From flavors like Animal Cracker to S'mores, Fiona Blumin created her company Made by Blu with the intention of adding a fun twist to one of her favorite healthy foods: nut butters. This WashU at St. Louis senior has entrepreneurship in her soul, which has helped turn Made by Blu from a quarantine project to a true, thriving business.
"I'm 100 percent willing to put in everything to make my business succeed," Blumin said in our over-the-phone interview, with clear passion and determination in her voice. And while it could be tough balancing school work and running a small business, Made by Blu has still been able to operate while Blumin takes classes in her final year of college.
But how did she get to this point? Going back to the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Blumin got the idea of creating a healthy, minimal-ingredient nut butter while stuck at her Cleveland home. With her kitchen at her disposal, Blumin was able to perfect her gluten-free, dairy-free, hydrogenated oil-free, and refined-sugar free nut butter recipe that makes her brand special.
"The difference between my product and other products out there is that I really try to limit the amount of unnatural and unnecessary ingredients," Blumin said. She bases her nut butters off of three ingredients: nuts, honey and vanilla extract, along with the additional fun toppings. And she definitely doesn't go overboard with the marshmallows, chocolate or animal crackers, which helps balance out the healthy recipe with the sweet toppings.
"I made my product the best of both worlds," Blumin said, "as many clean ingredients as possible, but then a little bit of fun."
While experimenting with different recipes and flavors in the beginning, Blumin took to Instagram polls and questions to get suggestions from her followers. "Customer feedback is something I hope to incorporate in the future as well," Blumin said. "I really want to make sure I'm making products that my customers value and want."
The @madebyblu_ Instagram feed gives off a welcoming, foodie vibe, with many story highlights showing the interaction she has with her customers. The feed is guaranteed to make your mouth water, as Blumin includes various recipes she has made with Made By Blu nut butters, and pictures of overflowing nut butter jars.
She has also taken to other social media sites to grow and promote her brand. On TikTok, Blumin appreciates how viewers can see "the face behind the business," bringing a more personal feel to her brand. She puts her Made By Blu twists onto different trends like the tortilla-folding trend, and posts videos that allow viewers to see the progress of her business.
Before leaving for her senior year of college, Blumin was considering putting the business on hold because she didn't see how she could continue while at school. But when her dad told her that Made By Blu "had the potential to be successful," because of "how many people had bought from [the brand] so far," Blumin and her parents worked out a way to keep the operation running. "Coming from my dad that meant a lot because he definitely tells it as it is," Blumin said. "So if he believed in me, that really meant to me that I would have the potential to be successful."
So much is in store for Made by Blu. The next big step that Blumin took to advance her business was working with a professional copacker.
Blumin hopes to one day sell at major grocers like Whole Foods and Target, and the fact that she markets her product to everyone, not only fitness gurus or hard-core dieters, will certainly help set her brand apart from other healthy nut butters. "I really hope to get my name out there and spread a positive message of health and following your dreams and your passions," Blumin said.
