Rachel Klein, Founder & CEO of Revival Food Co
I stumbled upon Rachel's incredible almond butter on Instagram, and trust me, it's so good you'll finish a jar in two days. In this episode, Rachel takes us through her unconventional journey, from her accidental start making almond butter in her kitchen, to becoming a sought-after brand in over 1500 stores nationwide, including Walmart. Discover how Rachel's passion for health and wellness led her to create a brand that stands out on grocery store shelves, thanks to its unique flavors, high-quality ingredients, and eye-catching packaging.
Listen
watch
00:06 I have a very special guest who I found on instagram who I bought her almond butter and literally ate it in two days because it was that damn good. 00:18 And so I was so curious about the brand, the name is amazing, the story behind it. So Rachel Klein is here, the founder and CEO of revival. 00:30 Thank you so much. For being here. Oh, thanks so much for having me. It's so fun. It's so fun. And seriously, your almond butter is amazing. 00:38 I had the one with cacao in it. Oh, that's been my addiction lately. That one. I just eat it by the spoon. 00:45 I literally did that as well. Oh my gosh, I love it. That's how it should be enjoyed. I love that. 00:51 Yes, absolutely. I absolutely enjoyed it that way. And the reason why I wanted to have you on the podcast is one. 00:58 I love. Food brands like that is my heart and soul. And when I come across a new emerging brand, especially in the food space, I want to know all about it. 01:12 So to kick things off, I would love to hear because obviously I follow you on social and I saw one of your posts about your ethos story and I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. 01:23 Could you tell us a little bit about the story behind the brand and how you got started? Yeah, I would love to. 01:30 It's definitely an unconventional story. That's not already. Unlike most brands, you'll see on grocery store shelves because especially at the scale that we're at right now, we're in about 1500 stores nationwide. 01:46 Walmart is our largest. And we're still very, very small and the startup story is pretty funny. So I actually started revival by accident back in 2014. 02:01 I was actually just on this health kick. So I grew up. I was actually a dance major in college. I was certified in aerial yoga planning on opening up a yoga studio after graduating and just really always really into health and wellness. 02:17 And I was living at home at the time just trying to clean out my parents pantry and get us all on better health foods. 02:24 One of those things was into almond butter because we ate peanut butter all the time and the more that I read and learned about peanut butter, the more I realized peanut butter is great as an indulgent treat, but it's really actually not that healthy for you. 02:37 It's really high in saturated fats, it's actually a legume and not even a net. It does have a high protein, but really a lot of the other negative effects outweigh the positive. 02:48 And so you know I'm like if this is something that we every day as a protein snack, it should be better. 02:55 So I started going around trying to find almond butter because in 2014 it's really when Justin's had it's big rise. 03:01 And I would go out and buy all the better not just Justin's but literally everything I could find and with every time disappointed. 03:09 Like why does this all the better taste like the ugly stepchild of peanut butter. It just doesn't taste that good. 03:15 It was bland and pasty and didn't have a lot of flavor. And if it did have flavor, it always had sugar, some sort of sweetener honey maple syrup coconut sugar, whatever. 03:26 And it bothered me. It just was one of the things that just got to me. I'm like, well, I love almonds are great. 03:32 So why is almond butter so gross. So I started making my own at home. And it up making this one recipe that was just fantastic. 03:41 And I made that one all the time. And it's actually an hour sea salt vanilla. It's pretty much the same exact recipe just like way skilled up. 03:48 And so that was kind of my go to thing that I made all the time. And fast forward to our wedding was happening. 03:57 I, you know, my husband and I were engaged. We're trying to figure out wedding favors and I was like, I know I'll do my almond butter. 04:03 And so I have, I love that. Yeah, it's so random. But I'm like these little 1.5 ounce jars of Rachel's like, it said made from the bride's kitchen or something on it. 04:16 And, you know, this simple recipe was on it. And everybody afterwards kept coming up to me and saying, Oh my gosh, this was so good. 04:23 You need to sell it. Like I've never had almond butter tasted like that before. And it's just so random. I was like, Oh, thanks. 04:32 You know, I was hoping you'd like it. But the fact that so many of my friends and family that you need to sell this. 04:37 I want more. Can I take more off the table. Can I get more from the thing. And so it just kind of stuck with me in the back of my head. 04:43 I was like, huh, that was cool. Like that's nice. That was not my intention. I just thought it was yummy and wanted to share with my friends and family. 04:50 So we ended up moving from we were living a little while moved to Indianapolis. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do, whether it was time to open up the yoga studio or wait because we were kind of transitional. 05:00 I said, what the heck, I'm just going to try this almond butter thing just for fun because I don't know what business I'm going to do later, but I was always very entrepreneurial. 05:09 And I'm like, I'm just going to do this is like a practice business, which if anybody is listening that's in the world of consumer packaged goods. 05:17 That's laughable because there is no such thing as a food business or beverage business that's a practice business because, holy moly, it is just all income to think. 