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In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Caitlin Bricker speaks with Amie Kesler, founder of Carolyn’s Krisps—a rapidly growing, better-for-you snack brand reinventing a cherished family recipe into a modern, dairy-free and gluten-free product line. What began as a nostalgic cheddar crisp made by Amie’s grandmother has evolved into a differentiated portfolio of sweet and savory snacks defined by unique texture, bold flavor profiles, and a strong emphasis on inclusivity and quality.
Amie discusses the early days of the business—from hand-rolling dough and selling through a cubicle sign-up sheet to operating a self-manufactured brand in its fourth commercial facility. She shares how a disciplined, incremental approach to R&D and retail allowed Carolyn’s Krisps to scale without compromising its product integrity or financial fundamentals.
The conversation explores what it means to build a brand with intention: leveraging independent retailers as strategic partners, investing in operational efficiency, navigating pack size and pricing decisions, and planning for regional expansion. Amie also reflects on the importance of maintaining a strong brand identity while introducing innovative formats, including seasonal chocolate bark and nostalgic flavor combinations.
In addition, she provides valuable insights from opening Carolyn’s Krisps’ pop-up snack shop—a curated retail environment featuring other emerging brands. Making the shift from founder to buyer has reshaped her perspective on relationship-building, product presentation, pricing, and communication, offering lessons that are applicable for CPG operators at all stages.
Listen in as they share about:
- The evolution of Carolyn’s Krisps from family recipe to commercial product line
- Developing better-for-you snacks driven by nostalgia, taste, and texture
- Scaling manufacturing responsibly while maintaining product quality
- Leveraging independent retailers and community-driven growth
- Pricing, pack architecture, and trade spend considerations for retail expansion
- Insights gained from operating a pop-up retail space
- Best practices for brand communication, follow-up, and relationship management
- Creating memorable customer experiences through thoughtful details
- Exploring new formats and limited-run innovations
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahkesler/
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (30K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Creators and Guests
What is The Startup CPG Podcast?
The top CPG podcast in the world, highlighting stories from founders, buyer spotlights, highly practical industry insights - all to give you a better chance at success.
Amie Kesler
When it started, it was very grassroots like I started in Chicago. I think Chicago is one of the best cities to start a CPG brand in. Just from the community and like even location in the country because we're, you know, right in the center. But it was really starting with a lot of independent retailers and testing. Like my philosophy was with everything is just this incremental test. Like I always want to test small and just get the feedback and then reiterate and keep going.
00:39
Caitlin Bricker
Hey everybody, this is Caitlin Bricker, editor at startup cpg. We are back with another founder feature. Today we're talking with Amy Kessler, founder of Carolyn's Crisps, a dairy free, gluten free cookie cracker hybrid that started as her grandmother's cheddar crisp recipe. After selling them from her cubicle, Amy spent the pandemic reimagining her grandmother Carolyn's recipe with better for you ingredients while keeping the soul of what made them special. From hand rolling every batch in her home kitchen to moving into her fourth commercial space that's quadruple the size, she's building a business that honors food as a love language. Now she's not just a brand founder. She's also opened a pop up snack shop in Chicago where she's stocking other small brands and learning just what it's like to be on the buyer side of the equation.
01:27
Caitlin Bricker
Amy is acing the snack magic game and I cannot wait for you to get your paws on these. Enjoy. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the startup CPG podcast. This is Kaitlyn and today I'm here with Amy Kessler, founder of Carolyn's Crisps. Amy, welcome to the show.
01:45
Amie Kesler
Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. I'm honored to be here.
01:49
Caitlin Bricker
I am so happy to have you here. You were a Shelfie awards finalist and your products. For me, a word that came to mind when I had them was witchcraft. I could not, I could not get over your products. I also couldn't stop eating them, but that's a personal problem, I guess.
02:11
Amie Kesler
I love that. Oh my God. Witchcraft. That's. I'm here for that. I call it snack magic.
02:17
Caitlin Bricker
That works too. Hey, they're in the same vein.
