Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mark Hanton, founder of Hantoon’s Munny, located in Port Huron, MI, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Hantoon’s MUNNY is the world‘s best honey mustard sauce; if we do, you say so ourselves. A Michigan-based and family-owned company. This “addictive sauce,” as we call it, is an all-natural product that we brought to market in March 2019.
Our customers are foodies, retirees, and busy families. Truly, anyone who enjoys a pop of flavor will love MUNNY. Those who like food that brings the heat love our Hot Munny.
Tell us about yourself
I’ve been making this sauce since my college days but hadn’t used the recipe in years until a few summers ago. During grilling season, we had a few friends over who were enjoying dipping into my homemade Munny with pretzels, chips, and salami. They raved about it and couldn’t get enough. Hence, addictive sauce. That lit the spark to think about selling it. Then a friend and successful local entrepreneur, Matt, really pushed me to bring it to market.
The rest is history, as they say. What keeps me going is having our two young daughters watch me work on our website, package order, or unload a pallet of product and be proud of “Daddy’s Munny.” They love helping me make product videos at stores when we drop off orders. I want them to be proud of what we’re building and be able to see it succeed. My wife and I want to build our brand to the point that allows us to give back to our community in even bigger ways than we do now.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Getting MUNNY on the shelves at the new Meijer Rivertown Market in Detroit was pretty thrilling. That’s a huge foot in the door of a major regional grocer for our little company.
Though, some days staying sane seems like a huge accomplishment after working as a high school counselor, parenting a seven and 4-year-old, and then at the end of our long days focusing on the business needs.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Well, aside from celebrating our first anniversary the month the world shut down from COVID… we still managed to get into 14 local stores. Later that year, we got creative and wanted to bring some joy and laughs into homes, so we filmed “good with Munny” episodes.
This entailed convincing friends to film with me and trying their favorite food and least favorite food with Munny, on camera. We got some great clips! Munny in coffee? Munny on s’mores? Yep! You have to watch and see.
Now the hardest thing is planning for growth and finding ways to improve our margin without compromising natural and quality ingredients- we will only use the best.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Perseverance- whenever you want to give up, give it one more go.
- Vision- you have to have something to be excited about planning and doing with/for your business.
- Patience- if at first, you don’t succeed, try try again.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
We would not exist today without the amazing support of our community. One local Doctor who is a big fan of Munny gifted it to hundreds of staff at the local hospital (our biggest sale to date!). Our local radio station gifted it to their customers as part of a Christmas basket. There are countless examples like this over the past three years that we are fortunate to have. Most of all, knowing that pretty much anyone who tries Hantoon’s Munny can attest that it’s an addictive sauce!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.hantoonsmunny.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/addictivesauce/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hantoons_munny/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.