College Roommates Start a Business with Annie Slabotsky & Morgan Lerner of Go Nana's | EYB — Elevate Your Brand

You're listening to the Elevate Your Brand podcast, where we talk to some of the smartest entrepreneurs and fastest growing brands in the market today. I'm your host, Laurel Mintz, a reformed corporate M&A attorney who founded award-winning LA-based marketing agency Elevate My Brand. We've elevated some of the world's biggest brands from Facebook, Paw Patrol, and Verizon to innovative startups you haven't even heard of yet. Are you ready to elevate your brand? Keep listening. Hi everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Elevate Your Brand. I, of course, am your host, Laurel Mintz, and I am joined today by Annie Slavotsky and Morgan Lerner, who are the CEO and Chief Creative Officer, respectively, of GoNanas. Ladies, thank you for joining us today.

Thanks so much for having us.

So tell us, what is GoNanas?

So Go Nanas is a banana-based baking company. We make lots of different flavors, a bunch of different kinds of baking mixes, and we sell nationwide and online and in stores.

So you can find us at your local Whole Foods, Target, Wegmans, and Amazon.

And give us a little bit of the background and history on how the two of you came together to create this awesome brand.

Yeah, so Morgan and I were actually neighbors in the freshman dorms at the University of Michigan, and we really bonded over banana bread, as funny as that may sound. My mom had a famous recipe in the community, and so did Morgan's mimi, and we felt like on campus, there were really no good options for really yummy baked goods that weren't bad for you. So we decided we're going to be there a few years. We got to fix this problem. And that's where the idea for GoNanas came in.

I love that story. First of all, there's nothing like your roommates in college, like the experience of the bonding that happens at this very like prescient moment in your life is incredible. But how, like, I mean, I don't know about you guys, but when I was at that age and stage of my life, I was like out partying and like, you know, doing bad stuff. And you guys were like, we're going to start a business. How did that happen?

Um, well, we actually joined a club on campus. So as you also know from college, there's just like an endless amount of things you can join and do, and we were both really passionate about food and health and baking. So we, we joined this food club on campus and we were both in the leadership committee. And so we went to brunch one day and that's actually where we kind of bonded and became friends. And we started Go Nana's Baking one day at Annie's family's house not too far away from campus with just a want to healthify a baked good. And that was the day we made the first ever loaf of GoNanas as a, you know, kind of better-for-you banana bread, but still incredibly tasty. And we came up with the name for our company in the car ride home and got an LLC on campus and really started it almost as an accident, kind of a result following our passions, just having fun that day.

So I have to ask whose recipe you use since you both come from this historical, you know, recipe family on both sides. How did you come to an agreement on whose recipe you were going to use, or was it a combination of the two?

We started with a combination of the two and then really healthified it, swapped out better-for-you ingredients, and then started doing sampling events on campus to get live feedback and continued to tweak for a few more years.

That is funny though, we do get that question weirdly. Yeah, all the time. And it's like, it's not either or, it's we just combined heads and made a recipe on that day and just continued to refine it, as Annie said.

Well, I think the reason you probably get that is because, well, first of all, everyone loves a good competition, right? And it's, um, it's very much a part of our cultural zeitgeist and history the food that you grow up with and the recipes that were in your kitchen. And so, um, I think that that's probably why you get that question a lot, because I know that I believe that my, you know, sauce recipe is the best recipe in the world because it came from X, Y, and Z, you know, historically. So I think it's by nature a competitive conversation, especially, yeah, with grandmas and moms in the kitchen, you know.

Yeah, I think we were kind of creating a new product, so it was almost inspired by those family recipes but entering a new category of better for you. So we were just going off of, you know, Pinterest and recipes in our minds.

So can you give me a little bit of background? I don't think that I had all that much experience with banana bread, you know, until the pandemic, as most, most of us didn't, where we were finding ourselves dealing with lots of rotting bananas in the fridge and we were like, oh, and banana bread had like this big moment. I don't think I knew how bad for you it was historically. So share with us if you wouldn't mind. A little bit about the history of banana bread and why it's not so healthy for you.

I wouldn't so much say that banana bread is like unhealthy for you. I think, you know, it is a pastry, it's a baked good. So it is traditionally made with butter and flour and eggs and all sorts of things. So, you know, on the scale of, on the spectrum of desserts that we eat, It is classically healthier than a, a birthday cake, let's say. But it's not something that we necessarily felt great eating every day in its natural form. So we just took all those same ingredients and swapped out better ingredients. So instead of traditional unblanched white flour, we did whole grain gluten-free oat flour. Because it's, you know, not stripped of all of its vitamins. And we just loved the taste. Or instead of butter and eggs, we actually use bananas to add moisture and replace the egg as the binder. So maybe our banana bread recipe has more wholesome fruit than some other ones because that's where we got pretty much our sole source of moisture.

