CrowdInk had the chance to sit down (virtually) with Kjetil Hansen, founder of Deliciou, the makers of Bacon Seasoning. Deliciou’s Bacon Seasoning is low fat, low cal, vegetarian, and has the capabilities to enhance absolutely anything by making it taste just like bacon. So of course, we wanted to know more. Kjetil didn’t disappoint.
CrowdInk: How did the idea for a bacon seasoning come about?
Kjetil Hansen: Bacon Seasoning was invented by myself, a regular guy that loves bacon. When news broke one year ago that bacon may cause cancer, I started finding ways to replicate the delicious bacon flavour without all the unhealthy consequences of eating the processed meat. I thought that it was strange that there are all kinds of seasonings out there that taste like chicken, steak, Mexican food and so on, but nothing that taste like bacon. So I decided to be the one to create it.
CI: What was product development actually like? How did you go about creating and then mass-producing the bacon seasoning?
KH: Development: After mixing different spices, vegetable powders and flavours for several months, I invented Bacon Seasoning, a low in calories, low fat, low sodium, and vegetarian Bacon Seasoning that makes anything taste like bacon. There were a tremendous amount of different spices, flavours and vegetable powders that had to be considered and blended together. I outsourced the job to multiple professionals that failed miserably in creating the bacon flavour, but after a lot of work I found an incredibly tasty recipe. The response from my customers has been incredible and it is so nice to see people are loving the product that I put so much effort into creating.
Manufacturing and packaging: I partnered up with a contract manufacturer to produce the seasoning on a larger scale and engaged the Endeavour foundation to do the packing.
Selling: I created an online store called www.baconseasoning.com.au where I could sell the Bacon Seasoning worldwide and I currently offer free shipping to every country on earth except for North Korea. This makes it easy to reach millions of people that loves bacon and cares about their food and their health.
Social Media: I created a facebook page and an Instagram account to engage with people in an affordable way, and this has generated a lot of new customers.
Best usage: The Bacon Seasoning is delicious on almost anything, but it is particularly nice on popcorn. My Bacon Flavoured Popcorn recipe went viral on social media. The recipe and video can be found on my recipe blog.
CI: What was the weirdest/most difficult part of the startup process?
KH: The most challenging part was learning about the food industry. I had no clue how the industry functioned and many of the key players don’t even have a proper website that you can obtain info from. I called more than 200 businesses around Australia in the industry just to ask questions and learn about what my options were. I felt like a journalist, just gathering information. After a lot of work and persisting through many road blocks, I finally managed to get the Bacon Seasoning manufactured and ready for sale.
CI: Where do you see Deliciou in 5 years?
KH: Because we have had such great success with the Bacon Seasoning, I will capitalise on the initial growth and expand the business. In 5 years, I believe Deliciou will be a key player in the food industry and provide amazing seasonings and snacks to people all across Australia and the rest of the world.
CI: Do you have one piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
KH: My number one piece of advice is to read. Read many hours every day. Read articles, books, biographies, news, magazines, and study specific areas of business you want to improve in. There is so much knowledge that helps when running a business and the sooner you start to read, the more knowledge you will accumulate and be able to use in your entrepreneurial endeavours.