, but we have had to learn with unique raw materials such as, you know, the native Andean potatoes, which are harvested at over 11,000 feet above sea

very unique raw materials.

Yeah, the parsnip that we have here really is a white carrot. So plenty of unique raw materials.

So along the way we've learned how to process each one in a different way. And then we package here. Most of our sales are private labels or under our own brand, Kiwa.

And then I would probably tell you only 5 % goes out as bulk.

Everything else is packaged here and we get containers every day out to different countries, mostly the US. The US is the majority of our sales. And then yeah, we work with distributors, we work with brokers abroad, and we work directly with, in some cases, with retailers as well. Some of our clients include Walmart, Aldi, Costco on and off.

things that we have we've been able to create long-term relationships with all these networks that we have created over the years after participating in I don't know maybe five trade shows at least every year in different parts of the world

Dan Cassidy (06:01)
Fantastic, fantastic. Thanks for sharing that. So you mentioned your manufacturing facility is 9,000 feet above sea level. So what is the reasoning for, is there any reason from a manufacturing standpoint that it's there or is it just because it's closer to where everything's being grown?

Martin (06:15)
There's the, you know, it's right in the middle of all the products, you know, because some products are coming from the lowlands, others are coming from the highlands. So this location was perfect because of that. That's the first thing. The second thing is that we discovered that manufacturing at this height, the products, you know, some of our products are kettle cooked.

but they rarely taste as kettle cooked because something happens at this height. There's no guarantee, this is just what I've heard and what I've learned along the way. But when you manufacture the chips at sea level, for example, they come out oily and greasy, ours don't. So something happens because of the altitude for sure.

Dan Cassidy (06:51)
will confirm there is zero greasiness. They're firm, crisp, yeah, you can tell  they're fried or cooked very, very nicely. So processes, so ingredients show up at the manufacturing facility, and then what is it? They have to be cut and then cooked and then seasoned. Is that the right flow?

Martin (07:12)
Yes,

and before we season them, we select them. We throw out approximately 6 % or 7 % of all chips because they don't match our standards. So sometimes you'll open a bag of chips of a regular brand and you'll see some crumbs. Sometimes you'll see two that are sticking together. So we manually select the chips, which is a big part of the story.

So lot of focus on quality, which is our first value. We have four values. The first one is quality. So we have, I wouldn't say, a very artisanal process. It's mostly, well, there's line machines for sure, but at the end, we go and make sure with our eyes that we are selecting the right products before they are packaged, before they are seasoned and packaged.

Dan Cassidy (08:00)
The only problem with that is if you're sharing a bag and you get the chip that's blended with another chip, technically that counts as one chip. So you get the two for one. that's when they build together.

Martin (08:10)
that doesn't happen with us. Yeah, that doesn't happen with us.

Dan Cassidy (08:12)
Nice, good stuff. let's go, so thanks for sharing some of the manufacturing steps there and why you're operating at that altitude.

sense. So can you talk about, let's go back to early days when you were first starting the business, can you talk about

was your why, what was the reasoning behind it and how did you get off the ground?

Martin (08:32)
Yeah, so I was working for a private equity fund and I thought, you know, it must be cool to be the one actually doing things. So I to come back to my home country and I started looking for companies to buy. I was thinking about buying a bigger company. have a very good MBA, so I thought it's going to be easy to fundraise and get investors behind me and look for a large company. And then I wasn't able to find a good one.

So I started looking, you know, I started reducing my standards until one day I saw in the newspaper, you back then, back then we still had newspapers and in the newspaper some people were advertising their companies for sale. So I found this tiny company that was going up in sale was doing some advisory work, some consulting at the same time while looking for a company.

