Fueling Adventures: Kindling’s Disruptive Snack Journey

The journey from a booming pancake empire to a new venture in protein-packed pretzels is not straightforward, but for Cameron Smith, it’s a path paved with intentional growth and invaluable lessons. In this interview, the co-founder of Kodiak Cakes and now founder of Kindling discusses his strategic approach to building a brand, disrupting categories, and the evolving landscape of health-conscious snacking. He shares insights on community building, financial sustainability, and the relentless pursuit of innovation in the CPG space.

Dave Knox: You just started Kindling, but this isn’t your first time in CPG. Can you talk about your background and what led you to Kindling?

Cameron Smith: I joined Kodiak Cakes when it was around a million dollars in sales, looking to grow and scale. Coming out of college, I was fortunate to join a small business with potential. As we grew Kodiak, I became a co-founder. We expanded beyond pancakes, adding protein to them, and found what worked: building a brand that connects with people, not just offering a functional benefit. We disrupted parts of the grocery store that needed innovation, like frozen waffles. Before us, Eggo dominated with about a 70% share. We saw a huge opportunity to bring whole grains and protein with a brand that resonated with what people seek today, disrupting that space over time.

We sold Kodiak years ago to private equity firm L. Catterton. Joel, my partner and co-founder, and I realized the business was significantly bigger, and the stakes and pressure were higher. We’re not ones to run from pressure, but we felt it was time to bring in someone who knew how to operate at that scale. We found a woman to run Kodiak; she’s been doing great, and they’re growing well. I still buy and eat the products.

Leaving Kodiak two and a half years ago, I paused and reflected. I took guitar and skiing lessons and spent more time with my four kids. After about a month, I started chatting with businesses, helping them with brand growth. Then, in early February, I told my wife I needed to do something. I get energized by being part of a growing brand, solving challenges like standing out, differentiating, the thrill of retailer wins, and managing supply or improving margins. But it really comes down to leading teams and people.

Around then, I started exploring: Could I make a pretzel with better nutrition that tasted as good as any other? I was interested in pretzels for my kids’ snacks and for myself, as an active person looking for salty snacks with nutritional balance. Jerkies do well with protein, but other salty options can be challenging. My belief was that if we could create a pretzel that tasted great but had more nutrition, we’d be in a good place. I worked on it, went through many iterations, and launched the business officially last November. We’re six months in, still very early.

Knox: With Kindling, your mission is about “fueling life’s everyday adventures.” How does that mission shape your brand-building choices?

Smith: As I was developing Kindling, my favorite book was Building a Story Brand. It was interesting because we did so many things at Kodiak that, I later realized, impacted how consumers saw the brand. We just did them because we were thinking about ourselves and how we’d want a brand to communicate. That book sparked many ideas for Kindling.

I didn’t want Kindling to be oriented towards “Cameron’s brand” or “Cameron’s pretzel business”—my picture on the back saying, “You’re welcome for creating this.” That never resonated with me. The book emphasized that people are looking for a guide, like Yoda for Luke Skywalker, because everyone is the hero of their own day. So, with Kindling’s branding and communication, we focus on how we can show up as a guide for people.

That’s why the name “Kindling” signifies “Get your fire started.” I love campfires and the moment of the crackling fire. To start a good fire, you need good kindling. We apply that to your personal internal fire—you need the right kindling to get going for adventures or family moments. You want your kids started with the right kindling.

I also always wanted an animal, as it can be impactful and connect people to a brand. I love foxes: they’re playful, resourceful, and a little mythical. When you see one, it’s a special moment. A big reason for the fox is that it’s my wife’s mantra; she’d tell herself, “You’re a feisty fox. You can do this.” We’re trying to create a brand that connects and resonates, so when people grab it, they think, “Oh, fox. I’m like a fox. I can do this,” or “Kindling. I need to get my fire started.” Every interaction connects to them and their goals. Kindling’s not the hero; they are, and we’re supporting them.

Knox: You’ve offered a product with protein and whole grain wheat. How do you balance that with the snackability of pretzels and your first snack?

Smith: Pretzels and snacks are more on-the-go. Snacking now feels like it’s taking over. People eat snacks for lunch. My kids’ school lunches are filled with snacks now—Chomps bars, fruit, and now our pretzels, not traditional sandwiches.

That snackability, that ability to have a product that delivers nutritional benefits without sacrificing taste or texture, creates permissibility for consumers. They can eat this and not feel guilty; if anything, they feel better. For adults and parents, packing a Kindling pretzel in their kid’s lunch or giving it as a snack feels like a small victory. I’ve learned that little victories are crucial on any journey; they carry you to the next. Sometimes we have huge victories, like kids eating lots of veggies, but often it’s the small ones that keep you going.

We’re not trying to sneak or hide nutrition. We’re clear that this is a balanced product that we believe tastes as good as anything else. Now, you can eat pretzels again without guilt or feeling like you’re eating empty carbs or calories.

Knox: What skills and lessons did you learn at Kodiak that you’re applying to Kindling?

Smith: Honestly, so many. I’ve been working on Kindling for two years now and continue to learn. The biggest lesson from Kodiak has been the impact of building a community around the brand. Getting a product on the shelf is hard, but getting it to sell off the shelf is even harder. At Kodiak, when a product sold well, we knew we’d done many things right. We also saw the community rally. When people criticized the brand on social media, our community would defend us like they were part of the business or tribe because the brand identified with them. That’s the biggest thing I’ve wanted to apply here.

