Experiments & Feedback with Adam Hiner of Pacha
Adam Hiner, CEO of Pacha, shares insights on product innovation, sustainable practices, and the journey of building a healthy and regenerative food brand. We talk about the happy accidents and consumer feedback that lead to making new and better products, like their new gluten-free, sourdough buckwheat tortillas! Adam then shares why Pacha joined the Purpose Pledge, the challenges of building a CPG brand (like cashflow), the benefits of self-manufacturing, and why passion is essential for success in this industry. Tune in to get advice from a leader who’s built multiple successful brands while leading with integrity.
Key Topics
Product innovation driven by consumer insights and feedback
Strategic experimentation with new products
The benefits of self manufacturing
Purpose-driven business and sustainability commitments
Purpose Pledge, what it means, and how it works
The importance of focusing on core SKUs and honing recipes
Profitability and cash flow challenges
The importance of passion for success
Inner peace to bring about world peace
Sound Bites
“I pulled a batch of crackers out of the oven and they were floppy like little tortillas. Then I started experimenting with tortillas and just said, yeah, the market really needs a better tortilla right now.”
“We had our buckwheat buns, but we rebranded them as English muffins because all of our customers were saying, hey, this isn't a bun, this is an English muffin.”
"Our bread tastes like real bread. It doesn't taste like this thing that was modified to try to imitate the texture of white bread.“
“We've always had a plan to do something more than just be a company that's making money.”
“When we saw Purpose Pledge coming forward, felt like it felt like an opportunity to do something that felt maybe more impactful and less just numbers driven.”
“It's nice to have really great mentors who have been doing it and have done it before.”
“We were really grateful for our DTC channel because we've had so much direct feedback from customers, which we wouldn't have had with just being a retail brand.”
“One of the biggest challenges is just financing the company, you know, just keeping the lights on. 30%-50% of my job is just keeping cash coming in.”
“Sometimes adding more SKUs does generate more revenue immediately, like if Whole Foods puts out six SKUs versus four, but the trade off is the velocity of all the SKUs is now lower.”
“Peace really does start within us and maybe the most impactful thing we can do is to just like to start here and have and find peace with ourselves.”
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