SMACKIN’ Sunflower Seeds – Cole Schaefer and Brian Waddick
Sunflower seeds have grown over time to become a staple for baseball players of all ages. Despite its popularity in this area, not much has changed about the sunflower seed industry. Three or four companies have ruled the sunflower seed market with pretty much the same flavors and not much innovation. Cole Schaefer and Brian Waddick were roommates and baseball teammates at the University of Minnesota and began to roast sunflower seeds in their dorm room in 2019. They came up with more exciting flavors, like Cinnamon Churro, and posted TikTok videos of them asking professional baseball players to try their seeds. Their online presence quickly grew and the excitement and creativity they brought to the sunflower seed market was soon popularized. Their SMACKIN’ sunflower seeds are now one of the top selling sunflower seed brands and some of their collaborations and flavors have been huge hits. One of the things that makes them stand out is their quality of seeds. They were able to cut down on the amount of sodium that they use and use an adhesive that made the flavoring strong and authentic, two things that other sunflower seed companies haven’t replicated. They have also done collaborations with current MLB players which helped bring buzz to their company and it gave them the creativity to explore different flavors. These are two exemplary entrepreneurs because they saw a stagnant industry that has a large demand and were able to make a product that is higher quality and more exciting. What makes their story exciting is that almost all of their advertising is exclusively on social media and they don’t use outside investors. I can relate to them and this product because I am a baseball player and have first hand experience with the sunflower seed market. You don’t always need to do much, just look around at your everyday life and the things that you are interested in and see how you can make it better.
https://baseballandbrands.substack.com/p/how-two-college-kids-cracked-baseballs
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This seems like a really cool brand. I remember growing up with seeds, and even the ig brands didn’t come up with flavors until i was in middle school. It’s really cool to see guys come up with more flavors, and healthier seeds.
i like how you explained this they made it more exciting and appealing to a younger audience. I think it shows how entrepreneurs can take something ordinary, add their own creativity and branding, and turn it into a successful business
This is so interesting! It’s so inspiring that the co founders were roommates and started making their product from their dorm! It’s also amazing they were able to get collaborations with MLB players.