The Hardest Years of Ithaca Hummus (and Why Chris Kirby Wouldn’t Trade Them) - part 2 of the Beyond the Die Line interview

Tom picks up where Part 1 left off. Chris finally tells the story he teased last time: the FLX Foods dinner in Rochester, held at Danny Wegman’s Next Door Bar and Grill, where he needed to make an impression on a room full of influential upstate New York food people. His opener was a borrowed grocery joke about a store opening in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Danny loved it. The category manager did not. From there, the two talk about how the original FLX Foods group helped bring HPP to the region, including the HPP testing facility at Cornell and an HPP tolling facility, at a time when clean label, fresh and refrigerated products were taking off. Chris describes all of that as an accelerant on top of a good product, and credits the Finger Lakes community for backing him. Tom adds his own view on how New York State and programs like Grow New York come to the table for food and ag tech brands. Then things get real. Chris walks through the years he self manufactured Ithaca Hummus: a 10,000 square foot building full of secondhand equipment with no owner’s manuals, a team that had never worked in manufacturing, trucks lined up at the dock waiting on late orders, nights in a sleeping bag on the floor, and a malfunctioning filling line squirting hummus in his face at three in the morning in a 35 degree room. There is also the New Year’s Eve delivery of a 5,000 pound mixer that didn’t fit through the door. Tom shares the advice he gives founders about working on the business instead of in it. Chris pushes back on the idea that it ever gets easier. The problems just get bigger. What changes is the mindset: “show me to the problem,” take the most important one first, and keep going. The two also compare low barrier categories like granola with the noisy, hard to crack beverage space. The second half turns to Guillermo Salsa. Chris explains how a golf round with talent agent James “Baby Doll” Dixon, years earlier, led to a Zoom pitch with Jimmy Kimmel, a partnership with Guillermo, and a launch in Costco in the Northeast. He talks about why the salsa needed its own brand, why an authentic story matters as much as a big megaphone, and why he sees Guillermo as proof that the American dream is alive and well. Tom shares his own family’s immigrant story. They close with what’s next for Ithaca, which Chris says is the number two brand in the hummus category behind Sabra, and with Chris’s advice for founders in their first couple of years. Key takeaways Be memorable. Chris opened his FLX Foods pitch with a joke so he would be remembered, even if not everyone loved it. Luck meets preparation. HPP, the FLX Foods dinners and a supportive Finger Lakes community accelerated a product that was already good. Self manufacturing is not romantic. Secondhand equipment, an inexperienced team and constant cash pressure made it one of the hardest stretches of the Ithaca journey. It doesn’t get easier, you get better. The problems grow from $100,000 to millions. The skill is breaking them down and solving the most important one first. A megaphone helps, authenticity matters more. Guillermo Salsa pairs an award winning product with a real story. You’re stronger than you think you are. Chris’s advice: focus on the next right thing, add value for the consumer, and do the thing you want to do least. Listen to the customer. Tom and Chris agree that answers aren’t found in a boardroom. They come from the people you serve. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Beyond the Dieline 02:05 Part 2 recap 05:07 The FLX Foods dinner joke 11:59 FLX Foods, HPP and the Finger Lakes 14:57 New York State and Grow New York 17:50 Obstacles and the problem solving mindset 19:30 Self manufacturing struggles 25:21 It never gets easier 27:41 Granola, beverage and barriers to entry 29:35 Launching Guillermo Salsa 41:26 What’s next: chasing number one 42:25 Advice for emerging brands About the guest Chris Kirby is the founder of Ithaca Hummus and Guillermo Salsa. He built Ithaca Hummus in the Finger Lakes region of New York, starting out self manufacturing before growing the brand into the number two player in the hummus category, according to Chris. Guillermo Salsa, a partnership with Guillermo of Jimmy Kimmel Live, launched in Costco in the Northeast. About the show Beyond the Dieline, Founders Edition is a special series from the People of Packaging Podcast. Host Tom Seymour explores the real stories behind today’s emerging food and beverage brands and how packaging, manufacturing and the supply chain turn ideas into products people love. Published by Adam Peek. Thanks for reading People of Packaging Podcast with Adam Peek! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit encase.substack.com

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