Jaju Pierogi: 10 Years of Polish American Pride and Dumplings

Their grandfather worked at his Polish deli until he was 87. Their uncle is 75 and still running it. Nobody in the family told them the business was a good idea. And that didn’t stop Vanessa and Casey White from building one of the most beloved Polish American food brands in the country.Vanessa and Casey White are the co-founders of Jaju Pierogi, a Polish American frozen pierogi brand they started in 2016 from their grandfather's handwritten deli recipes, scaled through New England farmers markets and brewery pop-ups on $70 Amazon griddles, grew through a COVID meal kit delivery service that hit 2,000 orders in six weeks, and have now brought to Whole Foods nationwide, Fresh Market, and upcoming Target locations in the Midwest. For those who didn’t grow up having these delish bites, pierogi are Polish dumplings. Jaju is their grandfather's name in Polish. His legacy lives on in every bag.In this episode, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Vanessa and Casey for one of the most honest, funny, and genuinely moving CPG founder conversations The Perfect Bite has ever had. From growing up on a boarding school campus in Western Massachusetts eating endless buffets while their mom's kielbasa was the most requested dish at every gathering, to scaling a frozen food business without a single dollar of outside funding, to walking away from Shark Tank rather than take a deal that did not work for them. From the pineapple and cheese pierogi that their grandfather's deli loved but the market did not, to the gluten-free pierogi and the skillet meal coming next, this is a conversation about legacy, grit, community, and what it actually looks like to build something real over ten years.In this episode, we cover:Growing up Polish-Irish American on a boarding school campus in Western Massachusetts where their parents were not particularly great cooksA mom whose kielbasa was the most requested dish at every summer gathering on the CapeA grandfather who worked at his Polish deli until he was 87 and whose handwritten recipes launched an entire companyGoing to their grandfather's store to get those recipes and discovering that a handful of salt means something very different when the hand belongs to your grandfatherWorking in the deli from middle school on Saturdays where Vanessa got blamed for every mistakeCasey at Bentley studying business while Vanessa studied Italian and French The gap in the Boston pierogi market that kicked everything offStarting on a kitchen table scaling 500-pierogi recipe trial and errors down to 40 and handing them to friends in Ziploc bagsThe deli in Beverly, Massachusetts that let them rent the space on Sundays as a kitchenSelling out 40 boxes of pierogi in an hour at their first farmers market and writing down everyone's name and address to hand deliver the restBuilding the brand at New England breweries on two four-foot tables and $70 Amazon griddlesCOVID: a Google Form for pierogi meal kit delivery that went from seven expected orders to 275 by Tuesday morning and 2,000 deliveries over six weeksPurchase orders quadrupling overnight as people stocked their freezers during lockdownGoing national at Whole Foods and building out regional distribution before ever touching outside fundingAppearing on Shark Tank: the application process, the boot camp prep, pitching at 5:30 PM after being there since 11 AM, and walking away without a dealMr. Wonderful saying potstickers and pierogi are the same and why that upset everyoneThe ongoing challenge of educating a national audience about pierogi while competing with the surge in Asian frozen food optionsUnit economics, the reality of retailer fees and slotting costs, and why sustainable beats unicornThe Mrs. T's comparison: $60 million in annual sales and 70 years in business is a completely valid version of successThe skillet meal coming next: pierogi, kielbasa rounds, and sauteed onions in one bagGluten-free pierogi now availableLaunching in 298 Target locations in the MidwestVanessa turning 40 and planning a pierogi party trip to Berlin with friends from their communityCasey's pride: hearing "Jaju" used as shorthand, knowing his grandfather's legacy lives onAdvice for founders: test the concept while keeping your day job, and understand you will mop the floorsFind Vanessa, Casey, and Jaju Pierogi:Website: jajupierogi.comInstagram, TikTok, and Facebook: @jajupierogiAvailable at Whole Foods nationwide, Fresh Market, Big Y, New Seasons, PCC, Yokes, New Leaf, Lazy Acres, Harmons, and many more co-ops and regional storesComing soon: 298 Target locations in the MidwestMerch available on the websiteSubscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter!