Santa & The Hungry Kids

It's Acadiana: Out to Lunch

Marketing your new business idea can take a few different shapes.

You might take a deep dive with market research and try to define the demographic slice of consumer you’re looking for. Before you even bring your product to the shelves, you’ll try to understand the potential for growth: How many customers are out there who would want what you’re selling? How much disposable income do they have? What services are they already using?
It’s a way of measuring your potential. And that can be crucial to attracting investors, especially to a new idea and a niche product. But for a lot of entrepreneurs, the very first market test is themselves.

Kelly Hebert has a background in marketing and runs a media and design company with her husband. But Kelly is here to talk about a feeling we’re all familiar with: hangriness.

On a long road trip, Kelly got a little hungry and irritable and had a frustrating time finding a place to eat on her route. The experience inspired a search for an easier way. That led her to Dryve, a new travel app designed for parents.

Dryve helps them make easier pit stops with streamlined searches for coffee, restaurants, fuel and more. The idea is to quickly direct parents to what they need with as little distraction as possible.

Not every business idea requires extensive market research or design. Sometimes you just need a gimmick.

People like to poo-poo a kitschy calling card, but let’s face it: Everyone in business is trying to stand out. And little stands out more than Santa riding a lawn mower. If you run into that yuletide vision in Lafayette, you’re probably looking at Santa Sutton.

Santa’s idea began as a way of getting noticed. He took his dad’s old Santa suit and started riding an electric scooter, just to see if he could go viral. And he did. Santa on a Scooter became something of a sensation on TikTok, and Santa parlayed that fame into a business: Santa on a Mower.

Santa on a Mower is exactly what it sounds like. And it works. Since launching in 2022, Santa has signed dozens of properties to manage year round. Before that, Santa worked for 15 years as a chef and was born and raised in Lafayette.

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.

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