We caught up with Katherine Sprung, founder of Squish Marshmallows. We came across Katherine through her blog and found out that she is also one of our very own Tabelog-ers (win!). The day we reached out to her also happened to be the same day she was launching Squish Marshmallows on Kickstarter. Naturally, we had to back it! Not only did we fall in love with her “marshmallows of magnificent magnitude” but also by her relentless entrepreneurial spirit in an industry with fierce competitors. After a few email exchanges, we asked her to come visit our NY office to meet the team, eat some doughnuts and talk “Foodie”so she did! Below is a quick interview we did with her. Read on!

TL: Katherine- We checked out Sprung on Food and fell in love with your approach to food. What was the inspiration behind your food blog?

KS: Thanks!! I actually just started it just for fun. After leaving my (then) tech startup job, the idea actually came from a co-worker because we’d always talk about which restaurants are popping up. He’d always tell me stuff like, “you’re so descriptive and passionate about it, why don’t you just start a blog?” and that’s how it all started. Also, we’re really good friends now. Haha. So, I’ve have been posting ever since.

TL: Do you think that founding Squish was a natural next step for you after running a food blog? What was the push that made you transition?

KS: I think all of these things are serendipitous. If my friend never told me to write this food blog, I wouldn’t have incorporated this marshmallow recipe and then I wouldn’t be doing this. It’s funny how one little push can lead into something bigger. you never know where life’s going to take you. There’s no set recipe for this. Sometimes you just have to go with it.

TL: What’s the best advice you’ve received so far?

KS: I recently read an article on Forbes about the founder of Talenti gelato and was inspired by his  journey. For me the key takeaway was, if you’re passionate enough, you’re going to meet the right people and make things happen. I think you can apply this to any space.

TL: Tell us your thoughts behind the word “Foodie.” Do you think that it’s excluding folks who don’t necessarily consider themselves “Foodies” but enjoys going out?

KS: I think this word gets a bad rep. I can see how it may come off as obnoxious. To some, it is a very high brow (it’s flavor profile, texture, etc.) but to me, it’s having an appreciation for food and enjoying food. I could go to an amazing food truck and get a $3 taco and I’ve also been disappointed with Michelin rated restaurants. In essence, it’s having an appreciation. I think Eater does a good job highlighting Cheap Eats– they have a spectrum. It should engage a larger audience.

TL: Do you think there’s a certain “type” or persona that captures our target audience?

KS: We’re living in a time where the only thing you need to be famous is Instagram, haha. It’s nice to see different characters- these are the people who make up the food community. Everybody’s got their something.

Enjoyed our interview with Katherine? Connect with her on Twitter @iamsprung and be sure to check out Squish! (the best marshmallows you’ll ever get your hands on!) You can also back her Kickstarter here.  A huge shout out to Katherine for her time and we wish her all of the best for Squish!

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Bon Appetit!

-Tabelog Staff