8 Myles Mac n’ Cheese has certainly come a long way after running a crowdfunding campaign with Honeycomb Credit last year! Since starting off in the Union Kitchen accelerator in 2018, the gourmet frozen macaroni and cheese brand has expanded across the Mid-Atlantic and has recently joined the grocery section of 240 Target locations across the country.
Owner Myles Powell is a food-loving entrepreneur who decided to switch from a career in engineering to follow his passion for cooking. After appearing on the Food Network show America’s Best Cook, he decided to begin testing a product that he could sell in stores, and developed his now-famous macaroni and cheese.
In 2020, Myles ran a Honeycomb campaign to expand his brand, fund a marketing campaign, and improve upon their production and distribution with the goal of expanding across the Northeast. 8 Myles raised $36,200 from 53 investors in order to make this expansion a reality!
From Accelerator Kitchen to Your Kitchen
Myles was able to start his company thanks to the help of Union Kitchen, a food business accelerator in Washington, DC. Spaces like Union Kitchen help entrepreneurs in the consumer-packaged goods market scale up and reach higher levels of valuation than they might otherwise get.
Union Kitchen has helped over 120 food brands get started and launched over 1000 products, including the three flavors of 8 Myles frozen macaroni and cheese.
Even with the help of Union Kitchen’s resources, however, Myles still needed to find capital in order to scale up his frozen food business.
“If you Google ‘How to get access to capital,’ you’re going to get a million hits,” says Myles. “But, not every one of these is going to be right for your business. It takes a lot of time to find the right fit, whether it’s an angel investor, line of credit, whatever it might be.”
After considering these different options, Myles decided to crowdfund some of the capital for 8 Myles’ expansion with a Honeycomb Credit crowdfunding campaign.
Learn more about how Honeycomb Credit helps grow small food businesses and restaurants here!
The secret ingredient to growing a food business - crowdfunding
Myles not only saw his Honeycomb campaign as a great way of raising money for his business, but also as a means of learning how to best present the product to the world.
“While you’re trying to present your business, you’re finding out why your business is a strong one and why people should invest in it,” says Myles. “I have friends of mine who are starting out, and I’m finding that people are treating their businesses like it’s their baby, and they want to protect it from the world, from being judged. But you need to get out there and get feedback, which will be helpful for you down the road.”
The Honeycomb campaign helped Myles market his macaroni and cheese, and introduce it to markets that he otherwise might not have been able to reach at that stage in his growth.
“You’re putting yourself out there, saying, ‘Hey, we’re a small business trying to grow and we need your help,’” says Myles. “It gives you a little more visibility. You’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there.”
We’re so excited to see 8 Myles’ growth into a larger market such as Target, and can’t wait to see the frozen macaroni and cheese take over the world! You can now find 8 Myles Mac ‘N Cheese in 240 Target stores, Balducci’s, Whole Foods, and various other independent grocers across the Mid-Atlantic.
This might sound cheesy, but…
Seeing Myles realize his dream is why we do what we do. Honeycomb Credit helps entrepreneurs like Myles grow with crowdfunded small business loans sourced from their greatest fans and loyal customers.
Learn more about how Honeycomb Credit loans can get you the capital you need for your business to scale up at www.honeycombcredit.com/grow, and sign up below to receive more information!