And eventually one day I called back at this company. It was selling for $80,000 initially. Then it was down. The guy had no one to sell because nobody is buying or selling companies here in developing countries. It's not something that you actually do. When you start a company, actually go make it big or you just close it.

but very few people actually buy or sell companies. So the company ended up costing me $24,000. So I had my own money, my own savings, so I bought it myself. And that's really how we started. Why did I buy this company? Because I was looking for a company where I could do two things. Not only have financial returns on investment, but I was also very interested in the social and the environmental part.

Right? you know, I say, well, Plantain Chips Company, is perfect because I can work with small farmers. I can get them, you know, maybe I can certify them organically along the way and so on. So, and also I was very interested in creating a global brand.

So you go out to... I mean, I had traveled to many countries before. So I realized that the only product from Ecuador was the bananas. The bananas in every supermarket, most of the bananas come from Ecuador. So I said, this is crazy. We're only exporting raw materials without brands. I want to create a brand. So it really like we started with two missions. One was creating the brand and the second one was creating a positive impact.

both in terms of society and the environment.

Dan Cassidy (10:41)
Amazing, so when you purchased the business, what was the distribution strategy? How were they selling product? And then what did you then do to begin growth and start increasing distribution after you first acquired the business?

Martin (10:55)
Yeah, so the company was selling small plantain chips bags, like less than one ounce, to airlines and to buses. And it's funny because we kept our airline business and we're still supplying to two large airlines here in South America, Latam and Avianca.

So it's great marketing tool. People see the product, they can read, they have enough time to read whatever we're telling them.

yeah, it had those two niche markets. But of course, it was going to be hard to grow that way. So we started, a friend of mine came back from the US and brought me a bag of a competitor and said, hey, you should try doing other types, not only plantain chips, maybe try with vegetables. So I said, well, that sounds like a good idea. I got the five people in my team to start going to the market, not to the supermarket, to the regular market, the, you know, like that.

the primary market and buy directly raw materials that we could get here. That's how we eventually started working with sweet potatoes with these white carrots, which seemed like parsnip, cassava, plantains. But then at some point we also said, okay, let's work on the beets. And it was a great decision because the beets is everybody's favorite in the vegetable mix that we have.

So we, you the product that you have is the original. That's still the best there is, probably 60 % of our sales, different combinations of vegetables. So we started trying, we started investing in R &D without a clear budget. And eventually things started happening. We diversified into vegetable chips.

And a year later, someone came to us and offered us native Andean potato chips, which are these naturally colored potato chips that you can only get at 11,000 feet in the Andes mountains of South America. And they had been kept for ages, for families that kept them for nutritional purposes.

So yeah, we started diversifying that way. Today we're diversifying into cacao products. We just got a request for cacao chips for Walmart. We're doing cacao honey. So we're diversifying into other raw materials that are unique that can be found here.

Dan Cassidy (13:05)
So I will say I've been trying lots of different chips and I just got one of the beat chips and you're not kidding. That is pretty amazing. It is definitely a favor. are super tasty. So, So when you acquired the business they had some existing distribution channels with airlines and you have continued that over the past couple of decades, it sounds like and expanded upon that. Talk to me about the retail distribution. How did you start locking in those retail accounts?

I know you mentioned Walmart, mentioned Costco on and off. How did you land those retailers? What did that look like?

Martin (13:34)
Yeah, so we

started going to trade shows and it really, that's how it really started. So we could start, you you go to a trade show and the second year, the second year, you know, they already know you, the third year, they already start trusting you, the fourth year, you're friends already. So eventually you start doing business. So it's been a consistency thing in terms of trade shows.

Yeah, it's been mostly through trade shows and then at some point we felt like a tipping point because people started approaching us, you know, online, just like random emails.

it happens like every week every week we get some type of email from somewhere in the world The UK the US late in the last two weeks saying hey, you know, we want okay Can you do this for us today's you know Mitsubishi from Japan approached us for banana chips? So it's not something that we were gonna be able to do because they want coconut oil We cannot source cheap coconut oil here. But you know, at least we're getting approached by all these different sources

But yeah, it started with trade shows, really.

