From startup to national brand in just 17 months

Learning from the pros

Learning from the Pros interviews professional entrepreneurs who are currently in the trenches growing their businesses. Through insightful conversations, we unpack their common business challenges and identify the lessons every business owner needs to learn so they can accelerate their own business growth. Learning from the Pros is produced by Amplomedia in partnership with Troy Media.

Today we’re joined by Sarah Goodman, the founder and CEO of Chiwis, an organic health food company that makes fruit chips. But these aren’t the dried fruit that you’ve come to expect. The fruit used to make Chiwis products is farmed right down the street from the facility where they are dried and made into chips. That means that, rather than getting dehydrated fruit chips that are brown and boring looking, Chiwis fruit chips are dehydrated at the height of their ripeness, which not only allows them to retain their bright colours, but also their sweet flavours.

Today’s Guest

In just 17 months, Sarah Goodman has grown Chiwis from a kitchen experiment to a national brand with healthy snacking and fun at its core. Sarah epitomizes scrappy yet brilliant entrepreneurship. In 2020 she began Chiwis by dehydrating kiwis in her kitchen. She bootstrapped her business by bringing the first version of fruit chips along on hikes and offering them to friends and family. Their unanimous response was: “where can I buy these!?” Since launching Chiwis in 2021, she has extended her product line from one to five flavours. In that same timeframe, Chiwis has launched in over 1,300 stores across Canada, including Whole Foods, 7-11, IGA, Fresh Street Market, Save-On-Foods, Foodland, and London Drugs. As Chiwis catches on like wildfire across North America, mentorship opportunities for women have been crucial to Sarah’s vision. Chiwis is proudly certified as a Women Owned business.

Our Host

Lance Johnson

Lance Johnson is the president of Amplomedia, an innovative digital marketing agency specializing in motion graphic video production and digital marketing services. He leverages more than 20 years of experience in marketing and business strategy to help clients identify how best to engage their audience while effectively communicating their messages with clarity and impact.

For interview requests, click here.

The opinions expressed by our columnists and contributors are theirs alone and do not inherently or expressly reflect the views of our publication.

© Troy Media
Troy Media is an editorial content provider to media outlets and its own hosted community news outlets across Canada.