Ep. 227 – Changing Legacies and Branching Out with Stacie Waters, CEO of Bilinski, a Sausage Company

Stacie Waters is the CEO and owner of Bilinski’s Sausage company. A Multi-generational sausage company that thinks about sausage a bit differently. Instead of the standard beef or pork sausages, Bilinski’s focuses on chicken and plant-based sausages.

This wasn’t always the case, and there is a bit of an unorthodox legacy in how Bilinski innovates.

There is always a struggle when it comes to keeping or breaking legacies and there are a ton of examples in this episode of keeping legacies and breaking them and it’s very fascinating all of the strategies Stacie used to build Bilinski’s This includes considering a name change to a family company, or growing the chicken sausage as their most valuable product, or how to properly try and introduce a plant-based line.

One of the most powerful messages in this interview is changing the legacy of leadership. When Stacie joined Bilinski’s, all of the old management didn’t like her and left and Stacie had to work hard to not only right the ship, but to accelerate it. Not only did Stacie change the philosophy of Balinski’s, but grew it into a national, agile brand.

That and a rant about wheat-gluten in this episode. Enjoy!

About Stacie Waters

Stacie is CEO and owner of Bilinski Sausage Co, a third-generation family business, headquartered in Cohoes, New York. Under her direction, Bilinski’s transformed from a regional old-world sausage company to a one of the country’s most innovative and respected organic meat processors, committed to making sausages from responsibly-raised organic chicken and simple, every-day ingredients. Stacie grew up in the meat business but began her career in the technology industry after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University.  Later, she earned a Masters degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and served as an advisor to the US government on national security policy issues. In 2004, she returned to New York’s Capital Region to reinvent and grow the family business. Stacie lives in Clifton Park, NY with her husband and two sons and enjoys hiking, training for triathlons, and inventing new flavors of sausages in her home kitchen. 

Show Notes

What do you say to people when you introduce yourself?: I own a sausage factory. A natural and organic sausage manufacturing plant Why do you focus on chicken?: It’s better for you from a health perspective and more sustainable than pork and beef. Chicken also mixes flavors very well I’m actually not related to Joseph Bilinski, the original founder but my family was involved in the food industry as a food distributor. My parents bought Bilinski’s Why did your parents decide to keep the name?: Bilinski’s is well known regionally and we wanted to keep that legacy. Certified Organic: The customer who was interested in organic was interested in healthier, newer flavors. Why did you create a plant-based sausage line?: It’s a reflection on how our customer eats. We use real food in a convenient form. Wheat is the oldest form of plant-based meat and it’s a lot less processed than pea protein Seitan Wheat is generally a lot less processed than all other protein isolates High Peaks Plant-based meat doesn’t have to taste like meat, it can taste like something new. Plant-based meat can fill all sorts of different niches For Bilinski’s, we choose a customer who wants minimally processed Because you do both meat and vegetarian, how have sales been during the pandemic?: Unfortunately, it’s really hard to tell. Our meat products are still at the forefront because they’re easy ti buy and stock up We know our products solve a sustainability problem both chicken and plant-based We’re scaling back on new flavors and focusing on our core sellers Why go with High Peaks instead of the Bilinski’s brand?: Two reasons. To not confuse our core base but also because it’s fun to come up with a fresh start. My Food Job Rocks: I love the feedback my customers give me when they try our products I had won an award in highschool on an essay about how I wanted to take over the family business Where did you work before?: I was a policy analyst working on weapons of mass destruction My father one day said he might sell the business and I decided to take over the family business at that time What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Fermentation. The food science involved is really interesting What flavor products are you thinking out?: Because our R+D team is stuck at home, we are actually thinking a lot more and we’re focusing on chicken-bake type foods like chicken pot pie or lemon pepper. Curry is hard because everyone has an opinion about meat Any advice for anyone going into the food industry?: You really have to like it. It’s a 24/7 job Where can we find you?: info@bilinski.com. It actually comes to me, Stacie. highpeaks.life

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