We recently connected with Massiel Villanueva and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Massiel, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Absolutely — here’s a meaningful and heartfelt response you can use:

Our mission at YÜJ is to make clean, nourishing food accessible to real families , especially those often left out of the wellness conversation. But this mission didn’t come from a trend. It came from desperation, love, and a mother’s instinct to heal.

When my youngest son was diagnosed with an immune deficiency, I turned to what I knew best …food. As a chef and a mom, I cleaned out our pantry, removed preservatives, gluten, and artificial ingredients, and started creating simple, healing recipes from scratch. The changes in his health were undeniable and it became clear that so many other families were searching for the same thing: food that feels good, does good and taste good.

YÜJ was born from that journey from my kitchen, from my culture, and from the belief that everyone deserves better. We’re not just selling granola we’re helping people reclaim their health, one bite at a time.

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?

Hi, I’m Massiel Villanueva, founder of YÜJ Granola, a conscious granola brand created out of love, necessity, and a deep belief in the power of food to heal. I’m originally from the Dominican Republic and came to the U.S. to study culinary arts and international business. My passion has always been rooted in creating food that brings people together but my journey into the health food industry began the moment my youngest son was diagnosed with an immune deficiency.

Faced with fear and unanswered questions, I did what any mother would do I fought for his wellness. I started by transforming our pantry, eliminating preservatives, gluten, and anything artificial. As I began cooking from scratch using whole, natural ingredients, I saw dramatic improvements in my son’s health and in our entire family’s well-being. But when I went looking for convenient, clean snacks that met our new lifestyle, I realized how limited the options were especially ones that actually tasted good.

That’s when I created YÜJ. Our first product was a soft-baked granola that was vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and made without preservatives but full of flavor and soul. We now offer a growing line of bars, bites, and cereals, all designed for modern, busy families who want real food they can trust. We’ve taken special care to make our products easy to eat (great for kids, elderly, and people with dental challenges) and easy to love with clean labels, accessible pricing, and a brand rooted in culture and purpose.

What sets YÜJ apart isn’t just the ingredients it’s the intention behind every bite. We’re a Latina-founded, family-driven brand that cares deeply about who we serve. We’re proudly on shelves at Schnucks and soon to be expanding with the help of programs like Walmart Open Call. Our dream is to be in every pantry across America not just as a snack, but as a symbol of healing, love, and possibility.

I’m most proud that we’ve created something that started in our home and is now helping other families feel nourished, empowered, and seen. If you’ve ever felt overlooked by the health food industry YÜJ is for you. We’re just getting started.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of the most defining moments of resilience in my journey was when I had to pause YÜJ. I started the brand before COVID, driven by my son’s health journey and my passion for creating healing, honest food. But then the world shut down. I went through a thyroidectomy during the pandemic and became a single mother of three it was overwhelming on every level.

I made the difficult decision to put everything on hold until 2023. I needed to heal, focus on my children, and rebuild from the inside out. But even through the pause, the vision never left me. When I came back to YÜJ, I came back stronger, more grounded, and clearer than ever on our mission. That time taught me that resilience doesn’t always look like pushing through sometimes, it looks like resting, resetting, and then rising again with purpose.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We currently sell primarily in retail stores. We’re about to launch into 76 Schnucks locations and recently won Walmart Open Call, which means we’ll be in Arkansas soon a huge milestone for our brand.

We originally explored DTC through our website, but the cost of customer acquisition, shipping, and fulfillment was incredibly high especially for a small, bootstrapped brand. Honestly, I haven’t fully cracked the DTC code yet, and rather than burn through resources, we chose to focus on retail where we’ve seen faster traction and more predictable growth.

Retail has allowed us to meet our customers where they already shop, build brand trust, and scale more sustainably. We still plan to optimize our e-commerce channel in the future, but for now, retail has been the smartest and most impactful path for YÜJ.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yujgranola.com
• Instagram: yujgranola
• Facebook: yujgranola
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/massiel-villanueva-5ba38b198
• Youtube: @eatyuj