And I love all the different flavor profiles that you guys have and the ease of use. So that was really like the big selling point for me. Particularly, I have to say, it is so fantastic when you're having that moment where you're like, I just have a little sweet tooth. I just want something really quick. There's nothing in my pantry that's good for me or that's not going to take me an hour to put together. Tell us about— I mean, is that— I'm assuming that's one of your hero products, is the like microwave 60-second banana bread in a cup. I thought that was such a brilliant idea.

Oh, thank you. Yeah. So we have expanded beyond banana bread as of late. So it's all really banana-based baked goods, baking with bananas instead of eggs. Eggs are so expensive these days and not vegan as well. So we have cookie mixes where they just require one banana. We're launching some new products this year. Um, the instants just require one banana in that packet and then you microwave them. So they're a super easy on-the-go option, um, and a great way for people to also try our product before they commit to making 12 muffins. So yeah, lots of different ways you can make our products, all with the goal of making a baked good really simple and easy and delicious at home.

But when did the idea of that like quick serve, 'cause I just think there's something culturally so simple about that as a process. Again, like I, you had sent me about all the products and they were like sitting on my counter and I was like, "Oh, I'll get around to making that." And then I had this like sweet tooth moment and I was like, "I'm gonna just throw a banana in the packet and throw in the microwave." And it was so easy. How did that like moment of like, we need to have this easy access point come about?

Yeah, so I think our business, you know, really blew up during COVID and we were so fortunate to see the initial success of the mixes when everyone was stuck inside and had nothing better to do than of course bake our banana bread. But when the pandemic started to wean and vaccines came out and return to office sort of seemed imminent, we felt like there was this pressure to create something on the go, something people could maybe enjoy at the office. And so that's when we really started playing with a, a microwavable version, just with not understanding how consumer behaviors were going to change when we sort of returned to normalcy.

That's so smart. Did you ever have a moment of, fear when— well, actually, what's the timeline horizon in terms of the launch of the company and the pandemic?

So we started this company as a side hustle and kind of passion project in 2017. We launched with a big sale on campus, but we were full-time students. So there was a barrier to how much we could spend time-wise on this. We couldn't go full-time. So when we graduated, that's when COVID hit. So in 2020, we finally took the business full-time. And this was right after we had launched the mixes and they started going viral on social media. We got approached by some retailers and we said, okay, I think we can finally take the leap. So that was in 2020 and we've been doing it full-time for about 3.5 years now.

Oh wow. So you actually hit your stride in the middle of the pandemic because that was my question was like, was there ever a moment where you were like, oh shit, the pandemic's here and people are already doing banana breads in their house. This is going to kill us as a brand.

Oh yeah. The pandemic was the best thing that ever happened to our company.

Sounds like it.

You know, those ready-to-eat breads that we started with at that first bake sale were, you know, albeit delicious, but not something that was really easy to scale. And that was exacerbated during the pandemic because we had to ship those items in, you know, 2-day shipping because they're perishable. And all of a sudden, UPS and FedEx 2-day really became like a week long. And so it basically prevented us from continuing down that same path. And the mixes, which Morgan mentioned, are so much more scalable, just became something that was easy to innovate with during the pandemic. So lots of great things there.

Thank you for that background. We're going to take a really quick break. We'll be right back.

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Thanks for sticking with us, and if you're just tuning in, I am chatting with Annie and Morgan from GoNanas. So now you've been in it for 5 years. Is that how old you are now? I'm bad at math.

Yes, we've been doing it for 3.5 years full time, almost 7 or over 7 since we started it.

Wow. So what are some of the lessons now looking back that you've learned along the path? Some of the kind of tips and tricks you might offer a newbie entrepreneur or wantrepreneur, we have a lot of those listening in today and we always want to learn from others' mistakes and/or really exciting things that you learned that were positive, impactful for the brand.

I think just along the same line that we've been talking, you know, especially highlighting that pivot that we made, our biggest piece of advice is likely going to be that you need to constantly not only be innovating, but looking at your surroundings and making sure that you're continuing to improve your product to make sure that your product fits into really where the world is and not getting too attached to sort of that initial thing that you put out there, your initial idea, and you're always continuing to talk with your customers and getting feedback to continuously improve.

