Ithaca Hummus: An 18 Person Team Doing 8 Figures in Revenue
Ithaca Hummus was founded by Chris Kirby in 2013 after he identified a gap in the market for fresh, high-quality hummus. He began with an initial investment of around $5,000 and a single $450 blender. Today, Ithaca Hummus is on track to hit $50M in revenue this year, with more than $150M in lifetime sales — a level of revenue-per-employee that puts many high-growth software companies to shame.
Live From Driving Performance in New York
On this episode of Driving Performance by Adgile Media Group, we’re joined by Dennis Katsnelson, VP of Marketing at Ithaca Hummus.
Dennis found his passion for marketing early. Raised in a Belarusian immigrant family, he learned the value of hard work and entrepreneurial thinking from a young age. While studying at NYU Stern, he blended marketing, film producing, and entrepreneurship, capped by formative internships across media, fashion, and consumer brands — including a pivotal stint at Danone, where he discovered his true passion for brand building.
After graduating, Dennis joined Materne North America, home of the GoGo squeeZ brand, where he helped launch nearly two-thirds of the product portfolio — including the GoGo squeeZ yogurt line!
Now at Ithaca Hummus, Dennis is helping steer one of the fastest-rising brands in refrigerated dips. In this conversation, we dive into what it really takes to market in a retail-first environment, how to lead modern marketing teams, and what’s fueling Ithaca’s rapid growth.
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