Episode 6 | How Dang Foods Created the Coconut Chip Category
with CEO Vincent Kitirattragarn
Vincent Kitirattragarn wasn’t trying to start a company. He was just trying to find a traditional ingredient to make one of Mama Dang’s delicious Thai recipes.
But, as so often happens, fate intervened, and a brand new snack category – and company – was born.
Dang.
Of course, creating a new category is always a challenge. You have to come up with something brand new that still feels familiar. But by all measures, Dang has done it. The Berkeley based company make whole food, Asian inspired snacks that people just can’t get enough of.
And while they started with coconut chips, today they’re a platform for all sorts of better for you, dang delicious snacks, including onion chips and their new sticky rice chips. We talked to Vincent to learn how he and his team did it.
In this episode, you will learn the following takeaways:
- You’re unique – embrace it. Vincent definitely didn’t grow up in the food biz, but he brought skills that served him well in his previous career, which turned out to be a major advantage.
- Data. Data. Data. Vincent doesn’t like to sell. He lets the data tell the story – and do the selling for him.
- Educate the retailer before the consumer. With an innovative product, it’s tempting to go straight for the consumer, but it’s so important to start with retailers. Otherwise, you’ll never get the chance to make your case to the consumer.
Jump to
- The Dang origin story. 3:10
- How Vincent’s science and engineering background helped the Dang team grow their brand. 7:30
- The challenges of creating a new category, and how to do something new that’s still familiar. 9:58
- Why you should over invest in data, and the specific metrics you can use to level up your business. 13:47
- Why finding – and leveraging – your unique ability is critical to a new brand’s success. 16:42
- Why Dang went through a brand refresh. 19:40
- Why sustainability is a hallmark of the Dang Foods brand. 21:30
Links
- Dang Foods
- Vincent on LinkedIn
- @DangFoods on Twitter
Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! [email protected].
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
