From Reality TV Star to Launching an Innovative CPG Food Product with Lauryn Bodden
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What happens when you step out of your comfort zone? If you are Lauryn Bodden, you win a Netflix cooking competition and launch a new food brand.
In this episode, Lauryn shares how her turn as a reluctant reality tv star inspired her to launch an innovative CPG food product. She discusses starting her snack brand, S’NOODS and the challenges that she faced along the way. Lauryn also emphasizes the importance of finding a supportive community of fellow founders and how seeking advice from experienced individuals has been invaluable during her entrepreneurial journey.
Subscribe to the Food Means Business Podcast with Hudson Kitchen founder Djenaba Johnson-Jones to hear the personal stories and “secret ingredients” of abandoning your day job and starting a CPG food business.
In this episode, you’ll learn...
03:39 What led Lauryn to audition for Netflix’s Snack vs Chef cooking competition
06:44 How she came up with the idea and name for S’NOODS
09:05 The challenges she faced with launching her CPG product
13:05 Why community and support is so important for founders
14:58 Lauryn’s experience preparing for and attending this year’s Natural Products Expo West trade show
20:55 How she practices self care
If you want to learn more on how to introduce innovative CPG products, be sure to tune into this episode:
Links mentioned in this episode…
Netflix’s Snack vs Chef cooking competition
About Lauryn Bodden:
Lauryn is a freelance recipe developer, private chef, culinary producer, and food editor. She won Netflix’s newest cooking competition Snack vs Chef, which pushed her to launch her very own snack brand: S’NOODS.
Connect with LAURYN:
Connect with Lauryn on LinkedIn
Stay Connected with Djenaba Johnson-Jones:
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Djenaba Johnson-Jones (00:00.644)
All right, Lauren, welcome to the Food Means Business Podcast. I'm so happy that you're here.
Lauryn Bodden (00:06.458)
I'm so happy to be here! Thank you so much for having me!
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (00:09.852)
Absolutely. So I was doing my research and I came up with one word to describe you and that Yeah, and that would be Unicorn like you've done everything Everything like literally everything so
Lauryn Bodden (00:15.698)
Oh my gosh, okay.
Lauryn Bodden (00:25.87)
I mean, it definitely feels that way, but that feels so nice to be called a unicorn. So I'm just gonna take that in for a second. Thank you.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (00:32.781)
I'm gonna go.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (00:36.228)
We're manifesting things for your business as well. So that's how it goes. So I would love to, I mean, I read all about you, but I'd love for you to tell our audience all about your kind of career trajectory. You've done quite a few things, including working at D Magazine, where I worked many years ago. So we'd love to hear about it.
Lauryn Bodden (00:40.202)
Amazing, great, love that for me.
Lauryn Bodden (00:53.538)
Yes!
Lauryn Bodden (00:57.626)
I love a little Dallas connection. Yeah, I mean, it's so funny because for me, I just always wanted to work in food. Growing up, I just loved food. I think it's because my family just put such an emphasis on gathering around food. And so I wanted to go to culinary school off the bat. My parents were like, no, let's do a degree first. So that's how I landed in Dallas. I went to SMU. And while I was there, I was...
doing a communications major. I wanted to intern abroad because I had never really traveled before. So came to... I got a research grant setting the food systems of London and the US and it was kind of the time when blogs were just becoming a thing. Instagram just launched and so blogs were like the happening thing and a lot of people asked me to start writing for them because of this. I was still in college. This was just mind-blowing for me and with that
I started writing for D Magazine. So that's kind of, it came full circle. I brought my way back to food and then moved to New York right after I graduated because everyone was like, if you wanna work in food, you have to be there. And so I started in PR and I was like, ah, this doesn't really stick. I ended up going to culinary school finally. I worked in restaurants, both savory and pastry. I worked for Gail Simmons, who's one of the judges on Top Chef, doing a little bit of...
brand recognition as well as recipe development. I worked for a meal kit. I really have just, I think it's not just that I hadn't really found my niche, but it was more so I was just so thirsty to learn every aspect that I could. And so I then became a food editor for another online site, The Spruce Eats. And from there I found myself on Netflix's Snack vs. Chef. And...
