Millie's Sipping Broth: Help Satisfy Snack Cravings, Stay Comforted & Achieve Your Daily Wellness Goals
- KLS
- 2 minutes ago
- 10 min read
For the 246th feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with Millie's Sipping Broth and Co-Founder, Llance Kezner. Millie's Sipping Broth was created by a teacher who wanted a savory treat between classes and meals. It is keto friendly, gluten free and vegan. Makes a fresh cup of broth every time.
"Together Talks" feature 246: Millie's Sipping Broth presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
What separates you from your competition? What have been the biggest challenges? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
What would you suggest to outsource? Share a decision that you made that was detrimental? What is your why?
Story of how it was created?
My wife and I had always dreamed of creating our own business—we just didn’t know what that business would be. We both had an entrepreneurial spirit, but it wasn’t until I was laid off in 2009 that we were really forced into making a decision.
That moment started everything.
We knew we didn’t want to do the same thing everyone else was doing. We wanted to create something that had never existed before. We’ve always shared a love of cooking and food, and the first idea that came out of that passion was a product we accidentally created at a dinner party: marinated garlic.
At the time, we had absolutely no food industry experience. None.
Still, we developed the product and partnered with a co-packer to manufacture it professionally. A year and a half later, we won Outstanding Product of the Year at the Fancy Food Show, and our product landed on the front cover of Specialty Food Magazine.
That’s really how it all started. From the very beginning, it felt like drinking from a fire hose. We had no idea what hit us, but we kept moving forward, learning as we went.
What separates you from your competition?
We’ve essentially created our own category.
The interesting thing about doing that is that it comes with both advantages and challenges. On one hand, because the category didn’t exist before, we had to create entirely new processes to make it work. Thankfully, those processes have been very difficult for others to replicate.
The downside is that we’re the only ones really out there building awareness for the category. We’re creating the white space ourselves.
There are adjacent products that are somewhat similar to what we do. The biggest competition we face is bone broth companies. Our product is completely different—we make vegan sipping broth—but consumers often place us in that broader conversation.
Beyond that, there are traditional cooking broths, and even farther outside our category, any warm afternoon beverage becomes indirect competition: tea, coffee, things like that.
What have been the biggest challenges?
Aside from international pandemics, financial crises, and economic downturns, I think the biggest challenge has been staying focused on priorities and avoiding distractions.
I’ll give you two examples.
We originally started with the garlic product, but today our main focus is Millie’s Sipping Broth. Ironically, we got there because we allowed ourselves to be distracted—and in that case, it was a good thing. We realized the garlic product had limitations from both a shipping and manufacturing perspective. There was only going to be so much scalability there.
Because we’re creative people, we kept experimenting, and eventually we developed the sipping broth while my wife was still teaching full-time. That pivot ended up changing the direction of the company entirely.
The downside of being creative, though, is that you constantly see new opportunities. You’re always thinking, “Wouldn’t it be cool to do this?” or “What if we tried that?”
At one point, we probably had ten different ideas we were testing at the same time just to see what might take off. This one did.
Even now, we still battle with ourselves over all the other possibilities. So the biggest challenge, honestly, is concentration and knowing where to put your energy.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
Right after COVID, we launched Millie’s into retail in a major way. Before that, we were primarily direct-to-consumer, with only a few specialty retail locations.
Then, within a single year, we expanded into 2,000 Walmart stores and 400 Sam’s Club locations.
We made more product in one week than we had made in an entire year prior to that. It was an incredible opportunity—but it also brought phenomenal challenges.
We’re now entering our third year with Walmart, and it hasn’t been easy. One of the biggest focuses has been what retailers call “driving velocity,” meaning getting customers to consistently buy the product so Walmart remains invested in carrying it.
When you jump from 100 stores to more than 2,000—and eventually over 3,000 locations total—everything changes. Manufacturing changes. Logistics change. Consumer behavior changes.
Over the last few years, we’ve worked hard to stabilize manufacturing and build sustainable sales momentum. Of course we want to continue growing, but growth only works if you first establish a stable foundation.
