Insight
Stacy Madison: Prove your concept in retail before pivoting from side hustle
“You ask the question, well, when do you know when you switch or you make that decision? My answer would be, you need to prove out the concept outside of just where you are. So you have to take, whether it's taking the bags of chips to the stores, talking to th…”
Disclosure
Stacy's Pita Chips used a female name explicitly to sell more snacks
“We chose it because we thought that a female name on a snack food brand would sell more than a male name.”
Disclosure
Stacy Madison: Female names on snack brands sell better than male names
“We chose it because we thought that a female name on a snack food brand would sell more than a male name.”
Assertion Supported
Stacy's hacked a Campbell's Soup carrot cutter to slice its pita chips
“What we ended up buying was a machine that used to cut carrots for Campbell's soup. So, you know how they cut those tiny little squares? Well, what he did is he took those blades and spaced them further apart”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Trader Joe's paying early allowed Stacy's to avoid taking outside equity
“Trader Joe's was an amazing company to do business with. They paid On time or early. And because of that, we were able to not take on equity.”
Insight
Restaurants routinely hire temporary launch staff only to immediately lay them off
“They always hire people to get restaurants open, and then they let them go”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Madison cold-pitched Bread & Circus in Boston for her first retail account
“I took the bag and I walked into Bread and Circus in downtown Boston and I said, hi, I'm Stacy. These are my chips and I'd love for you to give them a try.”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Madison: Stacy's Pita Chips secured a $350,000 bank loan after $500k rejection
“So they said no to 500, and over a couple of months, we were able to scale it back, and they did say yes to 350.”
Assertion Supported
Stacy's Pita Chips automated pita slicing using a modified Campbell's carrot cutter
“What we ended up buying was a machine that used to cut carrots for Campbell's soup. So, you know how they cut those tiny little squares? Well, what he did is he took those blades and spaced them further apart, and when he first spaced these blades, and all of …”
Insight
Madison: Turning a real profit takes five years, not three
“People say it takes three years. I would say it takes five.”
Assertion Supported
Co-founders Stacy Madison and Mark Andrus split the company 50/50 during divorce
“We went to court together, and we went before the judge, and we said, we want to get a divorce, and we're splitting this fifty-fifty, and we really had no assets. Everything we had was the company, and we agreed, we built this together, and we were splitting t…”
Disclosure
Massive Trader Joe's purchase orders allowed Stacy's Pita Chips to avoid VC
“And at that point, you know, everything just went back into the business, but we were just about to give up a piece of the company, and we never ended up actually doing that because we got Trader Joe's, and they were ordering by the truckload.”
Assertion Supported
Stacy's Pita Chips reached $65 million in annual sales by 2006
“65, I think.”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
A factory fire caused $9M in damages right before the PepsiCo sale
“There was nine million dollars in damages, and 25% of the factory was burnt down.”
Opinion
Madison: Stacy's Pita Chips succeeded through resilience, not just luck
“You know, a lot of people say, oh, she got lucky. That really pisses me off. Cause, you know, yeah, maybe the stars aligned, and maybe the timing was right for a lot of things, but each and every one of the challenges and the hurdles that you overcome, others …”
Assertion Supported
Madison: Stacy's Pita Chips launched with Parmesan and cinnamon sugar, not Simply Naked
“Everybody thinks Simply Naked was our first flavor. It wasn't. It was the Parmesan and the cinnamon sugar.”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Madison: Stacy's Pita Chips fire caused $9M in damage, burned 25% of plant
“There was nine million dollars in damages, and 25% of the factory was burnt down.”
Insight
Stacy Madison: Food brands should pair founder names directly with core products
“And I would make sure that you're always the Stucky's Pecan. Get your name with your product. Stacey's Pita Chips.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Madison and Andrus Ran Honolulu Food Venture Called Condo Cuisine
“Mark was a total foodie, and we marketed to our building and the surrounding buildings that if anybody else wanted us to cook them dinner, that we would do that too, and we called it condo cuisine.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Health Department Shut Down Madison's Early Honolulu Food Venture
“We were cooking in our apartment and got very quickly shut down.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mark Andrus had $100,000 in student debt when starting Stacy's Pita Chips
“Going into this, I mean, you gotta also keep in mind the reality of the fact that he's got a 100,000 dollars in student loans, I don't have a penny to my name.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Madison: Initial Boston food cart cost about $5,000
“We decided to buy a food cart, because we couldn't afford anything else. I think it was 5000 dollars”
Assertion Supported
Madison: Stacy's Pita Chips debuted with Parmesan and Cinnamon Sugar, not Simply Naked
“Everybody thinks Simply Naked was our first flavor. It wasn't. It was the Parmesan and the cinnamon sugar.”
Disclosure
Madison: Stacy's original goal was to remain a regional Northeast brand
“Our goal was to be a regional brand, more like Cape Cod potato chips, and we were going to keep things manageable and in the Northeast”
