From Our Coast to Your Kitchen

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lia Heifetz, co-founder of Barnacle Food, located in Juneau, Alaska, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At Barnacle Foods, we turn Alaska-grown kelp (yes, seaweed!) into pantry staples - think hot sauce, salsa, BBQ sauce, seasonings, pickles! We share these special foods with customers all over the country through our retail partners and directly from our warehouse through purchases on our website. By growing and eating more kelp, we can help fight climate change. As a food source, there are few foods that can boast the environmental benefits (and not to mention flavor profile) of kelp. Kelp doesn't require any fertilizers, freshwater, or land to grow. It has been used as a nutrition-boosting and flavor-enhancing food for thousands of years.

Tell us about yourself

Using business as a tool for positive change is what motivates me. We are working with an ingredient that can help fight climate change.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The small but mighty team at Barnacle Foods is one of our best accomplishments and the heart and soul of Barnacle Foods. We harvest much of the kelp we use in our products and make each jar in our facility located in Juneau, Alaska.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

There are many rewards that come along with owning a business and many challenges to match the reward. From troubleshooting a supply chain located in very remote coastal Alaska to operating through a global pandemic - there's never a dull moment.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Start sharing your ideas, identify your expertise gaps to build your team, and stick with it.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.barnaclefoods.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barnaclefoods/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barnaclefoods/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/barnaclefoods/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/barnaclefoods/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.