Love + Chew - Lauren Chew 🍪

Startup to Storefront

Meet Lauren Chew: The "Accidental Entrepreneur" Behind Love+Chew Cookies 🍪 In 2018, Lauren went completely vegan and needed to rethink her diet—especially her sweet treats. She started experimenting in her tiny San Francisco apartment and, by 2019, transformed her side hustle into a full-fledged business: Love+Chew cookies. Her secret? Delicious, plant-based cookies made with minimal, wholesome ingredients. Fast forward to today, and you can find Love+Chew cookies in over 2,000 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, select Costco locations, and even on Amazon! But what makes Lauren’s journey truly remarkable? She’s bootstrapped her business from day one with zero outside funding. With a background in business development and tech from companies like Tesla and Stem, she runs everything—from product development and marketing to sales and operations. In 2023, Lauren scaled Love+Chew from $1M to $3M in revenue and is on track to hit $5-6M this year! As a solo female founder in a competitive market, Lauren’s story is nothing short of inspiring. In this week’s episode, Lauren shares: 🍪 How she found the perfect co-manufacturer to scale her business 🍪The game-changing packaging and sales strategy introduced by Whole Foods 🍪How she pivoted her business strategy in response to the challenges of COVID-19 Tune in to learn how she did it all—and why Love+Chew cookies are a must-try!