The Koerner Office - Business Ideas and Deep Dives with Chris Koerner - 010: How I Made $125k/Month Selling Cane Sugar

Episode Date: September 12, 2023

Welcome to the inspiring journey of Just Panela LLC, a company that breathed new life into a traditional Colombian product and introduced it to the world stage. In this story, you will learn about the humble beginnings of a business that started with a small team and a big dream, navigating through numerous challenges to find its place in the global market. Key takeaways include the importance of perseverance, the value of a unique product, and the power of a compelling story. Let's dive into this remarkable entrepreneurial journey.

Welcome to startup gems. We find undiscovered startup growth hacks, stories, and case studies from every random nook and cranny of the internet. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur, an aspiring startup enthusiast or simply someone seeking inspiration, startup gems is your source for the stories that ignite the flames of innovation. Let's dive in. Welcome to the inspiring journey of Just Pinella LLC, a company that breathed new life into a traditional Colombian product and introduced it to the world stage. In this story, you will learn about the humble beginnings of a business that started with a small team and a big dream, navigating through numerous challenges to find its place in the global market. Key takeaways include the importance of perseverance, the value of a unique product, and the power of a compelling story. Let's dive into this remarkable entrepreneurial journey. In 2015, I founded Just Pinella LLC, a company based in Boulder, Colorado, dedicated to selling 100% percent. unprocessed cane sugar, a product we refer to as Pinella. Our journey began with a small team of three founders and has grown to include 10 employees, generating a revenue of 125 grand monthly and an annual income of $1.5 million. We have a strong presence in Whole Foods market globally

and supply our product as a key ingredient to numerous food and beverage companies. My connection with Pinella started in 2011 when I moved to Medellin, Columbia. Every morning I visited a local Juan Valdez coffee shop where I noticed single serves of Pinella used as a sweetener. Initially skeptical, I eventually tried it and was blown away by the rich flavor it added to my cappuccino. This experience sparked my interest in Pinella, a product that was not just a sweetener, but a food item with its own unique characteristics and health benefits, including soothing upset stomachs and relieving cold symptoms. Despite its benefits, Pinella was facing a decline in Columbia due to its associate. with the lower class and the labor-intensive process of producing it in a consumable form. Seeing an opportunity to revive this dying heritage and introduce it to a broader market,

I embarked on a mission to reposition Pinella for the North American and other Western markets. Our efforts have not only won us accolades for our product quality and design, but also open doors to markets in Australia, Spain, France, Kuwait, and Canada. Developing our first product was a journey of discovery and innovation. we learned that Colombians viewed Pinella not just as a sweetener, but as a distinct food product with its own set of health benefits. This understanding guided us in creating a product that retained the natural properties of the cane grass, including its taste, texture, color, and nutritional value. However, the road to manufacturing was fraught with challenges, the primary one being the packaging

process. Panella's unique non-crystallin nature made it difficult to package as it tended to melt easily, sticking to machinery. Despite the hurdles, we were determined to maintain control over the manufacturing process, introducing customizations to the packaging machinery, and working closely with our Panellero partners to produce Pinella in various forms suitable for different uses. Launching the business was a real trial by fire as we navigated the complexities of a multinational operation without prior experience in the import, export, packaging, or natural foods industries. Our early days were marked by skepticism and mistrust as we tried to ship pallets of powdery substance from Colombia to the U.S. It took time, strategic facility placement, and building trust within the local community to overcome these challenges.

Marketing and sales were driven by our incredible product and the compelling story of bridging cultures through a self-sustainable, organically cultivated heritage product. Our journey from packaging a case or two to filling a 40-foot container spanned four years, fueled by a modest investment of 300 grand. We leveraged our award-winning product and story to gain recognition at prestigious food shows, securing a four out of four stars panel-wide rating for our product at the Fancy Foods NY Show. As we ventured into the market, we realized the importance of identifying top-tier regional food brokers to represent our brand. Despite being a low-velocity category, our unique product and the gap left by the disappearance of other cane sugars from the market

worked in our favor. We learned to navigate the industry dynamics, understanding that while food brokers were essential in the initial stages, our long-term strategy needed to focus on leveraging Pinella as an ingredient in a range of products. Our customer retention strategy has evolved to include a strong web presence and personalized communication with every customer who orders through our website. Building personal relationships with distributors and other stakeholders, in the supply chain has also been a key factor in our success. Our collaboration with Whole Foods Global has played a significant role in educating and attracting the right customer profile.

Looking ahead, we remain tight-lipped about our specific business plans for competitive reasons. However, we are excited about the increasing interest in our product from different ethnicities and the opportunities arising from the disappearance of other cane sugars from the market. reflecting on our journey, one key learning has been the importance of paying workers a living wage, a practice that has fostered loyalty and pride among our employees. Our operational toolkit includes widely used platforms like WhatsApp for business communication and G Suite for various organizational needs, supplemented by QuickBooks for financial management. As I navigate the entrepreneurial landscape, I find wisdom in various business periodicals,

with Forbes and WSJ being my favorites. One book that has particularly influenced me is High Tech Ventures by Gordon Bell, the co-founder of Intel. For aspiring entrepreneurs, my advice is to steer clear of unfeasible ideas and to work on projects that resonate with people and evoke a sense of pride. In my journey with Just Pinella, I have found that bringing a product that Columbia is proud of to the world stage has not only been a fulfilling endeavor, but also one that has earned me love and respect from many. Thank you for joining us on this journey through the evolution of Just Pinella LLC. We hope you found inspiration in this story of perseverance, innovation, and the transformative power of a unique product. Remember, with a compelling story and a product that resonates with people, you can overcome

challenges and find success in the global market. Until next time, keep nurturing those big dreams and working towards making them a reality. Thanks for joining us on this journey through the world of startups and innovation. you've uncovered some valuable gems to fuel your entrepreneurial spirit. Don't forget to tune in next time for another inspiring story that will keep your entrepreneurial fire burning. Until then, keep exploring, keep innovating, and keep shining bright with startup gems.