Rachel Klein founded Revival Food Co. in 2014, turning her love of almond butter into a business. Little did she know back then that, in the midst of a global pandemic, her business would grow to (soon) being sold at nearly a thousand Walmart stores nationwide. We got the scoop on her upcoming launch, along with some other tasty tips for you!
How did your company go from making almond butter to give to your wedding guests to being sold at Walmart nationwide?
After our wedding, I was on the hunt for a new job, so my sweet husband recommended that I try selling the almond butters that everyone loved so much from our wedding. So I gave it a shot! I started selling at the farmers markets, and then slowly started expanding into some local retailers.
One by one, I added new stores across the state until eventually we were in around 250 stores within the first few years of business, all while having a few kids. Well, fast-forward to last year, when I was pregnant with our third baby and I had a crisis about what in the world I was doing with my business. I decided it was time to go big or go home. I either wanted the company to blow up on a national scale, or I was just going to dial it all back into a simple online business. After attending my first natural food trade show, I met the nut butter buyer for Walmart, and the rest is history. Walmart has been the most incredible partner to work with in this endeavor, and I couldn’t be more excited about the launch!
Tell us a little bit more about your visit to the almond farm—had you been there before? What are the differences in almonds?
Visiting the almond farm was an absolute dream. I’ve been working with this particular farm since my very first few months in business! I remember when it felt like a big deal to order 25 pounds from them, now I’m buying hundreds of thousands of pounds of almonds!
This was my first time visiting their farm, and it was incredible to learn more about what makes them so unique in the almond farming world. First off, they are a family-owned business and have been for decades, which I love. Secondly, they put their heart and soul into these almonds! Unlike many other almond farmers, they choose to use a dual-drip system to water their almond trees (basically a sprinkler hose that goes down every row), which is a way to conserve water in a sustainable way, as they source their water from a few on-site wells. Many other farmers choose to flood their fields with a wasteful amount of water, just for the ease of it. Beyond the sustainable water component, their almond quality far surpasses any other I can find. They have carefully chosen a particular variety of almonds to dry roast for us, due to its exact oil content and size, which make it the perfect match for our butters.
What is your favorite recipe to make using your almond butter?
Right now, I’d say my favorite recipe to make using our almond butter is honestly putting a hefty spoonful of the Balance Blend onto my rice & veggie bowls that I love to make for dinner!
What are some of your favorite local woman-owned businesses?
Some of my favorite local woman-owned businesses are Zips Dry Cleaners, The Mae Hair Salon, Cafe Baby, Home Ec. Preserves, and The Garden Table!
Any advice for women taking the leap as an entrepreneur?
My top piece of advice for any woman trying to take the leap as an entrepreneur is to be curious — ask everyone about everything. Soak up every golden nugget you can from those around you, so that you don’t make the same mistakes. And then…just go for it! You don’t know if your idea will work until you give it some breath, so let your curiosity take you there and give it a fighting chance.
Rachel Hickey is Indy Maven’s social media guru.