Now I have a snack brand. It's wild.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (02:55.404)
It's so crazy. So let's talk about the Netflix special for a second, because yes, I forgot reality's TV star is on your resume. Tell us why you decided to audition. How did that come about?
Lauryn Bodden (03:03.19)
Yeah, I forget too.
Lauryn Bodden (03:10.302)
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it was during the pandemic and it was kind of this point where, again, I was like, I'm looking for something new, something else to do. I mean, Facebook is a wonderful place. I think there's a lot of different communities on there, especially if you're a freelancer or a small business owner to find these communities of support. And someone was looking for a judge for a new snack show. I was like, I'm not qualified, but I'll apply.
And the woman came back, she's like, well, we're kind of looking for someone that's more qualified. I was like, no way. So she was like, I love your background. Would you ever think of competing? To which I said, no. It's just, I've always been behind the camera and I just never felt like, honestly, I didn't feel like I was good enough to compete. I have terrible anxiety issues. And so she's like, that's just not the place for me. And
She mentioned Netflix and talked me into it. And yeah, I mean, I'm so happy that I did, I think, because a lot of that imposter syndrome I worked through on the show and the producers very much helped with that. They were huge advocates of me. And so it was, I mean, obviously life-changing that I did that.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (04:31.16)
It's so great because you stepped outside of your comfort zone in a pretty big way and it led to something amazing. So let's talk about the product you created on the show and how it kind of led to you starting your company now.
Lauryn Bodden (04:43.518)
Yeah, I mean, we got to the finale of the show and the producers were like, okay, do you have an idea of what you're going to make? Because they definitely, it is very much on the fly. We're doing these ideas. And if I'm being honest, I did not think I would make it to the finale. So I never got to the point that I was tossing around ideas of what would be my big snack creation. And so I kind of...
trying to think of something, I was like, I just really want to snack on a bowl of noodles. That's like a big comfort thing for me. And I was like, well, why can't that just be a snack? And so I came up with a variation on the show and it resonated so well with the judges. And then after the show came out, everyone was like, I love this so much because I think that there is a bowl of noodles basically in every culture. And it is a very comforting thing for a lot of people. So
For me, it was this way to, yes, kind of innovate the snack aisle, which was a huge thing that was happening during the pandemic, but also kind of introducing these different flavors that I've learned as a chef and different passions of mine, like sustainability, in this more accessible and approachable way. So it was very much this culmination of just everything I've done in my career and more.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (06:07.6)
So what is the name of your product and why did you name it? Why did you name it that?
Lauryn Bodden (06:11.334)
Yeah, the name of my product is snoods. And so yes, let me just tell you what exactly my product is for everyone that doesn't know snoods are noodle chips. They are chip forward noodle inspired is how I like to describe them. So it's very much like you're eating a potato chip. But yeah, bringing in these different aspects of a full noodle experience.
you're getting the different noodle shapes via the chip itself and then sauces via the seasoning. And I came up with snoods because I was kind of thinking of these different, I think really big brands that have always just stuck with me and snacking occasions and a lot of like nostalgia. I think of nostalgia when I think of snacks and I automatically then think of Sandlot.
And so I was thinking of that s'mores scene and it was just, it kind of stuck with me how it's you're taking this word and you can kind of play with it so much. I'm a big pun person. So s'more of this, s'more of that. And I was like, snoods, like snack noodles. And very much how I think the snack is perceived, it's kind of choose your own adventure, enjoy it however you want, fit into your lifestyle however you want. That's the same.
impetus with snoods. It can be it can stand for snack noodles, it can stand for salad noodles, it can stand for send moods. So it's choose your own adventure, which I love because I think that food is very much you should have your own personal connection to it. And whether it's how you think about food and how you enjoy it, but it's you know, like let's not be mindless eaters. Let's enjoy and appreciate what we're putting into our bodies.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (08:06.116)
Yeah, so you finished the program. You figure out you're going to make this product. What do you do next? Because while you have a ton of experience, launching a CPG product is no small feat, right? So talk a little bit about who did you surround yourself with? What kind of challenges did you face? Give us the lowdown.
