20. Inside Cravings: Celebrity Brand, Serious Baking with CEO Haley Ludwigson

What does it really take to build a celebrity-founded brand into a lasting consumer products company?

In this episode of Women Who Make It, Angela Dodd sits down with Haley Ludwigson, CEO of Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, to explore how the company is disrupting the baking aisle through clean ingredients, nostalgic flavors, and thoughtful innovation.

Haley shares her journey from CFO to CEO, explains why flavor always comes before function, and discusses how changing consumer behaviors—including the rise of GLP-1 medications—are influencing product development. Together, they dive into retail strategy, branding, leadership, and why celebrity may drive the first purchase, but great products create loyal customers.

Whether you're a food industry professional, entrepreneur, or brand builder, this episode is filled with practical insights on leadership, innovation, and creating products consumers truly love.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Chrissy says this very well whenever she speaks, but she gets us the awareness. She is this amazing customer acquisition engine who gets trial for cravings, and we are so grateful to have her. But it's the product that gets the Ricky purchase.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Welcome to Women Who Make It. Real conversations with women in the food and beverage industry who are building careers, leading teams, and figuring it all out. After years of building females on food, I've had conversations with some of the most brilliant women in the industry. And they shared the real stuff. The pivots, the boundaries, the burnouts, and the moments of is this even working before it finally clicked? So I hit record, and now you get to hear it too. We're women who make it. So let's dig in. Welcome back to Women Who Make It. I'm your host, Angela Dodd, and today's conversation is for anyone who's ever walked the bakery aisle and thought, goodness, this category has not caught up with the way people are actually eating and baking today. My guest is Haley Ludwigson, and she is the CEO of Cravings by Chrissy Teegan. Now, Haley joined the company as CFO and helped build the operational and financial foundation of the company for its next stage of growth before she stepped into the CEO role. Today, she's leading the brand's expansion in the baking aisle beyond, reimagining nostalgic pantry staples for today's consumer. In this episode, we're gonna talk about a lot. We're gonna speak about why the baking mix category is ripe for disruption, what it takes to build a celebrity-founded brand into a credible long-term CPG business, and how Cravings approaches both retail and e-com, along with the white space that Haley's seeing in both baking, breakfast, and at-home occasions. We're also going to discuss something that many leaders can relate to, and that's how to build your own voice and leadership identity while also growing a brand that's closely associated with a globally recognized founder or company. Let's get into it. We have a lot to cover. Haley, welcome to the show. I can't be more excited for this conversation. Really, really a pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much for having me. I'm I'm honored. Well, we have a lot of fun things to get into today. Um, as our listeners just heard, you're the CEO of Cravings by Chrissy Teagan. And before we jump in, like, we're gonna get into the baking aisle and what's going on in the baking industry. But before we do that, I want to spend a few minutes just talking about your career journey because I think it's incredibly fascinating, you know, where you've started, the experience you've had and what you're doing today. Um, when you look back at your path from being the CFO for Cravings to that really key turning point that led you to being CEO and leading this, like what stands out to you in that journey and what it's been like as you've moved through the organization?

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Yeah, thanks for asking that. It's funny to me because I feel like if you had asked me 10 years ago if I'd be running a baking company, I probably would have laughed. Um, even when I think about it now, it's it's wow, this journey has been incredible that this is where I ended up. Um, my background is in finance. I spent years looking at businesses through the lens of strategy, profitability, long-term growth. And when I joined Cravings as a CFO, I had the opportunity to be the strategic partner to our CEOs. And I loved thinking about where the business should go, what categories, what opportunities were out there. And if we could build something that wasn't just exciting today, but could become a lasting consumer brand. So when the opportunity came up to be the CEO, I was so nervous. And I said to Chrissy, let's try it. I don't know if I'm gonna enjoy it. I don't know if you're gonna enjoy me. The CFO and the CEO are different jobs. And we did. We tried it, and it changed everything. About six months in, I kind of was over her house and we looked at each other and I said, you know what? I love it. And I wanted, I want to do this. I I want to change my title. And she looked at me and she said, I'm so glad that you feel that way because we were we were waiting for you to ask us. And if you didn't, we were going to ask you. So I think for me, I realized while I really enjoy finance, what energizes me is building. And that was things that you know I didn't necessarily have the opportunity to do before as a CFO. So now I'm building teams, I'm building the brand, I'm solving problems, I'm creating a strategy and then watching it come to life. And I love it. It's meaningful, it's exciting, and it feels right.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

