What started as a bet between two friends quickly turned into a one-of-a-kind snack. MASA is the first tortilla chip made with organic corn and fried in grass-fed tallow. After struggling to find a manufacturer that was able to follow the strict guidelines required to fulfill their vision, Steven and Seth chose to make their chips from scratch and build their own small-batch production.
Crispy, salty, and satisfying, MASA is made with clean ingredients that steer clear of artificial additives and harmful seed oils. In addition to the simple and savory original flavor, MASA is also available in zesty Lime and spicy Cobanero.
Recently, we caught up with Steven to learn more about their journey and hear his advice for fellow entrepreneurs.
1. Why did you start MASA?
It basically started as a bet with my co-founder, Seth, to prove that I could make common snacks taste even better while using only natural and healthy ingredients that would have been used a hundred years ago. So, I went and fried some organic corn tortillas in grass-fed tallow — they tasted amazing, we felt much better and less bloated after eating them, and I won the bet. Even friends and family who had no real interest in health or prior knowledge about seed oils agreed that they tasted better and were more satisfying than any other tortilla chip out there.
I’ve never believed in the distinction between healthy foods that are supposedly good for you, but made with weird ingredients and often taste like cardboard, and junk food, which taste good but wreak havoc on your body.
Almost all foods can become healthy, if we just go back to making them the way they used to be made, and leave out all the junk that has poisoned the American diet in recent years. Of course, the best and most surprising part is that they always taste better when made properly and healthily. This is the philosophy that led me to start MASA.
2. What obstacles did you face along the way?
Our biggest obstacle was that the food industry is simply not designed to make natural foods anymore. No manufacturer was willing or able to cook with tallow or follow our strict standards, so we had to do it ourselves and build out our own small-batch chip production, which is extremely difficult and costly.
3. What lessons do you have for other entrepreneurs?
Don’t compromise. In the case of the food industry, if you set out to make healthy, high-quality, and natural food, you have to go all the way and make it perfect. If you want to build a truly great brand, you have to commit 100% to your vision and not cut any corners, otherwise, you will end up in a limbo state between a truly high-quality product and mass-produced garbage. Have a vision and commit to it obsessively, even if it seems crazy in the short term.
4. What’s on the horizon for MASA?
We want the classic American pantry to be “Masafied.” We believe all of the classic snacks that Americans know and love can taste much better and become healthy if made with real, high-quality ingredients again. We are releasing tallow-cooked potato chips this July, and there is much more on the horizon!
5. How do you keep work/life balance? What drives/inspires you?
The short answer is…I don’t keep a work/life balance. I don’t think entrepreneurs have that luxury. However, this doesn’t mean that I don’t prioritize home and personal life. That said, my work and home life are integrated, and they’re sometimes one and the same. I might be spending time with my wife on the beach, but we’re also taking product shots of MASA for our Instagram. Because it is congruent with the way I live my life, work often doesn’t feel like work. Of course, some moments of home life are sacred. For example, phones are always off at mealtimes.
I have struggled with health problems, just due to growing up in 21st-century America, and I don’t want my kids, or anyone else’s kids, to have to deal with the same. I want the next generation to lead healthy and vibrant lives without having to obsess about health or sacrifice everything enjoyable to get there. A society of physically healthy people is stronger, happier, and capable of much greater things.
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