Gina Propp\u2019s holiday granola treats rolled into a flavorful small business.<\/p>\n
Her Crunchy Girl Granola brand \u2014 now a favorite of locals who visit Fort Worth-area markets \u2014 started more than six years ago after Propp lost her job but the freedom fueled her entrepreneurial desire to expand her burgeoning business.<\/p>\n
She took the original groovy granola blend she made for holiday gifts for friends and family \u2014 a mix of oats, pecans, walnuts, brown sugar, honey, butter, salt and vanilla extract \u2014 and branded and packaged it for sale. She started at the Clearfork Farmers Market to build her customer base for the small-batch product.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just took off,\u201d she said. \u201cSix years later, I have a following. I have lots of regular customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Propp added six different blends, including seasonal options, over the years as she also sells at local markets and through crunchygirlgranola.com<\/a>. Products can be customizable and include those that are gluten free, nut free and sugar free.<\/p>\n Some granola products are named with a nod to Fort Worth, such as the Trinity Trail Mix, a standard blend made with certified gluten-free oats, almonds, pepita seeds, chia seeds, hemp hearts and dried cranberries.<\/p>\n Through a partnership with Volt Cowtown, a Near Southside electric skateboard and apparel shop, Crunchy Girl Granola is selling a special blend at the store that includes macadamia nuts, white chocolate, freeze-dried pineapple and toasted coconut.<\/p>\n Contact information<\/p>\n Website: crunchygirlgranola.com<\/a><\/p>\n Phone: 817-718-3480<\/p>\n Email: gina@crunchygirlgranola.com<\/p>\n Facebook: facebook.com\/crunchygirlgranola<\/a><\/p>\n Instagram: instagram.com\/crunchygirlgranola<\/a><\/p>\n Propp spoke with senior business reporter Eric Garcia.<\/p>\n The interview has been edited for clarity and space.<\/p>\n Eric Garcia: <\/strong>How did you start your business?<\/p>\n Gina Propp:<\/strong> In 2019, just before COVID hit, I started pretty small, kind of like a side hustle. I then lost my job. The business was sold out from under the employees and so I was kind of left with looking for a new job. I thought, I had just started this granola business and I\u2019m going to give it a go as a full-time hustle.<\/p>\n Garcia: <\/strong>Which markets do you sell your products at?<\/p>\n Propp:<\/strong> Clearfork Farmers Market is a regular one and I\u2019ve got other monthly markets I hit as well \u2014 Benbrook, Keller, Fort Worth Community Market on South Main Street. Anything to do with Fort Worth, I\u2019m usually at. I\u2019m still enjoying it. Being a market vendor is physically labor intensive all around but lots of fun.<\/p>\n Garcia:<\/strong> Do Fort Worth-area stores carry your products?<\/p>\n Propp:<\/strong> I do sell at some small, local kind of mom and pop shops. I sell at Roy Pope Grocery. In Benbrook, I sell at Stone\u2019s Throw Farm Co. And in Decatur, I sell at Wise Roots Farm to Market.\u00a0<\/p>\n Garcia: <\/strong>How did you decide to do a granola business?<\/p>\n Propp:<\/strong> I had been making the original blend, which is pecan and walnut, for a couple of decades. I started making it before my kids were born, and I\u2019ve got a 24-year-old now. I gave it away as a holiday gift. I called it groovy granola and I gave it away to all my neighbors, friends and family, especially my husband\u2019s co-workers. They really always looked forward to it. I knew that it was more than my family loved it. A lot of people loved it. That particular blend I had been making that for 20 years, and that\u2019s what I stuck with when I first started the business.<\/p>\n Garcia: <\/strong>What different granola blends do you have?<\/p>\n Propp: <\/strong>I have six regular blends and I have six seasonal blends that I rotate through the year. As I\u2019ve grown over the years, a lot of people don\u2019t like walnuts or pecans or they\u2019re allergic. There were different reasons for me to create new blends based on customer requests.<\/p>\n Garcia:<\/strong> What is your most popular product?<\/p>\n Propp:<\/strong> It depends on the weekend \u2014 either the original or the almond. Seasonally, it would probably be the gingersnap, which is happening right now. They all have a little bit of a run. There\u2019s always a draw. Some people come as a family and they bring five jars to fill up, which is shocking to me that that much granola is eaten. I love it.<\/p>\n Garcia: <\/strong>How has your business changed over the years?<\/p>\n Propp:<\/strong> I started on my own and ran it on my own for a long time. As I\u2019ve grown, I have a small team who now bakes granola blends, packages it and sells it for me. I am still out there. I am usually at one market each weekend, if not two. I\u2019m still very hands on.<\/p>\n Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. 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Birthday Cake is one of the granola blends sold by Fort Worth-based Crunchy Girl Granola. (Courtesy photo | Crunchy Girl Granola)<\/p>\n