Ep. 174 – Mission-Driven with a Food Industry Foundation with Pete Brennan, Co-Founder at Soñar! Foods

Pete Brennan is the Co-Founder of Soñar! Foods. A mission-driven company that sells plant powered tortilla chips. Pete might have started his own food business, but he is a veteran in the food industry. With experience from E&J Gallo Winery, Kelloggs, Foster Farms, and Zola, Pete’s specialty is marketing big brands.

He teamed up with the best person he knew to start Soñar! Foods, his wife, Maria.

Pete and I met at the Fancy Food Show, and again at the Alt Protein show. Pete’s a go-getter and cares about his community and every time I’m on LinkedIn, I see pallets of his chips get delivered to the nearest community market. The best part about this family business is that they really do care about doing good in the world, as 1% of their annual sales goes to helping the Latino community.

Learn more about the amazing origin of this on-fire startup, its mission, and the shoulders it stood on, to be successful, and perhaps the content of this interview allows you to explore what good you can do in your world

Sponsor: Salt of the Earth

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Show Notes

Fancy Food Show Lauren Joyner Alt Protein Show Will Holsworth What do you tell people?: I’m a food entrepreneur who wants to make a better world What do you make?: We’re on a mission to feed a nation of dreamers 1% of annual sales is to advance the mission Latino Community Foundation Gary Hirshberg Stonyfield farms -1% for the planet What was your first food job?: Sales and management trainee at E&J Gallo Maria and I met at E&J Gallo Kelloggs How did Gallo help you with Sonar?: Their training program is phenomenal Gallo Wine Jug: Our best marketing campaign was shifting consumer perceptions on drinking wine from a jug. Branding has the ability to persuade What is the difference between launching a Sonar campaign vs a big brand campaign?: Scale. Hershberg Institute June 2018 Gary Hirshberg book The power of one Why Does Your Food Job Rock?: I get to make an impact with the people I love and the community I love What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face right now?: There’s a lot. Each of us can and should use our brands to build a more socially and environmentally powered society What is the one thing in the food industry you’d like to know about?: Everything. Since launching the startup, that one thing is just everything Did you originally want to go into the food industry?: I definitively wanted to go into food because I wanted to work for a great brand. Most great brands came from food. Do you have any advice for people who want to just into entrepreneurship?: DO it with a commitment of doing good. Reach out at Pete@sonarorganics.com

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