Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Griffith.
Hi Emily, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2016, I was 24 years old, living my best life surfing and working a marketing job in Sydney, Australia. As perhaps only a millennial could experience, I enjoyed a life-changing açaí bowl at a local cafe. I was blown away by the texture and next-level nutrition of these sprouted buckwheat seeds on top of the bowl. I started noticing the seeds being used as a hero ingredient in Australian grocery products and used in restaurants on salads, toasts, smoothies and more. I adopted these seeds into my daily diet, sprinkling them on almost every meal.
What was first a personal superfood obsession quickly evolved into a commitment to introduce the USA to this innovative way of enjoying buckwheat. Surely there were other Americans who enjoy an addictive crunch, but want to eat mostly grain-free, protein-packed and high fiber foods. The idea came full circle when I learned more about buckwheat’s soil benefits as a regenerative crop. After calling organic buckwheat farmers from an online farmers listing, I learned that many wish they could grow it more as a great cover crop, but there wasn’t a big demand for it. That shocked me, so it became my mission to elevate the demand for this versatile superfood so more farmers can include buckwheat in their crop rotations. As a graphic designer, I got to work on the brand, packaging and website to bring this dream to life!
The idea grew from instinct, but the more I dove into building the brand I realized this could be bigger than a farmers market brand. We could have a larger impact on soil health. Functional Food is driving growth across the biggest categories in the food industry, predicted to grow by 7.9% annually through 2025, with Functional Bakery & Cereal being the second largest sub-category growth driver (Grand View Research). BUT WE’RE MISSING AN INGREDIENT! Buckwheat is a misunderstood fruit seed with wonderful health and soil benefits, so we’re committed to educating the U.S. by bringing them buckwheat products in formats they love!
We now source our buckwheat from a regenerative organic farm in Minnesota!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Lots of hilarious bumps in the road on the logistics and operational side because I’m not good at that naturally. Our first batch of Lil Bucks was made in a dehydrator in a shared kitchen that was shared with a company that smoked salmon, so our first batch absorbed a salmon stench and was smoked salmon buckwheat.. disaster.
But the hardest thing for sure has been fundraising. As a female founder, we are used to backing up ideas with extra information, extra stats, extra proof of concept. As a young 24-year-old woman with a crazy buckwheat idea, I wasn’t seen as a visionary, but I’ve seen other young men with wild business ideas seen as visionaries instead of naive, and were thus backed heavily by investors. I think as women we are used to getting scrappy to get by and build a business with a strong base and connection to our customers. It took us 18 months to raise $800k for the business to help launch our new product line Clusterbucks and hire a team. we ended up raising $155k on Republic, a crowdfunding platform, and then the rest through angel investors after working on the raise for almost two years!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Lil Bucks?
We make addictively crunchy snacks and toppings from an underutilized superfood, sprouted buckwheat. Everything we make is grain-free, gluten-free, high in protein and fiber, but most importantly, deliciously crunchy, and good for humans and the planet. You can find our products, Lil Bucks and Clusterbucks, in the superfood snack aisle at Erewhon and Lassens across L.A. You can also find us on Amazon Prime and LoveLilBucks.com.
What were you like growing up?
Very multi-interested and energetic, loved art, music, the outdoors and sports. Mostly loved anything that combined all these passions, like outdoor adventure sports like surfing and snowboarding. As a kid, I was a very serious soccer athlete and frequently channel my time as captain in high school to guide how I lead my team now.
Pricing:
- Lil Bucks $6.99
- Clusterbucks $6.99
Contact Info:
- Email: emily@lovelilbucks.com
- Website: lovelilbucks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelilbucks/