I really love that journey, like that back-end look as to how that conversation evolved, right? But also just like the you can tell the strong relationship that exists between you and Chrissy and like being able to be vulnerable in that moment of like, I don't know if it's the right fit. Um, and and being able to take some time to kind of test it out and feel feel your way into it and come to them and and say, this is exactly what I want to be doing. That building, that building piece, I was just reflecting on that recently, like how much joy we get out of building and seeing something come into the market and having so much pride around that.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Yeah, and and the finance piece, it it prepared me well because I was I was a strategic partner and learned from that and great mentors for years. But then also, you know, finance, I think it can be thought of as just numbers, but it's it's prioritization, it's uh capital allocation, deciding what to do. And those strengths aren't always CEO strengths. And I've brought that numbers mindset into the CEO role with me. So um I think you know, it's it's the finance side that taught me that and taught me the numbers, and then it's the CEO side that taught me the people part.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

So that's awesome. I I think both sides are necessary and critical, I think, to feeling really successful in that role and balancing, to your point, the people and the numbers. Because at the end of the day, you need the numbers to work, but you also need the people to also be happy and engaged. One additional question around this before we start moving into the baking aisle, because I feel like if I don't address this, our listeners will be left wanting. On like, we know your work has clearly, you know, shaped the evolution of this brand. But how do you think about your own identity as you're a leader alongside such a visible founder and a global celebrity? Like, what is what is that like?

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Yeah, you know, when I started from the CFO seed, I thought to myself, well, this is perfect. I I don't I don't even need to be in the limelight. That's not that's not me. Um, but as a CEO, it just happens and and you are. So it's interesting because I I love Chrissy. And I think the way the partnership works and and what works for me and and my own story is that we don't try and do the same job. Um, and there's been this tremendous amount of trust between the two of us that I'm really grateful for. So she jokes, and and we've done some conferences lately where she's, you know, like, where's Haley? And you know, she just says our brains, they work so differently. And that works for us, and I think it it works for the team. And I step back sometimes and I think to myself, you know, we're actually very similar in so many ways too. So, but in a business sense, I get to lead the business and she trusts me to do that. So the employees know that when we're looking for answers, when we're making decisions, that's coming from me. And on a daily basis, I'm thinking about strategy and retailers and operations, and I do the hiring. Um, Chrissy trusts me with that. And, you know, we're a small but mighty team, so a lot of those roles are more junior, and and she would get more involved if they were senior. But I do the things that keep the business growing. And then Chrissy, Chrissy's a force of nature, and she's become this powerful marketing machine because that is just naturally who she is and what she's good at. So when I'm leaning into running the business, she's able to really do what she does exceptionally well, which is the marketing piece and the products. So she has this incredible instinct for consumers. She has this authenticity with food and this palette that has had years and years of refining and understanding how recipes really work and how flavors really profiles really fit. And then she'll spend days, you know, thinking about the callouts and packaging and the sprinkles colors and things like that. And we just work together like that. So every single day we we try and connect, but she's doing different pieces than I am, and we're both just moving the business forward.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Such a complimentary relationship, it sounds like. And it's one thing we're gonna get into here in the next section around like what it takes to move something from you know, a celebrity product into a real stable CPG brand. And I I think one thing I really have appreciated about Chrissy's brand over the years is she really is opens up about how much thought and intention she has put into. Like she has been, you know, from the cookbook into the kitchen and showing the audience, you know, inside her home and the evolution of where these products have come and that she cares, you know, it wasn't just, oh, I'm gonna put my name on a box, but really, you know, putting a lot of intention behind what it tastes like, what it looks like, um, how consumers are interacting with that product. But we'll, we're gonna get into that um here in just a second. First, let's back a few steps back and talk about the bakery aisle. And as you and I were discussing, I I don't know, I might just be manifesting um all these uh these bakery conversations into my life because I it's uh it's where I'm formally trained and I I really love talking about bakery. But why do you think, like, what are you seeing right now? You talk about Christy having this innate closeness to the consumer. Would love for you to share like what are you seeing happening with the consumers in the bakery aisle? Why do you think this is such a a ripe place for disruption?

