Cooking Up A Healthy Business

Martin Pamensky is a South African born entrepreneur and a veteran of 35 years in the natural food business. He is currently the CEO and President of Stanmar Group of Companies with operations in the US and Canada. 

Martin’s vision has always to create his own global brand that not only tasted amazing but also created a positive impact on the World. His vision came to life in 2021, when he created Simply Delish, which is now the World’s first Sugar Free, Keto Certified dessert brand. Today, Simply Delish is sought after health dessert in natural and specialty stores in North America, Australia, New Zealand, EAU, UK as well as through Amazon and other leading online platforms. 

Simply Delish has a larger mission to give back to the community and has partnered with a local non-profit organization called Child Hunger Sucks, whose mission is to feed 1 million healthy meals to kids by the end of 2021. This organization was founded by 13 year old Ever Matson, a young entrepreneur superstar who is committed to creating positive change in the lives of children around the world.  

I had the opportunity to interview Martin recently. Here are some of the highlights of that interview: 

Jill Griffin: So tell me about yourself and your position.

Martin Pamensky: I’m the Founder and CEO of Simply Delish Natural. 

I was born in South Africa; I’ve always loved food and traveling worldwide, visiting food stores, and experiencing all the latest food trends and ingredients. 

In South Africa, I also owned an ice cream dessert factory. I bought a gentleman out from Argentina, and we started a French and Italian gelato factory. In 1988 with all the issues in South Africa, I sold my business and moved to Canada. After securing several food agencies from South Africa and Europe, I started an import-export business and started focusing more on natural foods and organic foods. 

After developing the business for ten years, we saw market trends where things were moving on the west coast and what was happening in the natural organic arena. So, I kept my business in Canada and South Africa but moved my family to San Diego to grow further. 

Griffin: To what do you attribute your ability to read the trends?

Pamensky: I think it’s because I travel – from Australia to South Africa, New Zealand to Europe. I always see an opportunity and have used that as inspiration to create a following in the North American market.

Griffin: What inspired you to start your career? You said you have always loved food. So was the food business just the natural place for you to work and build a business?

Pamensky: Well, yes. My Mom always said I would be a farmer – I was growing crops at the back of the house in South Africa and always just had a love for food. My daughter studied as a natural chef and became a nutritionist and her mission is to educate people about how sugar affects the body. 

So, in 2011 she and I started the brand from small beginnings in San Diego. The main objective was to develop healthy and delicious desserts that everyone, including diabetic, celiac and vegan, could enjoy. 

We had fun testing each product with the ingredients and different recipes. We found the versatility of our products through testing. For example, mixing oatmeal, coconut milk and soy milk to create your own completely vegan, natural and plant-based desserts. 

Griffin: What advice would you have for business owners who want to develop a snack or food business? 

Pamensky:  My advice would be to look at your product and ask yourself if you could create the product using simple ingredients, without the added sugar and the artificial sweeteners? 

Don’t process your foods nor use artificial flavors or colors. Instead, try and find something suitable for people, something as close as you can to what you can call natural, so you know that what you’re putting out there is healthy and good for others.

You also have to be inspired and wake up every day believing in what you do. Your customers need to be the driving force. You want to make sure that your customers are happy so that they keep coming back for more.

Griffin: And where would they look for ideas for that? It’s easy for you to do, given your extensive background; you can see it immediately. But some people aren’t going to see that. So give me some more pointers on that.

Pamensky: I think that probably the best education you can have is at the Expo West, Anaheim. They have a four-day educational program on every aspect of food, from ingredients to vegan products. 

That’s probably the best education, learning and seeing all the new products that are being pioneered. Talk to the entrepreneurs to find out what they are inspired by. Ask yourself where the gaps are. What are people not doing?. 

Griffin: Great advice. What makes your company unique?

Pamensky:  I would say what makes our company unique is that we truly understand our customers, who they are, what they’re looking for, and how our products can help them. 

For us, that’s vegans and people who suffer from allergies who are looking for peanut-free and plant-based ingredients with natural flavors and colors. As a result, we’ve filled a gap in the market and we’ve created a robust global community with our customers compared to our competitors. 

We value transparency and feedback, so we work with 600 influencers who are passionate about our products. We’ve made sure that we are connected with them about the latest snack trends and ingredients to better ourselves and develop new products for them. 

Griffin: How did these influencers find you? How did you find them?

Pamensky: We carry out a NET Promoter Score survey; this determines how many customers would recommend your brand and products to someone else. 

So we use those customers as each one is aligned with our values. We hand-selected every one of them. They have to align with our thinking and love our products. These are not paid partnerships, and these are organic and trustworthy relationships with customers who love our brand. 

Griffin: You’re really good at spotting trends. Look five years out for me; tell me what you see.

Pamensky: Number one, I think people’s thinking will change about how they see sugar and how it affects people’s health and how lowering it can help end obesity. 

Number two is there will be less artificial flavors and colors. Every one of our flavors and colors is derived from the fruit itself and is from nature. We’ve made sure we get our certification from suitable bodies. 

People will be going back to how food should be cooked and how food should be prepared, less processed foods. As well as understanding allergens and issues related to food and specific ingredients. Thinking about what happens in your gut from the food you eat will be at the forefront of people’s minds.