Beanfields and Beyond

I recently went one on one with Beanfields CEO Arnulfo Ventura. Under Arnulfo’s leadership, Beanfields is emerging as a leading brand in the healthy, plant-based food snack segment: Beanfields has enjoyed growth of over 50% while posting record sales since Arnulfo’s arrival.

Arnulfo previously served as vice president at Califia Farms, leading the company’s strategic growth initiatives while incubating new marketplaces, and at PepsiCo’s venturing and innovation business unit, Naked Emerging Brands (NEB). While pursuing his MBA at Stanford, Arnulfo pioneered the first line of ready-to-drink all-natural aguas frescas.  As CEO, Arnulfo led the Company, Cobá, through a breakthrough rebranding initiative resulting in Top 5 Food & Beverage Product accolades as well as 4 ½ out of 5 stars from leading industry critic, BevNET.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your best advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here?

Arnulfo:Certainly not a linear path by any stretch. Originally the son of Mexican immigrants, I was the first member of my family to graduate from college, and thereafter pursued architecture in my first career. Eventually, I moved to banking at Merrill Lynch for a handful of years during the worst bear market at the time. At Stanford while working on my MBA, I founded and served as CEO for a beverage company, Coba, then eventually joined PepsiCo’s venturing and innovation business unit. Until most recently prior to Beanfields, I apprenticed with Greg Steltenpohl at Califia Farms. Grit and hustle were always constant along the way. 

Adam: What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Arnulfo: Quite a bit here, but to name a few examples, my first company, Coba, felt like a different MBA case study every day. In the end, there wasn’t the Cinderella ending for Coba, and therefore it was a failure. I learned more from that failure than perhaps anywhere else I’ve been, and perhaps that’s why VCs like to back entrepreneurs who know both success and failure. I also can’t say enough about the opportunity to work alongside Greg at Califia Farms. In many ways for me, it was a hiatus from CEO-ship and a practice in servant leadership. The way I came into this world, the son of a Navy mechanic and a mom who cleaned houses, has absolutely shaped me and accounts for my entire work ethic and the way I approach each day, and therefore the growth I’ve experienced therein. 

Adam: Where did the idea behind Beanfields come from? How did you get the company off the ground?

Arnulfo: Beanfields was started in 2010 by a handful of vegan enthusiasts experimenting in the kitchen for an alternative to corn tortilla chips. Later, the company’s fledgling growth resulted in an intimate group of investors stepping in to help and ultimately turn the brand around. That’s when I entered the picture and was brought in by the private equity company in 2018. Since then, we’ve posted 20 consecutive months of better YOY performance with Q3 most recently coming in as our best-selling quarter in company history. In the turnaround, a focus on innovation was key to revitalizing the excitement and relevance around the brand.

Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned as you having been scaling your company?

Arnulfo: People. People. People. The importance of growth mindsets only, as well as developing an overall company’s adaptability quotient (AQ). With growth means change and change can be hard for people. Not everyone is cut out for hyper-growth mode. However, in investing in each of them, training and developing them, and believing and rallying around them and their wins, that can be enabling and better yet, empowering. 

Adam: What should all entrepreneurs understand about how to successfully grow and scale a business?

Arnulfo: AQ, investing in the people while creating a process-dependent business that’s not people-dependent, and in turn developing the company cultural norms and internal vernacular.

Adam: How did you build out your distribution pipeline?

Arnulfo: Strategically, back to basics. Think concentric circles where we re-prioritized the earlier channels of trade which traditionally serve as major influencer and incubation channels. 

Adam: What tips do you have on selling to retailers?

Arnulfo: Present the absolute truth and stay authentic to your brand and product value proposition. Understand their needs, what gaps you help fill for them, and how can you drive incrementality for them, higher basket rings and more dollars going through the store.

Adam: How do you get in the door and what should you know once you’re in?

Arnulfo: It’s never easy, but we have an amazing team, all of which are incredibly persistent and never take a first “no” as an acceptable answer. Even long after you’re in and on the shelf, the work has hardly stopped, but instead just really begun. How are you supporting the retailer to drive turns off the shelf of your product?

Adam: More broadly, what are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Arnulfo: 1) take pride in your craft; 2) there is no substitute for hard work; and 3) how you treat people when no one is watching says everything about you.

Adam: What is your three best marketing tips?

Arnulfo: 1) never forget we build brands, not companies. There’s a difference; 2) always measure your ROAS (return on ad spend), and be ready to pivot on a dime and divert funds from lesser to outperforming tactics; and 3) don’t ever forget about “taste." No marketing out there can out-endure a product where taste is continuously compromised.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Arnulfo: The ability to both a) easily comprehend the macro/meta or the situational context, and b) quickly after dive into micro/details. All leaders don’t necessarily have to be visionaries, but they do need to set the pace and provide a vision. 

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Arnulfo: A willingness to be vulnerable and listen.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Arnulfo: At small scale companies, understand each individual’s reason for serving. At larger companies, understand the DNA of your people/teams, whether it be a DISC assessment or others. Walk the talk, promote internally and show employees a pathway to development. As a basic rule of thumb for me, I don’t ask anything of them that I haven’t a) already done myself, or b) am willing to do myself.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Arnulfo: “You’re not that special,” from a dear, dear friend at a time when I was just beginning my first venture, and in a very safe context/environment. It was coming from a place of love, and at that time, I was very guarded and didn’t let people know who I really was, or that I was afraid, etc. Also, the friend was just trying to keep me, and my ego, grounded. I remind myself of these very same words when I feel I’m starting to drift from my true self.

Adam: What is one thing everyone should be doing to pay it forward?

Arnulfo: Be kind to one another. Treat people the way you would them to treat your mother.