Lauryn Bodden (08:29.118)
Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of experience in food. I have no, I mean, I have somewhat experience in CPG. I worked for a meal kit, and so I could see kind of the procurement side of things. And I think between that experience as well as working in media, I saw how people perceive food and different trends going on. But those things are kind of maybe a little bit in the initial phase, but.
once it's kind of more so once you have the product. And so figuring out how am I going to make a packaged good a shelf stable good. I don't have this kind of food science background. Also the operation side. And so for me, I, I actually contacted Helen Park, who is one of the judges on snack versus chef. She's in New York as well. And so it was many a coffee dates, many like dates just
Again, eating noodles while we're also talking about how we're going to make this product. She was definitely driving force guiding light for me. I am so grateful. And she really helped me get things off the ground to the point where I did a Kickstarter initially. And that was kind of my way of getting funds as well as a little bit of sales traction.
across the board, finding investors and fundraising for CPG brands is really hard, just in general. And so you kind of have to be a lot farther along than you did, say, 10 years ago. And so Kickstarter was a great way for me to kind of show some of that traction and also bring some of that buzz from the show and keep it going. And then I joined an organization called Startup CPG.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (10:21.74)
Yeah, they're amazing.
Lauryn Bodden (10:23.122)
that it's, I feel like I just owe them everything because they provide just endless resources between different grants as well as just, I think, having access to different founders and suppliers and just being able to just even be in their Slack channel just searching for answers to random things that I think early on I was really nervous to ask questions because you're so fearful of just...
looking stupid and sounding stupid. But now I'm quite okay with sounding stupid. You get over it quickly. So yeah. Yeah. And I think it's surrounding myself, finding other founders, whether it be like a product that's similar and maybe I might be able to use them as a resource for my journey or just finding any founder that's kind of in the same stage as I am. So that way we can kind of...
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (10:59.916)
You do, you definitely do, that's for sure.
Lauryn Bodden (11:21.054)
have therapy sessions together, as well as, you know, someone that's a little more ahead, so you can use them as a guiding light. It's, yeah, constantly finding that community.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (11:32.132)
Yeah, I think the community is the most important thing, actually, because it's kind of, and it's a little bit lonely to start something, and it's kind of all about, I don't know about you, but I constantly think about my business all the time, and to be with other people that you know are doing the same thing feels kind of nice and comforting.
Lauryn Bodden (11:52.714)
Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's so lonely, it's so lonely. And then I think it's just, you constantly feel this sense of kind of overwhelming and like you're just always doing everything wrong because it just constantly feels like everything's on fire and it will continue to feel like that. And things may be on fire, but it's kind of like, it's part of the game and you just have to get comfortable.
with that. So yeah, definitely finding people that are in that same space to be like, no, it's okay. It's supposed to be like this.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (12:29.217)
So, last week you wrote this on Instagram. You said, this time last year, I was going through it in all caps, dealing with so much uncertainty and honestly hopelessness for how to make this company happen. I felt like I wasn't making much progress, but Joe has kept the train moving and wow, did it go from zero to 60 real quick. Can you talk a little bit about Joe and what happened?
Lauryn Bodden (12:53.634)
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I, for me at that time, at this time last year, I really had no idea how I was going to make the product, where I was going to come up with funds, where to even start. And Joe's a really good friend of mine. She came on initially after this show came out and she was like, I feel like you are just...
such a magical person and you have this great product and I don't care where you put me in, but just put me in coach, like I just wanna help and support you. And so she was kind of always this person in the background and we would just have meetings. And sometimes I feel like I would come to meetings and be like, I have no news. Like there, I swear I'm working on things, but like nothing is happening. And she just was always very supportive of me. And again, it's having this community of people that are just like,
keep going. And as snoots has grown, her role has kind of also grown with the company. And so she's come on in a bigger role, basically employee number two with me. So yeah, it's felt great to have someone that I know, love and trust as a friend, but that also is such a rock star and all these other aspects. And so now I can also bring her on in.