Dan Cassidy (14:35)
And how are these other brands or distribution channels, whether it's a brand or an actual retailer, how are they finding you now? Is it because you have your brand out there through airlines and retailers already, or are you doing any marketing to acquire those new inquiries?

Martin (14:51)
Yeah.

We

do very little marketing. So we still go to trade shows, different trade shows. This year I went to one in Japan. First time we went to the food trade show in Japan. We went to, we're diversifying also into pets. So I went to the global pet expo and we got approved as one of the startups in the, one of the best startups in the, yeah.

specific pavilion. So it's been a matter of that. I mean there are crazy stories like one guy from Damon. Damon is one of the largest

brokerage companies in the States. one day we got a call and said, and the guy was like, hey, know, I know it's you, but I was looking at, I'm not sure if it was Walmart or what, what a retailer it was. We were doing a private label and it said product of Equalor. And the guy was like, you know, I started looking for product of Equalor vegetable chips. I know it's you guys. You guys are doing this for Walmart. So I want this to come to a retailer in Asia. So that's how we started our relationship. And you know, that was probably 10

10 years back, I mean 10 years forward, the guy just invited me to spend the summer at his house in near Idaho. So I might go. Who knows?

Dan Cassidy (16:07)
Fantastic. Talk to us about private label versus brand deals through retail. What are the pros and cons of each and how does that get decided through the, let's say, negotiation process?

Martin (16:20)
Yeah, so up

until 2018, all of our sales were Kiwa branded. In 2018, actually it was with Walmart, the first customer. So we presented the Kiwa brand and they started saying, hey, we like the product, but we want it with our own brand. And it was really the first decision. I mean, it was kind of shocking initially, but we said, okay, it's Walmart. Let's be open about this because of the opportunity. And then eventually we started seeing, in the first year we already had 10 private label customers.

the first year. So by 2019 we had 10. And yeah, so the private label trends accelerated during COVID. We saw that clearly. And after COVID, 70 to 75 % of our sales right now are private labels.

which is crazy because that wasn't the original intention of us. So we want to protect the Kiwa brand. We have positioned it in some countries, mostly in the Middle East and Latin America. So those are the two areas where we focus on our own branded product. And there are always options that open in different countries, but...

But in the States, under our own brand, we're selling very little. It's mostly through e-commerce and through regional distributors. But it's tough to make business nowadays with a brand, especially in countries like the US. So private label is such a monster, such a tendency that it's very difficult to fight against it.

Dan Cassidy (17:44)
Does pricing change when you're working with a retailer like Walmart? Do the economics change?

Martin (17:48)
Yes,

yes, because there's a marketing budget that we don't charge when we're doing private labels. So it's even cheaper to, private label part. With Kiwa, we have to allocate from the very start, maybe 10, 12%, whatever it is, 5%, 15%, depending on the negotiation in the country. But we have to allocate that for marketing because we know that, you know, we're going to have to finance or sponsor events, you know.

The retailers are asking for things all the time. yeah, it's a different strategy for sure. However, what we have seen is that Private Label has helped us offset the fixed costs. We're thinking about opening a new factory, a new manufacturing facility here in Ecuador. yeah, Private Label is a big driver for that automatization or that improvement.

in the overall cost structure that we are facing.

Dan Cassidy (18:42)
Love it. So I want to talk about.

dive into product a little bit more, but before that, you mentioned that it sounds like trade show is the key to your kind of success with distribution, right? Consistency across trade shows, sounds like you've been doing about five or so per year, and that consistency has allowed you to lock in these bigger retail partnerships. What did those conversations look like? So let's take Walmart buyer or Costco buyer or name your big box buyer who's coming by, and what do those conversations look like?

What strategies would you recommend for any, let's say, CPG founder or operator who's out there who wants to lock in those deals? What would that playbook look like, and what would you suggest to them?

