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Podcast: By All Means
Episode: 135. Mike & Jen's Cocoa Founder/CEO Dean Packingham
Description: It started as a fun project with his kids: creating the “best hot cocoa in the world.” After countless tries, Dean Packingham thought he had succeeded, and everyone who tried his instant cocoa mix agreed. Named for his kids, Mike & Jen’s Hot Cocoa debuted at specialty shops in their hometown of Duluth. Today, it’s sold in more than 1,300 stores nationwide including Costco, Target, and Meijer. Packingham has grown his home project to a regional brand with just one partner and no outside investors.
“It’s a little bit of a sleeper category, hot cocoa—there wasn’t much in the premium p...