Before founding True Grace, Kristie Hall worked at New Chapter, where she met her husband Brian, True Grace’s CEO. She also worked at Garden of Life, building a solid foundation in the dietary supplement industry.
“So often at night, my husband and I would come home from work and say after all of these years in the supplement industry, we have learned so much and had so many great networks. And we felt like there was a gap and an opportunity for someone to launch a brand that just had some more innovative ideas that was really mission-driven,” said Hall. “So one night, we just looked at each other and we said ‘okay let's stop saying it, let's quit our jobs, let's do it.’”
So in February of 2020, the couple quit their jobs. Two weeks later, the world shut down.
"I think the silver lining of that timing was that a lot of industry veterans and great contacts that we had that are normally impossible to get a hold of were sitting at home and answering their cell phone. So we actually, during that time, had the opportunity to call so many people that were of great help to us in launching the business that really wanted to coach and guide us—so that was wonderful.”
Hall added that the down time allowed them to slow down, process their business plan and map out their core values.
“We really thought through everything from packaging to marketing materials to ingredients. And a lot of that was because we were forced to, of course because no one was taking on any new clients at the time, no one even knew where their business was going. And yeah, it took a lot of persistence. We got told 'no' a lot and we just really stayed true to our mission. And in the end, it ended up working out.”