02:20
Amie Kesler
Yeah, totally.
02:22
Caitlin Bricker
So for anybody who's listening right now, and it is not familiar with Carolyn's Crisps. Let's get them familiar. Can you give us a little snippet, a little blurb about what Carolyn's Crisps is?
02:33
Amie Kesler
Yeah, totally. So our brand. Carolyn is my grandma. I'll start from history wise. So it's really entire company based off of her cheddar cookie cracker crisp that she used to make. And she was known for them. And so my whole vision was really taking her recipe, reimagining it with better for you ingredients, really checking a lot of boxes with, like, being dairy free, gluten free, and soy free, and just bringing something that I love and my family love to, like a wider audience and expanding. I mean, we have lots more flavors than just our cheddar crisp. That was our OG flavor. But everything is inspired by this nostalgia. So we have a cinnamon. It's like a toasted cinnamon sugar toast that I used to eat growing up. Like white bread, cinnamon sugar and butter. It's like such a comfort snack.
03:21
Amie Kesler
So I was like, how do we take that and put it in this format of this, like, hybrid cookie cracker? So long answer to your question. But yeah, we are, like here reimagining childhood snacks with butterfree ingredients across the board.
03:35
Caitlin Bricker
I personally love that you're helping carry your grandmother's legacy into food, which is now your legacy too, building this company. Can you tell us more about your grandmother? What was she like? What did she love to do? Was she always in the kitchen? I want to know more about her.
03:53
Amie Kesler
Totally. She was always the entertainer. She was really about her community. She, like, grew up in West Virginia, but then ended up coming to North Carolina, which is where I grew up, because that was where my parents landed and are still there. But it was very much like she was always going to church, always volunteering, always just helping wherever she could. And I feel like I just always had this, like, very vivid memory of her always making stuff and taking it to her neighbors or someone maybe was sick or had a sick relative. And she was just such a thoughtful, caring person. And my mom is very much the same way. And that has very much been passed down to me. And it's just this belief, particularly in our family, which I think is pretty across the board.
04:37
Amie Kesler
But food is a love language and it's a way that people connect and you bring people together. And it's like a breaks down barriers in a way too, which I always thought was so, like, sweet and endearing that you could make something for someone, like, even if you didn't know them that well. It was like such a thoughtful thing because you're like, I'm thinking about you know, I hope you're okay. And that was really like, where it all started. And like, I would be in the kitchen with her on the holidays, making them and with my mom. And then eventually I was Enjoying them on my own. And. Yeah, so food was always just that form of bringing people together and also sharing cultures and, like, backgrounds. And her.
05:16
Amie Kesler
These cheddar crisps that she would make, they're very much this hybrid of a West Virginia snack with, like, a Southern, like, cheese straw vibe, but like, in a totally different shape and, like, texture as well.
05:26
Caitlin Bricker
And did she come up with this recipe on her own or was she inspired by somebody else?
05:32
Amie Kesler
I think it was probably inspired by something like. I mean, I think a lot of grandmas have this very specific, like, I do this and I do that. Like, you do a little bit of this, a little bit that, and it's never written down. Like, that is the part that you're just like, okay, I could recreate your recipe, but it's not gonna be exactly the same. Cause I didn't know you had this little technique that was hidden in there. You know, that little, like, dash of love or whatever you wanna call it.
05:55
Caitlin Bricker
That's so funny about having it not written down, because they know it in their mind, and they're probably making these things all the time, and they're never gonna mess the recipe up. And then later on down the road, somebody like you is like, hey, I actually wanna make that recipe. These are the things, and these are the conversations I feel like we should be having with people while they're still here. Like, hey, Mom, I really liked that. My mom used to make this cream tuna and pea recipe. She's still here with me. And it probably can be found on the Internet, but it's just different when it's coming from the person that, you know making it.
06:33
Amie Kesler
Totally. It hits different. And I'm sure she has her own little techniques, too, you know, with what she adds and does and. For sure, absolutely. Yeah.
