17 North Beach Street
Nantucket, MA 02554
(508) 228-1515
Crunch Time
Written by Antonia DePace
Photography by Kit Noble
Nantucket Crisps opens a brick-and-mortar store on the island.
It’s been three years since island summer residents Hayden Arnot and Sara Jemison won the second annual Nantucket Pitch Contest inspired by NBC’s hit show Shark Tank. The duo impressed then-judges Jamie Siminoff, Elin Hilderbrand, and Bruce Percelay during the October event, bringing in the $10,000 needed to jump-start their fledgling product: Nantucket Crisps, a flavor-forward, consciously and sustainably made potato chip inspired by the island. “As soon as we won, it gave us the confidence to go out and actually do this,” explains Arnot.
Just six months later, in April 2022, Arnot and Jemison officially launched Nantucket Crisps during Daffodil Festival Weekend. Within their first eight months of production, they brought in $300,000 in sales, which increased to just shy of $900,000 in 2023.
But not everything about launching a new brand was a snap. One big initial challenge, according to Jemison, was finding reliable suppliers for high-quality production and securing cost-effective packaging solutions. The team quickly realized the complexities and costs behind small-scale manufacturing, including high-quality ingredient prices and the logistics of distribution. “Another one of our largest issues we faced was self-distributing our product,” she adds. “We soon realized we weren’t a distribution company and handed that all over to larger distributors like US Foods, Baldor, Chex, and Rainforest.”
Other challenges came in the form of scaling production to meet increasing demand without compromising quality and navigating the competitive snack food landscape. Jemison says, “Key lessons were the importance of flexibility in business strategies, the value of building a strong brand identity early on. Additionally, we’ve learned to always network as much as possible with colleagues in the same space and never hesitate to call upon them for advice or help.”
Nantucket Crisps has come a long way with a presence both on and off the island. The hope is that the crafted flavors of Stubbys Jamaican Jerk, Brant Point Black Pepper, Cisco Beach BBQ, Madaket Sweet Onion, Sconset Sea Salt, Hummock Hot Honey, Stuffing Terrific, and Steps Beach Salt & Vinegar have become part of the Nantucket experience—last summer, over 60,000 bags of chips were sold on the island—but the team has taken it one step further with the official opening of a brick-and-mortar shop at Zero India Street.
The store, located at the former home of Sweet Inspirations, launches this month with an array of offerings including chips, dips, caviar, local snacks, branded merchandise, and a back room themed around the newest flavor launch, South Wharf Shrimp. “The store embodies the entrepreneurial spirit,” says Arnot.
Beyond being a go-to spot for summer snacks, the store will also serve as a venue for Arnot and Jemison to host fundraisers and events, continuing to unite the community that has supported them so strongly. “We’ve felt supported since day one,” Arnot notes. “And we wouldn’t be here without all the support. So it’s important for us to give back to the next generation of brands.”
Arnot and Jemison hope to do more collaborations with island businesses moving forward, similar to the Stubbys chip flavor, so that small businesses on Nantucket can grow with them. “There’s definitely all types of Nantucket folklore and history that we’d like to tackle as well, as we grow this brand,” Arnot says, noting that he’d like to get the community more involved by hearing about flavors they’d like to eat.
But even as the brand continues to grow, Arnot and Jemison’s ultimate mission stays the same—to create tasty, crunchy chips with flavors that are authentic to Nantucket while building an economically viable brand.
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