#IBuiltThis: Brazi Bites Founders Put the “Pow” in Pao de Queijo

Welcome back to #IBuiltThis, where we talk with entrepreneurs in the Latin food world about their delicious (and crazy succesful) creations. This week we’re talking to Junea and Cameron Rocha, the husband and wife team behind Brazi Bites! Have you ever had pao de queijo? That small, baked Brazilian cheese bread that’s popular as a snack or with your morning cafe? When done right, the rolls are subtly cheesy and savory with a delicate outer crunch and a tender crumb. But they’re hard to do right, especially outside of Brazil.

That’s what happened to Junea and Cameron. While living in Portland, they set out to recreate Junea’s mom’s recipe. But they ran into a major roadblock: the most important ingredient, Minas cheese, isn’t sold in the United States. So they started baking with alternatives and taste testing and baking again… until finally the perfect batch came out of the oven. 

Knowing they were on to something (and wanting to share their creation!), they signed up for a local foods show then proceeded to sell out halfway through the show. The rest is culinary history: an appearance on the ever-popular Shark Tank and product sold in hundreds of stores across the U.S. (and some online retailers). And they’ve done all that while remanining true to the original recipe: naturally gluten-free, 100 percent natural, preservative-, trans-fat, and sugar-free. Here’s how they made it happen. [pagebreak]

TLK: What were you doing before BraziBites?

Junea Rocha: I co-founded Brazi Bites with my husband Cameron in 2011. I have a civil engineering degree and worked as a project manager and engineer for a large construction company for years before making the leap to follow my passion for food. Cameron has a degree in business and marketing and worked in sales for a decade before jumping full time into Brazi Bites. My years managing complex projects and Cameron’s marketing experience were great training for what was to follow in growing a food company from the ground up.

TLK: Tell us about the idea for BraziBites. 

JR: We started Brazi Bites to bring Brazilian Cheese Bread to the U.S. market. I grew up in Brazil enjoying pão de queijo every day and was shocked it wasn’t available here. It’s so delicious and a huge part of life in Brazil and throughout South America and I couldn’t beleive everyone here was missing out. It’s as common as potato chips are here in the U.S.!

I have an amazing family recipe that has been passed on from generation to generation so we wanted to share it with others and see if they would fall in love with it, just as we did. We launched at a kitchen incubator in Portland in 2011.

Our products are made with tapioca flour so they’re naturally gluten-free. When we started the company the gluten-free market was new but growing rapidly. We thought the deliciousness of our recipe coupled with the gluten-free quality would be our way onto grocery store shelves and into people’s hearts. [pagebreak]

TLK: Where is BraziBites now? 

Brazi Bites are distributed nationwide and sold in the freezer section of over 2,000 grocery stores, including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Publix, Kroger and Costco. And We have four uniquely delicious flavors ncluding Cheddar & Parmesan, Garlic Asiago, Jalapeño Pepper Jack, and Bacon.

TLK: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in building BraziBites?

The first few years in business were brutally challenging. We funded the company ourselves, working two jobs and cashing out our retirement accounts. There was a constant fear of running out of money and the feeling that even a small mistake could spell the end of the company. We did everything ourselves – we produced, packaged, delivered, sold, and did tastings at grocery stores on weekends. There was very little sleep.

Those challenging years helped us build a solid foundation for the company. The lessons we learned were invaluable, especially the constant contact with consumers who were just discovering our products and asking a million questions. We used those questions to shape the brand message and target the right consumers when we were ready to grow nationally. [pagebreak]

TLK: What have you learned from BraziBites? 

JR: We learn something everyday growing Brazi Bites – being persistent, working harder (much harder!) than the competition, and not giving up on our dreams has paid off for us. We love the natural foods industry and wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. We love meeting other young food companies that share our goal to make delicious new products with the best ingredients and coolest branding out there. It inspires us to keep pushing boundaries and fighting for shelf space in crowded grocery stores.

TLK: What’s next for BraziBites? 

JR: We’re just getting started! Consumers are asking for us to be more available and expand to more stores so we’re very focused on doing that. We’re expanding distribution of our current line and also working on other flavors and products to launch in the near future. We’re also very excited to be expanding into Canada this fall!