COMPANY TOUTS TASTY GLUTEN-FREE SNACKS
S.D.-based Chasin’ Dreams Farm won first prize in national contest
Sydney Chasin has been eating gluten-free since she was 7-years-old. That meant she couldn’t grab just any bread or munch on just any kind of store-bought treat.
She described it as a time “well before gluten-free is what gluten-free is today,” so she started experimenting in her family’s kitchen with healthy snacks that actually tasted good.
This life-long craving for better-tasting, gluten-free snacks and a proclivity for business, led the 26-year-old entrepreneur to start her own snack company called Chasin’ Dreams Farm.
Her product “Tiny Pops” are hand-held packs of crunchy sorghum, an ancient grain that is air popped and comes in three different flavors — sweet and salty, cinnamon, and cocoa. A handful of these look like mini-popcorn and taste like munching on a nutty flavored rice cake, which can be eaten on their own or as a topping.
These tiny treats earned Chasin a first-place win and a $20,000 grant last month from the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest — a national competition that had a record of more than 18,000 entries. She plans on using the grant to help fund inventory as well as amplify the company’s online presence — the first prize also comes with services to help her business audit its Search Engine Optimization, sustainability and marketing.
Additionally, she was the contest’s “Entrepreneur Choice Award winner,” a recognition appointed by previous contest winners and small-business owners. This award is based on a variety of factors from product uniqueness to whether the business has a positive impact on the environment or community.
Chasin officially launched the company in 2018. But