Meet Kendra Matthews | Founder and CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kendra Matthews and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kendra, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve started companies before but never “just to start my own business.” Each time, it was born out of a passion or fire that builds up and a feeling that I couldn’t ignore. Hidden Foods was no different. For years I have watched kids make poor eating decisions and their parents don’t know how to overcome it. I feel it’s part of our obligation as parents to teach kids to appreciate good food and understand that nutrients from food fuel our bodies. Too often I hear “well they used to be good eaters but now all they want are chicken fingers.” I have been introduced to countless kids that are in therapy for food aversions and am always shocked when kids have never been introduced to foods like brussels sprouts or even more exotic flavors that help form their pallets. Coupling that with the increased amount of cancer growing in kids (as well as adults) I feel like we have an opportunity to right the ship. I’m not downplaying these issues—picky eating is real and has always existed. In today’s world, I believe there are harsher consequences with the amount of “fake ingredients” put into foods that are exacerbating a society where kids are under nourished.

My first son is a fantastic eater—the kind you can’t take to sushi unless you’re ready to go broke. My second son, on the other hand, was introduced to the snack foods too young—before he found the taste for a wider variety of foods. It wasn’t that vegetables were necessarily the issue, but a lack of different foods that balance out the nutrients they need. In our house, being picky doesn’t mean you dictate what you eat—so even when he demanded chicken strips, pizza, or plain pasta, I wasn’t caving. He received a balanced meal but that might mean I was sitting next to him encouraging every bite for an hour. As a busy mom, there were nights I didn’t have the time and he got pasta out of a jar (that might not sound like a big deal, but as an Italian, not cooking homemade sauce is sac-religious). I felt guilty that I missed an opportunity to load him with protein or fiber or other nutrients for the sake of our schedule. At the same time, he started having bowel issues that led to constant constipation. I took him to the doctor with the recommendation to lay off the bread (hard for a 5 year old addicted to muffins and bagels) and to add stool softener to his diet. It didn’t work. I felt like mom of the year.

With that guilt, I had the idea to sneak some fiber filled pureed vegetables into our family sauce. Hiding vegetables wasn’t a novel idea—parents have been doing it for years. But it takes time and creativity to do it right. I found I was steaming veggies, pureeing them and trying to balance them to the point that my kids couldn’t tell they were there. Within a couple weeks we were no longer experiencing the constipation issues.

It’s no surprise that the preparation for this sauce took some serious time. It made more sense to jar it, which I did. One jar turned into 5 and then 12 until I started giving it away. When my friends with “picky eaters” said their kids devoured it and wanted more, I knew I had something.

Our goal with Hidden Foods is not to “trick” kids as much as it is to fill them with the nutrients they need by giving them foods they already love. In working along side a pediatric dietitian, we both agree it’s important for kids to identify and value foods on their own; however being able to provide nutrition when you’re on the go or pressed for time is a valuable option. Much like throwing spinach into your daily smoothie, adding our foods in to the regular family diet is a sure way to get everyone on the right track.

We also strive to provide great flavors so the whole family can enjoy them. There are no ‘bland’ tastes geared toward kids because mom and dad won’t eat that. In order to complete our mission of making it easier to feed families better, the chef shouldn’t make multiple meals for the table. I’m now motivated to introduce new Hidden Foods products that stick to our value propositions of Hidden Vegetables, No added sugars, and real, whole foods.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My passion has always been food. On my dad side my family is Sicilian and so I thought it must be appropriate to have my first job at a small family Italian restaurant where I was a hostess and a waitress at 16. At 18 I looked into culinary school, but realized, the business side of things probably had more opportunity so I went and received a degree in communications and marketing at USC. During this time I was also playing golf, and after I graduated college, I turned professional and toured through the country. After four years, golf started to wind down when a friend and I created another company called Nibnobs. We created these tasty cake truffles (similar to the concept of cake pops), but very moist and dipped in chocolate. We became very popular with celebrities and I was constantly delivering to TV show sets. We also landed on Good Morning America as one of the top gifts to get for Christmas–and we took off! Though we were growing in popularity, the product was difficult to scale due to its short shelf-life so it never grew past that. Afterward, I knew a career and food was going to be a challenge. I took my place with marketing and sales in the corporate world while still maintaining life in the golf world (modeling, influencing, YouTube—my maiden name is KENDRA VALLONE so it’s all under that name).

But food is in my blood so it didn’t take long to birth another company where I was a making macarons and shipping them throughout the country. I created a “just add water” mix and tutorial to help people overcome the idea that macarons were intimidating. Unfortunately, people still saw them as a lot of work but really enjoyed eating them. I was then left with the concept of scaling something difficult and ultimately paused on that venture. I took up marketing in healthcare and appreciated receiving a paycheck instead of having to make payroll. I found an excitement in the marketing world of healthcare and rose to the challenge of learning it and teaching it to others.

Throughout these years I also got married and had two beautiful boys who are now 9 and 6. They watch me cook and often cook with me. We make a lot of pasta and pizza from scratch–so I can remind them of their heritage.

As important as flavors are, nutrition is even more of a focus for me. I refuse to let health issues be created from their diet (as far as I have a say). I’ve been introduced to so many kids that don’t get the proper nutrition and I became motivated to not let my boys be part of it. My younger one is less willing to try new foods so about 7 years ago I started to incorporate hidden vegetables in sauces and pasta since we make our own at home. My goal was to sneak in a lot of important nutrients without having to deal with hours of battling at the dinner table. The success led to friends wanting it and me bottling it. For an entrepreneur though, when you have the bug, a good idea quickly turns into another business. I realized I finally had something scalable for once.

I look back on all the ventures I’ve had (golf, random businesses, corporate positions) and my advice to someone is not to jump ship every time you get a whim; but absolutely GO AFTER YOUR PASSION. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. If I looked at each venture as a failure because it didn’t go the way I wanted it to, I probably wouldn’t start anything new. But all the lessons in life created Hidden Foods.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite place in San Diego is Little Italy! We always try a different restaurant and find a wine bar to compliment it! As much as I might sound adventurous, I’m also a creature of habit and find that I love north county (we live in Encinitas). Every Friday we do Mexican–to me nothing says weekend like a good Margarita. We often find ourselves at Casa Di Bandini (with everyone else in North County) or Fidels in Solana Beach. My favorite restaurant–like the one I chose for my birthday every year–is Red Tracton. You could categorize me as an old man who likes old cars and Frank Sinatra–so Red Tracton embodies all of it!

I’m a huge baseball fan so if there is a baseball game in town, you can’t miss Petco Park! Our amazing stadium allows you a taste of San Diego around every corner. There’s a reason it was voted #1 in the country! But a week isn’t complete without hitting up my favorite golf course in San Diego, The Farms in Rancho Santa Fe. The views on that course make you forget how much you’re being tested on every hole. However, there is nothing better than enjoying a good glass of wine on the patio and watching the hot air balloons flying overhead.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have to shoutout to my husband, Glenn and my two boys, Rhys and Gavin. These guys test every iteration of sauce or mix that we come up with and put up with me destroying the the kitchen for days at a time. I could not do this without my husband who keeps me focused in the right direction and also inspires me to be a leader to our Hidden Foods team! No recipe moves on until it’s unanimously approved in our household.

Website: https://www.hiddenfoodsco.com

Instagram: @hiddenfoods.co

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hidden-foods-co

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hiddenfoods.co/