Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food & beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Atsuko Boyd, owner of Pairing Salts®, located in Philadelphia, PA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Pairing Salts®, created by professional female chefs, brings the art and science of cooking together with flavor and ease. Taking the stress and guesswork out of creating the perfect meal, our all-natural flavor enhancing pantry shortcuts simplify cooking times and naturally develop flavors in every meal. Plus, we combined it together with our knowledge of flavor science so that customers can easily pair any meal with wine and beer simply by reading our labels.
Tell us about yourself
I love all things food! Marrying my careers in product development and culinary, I put all of my knowledge, experience, passion for food, and the science together to create Pairing Salts®. Whether developing recipes, cooking, or simply eating, I especially love the crossover of cooking and food science to create flavor. Striking the perfect balance of flavors really speaks to me because that’s the definition of a good meal and I want everyone to have that same experience. Giving customers a ‘bag of tricks’ to be able to easily create a restaurant quality meal themselves and then have them want to continue experimenting with flavors is what motivates me most. Yes, hello, I am a food geek.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
It’s been extremely motivating taking what started out as a dinner conversation with other chef friends and creating a tangible product. Not only have we created one product line, but we’ve now taken the same concept of food and drink matchmaking to create a second line which includes snacks. Our premium kettle-cooked chips are made-better-for you, free of artificial flavors and colors, with the freshest, coolest global spices we could find. Not only are they snackcident size, but they are made to pair with your favorite craft brews.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Both motivating and difficult at the same time, the biggest hill we’ve had to climb is in conveying the concept of Pairing Salts® to the public. The US is such a sugar and salt driven food culture, that introducing customers to layers of ‘other’ tastes like savory, bitter, and sour into our meals, was challenging at first. As our brand becomes more familiar to customers and is synonymous with convenience and delectable flavor, especially with our introduction of a very familiar and loved pairing concept of chips and beer, we can see that we’re starting to have an impact.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
1. Have an honest deep rooted passion for your product or service. This passion will drive you through the peaks and valleys that are inevitable.
2. Have a clear Mission, Vision and set of Core Values. Let these thing drive every decision you make when it comes to your business
3. Develop your team, big or small, surrounding yourself with people that share your passion, an unwavering belief of your Mission and Vision, and if you’re lucky, will positively challenge ideas and encourage more.
Where can people find you and your business?
https://www.instagram.com/pairingsalts/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/atsukoboyd/
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.
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