Catalina Crunch: Krishna Kaliannan. From Homemade Keto Cocoa Puffs to Breakfast Aisle Breakthrough

Krishna Kaliannan wanted to start a tech company but failed at every attempt.

On the side, he was teaching himself how to cook with high-protein, low-sugar ingredients. Not just out of interest, but out of necessity. As a teenager, Krishna had been diagnosed with diabetes and epilepsy, meaning he adopted a keto diet long before it was trendy.

Krishna’s home experiments with pea powder and monk fruit eventually became Catalina Crunch, one of the country’s most popular high-protein, low-carb breakfast cereals and snacks.

In this episode, Krishna shares how a life-changing health condition sparked an obsession with healthy baking— and a brand that reimagined snacking.

What You’ll Learn

• How to turn a health challenge into a business opportunity
• The art and science of baking with esoteric ingredients
• When to trust partners and when it’s best to take charge yourself
• Why the DTC model is great for some industries and disastrous for others

Timestamps:

00:06:16 - Dealing with diabetes and epilepsy as a college student

00:12:38 - What Krishna learns from his early failures in tech

00:22:43 - The first, low-sugar cocoa puffs: “Rocks that tasted like soil.”

00:27:36 - His homemade cereal gets good enough to sell

00:32:42 - Naming the brand: classy alliteration and a nod to a Will Ferrell movie

00:44:51 - Learning to make cereal like the pros at Texas A&M

00:54:43 - Krishna moves from NYC to Indiana to make sure the cereal is made right

01:01:04 - Whole Foods, Costco, and becoming a household brand

This episode was researched and produced by Chris Maccini with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our engineer was Kwesi Lee.

Follow How I Built This:

Instagram → @howibuiltthis

X → @HowIBuiltThis

Facebook → How I Built This

Follow Guy Raz:

Instagram → @guy.raz

Youtube → guy_raz

X → @guyraz

Substack → guyraz.substack.com

Website → guyraz.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.