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Yeah, so I think that has been ripe for disruption for a long time. And actually, something someone said recently that is just totally back to basics, but so powerful is go walk the aisles. Like walk the grocery store and look around and take a look where the white space is. And we do that, but but I wouldn't even say we do we do it enough. You know, we're in the numbers, we're looking at the data coming out and what the sales and the product category size is. But when you walk the baking aisles, it really hits you. And we get a lot of those photos now after we're on the shelf or when we're pitching for the business, and you're just like, wow, it is run by legacy incumbents, and consumers have this situation where they've had to make a choice on health or taste. So they could either buy these legacy brands that tasted great but were full of ingredients that they didn't necessarily feel good about, or they could buy the products that leaned heavily into the better for you, but sacrificed the thing people actually wanted, which was this delicious dessert or breakfast. And what we're trying to go after is clean indulgence and you know, people not having to choose anymore, because we think that's really powerful for people still wanting a birthday cake or pancakes or cookies fresh out of the oven, but in the sense also that for Chrissy and her connection to the consumer, food is so emotional. So it's how we celebrate, it's how we connect. And I think that connection's been lost and going too far in the better for you. And we're bringing it back to really where you know people feel less guilty and better about themselves enjoying those moments that they want to enjoy because they have better ingredients and better products to go with it.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Yeah. I think now, more than ever, consumers are we're seeing a shift because consumers, for the first time, their preferences and the way they're buying is moving faster than the industry can frankly react in a lot of cases, right? Um, we're seeing so many shifts in eating behaviors, but uh consumers are are are talking loud for the first time with with their pocketbooks, which I think is really exciting for this industry. When you start rethinking about nostalgic pantry um staples, and for me, like Amy, you and I both grew up on on the Betty. I don't know, I won't call out specific brands, but on um certain certain uh um I try not to as well. Certain cake mixes. Um what uh you know, talk about the you know, the consumer's expectation around nutrition, ingredients, and convenience in the products that you're building. I I know you mentioned you're going after clean label, um clean label convenience. I'm curious what this means to you and some of the new products that you're innovating, but also in this time when we see consumers also kind of moving, like we want we want indulgence, but we also know consumers are eating differently because a lot of the GLP one um movement. Curious, just deep dive into that for me for a moment. I know there's a lot there to unpack. That was a complicated question.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

