Corin and Brian Mullins are a husband and wife team that started an artisan cereal business with $129 in 2009 and have grown it to a profitable multi-million dollar company.
The gluten-free, vegan, certified organic breakfast cereals are made in Gibsons, British Columbia. There are currently three cereals in the product line: Holy Crap, Skinny B, and Wild Chia.
The cereal was developed by Corin to address Brian’s food allergies and sensitivities. Most healthy foods taste like cardboard and after formulating and testing 21 different recipes Corin found a winner. She created a new category of breakfast cereal that is 65% sourced from Canadian ingredients that tastes great!
The first ten bags of Hapi Food cereal were sold at the Sechelt Farmer’s Market on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia in May 2009. When Brian changed the name to Holy Crap in June 2009 sales increased 1000% from ten bags a day to over one hundred.
Corin and her husband Brian’s appearance on CBC’s reality TV show, Dragons’ Den in November 2010 generated over $1M from their online store the week after the show aired. A 2012 Dragons’ Den special update show declared Holy Crap the most successful business ever to come out of the Den.
The cereals are currently carried in over 1,800 health food stores and grocery stores across Canada and expansion to USA retailers is underway.
The company sells cereal but they are in the business of well-being. The products are becoming standard fare for such diverse groups as high performance athletes, diabetics, celiacs, dieters, outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, and people with high blood pressure, severe food allergies and other food sensitivities.
Corin feels that, “The keys to success are the eye-catching and humorous product names which draw people in to taste our cereals. Once they experience the benefits of the cereal they keep buying it and tell all their friends and family.”
Winner Small Business BC Successful You Award 2011
Runner Up, Chatelaine Top Entrepreneur 2011
Pacific Finalist, Ernst & Young for Entrepreneur of the Year 2012