Martin (19:24)
Yeah, so remember, I would say up until eight years ago, you either were a manufacturer or a brand owner, right? I mean, if you think about it, especially in the States, people were very specialized. In our case, we were doing both things at the same time, which sounded like a mistake.

Eventually in the long term it proved out to be a good idea because we can we can do both types of business, right? But up until eight years ago what we were doing was crazy, know It was like I mean very few investors were interested because they were saying no, you're a manufacturer or you're creating a brand and it was it was tough it was tough to to get that message across that we

maybe we had a competitive advantage. But right now I feel that after COVID, it's been a good thing to own both things, to have the brand and the manufacturing facility at the same time.

And I think the main takeaway that I would have is, yeah, it's an early decision because it affects your business model, So in our case, we decided to do both things, but I'm not sure what's the best thing. Maybe if I were to start from scratch, I would focus on the manufacturing part specifically and only.

But once you create a brand, it's like your own baby, right? You have this emotional attachment that is really difficult to let go down the

Dan Cassidy (20:41)
Gotcha. Well, good for you for following where the demand was and make sense of if Walmart is asking about private label and that's probably a good path to go down. So let's talk about product. How do you expand new product lineups? So I'm a dog lover. I know that you've recently launched some some products in the pet market. Can talk about how you make those decisions as to whether to roll out a new product and what that testing looks like so you so you can actually understand that there is demand?

Martin (21:06)
Yes. ⁓

So the first thing is that it's a continuous R &D process, Continuous. So we use trade shows a lot for that. I would say that's our main source of information. We take a product and if no one is interested, well, no one is interested. But sometimes at these trade shows, we have our eyes open and things start happening.

We also have a lot of relation with other companies. We are members of the cluster of superfoods of Ecuador, which has 40 companies. Everybody is trying to export superfoods from Ecuador. And by being there, we have communication and sometimes we have access to innovation that normally we wouldn't have. But yeah, I think it's in the trade shows mostly. We've tried doing focus groups.

and I'm not a big fan of them, unfortunately. yeah, so we, for example, for pets, how we did was we, how we got into the pet industry was interesting because we were showcasing at a trade show for humans and the guy is next door.

right next to us, we're a pet company. And they said, hey, you you're working with sweet potato already. Can you do dehydrated sweet potato chips for us? And we were like, yeah, sure, why? And the guy, well, want. Sweet potato is great for digestion for pets, for dogs. So we have been looking for someone to provide us. And since you're in South America, you have access to the raw materials, know, please send us some dehydrated sweet potato chips. So that was our first customer.

then we decided to create a line, an entire line around sweet potatoes. Mostly with snacks, but so, know, the second year I got some sweet potato bones, know, bone shaped sweet potatoes and they were gone in three hours.

So by day two, we have nothing to show, nothing to exhibit in terms of samples of pets. So we knew we were up to something and then we were invited to participate in the Global Pet Expo, which is like the largest show in, which is in Orlando, which is, it was just in May, in March. So we went there and started showcasing. We developed a new line called the toppers, which are the supplements that you put on top of the.

regular food for dogs and boom, you know.

We've seen a lot of interest, a lot of demand, so we're playing along that. But we didn't know how to package it. So after talking to a number of potential retailers or potential buyers, we discovered that maybe we need to redo our packaging and start offering in little sachets of half an ounce or something like that. So that's something that we're still debating on what's the best packaging.

within a month time or something that we should be able to get that up and running. But it's lot of interaction and going back and forth for sure.

Dan Cassidy (23:56)
Love it. So I love that you're using trade shows for lots of your growth, including additional product testing while you're there. So, you you've been running with QA for a while now and you've you're obviously manufacturing your own product. You've got the brand. You've got lots of relationships with retailers. I'm sure you've seen lots of different CPG businesses over the years come and go.

You've also seen lots of successes. What do you think differentiates a CPG business for the ones that succeed and stick around versus the ones that, you know, maybe there was some excitement for one year and then they're gone? are the core differences with those?