And I'm and I'm glad that we circled back to it because it can't be ignored anymore. The GLP medications. I mean, I think I read something like one in eight or one in ten are using that. So the way that we like to think about it is that people don't want less indulgence. They want better indulgence, and it's this new world where every bite means more. Um, so if you're gonna indulge, people want, you know, the pancakes to be incredible. And that for us isn't a it isn't frightening, it's an opportunity because that's exactly where we fit and where we see you know cravings being. So the GLP ones for us, like some of the things I can tell you from the nutrition and the function and the ingredients that cravings is doing, we start with flavor. So we start with flavor, we start with nostalgia as one of our biggest sources of inspiration. Chrissy, she has this whole history of developing recipes, and they remind people of home or they come from her cookbooks. And our old school sheet cake, it's like a perfect example because that one's from her third cookbook. And then we look at it and we say, how can we bring this experience to more families in a way that's approachable, that's convenient, and that's clean and better than what's on the shelf. So all of our product line is non-GMO certified, and that is core of it for us. But above that, it all starts with flavor. And I think a lot of brands start with function, and then they try and make it taste good, and we do the opposite. We start with, would someone crave this? And then if the answer is yes, we keep working on it and we will be texting back and forth at 10 p.m. on like a Friday night, and it'll be like a picture of a cake that Chrissy feels looks delicious and like, you know, is craving. And we just have conversations like that always going about food and and brands and stuff. And our mochi pancakes, which we recently worked on some, a new, a new one, and she went on social and kind of talked to her audience in that two-way conversation that she has about that. They're gluten-free, but we didn't set out to make a gluten-free pancake. So um the conversation really revolved around how does the consumer and the mass consumer, because that's where cravings is with in our growth, feel about gluten-free. And we chose sweet rice flour because we fell in love with the texture. It's this fluffy, chewy texture that's satisfying and it's different than anything on the shelf. But the gluten-free was like a bonus. And the feedback we got from the social was really like, oh, well, you know, gluten-free can be alienating because I think, oof, that might not taste good. So we really we look at flavor first, and then the function that comes out of it is it's just this bonus that comes with it. So we're thinking constantly just about how we have that conversation with consumers and how we communicate best that we are clean and indulgent and you know, decadent and taste good, and that's nothing to be, you know, afraid of for certifications that we might have. It's still gonna be something that you can rely on, Chrissy, whether you have for years with her cookbooks or now with our baking mixes, and it's gonna deliver on taste every time.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Yeah. What an interesting, what an interesting balance to strike. And it wasn't until you were just talking about it now that I'm like, my initial thoughts when I think about the the products that come out from cravings is indulgent, is nostalgia, and also clean. But I don't like to your point, it's kind of a bonus item. I don't I don't see it's not front of label, right? Around gluten-free and in just kind of learning about the intention behind that. Like it's the bonus item, but for me, it's a different trust in the product, trusting that it's gonna taste good, be good. And but you know, you it's the it's also getting the message across around the certifications and the intention behind the product development of it. How how interesting.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Um I'll say because I I know your background. I I love feedback. So, you know, it's interesting to hear you say, like, well, you know, I I don't necessarily see that. We had a uh a conversation with an investor recently that that gave feedback, and I think all feedback is good feedback. And they said, you know, maybe you should make it more prominent. And they gave us an example of a brand that kind of like lists all the protein or the fiber. So we are always thinking about those things, but you hear them all and and we nurture and discuss all of those, but we are trying so hard to stay true to who we are as a brand. And you know, it's it's the trends, whether it's was protein last year or maybe it's still protein, but fiber now. And, you know, we chase flavors that people are gonna want, you know, talk about nostalgia like 10 years from now instead of chasing the trends.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Yeah, I think that's I mean, personally, I think it's wise. Clearly, there's a lot of white space for the protein and fiber arena right now. Um, but I do think there's something to be said in knowing your brand and sticking to your brand identity and and what you want people to continuously think of you of, not just today, but 10 years from now. I love that so much. Well, I'll continue to be a big fan, regardless if it if it's gluten-free or protein. Um, I will I'll still continue to buy it. And um, but yeah, hopefully some insight for our listeners who are, you know, it would be fun for you guys to weigh in on this too, if if you knew the depth of some of the ingredient intentionality behind these products, because what you don't necessarily know is it's not easy to create a product that meets all of these parameters. Like it is really, really difficult to bring consumers convenience at a price point that they can afford with really good ingredients. And I think that's something that a lot of consumers miss in this in this discussion and conversation when they're walking down the grocery store shelves and aisles.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

Yeah, you have to think about um so many things like you're saying, and and sometimes it can be overwhelming. And it's almost like putting this jigsaw puzzle together. And you have your flavor, your texture, your ingredients, your shelf life, what price point does that all add up to? How are you gonna promote it with the value proposition on your packaging? And what's the consumer's expectation of these flavors? And when you get it right, it's so rewarding. But along the way, it's scary.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

And there's a lot of noise. There's a lot of noise, and people telling you all the different directions that you could take it. And at the end of the day, I think, you know, when it comes to baking, and it's like, where are you enjoying these baking moments and in the home? And like, I do think that as consumers, you know, convenience is important, but also I think we're all craving those opportunities where we can be having human connections with the people that we love. And that's one thing that I really appreciate about the disruption of this bakery in the bakery aisle, and that's happening because I think we're all looking for more human connection and analog moments. And I think those opportunities that you're creating for consumers to get back to having convenience but creating moments of baking in the kitchen with yourself, with your Spouse, with your partner, with your children, it creates those memories and goes back to the nostalgia that you're trying to also deliver in those products.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

Yeah, we spoke about this earlier, but you know, you were saying coming out of COVID and stuff, just how people connect. It restarted then. And I think the it has just continued, right? We're still trying to get back there and find that and what connection means in this world of more and more internet and technology, and it's important, I think, and an emotional piece for us for our brand.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

Yeah, I love that. Well, we're there's there's another piece to this story to dive into, and it's a fun one for me because I'm seeing something happening in the market. I'm seeing more celebrities coming in with food products. I'm also seeing more like influencers online starting to write books. Like the the book craze of like influencers, you know, are becoming authors and celebrities are becoming FB founders. And um we're we're seeing people just step into new spaces. And I want to acknowledge that Cravings has been around for a while, right? This isn't just a merch moment that that the brand is having. And I want to talk about what it takes to, because to me, Cravings was one of the first celebrity brands to move into the FB industry as a product, as a CPG product. And curious what that evolution has been like and what does it really take to move from being a celebrity moment into a lasting CPG brand that has its own credibility on the shelf?

