Myles Powell, 8 Myles Homestyle Mac N' Cheese - Persisting Through Humble Beginnings

Jul 7

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In this episode of Black on Shelf, I welcome my first guest, Myles Powell, founder of 8 Myles. 8 Myles is a comfort food brand that prioritizes clean ingredients and key nutrients without compromising on flavor.

Born into a family of foodies and entrepreneurs, Myles Powell has always had a love for food and his best family moments were spent gathered around meals. After graduating with an engineering degree and getting a job, he realized he wasn’t cut out to sit at a 9-5 for forty years.

He knew that he wanted to make a name for himself and to start a business. So he keyed into his passion for food and began to experiment in the kitchen. Before long, he started a food blog where he shared recipes regularly.

“My parents always said if you love food, you better know how to cook it.” - Myles

The pursuit of his passion led him to apply for a recipe contest on a whim. After several interviews, he found himself on the Food Network’s America’s Best Cook show. He did not make the cut, but he returned home inspired. Shortly after, 8 Myles was born. Myles began by making and selling barbecue sauce and eventually transitioned into selling his current product, mac and cheese.

In today’s episode, he talks about his journey to getting on the shelf; he shares how it was filled with many rejections and learning curves. Today 8 Myles is distributed in mass retail and natural specialty, on Target and Whole Food shelves.

“Once you get on the shelf, your work is just beginning” - Myles

Myles speaks about navigating the corporate world and entrepreneurship, experiencing burnout and making the critical decision to employ staff.

He stresses the importance of mentorship as his business has benefited greatly from having an advisory board and he has had the privilege of helping others along their entrepreneurial journeys.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

Get to know Myles Powell (5:40)
Myles’ inspiration for his business (5:57)
The turning point: Myles enters a recipe competition (8:16)
Failure fueled his fire (10:47)
An epiphany: How Myles 8 started (11:00)
The transition into mass retail (20:54)
Quitting his full-time job for six months (25:49)
How Myles raised $45,000 for his business (30:27)
Getting into retail (44:31)

Questions Answered:

What was your first retail sale like?
What is your philosophy on business growth?
Would you recommend e-commerce for a small business?
When did you know it was time to have a team?
How to maximize your time when going into a full-time business?
What are the top five milestones of your business?
What are some activations that you can provide for people to become more aware of your brand?
What does being Black on Shelf mean to you?

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