July 2002
Move Over Mrs. Fields
Kelly travels to Paris after completing her work for Sports Illustrated. While overseas, she has a chance to reflect upon what she wants to do with her life and career. While at college, Kelly was known for her granola the way some people are known for their chocolate chip cookies. So at the age of 23, she makes the bold decision to pursue her passion, without any formal food industry experience, and starts baking and selling granola full-time.
Kelly develops Bear Naked®’s original Fruit and Nut granola formula
by baking all-natural, whole ingredients in her parents’ kitchen and tweaking
the recipe until it is perfect. She labels the concoction “Bear Naked” - signifying
that pure and natural ingredients are used to fuel active lifestyles - and starts selling it at sidewalk sales and a couple of local markets. Her granola is packaged simply in a clear plastic bag, and tied with a piece of raffia.
August 2002
They Meet Again
On hiatus from Saturday Night Live, Brendan and Kelly accidentally run into each other
in Darien, CT, after not seeing one another in more than four years. They reconnect
immediately, and Brendan becomes very interested in Kelly's granola venture. Within
days he joins her in the kitchen and the two bake from 8:00 pm until the early morning
hours, producing about 100 lbs. of granola per night. Their days are now spent offering
samples at community events and selling door-to-door at local specialty and health food
markets. On his birthday, Brendan decides that instead of returning to his position at
Saturday Night Live, he will stay in Darien with his old friend Kelly, to follow his
entrepreneurial spirit and his passion for healthy, active living.
October 2002
Business Breakthrough
Brendan and Kelly move forward as business partners and Bear Naked is officially born.
To start, Brendan and Kelly both invest their life savings - $3,500 each - to fund the company.
In addition to the monetary investment, both pay the social cost of moving back into their families' houses in Darien. The company's first office space is a spare bedroom in Kelly's parents' house. For the first 18 months of the endeavor they take no salary, even while consistently putting in 100-hour workweeks.
At 23, most young adults are just "finding themselves." Kelly and Brendan did that while growing the Bear Naked business and becoming a force in the food industry. By the end of 2002, Bear Naked is selling product in about 25 stores in the Connecticut area and all is delivered by either car or UPS deliveries.
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