Yeah, these bigger roles as we're rapidly scaling.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (14:21.836)
I love that. So you guys recently went to Expo West, and I'd love to hear about your experience. I was really, when I was talking to Sarah, who you work with on PR, and she mentioned that you guys were going, I was really excited too, because I really wanted to hear, what did you do to prepare before you got there? And then how did it actually go? What would you do differently next time?
Lauryn Bodden (14:45.322)
Yeah, I mean, so I threw Startup CPG, actually, I had gotten a booth grant to Expo East, which was it was this last 2023 was their last year. And I found out over the summer that I was getting this grant for a booth at Expo East while so side note, I work as a private chef on sailing charters to pay the rent.
And so I was on charter in the Mediterranean when I got a notification that I was chosen as a brand to exhibit at Expo East. So it was very much like, okay, we need to get a commercial kitchen. We need to get Patrick packagings that we I didn't really have anything at that time. So I think having this big expo already under my belt where I was not really prepared in like I was prepared for it. But, you know, not like.
your other bigger brands that have like these really set in stone packaged products. For me, I was still trying to figure out what my exact formulation was and the right texture and all these little components. But I think after coming away from that and knowing that I can very much use these experiences to still grow and still learn, I don't have to ever have everything buttoned up. So I had a little bit of experience with that.
And Expo West is, I mean, Expo East is like 20,000 people and Expo West is like 70,000. So bigger, bigger ball game. I knew that I wouldn't be able to pay for a booth at that one, but there's so many other opportunities between different sampling events that are outside the Expo, just walking the floor and honestly like throwing bags of snoods out of my bag. And...
just setting meetings with investors, with buyers, with anyone that I can find on LinkedIn that is going. So I felt really prepared going into it. I knew my goals. I'm still actively looking for advisors and investors to really grow the top part of my company. So for all of these big milestones that we have coming up. So I think it's a really important...
Lauryn Bodden (17:03.33)
going into something like this with specific goals, whether that's like, I really wanna talk to this one person or I wanna come away with at least four contacts for one potential advisor. And so you, no matter what you come out of it, feeling this sense of purpose and like, oh, right, this really was worth it. And so for me, I actually got a grant or I was awarded the opportunity to sample at Startup CPG's Alley Rally event. They chose 13 brands.
And that, yeah, that was a great chance to sample our new formulation of our chips and get the feedback and still meet buyers and not have to spend this crazy amount of money that is really hard for startups.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (17:47.92)
Right? That's great. That's amazing. It looks like it was a lot of fun. I actually had some FOMO. I was like, I have no need to go to Expo West. But I really wanted to go this year. Ha ha.
Lauryn Bodden (18:00.218)
It's funny, I feel like I describe these expos as camp. You know, you go and it's a lot of times you see different buyers that you only talk to on the phone or even other founders that are across the country and you're running into them or you're seeing like, you're meeting the founders of your favorite brand for the first time and you're all just like nerding out about things that you really can't talk to anyone else about and it's just, it's an exciting time for sure.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (18:29.776)
Definitely, definitely. So what piece of advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur, someone that is in your place, a place you were a year ago? What's some advice you'd give them?
Lauryn Bodden (18:45.558)
be patient things. I mean, it feels like nothing is happening and then all of a sudden everything will start happening. And then at the same time, things, like I said, will go from zero to 60 and you kind of have to keep doing these zero to 60 pause, zero to 60 pause because there's just so much to do and you wanna do it right. A lot of times, I mean,
I found sometimes you get a couple of chances, which is nice, but a lot of times you only get one chance. So you want to make it count. You want to make it worth it. And also, I mean, you only have so much money to spend as a startup before you start seeing the money kind of come back into your account. So it's just, yeah, being diligent, being patient, keep working at it and find your community. There's a lot of communities out there. Startup CPG, you know, you got it.
You have to join the community. You'll find all of us there. We can have therapy sessions together. Yeah, and just keep going. I think that is the biggest thing. Every time I talk to other founders, we're all just like, should we quit? Should we quit? Like this is a lot. And we all just keep telling each other, no. I mean, what we have is great. It's worth it. Just keep going. We'll get there.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (19:54.108)
We're going to have to wait for the next one.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (20:03.832)
sure, for sure. So what are you doing to take care of yourself? Because I have to imagine, well if you're like me, you work a lot, right? So like how are you taking care of yourself just to kind of make sure that you get that rest and that's so that you can keep going?
