Meet Leah Marcus | Co-founder Good Girl Snacks

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

Hi Leah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My co-founder, Yasaman, and I, found ourselves to be extremely unfulfilled in our first job out of college. We are huge foodies and spent a lot of our corporate hours scrolling on social media and sending each other food related videos (oops). We noticed a trend: pickles. Everyone was eating pickles! There was 9B views on the #PICKLE and #PICKLES combined on TikTok, multiple pickle trends such as the chickle or chamoy pickle, and we felt as though the obsession was worth exploring. After a lot of research, conversations with other CPG founders and hours of brainstorming sessions, we decided the opportunity for us to step into this industry was large enough to take the leap. We started the business with the intention of making this sleepy aisle more fun with packaging, marketing and flavor innovation. Ultimately, we decided we were young and had to take the risk now (if we we’re going to start a business, now was the time.)

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We started good girl snacks with the understanding that the pickle aisle was very sleepy. In fact, unless we’re talking about the beverage or chips/popcorn section of the grocery store, everything still feels like it’s been there for 100 years. As Gen Z rises to be the largest consumer, it’s important f&b brands catch up to NewGen packaging and tailor to new trends. Yasaman and I decided to do this with pickles specifically, because we noticed a heavy trend on social media surrounding the snack; most notably, the chickle, the chamoy pickle and the pickle sweatshirt. TikTok had amassed 9B views on the #pickle and #pickles at the time, so we knew something was there and no one was innovating when it came to flavors, packaging or marketing.

We quit our full time, stable jobs to pursue the idea and deciding to do that was the scariest part of starting the business. Once we really got into it last summer, we noticed our biggest hardships surrounded our clean label and organic ingredients. With organic produce (cucumbers), we had to plan productions ahead of time and forecast sales before we even had proof of concept, which was extremely stressful to say the least. We still struggle with that the most today. We’ve been able to learn a lot with this as a challenge, but won’t be able to overcome it completely until we have secured many retailers.

We have grown a massive community on social media by building this company in public and just by being so transparent about what it’s like to be a young founder. Our brand aesthetic is also very eye-catching which peaked people’s interest to a point where we almost created a ‘fan club.’ And so, with that marketing success, I always encourage others to put their faces out there and use social media as a tool. It is just as important to be active on socials than it is to raise money for your business.

We aim to continue growing our online community even as we move into retailers in the next few months, and hope to be Gen Z’s new favorite household grocery item, whether it’s with pickles or other snacks we’ll come out with down the line.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I personally love Silver Lake or anywhere on the East side of LA. The people are dressed impeccably, the food is the best in town and the vibes are definitely always high.

I’d start the morning off at Courage Bagels (early enough not to hit the long lines) and invite my guests to have the best bagel they’ve ever tasted. After then, we’d walk the Silver Lake reservoir and walk along sunset for some shopping, taking a small detour to my favorite vintage store, Gift of Garb. We’d then get a snack and wine at Pharmacie du vin before another afternoon walk or visit to Erewhon (to purchase Hot Girl Pickles, of course). Finishing off the night with dinner at Found Oyster or Saffys. Drinks afterwards at bar secco, bar flores or bar stella.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yasaman and I started this business together and we wouldn’t be where we are without one another. She is really my rock through it all, pulling me up when I am down and balancing out my skills against hers to make us feel comfortable starting this business and growing it. The support and friendship we have makes this business what it is for sure.

Website: https://goodgirlsnacks.com

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/goodgirlsnacks

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-girl-snacks

Other: TikTok: TikTok.com/@goodgirlsnacks

Image Credits
Photography by Dakota Sage