Shop is Open, I’m Ready to Ship!

It’s hard to believe it’s finally time to type these words… but Kettlebells and Cupcakes is open for business and is ready to ship!!! If you are looking for high quality protein sources like vegan protein powders (that actually taste good and aren’t chalky!), and collagen powder, I got you. Click to shop your product below:

use code “LAC20” for 20% off!

When I started this journey a year ago, I didn’t know anything about creating a product. In a lot of ways, I still don’t. I’m very new to the product world, but when I opened my door a few weeks ago and saw that I had received my first shipment of product from my manufacturer, it was validating. Small baby steps over time do actually add up, and I now have something to hold to show for it. I might have cried a little (ok, a lot).

It took a year from idea to finished product to get this made. When you are deep in creation mode, trying to benchmark progress can be difficult. Every day is kinda the same, and it feels like you always have the same update for friends and family, “it’s coming along!”, or “it’s a work in progress”…

Small baby steps over time do actually add up.

While that is a true and honest update, it also doesn’t quite do justice to all the behind the scenes work that goes into creating something out of nothing. It’s a process, one that requires a great deal of grit, stubbornness, and humility. This is especially true if you are working on your own without a team.

My protein/collagen powder journey actually started years earlier, while I still worked at Goldman Sachs. I become obsessed with all things health and wellness because I saw first-hand (both in myself and in colleagues) what happened when you didn’t pay attention to it.

Wall Street is a demanding lifestyle, and that fact that I knew 25 year olds who had suffered heart attacks and mental breakdowns says it all. I realized that to perform at a high level over the long-haul, you have to be healthy. So I tried Whole30 way before it was popular, and started ordering burgers without buns well before paleo hit the mainstream.

In my quest to be “the most healthy”, I did every diet and trend from vegan to paleo. Over time (time being like 5 years), I realized that no matter the diet, there were two things that made the biggest difference; drinking enough water and eating enough protein.

Water was an easy fix. I bought a huge water bottle and made sure it was always full. But protein was a constant challenge. I couldn’t walk around with chicken breast in my purse, and when you are working 12 hour days routinely, food prep is about the last thing you have energy for.

This is when I discovered protein powder. There’s nothing special or magical about it by itself, but what is special and magical is that it’s portable, always ready, and cheap on a per serving basis. It became a solid staple and lifesaver during this busy and chaotic period.

I realized that no matter the diet, there were two things that made the biggest difference; drinking enough water, and eating enough protein.

After I left the corporate world and dove into health and fitness full time as a Personal Trainer at Equinox, I noticed over and over again that my clients who were able to consistently eat enough protein, got way better results than those who didn’t.

My clients were all lawyers, auditors, and real estate executives (crazy busy like I was), so I started suggesting protein powder to help fill in the gaps. The problem was, I couldn’t find a brand that I liked enough to consistently recommend. Whey protein bothered my stomach (as does it for many), but the vegan ones were chalky and/or tasted like dirt.

I started to vent about my frustrations to one of my clients, Matt, who runs a drug and supplement manufacturing facility in New York. We’d talk about how I would make it different, and he’d always ask why I wasn’t. I consistently had some excuse, but really, I was just intimidated by the idea because I’d never made a product or built a brand before. After two years of talk, and a move to a new state, I was finally ready!

I am extraordinarily lucky to have started this journey with someone like Matt to help guide me at the beginning. It’s easy to talk about making something, but actually doing it is a whole other ballgame. Where do you even start!?

Matt put me in touch with raw material providers, and helped me get the manufacturing details ironed out, which crucial to getting the project off the ground. The rest, such as packaging, labels, and website, etc was a lot of trial and error on my end.

For my products, I was super picky about ingredients, taste, mouth-feel and packaging, so I prioritized quality above everything else. This means in some cases going against the industry standard and what “most” companies do (translation = a lot more time, work, and re-working until we got it right).

As I mentioned before, most vegan protein powders are gross and chalky, and I didn’t want to put my name on anything that tasted gross and chalky. So we tested different materials and refined the formulas multiple times. I’m very happy with the results! My powders mix easily and are delicious in my expert opinion. (Shaker bottle recommended if you aren’t adding it to a smoothie)

I wanted to use glass packaging because I strongly believe in not only preserving the products on the shelf (NO BPA LEAKAGE HERE), but also in promoting more sustainable solutions for the planet. All of the jars are 100% recyclable, and they can be repurposed in your house in endless ways (hello gorgeous Instagram worthy kitchen pantry!). As this company grows, sustainability will definitely be at the forefront of decision making, because we only get one planet!

Most vegan protein powders are gross and chalky, and I didn’t want to put my name on anything that tasted gross and chalky.

I’m very happy, relieved, and a little nervous if I’m honest to have these products in the world. It’s crazy to feel like so much work has gone into a project that is realistically just now getting started. Lots of adventures ahead I predict! Excited for the journey.

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