I love that. Kind of building on that, I think when you launch something or are putting really anything out there, not aiming for perfection. I think a lot of people get tripped up even before they start on wanting the first thing they put out there to be perfect. And that will really kind of hinder your entrepreneurial process. So we're always doing the best we can, but we're maintaining efficiency and learning as we go because we know we're going to make mistakes on the, on the road. So we just have to be prepared to learn and like And he said, then pivot and continue to refine over time. But I think just avoiding that perfection and getting started is really key.

Yeah. It's that perfection— progress, not perfection, I should say. You know, I've been an entrepreneur for 15+ years now and it's, it's an evolution. The only thing constant along this journey I have found is truly change. And if you can't get on board with change and if you're not cool with it, then go get a W-2 somewhere and let someone else deal with that energy and that, you know. That's so true. The change that happens so frequently as an entrepreneur. I know you guys have some really exciting holiday stuff coming up. I mean, Valentine's Day is like the baked goods holiday, I would say, other than maybe a birthday. Tell us what you've got going on.

Yeah. So we are launching our Valentine's Day menu in about 2 weeks on January 21st. I guess I'm dating this episode and we're launching 3 unique flavors. So one, our beloved red velvet. It's made with cocoa powder, beet powder, and vegan white chocolate chips. It really tastes like red velvet cake. You can barely even taste the bananas. And then we have two incredibly special partnership flavors. So we're partnering with the iconic influencer Kale Junkie for a tahini chocolate chip cookie mix. Now that is the recipe she is famous for. They just taste like amazing chocolate chip cookies. If you've never tried tahini, you don't have to be scared. It's made from sesame. So that's one of One of our newest innovations are these cookie mixes, and they only require 1 banana and 1 tablespoon of oil. So we just approved them to be produced today. I just had some out of the oven, and they're amazing. And then our third one is a partnership with the company Tru Fru. They're the chocolate-covered fruit company. And in, you know, very Valentine's Day fashion, we're doing a chocolate-covered raspberry flavor with regular chocolate, white chocolate, and dried raspberries. It's amazing and just so perfect for the holidays. So we'll have a gifting bundle. They make perfect Valentine's Day gifts or just a treat to yourself. We're really excited to launch those.

It sounds like the perfect holiday addition for anyone who has a sweetie and a sweet tooth. Can you share with us where people can find you if they want to learn more about your products and/or try something, get something for their sweetie? Sweetheart for the Holiday.

Yep, you can find us at any Whole Foods in the country, at all the Super Targets, and soon to be many more. And then as well as online on our website, econanas.com or amazon.com.

I have to say, I think your socials are super fun too, so make sure to follow them. The brand itself is just so playful and fun and lighthearted and just a good time. Y'all are a good time. I like it.

Thank you.

Let's talk about the branding a little bit since our background is on the marketing advertising side of the world. You said that the name kind of just came to you and that you then set up your LLC and I'm sure got your trademarks and everything lined up. Tell us a little bit about the story of the name and the branding, packaging, all that good stuff.

Yeah, so it's actually a funny story. When we were first in that car ride home, we came up with all sorts of names. The one that we always joke about is Bananas and Bliss. I don't think that would have done well in the market.

Doesn't quite roll off the tongue the same way.

And then we decided to name ourselves Go Bananas, but then when we, you know, became an actual company, realized that we couldn't trademark a very popular phrase. So we cut out the middle letters and merged the name and just thought, all right, well, there are a lot of successful companies that their name is a made-up word. So here we are. And it sort of works as a double entendre because it's Go Bananas. But then a lot of people think we're Go Nanas in the sense of like your nana or your grandma. And their grandmas like banana bread, which brings up nostalgia for some people. So yeah, we love our name. And the packaging aspect is also a funny story in that we worked with a club on our campus in Ann Arbor to design our initial logo and brand colors and, and pulled some inspiration from brands we loved at the time. And we still use an adaptation of all the items we made with that club. We've of of course enhanced things and made our logo more legible. But most of the work was done free by a University of Michigan design club.

That's so fantastic. I mean, I think it speaks to like the ability, if you really are dedicated to building a brand, it doesn't require a huge heavy lift in terms of budget, honestly. Like you did this in the very, I'm sure, sparing free time you had. As college students and really tapped into the resources that you had on campus. So I think regardless of whether you, those of you listening in, are entrepreneurs out in the world already, or maybe are still students thinking about your first idea, there are so many great resources out there, I'm sure on your campus or at, you know, any programs like the ones that Annie and Morgan attended to help you build a brand. How did you find those and how did you know that those were, that you had the ability to tap into your on-campus clubs and teams to help build the brand?