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Yeah. So Cravings does have a different background. And it was content, it was a cookbook platform. We mentioned, you know, those cookbooks were outside of Cravings, but we sold it all. And one of the most important things that we've done as a brand is to focus and to say no to things. So when I was in the CFO seat, I gave a lot of direction around the numbers. You know, what are the numbers telling us? Where is the most profitable product lines? You know, but in the CEO seat leading the strategy, I got to really take a hard look at the business and the strategy of it and the numbers in a different way with what the consumers were voting for with their dollars on the shelf, what they were coming back for, and where we had permission to win. The answer was baking. So for us in a much broader portfolio, we were trying to do a lot of things, but baking mixes with a was our growth engine. When we sliced and diced it, it was very clear. And we kind of looked at ourselves and said, you know, this is our opportunity. This is our white space where, you know, we aligned the entire company around baking and breakfast. And once I've I did that, everything became clearer. So it was easier for Chrissy to talk about the company. She was more excited to do her social and really get to share those moments. We hadn't even fully discussed where the mixes came from, those stories, which are coming out now. One was posted yesterday, but our product development became easier, our marketing team and the way that we discussed things on our socials became easier, retail conversations became easier, animation became easier. So it's like this saying like where you're all finally rowing in the same direction. Um, so I think for me, one of the biggest learnings I had, and I had investors, I had mentors who helped me here, was that you needed to focus. Um, and I think maybe I needed to try it, but having tried it, I just I couldn't be a bigger proponent that that's actually so critical for strong growth. Um, so we had this, you know, focus happen about a year ago into just baking here that we're doing. And then this strategic shift happened right before and alongside it, which was our packaging. Um, so we started really, you know, being able to tell that story about who cravings was, about the joy, about our clean indulgence, and have that be clear to the consumer. And just, you know, the focus I think was a little frightening along the way, being like, well, we're gonna lose sales if we cut this. And that felt like, oh no, well, well, we don't want to lose sales. But at the end of the day, the focus didn't shrink our opportunity at all. It accelerated it, and we're having our our fastest growing and most successful year yet as a company. Um, so that's part of it. And then for celebrity brands, I think the other part that you kind of mentioned, it was Chrissy says this very well whenever she speaks, but she gets us the awareness. She is this amazing customer acquisition engine who gets trial for cravings, and we are so grateful to have her. But it's the product that gets the repeat purchase. Um, so retailers, even you know, for them, they don't reorder products because someone's famous. It's the second and third time and that velocity that we achieve that is a direct result of the product that Cravings is coming out with, that is tasting great, it's priced right, and you know, we have this connection with her in her audience, and they know they know to try it, they they know it's gonna taste good, and we deliver on that. I think it's it's honestly like a reputation that we have to live up to. So it's it's saying like cravings can be its own brand and have it be as good as the Chrissy brand, but it's but its own brand.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Yeah, that's that is is so insightful. And I think you always feel that pressure to deliver against it. But I think it's safe to say that like given the repeat purchases and the fastest growing year, you're finding that that success already. Like you've you've got there. Like cravings is cravings, right? People are craving it. Um, and I think that must feel really good that they're buying it for the product and not just because of the celebrity. Um and you've hit a right chord from that aspect.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

Yeah, it's changed for us because I think for my first year at least, you know, I would have retailer conversations and they would say, Well, what are your best skews? And like, what are the two top skews we should try? And it was just kind of this discussion on we'll try it. And now one some of the recent wins that we've had, they've been large portions of the portfolio. And that's really this confidence-building moment of of retailers believing in the in the brand and the product and and not just you know testing us anymore. So it's a lot of excitement with the team around that.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

As you're thinking about talking to these retailers, I want to chat about kind of what the strategy is overall from like your growth and how you show up, how do you make decisions about creating products, whether that's for e-com or whether that's for retail? And then we're gonna get into the next part, which is like, what's next? Is there any teasers of like, we'll we'll get to that part, but how do you um how do you think about uh building when you're when you're thinking about retail or or more of a digital shelf?

