Founder Feature: Joe Cassinelli of El Nacho
Joe Cassinelli, founder of El Nacho, explains how he and partner Toby transitioned from the restaurant industry to build a premium tortilla chip brand by constructing their own factory in Waltham, Massachusetts, during the pandemic. Cassinelli details the strategic pivot from a generic white corn chip to a premium product using regeneratively farmed corn, in-house nixtamalization, and avocado oil, supported by bold lucha libre-inspired packaging to stand out in a Frito Lay-dominated market. He discusses the challenges of scaling production, the importance of listening to consumer feedback for flavor iteration, and the collaborative nature of the CPG community compared to the restaurant world.