We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laurie Urbancik. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laurie below.

Laurie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

Someone said to me, your company is a bit of a disruptor! Wow, I think that is actually a compliment. It means I am a pioneer. A visionary thinker. Someone who sees the need ahead of ‘the pack.’ I mean, group think is a real psychological phenomenon. Let me explain some background here. During my recovery from a health crisis, I made a number of changes to my diet to give my body and mind a chance to recover from a 25 year career of stress and intense working conditions. I was advised by a functional medical doctor to give up gluten, dairy, processed sugar, eggs, soy. Good luck finding any snack or dessert without those ingredients!!! 8 years ago they simply didn’t exist and nowadays it is still very difficult to find them. Eating a treat is fun and uplifts us in many ways so the thought of giving up all of the treats I enjoyed – like a cookie, bar/bite, granola, donut, cake, chocolate – put me into a bit of depression. So begins the story of my company No Sugar Momma! In 2017, I came up with all the treats I could not buy in stores which means not processed, full of natural ingredients and absent all the harmful or disruptive ingredients. All these years later I have people asking me who my competitors are. My answer is I don’t have them because the industry has not fully embraced treats without gluten and dairy, eggs and processed sugar. It’s my experience that if a treat is absent gluten, it often has dairy, egg and sugar….sometimes even more sugar! If a vegan treat is dairy free, it often has extra sugar and perhaps even soy. And in many cases, sugar free treats are loaded with invented forms of sweeteners which can be called sugar alcohols and a number of other ones that sound like a science project. The ability to eat clean treats that actually provide nutrition is highly relevant because the United States is a country showing statistics of its sick and “dis-eased” – meaning lack of ease, citizens. All you have to do is search the internet to see the US leads the world in money spent on health problems and the use of prescription drugs. Numbers are climbing for people that have diabetes, cancer, heart disease or simply overweight. No Sugar Momma provides treats that contain low glycemic sweeteners, whole foods and grains, good fats – the type of ingredients that provide your body with proteins, fibers, good fats, nutrients, etc.

Laurie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Tasty Treats. Real Food. No Sugar.

Indulgent, nutritionally rich treats free of processed sugar ands allergens to elevate your well-being and delight your taste buds. Your body, brain, and spirit will taste and feel our real food and ingredients, making you satisfied and nourished.

We uniquely use Dates, Honey and Maple Syrup instead of processed sugar so your body receives the benefit of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Processed sugars are ‘empty calories’ and are associated with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other chronic health problems as documented in numerous studies.

We are a company on a mission! We are becoming more known and popular because the snackers want what we are bringing to the market. We have a true desire to help people lead their best lives and we are doing good for the planet as well. Below are some key points to help CanvasRebel readers to understand who we are and why we are relevant in today’s world of treats:

1. WE PROVIDE: Decadent treats that are fun and tasty to eat! Loaded with healthy fats
and carbohydrates, good proteins and fiber and healthy doses of
vitamins and minerals.

2. WE ARE PROUD OF: This product line is clean. Meaning, common allergens are not included such as gluten, dairy, processed sugars and soy. They are also egg free as eggs – both the white and yolk – are foods that some people are sensitive to and have allergic reactions or gut upset when they consume them.

3. WE ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE REST: Because No Sugar Momma snacks and desserts are “real food” products they are satisfying to eat and they fill you up without having to eat large quantities in order to satisfy the sweet tooth. People often say,“they taste like they are good for you!!!”

4. WE SUPPORT A VARIETY OF AUDIENCES ENJOY GUILTLESS TREATS:: No Sugar Momma snacks and desserts support a number of specialty diets (food allergies or sensitivities, low glycemic for diabetics, weight conscious, healthy lifestyle, athlete) or food preferences (vegan, keto friendly and they are also for the “regular crowd” of treat eaters that are looking to upgrade the quality of their fun snacks and desserts.

5. WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE GREATER GOOD: No Sugar Momma is a company with a commitment to make the world a better place by sharing sweet treats you can eat without feeling like you are “cheating” or feel “guilty” to enjoy something fun to eat. And equally as important, it’s a company committed to funding good Earth causes like helping the planet and people with charitable donations. We contribute 10% of our profits to support humankind, Earth, animals, plants and other living creatures.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I found the true essence of my resilience as I looked to bring products to the market. I knew it was not a good move for me to bake my own products so I looked for a baker for over 2 years. I thought I had a ‘yes’ many times only to find the baker found a reason to say no. I started to question my decision to use another baker and almost caved in a few times to buy a space and staff with baking employees even though my gut said ‘don’t do it!” Two years later and a number of conversations later I found my “yes” with a candy-maker baker in another state who said yes. She turned out to be the jackpot! And to think I almost didn’t ask her because she was primarily into candies. I learned resilience pays off and so does visionary thinking. Look at business solutions that seem even non-traditional. That’s where the magic can be hiding, you just need courage to go after it!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I unlearned is stay with the plan. What?!?!? Yep, be bold enough to deviate what you thought was the right path, approach, plan. Sometimes we have ‘summit fever’ meaning we have a goal or destination in mind and we are unable to back away from it. My advice, trust your gut! Sometimes the flow chart shifts and that’s where a true entrepreneur has to be able to see and feel shifting business conditions.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nosugarmomma.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/no_sugar_momma/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thenosugarmomma
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/laurieurbancikpmp
• Twitter: twitter.com/no_sugar_momma/
• Youtube: @laurieurbancik5992

Image Credits
Laurie Urbancik