Juan Salinas knows very well that snacks are extremely popular. After earning a Masters in Food Science from Rutgers University, he spent 20 years as a snack developer for several major companies, including Nestle, Kraft Nabisco and Cadbury. Many of the products he helped develop can be found in almost every grocery store aisle in the United States.
However, Salinas is a bodybuilder and has participated in several marathons, cycle tours and triathlons. This personal interest led him to continue studying about a critical role nutrition plays in maintaining the healthy lifestyle necessary for anyone who enjoys physical activities, whether they are professional or amateur. Salinas became increasingly dissatisfied with the type of snacks commonly available and being promoted by the companies he was working for.
In 2014, he earned a post graduate diploma in Sports and Exercise Nutrition through the International Olympic Committee, and in 2015 founded his company, Perfect Life Nutrition, LLC. His mission was to create a snack food that would come from natural sources, contain no preservatives, artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners. It would need to provide a complete plant-based protein, which is critical for energy and muscle development, as well as sufficient fiber for appetite control and overall health.
Salinas knew, however, that all of these positive benefits of his ideal snack would not appeal to the general public unless the snack food had a “satisfying crunch and addicting taste.” In order to manufacture a product that would meet his exacting standards, Salinas tried more than 100 recipes, finally creating a product that satisfied him.
P-nuff Crunch is made from peanuts, navy beans and rice, and comes in original, cocoa and cinnamon flavors. It is vegan, gluten-free, low in sugar and salt, and does not contain genetically-modified ingredients. Best of all, it tastes good and has a satisfying crunch! It is available at Walmart and on-line through Amazon and the P-nuff website.
In a 10/8/20 interview on Vegpreneur.org, Salinas admitted that he wished he had realized the amount of work involved in starting a food business and that it would have been nice to have a partner to share the work. But Salinas also says that although he invested all his savings of over 20 years into his company and has yet to get paid, he is very happy to be following his dream and would not return to the corporate snack world for any amount of money!