We're very lucky because Michigan is very vocal about all the things that they offer and the opportunities. I personally was someone who went to the club fair and grabbed every single flyer that I was interested in. So I think just getting involved in what your campus is doing and attending and feeling it out. You know, we didn't, join every club or stick to everything. We, we stuck with the ones that really had meaning for us and felt like a good fit. So I think pick and choose, but put yourself out there. And I think the number one thing is just following what you're interested and passionate about and knowing that it'll lead you down the right path.

Love that. We're gonna take another quick break. We'll be right back.

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All right, thanks for sticking with us chatting with Annie and Morgan from Go Nanas. So you started with this, with the, the bake sale, then you evolved into these, um, kind of pre-packaged better for you baked in the baked category, adding bananas as the kind of binding agent as opposed to eggs and making sure that they were vegan. At what point were you like, were you like, this is a real business. This is something that has got legs. Like, was there a— I guess they call it your Oprah aha moment where you were like, we're doing this. This is a real thing. It's happening.

Yeah, there really was. We started selling the mixes And like literally a month into them, we got an email from Nordstrom Rack requesting to carry our products that we literally thought was spam because we were like, why would, why would Nordstrom Rack be emailing us? And lo and behold, it was not spam. We got on a call with the buyer and she had seen our mixes or was searching for mixes. Because, you know, baking was blowing up and we felt like at that point, okay, you know, we're doing well on our online website with these mixes. And if a retailer as big as Nordstrom Rack wants us, this is, you know, enough proof of concept. And also if we're gonna try and start our own company and do that as our full-time jobs, like what better time is there than the middle of a global pandemic where you're stuck at home and there's nothing else to do. So that was sort of the leap, you know, where our parents were begrudgingly convinced. And obviously we all look back and are very happy that we made that decision. But I feel like we both really distinctly remember that moment of being like, okay, it's now or never.

I mean, I don't know about you all, and I'm sure that those of you listening in, Nordstrom Rack is like the mothership for me. Like, that is my go-to anytime I need an outfit. I just am obsessed. I'd say probably half my wardrobe is Nordstrom Rack. So that to me would have been for sure an Oprah aha moment. I love that. What's next for the brand? Like, what does the future hold for you? You started expanding into different categories, cookies and muffins and other, other things. Do you have a roadmap for the future that you could tease with us a little bit?

Yeah, I think it's kind of two-pronged, but one is of course continuing to innovate, come out with new product lines. New flavors, new partnerships, and just be that kind of innovation leader in this space, but more so meet, you know, the customer where they are and where they shop, which is in retailers. So we've been so excited about our retail growth thus far, but just continuing to expand and be everywhere where you shop. We really want to be in every grocery store of the United States, at least to start. So that's the goal. That's what we have in store. And I think every, every year brings new surprises and new opportunities. That's why it's kind of fun being at the early onset of 2024 because we'll see kind of what this year has in store.

But yeah, everything is possible and in front of us in, in this month, right?

I love it.

Um, well, we are about running out of time, so in the last few minutes that we have left, I like to do what's called our quick fire. So these are just whatever comes up top of mind, and we'll go, um, Annie Morgan, Annie Morgan, and then we'll switch up the order. I'll let you know how to do that, but are you ready?

Yeah, let's do it.

Awesome. The first question is, what is the one thing that you could not have lived without during the pandemic? And you can't say your own product. Annie, we'll start with you.

This is not a specific pandemic one, but just something I can't live without now is an app called Superhuman that helps with your email inbox. It's like the greatest thing in the whole world.

Got it. Yeah, I've had a lot of people I mentioned that one for sure. Morgan, how about you?

Ooh, I was going to say my quarantine squad. So that was Annie, her now fiancé, my boyfriend and I were just a group of 4 and we had a time during the pandemic. So that was the first thing that came to mind.

It's so strange, isn't it? How like it was such a horrible time for so many people, but also like lightning in a bottle in terms of specific relationships like the pod that you're mentioning. Yeah. Such an interesting dichotomy. The next question is, if you could wave a magic wand and have anything happen for the brand, what would that look like? And Annie, we'll start back with you again.

Oh, that is such a hard question. I want so many different things.

If I could wave—

this is such a boring answer, I'm so sorry. But if I could wave a magic wand, I would get us like an unlimited line of credit with a very reputable bank so that we never had to fundraise again. We were just talking about that today. It's fresh.

It's also just fresh in her mind, probably always.

That's hilarious. Morgan, would you agree with that or you have something else that you'd like to add for the Macca?

