“Together Talks” #116: Sweet Addison's - presented by KLS

Some Background on Sweet Addison's

Today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS had the privilege to interview Sweet Addison's and Founder, Addison LaBonte. Sweet Addison’s has revolutionized the way we indulge. These desserts taste like your favorite childhood treats, but they are made with ingredients you know, love, and trust. Sweet Addison’s is made with the cleanest ingredients and contains absolutely nothing artificial.

Division 1 Soccer to unable to run

After a four-year stint at the University of Maine playing Soccer, Addison knew how important fitness was to her. She wanted to find a way to stay in shape after her athletic career. She had always wanted to do a marathon so she started training for a half marathon. However, she continued to have difficulty running. She described it to us as "my legs would go numb. I couldn't feel my steps, the only way I can describe it as the feeling after your foot goes to sleep." She confided she tried every type of shoe, compression sleeve, you name it, she gave it a shot. Nothing was fixing her problem. She saw a handful of doctors who ultimately told her she had Compartment Syndrome. Their only proposed solution was surgery on each leg with a recovery time of 6 months each. "I was devastated, but truly confused. I couldn't believe my only option was 12 months of no activity.", Addison shared. She felt there had to be a better option and happened to speak with her Aunt who runs marathons. She told Addison she went Gluten Free because it makes her feel better.

In July 2016, Addison went cold turkey and cut out Gluten.

4 days later, the numbness was gone!

9 months after that she finished her first marathon!!!

She was so grateful the pain was gone and she could follow her dreams, but she told us she was most proud of advocating for herself. She is living her healthiest life and simply put "It is amazing!". She explained how she hopes to challenge everyone in some capacity with how they can live better. Addison posed a simple question, "How can we live a full life if we are not feeling our best?" Very insightful and proof of her transition.

After removing gluten from her diet she began posting about her recipes on Instagram. Over the next 5 years, she built an audience where she would not only share her journey but also the recipes she was creating and consuming. At the time, Addison was working in corporate finance and she felt unfulfilled. Call it a perfect storm, but the demand from her audience and the lack of creativity at her current job was a lightbulb moment. In January 2024, Addison founded her company Sweet Addison's.

6 month runway

Before starting her company, Addison spent 6 months preparing herself and her product to launch. June 2023 is when everything clicked and she started to pursue her newest venture. She looked at cookies, specifically chocolate chip, so she set out to create the best-tasting cookie that she ever ate. Oh, and it happened to be gluten free as well. Being a clean food eater, Addison was determined to only create it with wholesome ingredients.

She shared how difficult baking is without traditional ingredients. Over four months she concocted different formulations. She felt she got it absolutely right on her 25th iteration. "Getting to taste an awesome cookie is great, that was the first step. But in order for this to actually be a sustainable product it had to ship across the country and not lose its consistency", Addison explained. Once she had the final recipe she brought home samples during the holidays for her family to test. Addison explained how no one in her family is gluten free and most don't actively seek out the ingredients included. She felt this would be a great litmus test for her. And the results were exactly what she expected, a rousing endorsement.

Her next challenge was to ship from her location in Texas. She sent a package to her friend in California and one to her parents in Maine. The first package she shipped was to her folks and this proved to be the first lesson in her CPG career. "I knew nothing about packaging and shipping. It turns out I shipped it without the barcode to scan. It went all the way to the post office in Maine, then they shipped it back to me in Texas. Two weeks later I got the returned package. I was embarrassed by my mistake, but it was a learning curve for myself and also our product. It was still completely intact and tasted great!"

To date it is the only box that has ever been returned, lesson learned indeed.

Addison shared that she had no idea what it took to start a food company. But being a Division 1 athlete, turned marathon runner, she relies on the motto of "you have to figure it out." She confided in us that it would have been easier to launch with a product that she was only 80% happy with and get the ball rolling, but her discipline and dedication to providing not just a product with quality ingredients, but truly striving to produce the best cookie ever made is her goal. And she equates it being the right decision based on the support and feedback she has received to date. Addison is working on her second flavor now. She admitted it was challenging her, she had just finished up recipe test #11. She is hoping to have it wrapped up by #15, but she won't settle for anything she doesn't have full belief in. It goes back to her motto when she explained her optimistic outlook, "It is less about should I or if I am capable and instead how do I figure this out?"

