INspired INsider Podcast [Sweet and Snack Show Series] Why We Need More Gluten-Free Candy with Mike & Jackie Nakamura Founders of Lovely Candy Company
Mike and Jackie Nakamura are the founders of the Lovely Candy Company. Their journey started when Jackie asked her husband, Mike, to go on a quest for her favorite candy, but it was a special request – it needed to be consciously crafted with select ingredients, as well as gluten-free. What began then evolved into a plethora of delicious family favorite candies.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:- [0:40] Mike and Jackie Nakamura join the podcast to talk about Lovely Candy.
- [3:15] How did Mike and Jackie come up with their flavors?
- [5:45] Mike talks about the challenges they’ve encountered.
- [7:00] Jackie and Mike talk about the proud moments.
- [8:30] Future plans for the Lovely Candy Company.
Do you know someone in your social circle who struggles with dietary restrictions? With all the advancement we’ve made with sugar-free and dairy free products, there are still many challenges for people who need gluten-free options - especially sweets! On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from entrepreneurs and innovators, Mike and Jackie Nakamura. In their conversation with Jeremy, the Nakamuras open up about why they started the Lovely Candy Company, how they decide which flavors to bring to the marketplace, challenges they’ve faced along the way, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this fascinating episode featuring Mike and Jackie’s story!
What would you do if someone you love had a special affinity for a candy they no longer can eat due to health challenges? Would you do your best to find new candies for them? Or would you do something crazy like Mike Nakamura did and try to create gluten-free candy from scratch? Mike’s efforts might sound crazy but as he tells it - the journey was a blast! What started as an effort to create gluten-free candy at home quickly evolved into a business marketing the gluten-free candy to a larger audience. You can find the link to the Lovely Candy Company in the resources section at the end of this post.
As a business leader, you are likely familiar with the struggle of competing against more established elements in your industry. What do you do in your organization to make your product or service stand out from all the others - especially the big guys? Mike and Jackie worked hard to get retailers and distributors to take a chance on their fledgling business, the Lovely Candy Company. Their primary obstacle was getting these gatekeepers to take a chance on a startup - but perseverance won the day, and they were able to get their product in front of customers. What can you learn from Mike and Jackie’s story?
Resources Mentioned on this episode Sponsor for this episodeRise25’s mission is to connect you with your best referral partners and customers.
We do this in 3 ways…
- Our Done for you Media - We help your company completely run and launch your own podcast. we distribute your show across more than 11 different channels including a dedicated blog post and social media. You simply show up and talk and we do everything else. Our team has been working with podcasters since 2009. I personally credit podcasting as the single best thing I have done for my business and my life. It has allowed me to connect with the founders/ceo’s of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars, and many more. Besides making best friends and finding my business partner..podcasting has led to relationships with countless customers and referral partners.
- Our Done for you Lead Generation- We manually send a consistent flow of customized outreach messages to your ideal clients and referral sources that you want to connect with to generate more business and clients - this is not paid traffic by the way.
- Our Done for you VIP Events - We do live in-person VIP Days and receptions. These are 100% outsourced VIP days for software companies and conference organizers so we can help you serve your highest level customers. It may or may not involve Elvis costumes - See video
Rise25 VIP Days have a proven track record of helping companies to get more referrals, increase retention with their VIP customers, and get more engaged new customers without adding extra work to that company’s plate.
Rise25 has hosted VIP events in cities such as Austin, Chicago, Santa Barbara, San Diego, New York, Sonoma, and Las Vegas to name a few.
Since these each require a lot of humans to do the work we have limited bandwidth and only want to work with the right company. so if any sound interesting to you go to Rise25.com and contact us or email support (at) rise25.com.
If your company wants to attract and connect with your highest level customers and referral partners then you can learn more and contact us to find out if your company qualifies at Rise25.com.
Rise25 was cofounded by Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran.