Glen Powell, known for his roles in films like Twisters and Anyone but You, is stepping into the culinary world
Image: Smash Kitchen
Glen Powell has done it all on screen—from battling storms in Twisters to trading banter in the rom-com Anyone but You. But his latest role? It’s a little unexpected: reinventing the kitchen pantry.
The actor is stepping into the food world as a cofounder of Smash Kitchen, a new condiment brand hitting Walmart shelves nationwide on April 2. The line includes ketchup, mustard, mayo, and BBQ sauce—all made with better-for-you ingredients like organic tomatoes and mustard seeds, cage-free organic eggs, and none of the usual suspects like high-fructose corn syrup or artificial additives. The goal? To bring all your favorite condiments under one cleaner, tastier brand.
“We’re trying to give you the flavor that you love and you’re used to, with more integrity,” Powell tells Fast Company. “When you look at these legacy brands, they don’t evolve because they don’t have to evolve.”
The Powell-backed brand is leaping into the $12 billion U.S. condiments category, which is projected to grow an additional $1 billion by 2029, according to market researcher Mintel. Unlike other food categories like coffee, soda, and yogurt where upstart brands have made inroads, Unilever’s Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Kraft Heinz’s namesake ketchup, and McCormick’s French’s mustard are the market leaders and have easily retained those positions for decades.
“We have a tremendous sense of loyalty to these brands,” says Matthew Barry, food and beverage insight manager at researcher Euromonitor International. “People are really attached to Hellmann’s and Heinz ketchup.”
Smash Kitchen is the first business venture that Powell has announced outside of his career as an entertainer, which began with his big screen acting debut in the 2003 film Spy Kids 3: Game Over. Powell has since racked up dozens of film and TV credits and recently formed his own production company called Barnstorm. The creation of Smash Kitchen, Powell says, was inspired by his affinity for hosting dinner parties and barbecues in Los Angeles and his home state of Texas.
“My family life and my favorite memories always evolved around the kitchen,” says Powell. “Food is how we show our love.”
Smash Kitchen is backed by venture capital firm Collaborative Fund, an early investor in Olipop, Sweetgreen, and Blue Bottle Coffee. Powell’s co-founders Smash Kitchen CEO Sameer Mehta, a cofounder of dog food brand Jinx and former VP of strategic partners at mattress company Casper, and President Sean Kane, who co-founded consumer goods purveyor the Honest Company. The trio were brought together through a mutual connection with venture capital fund Iconiq Capital founder Divesh Makan.
“Ultimately, you shouldn’t have to choose what’s better for your budget and and better for your health, and Glen is super excited to be able to bring that to not only his family, but people everywhere,” says Kane.
Smash Kitchen’s pitch to shoppers is not only a focus on a “cleaner” nutritional label that avoids high fructose corn syrup and tomato concentrate, but prioritising the creation of condiments that taste good. Retailers, Mehta says, told the team that “people aren’t picking up condiments for health benefits. They are picking it up for the flavor.”
The more distinctive flavors from Smash Kitchen, like hot honey BBQ sauce and spicy mayo, may have greater success luring shoppers, as those flavor profiles aren’t as intrinsically linked to childhood memories as the classic Heinz ketchup. “We’ve seen hot honey get household recognition within the pizza category,” says Mehta. “Nobody has infused it with ketchup. It’s a flavor profile that we know consumers are wanting.”
“There’s no hot honey sauce that is so emotionally resonant and widespread among the American consumer,” says Barry. “It’s open to disruption. Anyone could be the hot honey sauce of America.”
Smash Kitchen’s range is priced slightly above what larger rivals command. The classic 20-ounce ketchup has a standard list price of $3.97 versus Heinz’s $3.48 at Walmart.com. Smash’s yellow mustard is priced at $3.47, compared to $2.54 for French’s. Barry says inflation-wary shoppers remain particularly sensitive to grocery prices, but may be willing to spend a bit more on a “cleaner” ingredient label. The organic claim, he adds, has lost some luster because it has become so ubiquitous across the grocery store.
“If you can be a little fun treat for people, a little moment of happiness and joy at a reasonable price point, that’s really prominent right now,” says Barry.
