Today we’d like to introduce you to Conor McInerney.
Conor, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always had an intimate relationship with food. Growing up, I spent my summers working on an organic farm and learning about the impact our diets have on society. I also have a strong affinity for adventure. As a self-proclaimed travel junky, I recognized early that the best part of traveling was always the food. This sparked an insatiable curiosity to always be exploring new flavors.
When I was introduced to the world of exotic spice blends, I was able to experience an immediate connection to cultures around the world. When I realized that these flavors did not exist in the U.S., I knew we had to bring them into the mainstream. I had been growing tired of the repetitive and conventional flavors that U.S. snacks offered. Most snacks were comprised of salt and sugar and featured repetitive flavors like ranch or barbecue. The only ethnic flavors I could find were either wasabi or sriracha, and they were usually just some weird powder with funky additives.
As a result, we created Departure Snacks with one goal in mind: bring global travel to a local level. By highlighting international spice blends in a healthy and delicious snack, people are able to experience global flavors while thriving in their daily routine. The blends we highlight have little to no exposure in the American market and provide a unique and exciting snacking experience. Our first line of products is exotic dry-roasted almonds. We currently offer Argentinian Chimichurri, Ethiopian Berbere, and Mediterranean Za’atar. All dry-roasted to perfection and absolutely delicious!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Our greatest challenge so far has been figuring out how to tell our story. People have an inherent tendency to view spices as a luxury. When we first launched our brand, consumers were viewing it as more of a specialty snack. This was partially our fault. We had focused on the idea of the cultural exchange that takes place when you enjoy our products. We also featured a brief history lesson about each spice on the back of the bag. Prior to actually tasting Departure Snacks, consumers were a little intimidated by all this information. However, once they actually tasted our almonds, everyone fell in love.
We realized that in order to disrupt the way people usually snack, we had to make ourselves more approachable. As much as we love to learn about the history of different spices, we don’t want to scare anyone away. As a result, we simplified our brand messaging and decided to show our true personality a little more.
Since we re-branded we’ve seen a really positive response from the community. People now understand that we’re just a bunch of foodies who like to travel and snack healthy!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Departure Snacks story. Tell us more about the business.
Departure Snacks is all about creating globally inspired snacks that nourish your daily grind. We strive to deliver health, happiness and even inspire a little wanderlust. This starts with our ingredients. We’ve partnered with a co-op of family farms in California to grow the highest quality almonds possible, in a responsible manner. We then blend the almonds with spices from all over the world, sourced through a certified ethical supply chain. We dry-roast them here in Chicago and package them in a low ink consumption bag. All of our snacks are all natural, non-GMO, and ethically sourced. Our snacks only have three ingredients: almonds, spices, and a pinch of tapioca starch.
It’s pretty incredible when I look back at how much time and effort we’ve put into perfecting our product. From finding highest quality spice suppliers to making sure we’re at the forefront of flavor innovation, I can confidently say that no one else in the snack market is doing it like we are. It’s a great feeling to be swimming against the current. Ultimately, we hope to gain enough traction to not only produce several more product lines but to also partner with the farmers who grow our spices by providing sustainable agricultural infrastructure. We’ve seen some awesome companies do this and have a profoundly positive impact by assisting developing communities abroad. We can’t wait for our turn. Until then, we’ll continue to help combat hunger here in Chicago by regularly donating almonds to the food depository.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’ve always held the belief that luck is the residue of design. That being said, I think we’ve been extraordinarily lucky to have so much support from the travel and wellness communities. More importantly, I think we are very lucky to have such devoted fans who believe in what we’re doing. It’s been incredible to see people as passionate as we are about creating a more globalized approach to the US snack market. We’ve gotten so much support and help over the past two years that it would be foolish to say luck didn’t play some sort of role. As far as bad luck goes, I don’t believe in it. We’ve overcome too much to use bad luck as an excuse for anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.departuresnacks.com
- Email: info@departuresnacks.com
- Instagram: departuresnacks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DepartureSnacks/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/departuresnacks/
Image Credit:
Ali Stone
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
