6: How NFL player Reggie Kelly got KYVAN on Walmart.com in 3 months

01/24/20 • 43 min

Reggie Kelly, former NFL player, discusses the similarities between playing pro football and running a food business. You’ll learn:

Strategies to overcome marketing & brand awareness challenges
The importance of conducting research before developing products
How to get your children involved in the family business

KYVAN Foods, is a line of seasonings, sauces, jams & jellies, and salsas. Reggie Kelly is a former football tight end, and played for the Cincinnati Bengals & Atlanta Falcons.

------------------

Timestamps

[3:01]: How Reggie & his wife Sheila started KYVAN Foods.

[5:25]: Reggie and Sheila’s kids are also involved with the family business.

[7:02]: How cooking with family has influenced KYVAN Foods. Cooking with family is about the experience and making memories together

[11:02]: Reggie’s experience figuring out what he was going to do after his NFL career.

[15:13]: Similarities between playing sports and running a business. Reggie learned the importance of selflessness, being focused, paying attention to details, how to deliver a great product, and perseverance.

[18:04]: How Reggie and Sheila pitched their products to Walmart

[24:04]: The importance of conducting research before developing products

[28:46]: Marketing and brand awareness were the biggest challenges for KYVAN Foods.

[30:36]: Social media engagement, product giveaways, sending emails to your email list are inexpensive marketing tools. You also need to know the right demographics to market to.

[36:15]: New KYVAN Foods products are on the way.

[37:21]: Family is everything. Reggie gets his drive from his family.

Mentioned in this episode