A Purpose-driven Gourmet Granola

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nichole Nzegwu, Owner of Kare Granola, located in Woodbridge, ON, Canada.

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

Kare Granola is a new and innovative gourmet granola business launched in July 2021. Our products stand out for their premium quality and unique flavours that are rare in grocery stores. Aside from our rich and appetizing granola collection, we offer a special customization option that allows consumers to Build Your Own Granola online by choosing from our selection of ingredients, especially if you have dietary preferences and health concerns. We make and deliver it to them. Kare granola is the only granola business offering this option in the market.

Our products are free of preservatives. They are handmade in small batches with organic, gluten-free, plant-based, and 100% natural ingredients that are valuable to your health and locally sourced in Canada.

Tell us about yourself

I immigrated to Canada as an international student 20 years ago to build a better life for myself. But I faced significant hardships that led to depression, attempted suicide, and even experienced abuse for several years. Through those hard times, cooking was one of her happy places.

Emerging from my struggles, I worked hard to build something for myself and give back. I wanted to create something that would put a smile on people's faces through food and community.

Kare Granola was born from a place of purpose. With no prior experience in business and entrepreneurship, I started this business from scratch to meet every customer's need when it comes to granola and to build a community of well-being while supporting other young girls and women in vulnerable situations as I was to create better lives for themselves.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Starting a business on its own can be very challenging, especially a food business. To come this far in one year is an accomplishment on its own. I didn't know the fundamentals of starting a business when I started. I was confused and unsure where to turn to or who to talk to. So, I turned to YouTube, Google, and books to educate myself. We are now in a place where we are building partnerships, selling to other food service businesses, and expanding to retail stores. This is one of my biggest accomplishments, and we're just getting started.

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

Starting a solo business can be a lonely journey. You become your own employee. For over ten months, I managed everything from production, to building the website, to marketing, to order fulfillment, and everything else in between, all by myself. But finding a community of other like-minded entrepreneurs was very helpful, and I recommend it.

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

If you're looking to start and don't know where to begin, many start-up programs can help you with your idea and bring it to fruition. I suggest signing up for them because they are helpful. Also, find people in similar businesses to your concept or even other business owners and ask them questions. I also recommend finding a mentor. Most of all, every business journey is different. Do not compare your journey to another business. Give yourself time to breathe, grow and keep going.

We just changed our business name from Krave Granola to Kare Granola because we wanted a name that aligned with the vision and mission of our business. So if you knew us as Krave Granola, We are now Kare Granola.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://karegranola.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karegranola/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karegranola/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/karegranola/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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