SPEAKER_01 29:33

Yeah, this is an area for me as well. We were kind of talking anywhere that you know, I'm not an expert. I like to put experts around me. So I've learned so much about marketing in the retail space compared to the e-com space. And and what I've learned is the biggest difference is that in retail you have you have about three seconds. You know, someone they're walking down the aisle, maybe they have kids, their mind is somewhere else, and your package has to stop them. So I have our package here. And, you know, we were kind of talking about the rebrand, but really for us, it was that it didn't feel right before, and it didn't sell that indulgence and that joy and the colors. So uh now we've we've changed all that, and everything matters. It's it's a color, it's a decadent photography, it's the names we're changing two names of the products. I can kind of tease that. Two cookie names are changing, and that is a decision made to better resonate with the consumer and really speak to them about the flavor profile better. And that is on John's Golden Cookie will now, you know, be changed to be a golden peanut butter cookie, which peanut butter wasn't even in the name before. So really just calling out that flavor profile. And then we're changing our Snickerdoodle name as well to be this, you know, Snickerdoodle dreams cookie, which both of them we think, you know, are really just gonna sell the product better than we were before. So we're always thinking about that and how it works on e-com compared to retail. And in retail, it needs to look fun, needs to look delicious. I want to make that. And then online we have more time. So we have our reviews, which are really valuable to us and meaningful for people to really hear what other people think about the products. We, you know, have the full PDP with the ingredient lists, we put recipes up, lifestyle photos up, and people get to really review all that before they click by. Um, so we can show recipes of the finished product, Chrissy making it, Luna making it. And it's a different moment of you know, retail being kind of the discovery and then digital really kind of building that loyalty.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

I love that. As you also talked about like that customer acquisition and being able to get the trial of it, you know, do you find that you can do that well enough through retail and e-comm? Are you also needing to activate within the communities? And like, what does that side of the strategy look like?

SPEAKER_01 32:14

Yeah. You know, the the short answer is we do everything from a marketing standpoint. And I think probably all brands do. We have um some things that you know work better than others, but we're always trying, we're always testing, and then we we kind of measure the the result of these different things and and real life community events and activations partnerships are super important to cravings and who we are. So we recently had um, we have a about three to four a year, and we recently had one at Chrissy's house for Mother's Day. Um, we have a partnership with another brand that really fits really well with cravings coming in the summer, and I could kind of maybe tease it, but you'll get some really delicious. It's going, it's gonna be three different flavor collaboration products, and they will be kind of coming out like once a week in July, four flavors actually, because there's four weeks. And that is gonna be something where people can go to brick and mortar and buy that. So these different things where we get to really engage with the community on top of just, you know, you have your your shopper marketing and you have your paid, you know, and different things that you're doing online, reviews and things, but those in in-person moments are super valuable to Cravings.

SPEAKER_00 33:39

Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, just seeing the consumers enjoying it. Man, I'm excited for that collab. Um, I know as this episode is airing, it'll be right around that time. So um I'll be going out to look for those uh without I'll give you a hint.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

I can't send you that one. Okay. So that food can't be sent. Oh, wow. Okay. And I will have to get you some somehow. I'm gonna think about how to do it.

SPEAKER_00 34:04

Or I'll get myself on a plane and I know, or we have to get you here. Yes. Oh, fun. Okay, well, I can't wait to see that.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

That's well, maybe we will have to do, and we're still going through this partnership and what we do to really market it, but we're probably gonna have to come up with a recipe for consumers to make it on their own and really create it because there's a lot of people that can't come. So this discussion alone is adding so much value to talk to the team about what we're doing there.

SPEAKER_00 34:31

So oh my gosh. As a listeners, I'm like, I'm dying, like, I'm dying for more. But we'll we'll get more soon. When it comes out, we'll be we'll be the first to know on on what this fun collab is, but excited to see as you guys uh move ahead. Is there is there other areas, you know, as you think about um, we've talked about the bakery aisle, but like not to skip over breakfast, right? Which is a huge, which is a huge space in itself. Um and uh that I know you guys have gone into pancakes. Is there other space, like other extensions or spaces that you're considering um as you think about the brand and going into the future and where you want to make that?

