Moms will do anything for their kids. When Margaret Wishingrad couldn’t find a nutritionally-dense cereal for her young son, she decided to make one herself. After two long years of research and experimentation, Margaret and her husband Ian achieved their Three Wishes.
Don’t let the bright boxes and delicious flavors fool you. Three Wishes is packed with eight grams of protein and just three grams of sugar per serving. It’s also completely gluten-and-grain free, thanks to a magical blend of ingredients like chickpeas and monk fruit. That’s right — you never have to outgrow your favorite breakfast, because your cereal is all grown up now.
Recently, we caught up with the Wishingrads to learn more about their journey and hear their advice for fellow entrepreneurs.
01 Why did you start Three Wishes Cereal?
Margaret: It all started with our son, Ellis. As a first-time mom, I was picky about every single ingredient that I would feed him. When our pediatrician recommended cereal as a good introductory finger food, that was my a-ha moment. There was no clean, truly better-for-you cereal on the market that I was excited to give to my son or even consume myself. I figured, “If you can’t find it, make it!”
02 What obstacles did you face along the way?
Margaret: Our biggest obstacles came from creating the actual product! It was very difficult to develop a recipe that met our “Three Wishes” — high protein, low sugar, and gluten-free — that didn’t taste like cardboard. It took us two years of constant testing, tasting, tweaking, and repeating until we finally perfected our incredible-tasting cereal.
03 What lessons do you have for other entrepreneurs?
Ian: Everything will be harder than you expect and more rewarding than you can imagine. One time we had a truck full of ingredients break down on us just days before a product run — those are the kinds of events you couldn’t possibly plan for. On the other hand, there’s nothing like seeing a customer grab your product off the shelf for the first time.
So, when things get tough, remember to keep pushing forward. All things considered, launching Three Wishes has been one of the most gratifying experiences of our lives.
04 What’s on the horizon for Three Wishes Cereal?
Ian: More flavors, more products and more fun!
05 How do you keep work/life balance? What drives/inspires you?
Ian: We are husband-and-wife co-founders, so it’s really challenging (read: impossible) to separate our work from our real, day-to-day life. As a family brand, we’ve built a team around us that feels like family. That has helped us tremendously. Thanks to our unique bond, we’re able to joke around one minute and put out fires the next.
Margaret: When you love what you do, you don’t need to separate work and life. It all flows seamlessly!