Chrissy, thank you so much for coming on.
Can you please start by telling us a little bit about yourself and
who you are and why why are you doing this?
Yes, yes.
I'm so happy to be here.
Thank you so much for having me.
Um, I am the co-founder and
CEO of Sunshine Months.
We are a frozen premium cinnamon roll
that's pre-baked.
All you have to do is heat it and eat it.
No oven required.
The recipe really, um, the
legacy really, the DNA of the entire brand started
before I was born.
My mother came up with this recipe in
the 1970s and would sell it for local
communities and events for fundraising and a never in
a profit profit situation.
She wasn't concerned and really starting a business, but
she wanted to create a product that she could sell and
get back to her community and she did just that for about, um,
15, 20 years, I think.
She did it until her arthritic hands could
no longer uh, support the fundraising
achievement, although she still does bake all
the time, just not at scale like that.
So, it was really great.
You know, I, as a young child, I would sell them to my elementary
school teachers and my middle school teachers, um, that,
you know, I'd go home and say my mom's making the buns and, Or
I'd go to school and I'd say my mom's making the buns and they would say, great,
sign me up for 3 dozen and, you know, so my entire life.
I essentially have been selling sunshine buns,
um, in 2022.
Myself, my husband and our 2 best friends,
uh, decided we were going to turn this into an actual business.
It's something I had been wanting to do for a long time.
With my mom, but she wasn't really interested
in doing the business part of it.
Um, She's incredibly helpful for the brand.
Still very present, lives 30 minutes from
our R and D kit, or 30 seconds from our R and D kitchen, so
she's there all the time, but, The 4 of us started it
in 2022, um, outside of
a date night in a play one night and we
bought the go daddy site.
We launched the Instagram and we started baking and selling from our homes
within 10 days of that.
decision.
So, you know, we made the decision.
We acted on it and, um, it was very
difficult to manufacture so many, especially
because I have 5 kids.
My co-founder has 3 kids.
Um, we had businesses and we were very busy, so.
We decided to open up a store.
In 2024.
We launch open that in August and it was fantastic.
But pretty quickly we realized, oh,
you know, our our main goal is to eventually
sell, um, get acquired by someone and
the brick and mortar model is a little slower.
than wholesale.
They're both complex and hard and challenging.
But the wholesale model definitely, um, helps
you to get to those revenue points quicker
than you would normally see on a brick and mortar franchise model.
So, in early 2025, we uh,
decided to go the wholesale launch and we
developed that along with co-packers and, you know, what the format
was going to be and the packaging, launched wholesale
in 2025, and then, Um,
2026 has been a wildly accelerated growth year.
So by the end of the year, we're going to be, uh, in
select targets, um, that's all I
can say right now, um, another national retailer,
which I can't say yet, will be uh, launching in
Costco in, um,
several other independent, uh,
conventional grocers all over the country totaling about 4300 by the end of the year.
So, It's exciting times over here.
Did I answer your question, Dan?
Yeah, no, no, actually more.
a great story.
I appreciate it.
So let me back up a little bit and unravel some of that.
I 1st found you or 1st bumped into
you, if you will, through the LinkedIn feed, and you were talking about,
your product on at Expo West.
And it was the passion, the enthusiasm in your team.
That's why I became really enthusiastic about following
and following and seeing what you were talking about.
And then I appreciate the fact that you share
everything, the, the not so good stuff,
the, the founder troubles and
stuff like that, the, um, I can't think of what are the termonis.
Oh, imposter syndrome, all the way through.
And, God, does this make sense?
Why am I doing this?
So, let's talk a little bit more about that part
of the journey because I think what's interesting, and the
reason I really wanted to have you on, is because you have a lot
to share, a lot to offer.
So let's talk about that part of the journey
and then we'll jump back into the future into the current.
Awesome.
Yeah, I mean, I very much,
as a founder, CEO,
a brand builder, and consumer, you know,
I'm simultaneously all those things.
I value the origin behind
a story and I value, especially
in the season I am in, which is hypergrowth and you
know, often feels like I'm drowning without a life preserve.
I need to hear those other stories.
I need to hear that founders
have struggled and won and they have, um,
you know, fallen flat on their face and and won a race.
I need to hear all of those things.
So, I decided that if I needed to
hear that, I needed to be someone who would share
my journey and exactly what that looks like.
And how we're winning, how we're losing, how
we're, you know, the many times we failed.
