This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

 

The food and beverage space is enjoying a lot of "glamorization" right now, says Najwa Khan, Founder, and CEO of Dalci, a brand that makes crave-worthy desserts that are better for you. But all that sexy growth comes with many sacrifices, especially in your personal life.

 

"It's going to be quite painful in the sense where you are giving up a lot of your personal life, your time, time with your family, time with your friends," she says.

 

She says the best way to get through the tough times is by having a mission and believing in it.

 

Another piece of advice: Don't assume that any brand can be omnichannel, DTC, or just retail.

 

"There are a plethora of channels to sell on in a food and food and beverage, particularly with food," she says.

 

Najwa says it took about a year to determine the recipes for the first product. She spent the time testing recipes in a commercial kitchen while getting feedback and tweaking. She put the product on the website before it was ready and was stunned to get 150 orders in the first 24 hours.

 

"I just kept making and making it until the brownies like were the brownies similar to what you see today," she says. "And I remember my husband and I stayed up all night till seven in the morning packaging and sealing to get these orders out to these first 150 people."

 

The company's mission - while currently focused on sweets - is "transferrable," she says. Plant-based options are the No. 1 request from customers, but that's a challenge because Dalci won't use egg substitutes. The company is also working on breakfast sweets.

 

In Part 2, Najwa talks about:

 

- Advice for other entrepreneurs
- The variety of channels open to food and beverage brands.
- A closer look at the product.
- The stress of filling the first 150 orders.
- What makes their brownies different?
- Plans include plant-based items and breakfast products.
- Where you can find Dalci products.

 

Join Ramon Vela and Najwa Khan as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

 

For more on Dalci, visit: https://www.dalci.com/ 

 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

 

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This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

 

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