06:42
Caitlin Bricker
So tell me about the concept. So that it's your grandmother's recipe, and then you decide to turn this into a CPG brand. What did that look like? Did you have conversations with your family? Was there any pushback? Or was everyone just psyched that this was something that you were going to do?
06:59
Amie Kesler
Yeah, it's funny. I feel as if I fell into it by accident in a way, because the first time I ever made them by myself was I had a new job. They were doing this, like, company potluck meal, and I needed to bring something, and it was like the night before, and I was like, mom, like, I don't know what to do. And she's like, just make the cheddar crisps. Like, totally. And I was like, okay. Yeah, I think I could do that. She's like, yeah, yeah, you can do it. So she walked me through it. I did it. I took them to this event, and everyone was like, what are these? And how do I get the recipe? And I was like, I don't think I'm gonna share that. I don't know.
07:36
Amie Kesler
Something in me was just like, I think I'm gonna, like, keep that to myself for a little bit. And then people just kept asking for them. And eventually I did, like, start selling them like a Girl Scout. At the time, I had a cubicle. I was like a art director for a retail location in Wisconsin. And I would have a little signup sheet and people would, like, give me their orders. So then it took a few years. When I came back to Chicago, I was like, am I going to keep doing my marketing design or am I going to do this business? And I actually waited even longer, and then something hit. It was 2020 that I was making them again and sending them to this woman in D.C. and she was gluten free.
08:17
Amie Kesler
And so I was like, okay, I was making gluten free. I was like, how do I make this for everybody? And I started, like, tinkering and, like, passing it around to friends, and they're like, amy, I don't know what you did, but I think you should run with this. And so, like, the motivation of some really close friends, it was like, okay, let's go. And it was like, pandemic. Everyone probably did a little soul searching at that time too. Like, okay, am I really doing what I love and what I want to do? So then. My background is not in food, so I have learned so much in the last four years. I got involved with the hatchery here, which is an incubator program. So I really took as many classes as I could. Did some deep diving. Met so many awesome people.
08:58
Amie Kesler
Obviously, startup CPG. And then, yeah, launched in. It was like June 2021. I was our first event, and we actually started selling officially to the public, so.
09:09
Caitlin Bricker
Wow. So you started selling from a cubicle.
09:13
Amie Kesler
And now many years back and now.
09:16
Caitlin Bricker
What an evolution.
09:20
Amie Kesler
They used to be mason jars too, which is hilarious.
09:24
Caitlin Bricker
Not cost effective for shipping, I would assume.
09:26
Amie Kesler
No, not at all. And I've really actually kind of hard to get them in there. Like, it didn't, like, make a lot of sense, but it worked. I was like, people could actually bring back their jars and I would give them, like, a refill discount at the time. Sorry.
09:41
Caitlin Bricker
Hey, everybody has to start somewhere, right?
09:43
Amie Kesler
Yeah, yeah. For sure. Absolutely. Those are the good stories.
09:47
Caitlin Bricker
So it sounds like you had your own iteration of your grandmother's recipe. You added your own flair to it. And it sounds like inclusion was a big thing for you when it came to snacking on these cheddar crisps. Can you tell me a little bit more about the decision making that went into choosing the ingredients that you wanted to go into this recipe while still staying true to your grandmother's recipe?
10:12
Amie Kesler
Totally. Pretty much what you said was, I can't have dairy, I'm not celiac, but gluten doesn't love me. And I was really hearing that from a lot of other people. And there's a lot of snacks on the market. I just felt like I wasn't super satisfied with. And I felt like they were all like a similar shape, similar texture, even similar flavor profiles at times. And I was like, how can I take what my grandma had and made and like really kind of bring it to this new audience that you feel okay about eating them and you want to really enjoy them and you want to really feel satisfied at the same time. So it was a lot of R and D of being like, okay, how do I get this good dairy free cheese?