Martin (24:35)
I think a lot of the companies that disappear are like me too, so they are copying someone, you know. So we used to exhibit at Expo West, which is this trade show in California, which is crazy. We stopped exhibiting there maybe three years ago. We're going to return next year, hopefully. But these three years have been great without that show because there are a lot of people, a lot of brands.

10 years ago, venture capital was huge in this category. So it was a matter of how much money you attract from venture capitalists and if you are able to survive. And everybody was focusing on market penetration, market share, profit, market share, which is different. So everybody was looking to get an exit and there weren't enough companies to buy. I there were so many companies trying to sell.

there are a couple of Hershey's, General Mills, I mean no more than 10 PepsiCo was a value as well. some point we decided that that game was crazy, but we played it and we lost half a million bucks. We lost an entire venture capital investment playing that game for a few months.

So we were doing crazy things like going into retailers paying slotting fees and then four months later sometimes they kicked us out. We were doing all these promotions and everybody was doing the same promotions. So you start getting into this crazy competition of who does the best promotion, and you're not making any money. So that was a big mistake. We did play it around 2017 or something like that with zero success.

And I don't think it was a matter of passion. I don't think it was a matter of product or branding. think up until eight years ago, it was a matter of how much cash you had to burn. now, I think it's a different story. think innovation is a key role.

not, you know, but the first year, not the second year. So, you you go to a trade show like Expo West and I remember one year it was crickets, one year it was kale. You know, there's always a clear tendency that everybody's following.

know, turmeric. So everybody's been doing things around turmeric. The next year you go back and it's something else. But there are so many companies doing that something else that is like the tendency of that year that is very hard to pick up a winner. So I think it's very good to to start differentiating in different things from day one and try to create your own blue ocean. I like that book, Blue Ocean Strategy. That's something that I would highly recommend.

Dan Cassidy (26:57)
Similar thing for D2C and just marketing in general, right, is finding the right positioning and not doing the same me too brand, right? Because I think it happens with lot of founders or operators where they see a brand having success and say, well, if they've done it, so can I. And every now and again, you'll see a success if that second brand can somehow operationalize much faster or they've got something that can help them get ahead. But a lot of the times it's just first mover advantage.

They already have traction, their brand is already known, so it's hard for that second player to come through. So I think you just figured out your next product lineup. It's Cricket Chips with some kale and turmeric on top. think that's play. So, yeah. So Martin, let's move on to the speed round. So each answer in about a minute or less. So what is one book that you highly recommend? I know you just mentioned one, but you can mention that, or if you have a different one, you can throw that in here too.

Martin (27:37)
Yeah, we're like five years later though.

I just read one that I think is interesting, it's called Traction and I think it was recently written but I really like that one because it's good in giving your structure.

Dan Cassidy (28:02)
Awesome, fantastic. And what is an under the radar product or brand that you love?

Martin (28:08)
I love the Andean lupini beans, which is a product that is like the highest source of non-animal protein. So we get 50 % of protein, you know, with whey you get up to 90%. But, you know, the Andean lupini beans, we call them chochos here in Ecuador.

the chochos have 50 % you know and it's crazy because if you think about high protein products they usually have quinoa which has 14 % usually have green peas which only has 22 % the Andean lupini bean goes from like 48 to 52 % and it's already been sold in Whole Foods under the Mikuna brand

And we've tried to do like a Me Too product and we have failed in that one, you know. So I know it's a fantastic product, but there's a thing with consumer education that we as Ecuadorians or as South Americans have not been able to be successful yet. But that's a fantastic product.

Dan Cassidy (29:19)
So for, you said it's a lupini bean? How are they typically consumed?