05:26 I had no idea what I was getting in for. So I started doing farmers market, local stores eventually got an opportunity at one, you know, more of a chain store that that opened up the world of grocery to me and kind of got me on this trajectory of understanding this whole world and kind of getting addicted 05:46 to it of how fun it was to be in grocery and to actually offer something different on grocery shelves because what different you did best from the rest was the fact that I made this almond butter that not only was that classic recipe of like the sea salt vanilla, but then I started making other things 06:01 that I wanted like this rocket cow coconut we're talking about. Chai spice rosemary maka hemp, chian flax and all of that with just flavor by super foods with no added sweeteners at all because if you're ingredients are that great you shouldn't need sweeteners and that's the thing that I learned in 06:18 the process of what made us this special is that because I was making intentionally with really high quality ingredients. That's what made it taste so different and these other products that are on the shelf are made at mass market scale in a way that's just trying to get high margins on it so it's made 06:35 with really crappy almonds really crappy ingredients overly processed overly heated. They don't care you know they're just saying oh people want almond butter will give mom better you know it's a matter of it is said it's a health trend. 06:47 And to me I'm like gosh if I'm going to buy anything from the grocery store I want it to taste amazing especially if it's something that I'm going to eat every day. 06:56 So that's kind of I did that kind of version of it for about five years life had our first two kids so all this time I'm also stay at home mom. 07:05 I was pretty much to see a home mom doing this while during nap time in the evenings I had a babysitter come over for like two days a week for a couple hours so I could go make product in the kitchen. 07:18 It was just it was a really insane season of life but fine because to me I love being a mom and it was something I never wanted to sacrifice so I knew that I was just going to do it slower than everybody else and I was okay with that. 07:31 My journey my entire journey I've now been doing it for about eight years is much slower than most other brands in food and beverage usually your like skyrocket for two years and you're selling their exiting. 07:43 You know in five and that's just not been my journey because I chose that I just love being home with my kids too. 07:51 But back in 2019 I was pregnant with our third and I was like man this is not working I am exhausted you know feeling burnt out on all ends so I said to myself I am either going to blow this thing up and go really big and scale huge and you know really grow the business at scale because that's really 08:13 what it needed to do living in this in between space really wasn't sustainable. Right, I was like either I'm going to blow it up or I'm going to wind it way down and just sell online to the people that love it. 08:24 So I went to expo east which again if anyone's listening and they know consumer package good. So expo east and next to a West are like the largest natural food trade shows natural food and or natural product trade shows right in the US. 08:39 And so I bought a booth and did the whole thing a huge investment for me at the time was like 10 grand total and had a booth and ended up connecting with the buyer of Walmart at my booth. 08:51 And at this time, I mean I was still making it in the kitchen by myself like it was still very small and I go to this huge trade show with my cute little IKEA booth that I returned literally everything of afterwards because I had no money. 09:06 And ended up like striking a deal with the buyer for Walmart and I was like alright well this was my sign and I guess we're going to. 09:15 We're going to blow this thing up I mean it was like two months later I went down to their headquarters and ended up she was like alright great we're going to I'm going to get you in the system we'll start the onboarding and I was like what is this really happening and I was 27 week pregnant. 09:31 So, so we did it I mean it was me and like one other person on my team that is operations and I have like a bookkeeper and that's actually been the team for the last few years too so we scaled up got into 1000 stores of Walmart. 09:46 The added some other retailers and the beautiful thing in this whole process of scaling up with revival has been able to like being able to see that it's actually possible to scale up with integrity in a way that some other brands might look at you know it when you start seeing a branch up at Walmart 10:06 . You might think like okay what corner so they're cutting you know is there how because it just doesn't seem possible you're kind of told that mainstream brands don't have the ability to be as high quality as like something you're going to find at the farmers market. 10:22 And from experience I've realized that's absolutely not true i'm using the same suppliers the same almond farmer since 2014 the same suppliers I love my manufacturer we make it all such like in such a beautiful way that's like still in high integrity with the way that I originally made it I mean I can't 10:41 make it same because I was stirring it by hand but you know like it is. It's the same ingredients the same supplier is since 2015 and I feel so proud of that because most brains don't do that in the reason why is because they are looking for high high margins at scale. 10:59 And to me I'm like if you create something beautiful that you believe in that is still high quality. It's going to sell and like the fact that we can have five skis on the shelf at Walmart of all places of this like super food packed almond butter and that we've been there for now three years. 