Remember when we were all making sourdough bread to pass the time during lockdown? Our guests today were also cooking something up in their kitchen, but it was much sweeter and designed to be more of a long-term play than a short-term way to occupy their time. Shant Reganyan and Vicken Kejejian were fulfilling a long-time mission to start a business together. And with the coronavirus pandemic upending everyone’s best-laid plans, there really was no better time to take that first step. So the two childhood friends created their own candy. They mixed together a blend of spices, developed a base, put ‘em together, and called it Chili Chews. And after testing their recipe on friends and family, they set their sights on making the grocery store candy aisle exciting again.

Listen in as we cover everything from why they chose a name that was purposefully vague, running into discrimination from those who thought they were too young to be taken seriously, and why their candy tastes like the San Fernando Valley — in all the best ways.