Lauryn Bodden (20:18.89)
Yeah, I think it's giving myself a lot of grace. Things that otherwise would have maybe, I can be very type A. And like I said, I have a lot of anxiety that I work through. And so just, I think giving myself actual working hours. I mean, obviously those change and shift depending on things that are going on, but trying to stay within a timeframe each day where I know I'm getting some sleep.
Because if I'm so tired that I can't focus and I can't do things the next day, then I mean things are just going to fall farther and farther behind. And I definitely need a day. This sounds so bad, but I think with how crazy life is and how kind of organized chaos, the rest of work and that the business kind of bleeds into your personal because it all just becomes one. I need a day where I'm just not doing anything. And.
I just need to be kind of like a little bit mindless. I think that I have put so much brain power into creating this business that I'm slowly losing all of my brain cells for every other aspect of my life. So we need like a day to kind of reset or at least a couple hours of a day. So yeah, just giving grace, not letting myself feel bad if I miss a deadline that it doesn't matter. Like the world will go on.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (21:31.068)
Thanks for watching.
Lauryn Bodden (21:48.342)
We will get there eventually. Yeah.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (21:53.732)
Cool. So yeah, I think it's really important to figure that out. I haven't gotten to the point where I'm taking a full day yet and that I shouldn't be doing that. It's definitely a goal for sure. Like for sure to rest. Because you're right. Because a lot of the times the deadlines are just arbitrary. Like it's your deadline that you put on yourself. It doesn't have anything to do with anything that's actually real. So.
Lauryn Bodden (22:00.778)
Right? I say that and I'm like, am I though? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Lauryn Bodden (22:15.703)
Yeah.
Lauryn Bodden (22:20.063)
Right, right.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (22:22.888)
So we have a Money Bell at Hudson Kitchen that we ring when we're celebrating something. So I wanted to find out, like, what are you celebrating right now? It could be personal, it could be professional, anything.
Lauryn Bodden (22:34.27)
Yeah, so I have thought about this. I did know about the MoneyVal. And it's funny because initially I'm just like everything. I just feel so good about everything. But like I mentioned at Expo West, I did this sampling for Startup CPG with 12 other brands, there's 13 of us. And I actually did not realize until the week up that there was a voting component to it. And I was just happy to be there. And...
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (22:58.684)
I'm gonna go to bed.
Lauryn Bodden (23:02.91)
We at Snoods won out of all of the brands. It was the favorite. And so that means that we get a free booth at Expo West next year, which is just astronomical for a small startup. And it's, I would say it's, that part is just unreal in and of itself, but it's really this, we debuted our new formulation for these chips. We've been really struggling to find the right,
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (23:14.576)
That is amazing. Yes, that's amazing.
Lauryn Bodden (23:31.822)
texture between crunch and not too crunchy. That's kind of where we wanna fall with our snack and be the differentiator. And so figuring out it has been a long road and I felt for the first time just beyond confident in what we have and the product. And I think we've been steadily growing and getting our feedback and making these small changes. And now I'm like, this is it. This is, I'm just so stoked.
to go on from here and with everything else that we have coming up this year to start doing more samplings and get boots on the ground with our consumers and meet everyone because snooze is just going to take off after this.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (24:20.508)
That's amazing. Congratulations on everything that you've done so far. So Lauren, let everyone know where they can find out about you and Snoods
Lauryn Bodden (24:22.262)
Thank you.
Lauryn Bodden (24:29.302)
Yeah, you can find Snoods online at EatSnoods.com. We're on Instagram at EatSnoods as well. You can email me at hello at EatSnoods.com, also on LinkedIn. Slide into my DMs email. I mean, I'm available any which way works for you.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones (24:49.61)
Amazing. Thank you so much for being here.
Lauryn Bodden (24:51.542)
Thank you.