Krishna Kaliannan wanted to start a tech company but failed at every attempt.
On the side, he was teaching himself how to cook with high-protein, low-sugar ingredients. Not just out of interest, but out of necessity. As a teenager, Krishna had been diagnosed with diabetes and epilepsy, meaning he adopted a keto diet long before it was trendy.
Krishna’s home experiments with pea powder and monk fruit eventually became Catalina Crunch, one of the country’s most popular high-protein, low-carb breakfast cereals and snacks.
In this episode, Krishna shares how a life-changing health condition sparked an obsession with healthy baking— and a brand that reimagined snacking.
What You’ll Learn
How to turn a health challenge into a business opportunity
The art and science of baking with esoteric ingredients
When to trust partners and when it’s best to take charge yourself
Why the DTC model is great for some industries and disastrous for others
Timestamps:
- Dealing with diabetes and epilepsy as a college student
- What Krishna learns from his early failures in tech
- The first, low-sugar cocoa puffs: “Rocks that tasted like soil.”
- His homemade cereal gets good enough to sell
- Naming the brand: classy alliteration and a nod to a Will Ferrell movie
- Learning to make cereal like the pros at Texas A&M
- Krishna moves from NYC to Indiana to make sure the cereal is made right
- Whole Foods, Costco, and becoming a household brand
This episode was researched and produced by Chris Maccini with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our engineer was Kwesi Lee.
Follow How I Built This:
Instagram → @howibuiltthis
X → @HowIBuiltThis
Facebook → How I Built This
Follow Guy Raz:
Instagram → @guy.raz
Youtube → guy_raz
X → @guyraz
Substack → guyraz.substack.com
Website → guyraz.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On the side, he was teaching himself how to cook with high-protein, low-sugar ingredients. Not just out of interest, but out of necessity. As a teenager, Krishna had been diagnosed with diabetes and epilepsy, meaning he adopted a keto diet long before it was trendy.
Krishna’s home experiments with pea powder and monk fruit eventually became Catalina Crunch, one of the country’s most popular high-protein, low-carb breakfast cereals and snacks.
In this episode, Krishna shares how a life-changing health condition sparked an obsession with healthy baking— and a brand that reimagined snacking.
What You’ll Learn
How to turn a health challenge into a business opportunity
The art and science of baking with esoteric ingredients
When to trust partners and when it’s best to take charge yourself
Why the DTC model is great for some industries and disastrous for others
Timestamps:
- Dealing with diabetes and epilepsy as a college student
- What Krishna learns from his early failures in tech
- The first, low-sugar cocoa puffs: “Rocks that tasted like soil.”
- His homemade cereal gets good enough to sell
- Naming the brand: classy alliteration and a nod to a Will Ferrell movie
- Learning to make cereal like the pros at Texas A&M
- Krishna moves from NYC to Indiana to make sure the cereal is made right
- Whole Foods, Costco, and becoming a household brand
This episode was researched and produced by Chris Maccini with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our engineer was Kwesi Lee.
Follow How I Built This:
Instagram → @howibuiltthis
X → @HowIBuiltThis
Facebook → How I Built This
Follow Guy Raz:
Instagram → @guy.raz
Youtube → guy_raz
X → @guyraz
Substack → guyraz.substack.com
Website → guyraz.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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