When consumers walk through grocery aisles today, they’re looking for more than products that simply taste good or fit neatly into a category trend. Increasingly, shoppers want transparency, healthier ingredients, and brands that align with their values. They want to know where products come from, how they are made, and whether the companies behind them are creating a positive impact. For founders entering retail today, that shift creates both opportunity and challenge. Standing out requires more than strong packaging or a catchy product name, it requires a clear purpose and a compelling story consumers can believe in.
For Sarela Herrada, co-founder and CEO of SIMPLi, building a pantry staples brand was never just about selling quinoa, olive oil, or beans. Her vision extended far beyond products sitting on grocery shelves. She wanted to create a brand rooted in transparency and nutrient-dense food while building stronger connections between consumers and the farming communities responsible for growing those ingredients. On this episode of Shelf Talks, Sarela shared the journey that took her from growing up in Peru to building a nationally distributed brand helping reshape the way consumers think about pantry staples.
Sarela’s relationship with food began long before entrepreneurship entered the picture. Raised in Lima, Peru, she grew up surrounded by rich ecosystems, agricultural traditions, and a culture where food was deeply connected to land and community. Agriculture was not something distant or abstract—it was woven into everyday life. When she moved to the United States at age fourteen, she experienced a very different food environment. She quickly noticed how much of the food system prioritized convenience, processing, and ingredients that felt disconnected from the freshness and simplicity she had grown up around.
That contrast stayed with her for years and eventually became part of her larger mission. After spending over fifteen years building expertise in supply chain leadership and food systems, Sarela realized she wanted to create something that reflected the values she cared deeply about. She believed consumers deserved access to foods that nourished their families while also supporting healthier ecosystems and farming communities. What she did not yet know was exactly how that vision would come to life.
The idea for SIMPLi emerged during a trip through South America with her now-husband and co-founder, Matt. While hiking near Lake Titicaca along the border of Peru and Bolivia, they spent time observing quinoa farms and seeing firsthand the communities behind one of the world's fastest-growing health foods. By that point, quinoa had become a mainstream product in the United States and demand was growing rapidly. But as they traveled through these regions, something felt disconnected.
Despite quinoa’s commercial success, many of the farming communities producing it had not experienced the same growth or opportunity. Communities were still living in difficult economic conditions despite cultivating crops consumed around the world. Standing there, Sarela and Matt began asking bigger questions. How could supply chains create more impact? Could a business create value not only for consumers, but also for the communities growing the food? Could products tell a deeper story beyond nutrition labels and shelf placement?
Those questions ultimately became the foundation for SIMPLi.
Unlike many founders who begin with branding exercises, packaging concepts, or marketing plans, SIMPLi started with supply chains. Sarela and Matt invested their life savings into inventory and focused first on building sourcing systems directly from origin. They developed one supply chain in Peru for quinoa and another in Sparta, Greece for extra virgin olive oil. Their goal was not simply to source ingredients. They wanted to understand what made food truly special and why certain products carried deeper nutritional and cultural significance.
As they spent more time working alongside farmers and understanding agricultural practices, they uncovered an insight that would later shape the company’s mission. Great food begins long before products reach grocery shelves. It starts in the soil.
That realization introduced them to regenerative organic agriculture, a farming approach centered around improving soil health, biodiversity, and long-term sustainability. Sarela explained that traditional organic practices often focus on what is harvested, while regenerative agriculture also emphasizes what is left behind. Healthy soil, crop rotation, and restoring ecosystems all play critical roles in creating stronger agricultural systems. The healthier the soil, the more nutrient-rich the food can become.
For SIMPLi, this philosophy became central to the business. Sarela shared that their farming practices have led to measurable differences in nutrient density. She explained that their red quinoa contains significantly higher iron levels than conventional benchmarks due to the way it is grown. Rather than seeing regenerative agriculture as a trend, the company viewed it as a return to agricultural wisdom that had existed for generations.
What makes SIMPLi’s early journey especially interesting for product founders is the path they chose to market. Many emerging brands immediately set their sights on retail shelves. Retail often feels like the ultimate destination and milestone founders work toward from day one. But SIMPLi intentionally took a different route.
Rather than launching directly into stores, they started in food service. The reasoning was practical. Retail can require substantial upfront investment, while direct-to-consumer often comes with expensive customer acquisition costs. Food service offered something they desperately needed early on: volume.
Large restaurant groups could provide the economies of scale necessary to support the supply chain infrastructure they were building. Restaurants also allowed SIMPLi to create larger purchase commitments with farmers and generate predictable demand. Early customers included companies like Sweetgreen and other restaurant concepts looking for differentiated ingredients with a stronger story.
It was a strategic decision that reflected an important lesson for founders: the first route to market does not have to be the obvious one.
Then, like countless businesses in early 2020, SIMPLi encountered a challenge no one saw coming.
The company officially launched just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down restaurants across the country. Practically overnight, food service operations paused and the sales channel SIMPLi had built its business around disappeared. Inventory was already in transit and commitments had already been made to farming partners.
Suddenly, the company faced a difficult reality.
Rather than waiting for conditions to improve, the team moved quickly and redirected products into meal-kit companies experiencing rapid growth during the pandemic. Businesses like Blue Apron, Daily Harvest, and Splendid Spoon became opportunities for SIMPLi to move inventory while introducing products to consumers in a new way.
That pivot not only kept the business moving but also accelerated its path toward retail.
Like many founder stories, however, growth did not arrive without challenges. One of the most memorable early obstacles came from packaging. SIMPLi had developed beautiful kraft paper packaging with a handcrafted feel that stood apart from competitors. The products looked differentiated and aligned with the brand's mission.
There was only one issue.
The packaging leaked.
Quinoa spilled from the bags onto store shelves, creating an operational problem the team had to solve immediately. Sarela shared that she and Matt would regularly visit stores themselves, pull damaged products from shelves, and buy inventory to minimize returns.
Their first solution was surprisingly simple: double-bag every package.
While not a glamorous fix, it reflected a reality founders know well. Building a business often requires solving problems in real time while maintaining forward momentum.
Eventually, SIMPLi gained entry into Whole Foods, though there was no single breakthrough moment that made it happen. Sarela pursued every possible avenue available. She sent LinkedIn messages, leveraged personal relationships, participated in nonprofit programs, and introduced the brand through distributors and industry connections.
That persistence ultimately created the conversations needed to get in front of buyers.
For founders listening, her story reinforced a familiar truth: opportunities often come from consistently creating conversations rather than waiting for perfect introductions.
Today SIMPLi has expanded into thousands of retail locations and offers dozens of products beyond its original quinoa offerings. Yet despite significant growth, Sarela emphasized that the company still sees itself at the beginning of its journey. The mission remains larger than product expansion or distribution goals.
The goal is to create a better food system—one that prioritizes nourishment, supports farming communities, and gives consumers access to products grown with intention.
For product founders building brands today, Sarela’s journey serves as a reminder that successful businesses are rarely built solely around products. The strongest brands often begin with a deeper purpose, evolve through adaptability, and grow because they solve problems larger than themselves.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or You Tube.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shelf-talks/id1773675543?i=1000768367841
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4wnRhHKOWVYi8hM9aTPdGB?si=TyYlPmHRQnit-BuS_oUHAA
You Tube: https://youtu.be/RAkJwwrE7f8
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