11:16 I think speak to volumes of what consumers are really looking for you know. Wow. That was just one hell of a story. 11:26 I'm upset. I just kind of feeling you had a cool story but I really didn't know any of this like okay let's just recap shortly because this is so good. 11:37 I'm like I didn't want to interrupt but I'm like oh my gosh it's so good. One that it started out of your kitchen when you're living with your parents trying to figure out what you wanted to do next to your wedding turned into a pop up and like brand activation. 11:52 It's a good way to put it. Yeah and three I really, a few things here that I feel like a lot of founders who are just starting out will really be encouraged by. 12:03 How did you start pitching to that first store that got you into that first chain when like going from say making it yourself to even having the puts but if you will to like put it out there and like say hey I have this awesome almond butter like. 12:21 What would that look like to be carried in your store I would love to hear that because I love how you've been sustainably building but you also took some major leaps. 12:31 Yeah and that is not easy and you were having kids and a marriage and moving like. What what were some things that helped you reach out or some things that you found were really helpful that you had to reach out I would love to hear that more. 12:48 Yeah yeah I mean one thing about me is that I am. I have a lot of gumption I've been told and I am the kind of person who's going to say yes and figure it out later. 13:01 Yep but that being said I mean like. I remember the moment especially so if I go to that Walmart moment. 13:10 I remember leaving the meeting it was a 20 minute meeting and I leave that meeting like. Holy shit I just I just got my product into Walmart and I was like that almost felt too easy is what I remember telling my husband and he goes Rachel. 13:28 It what you made it easy for them to say yes all the work that you've done up to this point made it easy for that. 13:37 I think that that would be one of my main things I would point to and like each of these moments of the story is that I I built the business like it was going to get to that next stage so when I got the first. 13:52 Call for like the very first grocery store they actually reach out to me I didn't even pitch it I was I mean I went into a bunch of these local places and I would walk in there with but that's part of it so that's even part of that story is like I. 14:05 I knew that I'm not just going to end up on you know grocery in 13 grocery stores in this chain just by walking into the store, but what I can do first is I can. 14:16 Walk into these local boutique grocery stores with my box full of samples meet the owner build a relationship give them you know help that have them give me a chance put on the shelf and I did that you know kind of repeated that process a few times over. 14:32 So there's that part where you have to really be willing to. Almost like get down to the basics of it's not always like sending them your perfect pitch d*** and you know trying to sound very professional it's actually. 14:48 Starts in the very beginning with just acting very human and saying like hey started this company talking to someone face to face calling somebody on the phone. 14:58 Like the normal real human and human stuff that often gets overlooked. Yeah, I would say even now is the reason why my business is going where it's going is because I act like a real human with every single person that I connect with and business and every retailer that I connect with even with Walmart 15:16 I am. And I'm still with my buyer that took me in the first time because we built a relationship I was always really transparent with her and authentic and and then that came back and return. 15:27 And that's not true with everybody you connect with in business, but I would say that is the reason. Each step of this process had that inflection point so. 15:35 But when I got the first call from the grocery store, they found my product in. One of the local spots and they all know and they were like oh we want this person to come pitch to us. 15:47 But when they found it on the shelves. It looked professional it looked like it was not just some random mom in the kitchen making mom and butter and filling it with an ice cream scooper I mean it looked like it was made. 16:03 More professionally was and that's part of it is like I made it easy for them to say yes, because I was already. 16:12 Redding myself for the next opportunity if that makes sense that makes total sense and something that I always emphasize with emerging brands of these are some steps that you could take to put yourself in a really great position. 16:28 Four growth something that really stood out to me about your brand because I'm a nerd creative director who's like obsessed with brand story telling and really good packaging was your packaging was your name was the colors and the aesthetic. 16:44 She's doing it right like everything was really speaking to me and even when I opened the box it was really great messaging in there and just a little attention to detail like. 16:55 Oh I'm really excited like honestly since I opened that box and then I ate the product I was like yep yep I get it this is the meaning so what helped you like find that brand the name the visuals of it like. 17:12 Did you give us a little bit of yeah part two well I've always been a big creative to myself and I have genuinely always loved walking around grocery stores and finding new fun products and I am shamelessly the person who will buy a book by its cover or a product by how it looks. 17:30 And oftentimes I'm disappointed you know like I'll get it because it looks cool and then it's actually like lump lump not that right. 