Meet Christina Appleton | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Appleton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The original Appleton’s Market was a Mom ‘n’ Pop grocery store founded by my great-grandparents in rural Michigan. Passed down through the generations, the store was where I grew up – riding my tricycle through the aisles and building paper-towel forts. It’s where I fell in love with food.
Like many other millennials, I love snacking (usually more than eating a proper meal!) but am not always thrilled with my snacking choices. Many times I want the convenience and size of a snack, but the fulfilling feeling that I get from a meal. I needed a bridge – lower in calories and effort but higher in all the things I love about meals (greens, protein, fiber, and healthy fats) – that would fill me up, taste delicious, and keep me going for hours. A lot of people told me they needed the same thing – they didn’t have time or money for Postmates, but also weren’t happy with the sugary protein bar or handful of sad almonds sitting at their desk.

So I took my knowledge from working at General Mills and Thrive Market and created the new Appleton’s Market. My first product, Power Veggie Bites, is warm and delicious and still delivers the ideal combination of protein, fat, fiber, and healthy veggies with no added sugar to keep concentration high and hunger at bay. I made them frozen so people could keep them in the freezer for months and microwave-steamable in less than a minute to not hog the kitchen or lose valuable time from your day. Convenience without compromise!

As the founder and CEO, I am incredibly motivated to help make everyone’s lives a bit easier and a little healthier – and of course to create the kind of company that I always dreamed about working for. Almost all of my consultants, partners, and suppliers are women or minorities – and I aim to give opportunities to previously underserved groups who haven’t received the chances they deserve.

This is very personal for me – it is about my family, generations of work, and making the world better one snack at a time. Growing up in a grocery store impacted how I view small business and the world of food. I want to have a brand that quickly conveys how much I care about my products and the ingredients, and how much I care about everyone who will eat them. I want to make food that will fuel bodies in a healthy way every day. It doesn’t get more personal than that!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I launched Appleton’s Market during the quarantine, and it has been a crazy ride! My original launch strategy was to sell into offices, coffee shops, and co-working spaces throughout SoCal and do a series of events at these locations to help with education around the product and the role that nutrition plays into performance during the day. Alas, COVID had other plans and I quickly pivoted to a direct-to-consumer model. Unfortunately for me, UPS/Fedex/USPS were experiencing their own challenges. I’m sure you can imagine that shipping frozen food over the summer without reliable shipping service is not a winning strategy! Fortunately I was proactive with my customers and they were very understanding – but I definitely had to reship a lot of items. Now I feel like we’re in a much better place in terms of order reliability, inventory levels, and generally understanding who the customer is and how to create a relationship with all of them. I started this company to make people’s lives a little bit healthier and a little bit easier so I think we’re on our way to doing that!

Appleton’s Market is different from other companies in that we best serve those who don’t want to compromise. Our customers want delicious, healthy, and super easy food that they can grab and eat without thinking or fussing about it. They can get the goodness of fresh veggies, cage-free eggs, quinoa and healthy fats without having to exert any effort beyond pushing a button. There is no other product out there that marries taste + protein/fiber/veggies + convenience quite like Appleton’s Market. Plus we source and make everything locally here in LA, so we have the heart of LA in every bite!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s hope it is a good friend if they are staying for a whole week! LA is an amazing place to live, but it can get a little tricky as a tourist as a lot of the “famous” things are actually not the best parts of LA.

It wouldn’t be a proper trip to SoCal without a beautiful hike – I’d take them to Runyon if they were more of a “see and be seen” friend, or out to the ‘Bu/Palisades if they were more nature-loving. I’ve found Los Liones trail is a big hit for out of town guests and is pretty approachable for all altitude/activity levels of friends.

If it weren’t COVID, I’d also try to take them to one of our great “LA only” type of events, like a movie screening with a Q&A with the director at the Arclight, Paleyfest panels with TV casts, or a great performance at the Hollywood Bowl. I’m spoiled in that I don’t live too far away from the bowl, so we usually pick up some wine and subs from All About the Bread, Uber/Lyft up there, and then walk the 2-3 miles back (because trying to catch a ride home is no fun!)

If they had never been to LA before, they have to take a walk through the Venice canals – that’s a parent pleaser too if they ever come to town. I’d hit up Scopa for some of their delicious pasta before heading back to my side of town. Or if we had time for the Santa Monica beach walk, I’d take them to Elephante to drink in those views and cocktails.

While we’re on the topic of food, I always take out of town guests for brunch at The Griddle Cafe, dinner at Son of a Gun, and desserts at either Susiecakes or Sidecar. If they’re open to a drive LA dim sum is fantastic, whether to the more convenient Chinatown or venturing out in the the SGV. Lastly, an LA trip is not complete without sushi! Depending on what kind they like, Sugarfish or Murakami would be in the mix.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would definitely not be where I am today without the amazing community of friends, family, and other startup founders that I have developed over the years. Today I want to show a little love to my friend Hannah Hong – she is founder of Must Love, a delicious “nice cream” company also headquartered here in LA. She launched her business a few years back, and has been lighting the path for me as I work to grow both my business and my own acumen as a startup founder. I text her every day (probably too many times tbh) and she is always there to help. Plus she has been a big advocate and consumer of the business (check out our Reels to see her adorable baby eating a Power Veggie Bite). I just don’t know what I’d do without her in my life!

Website: https://appletonsmarket.com

Instagram: @appletonsmarket

Facebook: Facebook.com/appletonsmarket