Industry advisors told
Primal Kitchen
The co-founder and CEO, Mark Sisson, mentioned that they thought it was “insane” to attempt selling jars of mayonnaise for almost $10 each.
Despite the odds, the food blogger decided to take the plunge and introduce his paleo condiments and dressings line in 2015. According to Sisson, aged 71, this decision was fueled by “a mix of innocence and overconfidence on my behalf.”
Although Sisson lacked experience in the condiment industry, Primal Kitchen possessed a distinct edge. Each month, approximately 3.5 million individuals were engaging with his content.
blog
Regarding fitness and nutrition, Mark from Mark’s Daily Apple, when introducing Primal Kitchen, estimates his ventures. Additionally, he is an author whose works have made it onto The New York Times best-seller list, such as his book “Primal Blueprint” published in 2009. This publication advocates for the paleo diet and way of life.
A significant number of supporters approached him to purchase vitamins and supplements—annually, this venture generated revenues ranging from $7 million to $9 million per year through the Primal Nutrition label, which he established in 1997, as stated by Sisson. (Sourced from sazua.com; Make It could not confirm these figures independently.)
Having invested more than a decade in developing a platform prior to launching a product, as per Sisson’s statement, made the introduction of Primal Kitchen considerably simpler.
Would individuals purchase Paleo-style condiments such as mayonnaise?
The inaugural offering from Primal Kitchen was an avocado-based mayo free from processed additives, artificial components, extra sugar, and common oils like soybean and canola—ingredients typically present in many mainstream mayonnaise products during that era, according to the brand.
Sisson and his co-founder, Morgan Zanotti, had serious doubts about whether their condiment would actually be successful.
“Viewed as somewhat of an entrepreneurial venture,” states Zanotti, who held the position of Primal Kitchen’s president up until 2024. “Our approach was simple: ‘We desire this product. Let’s gauge public interest and determine whether others share our enthusiasm. Should they show interest—excellent, we’ll establish a business. Otherwise, we will close it down.’”
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The cost was less important than making a mayonnaise that worked with the paleo diet, Sisson says. “Rather than start with a price point and back our way into ingredients and figure out the compromises that we would need to make … [I said,] ‘Let’s build the best possible product, and we’ll price it [once] we know that it contains no bad ingredients, that it tastes great,” Sisson recalls.
When their first batch of 12,000 units was snapped up within just seven days, Sisson and Zanotti realized they had stumbled upon an unexplored niche. Three years down the line, following the launch of additional popular items such as ketchup and salad dressings, Sisson decided to sell the company to Kraft Heinz for approximately the same amount.
$200 million
He and Zanotti still play advisory roles for the brand.
Launching Primal Kitchen demanded substantial financial resources.
Primal Kitchen might have begun as an “experiment,” yet it still needed significant financing to launch successfully.
According to him, Sisson was earning “between $2 and $3 million annually” through his supplement company, and he allocated a total of $2 million for this new venture. This fund was utilized for research, recipe development, and manufacturing the first batches of mayonnaise, as he explains.
Acquiring sufficient quantities of avocado oil necessitated enormous financial resources, which we lacked since we were operating the business as a break-even endeavor,” he notes.
Instead of looking for investors, Sisson decided to secure a business loan, establishing a line of credit that ultimately reached $9 million, as he mentions. In this arrangement, Sisson acted as the guarantor on the loan, which made him personally liable should the company go under.
It was challenging to deal with this issue every night for a few years,” Sisson states. “This significant line of credit was constantly weighing on me.
After encountering her at an event he organized for his Primal Blueprint initiative, Sisson enlisted Zanotti’s assistance to manage the company operations. Previously serving as a marketing leader for food companies such as KeVita, Zanotti joined forces with Sisson to promote Primal Kitchen. She spearheaded a social media push utilizing the slogan “#HoldtheCanola.”
The mayonnaise began hitting store shelves in February 2015, as stated; during this period, Sisson and Zanotti personally managed the initial batches. Soon after, Primal Kitchen found itself stocked in Whole Foods Market outlets—initially in specific regions yet spreading across the nation less than twelve months from launch.
In their inaugural year, they generated $1.5 million in revenue, which surged to $13 million in 2016 when Primal Kitchen mayonnaise started being sold at Publix supermarkets, as stated by Zanotti.
I had intended to expand this company with the ultimate aim of selling it.
In 2018, when Primal Kitchen was acquired by Kraft Heinz, the company had achieved an annual revenue of $50 million, as stated by Zanotti.
The sweetness of their success was further enhanced by the fact that Sisson and Zanotti retained ownership of almost the entire enterprise, largely avoiding external investments to keep control. When they eventually sold to Kraft Heinz, the founders maintained a 95% stake, leaving only 5% for family members and close acquaintances who had provided early investment prior to the buyout.
Sisson states, “We didn’t secure funding from external sources, which means we didn’t have to answer to investors for spectacular growth or profits. My main instruction to the team was straightforward: ‘Avoid losing significant amounts of money while expanding rapidly into various sectors.’”
Primal Kitchen gained an advantage by entering the paleo market early. Nowadays, comparable items from similarly priced competitors such as Sir Kensington’s and Chosen Foods are available at local supermarkets. Additionally, major corporations like Kraft, which is under the same parent company as Primal Kitchen, along with Unilever’s Hellmann’s, offer similar products.
now create their own mayonnaises based on avocado oil
.
The worldwide paleo food market was valued at $12.6 billion in 2024.
according to research
According to projections from the IMARC Group consultancy firm, the market is expected to continue expanding and reach almost $20 billion over the next ten years.
The Primal Kitchen brand has continued to flourish and generated $250 million in gross retail sales for the past year, as reported by the company. From the start, this was his vision: Sisson understood early on that achieving the present degree of success with Primal Kitchen required the extensive resources and widespread distribution networks of a major corporation such as Kraft Heinz.
“When I initially set out, my plan was always to expand the business for eventual sale. Having launched the venture in my early sixties, I recognized at some stage that others with superior financial resources and broader distribution networks could potentially achieve what I have done,” explains Sisson.
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