Um, And it's essential as
a brand ambassador.
And frankly, you know, anyone building
during this time should be sharing that.
So that people coming behind us or even people
ahead of us can see where they've been and seen
something maybe I post on LinkedIn and say, gosh,
I really should be sharing more about what I've learned.
And then for those that are coming can really say like, wow,
you know, Chrissy had no CPG experience and she, jumped
into the deep end of the pool and just went for it.
I can probably go for it too.
As humans and entrepreneurs, we owe
that to each other that, um, to share our life lessons and it's
something I take a lot of pride in and I'm very, um,
thoughtful on, when I will
post and how I will post and and what I,
the mark I want to leave on this world.
So it's incredibly valuable to me.
So thank you for being a fan and following along.
I think your story's great.
And I love the way that you're interacting and the way you're sharing all
those really raw moments.
And sort of a side note, before I hit the record button, we were talking a little bit.
And I said, I have a lot of resources, et cetera, in your Instagram, though.
So let me kind of give you that segue.
So years ago, I was a founder and
a CEO of a business, a startup, really cool business.
That's not, well, we'll talk about that some other time.
But the point being is, I was going to the incubators,
I was doing everything I could do to put myself in
your shoes effectively back then, learn about this, et cetera.
So it's one of the reasons I started the podcast.
And my point being is that I interview
people like you and other people who have been through this,
so there are a lot of great stories.
So for example, episode 100 is
the some of the icons in our industry.
The question I asked them is, what would you tell your younger self?
And I think I'm at episode 225 now.
So the point is there's a lot of history.
So point being is, go back and check that out.
But with what you're saying, you're absolutely right.
I could not agree with you more.
I think one of the biggest, I hate to say it this way,
but failures of this industry is that we don't
do enough to help founders like you with
everything you need to know to move forward.
And like you said, How do I know if I'm doing it right, et cetera.
So 1st of all, I'm impressed with your growth.
And so you've absolutely, you've got to have an incredible team behind you.
Can you talk a little bit about how you assembled the team?
Yeah, I mean, We
are quite lean at this point, um, it's
myself, uh, my husband and then our 2 partners.
So we have 4 founders, which is incredible.
Often people are like, I'm just going to build a loan.
I, I think that it's, while it
has its challenges co-building.
Having someone that's in the trenches with you is vitally
important, more so in your down periods
than in your up period.
So, I think that's essential to have great partners.
And then, um, you know, as we looked to
building the broader team, particularly, Where
are our holes and blind spots as the 4 founders and
what needs to be filled 1st based off of those blind spots?
And that's often in operations when
you're coming from someone that has little to 0 CPG
experience, which is all 4 of us.
And in the financial piece, especially when we're going from
such small revenues to such large revenues
in such a short period of time.
And, you know, building the fundraising deck and exactly what that looks like.
Those are, you know, this is a razor margin
thin uh, industry, especially when you couple that with frozen.
Uh, and trying to hit mass market,
you know, all those things, velocity and and that.
So having someone that really understands your
blind spots before saying,
listen, I understand marketing.
Now I need to hire someone under me that can offload that.
I think your initial steps should be, where are
huge blind spots that are vitally important to
the success of this company.
Maybe I work a little bit longer in the areas I
don't necessarily want to, but I'm good at so that
I can hurry and engage
with those blind spots and get them covered before.
I relieve some of my initial duties.
So, we've brought on a CFO who, um,
has great experience.
He comes from General Mills.
So that's incredible because he knows exactly what we're doing.
And has done it before.
And then we brought on a COO who comes from several
hypergrowth consumer brands, which
was an important story for us.
And I think as you're building out your team as a founder,
It's important to say, Can
this person get me to 5000000
in revenue, 10000000 in revenue, 50000000 in
1000000 or can they only get me to 2 million?
Um, and if that's the case, maybe it's based
on funding and you can only pay someone, you know,
a little amount and you can't get these kind
of all-star people, I think you need to take a step
back and say they might be expensive.
But they're worth it because.
Uh, things can happen so quickly in CPG,
from a whole wholesale perspective, that you have to be able to have
that foundational team really built
into your structure in order to
win, win well, not run out of money,
and be able to support the operations, you know, so.
Filling the blind gaps
and then, um, you know, paying for A plus
talent maybe more before you're ready to.
It will it will cost you far more to hire
someone bad than it will to hire someone good.
I appreciate you saying that.
