159: Building a Health Food Giant with Tammy D'Onofrio from FitChick Granola

Tammy D’Onofrio grew up in the midwest where the only fresh and natural thing in their kitchen was corn on the cob.  She said that she ate a lot of processed food and rarely saw fresh fruits and vegetables. She was also Raised by overweight smokers. HOWEVER, she had a grandmother who was ahead of her generation. Tammy said that she  would often find her exercising at 5am, eating ‘strange’ things like all natural peanut butter, wheat germ by the spoonful and ‘plain’ yogurt. she even grew her own vegetables. Tammy  spent hours with her growing up. Helping her weed the garden and plant flowers. She was always talking about moving your body, eating healthy and wearing sunscreen. She was by far my most profoundly positive influence in Tammy's life and she forged a path that I would eventually follow. Fast forward to 2010, Tammy was suddenly a single mom with a 2 yr old and a 5 year old. This is when I met Tammy! We bonded over new divorces, being newly single , our love of health and fitness and became fast friends Tammy, Quickly figured out that she needed to figure out a way to support herself and her babies. She started offering group workouts and personal training to the moms in her community. She counseled them on nutrition and would bring snacks to their workout sessions. The granola she made was a huge hit. Ultimately, her clients convinced her it was a marketable health food product....Natalie was one of those first customers! Thus, FitChick Granola was born. She launched it in 2014 in San Diego at a tiny local grocery store. Today she has over 50 retail partners. Join in today and learn EXACTLY HOW Tammy D’Onofrio leveled up and created EVERYTHING from NOTHING. In this episode, we talk about: Why you should listen to your audience What it takes to build a brand Why adversity can create opportunity Why it's important to spend time with people who motivate