When I think of inspiring Food Entrepreneurs, Andris Lagsdin is someone who certainly comes to mind. We’ve been connected with Andris for a couple years now and it’s been neat to see him grow his brand, Baking Steel into something really special. He’s had two successful Kickstarter campaigns, has created a number of successful products and as he explains in our conversation, it all comes from very humble beginnings.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- Andris’ background, from going to culinary school, to work in the family business, completely unrelated to the culinary industry and how he came to be a food entrepreneur.
- How he combined his past experience in the family steel company with his passion for the culinary industry.
- How he was able to come up with and go to market with his first product, the Baking Steel.
- Why Andris chose Kickstarter as the platform to launch the product (hint, it wasn’t just about the money).
- How to get influential people to support your mission and endorse your products.
- The secret to using social media to grow sales.
- How he has grown the Baking Steel brand from just one product to a portfolio of products that all fill different needs in the marketplace.
- How the Baking Steel company has been able to leverage Kickstarter as a way to validate their newest idea, a 72-hour pizza dough delivered right to your doorstep
- Advice Andris has for an up and coming food entrepreneur about what it takes.
At the time of the release, the Baking Steel company’s second Kickstarter campaign is at 275% of their original goal for the 72-Hour Pizza Dough.
You can learn more about their campaign here.
If you aren’t familiar with the original Baking Steel, here’s a link to it (literally one of the best kitchen tools on the market).
Check out the Baking Steel on Instagram and Facebook – they do a stellar job.
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