And actually, that's exactly
what I was going to say a little differently, but exactly what I was going to say because the
biggest challenge that founder's face is that
they're the biggest bottleneck.
Right.
So you're exactly right.
I agree that you should know every aspect of your business.
You should be able to do everything or at least have an understanding of it.
But then to find the right people to management, to
manage it and to help you grow and scale, brilliant.
And to your point, a lot of companies,
sadly, don't appreciate wisdom and experience.
They look at an amount, and they try to
hire for that amount or for whatever that role is, without
thinking about how the right person can
help you punch above your weight.
So for example, with you, I would never, ever, ever,
ever recommend you going into Costco this early, but
obviously you've got the right people that can help you do it.
And so the point is, on
one hand, that would stall your growth.
But if you're able to do it and make sure you've got the right product,
that's going to explode your growth.
Costco alone is going to.
It's amazing what I used to be a grocery manager at
price club before it became possible.
I know the kind of volume they can produce.
So,
Thank you, thank you.
congratulations with that.
So your thoughts and please go on with that.
No, I I completely agree with you.
And, and, you know, going back even further to what I
was saying, and what you were also saying is that, If
you are new to this industry, It's your responsibility
as a founder to learn as much as humanly possible about this industry.
Because when the time comes, where you
can hire someone, you have to be able to know what this person is saying.
Are they speaking truth?
Are they just talking circles around me?
Are they truly experts in what they're doing?
Because I, as the founder, have digested
so much information that now I have become, you know,
I've essentially been awarded my PhD in CPG.
And, you know, it's been
tremendous sacrifice.
Like I give up all of my spare time to consume information
and knowledge as fast as possible so that I
know what to look for to be able to build a stellar team.
So, you don't have to be an
expert all the way granularly in trade and demo,
but you better know enough to be able to hire a
true expert, to be able to do that for you.
Um, instead of just looking at a resume and being like, oh, this
person worked at Kodiak cakes, they know what they're doing.
You have to be able to articulate the questions that
will then, you know, spark either a
great, uh, strategy or a not
so great strategy, and you won't know that unless you make yourself a true expert
in this incredibly complex field.
So, I completely agree with you.
Yeah, the Costco, you know, we're 8 weeks away.
I posted about it today on my LinkedIn.
And it's incredibly scary.
We're not doing a roadshow, which is wonderful, but it's
also scary because like you said, the energy
at Expo West and the trade shows we go to is tangible.
And when the founders aren't there, the product has to be able to sell itself.
So then it becomes, how can
you build the media and content and demo
structure to pick up the slack,
um, and get that messaging across when the founders can't physically
be present to dance in the halls
of Costco and say, try our buns with the bun baits and the
bunkinis, you know, everything that comes along with the, the
tangible aspects of the brand.
How how can you, um,
become strategic enough to have massive
velocity through what your content and,
um, Sell through strategy is without
founder being present.
So that's, um, that's what we're working on.
Very quickly as we speak,
um, and exactly what that looks like for the August launch.
Congratulations.
I'm just so impressed with what you're doing.
So, again, a lot to unpack here.
So I've got a recommendation for you as far as demos.
He was on...
Yeah, is there an episode 317?
And he is an expert in the industry.
He's the, his name's Andrew Therian.
I would recommend him head and tails above anyone else.
So you can actually go listen to him.
Okay, he's been on 4 times.
Okay, honestly, I trust him more than anyone in the industry,
but more importantly, he just gives a masterclass
in how to do what you're asking.
Yeah, that's fantastic.
I would love it if you could connect me with him too.
I will.
I would love that.
Yeah, I count on it.
So there's that too, I love the fact that you're smart enough.
The way you put it, my words, that you're smart enough
to know what you're not good at.
One of the sad things I say is, I talked to found.
I mentor a lot of brands.
And I'll hear us, a founder say, well, you know, I did accounting
at college, so I'm going to do the books and they're lousy
at it and they hate it and they're miserable.
They're not out doing what they want to do.
So, you know, they're super placed, these super power is something else, someplace else.
So I love the fact that you are aligned with learning
it, but then farming it out to the right people.
And then the other product, other thing is, you talk about
the product selling itself.
This is the Achilles Hill, literally, of every brand I work with.
Right.
And here's the analogy.
If I ask you, Coke, Pepsi, does the name, you name a bram.
And you go to 100 different people and say, what does that brand represent?
You're going to get several different reasons.
Right.
