Behind the Brand
Chili Chews was founded by childhood best friends and San Fernando Valley natives Shant Reganyan and Vicken Kejejian. Growing up, Shant and Vicken would frequent gas stations together in search of spicy candy, a very popular delicacy in their area. As they formed a lifelong bond over a shared love for these treats, Shant and Vicken noticed how difficult it was to find high-quality spicy candy and constantly yearned for better options. After some time, they decided to take matters into their own hands and create their own renditions of spicy candy at home. They ordered some ingredients, mixed together various spice blends and gummy candies, and eventually came up with a product that they both fell in love with.
Though Shant and Vicken went their separate ways for college, they had always dreamt of starting a business together. When the COVID pandemic hit during their last quarter of college, forcing them both to return home, they jumped at the opportunity to start a company with the spicy candy they had created years ago. While studying for the LSAT and starting a Master of Finance program respectively, Shant and Vicken decided to invest $500 into the business. They spent 10-12 hours a day making hundreds of pounds of candy in Shant’s mom’s kitchen, ultimately developing their own proprietary formulas through hundreds of iterations. After having samples of their candy approved by family and friends, Shant and Vicken decided to launch Chili Chews direct-to-consumer and quickly gained a dedicated social media following. Fast forward to today, the Chili Chews team has sold over 1 million bags of their mouth-watering spicy candy, never failing to amaze consumers with their unique and flavorful treats.