So over the next 12 months, the focus is really about maintaining that plateau where everyone is happy: the retailers, the manufacturers, and the consumers.
The product itself continues to get incredible feedback, and that’s critical. We also have ideas for line extensions, and Lori and I are always tinkering with unrelated concepts and new products. Some of those may eventually become something bigger.
A big part of that creative process is simply keeping ourselves interested and excited about what we’re building.
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business?
The biggest motivation behind starting the business was wanting more control over our own destiny.
After what happened in 2009, we realized that as an employee, you’re ultimately employed at the whim of someone else. I was the one who got laid off—Lori was still teaching at the time—but it changed the way we thought about stability and independence.
Of course, having your own business comes with an entirely different set of challenges, but we wanted more control over those decisions ourselves.
That said, I still took on consulting work while we were building the business. One thing I always tell people is: don’t quit your day job immediately when you’re starting something new. Make it as uncomfortable as possible.
If starting something new creates discomfort in your life, that’s usually a sign you’re growing.
That’s exactly what we did. We stretched ourselves as far as we could while continuing to build the business on the side. Eventually, that uncomfortable balancing act became the bridge toward becoming fully self-sustaining.
To me, it’s like standing at the edge of a ladder and deciding whether you’re willing to take the next step onto the roof. A lot of people struggle with that leap.
For us, though, the path always felt strangely self-evident. We just kept taking the next logical step, and over time, those steps built something real.
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I couldn’t do this without my wife.
This has never been a one-person effort.
I also don’t really like calling myself an entrepreneur. I prefer to think of myself as a problem solver. That mindset has shaped everything we do.
If you can solve a problem for yourself and for other people, there’s value in that. We’ve leaned heavily into that idea.
Now, is everything we do perfect? No. Is it operating at some global Fortune 50 standard? Absolutely not.
One of the hardest lessons was letting go of perfectionism.
But is the product good? Absolutely. We stand behind it completely. The world’s largest retailer has carried our product for three years, so clearly it’s meeting a very high standard.
At the end of the day, entrepreneurship is really about solving problems, recognizing opportunities, and continuing to move forward. That’s probably the biggest lesson of all.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
We outsource almost everything.
I’ve realized over time that I’m not the kind of person who wants to build a massive company internally. That’s not really my strength. What I am good at is identifying talented people and outsourcing effectively.
Learning to let go has been difficult because this business is our baby. Naturally, you want to control everything. But there are people far smarter than me in certain areas, and trusting them has been an important part of growth.
At the same time, just because someone is an expert doesn’t mean they have all the answers either.
Lori and I still think of ourselves as out-of-the-box thinkers. Even after all these years, we approach the business with a newcomer mentality. I don’t necessarily consider myself an “expert” in the field, even though I’ve learned a tremendous amount.
That mindset is actually a huge advantage because it allows us to question traditional rules and think differently about what we’re doing.
We’re humble enough not to assume we know everything, and I never want to lose that humility. I genuinely believe it’s one of our greatest strengths.
At the same time, we have complete confidence in our product, and I think people feel that when we talk about it.
What would you suggest to outsource?
I talk to a lot of people who either have product ideas or are already trying to build something. One of the biggest mistakes I see is people insisting on manufacturing everything themselves.
When we first launched the garlic product, I had coffee with someone who used to work at Costco. He gave me one piece of advice that has stayed with me ever since:
“Don’t make your own product.”
At first, that sounded counterintuitive, but he explained that if you focus all your energy on manufacturing, you won’t focus on the things that actually grow the business.
You are not an expert in production. Your job is to create, market, and sell.
Could we have figured out manufacturing ourselves? Absolutely. But that would have taken our attention away from the most important parts of the business.
That’s the advice I give to almost everyone now: don’t try to do everything yourself.
People often say, “Nobody knows how to make it correctly except me.” But the reality is there are professionals with decades of experience who understand production far better than you do.
