From Side Hustle to Snack Empire: Two Friends’ Journey Towards a Potential $500 Million Business in 2024

Snack Empire: In a story of entrepreneurship that would be hard to match, Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali fueled their passion for healthy snacks by getting into business and they are now ready to shake up the snack industry. Their dream, Chomps, was uncertain but took on a life of its own over a simple conversation at night, transforming into a million-dollar company.

The Chomps story is beyond a decade old, which began in 2011 when Maldonado and Ali got in touch when playing poker as a regular game in Chicago. whereas on one hand the game audience encouraged them to chat about some guilty secrets, Maldonado remembered one of his favorite gas station snacks, Slim Jims. Despite his passion to these sweeties, Maldonado, a fitness lover, decides to changed his direction by searching for the substitutions that are a healthier option.

When Maldonado shifted from fitness, his craving for more nutritious snacks made his idea to create a healthier meat stick wake up again. He went to Ali and described his idea to her. After seeing the potential in Maldonado’s idea, Ali, a freelance business transformation consultant hired him, and together, as a side business from Maldonado’s apartment in Chicago, they kickstarted Chomps.

Chomps was characterized via (a) the steadfastness, and (b) the ingenuity. The pairwerely put together the recipe made of the top quality ingredients–beef grass fed, sea salt, celery powder–and did leave any artificial additivesto us. Overcoming tough competition, Chomps took the opportunity to focus on offering high-quality products, which shortly after found enthusiastic acceptance among people preferring healthy food, thus capturing a $17 billion value of the meat snacks market.

It all began with small steps: Chomps has gone on to win more growth than can be described in one line. Firstly, they made tactical alliances and, secondly, kept track of the industry trends. This helped Maldonado and Ali guide Chomps to success. One milestone that propelled Chomps was when the Trader Joe’s, the big chain, was impressed with the product quality and thereafter sought to stock nationwide. This incredible year was what helped Chomps transition to being not just a side hustle, but also a full-fledged business.