money How this cereal startup pivoted to drive-thru sampling amid coronavirus
Three Wishes Cereal Co-Founders Ian Wishingrad and Margaret Wishingrad break down how they are pivoting their cereal startup amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Video Transcript
ZACK GUZMAN: --and health and wellness trend in general. I mean, you guys were quick to capitalize on that as well with Three Wishes Cereal. You guys created that, both of you, a high-protein, low-sugar, grain-free cereal brand from pea protein and tapioca. Ian, I know you gave me some, so I sampled it. It's very tasty.
But when you look at sampling, so much of that is in store. And, Margaret, I mean, obviously that kind of goes out the window when people are social distancing. You can't really think about eating things like that, but you guys kind of had a little twist on that with offering samples-- drive-through sampling. What sparked-- had did you come up with that idea?
MARGARET WISHINGRAD: Well, it was actually Ian's beautiful idea. So Ian makes fun of me, says I'm a germophobe. So when he pitched this idea I was like, are you sure? And then I thought about it. I was like, you know what? We need to get comfortable with people again. We need to show them that we can put healthy and safe practices in place that can allow sampling to feel semi normal and semi human again. So it was really fun.
IAN WISHINGRAD: I had to beg her to do it.
MARGARET WISHINGRAD: He did.
ZACK GUZMAN: I mean, [INAUDIBLE]. It's in your neighborhood. So at least you're kind of dealing with people you might know and friends of friends. But as this goes on, I mean, how are you guys shifting to maybe potentially, if grocery stores are seeing such a spike in traffic, maybe instituting that now as we see more states open up here?
MARGARET WISHINGRAD: Yeah, so I think we've had some conversations with retailers because, ideally, we'd love to be in that parking lot and have the space and the distance to do it there, and then you could go in and purchase it. And so I think that would be one of the next things we're really focusing on and doing.
IAN WISHINGRAD: And then what was also interesting is that we've had to-- so much of our strategy when launching was winning in retail. At the time, over 90% of people liked buying their groceries in the supermarket, and a huge part was securing end caps, which are like big billboards at the end of the aisle, and sampling. That was how we were going to win.
And now we need to start focusing more on the internet. And when you're a low-margin item like ours-- we're not like a Casper mattress or some long-lifetime value proposition. Internet advertising can be expensive. Granted, there's a little lull right now because there's so many advertisers that have just-- you know, are holding onto their dollars, so we're going to go right ahead and try to make it work economically, but basically trying to find a way to win online. So we're coming on with Fresh Direct and Thrive Market and Amazon, and there's so many places where people like to bundle their groceries that we're going to try to make work for us.
ZACK GUZMAN: And trying drive-through sampling as well, pulling all the levers here. Appreciate you guys joining us and sharing the story. Margaret and Ian Wishingrad, the co-founders of Three Wishes Cereal. Appreciate it, guys. Stay safe out there.
IAN WISHINGRAD: Thank you so much.
MARGARET WISHINGRAD: Thanks, Zack.
IAN WISHINGRAD: You too.
