cover of episode Lily’s Sweets: Cynthia Tice

Lily’s Sweets: Cynthia Tice

2024/9/30
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Guy Raz: 本期节目讲述了Cynthia Tice如何在接近60岁时创立Lily's Sweets品牌，并将其发展成为一家价值4亿美元的企业。节目探讨了糖对健康的影响，以及低糖或无糖食品市场的增长趋势。同时，节目也介绍了Cynthia Tice的个人经历，以及她在创业过程中遇到的挑战和机遇，包括与合作伙伴的分歧、法律纠纷以及公司发展壮大后如何与新的投资人和团队合作。 Cynthia Tice: 我在1974年开始接触天然食品，并于1977年在父亲的帮助下开了一家天然食品店。在20世纪90年代后期，我开始感到精疲力尽，并开始考虑转型。我意识到富裕的消费者开始寻找有机产品，这让我萌生了新的想法。我和合作伙伴最初开发了一种天然无糖苏打水，但由于可口可乐和百事可乐进入该市场而放弃了该项目。之后，我们转向巧克力，因为这是我最喜欢的食物，并且我想找到一种健康的无糖巧克力。我们最初尝试使用甜菊糖制作巧克力，但味道很糟糕。后来，我发现了一种使用其他甜味剂来减少甜菊糖苦味的方法，并对这种巧克力的配方进行了修改。我与一位前同事Chuck Gennardi合作创立了Lily's Sweets，他投资了大部分资金。Lily's Sweets的名字是为了纪念一位患有脑癌的女孩Lily，我们致力于慈善事业。我们把产品带到Whole Foods，并获得了全国性销售机会。在公司发展的过程中，我经历了与合作伙伴的分歧、法律纠纷以及公司发展壮大后如何与新的投资人和团队合作等挑战。最终，Lily's Sweets被好时公司以4.25亿美元的价格收购。 在创业过程中，我意识到产品质量比社会责任更重要，并且我需要学习如何组建和管理团队。我与VMG合作，获得了多数股权投资，并聘请了Jane Miller担任CEO。我成为Lily's Sweets的品牌大使，并继续参与公司的慈善事业。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Cynthia Tice's journey began in retail with a natural food store, spurred by her own health transformation. Facing competition and burnout, she transitioned to consulting, advising conventional grocers on incorporating natural and organic products. A pivotal seminar featuring Whole Foods Market solidified her expertise in this growing market.
  • Cynthia's father initially discouraged her involvement in the family's clothing business.
  • A chance encounter in college sparked Cynthia's interest in natural foods.
  • The Alar scare in 1989 significantly increased public awareness of food safety and natural products.
  • Cynthia's consulting work focused on helping traditional grocers adapt to the rising demand for organic and natural products.

Shownotes Transcript

When it comes to launching a multi-million dollar brand, Cynthia Tice was a late bloomer. Nearly 60 and looking for a healthy way to satisfy her love of chocolate, she set out to make an indulgent, sugar-free version, sweetened with stevia. After some disastrous early recipes, Lily’s Sweets launched nationally in Whole Foods, with just four employees. Cynthia correctly predicted that a growing number of shoppers would willingly pay for healthier treats, and just ten years after launch, Lily’s Sweets caught the eye of Hershey’s, which acquired it for $425 million.

This episode was produced by Sam Paulson with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant, with research by Katherine Sypher. Our engineers were Robert Rodriguez and Kwesi Lee.

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