If you have, if you're going to do
the same, uh, the idea behind your brand, and
you get several different reasons, you've got a problem,
if the customer doesn't understand you.
And I use Patagonia is perhaps the best example, and
the reason for that is everyone knows who what they stand for,
what they are, super premier brand, everything else.
So leveraging that, your brand story is critical.
So let me later, and one other thing I want to throw at you,
is that game where if I tell you a story and
you tell someone else, and they tell someone else and so and so forth,
by the time it comes background to you, it's unrecognizable.
That is the thing you need to fix first.
And I've got a few strategies around that.
I'll send you offline, but and I've actually talked about our podcast.
But the point is, if you as a founder,
like you said, could could
get that energy to whoever and
put that in front of whoever's working with your brand, communicating
to the retailers, et cetera, especially Costco.
That's gonna be a game changer for you.
Yeah, I I absolutely love
what you're saying and would take any, you know, advice
or experience that you could share.
I think, uh, from where we are and, um,
how we speak as a brand, it was
incredibly vital and important for us
to establish a brand universe.
in everything that we do so
that when, anytime someone comes into
contact with sunshine buns, it's the exact
same feel, that, you know, whether it's
a billboard or a marketing campaign or an influencer,
uh, UGC content play, or even
a demo, that, whatever the consumer
touches sunshine buns, it's the exact same feeling.
And that, you know, that goes all the way down to our creative
briefs at food shows, and our creative briefs
at brand photography and product shoots, and,
you know, when we're telling our Instacart story, all of
this is super connected and it has to be a
giant loop, and I think we understood
enough about brand to be able to establish what that
brand universe looked like before we even launched, um,
You know, certainly in 2026, but we really established,
What do we want it to feel like, um, so that if you could,
You know, like a, pick a, pick
a celebrity and say that person is what Sunshine Buns feels like.
You want your brand to feel that easily
to, um, digest, you know, from
from a consumer standpoint.
So we've been really intentional about that.
Absolutely.
Well, thank you for saying that.
So question.
Along those lines.
You collect my email address if I'm on your website, what do you do with that?
Um, well, that's a great question.
I don't exactly know what the email marketing
people are doing that I will have to get on that ASAP.
I know that there has been, you know,
follow up on newsletters and,
you know, sign up for the bun club and because
we have that brick and mortar store, so you can come in, they get value
points and things like that, you know, free stuff.
But I don't know if we're actually launching any sort of campaign.
So I'm glad you brought that up because I'm gonna get on them ASAP
and say, hey, let's do a retail strategy, you know,
because up to this point, All the inquiries
that come in, I think that our email marketing is probably
only thinking about the food store and not the retail.
So, I'm glad you brought that up.
I'll get on that ASAP.
So you want some homework?
Yes, I would love homework.
I have nothing going on, so...
I know you're just, you have so much free time.
I would love homework.
Just kidding
So you're out, so let's get into some strategy right now.
This is going to help you.
And this is something that I do that's radically different than anyone else I've ever talked to.
So I have homework for you.
So you, like everyone else, you're collecting my email address.
The problem is this.
Most brands, they talk at us.
You know, on Pepsi, Coke doesn't matter what brand it is.
I'm wonderful.
You need to buy my product.
Because I'm wonderful and because our product's great and you need to buy it.
That's not the way you want to communicate.
So many people with influencers and stuff like that.
They think it's all about getting content out.
Wrong.
You want to have the same conversation with
me on your email list that you're having with me on LinkedIn.
That's so smart.
Yeah, and so instead of just talking to me saying, hey,
try our new products, you're responding, you're connecting
with me, you're commenting, you're sharing with me.
You're telling me something raw about your business, and let's say all
of a sudden that you come up with a new product.
You want to go, I want to make chocolate or banana.
Which one should I go?
You could ask me as one of your loyal
fans, and I will tell you.
I will help you co-create the next thing I want you to build.
That's a smart idea.
Thank you.
And then the cool thing is, not only do I save a lot of
on the R&D, but I can also leverage that at retail.
And so I could go into retail and say, hey, I've already got people lining up to buy this thing.
You need to get it on the shelf.
Oh, that's so smart.
And then here's the best part.
Once you do that, I'm on your email list, right?
You like chocolate or banana, you say,
okay, here's what everyone said, they want banana.
they like banana best.
Would you like us to send you some to try it?
Oh that's such a smart idea.
Yeah, then I can validate whether or not it's a good thing.
before you start making packaging.
