For Abby Kircher, 2021 has been a year unlike any other.
She closed a $1 million seed round for her startup, Abby's Better, and inked a partnership with NBA star Kevin Love and model Kate Bock, both of which will help her company with brand growth, product launches and securing new retail partners.
Kircher founded the nut butter company in 2015 when she was just 15 years old. Prior to starting the company, Kircher said she was overweight and wanted to make changes to positively impact her overall health by focusing on ingredient labels.
Now, the 22-year-old entrepreneur is shifting focus to expanding the company's operations and plans to move out of its current manufacturing facility in Mooresville and into a new space Kircher said will bring new opportunities.
Kircher spoke with the Charlotte Business Journal about the Abby's Better Gives Back campaign, how she's grown as an entrepreneur over the last seven years and the future of her company. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How have you changed as an entrepreneur since you started Abby’s Better?
I have changed in so many ways. Not only have I learned new areas of business every day since I started Abby’s Better in 2015, but I’ve also developed into an adult. I was only 15 years old when I first created the products, so it has been crazy to see all the drastic ways I’ve evolved. I have so much more confidence now — in work, in making decisions and in sticking up for what I believe in. At the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, it was easy for me to get caught up in little details of the day-to-day and get distracted from the bigger picture of the business. Since then, I have started looking at things in a broader way and see more clearly what the company’s future is.
What was the Gives Back campaign?
The Abby’s Better Gives Back campaign was a 14-day period (in October) where $1 from every jar of our nut butters sold online was donated to support the Head and Neck Cancer Care Center at Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute.
Who was the inspiration behind it?
It was established to support the work of Dr. Zvonimir Milas, who led the treatment of my mom and Abby’s Better Chief Operating Officer Anna Kircher during the summer of 2018. It was our small token of gratitude for all Dr. Milas and his team has done for her. The donation will help fund the continued quality, high-touch care and attention that the Head and Neck Cancer Care team provides to not only its patients, but also to the families who turn to the center for treatment.
How much money was raised?
With the help of our customers, Abby’s Better was able to donate $5,000.
Tell me about the new manufacturing facility.
We are excited to have recently signed the contract for our new facility. It is three times the size of our current facility in Mooresville. We will be fully functional at our current facility right up until the week of the move into the new one. The transition will take a week and then we are back in business. The new, larger facility allows us to continue to expand our business and also allows us to take on some exciting co-packing opportunities.
What is your plan for the company in 2022?
2022 is going to be a big year for us. We have contracts in place to expand our retail presence from 1,200 stores currently to 5,000 stores by the summer. We are also launching in Costco stores in the northwest United States in January. We will continue to grow our e-commerce presence as well.
