No Guilt Pizza? It's True! - Cali'flour Foods on the NexxtLevel Brands Podcast!

Amy Lacey is the Owner and Founder of Cali’flour Foods. She's a resilient leader in her many roles as entrepreneur, best selling author and autoimmune advocate. Like many food and HVC entrepreneurs, Amy's venture into creating a product was actually an answer to solving a personal challenge. In 2010, Amy was diagnosed with Lupus, becoming one of 50 million-plus people suffering from an autoimmune disease in the United States. 

No longer able to enjoy pizza night with her family, Amy set out to re-imagine her favorite foods and created a no-mess no-stress, cauliflower pizza crust to satisfy her cravings without sacrificing her health. Since then, Amy has been featured in major publications like Eat This Not That, Delish, Popsugar, and Entrepreneur Magazine. She's kicked off the new year by launching a national best selling cookbook called Cauliflower Kitchen: 125 Cauliflower Based Recipes for Carbs You Crave.

Here's a glimpse of what you'll learn:

[00:55] Introducing Amy Lacey

[03:13] Amy talks about autoimmune disease, being diagnosed with lupus, and the challenges that came with her diagnosis

[06:19] Amy shares how her decision to research about food as medicine led to the creation of Cali’flour Foods

[09:29] Where Amy first sold her products and her transition to mass production and selling online

[11:45] Amy talks about Donald Miller’s Storybrand and about a customer’s feedback that left a positive mark on their brand

[14:57] How Amy’s products are shipped out to her customers

[16:34] The importance of finding a good shipping partner and valuing customer experience

[20:35] Amy talks about her decision to increase the retail footprint of her brand

[25:39] Amy discusses the five-piece philosophy that she follows for her business

[32:44] Amy talks reinventing the frozen food section of grocery stores and her expansion plans for Cali’flour Foods

[35:10] Steve talks about the growing popularity of cauliflower

[37:09] Amy talks about the organizations that she supports through Cauli’flour Foods

[39:34] Amy discusses their target market and the health benefits of a low carb diet

[41:08] Where to find more information about Cauli’flour Foods

[45:41] Amy talks about what the next steps startups should make when they get a ‘no’

In this episode…

If you’ve just been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease or have been recommended by a healthcare provider to go on a low carb diet, it can be devastating. Just thinking about all the food you’ve grown up eating and suddenly needing to avoid them can be heartbreaking. That’s exactly what happened to Amy Lacey when she was diagnosed with lupus back in 2010 and it inspired her to start researching about using food as medicine.

This was the beginning of her company, Cauli’flour Foods. Designed to address the need for great-tasting food options for those looking to eat healthier or address diet restrictions, their products are created and shipped fresh to their customers with the utmost concern for quality retention and customer satisfaction.

In this week’s episode, Amy joins G. Steven Cleere as they talk about her lupus diagnosis, her decision to choose food to help her body heal and her eventual business, Cauli’flour Foods. She shares her 5-piece philosophy in doing business, some things that food industry startups need to do when they do decide to expand, and what she has learned through the business that has grown so close to her heart. Stay tuned.

Resources mentioned in this episode: Kitchen2Shelf Nexxt Level Marketing Califlour Foods The StoryBrand Framework with Donald Miller The Lupus Foundation The American Diabetes Association Sponsor for this episode...

Our podcast today is sponsored by Kitchen2Shelf, the educational arm of NexxtLevel Brands. Kitchen-2-Shelf provides online and in-person courses and workshops for CPG entrepreneurs at any stage of growth. 

Whether you're an early-stage startup, a local growing business, or if you want to just expand your distribution to a national level, Kitchen-2-Shelf can help you learn what you need to know to grow.