SPEAKER_01 35:11

Honestly, yeah you you hit it on the nose because breakfast is such a huge opportunity for us. And we we have two SKUs currently, but we are so encouraged by the success of our pancake business because it behaves differently than baking. So for baking, you know, those are your occasions that you have a few times a year, or you know, cookies maybe every couple weeks, but pancakes that's it's a ritual, that's a weekend ritual, or even every couple days if you're my daughter. So it changes the whole game for cravings with that repeat purchase, and that's exciting to build around. So, our our next skew that's launching in August is a pancake. And I spent last week down in Texas and I spoke with one of our retailers that has two the two current pancakes, and they got to try it firsthand and they said this is our favorite yet. So I'm so super encouraged by that. And fast follow the next day, they bought it. So they will have a quick exclusive with that, and then we're also gonna just put it in Pop-Up Grocer to have some brand awareness in that kind of moment with some UGC and influencers that regularly go there. Um, but we have two other pancakes after that in the works, so it's really a place that, you know, for us, we're introducing these products that are flavors, you know, that are different. So maybe you'd normally enjoy them at brunch, these indulgent pancakes, and we're making it that now you can make them at home. So that's one. And then other opportunities that we're looking at are in line with DLP1s, which we we spoke about for a while, but just households, you know, how eating habits are changing, and really the opportunity to unlock there is what we do with with sizes and pack sizes and uh single serve is is an opportunity that we think about because sometimes you don't want a full cake. Maybe you just want one incredible dessert, and there's a lot of innovation kind of opportunity there that we're looking at, and it's in its early days, but there's there's many more places to go because consumers may change the quantity of what they indulge in and eat, but they're never gonna change that they want to eat dessert. That I still I don't believe that's going anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 37:38

So we will bet on, I'm gonna be at bet on that one into the future. I don't care how much GLP one comes into the market.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

I'm in my mid 40s now, and I have been having dessert regularly since I was a child. So I think you know, it's just something that grows with you and you want, and maybe the the way you consume it now as an adult, if you're you know on GLP1s and every bite matters more is different, but the dessert doesn't change.

SPEAKER_00 38:06

So I love that. Well, as we as we close out, a couple final questions. What advice do you have for women who are looking to build their personal brand, advance in this industry? You know, curious. We we spoke earlier about all the changing dynamics in the industry. I'm wondering if you just have a message to either young or more advanced women in any words of advice based on your own journey. So many. Um where do we start? It's a whole other podcast.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Um yeah, you know, I think women, confidence, have confidence in yourself, whether you've done it before, if you know you can do it, keep learning. Something that I have learned is not to be afraid to fail. Failure is not an issue. We learn the most when we fail, uh, more than when we succeed sometimes, but it's to fail quickly. Um, so sometimes I think as women, we feel we want to get everything right before we make a move. And it's actually better. I've learned to make that decision and make it quickly sometimes and learn from it, keep moving. And some things, you know, that aren't working, you need to have the confidence to just change direction. Even if you're committed to it, it can be better for the brand, for the company to walk away from something. And we've done that at Cravings, and it's worked out really well, but it becomes really scary before you do it because you you do you feel like I spent so much time on this, and this is now a failure. And it's really not if the the end result is a better success. So that would be something I just tell women believe in yourself and and don't be afraid of failure. And then I am always trying to grow, as I mentioned with you. So, you know, we have a board of advisors at cravings, which is important to me. So who you surround yourself with for women, I think, you know, we we can really bring in all of the people that we need to succeed. We don't have to be good at everything. And for ourselves, we can just continue to grow through that. I learned so much from those people. So it's that like uh continuous improvement philosophy. And that's how I like to lead the company is you know, it's not just gonna be one giant breakthrough and one giant success, but it's going to be owning all these small wins over time and piling them up. And that compounds, and you know, if you're never comfortable and you're always trying to improve, the end result can be really fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

So yeah, I it's it's uh it's a marathon and not a sprint, and uh continuously I think it's also slowing down and just appreciating all the great work that you've done too, right? I think as women, it's been the journey. We we're always looking ahead, but taking a second to to look behind you and see everything that you've built and and the great things that you've done. Well, this this conversation has been so fun, but also just so insightful. And I always learn something out of all these conversations, and my hope is that our listeners do too. Um, and that they feel connected with us and the industry and that we're all building together. One last question. What's your favorite cravings product? Only one.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

