An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
The day I launched my business, it flopped. We launched Banato in the middle of a summer fair where a torrential downpour rolled through. We were completely screwed. We had 3 customers total and physically needed to hold down the tent to stop it from blowing away. It was one of the saddest product launches in history, but something told us to keep going, so we did. Nothing felt scary anymore.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Chan, Founder and CEO of Banato, a Chicago-based banana sorbet company that is turning the food industry upside down by challenging popular connotations of dessert. Banato is a banana sorbet with no dairy and no added sugar which is fighting to make fruit a popular alternative to conventional desserts. Founder Jennifer Chan is on a mission to teach kids about the importance of fruit and natural sugars while making them cool. Banato has been listed in Chicago Magazine as a 2021 “Can’t Miss Cool Down Necessity,” and was selected for the 2019 NPR How I Built This Fellowship program.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My grandfather had a restaurant, my uncles had restaurants, and ironically my parents didn’t know how to cook. Both of my parents worked full time, so me and my sisters were often left at home with packs of instant ramen and pop tarts. When I was old enough to hold a pan, I stumbled upon our neglected cookbook collection and became instantly hooked. I worked my way through all the cookbooks in my house, then rode my bicycle to the library to grab more. I clearly inherited our family culinary gene.
Years later, the strangest series of events happened. One day, after being drafted into a beauty pageant, I went on a panic diet and began inventing an ice cream made entirely of fruit with no added sugars. After weeks of chucking bananas in a blender and making this ice cream, I noticed that my roommates were eating it. All of it. That is how Banato began.
Today, Banato is a combination of a genuine passion for food and an ambition to teach kids about the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables. I needed to teach myself how to create delicious, yet nutritious, foods when I was growing up. I hope that kids can try Banato and become inspired to explore fruits and even try making their own at home.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Banato tricks children into eating more fruits and vegetables by making them think it is ice cream. There is no dairy and no sugar in Banato, but it is extremely delicious. It is that simple. At our Banato stand, the most loyal fans are small children who visit every week. These children have asked if we could come to their schools and beg their parents for more. One mother asked her kids if they wanted a candy bar or Banato. “We want Banato!” The kids began chanting. Their mother was stunned.
Imagine a world where children reach for bananas and carrots instead of cookies and lollipops. This is how Banato is changing perceptions of what “dessert” means. Through fun stickers, banana hats, and our banana-sorbet, Banato is helping fruits to become trendy while making healthy foods more accessible. My company can convince future generations that fruit, nature’s candy, is far superior to candy bars.
What is the secret? Years of perfecting our recipe. As a perfectionist, I am not content making an ice cream that “tastes healthy.” I wanted to make a truly delicious banana sorbet which could be chosen over ice cream. Our ingredients, down to the vanilla extract, are made from scratch. Whenever possible, I source fruit directly from farms to ensure the sweetest and most ripe seasonal fruit are used. Indulgence can also be healthy.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The day I launched my business, it flopped. We launched Banato in the middle of a summer fair where a torrential downpour rolled through. We were completely screwed. We had 3 customers total and physically needed to hold down the tent to stop it from blowing away. It was one of the saddest product launches in history, but something told us to keep going, so we did. Nothing felt scary anymore.
A failed product launch is an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare, but afterwards I felt almost liberated. My worst fears had been realized. After that, what else could stop us? I learned the hard way that running a business can be a grueling and difficult path where it takes a long time for dreams to come to fruition. The first step is to take that step though.
Thunderstorms will happen. Even pandemics can happen. You just need to keep moving forward.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I met so many mentors along this entrepreneurship journey that they can’t even fit on this page. Since we are discussing change, I would like to mention a few who have encouraged me to think differently and be my best self.
First, there is the founder of Whimsical Candy, Chris Kadow-Dougherty. In Chicago, my friends and I used to go to a magical shop every time we had a tough day and bring bags full of artisan candy back to our offices. Right before I started my company, I had a crazy idea to meet the owner. I walked in, told her that I wanted to start a business, and handed her a zip lock bag with a Banato bar. In retrospect, I must have looked like a crazy person. Fortunately, that candy shop owner happened to be one of the kindest and most generous entrepreneurs I have ever met. Chis encouraged me to start my business and connected me to essential resources. She is still a member of our advisory board and constantly gives me candid advice about the industry.
I have also had the privilege to meet Audrey Roofeh (Founder of Mariana Strategies), Ronak Mehta (Founder of Nerdbugs), and Chris Bailey (Entrepreneur and Micro-enterprise Advisor at Portland Mercado) who have helped to guide Banato through the toughest times. When the pandemic started and our original market of in person events turned upside down, these were the first people I called, and they helped us back on our feet. Each of them decided to not give up and that encouraged me to continue pushing forward as well. This group of talented entrepreneurs always inspires me to create a company of kindness.