Before you start spending money.
Because thank you.
And then on the best, and then this keeps going getting better, then on
top of that, if I walk into a store today and you're
on my list, you're subsidizing.
I'm subsidizing the volume.
Your promotional dollars there are wasted.
There are more effective ways to reward me as a customer.
If you are nurturing me properly on my email as through your list.
Then you can reward me, and then
I can hopefully also get other people to interested in,
so you can take an occasional shopper, give it me to loyal evangelist.
And drive traffic is the retail still again.
So we can talk more about that.
But my point is, put that thing to use, okay?
Yes, that's such a good idea.
And, you know, we're, as you say that,
you know, I'm just thinking live, it's, it's wonderful because we
do have a brick and mortar.
So we already have so much 1st
person data, right?
Because people come come in every single day and get it.
So, We're we're also able to back up, you know,
like, 2 best flavors for the extension line.
We already have that.
So now we know that the consumer coming in already loves those.
So now we can really pressure test.
Okay, so between this top seller
and this top seller, what's your favorite top seller, you know, so that's,
That's wonderful to couple with the retail brick and mortar.
That's, it's wonderful.
Well, that'd be great with strategy.
And let's go one step further.
The problem with your brick and mortar store.
is that your your local neighborhood is
not going to be the whole world.
Of course.
And here's the problem.
Here's why this matters.
Chrissy, if I'm a Braille, Coke Pepsi.
I mean I can tell you all sorts of stories.
I know I keep saying those brands.
When I work for Unilever, we came up with a really, really
cool product that was going to reshape the category.
And we tested it, all the consumer groups said, hey, this thing's amazing.
They always say that, okay?
Right, right, to retail.
They didn't bother to make sure the thing would fit on the shelf, the refill.
And so the point is, if you're asking me
the consumer through your loyal tribe, et cetera,
then you can help validate that, and then
you can build strategy around that.
And then again, leverage you out of retail.
And here's the best part.
Retailers don't want your product on the shelf.
They want the customer that buys your product in there.
But now you know something else about the category
about the shopper, about the basket
when I buy your product, what else am I buying, et cetera?
That is so smart.
Yes, thank you so much.
No, so homework, okay?
It's so smart.
Well, and I want you to do that.
And so and I want you to find other brands that you can leverage so
that you could co-promote.
That's such a smart idea.
Yeah, I mean, with your audience with their audience.
Well, thank you.
Oh, that's fantastic.
So what are you doing talking to me?
You've got homework.
So anyhow, so those are a lot of the strategies that I talked about.
And so podcast is a wealth of information, but let's get back to you.
I love the way that you communicate on LinkedIn,
like I keep saying, the fact that you're inviting me into your conversation.
A lot of people, like I said, just post and
say, look at what I did or look at what I've got.
You're saying, hey, here's something that's going on.
Can you get me?
Or I'm really struggling with this or
being a mom and how does it work and all that other stuff.
Talk more about, like you're saying, that authenticity, where does that come from?
Yeah, I mean, I went through,
I think, I have always been
naturally, um, I was just born
naturally, not share,
very outgoing, or not shy, very outgoing.
I have a.
You know, I have a
a leader, natural born leader.
I, Find, you know, I can be drawn.
I played sports.
I have very much enjoyed
sharing and winning and lost my entire life, um,
as a collective, right?
Not just as an individual.
I think something that hits closer to home as
when I was 26.
I was, I went through a really painful divorce
and I had a child and.
There was such little access to people
saying that they had survived divorce.
You know, it's not like there was this uh,
forum back in 2007 that I could go to
where they would say, we're divorced survivors.
You know, it was just like, what is my immediate community giving
me to help me?
get through this awful thing at such a young age.
You know, like those are 26 is very young.
To have a baby very young and to go be divorced very young.
Um, And I would find myself walking into a
room while I was going through this very tumultuous time.
Looking at a room of people and saying, I wonder
how many of these people are divorced and if they could raise their hand.
They would probably tell me that they made it through their divorce.
But I can't do that.
And that struck me.
So clear in that moment, Dan, that I was,
I promised myself that if I went
through difficult things.
I would share it with my immediate community.
You know, whether that's online, my friends
at a lunch, you know, on a podcast.
At my local church, at
my PTA, whatever it is.
If I went through something that
was difficult, I would share.
And I think, I value that.
so much in others that I want to be able to
provide that for other people.
