Absurdly Inventive
January 19, 2023
Bench Top Innovations alumni build on success of launching their own snack brand
It all started with a question: are there snack food products widely available that are both nutritious and safe for consumers with nut allergies?
The answer? Not really, according to Grace Mittl, '22, Daniel Wolfeiler, ’22, Tyler Quinlivan, ’22, and Jeffy Joshy, ’24, who participated in Bench Top Innovations, a year-long entrepreneurship program in which students ideate, develop, and commercialize a food or beverage product within a company that the students manage.
“The inspiration came from Daniel, who has a severe nut allergy; he once went into anaphylaxis from eating a packaged food product that had one of his allergens in it,” Mittl said. “We dug deeper into the issue and found out that there are very few nutritious, sustainable snack options for people with common food allergies.”
To solve this problem, the four teammates created Spill the Beans, a bean-based trail mix that is high in protein, low in sugar, and free of the FDA top nine food allergens. They presented the product at a bake-off at the end of the fall 2021 semester in which they competed against three other teams of four. Leaders from campus and the Richmond entrepreneurial community taste tested the different options, and they selected Spill the Beans as the winner to move forward.
In the spring, the entire class worked to produce and market the product. It was rebranded as Absurd Snacks and was manufactured at Hatch, a Richmond food-and-beverage incubator co-founded by Brad Cummings, B’92, and then packaged on campus, delivered to retailers across the region, and shipped to online customers.
At the end of the course, the winning team was given the intellectual property of the business. Mittl decided to pursue Absurd Snacks full time as CEO and brought on fellow Bench Top Innovations classmate Eli Bank, ’22, as COO.
“Because we were working on the product for a year, it seemed like a natural transition,” Bank said. “We were already so excited and dedicated to it during the school year, so we just kept going with it. We have the best jobs and we feel so lucky to have this opportunity.”
Today, Absurd Snacks is available for purchase in multiple local groceries and retailers around Richmond. But Mittl and Bank – assisted by two student interns, Arden Tierney, ’23, and Isabella Furnaro, ’23 – are actively working to grow their product footprint. The company was recently selected as semifinalists at the annual NOSH Pitch Slam 12 competition in New York, and they participated in the Idea Factory and the Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), two Virginia-based programs aimed at supporting aspiring entrepreneurs.
In addition, they are working with a major national retailer that is interested in carrying the product in the near future.
“We’ve been able to work with many amazing founders and people in the industry who are a great support system and help inform our brand,” Mittl said.
Bench Top Innovations’ expenses are covered by part of a $1 million donation from the Jason & Jamie Brown Family Foundation and RB Charitable Foundation for entrepreneurial programming through the University’s Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (CIE) initiative, launched in early 2021. CIE’s partnership with Startup Virginia and ICAP was also part of an inaugural incubation offering from the University funded by the Browns. In addition, Absurd Snacks will be participating in another inaugural Brown-funded opportunity as the University’s first Startup-in-Residence.
“The Brown family was clear in their intent that they wanted to provide the funds to help us build the right program,” said Somiah Lattimore, inaugural director of CIE. “Launching Bench Top Innovations was only one part of this, but it was the area that they were most interested in because of their alignment in the food and beverage industry.”
The course was co-taught by Robins School of Business lecturer of marketing Dr. Joel Mier and entrepreneur-in-residence Shane Emmett, founder and former CEO of Health Warrior. Mier said that the Browns’ generosity was critical in launching Bench Top Innovations.
“We really didn’t have to worry that first year about anything other than providing quality instruction and quality opportunities to the students,” he said. “We could focus on the most important things – the program, the deliverables, and the student experience.”
Mittl and Bank said they remain grateful for the course funding and the continued support they have received from their alma mater and the greater Richmond community.
“We can’t stress enough not only how supportive the Brown family has been, but how supportive our entire ‘web’ has been,” Bank said. “They really embraced us, and I don’t think our success would have been possible without this amazing community.”
The answer? Not really, according to Grace Mittl, '22, Daniel Wolfeiler, ’22, Tyler Quinlivan, ’22, and Jeffy Joshy, ’24, who participated in Bench Top Innovations, a year-long entrepreneurship program in which students ideate, develop, and commercialize a food or beverage product within a company that the students manage.
“The inspiration came from Daniel, who has a severe nut allergy; he once went into anaphylaxis from eating a packaged food product that had one of his allergens in it,” Mittl said. “We dug deeper into the issue and found out that there are very few nutritious, sustainable snack options for people with common food allergies.”
To solve this problem, the four teammates created Spill the Beans, a bean-based trail mix that is high in protein, low in sugar, and free of the FDA top nine food allergens. They presented the product at a bake-off at the end of the fall 2021 semester in which they competed against three other teams of four. Leaders from campus and the Richmond entrepreneurial community taste tested the different options, and they selected Spill the Beans as the winner to move forward.
In the spring, the entire class worked to produce and market the product. It was rebranded as Absurd Snacks and was manufactured at Hatch, a Richmond food-and-beverage incubator co-founded by Brad Cummings, B’92, and then packaged on campus, delivered to retailers across the region, and shipped to online customers.
At the end of the course, the winning team was given the intellectual property of the business. Mittl decided to pursue Absurd Snacks full time as CEO and brought on fellow Bench Top Innovations classmate Eli Bank, ’22, as COO.
“Because we were working on the product for a year, it seemed like a natural transition,” Bank said. “We were already so excited and dedicated to it during the school year, so we just kept going with it. We have the best jobs and we feel so lucky to have this opportunity.”
Today, Absurd Snacks is available for purchase in multiple local groceries and retailers around Richmond. But Mittl and Bank – assisted by two student interns, Arden Tierney, ’23, and Isabella Furnaro, ’23 – are actively working to grow their product footprint. The company was recently selected as semifinalists at the annual NOSH Pitch Slam 12 competition in New York, and they participated in the Idea Factory and the Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), two Virginia-based programs aimed at supporting aspiring entrepreneurs.
In addition, they are working with a major national retailer that is interested in carrying the product in the near future.
“We’ve been able to work with many amazing founders and people in the industry who are a great support system and help inform our brand,” Mittl said.
Bench Top Innovations’ expenses are covered by part of a $1 million donation from the Jason & Jamie Brown Family Foundation and RB Charitable Foundation for entrepreneurial programming through the University’s Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (CIE) initiative, launched in early 2021. CIE’s partnership with Startup Virginia and ICAP was also part of an inaugural incubation offering from the University funded by the Browns. In addition, Absurd Snacks will be participating in another inaugural Brown-funded opportunity as the University’s first Startup-in-Residence.
“The Brown family was clear in their intent that they wanted to provide the funds to help us build the right program,” said Somiah Lattimore, inaugural director of CIE. “Launching Bench Top Innovations was only one part of this, but it was the area that they were most interested in because of their alignment in the food and beverage industry.”
The course was co-taught by Robins School of Business lecturer of marketing Dr. Joel Mier and entrepreneur-in-residence Shane Emmett, founder and former CEO of Health Warrior. Mier said that the Browns’ generosity was critical in launching Bench Top Innovations.
“We really didn’t have to worry that first year about anything other than providing quality instruction and quality opportunities to the students,” he said. “We could focus on the most important things – the program, the deliverables, and the student experience.”
Mittl and Bank said they remain grateful for the course funding and the continued support they have received from their alma mater and the greater Richmond community.
“We can’t stress enough not only how supportive the Brown family has been, but how supportive our entire ‘web’ has been,” Bank said. “They really embraced us, and I don’t think our success would have been possible without this amazing community.”