Banza: Brian Rudolph. The Chickpea Pasta That Nearly Turned to Mush
Brian Rudolph created Banza, the first chickpea pasta brand, starting from personal experiments in his Detroit apartment in 2013. After overcoming massive manufacturing challenges and early success through reality TV exposure, the company grew to become the fifth-largest pasta brand in the US, though it faced a major crisis in 2020 when an advocacy group claimed high glyphosate residue levels, causing a 30% sales drop that he recovered from through transparency and certification.
Summary
Brian Rudolph grew up in Westchester County, New York, as the son of an audiologist and orthodontist. After graduating college in 2012, he joined Venture for America in Detroit, working as the first employee at a tech startup called Quickly. While there, he began experimenting with food after discovering through an elimination diet that wheat was causing sinus inflammation. This sparked his interest in creating healthier food alternatives, leading him to experiment with chickpea flour pasta in his apartment in 2013, using a $30 hand-crank pasta maker and a wine bottle as a rolling pin.
In fall 2013, convinced he was onto something, Brian recruited his older brother Scott as co-founder. They raised $17,000 through Rocket Hub crowdfunding plus an additional $10,000 from Venture for America. The duo gained exposure through the CNBC reality show Restaurant Startup, where investor Joe Bastianich decided to invest and carry the product in his Eataly restaurants. Simultaneously, they secured shelf space in all 190 Meijer stores in the Midwest, a major breakthrough for a new brand.
However, scaling production proved catastrophic. A large California-based gluten-free pasta manufacturer they partnered with couldn't adapt their equipment to chickpea flour, resulting in three failed production runs that produced mushy pasta and cost the company thousands of dollars. Brian became so stressed he developed a kidney stone. Desperate and out of money, they found a workaround: creating stickers instructing consumers to steep the pasta like tea rather than boil it—turning a manufacturing failure into a cooking instruction.
They quickly returned to their small Michigan manufacturer and eventually partnered with a plant manager named Manosh (who had previously kicked Brian out of the factory) to build their own dedicated facility. In May 2016, Target began stocking Banza in a few hundred stores, and the bright orange packaging combined with early social media success helped drive momentum. By 2024, Banza was in over 25,000 stores and became the fifth-largest pasta brand in the US.
In June 2020, Banza faced a severe crisis when the advocacy group Moms Across America published test results claiming dangerously high levels of glyphosate (a common herbicide) in their pasta. The viral report caused sales to drop 30% week-over-week and generated frightening social media messages. Brian's initial response was slow—he wanted to verify results before commenting, but this paralysis allowed fear to spread unchecked. When independent testing came back showing glyphosate levels 98% lower than claimed and below safety benchmarks, Brian pivoted to transparency, partnering with The Detox Project to create a glyphosate residue-free certification and publishing all test results via QR codes on boxes. While mainstream channels recovered, natural food retailers remained skeptical for longer. Brian now personally monitors and responds to any Banza-glyphosate mentions online to add context. He attributes recovery to assuming positive intent from critics and committing to radical transparency.
About this episode
<p>Brian Rudolph started making chickpea pasta in his Detroit apartment because wheat made him feel sick. A decade later, Banza was in more than 25,000 stores, and today, it’s one of the most popular pasta brands in the country. Success was not automatic: The business barely got off the ground because the cooked pasta was turning to mush—and as Banza became known for its health benefits, a food-safety scare sent sales plunging by 30%.</p><p>In this episode, Brian explains why he was inspired to create a whole new category, how he turned chickpea skeptics into fans, and how the company rebuilt trust after a public relations disaster. </p><p><strong>What you’ll learn </strong></p><ul><li>How Brian and his brother Scott launched Banza with only $100,000.</li><li>How they learned to stop chasing perfection and to ship something that was “good enough.” </li><li>How crowdfunding and reality TV helped Banza land its first retail accounts. </li><li>How packaging can become an important growth engine for a new brand. </li><li>How transparency can rebuild trust after a PR debacle–but can’t restore it overnight. </li></ul><p><br /></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p>08:15 - Brian uncovers the unexpected culprit behind his health issues: Wheat</p><p>09:52 - From Chewy bars and Chipotle to pasta made of… beans?</p><p>18:49 - Banza gets a big break on national TV</p><p>23:16 - The 192-store order that Banza wasn’t ready for, and why retreating to a smaller manufacturer helped them meet it </p><p>30:52 - Banza’s first production run turns to mush when cooked. The solution? “Steep it like tea”</p><p>38:44 - The origin of the distinctive orange box</p><p>43:53 - Pizza anyone? Banza expands into thousands of stores and launches new products </p><p>47:10 - The food safety scare that Brian never saw coming</p><p>58:23 - Even in the midst of a crisis, Brian says to “assume positive intent”</p><p><br /></p><p>This episode was produced by Katherine Sypher, with music by Ramtin Arablouei.</p><p>Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Kerry Thompson. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Follow How I Built This:</strong></p><p>Instagram → <a href="https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@howibuiltthis</a></p><p>X → <a href="https://x.com/howibuiltthis" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@HowIBuiltThis</a></p><p>Facebook → <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howibuiltthis" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How I Built This</a></p><p><strong>Follow Guy Raz:</strong></p><p>Instagram → <a href="https://www.instagram.com/guy.raz/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@guy.raz</a></p><p>Youtube →<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSfrxNEmCruNtjIzxCBHjg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> guy_raz</a></p><p>X → <a href="https://x.com/guyraz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@guyraz</a></p><p>Substack →<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/guyraz.substack.com__;!!Iwwt!RZoD751oWzUzoqqdJiqaoL6HdJfRHDUO1TKvYJ424d3Udn7-Pw9Nj6nEsauh9zcgEvLjUEc$" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://guyraz.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">guyraz.substack.com</a></p><p>Website → <a href="http://guyraz.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">guyraz.com</a></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>
Key Insights
- Brian discovered his wheat sensitivity through an elimination diet recommended by his father, which became the catalyst for creating chickpea pasta—showing that personal health problems can identify market opportunities.
