“Working in kitchens, in which offensive leadership was the norm, definitely taught me a lot, both about what not to do and a kind of leader I wanted to be”, Chris Kirby, founder and general director Ithaca hummussays Entrepreneur. “At the beginning I saw fear and intimidation to create toxic environments in which creativity and cooperation could not really exist.”
Picture credit: due to the kindness of Ithac Hummus. Founder and CEO of Chris Kirby.
Kirby graduated from the Culinary School at the Johnson & Wales University in North Carolina and spent the next seven years working in restaurants across the country: in Washington, DC, Las Vegas and Austin. However, at the age of 26 he determined that “a difficult lifestyle” was not for him. He says he wanted to begin his own business – but he required this great change and swallowing his pride.
The starting of the entrepreneur returned to Baltimore to live with his parents and join for business courses in the local people. Kirby didn’t have a automotive, so he needed to ride a bike 15 miles to the campus, a backpack stuffed with books. Despite the challenges, Kirby finished the 12 months with Prosto AS and was accepted at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.
In his application essay, Kirby wrote that he was “hungry for success” and intends to make use of his professors as “free consultants” for his activities, showing clear focus and ambitions, which he thinks helped him stand out from other applicants. He arrived at the campus in 2013 and immediately started working.
“The lighting loop came out when I saw that there was no local Hummus company from Ithaca.”
His first stop was the local farmers’ local market, which looked for a gap on the market; He desired to know what was not in the city. “The lighting loop went when I saw that there was no local company Hummus,” says Kirby, “and I quickly entered the action.” During the month, Kirby sold his hummus on the farmers market. Lemon Garlic was the first taste of the brand.
“Taste is really everything,” says Kirby. “It’s a soul of food. In my experience in the restaurant it was always the freshest, simplest, most uncontaminated recipes that were my favorite. So it wasn’t about it, it wasn’t about it How much can I add to this amazing ingredient? His, What is the smallest amount that I can add to shine? Mother Nature does all the hard work for you; You just have to happen. “
Image loan: Courtesy of Ithac Hummus
At the starting of Ithac, Hummus didn’t have any resources or budget to talk, but the limited money meant that Kirby needed to get up on what was most significant – allowing the best product, encouraging people to taste and sell as much as possible. For this purpose, he rented a kitchen for USD 250 monthly and bought the needed supplies: giant pots, a large immersion blender, a cup of delicatessen, a small digital scale and ice cream for a portion of the product.
“Everyone [customer] Interaction gave me more and more confidence. “
“I had a manic focus on sales,” says Kirby. “I made a hummus, packed him on myself, and then spent every weekend sales on farmers’ markets, because I loved to see the reaction to the faces of customers when they tried it for the first time. And this opinion worked for me like a road map. Each one. Interaction gave me more and more confidence to move forward. “
Without a team or fancy production equipment, Kirby had to make use of “a lot of noise and creativity” to perform her vision. Every week, ITHACA HUMMUS was selling on the farmers’ market, and Kirby attributes “not to stop demand” on the quality and ability to attach with people.
The scaling of the company’s production and packaging process was one of the biggest initial challenges. At the starting, Kirby used delicatessen cups with plastic lids, which were sealed with heat dryers, 10 at a time. Then Kirby moved the operation to his first industrial space to maintain up with growth and updated to the automatic packaging line, which appeared “with a huge amount of headache.”
“I would spend days on solving problems, repairing [and] feeling pressure. “
The sealant often broke up and without a quick correction or funds to employ a mechanic, Kirby turned to go looking on Google and YouTube movies to search out out what was unsuitable. “I might spend days on solving problems, repairing [and] He feels pressure [thinking]IN Every minute, when this equipment was turned off, the bills still appear and we produce nothing for sale– says.
Despite the growing pains, ithaca Hummus was still developing, ultimately landing at the primary retailers, similar to Wegman’s and Whole Foods, where his products were still selling in competitive environments. The brand achieved the first eight -digit 12 months of revenues in 2020 and since then increased by 40% 12 months on 12 months, even selling 10 million bathtubs with hummus in 2024. What’s more, ithaca hummus is on the right track to keep up this growth rate in 2025 , which suggests forecasted annual revenues of USD 50 million and over USD 150 million revenues.
“I worked really hard to build a culture that is the total opposite of what I experienced.”
Through all this, Kirby applied leadership conclusions drawn from the restaurant times to support the work environment in which employees feel comfortable enough to be a creative-clip for the brand’s long-term success.
“I learned that real leadership concerns empathy, clear communication and creating an environment in which people feel valued and strengthened,” says Kirby. “So I worked hard to build a culture that is the whole opposite of what I experienced in many of these kitchens. I want my team to be safe, sharing ideas, take risks and learn from mistakes without fear of being punished. “