Summary
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Victoria Dickerson talk to Austin Simkins, co-founder of Natural Way Food Group, an innovative food company based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 2017, Austin and his brother Quinn started their journey in their grandmother’s utility room with a family recipe for chocolate covered peanut butter. Natural Way Food Group has since grown to sell peanut butter in six different flavors in over one thousand stores across the country, including Walmart, Safeway, Sprouts, and Whole Foods. Throughout the episode, Austin discusses how Natural Way Food Group’s products differ from its competitors, what’s on the horizon for Natural Way Food Group, and how its marketing tactics are community driven.
Show Notes
(0:56) Introducing Austin Simkins
(1:37) The Start of Natural Way Food Group
(6:02) The Process and Struggles of Building a Business
(10:21) Natural Way Food Group’s Peanut Butter vs. Others
(14:09) Natural Way Food Group’s Target Market
(16:28) The Impact Sports Can Have on Entrepreneurship
(19:27) What’s Next for Natural Way Food Group
(30:45) How Natural Way Food Group Is Reaching Its Customer Base
(40:00) Advice to Younger Self
(42:18) Closing Thoughts
Links
Quotes
“For me personally, since I wasn’t the most talented athlete, I had to outwork people. And so that’s the same mentality I have with our business. I may not be the smartest guy in the room, but I will outwork you. I will put in more hours than you do. I will find a way to get over whatever hurdle I have in my way to get to the next point.” – Austin Simkins, (17:14)
“Building those relationships at the end of the day, I can love my job, I can make as much peanut butter as I can make, but if I don’t have customers that love the product and believe in what we’re doing, it doesn’t matter. So they are the lifeblood of the company. I want to connect with people on the deepest scale that we can.” – Austin Simkins, (33:10)
“Trust the process. The first couple of years when we started, it was the expectation that things would happen overnight, and I think that’s part of our culture of instant gratification. We’re just inundated with it. We put in a little bit of work and we want the finished result right now…but as I’ve gotten a little bit older, I’ve just fallen in love with the process. I’ve had a couple of mentors that have told me if you can learn to love the process instead of the results, you could do this your entire life.” – Austin Simkins, (40:06)
A Natural Chat with Austin Simkins
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Victoria Dickerson talk to Austin Simkins, co-founder of Natural Way Food Group, an innovative food company based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 2017, Austin and his brother Quinn started their journey in their grandmother’s utility room with a family recipe for chocolate covered peanut butter. Natural Way Food Group has since grown to sell peanut butter in six different flavors in over one thousand stores across the country, including Walmart, Safeway, Sprouts, and Whole Foods. Throughout the episode, Austin discusses how Natural Way Food Group’s products differ from its competitors, what’s on the horizon for Natural Way Food Group, and how its marketing tactics are community driven.
The Journey of Entrepreneurship
Austin Simkins’ entrepreneurial journey into the startup world began during his time at the University of Arkansas while he was pursuing his MBA. In March 2017, on the cusp of graduation, Austin secured an internship that immersed him in the electric atmosphere of startup culture. His enthusiasm for business was fueled by the raw passion and perseverance he witnessed among founders who openly shared their challenges and victories in the unforgiving landscape of entrepreneurship.
His exposure to the “can do” attitude of overcoming obstacles and his mentors giving him the figurative kick in the butt he needed to pursue his own path, acted as a catalyst for Austin to start Natural Way Food Group with his brother right out of college. From producing small batches of peanut butter to truckloads per month, Austin attributes some of his entrepreneurial work ethic to the discipline he learned as a competitive distance runner.
“For me personally, since I wasn’t the most talented athlete, I had to outwork people. And so that’s the same mentality I have with our business. I may not be the smartest guy in the room, but I will outwork you. I will put in more hours than you do. I will find a way to get over whatever hurdle I have in my way to get to the next point.” – Austin Simkins, (17:14)
Learning to Adapt
After surviving the economic storm prompted by COVID-19, Austin had to pivot and find a way to lead Natural Way Food Group onto a path of profitability. Now utilizing self-manufacturing and focusing on smart ways to cut costs, Natural Way Food Group is projected to bring in around four million dollars in revenue next year as opposed to its one million dollars this year.
Furthermore, Natural Way Food Group favors word-of-mouth marketing and cherishes the grassroots connection it makes with the community at the farmers market, but that doesn’t stop it from learning heavily into online sales with Amazon. And although there will always be a need for people, Austin is slowly exploring the addition of automation into the labor force so that he can allocate team members elsewhere while still ensuring the company is hitting its margins.
“Building those relationships at the end of the day, I can love my job, I can make as much peanut butter as I can make, but if I don’t have customers that love the product and believe in what we’re doing, it doesn’t matter. So they are the lifeblood of the company. I want to connect with people on the deepest scale that we can.” – Austin Simkins, (33:10)
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