17:38 But in building up revival that was always really important to me more than everyone told me it should be everyone's like Rachel don't get caught up in the package like just like focus on R&D focus on getting the product right and look listen the product is fine I'm not worried about products product 17:54 is amazing I love how it tastes. I want to make the coolest packaging and every part of it gives somebody a reason to pick it up and feel attracted to it. 18:05 And a lot of that too it's these moments of joy that I crave in just everyday life, I wanted to create this moment of joy that this is something that you're going to have in your pantry that you're going to eat like you know every day maybe every other day this is your special treat this is the thing 18:21 you're just eating by the spoonful or putting on a really yummy piece of toast. And that experiences a moment of joy, but I want even like picking up the jar and opening it and looking at the packaging that that feels like a moment of joy to and so that it's that. 18:37 Yeah, and so bringing that into you know grocery stores in general can be pretty. Yeah, it's very exhausted as a mom you're walking around as I don't know what to get like it's not necessarily the most joyful place to be and I thought to myself if I can create a joyful moment. 18:58 Even on the shelves of bringing in these bright colors and this fun messaging that to me is a gift that I can give to consumers. 19:08 And really back to even the name itself that that that whole ethos in general to is about why i'm doing this I wanted to create a revival. 19:18 In the grocery stores, but a revival in the net better category because I don't know about you if you've ever stood in the net better I'll you're just looking at this array of choices it is. 19:31 It's so overwhelming and you're like I don't know what's the healthiest what's the cleanest which one doesn't have sugar which one's non GMO which is organic what's it just it's all. 19:47 On the end yep. Hello and I don't know you're just like it's not fun it's not enjoyable so that's where I looked at that and I'm like well this category needs a revival. 19:57 And i'm going to do in a fun way bringing something again the once people actually look at the ingredients and taste it they're like wow this is really amazing but even if someone just picks it up and buys it because they thought it looked cute. 20:10 I will be pleasantly surprised. I will be pleasantly surprised because also like I know that there is absolutely nothing bad in any of these jars whatsoever and that brings so much again that's part of this revival that needs to happen all over the food space. 20:27 But i'm going to start here with this one little corner of the grocery store and say like you should feel so good about what you're purchasing from start to finish like from start because you're just enjoying the process and how cute it is and then to finish because you're like wow it's actually good 20:44 for my body and makes me feel amazing. I love everything you're saying. So where can people now shop your products. 20:54 Yeah, so like I said our biggest retailer is warmer right now in a reward and about 1100 stores nationwide. Obviously, warmer is not everybody's favorite store to go in all the time, but it's placed at most of us go at least once a year. 21:08 But beyond that you can find it at Fox draw which is more of a Chicago DC Austin Dallas and really cool grocery store or grocery market. 21:19 And you can find it online through our website. And well there's a lot of other smaller independent stores that we're in so if you go on our website you can click on find us and like I said we have about 1500 stores nationwide so it's a ton of these precious like mom and pops which I just still love 21:37 so much. And we're always expanding to so there is actually a link on the website where you can say. I think it's like where do you want to find us something where you can put in a request for what stores you want to find our products in at work currently building our team and adding. 21:53 A lot of sales support so that we can actually expand into more retailers small and big because it's been just me this whole time and I might. 22:03 Be comfortable i'm just love seeing a flow over here so so incredible the last thing I want to ask you Rachel is what do you see the future for your brand. 22:13 Yeah, well, big things are happening right now and we're actually stepping to our first capital raise which is a really big deal yeah i'm really really excited. 22:23 Because with that I'm going to start growing the team and a really significant way and finally be able to bring the support that I've needed for ages. 22:31 So next steps for revival is actually we're going to start expanding into more of the net and see better category so right now it's just all my butters that's five skews of all my better but we're going to add into. 22:43 Kind of more of those peanut butter alternatives but doing it our way the revival way where there's really fun flavors and no sugar added so we're going to do some sun butter cashew butter pumpkin seed butter and that'll be rolling out you know in stages but. 22:59 That's really where the company is going that we are going to capture this white space where there are so many people with food allergies with food sensitivity special diets but they still want to enjoy what they're eating so that's what we're going to kind of dive more into over the next year or two 23:17 and. I can't wait to see all of that unfold and follow along with your story you're doing such an amazing job thank you so much genuinely for sharing your story I know this is going to inspire so many and everyone listening go get a jar. 23:37 Because and especially the almond cacao it was a knockout product so thank you so much Rachel everyone go follow get your almond butter and just thank you so much for sharing your story with us yeah I really appreciate you have me it's so fun I love talking about it and I love talking to you about it 23:55 fun thank you another creative absolutely absolutely thank you so much and I'll see everyone on the next episode.
