Hey everyone. We're super excited to announce the launch of our slack community for D two C pod. This is a space exclusively for D two C founders and operators to connect, share ideas, ask questions and support each other. You'll be able to engage with the best minds and operators and consumer. And currently we're on a waitlist and it will open up the community once we reach 150 members. So apply using the link in the description and we hope to see you on slack. So before we kick off today's recording, I've got one more for you. Keeping up your momentum this year starts with the right selling tools.

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The pricing will scale with your business, and with more than 1300 integrations and add ons, you can tune it to your exact needs. Visit HubSpot.com sales to start selling with sales hub what is up DTC pod? Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Ellen Marie Bennett, who is the co founder or the founder and chief brand officer of Headley and Bennett. We're really excited for this convo because we are talking everything. Cooking chefs, cooking products, product development for an amazing chef and brand that she has seen, spun, spun out and built over the last twelve years. So, Ellen, I'm going to let you take it away. Why don't you tell us a little bit and let's start with your personal background and maybe the inspiration and what led to the founding of Hedley and Bennett.

Yeah, definitely. I am born and raised in LA, but I am half Mexican, half English. So I grew up with this, like, really amazing sort of contrarian worldview from my very, very, like, you know, running around the streets of Mexico, playing soccer, barefoot life. And then I had my great danes and tea at four and Shepherd's pie for dinner life in my english grandparents house. So the inspiration for my company's name, Hedley and Bennett, is actually from these two very opposing cultures that are so amazing and so an informative part of my life and journey. So I grew up in LA, then I moved to Mexico City when I was 18. And I lived there for four years. Went to culinary school.

Always loved food. Always, always, always. And I knew I wanted to do something in food, but I didn't know exactly what it was. I just knew it had to be food related. And so I was just sort of like chasing this spaghetti noodle through life. Like, okay, Mexico. I love Mexico. I love food.

Go to school in Mexico. Like, how do you, where do I go? And I just kind of like, kept following my nose and went to school there. After four years, moved back home, moved in with my mom, which was kind of intense after living by yourself for four years in Mexico City and, like, growing a whole life. And I got a job at the best restaurant in the city called Providence, which is two Michelin star restaurant. And that's actually where I began my company, Headley and Bennett. So it's been twelve years. And I'm very proud of those twelve years because I think we are so used to seeing these air quotes, overnight successes and also kind of overnight failures too. And I've always played the long game.

And so here I am standing strong. Twelve years in with Hedley and Bennett, which is very much a chef company that started as an apron brand just for cooks in professional restaurants. And now it's morphed into a lot more than that. It's like a culinary brand that makes knives and cutting boards and aprons for not just professional chefs at a professionally level quality, but for home cooks too. Like, we outfit hundreds of thousands of home cooks with our products and it's the same exact product. We're not like, dumbing it down for, for the home cook. We're just making legit shit that is essential, beautifully made, and like, the most major chef, you know, probably wears Headley and minute.