10:53
Amie Kesler
Like we use a coconut based cheese and everything, even the sweet ones, but you don't taste it in the sweet ones. And how do I make something? Like, I've always tinkered in the kitchen of like a lot of alternatives. So I've always like, loved some coconut sugar and tried to play with different swap outs, I guess throughout, like whenever I cook. So I knew of a lot of the ingredients that were out there. It was just like, how do I bring them together? But the funny thing is, when we started, I was learning everything by hand. I was in my kitchen just testing. And then as we've grown, we've purchased some equipment and gotten stuff for scale. And, and I remember we got this. It was like our first extruder. So it was like our bigger machine.
11:32
Amie Kesler
And I ran the dough through and I was like, oh, no, this was a mistake. This is so different. Like, this isn't going to work. A food scientist friend who had been helping me with the business came in and was like, no, you're like 80% there. Like, you gotta keep tweaking it and doing it. But it is this funny process of like, once you start adding in things for scale, how it changes. But we really worked to get it as close as it was to the original, and it's actually worked in our favor in the End. But it was just very funny. I like freaked out. I was like, I got to return this. I don't know, like this is. We're going to go back to hand rolling. Like, no.
12:05
Caitlin Bricker
So speaking of scaling, what does your business look like now versus what it looked like when you first started selling from that cubicle, then finally packaging a product. What is your growth looked like? And especially are you a solo founder? Does your team look like? So especially as a solo founder, what does that growth look like and what has it taken for you to get to this point?
12:29
Amie Kesler
Totally. It's funny, I mean, when I actually sit and think about it, I was like one pan at a time in the oven, like not efficient whatsoever. But I was very motivated of like cooking nonstop to get things sold and out the door. But then, yeah, it's been so incremental, to be honest. And we still self manufacture. So we are not co manning. That is very intentional from a control perspective, a money spend perspective. And you know, I can't say we might not do this forever. Like there will be maybe a co man, hopefully in one capacity at some time. But yeah, I think I've just taken the steps. Like we started in a shared kitchen, went to a smaller private kitchen. I mean, we're on our, I guess, fourth kitchen at this point.
13:15
Amie Kesler
We just moved this summer to a space that's like quadruple the size of what were in before. We actually have growing room where we are now versus like being stuffed in a little kitchen.
13:25
Caitlin Bricker
But wow, good for you.
13:27
Amie Kesler
Thank you. It feels really good. And again, it's a lot of learning. Like learning how to structure a manufacturing space. How do you run that space day to day?
13:38
Caitlin Bricker
What equipment?
13:40
Amie Kesler
Yeah, it's been a process.
13:41
Caitlin Bricker
I'm sure. There's so much that goes into it, like beyond my comprehension, honestly. I've never had a CPG brand myself, but I look at founders like yourself every day and I just know that it's not as simple as baking something in the kitchen and tossing it into a bag.
14:00
Amie Kesler
And you're always looking at efficiency. Like at this point you're always like, okay, like how do we get bigger so we can get bigger accounts and go to more stores? And what does that look like from a financial perspective? A team perspective. Yeah. And like always keeping that. It's like you're building your business right on the ground level, but then you're also always like, what's ahead and how do I get there? And. But keep it running at the same time.
14:26
Caitlin Bricker
Totally. Like I said, I can Only imagine I saw Carolyn's Chris on the Shelf for the first time. Personally, when I was out in Chicago, saw them at Fresh Time Market. I grabbed some. It was the maple ones. So good.
14:42
Amie Kesler
Thank you.
14:43
Caitlin Bricker
I did share a little bit with my co workers.
14:47
Amie Kesler
Everybody gets their own bag. Yes.
14:50
Caitlin Bricker
That should be a rule.
14:51
Amie Kesler
Yeah.
14:52
Caitlin Bricker
What did your retail strategy look like as you were growing and has it evolved to. To where you're at now?
14:59
Amie Kesler
Yeah, I mean, when it started, it was very grassroots, like I started in Chicago. I think Chicago is one of the best cities to start a CPG brand in just from a community and like even location in the country because we're right in the center. But it was really starting with a lot of independent retailers and testing like my philosophy with everything is just this incremental test. Like I always want to test small and just get the feedback and then reiterate and keep going. And I'm okay with taking a little bit of extra time to do that to make sure we're like giving the best product out there and we're hitting the right flavors and getting the response we need or if we need to adjust, then we can.
