Meet Tio Benno
Benno on a boat that he designed and built himself!
It takes a village to create our beautiful, yummy Quesava products but none of us would be here, creating this food with passion, if not for Benno Bucher. “Tio Benno” as we like to call him, is a kind, witty gentleman who not only contributes at strategic meetings with his big-picture ideas. He is also very handy and helps design and fix our machines when needed. Benno is from the food equipment manufacturing industry and this knowledge couldn’t have been more of a perfect match when he decided to take on the food processing world.
What better way to get to know him better if not with an interview?
When did you first hear about Quejos? It was Ken, Sunday Market’s CEO, who actually found out about Quejos (the business) being for sale.
(If you haven’t read our story about the founder of Quejos, click here.)
Had you ever tried an original pão de queijo before? Yes, I have tasted other Pao de Queijos. I still like ours the best.
Why invest in a dedicated gluten-free company? At the time, I just discovered that a gluten free diet makes me feel better, but the choices for tasty substitutes were very limited. I wanted to help improve the offer of products like the ones I tried at Quejos.
What were your first thoughts after trying the products prepared back then? I went to the Main street store and bought some buns to take home, but I ate them all sitting in the car. So I had to get some more. The buns are still my favorite and I eat about 4 every week.
Through this journey what have been some of the highlights of building up the business? The trade shows used to be a real highlight. Selling product off the booth and everybody stuffing their faces. Virtual events are not as fun, and you don’t get the excitement from consumers.
You and other investors come from different business areas and backgrounds, what have you learned about the food business that might have surprised you? The complexity of the sales and distribution is overwhelming. Also, the attention to detail at every level is daunting. Thank God for Claudia.
Where do you see the company 5 years from now? I would like to see our brand as a Udi’s or Glutinos but known for good taste. A healthy convenience food that is a real hit in a profitable segment. We want to be selling our products across the United States and if possible, even further.
What have been some of the most relevant changes to the business?
Narrowing our offering to the existing products and expanding our distribution. Our biggest challenge now is to get some velocity of our products moving off the freezer shelves onto people's plates and become a staple in their diets.
We all here at Quesava hope that our products can reach as many mouths as possible, and that people can erase that prejudice that gluten-free food has either a weird texture or simply does not compare to traditional baking. Cassava is a great ingredient in gluten-free baking, and it is nutritious. Mix it with punchy flavours and you get yourself real winner snacks and meals.
Gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free spinach and onion buns topped with avocado, tuna and parsley. One of Benno's sandwich creations
