The start-up that I’m interning for for the next eight weeks is P.S. Snacks, formerly known as Slender Seven. Founded by a Wake Forest alum, Nikki Azzara, P.S. Snacks sells healthy, eggless, gluten free, and vegan raw cookie dough that’s actually good for you because it’s bean-based. Currently, P.S. Snacks is producing and selling three flavors of cookie dough: chocolate chip, peanut butter (both of which are chickpea based), and fudge brownie (which is black bean based) around the D.C. area and online. Last summer, I helped Nikki with the rebranding of her company, but this summer her company is in a completely different stage. My main tasks this summer are going to be to help with production, conduct in-store and out of store demos of the product, and increase the social media presence and exposure of the brand.

Starting on Monday, I met with Nikki to discuss the main objectives and tasks I will have during my time as an intern for her company. Additionally, I went to the production area that we have designated to us at Union Kitchen, a food incubator, to help the operations/production manager scoop and seal the dough so that is was ready for sale.

The rest of the week I was also spending most of my time during the first half of the day with the production of the cookie dough which involved batching out the ingredients, blending them together, scooping them into the packaging, and finally sealing them and packing them in boxes for delivery. One of the goals that Nikki and our operations/production manager hope to accomplish in the near future is to find a co-packer that will take on these responsibilities. This means that they will be able to manufacture our product so that we don’t have to produce it on such a small scale. As exposure and interest for P.S. Snacks is growing, this will be vital to ensuring that we can complete all of our orders for dough.

Another task I worked on a lot this week was reaching out to companies such as Lululemon and SoulCycle to collaborate on tasting events. Though I’m still going to be doing demos at Whole Foods, we are also trying to collaborate with companies that share similar lifestyles and have the same target market that we do. I set future dates with two Soul Cycle studios and one Lululemon store, with hopefully more to follow in the upcoming weeks.

Lastly, throughout the week, I put together a spreadsheet of media outlets and celebrities we could reach out to that share similar values as the P.S. Snack company to increase our exposure and to get more people to try our dough and spread awareness about it.

For the next 8 weeks, my main tasks will be collaborating with other brands and increasing awareness of P.S. Snacks via many channels. I’m excited for what’s to come during this internship and all the skills I will acquire!