Why focus on only ONE product built a $1B super-brand (on just $6,000) - Pete Maldonado [Chomps]

Chomps built a billion-dollar brand on one meat stick

Chomps rebuilt the gas-station meat stick as a healthy protein snack and became a billion-dollar brand on $6,000. It sold direct-to-consumer for four years because it had no cash for slotting fees, kept one product, and stayed profitable for nearly a decade before taking outside capital. That raise came only after COVID cancelled Trader Joe's orders while the founders had personally guaranteed the debt, so it was a 100% secondary that de-risked their families and funded brand spend. Chomps now weighs an IPO once capacity and margin improve.

Takeaways

• One product, done well, built Chomps. Chomps has only ever made meat sticks, never jerky or bars. It sells 2m sticks a day across 12 recipes and is still majority owned by its cofounders.
• Profitable for ten years before outside capital. Chomps started with $6,000 and no investors. It raised less than $1m of primary capital in its life and stayed profitable for almost a decade before its private equity round, which was a 100% secondary.
• COVID nearly cost the founders their houses. Trader Joe's cancelled purchase orders, the founders had personally guaranteed the debt, and millions of sticks were stranded. They took a 100% secondary from Stride Consumer Partners so their families would be fine.
• Direct-to-consumer first, then Trader Joe's. With no cash for slotting fees, Chomps sold online for four years. Trader Joe's took it in 2016 as a Whole30-approved item, then Whole Foods and Sprouts followed, reaching 50,000 points of distribution while avoiding convenience stores.
• Capacity and forecasting were the hardest challenge. Chomps undershot its forecast by nine figures, more than $100m. It moved from one production facility in 2021 to seven, is greenfielding an eighth, and will consolidate complexity around facilities and SKUs later.
• Risk-taker plus disciplined operator made it work. Pete Maldonado takes the risks while cofounder Rashid Ali is level-headed and disciplined about strategy, described as the man steering the truck while Pete keeps his foot on the gas.
• Brand awareness must stay ahead of distribution. Early blogger email blasts costing $3,000 to $5,000 returned $40,000 to $50,000. Stride later pushed Chomps to accept lower ROAS and spend on top-of-funnel awareness.

How Chomps launched on $6,000

1. $99 Photoshop Elements subscription taught Pete Maldonado to design packaging himself.
2. A co-packer agreed to a small first run, so Chomps started without a factory.
3. The website moved from WordPress to Shopify for a quick, cheap build.