- The company's first production runs at scale were catastrophic failures, costing thousands of dollars on wasted ingredients and tolling fees, forcing Brian to work around equipment limitations by instructing consumers to steep rather than boil the pasta.
- Banza's bright orange packaging was a deliberate branding choice that helped it stand out on grocery store shelves and became visually synonymous with the brand, influencing purchasing behavior beyond the pasta aisle.
- Early success came through multiple simultaneous channels (reality TV, Eataly investment, Meijer distribution, Target expansion) rather than a single breakthrough, demonstrating the importance of pursuing multiple opportunities simultaneously.
- When glyphosate allegations went viral in 2020, Brian's initial instinct to wait for test results before responding allowed fear to spread unchecked, a delay he identifies as a strategic mistake in crisis communication.
- Brian recovered from the 2020 crisis by adopting radical transparency—publishing test results via QR codes, pursuing third-party certification, and personally responding to negative mentions online—turning accountability into a competitive advantage.
- The company pivoted from being founder-dependent to partnering with Manosh, the plant manager who had previously ejected Brian from the factory, demonstrating how swallowing pride and assuming positive intent can turn adversaries into collaborators.
- Brian attributes business success not to luck alone but to 'increasing the likelihood of luck' by constantly putting himself and the company in positions where unexpected opportunities become more probable.
Topics
Transcript
Building a business means being 10 people at once. The strategist, the spreadsheet person, the one fixing the office sink. U.S. Bank made a card for exactly that kind of hustle. The creditor and issuer of this card is U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Visa USA, Inc. Some restrictions apply. Some restrictions apply. So our sales went down 30% week over week. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Honestly, I was more concerned with people's fear and trying to figure out how to address that. I had someone call me crying because they were so scared. And they love Bonza and they give it to their kids all the time. Yeah. And, you know, it's like maybe more…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from How I Built This with Guy Raz
Advice Line with Michelle Wahler of Beyond Yoga
Michelle Whaler, co-founder of Beyond Yoga, joins Guy Raz to provide business advice to three entrepreneurs: Carrie Angoff (study abroad for adults), Grace Ref (custom upholstery), and Angel Raymer (artisanal soap with gemstones). The episode emphasizes storytelling, managing customer expectations, and building trust through authentic communication.
Thrive Causemetics: Karissa Bodnar. How $150 a Day in Sales Turned into a $150 Million Beauty Business with a Mission
Carissa Bodner founded Thrive Cosmetics, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand with a charitable mission, after her college friend died of cancer at age 24. Starting with $100,000 in savings and formulating products in her kitchen while working full-time at Bulletproof Coffee, she grew the company to $150 million in revenue by maintaining lean operations, strict quality control, and a commitment to giving back to multiple causes chosen by customers.
Advice Line with Kip Tindell of The Container Store
Kip Tindell, co-founder of The Container Store, returns to discuss the company's bankruptcy while sharing retail wisdom with three entrepreneurs: a French founder of Cooler Wand seeking marketing strategies, a personalized gifts business owner deciding on wholesale growth direction, and a sleep product founder with a viral product navigating brand building.
Bogg Bag: Kim Vaccarella. The $100 Million Business She Almost Abandoned
Kim Vaccarella built Bogbag from a beach bag idea into a $100+ million company over 15 years through persistence, sacrifice, and willingness to pivot. After nearly abandoning the business following a $30,000 manufacturing disaster, she was inspired to restart by customers who loved the product, eventually growing it into a multi-channel brand carried by major retailers.
Advice Line with Ben Goodwin of Olipop
Ben Goodwin, co-founder of Olipop, serves as an advisor on a show where entrepreneurs call in with business challenges. The episode features three callers seeking advice on education and marketing strategies, managing growth as a solo founder, and revitalizing a struggling food co-op.