Catalina Crunch: Krishna Kaliannan. From Homemade Keto Cocoa Puffs to Breakfast Aisle Breakthrough — How I Built This with Guy Raz

Krishna Kaliannan wanted to start a tech company but failed at every attempt.

On the side, he was teaching himself how to cook with high-protein, low-sugar ingredients. Not just out of interest, but out of necessity. As a teenager, Krishna had been diagnosed with diabetes and epilepsy, meaning he adopted a keto diet long before it was trendy.

Krishna’s home experiments with pea powder and monk fruit eventually became Catalina Crunch, one of the country’s most popular high-protein, low-carb breakfast cereals and snacks.

In this episode, Krishna shares how a life-changing health condition sparked an obsession with healthy baking— and a brand that reimagined snacking.

What You’ll Learn

How to turn a health challenge into a business opportunity
The art and science of baking with esoteric ingredients
When to trust partners and when it’s best to take charge yourself
Why the DTC model is great for some industries and disastrous for others

Timestamps:

00:06:16 - Dealing with diabetes and epilepsy as a college student

00:12:38 - What Krishna learns from his early failures in tech

00:22:43 - The first, low-sugar cocoa puffs: “Rocks that tasted like soil.”

00:27:36 - His homemade cereal gets good enough to sell

00:32:42 - Naming the brand: classy alliteration and a nod to a Will Ferrell movie

00:44:51 - Learning to make cereal like the pros at Texas A&M

00:54:43 - Krishna moves from NYC to Indiana to make sure the cereal is made right

01:01:04 - Whole Foods, Costco, and becoming a household brand

This episode was researched and produced by Chris Maccini with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our engineer was Kwesi Lee.

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