Why this Emerging CPG Brand Built Their Own Factory, with LesserEvil CEO Charles Coristine

This week we have story that proves that a brand is so much more than a name or a logo. It’s about the way you show up, and the way you do business. We’re talking to LesserEvil, out of Danbury, CT.

LesserEvil take a holistic approach to their brand, and it shows up in their superior product. They make organic popcorn and paleo puffs, made with the highest quality ingredients like raw extra virgin organic oils and grass fed organic ghee.

But the brand you see today was very different from when it started. LesserEvil is a bit of unique case, but their story has far reaching implications for just about any brand out there.

They were founded in 2005 with a “better for you alternative” proposition. But it wasn’t until the brand changed hands and the new leadership radically rethought this core proposition that LesserEvil really found their footing and took off with consumers.

And here’s something you don’t always see from an emerging brand. LesserEvil is vertically integrated. They made the bold choice in 2012 to stop working with co-packers and open their own factory. It was a potentially risky move, but as you’ll hear in this interview, it gives LesserEvil some unique capabilities.

One of the big challenge for LesserEvil is that some of the most interesting things they do … are essentially invisible. There is a fascinating obsession with doing things the right way - in terms of processing and sourcing - that isn’t always apparent on the surface.

We spoke to LesserEvil CEO and President Charles Coristine about the evolution of LesserEvil, and why setting aside some of the brand’s legacy baggage was the key to create a brand and product line that resonated with consumers in a much bigger way.

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Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.