So, I think going through something really traumatic
at a young age, um, and wanting that for myself,
really opened up.
with the possibility of being that type of person,
an adult in the future, could be, and, and you know, it's like,
My parents' generation, the boomer generation,
um, it was very much like suffer in silence and
don't share, um, when you've gone through hard
things and there's no such thing as therapy and and
I think my parents are very old school.
They were both 40 and 42 when I was born.
So there's a large generational gap there and I
grew up in a home where it was like, don't overly share.
Um, and, and I love my parents dearly.
They incredible.
But I wish that they would have shared suffering
more because, you know, where I grew up.
My dad was an executive.
We lived 30 seconds from the beach.
Like, I didn't really think life was hard, you know, and And
then all of a sudden I'm hit with it.
And I'm like, 0 crap.
My parents have been married forever.
My brothers have been married forever.
I didn't know that people got divorced, really.
So, I think as
we grow as a society, um, it's
becoming more acceptable to share and
it's being more, um, It's an achievement.
I was listening to somebody.
Who started, what brand did he start?
Ah, I can't remember, but it was
early 2000s and he's, oh, it was,
um, oh my gosh, what's his name?
Oi.
He's like, one of the richest men in the world.
He's, um, you
know, people compare him to Elon Musk.
I can't remember his name, but he was saying that he
found success in a lot of venture capital.
And then he started sharing personal tidbits about himself
on X, Twitter at the time.
And people would say, what are you doing?
Why are you sharing all this personal stuff?
You're gonna lose your credibility.
And this was at a time where people were starting to share personal
anecdotes and, and he said, I'm doubling down.
And it, it completely transformed his
pro, you know, his portfolio, his relationships
with people, um, the ability to be,
uh, vulnerable and be a place where
people felt like they could, you know, have real conversations with you, because
at the end of the day, we're all human.
We all suffer.
We all win.
Um, this is a, this is an experiment,
you know, and, and I think we, we need to heavily
lean on each other, our experts and
people who have suffered, you know?
I appreciate you sharing all that.
In fact, actually, sadly, I'm kind of guilty of that myself.
I'm a boomer.
But I, um, I
actually mentioned the failure of my business back
on episode 269 for the 1st time.
And I should, I will share more publicly about it.
I love that.
It's, it's the sad, the rest of the story was,
VC basically took it out from underneath this.
But I'll share all the, I
am trying to get to the point where I can start leveraging my stories,
but to your point, the other thing that, and
I'm really proud of you for doing this, is the stigmatism that
goes with a lot of that stuff.
As a single parent, I cannot tell you how
many times I'd be in a restaurant with my kids, and hearing someone
from the next table saying, oh, isn't that sad or isn't that nice?
That poor single divorce fathers, whatever.
So, anyhow, sorry you went through that.
But, and one of the things I want to celebrate you for also is your tenacity.
So your ability to.
Okay, so I don't want to say you tackled Kevin Costner in a hallway.
That's exactly what I did.
Okay, then I can say that.
But the story behind that was so cool.
But my point is, you're doing whatever it takes to make it win.
Yeah.
So talk more about that.
Yeah, I think, um, and
I am so proud of you, Dan, because listen, you know,
we can talk all day about how boomers won't share.
But I know what your parents put you through.
I know.
Uh, you boomers have done more for this
country than any other generation um,
in terms of getting better and better.
Like, I am aware that, you know, your
parents going through depression, the great, like this, we're talking about,
It was hard.
It was so much more difficult than things are today.
So I understand that boomers
are so incredible, and I'm happy that they will be.
I do see, see that that's happening and barriers are
breaking and they're feeling more comfortable to share.
So it's awesome.
But, um, yeah, I think.
You know, I, while my
parents didn't share necessarily the suffering,
they did share the, through action,
that life is challenging and that you have to
work, So hard, um,
to make something for yourself.
My dad grew up very poor.
My mom grew up very poor.
And they worked tirelessly
to provide a better life for their children.
And while I was a recipient of that,
I do know that the struggles, you know,
I would see my dad's town where he grew up and I'm like, 0 my gosh,
this is nothing like the lives that he's provided me
now and I think that was part
of my DNA is that,
um, I only have 3 older brothers.
There's no other girls in my family.
So, I grew up very, like, tough and rough
and, um, you know, you're going to get, you're going to
get, stomped to the ground if you can't
make a name for yourself and and all that stuff.
