FoodGrads Podcast Ep 53: Shaking up the cheese snacking space with regenerative farming with Francisco Pergola, Co-Founder & CEO at Cheddies

On episode 53 FoodGrads Podcast we interviewed Francisco Pergola, Co-Founder & CEO of Cheddies. Cheddies are a high protein, low sugar cracker made with no artificial ingredients or preservatives that are light, crispy, cheesy, made wit real cheddar cheese and of course delicious!

On this episode Francisco and Veronica talked about Francisco’s journey as he and his brother Tomas created Cheedies. But more specifically they talked about how Cheddies is moving into the the Regenerative Dairy space by using the first certified Regenerative Organic Cheddar in the United States in their crackers. Veronica wasn’t too familiar with what regenerative farming is so Francisco gave us the low down on that. We got to know Francisco as he told me some funny stories of things that has happened to him and just his authentic way of dealing with people in business. It was a good reminder to hear how just being kind to people can be your greatest asset in business.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Youtube, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show Notes

Timestamps

[3:27] Francisco talks about his career journey and how he started Cheddies

[6:08] Francisco explains what Cheddies are

[7:31] What is regenerative farming

[15:10] How Francisco’s views of manufacturing changed since he started Cheddies

[20:49] What keep Francisco going and continuing to stay in this space

[22:25] Francisco talks about a funny story he and his brother with their start-up

[27:11] What Francisco has discovered about himself through this journey

[30:41] Francisco and Veronica talk about why it is important to be kind

[34:44] A skill that Francisco is looking to improve right now

[38:44] What is next for Cheddies and where you can find them

Links

Francisco Pergola LinkedIn

Cheddies

Francisco Pergola LinkedIn Post

Alexandre Family Farm

Heidi’s Your Independent Grocer

Cheddies Amazon Page

Francisco Pergola Quotes from the interview

And I’ve always just been a green thumb and kind of a hippie at heart. Actually before I went into architecture I almost went into agriculture. Two really different things, but I felt like this was a really amazing opportunity for us to take that leap and figure out if we could have an impact in the dairy space

– Francisco Pergola

When I first drove up to the farm it was like this surreal moment because I’ve traditionally just only interacted with traditional dairies. And so when I drove up to the farm, I just saw this whole herd of cows just grazing out on the pasture and there was this kind of mist floating out on the land and the sunset in the background.

And I just stopped and I took it all in. And before you knew it, like all the cows were just surrounding the car and they were just so docile and friendly. And you could just tell they were so happy.

Like it was just this weird experience. Like the very moment I drove up on the farm, I was like this just has to be something that we see more of, and consumers are aware of.

– Francisco Pergola

But one thing I really try to do when I go out there is just create a friendship with everyone. It doesn’t matter if it’s the person operating the line or the person just making sure that the salt is flowing correctly. You name it right?

There’s everyone has touches the product at some point. And I just I love connecting with everyone who’s involved with our product, because it is so important, like everyone does has a had a huge impact.

It only takes just a very minute detail to throw a large operation off. And so I’ve really come to value. Those friendships in and out the manufacturing facility.

– Francisco Pergola

And I have found that people really enjoy feeling like they’re a part of our journey as well. It’s something that is unique and I think just a huge advantage of being a small business is being able to share. Those experiences with everyone involved in what we’re doing here.

– Francisco Pergola

If you can react to any situation in a kind and respectful way, I feel like people are less likely to react in a negative way. Even in a situation where potentially the other person is at fault, which has happened to us, you know, whether or not it’s human error or they forgot, or it was an accident. Rather than reacting and pointing fingers it’s always, I have found to just be like, “It’s okay. I’m sorry. This happened. How can we figure out together how to move forward from this?”

People are way more appreciative of not needing to be on the defense immediately because the minute someone goes on the defense, you’ve lost them.

– Francisco Pergola

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