Shredder Cheddar- THIRD TIME'S A CHARM

Power Pack Shredder Cheddar Crew fueling on long mileage days

How have I come this far already? I set goals; I won't give up until I can see them through.  I had a goal this summer to visit Portland in early July to put Shredder Cheddar on the shelves and in the hands of many.  I thought if we started our batch runs in June that I would definitely have Shredder Cheddar to take to Portland to reach the West coasters.  Instead we failed the first test run, and didn’t even have a second test run until early July when I was already in Portland.  To be honest, I was let down when I got the call from my partnered co-packer to hear that the process had failed again.  I didn't understand that this could take several attempts before getting right. We are working together to see that we can produce it in their facility which takes time and patience.  After hearing that we needed to do another test run, I was discouraged, but not defeated and I knew I needed to push onward. I weighed out my options on whether I should be at their facility for the next test run, or if I could successfully oversee the process remotely. I ultimately decided to stay put to watch from Google Meet to save money, time, and energy. I wanted to make sure we knew the process, and if we had any questions that we would clear them up ahead of time. To ensure success, I brought in my food scientist and aligned our team so we could approach this next batch as prepared as possible. We started this batch late last month and it took two long grueling days which required so much patience. Being remote allowed me to step away when things felt overwhelming, and that space helped me stay grounded. I took a lot of deep breaths and visualized that we had product. I reached out to a CPG friend that has HYCH Hot Sauce, https://heatyoucanhandle.com and asked her how long it could take for a co-packer to get the product right? She told me what I was going through with my product was completely normal, and that alone brought me so much relief. After those two intense days, we nailed it. The process worked. Shredder Cheddar has officially been scaled up in their facility—and I couldn’t be more excited to move forward with them. Third time’s a charm!

I have been selected to be in the Studer Community Institute’s VMS program https://www.studeri.org/, and I have five mentors on my team to help my business grow exponentially through our exit.  I am very grateful that my mentor team has a food scientist, cpa, business consultant, financial advisor, and business owner who all want to help my company grow. I have many advisors across the country that I have been working with over the past two years.  I have truly had great success with SBDC, OEN, MesoPDX, Xcelerate, Built, PSU, and FIC.  I have also been so lucky to just meet kind business owners that have wanted to help me along the way.  I would not be in this moment without all the help I have received on this journey.  I really would like to express to my business partners how grateful I am for you to be on this journey with me. We got this!

Power Your Potential with Shredder Cheddar

I have been chosen for Oregon Entrepreneurial Network for Portland Pop-up and Pitch Marketplace in late September, because I have a unique product.   OEN also reached out to me recently because I have been nominated for Oregon Entrepreneurship Award in the Early Stage Category! I will find out next month if I have been selected.  It is exciting to think that I was nominated for this award out of all Oregon entrepreneurs in the same stage of business as me. In just over two years, I feel honored to have been selected for a number of grants, programs, and contests.  In this adventure, I have always been resourceful and asked for help when I needed it.  I am here to “Savor the Journey.” 

My packaging design is almost completed.  I feel very fortunate to be working with a talented Clemson University student on this design. She has a similar vision and we are working well together to bring Shredder Cheddar to you.  This past month, I finally purchased barcodes for Shredder Cheddar's packaging. I had procrastinated on doing this, because I felt confused on how to purchase these barcodes. A friend and small CPG business owner at Star Bars, https://www.star-bars.com/ told me to call GS1’s customer service for help, and that they would walk me through how to purchase. She was so right, with their help it was easy to navigate their website.

For the last weekend in July, I was asked to join Plungeworx https://plungeworx.com/ and Run Club 850 https://www.instagram.com/runclub850/ for their running event: Run, Roast, Refresh in downtown Pensacola. I was there alongside other vendors for this event on a hot summer morning.  We had a large turnout of runners who started their morning stretching routine with Dr. Lynne https://www.instagram.com/dr.lynnevirant/, a Pensacola Physical Therapist. After completing the 5K, runners returned to snack on samples and cold plunge in an ice bath.  It felt incredible to reach new customers and sell Shredder Cheddar again. I absolutely love how happy Shredder Cheddar makes people.  They always walk away smiling!

We are very close to having Shredder Cheddar for sale on our website.  You can find us at www.HullsomeFoods.com. It’s boating season and if you aren’t eating a picnic with Shredder Cheddar then what are you eating? Shredder Cheddar is a single serve, lightweight, all-natural, shelf-stable, temperature resistant, squeezable cheese you can take with you anywhere.  Squeeze Shredder Cheddar onto cured meats and roll up for a bite size snack.  Or squeeze onto your favorite apple or crackers for a tasty snack on the water.  Shredder Cheddar’s packaging is convenient and waterproof making it the perfect snack to eat on a boat ride or while fishing.

Ponderosa Pines in La Pine, Oregon

Shredder Cheddar is a high protein cheese snack with electrolytes ready to eat anywhere you want to go. You can take it running, backpacking, cycling, boating, paddleboarding, fishing, or climbing.  It easily can fit in your pack or pocket and is good for over a year!

Thank you to all that have donated to fund Shredder Cheddar’s adventure!  https://gofund.me/3a785a69

-Meg Hull

CEO, Founder, & Endurance Athlete

Hull-some Foods, LLC