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Brand awareness and penetration

Sweet Addison's cookies are completely allergy-friendly. They contain nothing artificial, no fillers, every ingredient can be not only pronounced but recognized. Addison stands by every ingredient and product as she has been making some version of it for the last few years and consuming it. Her competition is any brand that makes cookies, but competing in such a highly competitive industry is challenging. Corporations with huge billion-dollar brands have been around for decades and are household names that she is attempting to disrupt. Educating consumers with the definition of why her cookies are better is a challenge, but one Addison is passionate about. "Because our cookies are made with better and clean ingredients it won't spike sugar. Consumers can choose mine knowing it is even more delicious and healthier as well", she explained.

It is a grind being a solopreneur, but Addison admitted she absolutely loves it. She moved from her family home in Maine to Dallas, Texas. She eats, sleeps, breathes her company. The ability to create her own schedule is the aspect she is enjoying the most, but she also mentioned testing her creative output by not having someone watching over her. Being her own boss means she has complete control, but also all the responsibility is on her shoulders. The freedom she has now has given her a new outlook on what work truly means.

We wanted to know the meaning behind the name. She told us that she is often told she is sweet so that is part of it, but she also wanted her name to be part of the brand. Ultimately this is an extension of the audience she had created online previously, she knew she had to continue to be the face of the brand. She has told stories for years about eating fast food, being sick, to training for marathons and living her healthiest version currently. She is hoping to inspire others to find that same version for themselves and in turn become a legacy brand that revolutionizes not only the dessert industry but what it means to be sweet. She explained, "People think of sweet immediately as sugar, but that doesn't have to be true. I want to redefine what it means to be sweet. Our products will be just sweet enough because we also want customers to think of being sweet to their body and their health."

Giving back, hoping to reach more

With Addison making the change in her own life and then expanding on that to help bring change to others' lives, she is determined to make her company sustainable for years to come. Coupling her experience as a collegiate athlete with her mindset, she explained how she struggles with celebrating the wins along the way. An example was a few weeks ago she had her record sales day, but her mind was focused on something else rather than her newest accomplishment. Admittedly, she is a long-term vision type of person, being Type-A organized and disciplined she has a focus on slow and steady wins that will propel her forward. Her focus is on the foundation of her company, and celebrating things outside of numbers like the support and feedback she receives.

Getting customers to try her product is the first hurdle, but reordering is her true gauge of the success of her product. The amount of 5-star reviews, messages, and feedback from customers is what is encouraging her. Addison shared an example with us, "I am realizing that I am helping change people's lives. On my 3rd day in business, I had a customer buy them for a friend who was going through Chemo. That individual loved cookies, but couldn't consume them due to white sugar not being permitted during Chemo. The ability to provide that type of value and happiness for someone makes me realize this is so much bigger than me and the endless potential our brand can have."

Being able to serve others is what Addison is truly enjoying about all of the hard work that goes into creating a brand-new company. Addison confided that with any entrepreneur the biggest hurdle is self-doubt. She shared with us the weekend before she visited family for the holidays for her test run, that she wasn't sure anyone would buy her product. She was living with the fear of failure. Despite moving across the country to Texas, she still talks to her parents every night. She reflected on calling her Mom, prior to visiting, "You have to realize what you are doing is so brave. Most people will succumb to those fears and never take this journey, When things get tough, remember you are tougher. It will become a success because that is who you are." Addison told us while the journey has humbled her, it has been one of the most rewarding things she has ever done. She is grateful for the journey so far as it has made her mentally tougher and a greater sense of appreciation for helping others

Piece of Advice

Our conversation with Addison ended with her sharing her piece of advice:

"Never give up. My parents drilled it into my head growing up. Keep going, keep fighting, do whatever it takes. Recently I heard something so brilliant. “Businesses don’t fail, founders just quit.” Most successful people never quit. Some setbacks and obstacles could potentially break me, but I won’t give up. Those days in December crawling out of my skin, it would’ve been easier to quit. But never giving up is instrumental for success.

I thought the goal was to be fearless, but realized if you are fearless then you are living too comfortably. Instead, be bold and courageous. Have fear but tackle it. What would your life look like if the fear didn’t hold you back?"

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In Closing

KLS wants to thank Addison LaBonte,?Founder, of Sweet Addison's?for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!

Instagram?/ LinkedIn / TikTok