Miami-based Rap Snacks links hip-hop stars to fans, one bag of chips at a time
James Lindsay had no experience in the music business when an acquaintance set up a meeting for him with the senior VP of marketing at Universal Music Group in 2006. But he did have a background in marketing snacks, and he noticed that the label spent a considerable amount of money promoting new acts by handing out flyers and posters that didn’t stick — literally or figuratively.
Shortly after promotional posters would be plastered on buildings, they would be torn down and thrown away by property owners or local officials because they were considered litter.
“I told them, ‘I’m going to show you guys a way to have your poster on an item that people can touch, feel and they can eat,’” Lindsay recalled.
Intrigued by the unusual proposition, Lindsay said the record company executives paid him $100,000 to see his idea in action.
He put their artists on the front of potato chip bags — an idea so popular that when his contract ended in 2007, he capitalized on his relationships with the artists and put their pictures on the front of his Rap Snacks chips.
The idea for Rap Snacks was an expansion of a concept Lindsay started in 1994. Now based in downtown Miami, the company is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Since its inception, Rap Snacks has made more than $50 million in revenue, according to company representatives.
Today, the brand features flavors like Rick Ross’s Sweet Chili Lemon Pepper, Cardi B’s Habanero Hot Cheese Popcorn, and Lil Baby’s All In, a combination of salt and vinegar, barbecue, onion and garlic. Every artist has a profit-sharing agreement with Rap Snacks to receive income from each bag that is sold with their face on it.
“It’s very surreal, because I envisioned it,” Lindsay said. “I’m a big advocate of envisioning things you want to accomplish.”
As a 13-year-old growing up in North Philadelphia, Lindsay often bought flavorful chips from his local corner store after school before heading out to hang out with his friends. The snacks he ate were as much a part of his routine as traveling on the subway.
A business owner in his community who sold water ice, Mr. Bill, showed him that he could have a future with his own company someday.
“He was a pillar in the community,” Lindsay said.
With that entrepreneurial mindset, Lindsay majored in business at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, a historically Black college outside of Philadelphia. After graduating in 1994, he got a job as a consumer products manager at Johnson Products, a hair-care brand that was the first Blackowned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Working at Johnson’s Philadelphia office was a life-changing experience for Lindsay that pushed him to follow his own dreams. Being surrounded by other Black business people helped him see his own potential as an entrepreneur and allowed him to sharpen his marketing acumen.
“I was in meetings and said that if [they] can do it, I can do it,” he said.
Lindsay began thinking about how he