Martin (29:25)
You know, in South America we eat them fresh, but some people have already found ways to boil them and export them like that. It's not very attractive, but the powder, know, so we can sell them in powder, so you can put in a shake, for example, and it's tasteless, it's odorless, it's white. But yeah, it's just that the demand has not exploded yet, but I know that's like one of the superfoods of the future.

Dan Cassidy (29:50)
What does it taste like if you're just eating it raw?

Martin (29:54)
I wouldn't say like a green pea, would say like a tasteless bean.

Dan Cassidy (30:02)
Okay, all right. Well, as a marketing guy, that's probably not the tagline for it. But it's good that there's good nutritional profiles.

Martin (30:07)
I mean, you have to eat

it with salt. We usually boil it and put some salt on it because otherwise it's not very, very much fun. But that's one product where we have tried. We have taken this to like four or five trade shows and it hasn't worked yet.

Dan Cassidy (30:22)
I imagine it's just a yet because the protein craze is pretty insane right now. And so 42 % is extremely high for a vegetarian vegan product. interesting. Okay, I've not heard of that. I will have to check it out. What is one thing that you do better than most people just naturally and how do you do it?

Martin (30:40)
Me as a person? I think it's motivating or crazy selling crazy ideas to the team and to investors and to buyers sometimes.

Dan Cassidy (30:41)
Yes.

Okay, any any anything that you do different than others? Like what is the key that will help you sell somebody on a new idea?

Martin (31:01)
think for one thing it's passion, for sure. The second thing is a complete conviction on what we are doing as a company.

on how we started the company. So we are still being loyal to how we started, why we started, the why was very important. Remember creating the brand and having a positive impact. So for example, tomorrow, I have my entire management team going to visit these two associations in the Highlands. One provides us with beetroots and the other one provides us with...

with onion and potatoes because I feel they need to see what's going on in the soil, how our farmers are working, what are their needs, how the farmers see us as a company, you know, the importance that we have in their lives.

Dan Cassidy (31:44)
Love it, I love that you're tying that together. What is a favorite shopping experience you've had either in real life or online?

Martin (31:52)
Recently I went to a store in Miami and we were walking the aisles with two of my buddies and both of them are also focused on the longevity. Crazy that it's going on right now. So I got into the mushrooms section and I said, I've never bought mushrooms, what can I buy? And there were so many options.

So I eventually ended up buying a blend of 10 mushrooms. Okay. I thought it was perfect, you know, for like the first time buyer, you know, a blend that includes everything. so yeah, I, you know, it might sound funny, but I love the experience of buying for the first time mushroom powder.

Dan Cassidy (32:31)
Nice, yeah, it's good that that brand made it easy to have a variety all at once. Good stuff. Who is somebody we should have on a future episode?

Martin (32:39)
I like a lot of people in the natural foods area. think, I mean, you're based in the US and you're very focused on the US market. I have a few people. Maybe the guys that started Runa, the guayusa tea

I like those two guys, they created, I mean they tried educating customers, eventually they got out of the company. I think they have a fascinating story to tell. One of them wrote a book and the other one is still around working with venture capital funds. I think those two guys I would try.

Dan Cassidy (33:10)
Nice, awesome. Martin, where can people connect with you to learn more?

Martin (33:13)
LinkedIn is a great space. LinkedIn is always great. We also have our website, kiwalife.com. Yeah, and if you want to put us on Amazon, I think it's the best option. Our best seller is the 2.5 ounce vegetable mix. But yeah, happy to provide any information that, I mean, we're always helping and we think that enlarging our network will always help us.

Dan Cassidy (33:34)
Fantastic. Well, I will confirm that the beetroot and the other vegetable chips are super, super tasty, really delicious, definitely high quality.

denser and you can tell it's real food versus a lot of stuff out there that's just sort of fried nonsense. So great job on the product quality. And Martin, thank you so much for building Kiwa with such a strong focus on sustainability, innovation and supporting farming communities across South America. And thank you so much for sharing your story and insights with us today on the Shopify happy hour.