So, I think, I might come
more naturally to be tenacious, but I also, um,
learned a significant lesson through my parents and
and how much they, um, sacrificed to
get to where they were.
So it's really the the sacrifice
of those who came before me, that really instilled
that characteristic in me.
I appreciate you saying all that.
And what's really cool about what you're sharing.
And this is so unique.
I saw this in your LinkedIn profile and the comments that you're making,
is that you're tapping into that
humble, that story that I don't know how I want to put it,
but the point is, so many people think that they
can go alone one, and two, they're
not respecting the values of the people that brought them to the dance.
So to speak, that wisdom and experience talked about that a minute ago.
You were smart enough to hire the right people to
help you skill, to help you set you up for success.
So many brands don't do that.
And I've got stories after story after story on the
podcast, someone who listened to someone,
took their advice, and it just damn near killed the brand.
Right.
Oh, you've done it right.
So again, hats off to you.
That's really cool.
And and also, thank you so much for sharing.
So what's in the future?
What are you looking for?
Is there something else I can help you with specifically?
I mean, the future is so great.
you know, it's unwritten.
I'm excited.
There's so much potential at every turn.
But honestly, Dan, more than anything.
The money is great.
You know, the acquisition's gonna be great.
That's going to be wonderful days.
But I think what I'm learning and
loving is that who I'm becoming in this journey.
is damn near the best
that I can possibly be through constant
breakdowns of being humble
and saying like, I don't know what to do here.
I need some help and allowing myself to be vulnerable.
Um, you know, learn from a lesson, make
myself better, go through a refiner's fire.
And I, I'm not ready to give that up.
So I hope that I will just continue
to become the best version of myself so that I'm able
to share it with those coming up and
those who have been and really create something
in my future, you know, when we sell this,
that will be able to help others.
At the end of this whole thing,
I want to become someone who can make the
world a better place.
I know that is cliched and sounds cheesy, but
that's honestly what this whole journey
is becoming about.
So much about acquisition in the beginning and
how quickly can I sell this to hold on.
This is so much fun.
I'm not ready to give this up.
Let's ride this thing out as long as we can.
Um, Play this game, enjoy the journey
and become a better person.
Thank you for sharing that.
In fact, the reason I love natural.
is because what makes natural natural are people that
want to do more to give more.
So my mission is to help brands like you scale
and thrive, get more runway, et cetera.
So that you can do more good on my behalf.
The mission driven band brands that, you know, I can't solve a food desert.
I can't provide clean drinking water in a 3rd world country myself.
But I can help support those brands.
So my point is, so you got that.
And in this community also, you've got a lot of other
people that are willing to help out.
So thank you for sharing that because that means more than anything.
At the end of the day, it's capitalism,
but it's also how do you give back?
How do you build it right?
And that's exciting to hear?
Yeah, I like I like the term responsible capitalism.
You know, I,
And I also like that, you're,
the goal is to build something so that you
can have freedom and then freedom
to give back because if you're constantly, you know,
if you can't feed yourself, you're certainly not going to be worrying
about feeding elephants in Africa.
So, you know, you got to get to that so that you can have
freedom so that you can help others.
Really, that's, that's what it's all about.
Um, great responsibility, you know, great freedom comes great responsibility.
So I take that very seriously.
I'm very much subscribed to that sort of thinking.
Well, again, it shows in your communication.
So back to your homework, leverage that
in the way that you communicate with me on your list.
Talk to me like a person.
Well, thank you.
So talk to me like a person.
Invite me in, learn about how
I use your brand.
How do I celebrate your brand?
When I take your product home, how do I use it?
How do I share it?
How do I everything, right?
So you get to know me as a person the way I'm getting
to know you on LinkedIn.
one.
Yeah, and then leverage that because this
is how you future proof your brand.
You've got a bunch of loyal people like me.
You're back up.
You, when you have your product in a retail store, or
you're promoting on a social media network doesn't matter which one it is.
You're renting space.
Mm-hmm.
Simples that.
Retailers don't sell anything.
They don't make anything.
They sell space.
A lot of people forget that.
But if you can leverage this strategy,
That's how you future proof your brand.
So that if you're to get kicked out of a store, Now
you've got me to still as a customer.
That's so smart.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Well, it was actually... said it to me like that before.
So, so smart.
Well, it's actually something I'm doubling down on.
So I've hinted at it before.
So I took a break.
You listen to 269, episode.
And you'll hear the transition, the new focus center, and the old shows are great.
