Kenney Joyal loves candy. But, he also loves a healthy lifestyle. In true entrepreneurial spirit, this first-time business owner set-off to find a solution that combined his two loves, rather than reach a compromise. Joyal founded Snowflakes Candy, formulating sweet treats that are compatible with a seemingly irreconcilable penchant for natural, healthy foods. Snowflakes Candy’s mission is simple: Bring it back to the basics. In just two years, Joyal completed a “crash course” in CPG, developed an innovative product, and successfully launched with three retailers as a RangeMe Verified™ brand.
Xylitol is derived from birch trees
Nature’s Sweetness
While searching for a healthy alternative to satisfy his sweet tooth, Joyal stumbled across xylitol, a natural sweetener with none of the negative side effects of sugar and many positive health benefits like preventing tooth decay. Driven by a “genuine desire to share a piece of nature’s little-known sweetness,” Joyal formulated a simple and delicious mint candy consisting of just two ingredients — birchwood xylitol and natural flavoring (like wintergreen oil).
Crash Course
Joyal was working in residential construction when he created Snowflakes Candy. Without a background in consumer packaged goods, let alone running a business, Joyal found himself in a similar position as many entrepreneurs just starting out. Knowing that he had a great product to share with the world, Joyal strapped in for his “crash course” in CPG.
“I dove into it,” Joyal says. “I did a lot of reading and research. I spoke with anyone willing to talk and share information. I compiled all this data and took what was useful to me and just ran with it.”.
Of course, acquiring the know-how was not the only obstacle on the road to Snowflakes Candy’s success. “It can be very daunting to try to capture buyers’ attention,” Joyal recalls, “and when I first started it was just phone calls and anything else to get in contact with buyers.”
The Catapult
With Silicon Valley in his backyard, Joyal is attuned to the potential of online platforms, and he immediately recognized the value of RangeMe when he first came across it online. In fact, he was so confident about RangeMe’s potential to unlock access to retailers that he signed up for RangeMe Premium almost immediately.
A few short weeks after Snowflakes Candy became RangeMe Verified™, Joyal received an interested response from Hy-Vee, a prominent supermarket chain in the Midwest. This conversation initiated on RangeMe has since materialized into a purchase order. Snowflakes Candy can now be found in twelve Hy-Vee stores, establishing the brand’s presence in six new states across the country!
Sharing to Increase Opportunities
Joyal’s entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t end there. By leveraging RangeMe’s Sharing feature to enhance his outreach strategy, he is able to send tailored communication to prospective buyers and retailers.
“I’ve noticed that our success through Sharing is ten to twenty-fold in comparison to our other sales strategies.”
“With RangeMe’s Sharing tool, I can easily send out Snowflakes Candy’s profile to buyers and track conversions. I’ve noticed that our success through Sharing is ten to twenty-fold in comparison to our other sales strategies,” Joyal states. Snowflakes Candy successfully converted two of their shares into purchase orders from two up-and-coming subscription boxes.
As he increasingly leans on RangeMe to churn up new leads and uses Sharing to “alleviate the burden of cold-calling and emailing”, Joyal has freed up bandwidth to focus on other aspects of the business. In 2018, Snowflakes Candy looks to firmly establish their target customer by acquiring certifications and rebranding to cater to those who live a healthy and organic lifestyle.
“Few tools completely transform your business,” Joyal remarks. “At this point for Snowflakes Candy, RangeMe has been that catapult.”
