Meet Lisette Howard and Katy Tucker | Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisette Howard and Katy Tucker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katy/Lisette, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
“You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness” – Brene Brown

This quote speaks so much to us as women and as business owners. In life it seems you have a couple of “crossroads moments”. One path is having a dream and thinking about how to do it, and wonder if anyone will like it and getting caught up in the unworthiness spiral. The other is having a dream and saying – ya know what, if I don’t do this then someone else will. Having the guts to pursue it and owning that story is what keeps us going every single day.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
As two busy moms (each of us with three kids under age 8!) who are always on-the-go, we saw a lack of fresh grab and go snacks with clean ingredients that we felt good about…so we created it ourselves. We couldn’t get over the fact that you can walk into the grocery store and purchase a fresh salad or sandwich for yourself, fresh baby food, even fresh dog food, but when it came to convenience food for the modern family, we were still left with the option of a Lunchable or shelf stable snacks. How crazy is that ?! We believe the future of snacking belongs in the fridge, and we are committed to giving consumers nutritious convenience food.

We started Sunnie in August 2020, smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic. Did we experience major headwinds? Yes. Did we get a lot of doors slammed in our face? Yes. In this crazy environment, grocery stores were focused on restocking basics and buyers were only concerned with keeping product on their shelves — not bringing in new brands. In that moment we quickly pivoted and launched a direct-to-consumer business.  We used that time to test and learn about what families in LA really wanted from a product like ours. Taking time to test, learn and adjust is what has greatly contributed to the growth we are seeing today. Getting Sunnie off the ground took stamina, grit, and importantly…curiosity. Being curious to ask questions of our target customers and buyers. We also didn’t want to settle for “just ok” finished products – we wanted them to wow and delight. Another tactic we used is what we call the “side door” to get into key accounts. The “side door” is asking a friend of a friend of a friend who knows someone that has a contact you need or applying for anything (award programs, special small business applications, etc) that gets you in front of buyers – even if you never get a response, they saw your brand name once. And that actually matters.

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?

LA is all about enjoying fun in the sun. If you have kids in tow, here is a great way to spend a day:

Start your morning at the Annenberg Beach House. Park and walk directly out onto beautiful Santa Monica Beach and after playing in the waves, play at the park on the beach and maybe even grab a quick bite at their cafe onsite…toes in the sand and all.

Take a mid-afternoon stroll through the iconic Venice Canals. (pro tip: grab some bread to feed the ducks!) There is also a play structure on Linnie canal that is perfect for kids age 2-8.

Nothing is better than closing out a day on the westside of LA then watching the sunset. Grab one of LA’s delicacies: Teddy’s Red Tacos, in Venice Beach (this is our team’s FAVORITE taco place, and we have high standards), a beach blanket and soak it all in.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A shoutout to all the female entrepreneurs that came before us. It’s true that a rising tide lifts all boats. We are inspired and constantly reminded about the amazing ideas women have that have come to market before us. To all you women in business, hustling everyday, we see you and raise a glass to you.

Website: www.feelsunnie.com

Instagram: @feel.sunnie