This year, they’ll hit $165 million in sales. Here’s their story:
LesserEvil Brand Snack Co. was founded in 2004 by Gene Hackman and Jim Cramer.
After struggling for 7 years, LesserEvil was...
→ under $1M in sales
→ unprofitable
→ paying 20% in co-pack fees
According to the original owners, the business was “flatlining”.
That’s when Charles Coristine, a 52-year old Wall Street trader, serendipitously met one of the owners at a BBQ.
At the time, Charles was burnt out after 17 years on Wall Street.
He had tried multiple things - veg diet, meditating, getting an MBA. None helped.
So, he was intrigued by the idea of buying this business and starting fresh.
Plus, he found the brand name synchronistic with his new lifestyle.
In 2011, Charles bought LesserEvil for $250K from his savings.
He quickly realized there were…
→ no processes
→ no controls
→ no financial measures
Even the product itself or its packaging wasn't great. Everything needed to be created from ground zero.
So, he recruited his friend, Andrew Strife to become CFO & COO.
After using nearly all of his savings, Charles raised money from friends & family and secured a bank financing.
He believed the key to their success was vertical integration.
In 2012, they moved into a 5K sq ft factory and filled it with used equipment from auctions.
From the beginning, they were scrappy.
They fixed the broken equipment themselves.
They painted the factory’s exterior themselves.
They befriended the welders down the street to weld wheels and popcorns shoots onto the machinery.
In 2014, they started experimenting with uncommon ingredients like coconut oil and avocado oil.
They tested it by putting it on top of the fridge where it gets hot for 3 months straight.
The oil stayed fresh and the taste was surprisingly buttery.
So, they launched a reformulated product with coconut oil and a picture of a laughing Buddha on the packaging.
In year 1, that product did $2 million in sales and became a third of revenue.
It felt like something was working.
In 2015, Kroger became the first major retailer to carry their product.
By 2017, they expanded and added another 20K sq ft facility nearby.
The next year, LesserEvil got its first outside funding of $3 million from InvestEco.
They used the money to update the packaging & brand:
→ moved away from the Buddha to “gurus”
→ focused on “mindful snacking”
Today, they have 7 different gurus each paired with a specific product.
That rebrand pushed the business to profitability in 2021, and Charles finally started paying himself.
From 2022 onwards, the company saw explosive sales growth:
- 2022: $66 million
- 2023: $103 million
- 1H'24: $79 million
They also raised $19 million to buy out prior investors and open another 30K sq ft factory.
Today, LesserEvil has 280 employees and is in nearly all major retailers.
Despite their recent challenges, they're pacing to hit $165 million in sales this year.
This post was originally shared by Rohit Bhadange on Linkedin.