We recently connected with Dr. Margaret Barrow and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Margaret , thanks for joining us today. How has Covid changed your business model?

When COVID19 started, our focus was on direct to consumer, which meant that we were putting a lot of energy into going to events and our website. The pandemic forced us to look for new ways to chart our success. When the National Retail Federation and the Qurate Retail Group put out a call to highlight minority owned businesses, we completed the application on the day it was due. When they got back to us, stating that we were one of the small group of minority owned businesses that they were going to highlight we were absolutely delighted because at that point we were struggling financially. We were unable, like most people, to go out to events and sell our product and we were short on funds which is an understatement. The highlight put us in front of people we would not have had access to, and in so doing, we began to receive orders from corporations, like MasterCard and universities, like Harvard University. We started filling orders that were fairly large, one such a Order was from AARP. They had contacted us about going into one of their gift boxes, the Luxe and Luminous Summer Collection, and they put in a $10,000 order which was the largest order we had ever had at that point. We also began to get a lot of orders orders from companies who specifically were focused on snack boxes and so we began to sell a lot of of our product to these kinds of companies which were not really on our radar. At that time, we did stop focusing our attention on the direct to consumer website channel and began to put more effort into creating relationships with corporations. At that time, COVID19 put us in a position to really take a critical look at our movement forward and so it dawned on me that instead of focusing on big box retail, we really needed to understand how we wanted to strategize how to chart journey.

I realized that selling to corporations was a part of a larger plan to build brand awareness. They are purchasing large quantities of our product for their events, conferences, meetings, and holidays. That’s a lot of people at once trying our product. As opposed to being in a large retail store, where it is highly possible if no one knows your brand that you’re not going to be on the shelf for too long , so the brand awareness part is critically important for us as a new brand and especially as the Granola industry is very competitive.

Today, we work with a PR company that puts us in front of new clients all the time through their corporate gifting and snack box program associated with their own small retail business. We also hired a brand manager who connects us with corporations and retail companies we never imagined It’s Nola would be sold.

Overall, the Pandemic charted a new path forward for us, one that we may not have seen until much later down the road. We’re open to strategic partnerships with corporations, airlines, hotels. and just about any company where people can get their hands on our chewy, healthy, delicious granola snack bites with a flavor palette that has something for everyone. We understand the importance of slow strategic growth and how that will get us where we want to be which is to be an international brand.

Dr. Margaret , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My journey from professor to granola entrepreneur began when I shared my handmade treats with my students, who couldn’t get enough. Through their encouragement and evidence-based research (unbeknownst to me they had taken the snacks I gave them to other colleges in NYC and one university in NJ and asked the students to fill out surveys after tasting the snacks), they provided proof that people truly enjoyed them and agreed that they would purchase them. Encouraged by their enthusiasm, I found the courage to consider the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur. For the first time in my teaching profession, I was the one on the receiving end of their encouragement. It was a strange and heartwarming position for me. After some thought and discussion with my family and other small business owners, I took the plunge and founded Brooklyn Granola, now trademarked as It’s Nola. I’d like to introduce you to It’s NOLA, what I believe to be the game-changing solution for granola lovers tired of messy crumbs and folks looking for healthy plant-based snacks. Hand-rolled and vegan, gluten-free, and naturally low in sugar, these small batch granola balls are set to impress. With flavors like Luscious Cranberry Coconut, Sassy Mango Masala, Scrumptious Strawberry Banana, and Dark Decadent Chewy Chocolate, and coming in 2024, Bodacious Blueberry Rosemary Mint there’s something for everyone.

It’s Nola transcends being a plant-based snack company, it embodies my hopes and dreams rooted in the principles of mentorship. Mentoring holds profound significance, both for me and my mentees. It’s a relationship that shapes futures, drives growth, and ignites empowerment. I credit my mentees for recognizing my entrepreneurial potential and serving as a source of inspiration. For me, mentoring signifies building connections, fostering understanding, and nurturing personal and social growth. My hope is to connect It’s Nola with a nationwide mentoring program to continue to support the dreams and ambitions of those who stand to benefit most from mentorship.

Certified as a Minority Women-Owned Business Enterprise, It’s NOLA proudly represents the vibrant spirit of Brooklyn, NY.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

When I first started the business, I didn’t know much about creating a business, but I knew I didn’t want a brick and mortar store,. I had been shopping online for number of years and realized that creating a website for the business would give us access to a lot more people than those we were meeting at events. It also happened because people who purchased our product in person wanted to be able to buy more online. I didn’t know anything about designing a website. We were preparing to go to our first major event, the Philadelphia Wine and Food Festival. While at a Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce event, one of the members mentioned that she had interns that could help me with my website design. True to her word and thousands of dollars later, the site was up and running. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was functional. A year later, I recognized we could not grow on that platform. At another event, a vendor recommended Shopify. When I saw the cost, I was shocked especially since was more than twice what I had been paying. At some point, a received an email from a company that works with Shopify and if I paid for the business plan for 3 months, I c0uld get a website designed the way I envisioned. My branders and I worked with the designers and build a beautiful website. After a year of slow sales, I realized that the website was like buying a beautiful dress with no one to see it. We were still invisible. I started attending free webinars about ecommerce, SEO, adding partner apps, all while paying close attention to the functionality of the website. At the same time, I was approached by Amazon to sell on their platform. At first, I thought it didn’t make sense, but then it dawned on me that if we were on reputable websites, people would feel more comfortable buying from us. So we signed up for their Black Business Accelerator to learn how to sell on Amazon. I certainly saw our sales increase on our website. The disadvantage working with Amazon is that we have to pay them and their fees are pretty high. Still, selling on there helps with brand awareness. We also sell our product on the WMarketplace, a woman owned platform that believes in supporting women businesses. It’s an amazing community to belong to. Marketing is less expensive as a small business and the community is inspiring.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Starting business from scratch has been challenging. We took our savings and invested $10,000 to start. I also applied for business credit card with my bank, and I regret it. After a year that card went up to 27% APR. It continues to feel like a burden each month. Two years later, I applied for 4,000 loan with Kiva which helped with product development. During the Pandemic we applied for an EIDL and borrowed $7,300. The Kiva loan will be paid off November 2023. My father in-law who was a big fan of It’s Nola left us money which we used to buy production equipment. Some months have been very challenging, but we’re working toward increasing our cashflow. We believe we’ll recoup our investment by the end of 2024. Like many minority business owners, we didn’t have a lot of savings to start the business and we continue to be financially challenged. We’ve been fortunate to be recipients of the LISC Coramino Fund Grant and the Women of Color Fearless Fund with Tory Burch Foundation. I strongly recommend applying for grants. For years, we filled them out, and recently we’ve been recipients. I am at the point where I think we should try fundraising to grow the business and get our automation process up and running in 2024. This way, we’ll be ready to meet the new opportunities coming our way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.itsnola.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsnolasnacks
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsnolasnacks
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/it-s-nola-snacks
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/itsnolasnacks

Image Credits
Ivan Diaz