The first company we worked with was run by a 76-year-old man who had previously been the production manager for Green Giant on the West Coast. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Was his operation flashy? No. Did it look old-school? Absolutely. But it was effective, efficient, and consistent.
Watching him taught me a lot. It reminded me that expertise matters, especially when it comes to the most important part of your product.
Share a decision that you made that was detrimental?
I stand behind every decision we’ve made because, ultimately, they all became learning experiences.
That said, some situations were definitely painful.
About seven or eight years ago, we had an opportunity to place our product in Microsoft break rooms. Being based near Seattle, I was able to get the attention of their HR department, and they agreed to test our broth.
Ironically, the entire concept behind the sipping broth originally came from the idea of having something warm and healthy available in workplace break rooms—something my wife wanted as a teacher.
At first, things were going really well. Microsoft kept reordering the product, and it looked like we could potentially expand into hundreds of break rooms.
At the same time, however, the manufacturer we were using began changing part of the production process without our knowledge. They were accidentally burning the ingredients during processing.
The result was awful. The broth tasted terrible, and we didn’t even realize what was happening until much later.
We ended up losing the Microsoft opportunity entirely.
It was devastating because that could have become a massive launch point for the business.
But what we learned from that experience was incredibly important: every partner and every system has limitations. At some point, you have to recognize when you’ve outgrown those limitations and be willing to move on.
In our case, we eventually left that manufacturer behind. Thankfully, we had enough business elsewhere to survive the setback, but it was the first major moment where we truly understood the importance of scalability and operational alignment.
What is your why?
The biggest driver behind all of this is creating opportunity for our family.
There are incredible days in entrepreneurship, and there are days that are absolutely brutal. You have to have something meaningful that keeps you going through both.
When people ask me what they should consider before launching a product, I always ask them one question:
“Will you still want to do this in 10 or 15 years?”
For us, the answer is yes. We genuinely find it interesting, and that curiosity keeps us moving forward.
We also wanted the business to feel personal and fun. We named the product after Lori’s mother, Millie, as a tribute to our family.
She passed away before we created the company, but we often think about how delighted she would have been to see what we built in her name. In many ways, continuing the business feels like keeping a promise to her.
That emotional connection matters to us.
And beyond all of that, we genuinely appreciate the flexibility that comes with owning our own business. Yes, there are days when we work 10- or 12-hour shifts for two weeks straight, but there’s also freedom in building something for yourselves and shaping your own schedule.
That tradeoff is part of the territory.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
I think the most pride comes from facing a big obstacle and working through it, just dealing A lot of the pride comes from overcoming difficult obstacles—working through COVID, navigating supply chain issues, and simply finding ways to survive when things became uncertain.
At the time, you don’t necessarily stop and think, “I’m happy right now.” But later, you look back and realize you handled something difficult really well.
What brings us the most joy, though, is hearing directly from customers.
Before this, I worked in software, and nobody ever called me to tell me how much they loved the product I sold them. That just didn’t happen.
Now, almost every day, we receive emails, texts, or phone calls from people telling us how much our product means to them.
Someone will pick it up at Walmart, take the time to track us down, and call just to say thank you.
Every single time that happens, it gives me goosebumps.
Those moments matter deeply, especially on difficult days. One thoughtful message from a customer can completely change your mindset and remind you why you’re doing all of this in the first place.
Piece of Advice
A lot of times, you think you’re moving in the right direction, and then suddenly you hit an obstacle that forces you to reconsider everything.
When that happens, don’t try to force your way straight through it.
Instead, find the soft edges. Find another path around the problem.
That process teaches you a lot about yourself. It teaches resilience, flexibility, and patience. It also teaches you that mistakes are part of growth.
You have to give yourself permission to make those mistakes.
Once you do that, you begin developing the confidence to face future challenges in a healthier and more successful way.
Promo Code
Purchase from their site, Millie's Sipping Broth, and use promo code below:
KLS20 -> 20% off!
Community Callout
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In Closing
KLS wants to thank Millie's Sipping Broth and Co-Founder, Llance Kezner, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!