Chickpea Oats Are Here, Are You Ready? with Chiara Munzi of ChiChi
Breaking into a new product category, highs & lows of being self-employed, citrus themed clothing, fresh + fun spring recipes, ttpd, food pods
I’m so excited to welcome Chiara to the podcast! She is such an incredible founder who has accomplished so much in such a short period of time. This episode is special because I get to chat with someone close in age to me, who understands the insane pressure gen-z creatives + founders are under. Enjoy <3
About Chiara:
Chiara Munzi is the co-founders of ChiChi Foods, a first-to-market grain free hot cereal made from chickpeas. As a better-for-you alternative, ChiChi Foods is carving a new path in the breakfast category with a healthier, easy solution.
Chiara, who comes from a family of entrepreneurs, created the first iteration of ChiChi Foods in her college apartment when she was desperate to find a better breakfast solution. She was growing increasingly frustrated with the high-sugar, heavily processed oatmeal choices on the market. A series of trial and error concoctions led Chiara to roll out canned chickpeas and add her own toppings, satisfying her personal need for a high-protein, low-sugar meal with simple ingredients.
By the spring of 2023, ChiChi was operating out of a commercial kitchen to sell at farmers markets and on Shopify, and in August 2023 they had their first commercial production run. The founders continued competing in pitch competitions, traveling across the country from spring to fall of 2023 to raise capital. Those funds, along with feedback from peers and customers, helped ChiChi relaunch in December of 2023 with four meticulously crafted recipes.
Find ChiChi —
IG chickpeaoats | TikTok chickpeaoats | chickpeaoats.com
What We Chat About
Breaking into a brand new product category
How the CPG world has embraced chickpea oatmeal
Dealing with imposter syndrome
Highs & lows of being self employed
Listen to the Episode
Check it out below and on all of your favorite podcast streaming platforms :)
In The Kitchen: Homemade Salted Butter
We obviously had to break in the new stand mixer by making butter 🧈 its been on my “to-make” list for so long & the wait was totally worth it
Add heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on medium-high until the solids have separated from the buttermilk. Rinse 3-4 times in ice water, until the water runs clear. Salt as desired and store in the fridge. Enjoy!
[video]
Up next: buttermilk biscuits or maybe some buttermilk pancakes 🤭
Everything I’ve Been Loving, That I Have No Business Buying
Damson Madder Grapefruit Tee — I’ve never seen an article of clothing that screams *Lauren* like this tee
Farm Rio Crochet Fruit Blouse — try to tell me I don’t need this…try
Ott. Peignoir Anna Robe — just so insanely cozy and makes me want to be a robe-wearer
Hansel From Basel Produce Socks — there’s a theme this week in case you haven’t caught on lol
Ceramic To-Go Tumbler — I have been obsessed with this style of ceramic cup and I need to just bite the bullet to buy one because can you imagine a perfect iced matcha in one…wow
Crocs Dylan Platform Clog — these have been all over my fyp and it’s working
Consumption Guide
Recipes — Caesar Dip w/ Anchovy Toasts | Hot Honey Olives w/ Whipped Feta | Mango Sticky Rice Cocktail (wow) | Cornmeal Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls | Blueberry Sourdough Bagels w/ Lemon Poppyseed Cream Cheese | Honeydew Miso Margarita
Music — obviously!
Podcast —
New Spring Cookbooks with Tiffy Cooks & Vegan Mob
Video —
ICYMI
xx,
Lauren (Hodgen)