6: How former NFL player’s soul food brand landed Walmart.com in 3 months with Reggie Kelly of KYVAN Foods

Reggie Kelly, former NFL player, discusses the similarities between playing pro football and running a food business. You’ll learn:

Strategies to overcome marketing & brand awareness challenges The importance of conducting research before developing products How to get your children involved in the family business

KYVAN Foods, is a line of seasonings, sauces, jams & jellies, and salsas. Reggie Kelly is a former football tight end, and played for the Cincinnati Bengals & Atlanta Falcons.

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Timestamps 

[3:01]: How Reggie & his wife Sheila started KYVAN Foods.

[5:25]: Reggie and Sheila’s kids are also involved with the family business. 

[7:02]: How cooking with family has influenced KYVAN Foods. Cooking with family is about the experience and making memories together

[11:02]: Reggie’s experience figuring out what he was going to do after his NFL career.

[15:13]: Similarities between playing sports and running a business. Reggie learned the importance of selflessness, being focused, paying attention to details, how to deliver a great product, and perseverance.

 [18:04]: How Reggie and Sheila pitched their products to Walmart

[24:04]: The importance of conducting research before developing products

[28:46]: Marketing and brand awareness were the biggest challenges for KYVAN Foods.

[30:36]: Social media engagement, product giveaways, sending emails to your email list are inexpensive marketing tools. You also need to know the right demographics to market to. 

[36:15]: New KYVAN Foods products are on the way.

[37:21]: Family is everything. Reggie gets his drive from his family. 

 

Mentioned in this episode

Honey Apple Salsa https://kyvan82.com/mild-honey-apple-salsa/ Honey Apple Butter https://kyvan82.com/honey-apple-butter/ KYVAN Foods website: https://kyvan82.com/ KYVAN Foods on Instagram: https://instagram.com/kyvan82  KYVAN Foods on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyvan82 

 

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