Another lesson: margin is crucial, both in the early days and over time. We saw that at Kodiak, and we’re seeing it now. When you launch a business, you’re so inefficient. Packaging costs more, ingredients cost more—every input is theoretically at its highest cost because your scale is significantly lower. That’s been a big challenge, knowing where you should be. So, it’s been important to build a clear path for where we’re going. At Kodiak, we built blueprints for where we wanted to go and innovate. I think about that here too, ensuring we don’t get lost daydreaming about the future, which is an ego mentality. You need an execution mentality. For us, it’s about what we’re doing today to get there and building that blueprint.

The last piece is people. You need great people—who can challenge you, who are approachable, authentic, and want to grow and learn. We had and have great people at Kodiak, and we’re trying to do the same here.

Knox: You have a unique lens on what success looks like. With Kodiak, you knew it was time to bring someone in for the next phase when it exited to L. Catterton. Kindling is a very personal journey, tied to your kids, your wife’s “feisty fox” mindset. What does success look like for this business versus Kodiak?

Smith: Oftentimes, people equate success directly with finances. “I’ll be successful if I make X dollars; my brand will be successful if it brings in this revenue.” I saw that at times at Kodiak, defining success by revenue. But then, when you pass that mark, you ask, “Okay, now what does success look like?” The natural reaction is to target the next revenue number.

However, revenue provides indicators: Have you built a community? Do you have the scale to do more? A friend told me, “This is an investment, and you need to treat this like an investment. With any investment, you want a good return.” That’s helped me not be overly emotional about Kindling as “my baby” or “my family’s business.” Ultimately, it’s an investment, and I want it to grow.

For Kindling, I think success means establishing a strong community, bringing real growth to the pretzel category, and disrupting how people think about pretzels and eventually snacks. There might be a revenue number or team size tied to that, but those metrics are hard to nail down. I think about success as: Are we impacting people’s lives? Are we growing and learning? And from a business standpoint: Are we profitable? Are we sustainable? Are we doing good and impacting the lives of those who work at Kindling?

Knox: One remarkable thing about Kodiak was how you navigated retail buyers. You started with mixes, then jumped to frozen waffles and other categories, dealing with different buyers, spaces, and supply chains. How does that impact your thinking for Kindling? Will you repeat that, or will you stay in your lane? What did you learn?

Smith: At Kodiak, one of our biggest challenges in the early days was that buyers didn’t care much about the pancake category. They had many other categories to manage, and they saw pancakes as a commodity because there hadn’t been real innovation. When a category lacks innovation, retailers view it as a commodity. So, at Kodiak, we knew we needed to expand beyond pancakes to grow. It wasn’t necessarily intentional; Joel and I fell into it, realizing many categories needed disruption and innovation. We could bring something new. And we could use our story from pancakes to show other buyers in the same retailer, “Hey, here’s what we’re doing for you in this category. We have this new item.” Selling to retailers is never easy, but it made it easier to get through the door in other categories than if we were a brand new brand.

For Kindling, pretzels are part of the larger salty snack space, so the overall pie we can target is much bigger. We have a lot of work to do in pretzels, focusing on how to dominate the category and show up strong with retailers. Pretzels alone are a $2 billion category. What we learned at Kodiak is that if you build the brand well in one space, consumers will follow you to another category. When they see your brand there, they’re excited because they trust it and it connects with them. They have that community feeling. Consumers often wish their favorite brands made other products because they trust them.

Will we do that at Kindling today? I think eventually, but we have so much runway in pretzels alone that we’ll focus there for the near future. As we grow, we’ll see where our consumers allow us to go and where they want us to go, and then we’ll pursue whatever makes sense.

Knox: Over the years, you’ve been at the forefront of the high-protein trend, and now you’re applying that to snacking. Where do you see that trend going, and what’s next on your radar?

Smith: What’s fascinating is I remember wondering years ago when people would think they were getting too much protein. As I started Kindling a year ago, I heard a lot about people looking for more protein in more areas. Now, it’s fascinating because people want protein in seemingly all aspects of their day: lunch, snacks, dinners, breakfast. Protein products are exploding in grocery stores, and more are appearing on shelves.

Interestingly, with the GLP-1 trend, people on these medications need more protein and fiber, so they’re dialed into protein. I recently heard that women going through menopause need more protein. People with neurological differences like ADHD or autism need more protein. And individuals trying to stay active and healthy are advised by dietitians to eat more protein and balance their nutrition. People are hearing “more protein” from all angles.

I think this trend will only accelerate. However, there will be more focus on protein source, product type, and ingredient cleanliness. People want protein in products they can eat all the time, that feel approachable, and are clean, without questionable ingredients. They want something that tastes as good as what they’re used to, so they don’t have to sacrifice taste or texture. That’s why we chose our specific protein count for Kindling; we tested it to ensure good texture, flavor, and eating experience.

I don’t see protein demand slowing down. I think it will accelerate. But there will be a greater focus on: What is the protein source? What kind of product is it? How clean are the ingredients? Does this product even need protein? Like beverages—do I need a water with protein in it? While some such products exist, they might be more challenging for consumers who feel protein isn’t necessary in that specific item.