Oh, that's easy for me, but it is our carrot cake kit. I've always liked carrot cake, and I just didn't know that I loved it until we made it, and that is because Chrissy took a different spin on it. So our carrot cake is actually something that came from her wedding cake as inspiration. And it's a carrot cake where we do it right in cravings um style, and we include all of the clean ingredients that you need and the value proposition that it has everything included. So we've got carrots in there that are rehydrated carrots that you would heat up, and we've got walnuts in there, but then what we do differently is we have this sticky sauce, and I've never had a sticky sauce on a carrot cake before, and it changes the game for the product for me and it's moist, and it's and I love kind of like a caramel flavor, so it's it's to die for, and then a cream cheese frosting too. To get all of those flavors in one box, I feel like was a feat, and we did it. So, hands down, my favorite.

SPEAKER_00 42:45

I have not had that one yet, but I'm going to get it because it sounds like a mix of some of my favorite desserts, like almost a sticky toffee pudding, like a date cake, sticky toffee pudding, and then you still get the cream cheese on top and and all the bits and pieces of the texture from the carrot cake. It's funny that you say this. We have a a young gal in au pair um from Brazil that came to join our family this year, and just last night she made us a Brazilian carrot cake. And surprise, Flash, if you've never had Brazilian carrot cake, they like puree the carrots up into the cake batter. So it's a smooth batter. There's no like texture carrots in it. But the surprise is that she uses a chocolate grenache on top of it. Yeah. I've and what did you think? How did it be? So I was fully prepared to like be a skeptic because I'm like, carrot cake is spice, it's warm, it's walnuts, and it's cream cheese frosting as an American. But um the it doesn't have the warm spices in it, so I didn't miss it, just tastes more like a sweet cake that had carrots as like a extra benefit. You know, I'm like the carrots were like a promo um to like it almost became like a yellow cake, and the carrots became the color with a chocolate grenache top on it.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

But I'm imagining those like Christmas time desserts that are like the orange peels covered in the dark chocolate and just a flavor profile of orange and chocolate. And it's loved by a lot of people. So now I feel like I need to try this Brazilian carrot cake. Brazilian carrot cake, yeah. Cocoa prices have come down, so we are more open to chocolate in our products than ever before. Oh, thank, thank the chocolate gods. Um I love Halloween can survive this year, where we can all buy our chocolate again. We don't have to give out pencils anymore.

SPEAKER_00 44:39

It's uh it's okay. We can go back to chocolate for the kids. Um, as we close out, tell our listeners one, where can they connect with you? Where can they buy the products? Where should they uh we'll link it all in the show notes, but where can our listeners connect and buy?

SPEAKER_01 44:56

Well, we are a content forward brand, so we are really easy to reach. We are on social at cravings. Well, cravingshandle on social and Chrissy's handle on social. Um, you can find the product now in 19 retailers. So I can get you the carrot cake for sure. But our listeners can find it in target.com, on Amazon.com, in the retailers we're in, Target, Kroger, Fresh Time, Harris Teeter, Meyer, and you know, many more for myself. Uh, you can reach me anytime on LinkedIn. I'm I'm very active. I I learn a ton from that community and and listening to what's happening in the world of CPG. So yeah, we are we are pretty easy to reach.

SPEAKER_00 45:42

I love it. Well, be sure to not just follow Cravings and Haley, but uh connect with FIF, both at Women Who Make It and Females in Food.community. We would love to hear from you. And if you enjoyed today's show, please give us a like, leave us a comment, engage with us. It's the simple things that really go a long way in helping get these messages out to our broader audience and to the broader industry. For you to take one second to do that really means a lot and we would appreciate it. Because at the end of the day, we're not just making food, we're making moves. We're women who make it. We'll see you next time. Thank you for listening to Women Who Make It. If today's episode inspired you, please follow the podcast so you never miss one of these powerful conversations. And we would also love your help in growing this community by sharing the show with friends and colleagues because together, our stories can create change. For even more connection and inspiration, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at femalesandfood.community. Or join our global community of women by visiting the website femalesandfood.community. We're not just making food, we're making moves. We're women who make it.