Yeah, no, I have, I have like a brand answer. I would want our product to absolutely blow up and everybody hear about it and everybody be talking about it to a next level. Level to where it's viral on TikTok and Instagram again.

I was trying to think of a fun, clever word for omnipotent that had a baked good reference, but I couldn't think of it. But maybe we'll come up with it on a separate call. Okay, I love that. And, um, Annie, I, you know, I know it's a boring answer, but it's actually very honest, and I think it's important to call out things like that for those listening in that don't know, like Fundraising is a bitch. And it is basically another whole job other than running a company when you're trying to expand into new markets. And I, so I understand the line of credit answer, and I think it's hilarious and very honest. So thank you for that. The next question is, if there is one person that could make that dream happen, who would that be? We try and be super intentional and tag people and call them out on this podcast. So that we can actually push that conversation forward. So actually Morgan, we're going to start with you on this one.

Ooh, that's such a good question. I'm thinking, you know, Kim Kardashian. So like one of the biggest people on social media.

There you go. Annie, how about you? A specific banker at Chase or at—

No, I'm more honestly thinking like my icon. Sarah Blakely from Spanx.

Oh yeah.

Because I feel like she has got all the connects and would help us like navigate the banking world versus just like a big banker who's just gonna tell me no.

Something tells me you very rarely hear the word no, although I'm sure, you know, again, the entrepreneurial journey is, is rife with nos. But the two of you together is such a powerhouse duo and you've really proven your model. So I see big things in your future. The next question is, um, what is your favorite word and why? And this could be a word that's had real meaning to you over time or something that just pops into your head for the purpose of this conversation. And Morgan, we're going to start with you again on this one.

This has no meaning except like maybe humor. I went through a phase of saying hypothesis a lot because Annie and I just have all these conversations about thinking through complex problems what we think, comparing our different perspectives. So that was my favorite word for a long time, and she made fun of me for a long time.

Annie, how about you? What's your go-to favorite word of the moment?

I'm going to go with the word optimism. Part of my job is really looking at worst-case scenarios to make sure that we have all of our bases covered. Um, but I'm really trying to, in the areas where, um, the worst case scenario isn't, you know, the end of our business, always choosing the optimistic viewpoint because I think that's so important for, you know, not only my mental health, but also I think you're able to dream bigger that way and it's just more fun. So I know I have to be pessimistic and maybe finance and but all the other areas they touch, choosing optimism.

I love that. Well, ladies, it has been such a pleasure talking to you today and trying your fantastic products. As we wrap things up, any final words of wisdom for our audience who is made up again of entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs who see the journey that people like you have taken and see what's possible? Morgan, I'm going to start with you and end with you, Annie.

Yeah, I— what comes to mind for me is, is people. I think Annie and I have built such an incredibly strong and valuable partnership, and it's, it's the most valuable thing to me, um, in this job. And I think surrounding yourself not only with business partners but a team that inspires you and that you really want to work for and with and get up for work every day, I think is so important regardless of what you're doing. So find people that inspire you and uplift you, and, and I think that'll put you on the right path.

Well, yeah, it really is all people. Annie, how about you? Final words of wisdom for our audience.

One, I just would— couldn't agree more with everything that Morgan just said, and I couldn't do anything without her, so If you're thinking about doing this crazy journey that is startup life, highly recommend doing it with someone that, you know, you have the utmost respect for and just honestly love. But if I had to add to that, I think that my words of wisdom would be to just start. I think that we're— we live in a world of a lot of people with a lot of ideas. And, you know, you never know where your journey's gonna take you, but it, it did really just take starting. And I also will say you don't need a lot to start, like what we talked about earlier. I think a lot of people feel like, okay, I gotta quit my job and, and raise all this money and, and do all these things. But for us, we would not be where we are today. And I feel this with certainty if we quit our jobs and did this off the get-go and felt that pressure to, to grow really quickly. Growing it on the side and nurturing it and taking that leap when it made sense for us really was the right way to go about things. So just reminding people that it's not all or nothing and that there's a million ways to start and dive into things.

It's not black and white. There's a lot of gray. I think that that is a very, very wise word. So thank you for that. And ladies, thank you so much for joining me on this podcast. Us today.

Yeah, of course. Thanks for having us.

It was such a pleasure. Make sure if you're listening in to check them out at eatgonanas.com or at your local retailer. I think Whole Foods is probably the one that we all have access to, so make sure you go check them out, help them with sell-through, make this product a global sensation. Um, and of course, stay tuned for more from Elevate Your Brand coming up next.