15:39
Amie Kesler
And having the ability to do that versus going too big too fast and feeling like it's harder to backtrack. But retail was, yeah, like, started with a ton of independent retailers. I mean, they really are still like the backbone of our business. But now it's really starting to look at more where we've got in Fresh Market and the Chicagoland area, which they are much larger than just Chicago, and bringing on like a brokerage to really help us next year to like push that sales a little further. And then when you do that, you're really looking at your trade spend and our pack size and the bag size and pricing on the shelf. Like, we're starting to dig deeper, deep, deep into that. To really get this, like central us going and then expanding to the coast from there is the goal.
16:25
Caitlin Bricker
Very cool. I am personally a fan of independent natural retailers. That's where I come from. I worked at an independent retailer. Not to say like the big box stores aren't great because they are. Everyone has access. It's obviously has its benefits, but there's just some sort of magic that happens when you're in the independent retailers. Always getting a hello when you walk into the store. People are very eager to help you and find that product that's fitting your needs. And that's been a consistent experience for me and all these independent retailers. So I love and respect when I Hear brands saying that they want to start slow and they want to do this very mindfully and work with those independent retailers because it really does help your brand.
17:11
Caitlin Bricker
I think it gets lost on a lot of people that the sales reps that are walking the floor become your inside sales reps, whether you realize it or not.
17:19
Amie Kesler
Absolutely. Yeah. And like, you know, they're for lack of better words, like they have a lot of skin in the game too. Like they want to keep their independent brand growing and they're also in a way competing with bigger stores so they more hands on, which I love. There is this beautiful thing of really creating the community around it because you get people in the community that love to support those independent stores. They love to support the independent brands. And I have seen that as we've evolved and grown to how people find us and like the big box store same like you get more eyes and you get more traffic but someone's got to know who you are before they're already like buying you in a big box store.
18:02
Caitlin Bricker
Totally. Which leads me into my next question. I see that you've been building your own pop up and you mentioned this earlier too. I to hear more about what that process looked like and opening the doors to your own store. You also mentioned that you had a design background. How are all these things coming together to create this pop up location and what has this been like for you?
18:26
Amie Kesler
Yeah, we opened our popup in September and it goes till early January. So just a really awesome opportunity. I've always wanted a storefront in some capacity and I never knew exactly how I was going to do it. But this was good to test it, to just understand because it is totally different business model and also I think being on the opposite side of almost being like the buyer now and like how are we marketing in store? How do you get people in the door? So it's really like a 180 perspective that I'm fully enjoying and I'm hoping I can take all this and like even apply it obviously to our growth and wholesale with new stores. So the whole purpose of this or vision was to create a snack shop. So it's called Carolyn's Chris Snack Shop.
19:10
Amie Kesler
Everything in the store is dairy free, gluten free and it was like let's make snacking easy and entertaining, fun and for the holiday season great for gifts and easy to purchase things and gift them to people. Which is like we talked about earlier, this idea of like food is love and care and we can bring people into this little nook of our Space and have them experience that too and want to share it with others. So we have our brand. I mean, lots of Carolyn's crisp. It's very crisp blue. We're always sampling. I've done one event so far. We have like four coming up in the next like month and a half. So I'm really excited for that.
19:47
Amie Kesler
But it's creating those experiences and the space and just the feels for people to come in and like, learn about our brand really intimately, but also finding a lot of other brands that I know and love but I can't always find in Chicago. So we have people from all over. I've sourced some stuff abroad, locally and beyond.
20:06
Caitlin Bricker
I did not realize that you were also stocking other brands. That is so cool. And I love that you're saying you get that buyer perspective. Are you now looking at your own brand in a different way after then having to evaluate other brands that you're stocking on the shelves?
