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This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features mother and daughter Elizabeth and Gina Galvin, the duo behind an artisan snack company. stella snack.Elizabeth Galvin is also the founder of a snack brand Delisestarted as a sideline at the old CVS and has grown into a leading supplier of gourmet snack products. Currently, Delyse serves national airlines such as American Airlines and JetBlue, and Stellar Snacks can be found in various grocery stores and online retailers across the country, and provides in-flight meals to Alaska Airlines.
Image credit: Courtesy of Stellar Snacks. Gina Galvin, left. Elizabeth Galvin, yes.
What was your professional life like when you founded Delyse as a side hustle?
In the 90’s I immigrated to the United States from the South of France to pursue my dream of becoming an entrepreneur here. At the time, I could barely speak English, so I enrolled as a full-time student at the University of Nevada, Reno to learn. I had 20 credits with her and a jam-packed schedule with courses ranging from English as a Second Language to Communication to Advanced Mathematics. My days were filled with classes and studying. At night, I found comfort in cooking in the kitchen with nostalgic home cooking. It has always brought me immense happiness.
When did you start Delyse and where did you get the inspiration for it?
One of my favorite snacks to make from scratch using a family recipe was French pralines. These are roasted, candy-coated peanuts (called Chauchau pralines) commonly eaten on the beaches of southern France. They were my favorite, but I couldn’t find anything similar to them here in the US. I perfected the recipe at home and loved sharing this delicacy with my American friends. My friends were amazed by the flavor. One day, I was invited to a Fourth of July party, so I wanted to bring something unique, and of course I brought nuts. That was the day sparks flew. My snacks were a hit at the party, especially attracting the attention of two attendees who were the CEO of Reno Air and his wife, a well-known food stylist. They asked me if I could make my pralines for Reno Airlines and make them their signature snack. They asked me, “Can you do it?” My answer was, “How much time do you have?” He answered, “Can you do it in three months?” At that moment, I made up my mind and told him, “Absolutely. I will make it happen.”
What was the first step you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
To take advantage of this opportunity and succeed, we knew we needed to scale. To complete his craft, he ordered three authentic copper kettles from Italy. It was too big for my kitchen, so I started roasting in my garage while I looked for a bigger space. I got my permit, got my business license, and started my own company, “Delyse Inc” (a pun on the French word for “delicious”). Since I was still a full-time student at UNR, I started selling pralines on campus and at game venues. Since my English was still in its infancy, I lovingly named the line of snacks “Thoz Nuts” (I just pronounced it in my accent) and created a brand and packaging. Toz Nuts gained attention and became popular at local gourmet and specialty stores, and sold out at my booth at sporting events. Now that we’ve established that there’s a demand, it’s time to expand our production capacity. I found a former CVS store and made a deal with the landlord (who became a beloved mentor). He said, “Rent is $700 a month. When you make money, start paying me.” I vividly remember proudly paying my first month. It was the first check I wrote from his Delyse checkbook.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when building your side hustle and how did you overcome it?
In addition to the challenge of balancing a course load and a startup, my main business-related challenges were establishing trust with vendors and suppliers and financing equipment. I opened a bank account with a credit card that had a $500 credit limit. Now you can start paying your vendors upfront. After gaining their trust and proving our performance, we were able to ultimately establish the net 30 credit terms we needed to expand our business. Starting from scratch, it often takes three years to establish credit, but I was very fortunate to be able to establish his credit in three months. Another challenge was securing employees. In my communication class, there were a lot of classmates from the baseball team, so I convinced them to work together because it would be good training. Roasting is hard work and a very hot environment. Then I hired my first full-time employee, who I still work with 30 years later.
How long did it take you to start earning steady income every month? How much money did you earn from your side hustle?
It took two months to get all the equipment installed and up and running before we started making money. I sold Thoz Nuts for $1 a bag and was selling 1,000 bags per game. Every football game was sold out. In the third month, Rinoair made good on his promise and got Toz his nuts on board. I started by making him 20,000 bags a week at $0.50 per piece. In its first year of business in 1992, Delyse earned about $800,000. Reno Air was completely expanding and adding new destinations, and I was growing up with them, especially in the early days when new flight routes to Silicon Valley and the Bay Area were becoming popular. In 1995, I came up with the new idea of offering bags as free snacks to airlines and selling advertising space directly on the bags to gain new business. This caused a ripple in the travel industry, attracting customers from airlines such as United, American Airlines, American Airlines, Eagle, Northwest Airlines, and SkyWest, as well as many on-site venues at the airport. I worked with big-name brands who loved the concept of reaching high-end traveler demographics and creating an audience that was hooked on their ads. Some of these notable brands include American Express, Motorola, Ty Warner, AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy, General Motors, Newsweek, Book of the Month, AT&T, and more. This evolution took Delyse to the next level, generating approximately $3 million in annual revenue. This proved our ability to execute on time and at scale, and truly put my company in the spotlight.
What is your current growth and revenue?
while we are standing still [offering] Having continued to provide Thoz Nuts to airlines due to the rise in severe peanut allergies, Delyse continued to grow and offer other snack packs, trail mixes, and most notably pretzels to commercial aviation partners. Then in 2018, my main vendor closed its California factory, leaving a complete void for pretzel manufacturers on the West Coast. This was a crisis for Delyse and many other companies. I decided to take my destiny into my own hands and open a pretzel bakery. Thus, Stella’s Snacks, my second company, co-founded by my daughter Gina, then a college student, was born. She helped me design my brand as a side hustle after classes and internships while pursuing a double major in Marketing and Women’s Studies. Within five months, the bakery was up and running, and Delyse began supplying her custom-made Stellar Snacks pretzels to United Airlines, then Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and JetBlue. Stellar Snacks’ in-store distribution has also grown from local stores to the West Coast and nationwide.
Image credit: Provided by Stellar Snacks
What is your current growth and revenue?
Both Delyse Inc. and Stellar Snacks continue to grow. Our pretzels are served to hundreds of millions of passengers annually, carried in thousands of grocery retailers around the world, and loved by a loyal fan base. Our revenue exceeds eight figures, a testament to our commitment to quality and innovation.
What do you enjoy most about working as a mother-daughter team?
Gina and I share an unparalleled bond of trust and unwavering support, fostering a collaborative environment where ideas flourish and challenges are overcome together.
What advice would you give to people who want to start their own side hustle or full-time business and be successful?
Create a strong business plan and make sure you secure your first customers before taking the plunge to cover your overhead costs. Entrepreneurs take risks. It’s okay if you don’t understand everything. It will become clearer as you go along. Learn from people you trust, surround yourself with dedicated team members who understand “startup mode,” research your industry, capture valuable data, be honest and transparent, and share your vision to plant the seeds. This fosters true partnerships with vendors, banks, and customers. of success. It truly takes a village, and those who know your story will want to support and watch you grow. Traveling has its challenges, but the fulfillment that comes from pursuing your passion is immeasurable. Believe in yourself and your mission.