Ali Bonar of Kween Foods in Solana Beach

Recently, SD Voyager met up with a vibrant young woman who has decided to blaze her own trail….You might want a spoon for this one!

Meet Ali Bonar

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Ever since I was little, I have been fascinated by nutrition and wellness. I was amazed that you could alter the way you felt through the foods you ate; infatuated that what we put in our bodies can regulate sleep, appetite and mediate moods. This captivation has taken me on an exciting journey with many ups and downs.

I went on to study nutrition at UC Berkeley, soaking up every little detail like a sponge. Unfortunately, the nutritional “information overload” left me wanting to eat perfectly clean all the time, and caused food to become very stressful. I’ve spent the last few years retraining myself to have fun with food. With the support of my nutritional therapist and the strong men and women who have shared their own journeys with me along the way, I’ve dedicated myself to intuitive eating and helping others love themselves and the journey.

Through intuitive eating, I re-introduced nuts into my diet (something I had heavily restricted for years) but soon found myself topping almost every snack with peanut- or almond-based spread. While delicious, all the nuts left me feeling weighed down and digestively taxed. I searched high and low for a healthy and delicious nut-free spread, but couldn’t find anything. It was then that I decided to create my own, and Kween Granola Butter was born.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh helllll no. I always say that growth is never linear — and it’s true. I’ve had ups and downs and everything in between. In the moment, it’s easy to feel like the dips are huge, irreparable setbacks — but I try to remember that without the “downs,” there is no growth. In fact, the “downs” serve as the best learning lessons, if you’re open to it.

I’ll share one struggle in particular — something that’s going to be really funny in a few years, but it definitely wasn’t funny in the moment. Right before Thanksgiving, we had a huge purchase order come through for a well-known wellness brand. We ordered a $15,000 machine that was supposed to 10x our production speed, and when it arrived, it didn’t work. We had to complete the entire order by hand and spent all Thanksgiving day (and night) in the kitchen. We enlisted my entire family to come to help us finish the order, but we got it done.

It’s not IF something’s gonna go awry, it’s how you recover from it. ?

Kween Foods – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We make Granola Butter: the first-ever spreadable granola. We’re vegan, gluten- and nut-free (contains coconut). Many schools and office environments are nut-free, due to rising peanut/tree nut allergies — so we really shine with parents looking for a nut-free spread for their children’s school lunches.

Another big market for us is millennials on Instagram. Since I started out as an “influencer” (hate that term, but you get the point), I was able to apply key takeaways from my experience working with brands to Kween. I utilized my connections with other influencers to cultivate a huge launch campaign with zero marketing spend.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success means more than just reaching goals and making money. Success means finding passion in your day-to-day work. Sure, you grind for a few years to create a profitable and classically defined “successful company,” but if you aren’t enjoying the ride along the way — what’s the point?

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