Interview with Jordyn Evans, Founder of Mingle

Can you tell us about yourself and your startup?

My name is Jordyn. Ever since I remember I knew I wanted to start a business. My dad was a business owner, my grandpa was a business owner and I knew I wanted that for myself one day. I just needed an idea and some work experience under my belt. I started my career in FMCG Marketing, working for a drinks startup, the brand was called CAPI. CAPI sells all-natural carbonated drinks and are challenging the multinationals with a “better for you” offering.

When I started it was a team of 4 people, so from day 1, I really got a taste of what it was like to grow a brand from inception. 4 years on, I was working as the Marketing Manager for CAPI, at the age of 25. It was through this time working at CAPI, where I started to become more conscious of choosing natural products and being an avid label reader.

6 years ago I was cooking one Sunday arvo. I was quite the meal prepper to get myself organised for the week. This specific Sunday I went to the pantry to grab the seasoning Mum had in the pantry. I had never thought twice to think about what was in my seasoning but this specific day I realised there was added sugar, artificial ingredients, flours, high amounts of sodium, refined vegetable oil in my Moroccan seasoning. I went to the supermarket to try and find a better alternative and there wasn’t one. When I was standing at the herbs and spice aisle, there was no brand that spoke to me as a young, millennial customer. It was at this moment that I had a light bulb moment and thought I could create a flavoursome brand that not only had better ingredients, but also was a brand that was different to the traditional boring, heritage spice brands. I wanted it to be fun, playful and inspired people to cook great tasting, healthy food. This was the moment Mingle was born.

I decided to quit my job about 6 months after I came up with the idea for Mingle, sold my car, moved back home and invested my life savings into creating this brand.

With my FMCG Marketing experience I knew the kind of budgets these big FMCG brands had and sure as hell didn’t have that kind of money so I knew I would have to be savvy and rely heavily on the power of word of mouth and social media.

I started an instagram account (@mingleseasoning) and initially launched a D2C business via a website to test the waters, build a following outside the supermarket store and see if people were as excited about Mingle as I was. It was pretty damn rewarding to see tens of thousands of people supporting the brand and genuinely advocating for the products.

Can you tell us about your Founder journey? (how/why did you become a founder etc.)

My Grandpa and Dad inspired me to want to be a business owner. They both owned trade businesses and showed me what it would be like to be the master of my own destiny. My dad also showed me what it was like to have a real impact on another person’s life, by employing them and giving them the opportunity to learn and develop skills. He really took a mentorship role with his employees and treated them like family. I always wanted to create a work environment where people loved to come to a place that they spent more time in than home and that I could have a direct impact on the quality of their lives. For me, I had a vision of creating an organisation with incredible people who were hungry to learn, inspire and do better. This continues to drive me and we now have a team of 8 people who all inspire me in their own unique ways.

You are currently working on a re-brand with Date of Birth…why did you choose Date Of Birth as an agency partner to work on the evolution of the Mingle Brand? What advice would you give to other founders currently working on their branding?

Yes the time had come for a re-brand! I launched this brand teaching myself everything- including graphic design and branding. I taught myself how to use illustrator and did all the branding and packaging myself.

After 6 years, Mingle had grown into not just a seasoning brand but a pantry brand with recipe bases, sauces and gravies in its portfolio. We had come to a point where we wanted to make our brand assets a little more refined and stronger across the whole portfolio of products for greater brand recognition. There is only so far I can take the brand and my time had run its course!

I had spoken to Prue from ROCC Naturals, who’s brand I loved, and asked her what agency she had used for her branding. Something as a founder I would highly recommend is to be connected with like-minded founders who are going through similar things to you, it can save you a lot of headaches, time and money!

We wanted to invest in the brand but I had also had some previous branding quotes that were just out of budget and not realistic for a brand that was still bootstrapped. I wanted an agency who could deliver a great result, was not ridiculously expensive with their rates, was good value, was open, flexible, didn’t have an ego, knew the FMCG game and was the perfect balance of strategic and creative. Date of Birth were all of that, they have been a pleasure to work with and all of their team are great to work with! We will continue to work with them in the future.

