Entrepreneur Friday

Entrepreneur Friday: Kim’s Light Foods

Posted by Jean

WHO: Kim Bensen

WHAT: Kim’s Light Foods

WHEN: 2007

HOW: After spending much of her life trying to lose weight just to gain it back again, Kim Bensen decided that enough was enough. It took two years, 212 pounds, 200 cholesterol points, and too many sizes to count, but in 2003, Bensen was able to reach her weight loss goal – only to be met by another challenge. Bensen’s husband, Mark, a life-long diabetic, had health concerns that took him out of the workforce overnight – leaving her family of six with no income.

Bensen had developed recipes over that two-year span that she had begun to share online. All of her recipes were a hit, but her bagels were the crowd favorite – and it took her family’s version of an economic meltdown for Bensen to see that her bagels could become their own business. A friend encouraged her to pursue the opportunity, so after meeting with a commercial baker, Bensen developed a plan to launch her bagel business. Taking a big risk, Bensen spent almost all of her family’s savings — $18,000, to be exact – on their first 100,000 packages, featuring “before and after” photos of Bensen. “I told my husband, ‘if this doesn’t work, we’re going to have 100,000 doggie poop pick-up bags with my face on them!’” says Bensen.

“Money was tight,” says Bensen, and her family tried to cut costs as much as possible at home while trying to get the bagels to sell in stores. They were able to test the bagels in 40 grocery stores, but they simply weren’t selling. “It was frustrating, because we knew our bagels really tasted so good, you’d never know they were light,” says Bensen, but with no extra cash, they couldn’t afford to advertise. “We had the most unique position, but no way to tell our target audience!” So, with money generously donated by her aunt, Bensen decided to ship 60 packages to fitness centers near the grocery stores where the bagels were being tested – and they started flying off the shelves.

Today, the business has nine employees, and has made over $1 million in sales. The bagels come in six different varieties – all with less than 2 grams of fat, and only 110 calories! They hope to be distributed nationally by the end of 2010, which should be helped by a new product being launched this year – so keep your eyes open at your local grocery store (and at kimslightbagels.com)!

HER ADVICE:
“Have a vision, and love what you do,” says Bensen. “You have to love what you do because it will take all you have in you to get it going… but it will be so worth it!”