We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth McMillin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?
Two words: HiiT Dough. This was originally a plant based protein bar (HiiT Bars), I messed up a recipe for a new bar one day and it turned out like a dough. I cancelled my PO for 30,000 bars and focused on creating HiiT dough. It’s the same exact ingredients but a revolutionary product! There’s nothing else like it out there. This can be an obstacle when educating customers because they want to know what it’s most like. They laugh when I say a plant based protein bar. And you know what it’s least like? Cookie dough! Except the taste, texture, and nostalgia of course!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
It’s a plot twist kind of story about a girl with a business marketing degree, who went on to pursue premed, life had another plan, and she did what she did best; pivot, problem solve, and adapt. Hi, it’s me; I’m that girl. I’m Elizabeth, the founder of HiiT Nutrition, and here’s my story! I graduated with a degree in business marketing but always had a passion for math and science. (Fun fact about me, I was a math and science tutor for almost 15 years) When I graduated college in 2009, the job market was scarce, and I was feeling a little bit discouraged after having these hopes of walking right into an entry-level position and working my way up to a dream job. When someone asked me what I would do if I could do anything, my immediate answer was to be in science and medicine as my true passion comes from always learning and educating myself to help empower others. So, I decided to go back to school to get my premed degree courses done and eventually become a PA. Along this crazy path of working three jobs to pay for it all, getting in 2000 hours of experience, and finishing my premed courses, I met a guy… who changed my world forever. In 2014, I had finished everything I needed and was applying to PA schools. This guy, who happened to be military special forces, proposed, and 5 days later, we moved from the beach in California to the beach on the east coast. Education has always been my favorite so I found comfort in starting a Master’s program online until I could figure out which direction I wanted my career to go now.
I was studying human nutrition and metabolism when my fiancé (now husband) asked me what he should eat for a 13-mile ruc run. With all the knowledge fresh in my mind, I told him I’d make him a nutritional bar that he could eat along the way. It had to be something that would fuel him efficiently but could not contain any sort of complex proteins that would slow him down. His teammates started stealing the bars from him because I didn’t mention how TASTY they were! Being a supertaster makes my final goal with the flavor profile of my products a prime example in perfectionism! Anyways, I started thinking how it’s so hard to find a good-tasting bar without a lot of junk in it. Another fun, well maybe not so fun, fact about me, I have every gut issue under the sun, so I have a lot of people who follow me to see what food I find and like. I can’t eat anything from whey & pea protein to coconut cream to sorghum flour so most know if it is safe for me, it won’t be trouble for them. Additionally, I have issues with my insulin levels, so I have to keep them stable. I then started HiiT Nutrition and developed HiiT Bars in an effort to market to everyone from kids, to diabetics, to special forces, to bodybuilders, and beyond! One thing I noticed as a challenge was how flooded the bar aisle is and how uneducated people are when they pick out a protein or energy bar. Most people go for what’s cheapest and maybe glance at the amount of sugar or protein and don’t consider the ingredients inside. Due to my gut issues, I’m quite the opposite, but also realize I’m the outlier. The new obstacle was trying to figure out how I could get my price point down without compromising on ingredients or having to order 100,000 bars. Fast forward a little, I messed up a test batch one day, and it turned out like a dough. Frustrated, I walked out of the room, only to find people devouring the bowl when I walked back in. Then it HiiT 😉 Me, was there anything like an edible cookie dough with clean ingredients out there? So, I searched and couldn’t find anything 1. without pea or whey protein or 2. That wasn’t just loaded with sugar or junk mixins. (Remember, I need this to be low glycemic as well). I had submitted a PO for 30,000 bars to be made, so I immediately cancelled those, and HiiT dough was born! HiiT dough has the exact same ingredients as the HiiT bars, just a different texture! Essentially, it’s the best-tasting plant-based protein bar you’ve ever had, just in a jar and loaded with the nostalgia of scooping raw cookie dough WITHOUT any of the junk (I like to say I left out everything but the taste!). HiiT dough is gluten, dairy, soy, and egg free, infused with hypoallergenic plant-based protein, and perfect for anyone and everyone looking to help satisfy that sweet tooth in a fun way!
Fast forward to today, I have been running Hiit Nutrition for 6 years now, but recently, things got a little more challenging. After trying for a baby for over 3 years, I was able to get pregnant during covid. 19 months ago, my son was born, two days later, I was back in the kitchen working, and 5 weeks later, my husband deployed for his 9th deployment. Raising a newborn alone probably sounds difficult, but managing a business and employees was something I think anyone would have struggled with mentally, emotionally, and physically. For example, I wasn’t able to nap when the baby napped because I had a business to run, employees to manage, and orders to fulfill. Not to mention the mental load of running a household alone on top of the emotional rollercoaster of a deployment. I got to the point that I was fainting from lack of sleep and pure exhaustion from doing it alone. I held on to the hope of my husband returning home, being a family again, and the opportunity to pass the reins to someone else even if it was for 15 minutes so I could breathe. Once he returned home, he immediately received orders to the east coast. With only two years left until he retires, I decided to stay in California and run the business (I work out of a commercial kitchen in Oceanside) and continue to raise the baby until he retires in 2024. So here we are now, learning something new every day and most importantly adapting to the constantly changing path that life has me on.
I’m happy to talk more about this, but this segment is getting long. Thank you if you are still reading!
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
It’s a new time we’re living in! Social media followed up with reviews and email campaigns. For example, influencers have the most power over ads or any paid advertising. However, not all influencers have the same effect or loyalty from their followers. Higher amounts of followers doesn’t mean higher returns. It really comes down to the right influencer who authentically promotes your product and their followers know it. Second, would be retargeting them with ads!
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
Yes! I manufacture everything in house. I work out of a commercial kitchen that has 60 quart Hobart mixers (it’s taller/bigger than most people). We can produce almost 75- 100lbs in one batch! I’ve looked at contracting a manufacturer but: 1. Not big enough yet
2. Put a lot hand touches into my products that machines can’t do.
3. Demand for each flavor isn’t consistently the same
4. I don’t use preservatives so nothing gets shipped it it’s older than 2-3 weeks.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hiitnutrition.com
- Instagram: @hiitnutrition
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/HiiTNutrition