Mingle is currently stocked in Coles and Woolworths…how did you get your product on shelves? What was that experience like and what advice would you give to other product based startups?

I knew I always wanted my products stocked in supermarkets, so that they were accessible to everyone but that’s not how it started.

I knew I wanted to build a pool of customers outside the supermarket before I pitched to the supermarkets. So for 2 years, Mingle was a D2C business, selling my products online. I then transitioned to health food stores and independent retailers through a distributor model, once again to test the product further and ensure demand.

I also was lucky enough to be part of an incubator program with Chobani Yoghurt who really helped me solidify my foundations in the early stages with manufacturing, quality, financial planning and sales to ensure I had the capacity to scale into large supermarkets- those first orders are a big step up and you need to be ready for it!

I even started small with the retailers, both with Coles and Woolworths. They both have local store programs and on my weekends I would drive around in my spice van and deliver directly to more than 10+ Victorian stores.

4 years into my journey was when Mingle finally secured some national distribution in Coles and Woolworths and then we have built our range from there in the last 2 years. Because I had a group of customers that were hungry for Mingle this really helped with securing supermarket distribution. I built the demand, which then made it a lot easier and reduced the risk for the buyers who were going to take a chance on Mingle.

What is your experience as a female founder? What are some of the challenges and/or benefits you have experienced?

My experience as a female founder has been a positive one. There have been moments in the early days, especially in manufacturing where I have had to really work on my negotiating skills to ensure competitive pricing was honoured- this is something people will test the waters to see your abilities and approach.

Overall though I haven’t experienced a lot of adversity as a female founder. Mingle’s business however is still bootstrapped. I have seen the statistics on how many female founded startups have secured VC funding and it’s pretty damn low which certainly says there is still work to be done in this space! When Mingle raises money in the next 12 months, maybe my experience as a female founder will change, stay tuned!

What advice or tips & tricks would you give to other female founders?

Don’t just focus on your competency as a founder, focus on your consciousness too! Not only have I focused on building my technical skills in my business, but it is really important to allocate time to focusing on your limiting beliefs and working on your subconscious thoughts. A business is a pressure cooker for fear, anxiety, scarcity and curveballs to come your way and I really believe working on my mindset has been one of the biggest reasons why Mingle is where it is today. Dealing with challenges is far different when your nervous system is safe and not in flight or fight. Set up your morning well. I swear by meditation, breathwork, yoga and a mindset coach.

I don’t think empathy is gender specific. It has been said that often female founders embody empathy more in leadership, as we are biologically geared to be nurturers.  I want to assure you, being empathic is not a weakness in business, it is a superpower and makes for deeper connections with your employees, customers and suppliers.

Imposter syndrome! A lot of female founders suffer from this and in my early stages of business, especially when I was in accelerator programs, I experienced this immensely! I was looking through the lense of thinking I was always not good enough and could always do more- which left me burnt out and not enjoying the journey in the earlier days. I have come a long way and wish in the earlier days I had more acceptance for my imperfections and knew it was part of a bigger picture. This applies especially if you decide to bootstrap your business- things will be scrappy- be with it! Show compassion to yourself, that you’re trying your best and remember everyone has to start somewhere.

Remember you are in your own lane and choose wisely who you listen to! Be open to mentorship, coaching and feedback- it is a gift, but have a filtering structure to be able to consolidate feedback so it’s applicable to you, your business, your circumstances and your truth. Keep this feedback circle sacred- remember opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and your uncle Bob might not be the best person to advise you on your website design! Love you Bob! Know what kind of feedback you are after, because too much feedback can be debilitating and open a can of worms!

Don’t forget about you! Your passions, your relationships, your people and the things that light you up! Business is a marathon, not a sprint and you need to ensure you fill up the tank and look after yourself, away from the business. Don’t lose sight of who you are outside your business. Your business is a big part of you, but you are whole and complete also away from it.