20:23
Amie Kesler
Yeah, I think it's really interesting, especially pricing of like, understanding. And not that I didn't, but I think when you're on the other side of buying and you're like, okay, what's the price gonna be on shelf and how much am I paying with shipping? And I mean, we're working with smaller brands like ours too. So it's all everyone. We're not getting pallets, I guess is what I'm saying. But you're getting like, it is really interesting to see, like, understand that and even what the follow up's looking like. Just those, the relationships, I guess, because now you know what is like, really meaningful and really stands out to be on the other side and see that has been really fun and helping me take some little like, nuggets and start applying it to our brand as well.
21:04
Caitlin Bricker
That's really fun. I'm sure you probably have these moments where you're thinking, I want this for my future retail relationships. Yeah. Or I don't want this for my future retail relationships, or this could be done better. That's a really cool perspective that I, I don't think a lot of brands can add to their brand.
21:24
Amie Kesler
And even just the feeling of like, when you're opening a package, like, how does it feel? You know, Like, I know there's sometimes it's just a package, you just need it and you need to put it on shelf. But like, especially that, like, first order, like, how does it feel so special to an independent retailer to be like, oh my gosh, we're so excited to carry these people and how can you make that happen even more? Is a lot like something that has stood out to me a lot because I do remember the brands that have written the notes or given us little postcards.
21:52
Caitlin Bricker
Nothing beats a handwritten note in my opinion.
21:55
Amie Kesler
I know nothing. I agree, I agree. I mean I still write tons of notes for our brands going out to our customers regularly and it's like it does. And I agree that's something about it. Like it could be so simple but you're like they took a moment and that really matters.
22:09
Caitlin Bricker
Even just a thanks Caitlin or thanks Amy. Even just that. Just seeing like I want to grab all the pens on my desk right now, just seeing that human touch on your seat, opening the box, it does make a difference. That would be a big piece of advice for any brands listening from me. Do you have any pieces of advice now? Being on the brand side of things and being on the retailer side of things that you would give to other brands?
22:35
Amie Kesler
I think I'll second that. Like the handwritten note for sure. And I think the follow up, there's this balance between like really nice follow ups and being like too much that I've noticed. And yeah, I've had some where there is just a little aggressive for lack of better words, you know. And I think there's a really tactful way to keep the conversation going. And I also really love the, we've gotten some really nice updates of like what's new? Like just like the regularity of staying in front of people and how important that is because you do really see how, I mean, our snack shop is not huge, but we have quite a few items in there. And once you get a reminder of like, hey, we have this new thing coming out, it is so helpful.
23:20
Caitlin Bricker
I really like that and I like how you're talking about the feedback too and staying in touch with the brands because it again adds that human touch and doing that follow up too. We don't understand each other's tone when we're going back and forth via email. So it's just a, a reminder to be kind, I think because at the end of the day we all have businesses to run, we all have deadlines to meet, we all have these things that we need to bring to the table or deliver on.
23:49
Amie Kesler
If we could just meet each other.
23:51
Caitlin Bricker
Halfway sometime, that's a nice feeling.
23:55
Amie Kesler
And I think there's also understanding the time of like, I mean as a brand you send follow ups out and you hear crickets and then you're like, okay, so that went out into the Middle of nowhere. No one saw it and. But usually someone sees it, they're just not necessarily responding. So it's a good balance, right. Of like too much and then regular.
24:16
Caitlin Bricker
Totally balance in everything.
24:18
Amie Kesler
Yeah.
24:21
Caitlin Bricker
So before we wrap up, I would love to give you the opportunity to speak to any retailers or consumers that are listening to this episode because I know they are listening. What makes Carolyn's Crisps different from any other product that you would see on the shelves or any other product that you would grab and gift to somebody?
24:41
Amie Kesler
Great question. It's our taste and texture and our format. Like we have the little grooves and they like hold onto a dip for dear life. We have these really unique flavors that are all better for you but really do bring this sense of nostalgia. And we have the savory and the sweet. So we cover everything in that world. So if you're not a savory person then we got something sweet for you but you feel good about it cuz it's not overly sweet. And if you want something savory then we got that too. But yeah, everything is.
