How Junea Rocha took Brazi Bites from Shark Tank to Supermarket Success

“What we’re trying to do as entrepreneurs is move from that band of the starving entrepreneur that’s knocking on doors and stumbling, to be like, ‘I know my business, I’m gonna get shelf space, this is how I’m gonna drive, this is how I’m gonna compete, and let’s hold hands and grow.’”

In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Junea Raucha, co-founder of Brazi Bites, a company that transformed the U.S. snack market with Brazilian cheese bread. Growing up in Brazil, Junea was inspired by the popular snack and saw an opportunity to introduce it to American consumers. With a background in civil engineering, she co-founded Brazi Bites with her husband, focusing on high-quality, gluten-free products. After being featured on Shark Tank, the company experienced a transformative period of rapid growth and national recognition as brand sales soared and Brazi Bites became one of America’s fastest growing food companies. Tune in to hear Junea talk about the market gap that sparked her idea to launch Brazi Bites, the first steps she took when launching her business, and what to expect if you’re applying to get on Shark Tank—and her biggest tip to stand out.

We talked about:  

• The cheese bread that’s the foundation for Brazi Bites is the most popular snack food in Brazil (03:57)
• Brazi Bites’ initial marketing strategy (09:03)
• The secret to getting into retail stores (10:52)
• Junea’s experience with Shark Tank (18:49)
• The growing pains that Brazi Bites experienced post-Shark Tank (30:46)
• Junea’s Latino Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (34:54)

Connect with Marissa:

• Brazi Bites
• @Brazi_Bites on IG
• @JuneaRocha on IG
• Latino Entrepreneur Accelerator Program
• LinkedIn

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