January 08, 2025
Mindful Munchies
Poorvi Patodia ’94 is redefining your snack gameby Jennifer Myers
Americans have long craved crunchy, salty snacks bursting with flavors like BBQ, ranch, and nacho cheese. Yet, until recently, grocery store shelves offered limited choices—potato chips, cheese puffs, and pretzels—that provided a quick fix but lacked nutritional value.
Ravenously hungry and searching out healthier snacks to satisfy her cravings while pregnant with oldest daughter Mira, Poorvi Patodia ’94, P’26, a former product brand manager, decided to create a better snack option.
“I thought of snacks I enjoyed growing up, particularly roasted chickpeas, which are a staple in many cultures, including India, where I was born,” she says. “Packed with protein and fiber and free of the top eight allergens, chickpeas have everything people want in the U.S., yet they are barely eaten here.”
Patodia envisioned replacing BBQ potato chips with crispy, roasted BBQ chickpeas that would be both nutritious and satisfying. In 2012, she took a leap of faith, quitting her job to launch Biena Snacks.
Biena is now a leader in the healthy snack market, offering a range of roasted chickpeas in flavors such as sea salt, honey roasted, rockin’ ranch, and habanero, available in over 15,000 stores nationwide. In 2022, the company expanded its product line with “Tasty Thins,” a low-calorie, high-nutrition chickpea chip.
But this was not a story of overnight success.
Patodia's vision: The nutrient-packed chickpeas of her childhood becoming a go-to snack in American pantries
In her kitchen, Patodia tirelessly refined the roasting process to create a light, crunchy snack without compromising nutrition. Securing a manufacturing partner proved to be a formidable challenge.
“I made a lot of cold calls and got a lot of ‘nos,’” she says. “I had meetings with manufacturers, where people walked out of the meeting, thinking the idea was not worth discussing. I can understand their perspective, given that I had no volume or customers at that point and this category of snacks did not exist.”
By launching Biena Snacks, Poorvi Patodia ’94, P’26 proves it's never too late to pivot to your dream job
Patodia persisted and eventually convinced a small boutique manufacturer in Vermont to produce her snacks.
“After more than 100 trials, we figured it out,” she says. “Simultaneously, I received my first order from Whole Foods for a mere $76—one case of each flavor.”
She spent the next four years building a regional following and handling marketing and sales herself while working to streamline production. In 2016, her perseverance paid off when she secured a deal with Target, found a manufacturer willing to invest in new equipment for larger production, and raised her first seed funding from investors.
Consumers are catching on. Biena boasts more than 60 percent of the market share in the “roasted bean snacks” category, a category that did not exist when Patodia started the company.
“More people are waking up to the idea that what you put in your body has an impact on how you feel and live, at a very foundational level,” she says.
Turning a business dream into reality has been as rewarding as it has been challenging, Patodia adds.
“It is truly amazing that any of us can decide to go after an opportunity,” she says. “And if we push hard and build the right team and community around us and stay determined, we can have a huge positive impact.”
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