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely and vulnerable path. It has been a blessing to find so many talented individuals who can lift me up and provide direction.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I work out of an industrial kitchen space which hosts several small food entrepreneurs. Throughout the pandemic, I saw countless businesses start and fail. The recurring theme is intention: people who start food businesses for money will be typically gone within a year. Often, the ideas these entrepreneurs have are very good in theory. But repeatedly, after encountering the long nights in the kitchen, struggling to source ingredients, or those incredibly frustrating moments where a blender doesn’t work, these people give up. It is easy to be disruptive in the same sense that it is easy to have an idea. Implementation is the challenge. The most impactful, lasting, businesses I have seen all begin with a “why.”
Personally, I am driven to continue due to the impact we can have on our wider community. Within our job postings, we always list as a job criterion: “commitment to the communities you serve.” In Banato, I believe it is important to grow our team in a way which is also driven by this love of people. This company will not be a flash in the pan. Instead, we intend to build a company which will outlive us and continue helping others.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- “You are a ship,” I was once told. “A ship can stay in the harbor and be safe. However, if you want to go places, you must venture out to sea.” — Any type of change takes a certain degree of risk, but you will never know what could happen. When the pandemic started, we were forced to shift our entire business model online. Originally, I was skeptical about how many people would order Banato Bars for delivery, but our orders went up exponentially. On Instagram, our following increased by 7x from pre-pandemic levels. Rather than choosing to maintain the status quo, we pivoted, and both our team and company are stronger as a result
- “You will always find the teachers you need in life when you need them.” — Especially while running a business, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the number of situations that arise. It is important to remember that you are never alone. During the pandemic, with a cooler full of Banato in hand, I knocked on the doors of random restaurants to meet other chefs. That is how I met two incredibly talented Chicago chefs: Zubair Mohajir and Verlord Laguatan. They taught me how to scale my business and brought us to pop up events that boosted our credibility within the food industry. Whether mentors are found through knocking on doors or the neighborhood candy shop, there is always someone who you can count on when you need it most. Finding the right teachers just starts with taking that first step.
- “Smart people are a dime a dozen, but genuinely good people are hard to find” — In our business, each team member is given a certain number of complementary bars at each market for friends or themselves. One day, a small child dropped her Banato bar in front of our team. Our team member instantly gave her a new one and counted that fallen bar as one of his complementary bars. Upon finding out about this later, it warmed my heart. For our team members to care about both the customer and our business in such a way was deeply touching. I hope that we can continue to find people of character as our team grows.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
A mentor once told me to “lift while you climb.” Through my company, I aspire to start a dialogue on nutrition while bringing future leaders to the front line. I feel a great responsibility to fulfill our mission but to do so in a way that also focuses on the wellbeing of our people. This summer, we were able to launch our internship program and employ students. I am excited for the opportunities our company can have to impact the next generation of leaders and help to propel their professional success.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
“YOU started this?” People ask me with wide-eyed disbelief. As an Asian American female, it can be frustrating to be constantly mistaken as a brand ambassador while male counterparts at our business are automatically assumed to be the owner. At the same time, I believe that change starts here. Asian women are constantly depicted by the media as silent, doll-like characters who are reluctant to change the status quo. I aspire to change this narrative. Asian women are strong.
So, whenever I encounter people who are stunned to see that I am running my company, it makes me chuckle. I may be one of the first Asian female founders they have seen, but I will not be the last.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
Jeni Britton Bauer’s interview on the How I Built This Podcast has been a source of inspiration to our team. The founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, one of the fastest growing ice cream companies in America, started her company in farmers markets of Columbus, Ohio. In fact, she spent approximately 10 years testing her products in markets prior to expanding. Her story is very humbling to me. As entrepreneurs, it is easy to become excited about an idea and scale as fast as possible, but there is a difference between “growing quickly” and “growing correctly.” Jeni’s prioritizes their workers, sources ingredients responsibly, and has an amazing product. This is what my company aspires to be. Her interview helped me to think about the longer vision for Banato.
As a business which is also starting with our boots on the ground in Chicago, we hope to follow in their footsteps. Like Jeni Britton Bauer, I plan to take time in our business to hear feedback from customers and build the best possible product.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to start a movement where images of fruits are considered cool and fashionable. Imagine the possibilities of a child digging through their closet and choosing a shirt with a banana on it. That association from a young age could have huge implications down the road. The ultimate goal is to encourage children to eat more fruit instead of cookies, but I believe that starts with our society casting fruits in a positive light.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Thousands of candles can be lit by a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases from being shared.” — Buddha
There is perception of the business world as being a cutthroat, zero-sum game where only the strong survive. I hope that we can change that mentality and grow through kindness and collaboration. That’s how we grew! When I first started my company, I jotted down a vision statement on a piece of scratch paper. It said: to create products which embody integrity, health, and bring joy to customers. This document and it still holds true to Banato today.
No matter how big we become, I aim to continue sharing happiness with anyone who encounters our company.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram: @go.banato
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/banato
Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/go.Banato/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Jennifer Chan of Banato On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.