They've all been rebranded, but I took for brand.
I went for brand secrets and strategies to bulletproof your CPG brand for
the podcast and retail sold for the email.
I mean, for the website.
But my point is this isn't about me.
My point is, it's about leveraging that.
And so you're going to hear a lot more of those strategies going forward.
I'm going to spell them out.
I'm gonna get more in the trenches with the digital
strategies you should own, et cetera.
So, um, this is definitely a conversation that I
will continue to happen and continue to have.
And what I would challenge you and everyone listening
to this is send me your questions and I'll do my best to answer them.
And if I can answer them, I'll find the experts to
bring on to help answer them.
Thank you so much, Dan.
I will utilize all of your expertise, whatever you've got.
Well, I'll send you a link, the email when we're finished.
Fantastic.
No, it'll be fun.
And I appreciate time.
So, I don't want to respect your time.
What else do you want to share about
sunshine months, about your journey, about what you're doing, about what
you're thinking?
I think, you know, um,
I want to commit to making
sure that we don't ever compromise on our quality.
Um, you know, as we become bigger,
more manufacturing plants, you know, outside investors,
people coming on board, may want
to, um, you know, cheapen
the brand for profit margin and, you know, whatever
else rolls up into EBID on and
what the financial landscape of the broader company looks like,
but, But I want to commit to telling
my consumer through podcasts and conversations like this.
that we will maintain quality and
that you will be eating a premium,
indulgent, delicious cinnamon roll that is exactly what Meemaw
would make you if you came into her house.
So, I think I want that to be at the heart of all my messaging,
especially, as we do grow into this hyper growth mode.
Those are constant conversations that us as a founding
team have to be so firm on as our number one
pillar is to not, um, compromise on quality
in the, Meemaw's seal
has to be on the bun.
How can we automate in other ways to
make up for that?
Because it's an important piece of the story, but always committing
to making sure that the product remains quality.
Thank you, and a brand is a promise delivered.
Yeah, I keep going back to that.
So thank you for folks doing that because, and the brand is not
only the product, it's your promise.
It's what you stand behind.
So in fact, going back to that story.
You know, I, the challenge is, most,
so usually a founder solves a problem that they
had themselves, you're kind of that way.
I mean, in a way.
But then how do you get everyone, your brokers,
everyone to communicate with the same passion, enthusiasm?
And by the way, you are so articulate.
And so, I mean, you're just, you're
just the confidence, the articulation, the tenacity, everything.
Well, you know, I'm just, I'm really impressed with who you are.
I've been really looking forward to meeting you.
So thank you for making time for me.
Thank you so much, Dan.
I really appreciate it.
You know, my my 4 year bachelor's degree is in English literature.
So, if I can do anything well, it's read and write and articulate.
I've got that going for me.
I would, I would argue that there's a lot more
to you than the, and the point is, you
get a degree fine.
Okay, but now what do you do with it?
And the way you show up, that means more
than anything, your feet and your lips are moving in the same directions.
Put it that way.
Thank you so much Dan.
That's great.
That's a great bumper sticker.
I'm gonna put that on my car.
Are the backside of your new...
Our feet and our lips are moving in the same direction.
There you go.
Well, in front of you, what your, your, your, um, I
can't think of your mascots.
Put it on the...
But the bun.
His name's Bud.
Okay, cool.
Yeah, I saw a picture of that.
You have it?
He's pretty funny.
Yeah, we have a, we're going to fancy foods, you know, we here
in New York in about 2.5 weeks, and we
have a giant bud the bun who is 6.5 feet tall
and 4 feet wide, and he's real cheeky,
and the best in the best version possible.
He's a good time.
Am I going to be having nightmares like Ghostbusters?
Probably.
But great nightmares, you know?
No, no, that's good.
Will you be at the show?
Will you be going to fancy?
But I wish I could, but that's a fun show.
But enjoy yourself.
Anything else you want to share?
No, thank you so much.
If you're listening, please, you know, follow us along.
You can follow me personally on LinkedIn, Chrissy Hammer.
Uh, the brand has a great presence
on Instagram, sunshinebuns.co.
same with TikTok, sunshine buns.
Um, and Instacart, and, you know, hopefully,
a retailer near you.
Looking forward to it.
So thanks, Chrissy.
I really appreciate you coming on.
Yeah, thanks Dan.
Oh, I said, just happy to be here.
Well, thank you so much for sharing everything you have.
I appreciate it.