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

Hi Samantha, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started my business because I desired a change and wanted to align my professional life with my personal values. This transition involved reflecting on how I envisioned my life and what inspired me to live better both professionally and personally. I have always enjoyed cooking and entertaining with a healthy twist. Healthy On You began as healthy cooking classes and eventually evolved into my current role of manufacturing and distributing organic spice blends.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Healthy On You is an Organic Spice and Salt Blend company based in Southern California. I got the idea for the company through healthy cooking classes I taught in my home. I would invite anyone who wanted to learn more about healthy home cooking and how to easily achieve delicious results to come cook with me. These classes became very popular and when I introduced my owned blended mix of spices, they became a real hit with the groups. That’s when it hit me that I could fill a niche for healthy, organic spice blends to help them achieve the same results at home.

What sets us apart is that our products are named after popular songs; for instance, No Woman No Spice is our Jamaican Jerk Spice, De Spice Cito is our low sodium Adobo spice and Something to Taco ‘Bout is our salt-free taco blend. The idea is for many people, there is a strong connection between music and food. Both have a nostalgic effect that recalls our memories and good feelings around food. This connection has made a huge impact in the way we talk about our products and the way customers see the brand.

It was/is not easy. We compete on the same grocery shelves as multi-billion dollar conglomerates who have much lower COGS and long term contracts with retailers. We fight for our right to be in your kitchen over other brands.

The lessons learned is to know your craft, persistence and research, research, research before taking big risks.

My story is the story of many small CPG brands today. Yes, we have great products, but getting it out to the people who want and need them is the challenge, especially, with raw material costs rising. I want our customers and the world to know we are small but mighty. I love what I have created and I did it out of my passion for healthy living, my love of music and good food!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Here’s a weekend in San Diego:

Saturday am:

9:00 am: Little Italy Farmers Markets
11:00 am: Coco Maya for a delicious Brunch or Nolita Hall
1;00 pm: Walk through Balboa park or check out the San Diego Zoo
6:30 pm: Dinner at Piacere Mio, (South Park)
9:00 pm: Jazz at Lulu’s Jungle room in the Lafayette Hotel

Sunday;

8:00 am: Go for a walk in Torrey Pine National Reserves
10:00 am: Coffee at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters or Breakfast/brunch at Harry’s in Del Mar.
3:00 pm: Torrey Pines Glider Port for a tandem flight over the coastline (wood fire pizza available the weekends)
7:00 pm: dinner at Valentino Restaurant in Leucadia

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have a couple shout outs. First I want to shout out to my customers who have always encouraged me to keep going, especially in the early days when I was just starting out. Without their support, Healthy On You would not exist. I also want to give a shout out to Feeding San Diego. They work tirelessly for feed the hungry with food destined for our landfills. They are great for the food insecure in our community and for our environment- a win-win in my book!

Website: samantha@healthyonyou.com

Instagram: @healthyonyou

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-binkley

Twitter: @healthyonyou

Facebook: @healthyonyouspices

Image Credits
Photos of Samantha by Anna Clevenger; food and product shots by Samantha Binkley

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