
Tom Bilyeu – From the kitchen to a billion dollar food company - peter_d_sherman
https://hustlecon.com/from-the-kitchen-to-a-billion-dollar-food-company/
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peter_d_sherman
>"With manufacturing solved, they just had to figure out how to sell the bars
(minor detail).

 _Tom sent a thousand hand-written letters (including Quest bars) to fitness
influencers. And, as these workout warriors started flexin’ their social
muscles, the sales started rollin’ in. Tom estimates they did close to $10
million in e-commerce revenue by year two, before ever moving into retail._

Quest grew a loyal following by giving out thousands of free protein bars.

GNC and Vitamin Shop were the first retailers to sell Quest. To gain more
exposure, Quest used thousands of brand ambassadors to push the product. From
Crossfit events to local health fairs, Quest tried to get in front of as many
community-minded people as possible.

What makes Quest so much different than their competitors?

From day one, Tom and his team were 100% keyed in on the “why,” which, in
their case, was to end metabolic disease. That means when it comes to new
product launches, the team sacrifices product margin to provide as much value
as possible to the customer.

They’re also leading the pack in customer service. No joke, Tom once received
a complaint that a customer chipped a tooth on a Quest bar… so he covered
their dental bill (PSA: Don’t try this at home).

And what have they gotten for going the extra mile? Oh, just insane growth
numbers — by year 4, they hit $105 million in sales, _all without any outside
funding_."