25:13
Amie Kesler
And just the peace of mind that if you're not a dairy free or gluten free person and of that need that you can eat these and you can like them because we have a ton of customers that say that and you can gift them to someone who is and feel really comfortable that you are giving them something super delicious and amazing and they're going to be excited about it.
25:32
Caitlin Bricker
Totally. I had the, I can't remember what the actual name of the product was, but it was a berry cheddar blend.
25:39
Amie Kesler
Oh, our chocolate bark. Yes.
25:41
Caitlin Bricker
Oh my God. I've never tasted anything like it. That was another product that I received for the shelfies and I said to my husband, you can have one or two but after that like this is mine.
25:55
Amie Kesler
That's amazing. Yeah, we do have a line. I'll give everyone a quick rundown of like what you're talking about. So we have our crisps which are our cookie crackers and then we have our special chocolate bark. So we have taken our crisps and dipped them in dairy free chocolate. So the one you're talking about is our cheddar crisp dipped in dairy free white chocolate with raspberry and pistachio. So it's like tart, savory, sweet, a little earthy in there. And so we have a whole line of chocolate bark which we will bring to special events and we do for on our website. All in the popup as well. But we don't retail them as much. We have a few, like very dedicated retailers to that right now.
26:32
Caitlin Bricker
Oh, that makes it even more special. I feel like it's like gonna make it that much more sought after.
26:38
Amie Kesler
Totally. We have an apple Jacks Sweet Heat. We have a peppermint coming out for the holidays, which is always a big.
26:43
Caitlin Bricker
Okay, I just have to say this because I know everybody is big on pumpkin spice and maple, which I love maple. But peppermint takes the cake for me, like this holiday season that we're moving into. And peppermint and chocolate combos wins over apple maple pumpkin any day in my book.
27:02
Amie Kesler
I agree with that. I do. We do like a chocolate chai dipped in dark chocolate with peppermint. So it has like these like kind of unique spices in there. So it's like a twist on it. But I agree something like peppermint and chocolate with a warm beverage is just like comfort and can't go wrong. A snack. Yeah, absolutely.
27:21
Caitlin Bricker
I will be keeping my eyes peeled for that one.
27:24
Amie Kesler
Yes. Coming soon for sure. Totally.
27:27
Caitlin Bricker
Okay, I'll be on the lookout. Before we go, can you tell everybody that's listening where they can find you online? Drop your handle, drop your website. We want to hear everything.
27:39
Amie Kesler
Absolutely. So Instagram, TikTok are at Carolyn's crisps, which is very simple, all one word. Website is Carolyn's crisps.
27:47
Caitlin Bricker
Com.
27:48
Amie Kesler
If you guys live in Chicago or coming to Chicago, our pop up shop is at 1821 W. Chicago Ave. In West Town. So come visit us, find us online, find us in store. All the good stuff.
28:00
Caitlin Bricker
Amazing. Oh, it's been a lot of fun talking to you. I've loved spending time with the brands who are making these super tasty products. So thank you very much for your time.
28:11
Amie Kesler
Oh my gosh. Thanks so much for having me. It was so good to see you.
28:14
Caitlin Bricker
Oh, it's great to see you too.
28:16
Amie Kesler
All right, we'll talk soon. Awesome. Bye, guys.
28:20
Caitlin Bricker
All right, everyone, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, do us a solid and leave us a five star review on ratethispodcast.com startupcpg I'm Kaitlyn Bricker, the host of the Founder feature series and editor at Startup CPG. Feel free to find me on LinkedIn or reach out to me on Slack and get on my radar. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for new and emerging brands to spotlight. If you're a potential sponsor who would like to appear on the podcast, Please email partnerships startupcpg.com and finally, as a reminder, for anyone listening if you haven't already, we would love for you to join our free CPG community on Slack. You can sign up via our website@startupcpg.com see you around.