Key Takeaways
- Nastasi and Iannelli built their superfood-glazed granola bar brand while attending Rowan University.
- Through personal savings and pitch competitions, they funded their business to $8,000 a month.
- They’re eyeing $1 million in annual revenue — and are excited to focus on the business full-time.
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Harrison Nastasi, 21, and Justin Iannelli, 21, of Pine Hill, New Jersey. The recent Rowan University graduates are the entrepreneurs behind Bobica Bars, a business selling superfood-glazed granola bars. The friends turned founders built Bobica as a side hustle during college. Today, Bobica sees consistent monthly revenue averaging $8,000 and is aiming for $1 million in annual revenue. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Starting a superfood side hustle as college students
When did you start your side hustle, and what inspired it?
Nastasi: We officially started in 2022. The side hustle inspiration came from my parents and a very specific summer ritual. I used to bike to the local açaí shop to bring my mom her favorite superfood bowl. She relied on the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits to help with her arthritis. By the time I got home, the bowl had usually melted into a sugary puddle she no longer wanted. And even fresh, smoothie bowls came with a hidden cost: sky-high sugar that worked against the very benefits she was after.
Around the same time, my dad was diagnosed with celiac disease. The message was clear. Our family needed snacks that were both functionally beneficial and genuinely allergy-safe. Justin and I built Bobica Bars first to serve our own family’s health challenges. Now, we’re giving the wider community a snack that delivers real superfood benefits without compromise.
That decision changed everything for us.
Iannelli: In high school, we probably came up with 10 different inventions and ideas for side hustles that we would work on after school, but none of them ever turned into anything serious. After graduating from high school, Harrison came up with an idea inspired by the challenges his parents were dealing with. We started experimenting with different versions of it, like we always did. This time felt different from the start.
At the time, I was heading to Florida Atlantic University while Harrison stayed in New Jersey to attend Rowan University. I spent one semester in Florida before realizing this was not going to be just another idea. This one had real potential. I transferred back to Rowan so we could fully commit to building the product together and turn a solution for his family into an actual company. That decision changed everything for us.
Undergraduate pitch competitions and an accelerator program
What were the first concrete steps you took to get the side hustle off the ground?
Nastasi: Two parallel tracks: undergraduate pitch competitions to raise non-dilutive funding, and trial and error in my parents’ kitchen on the formulation. Once the ball started rolling, it never stopped. We’ve won at the global, national and state levels — raising over $75,000 in non-dilutive funding. That includes first place out of 700 undergraduates at the CEO Global Pitch Competition, recognition from GSEA by EO as a top student venture, a NJBIA Rising Star nomination and competing at the Rice Business Plan Competition and the Schulze Competition at EFest — the largest undergraduate pitch competition in the world.
Iannelli: Rowan University also had an accelerator program that we joined during the summer. It was an intensive program focused on building a business and learning how to pitch it effectively. At the end of the program, we received $4,000 in funding, which helped us purchase our first equipment, ingredients and supplies alongside some of our own money. That was really the moment when Bobica Bars started becoming a real business.
Investing $5,000 in personal savings to start the side hustle
How much money or investment did it take to launch the side hustle?
Nastasi: We invested around $5,000 out of pocket to start the side hustle. The money came from personal savings I built up in high school from running an online ecommerce dropshipping business. That bankrolled our first prototype samples, wrappers, boxes and ingredients — enough to start testing real products.
Iannelli: We initially funded the side hustle through a combination of our own personal investments and the capital we received through Rowan’s accelerator program. Early on, we were extremely lean and stretched every dollar as far as possible.
Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful?
Nastasi: The Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has been huge for us. So has the entire undergraduate pitch competition circuit. That’s where we’ve met like-minded founders and industry leaders who’ve helped us understand the roadblocks ahead, fast-track our knowledge of the CPG industry and build the advisor network we lean on today.
Iannelli: One major turning point for us was after we won a collegiate entrepreneurship pitch competition against more than 600 students. When we got home, 6abc reached out to feature us on the news. Within about 30 days of that feature airing, we generated roughly $10,000 in sales, which was huge for us at the time.
Challenges and setbacks lead to new opportunities
If you could go back and change one process or approach, what would it be?
Nastasi: Honestly, I don’t think I would change much. I love working with my best friend, and every problem along the way made us smarter, more knowledgeable and better-equipped to give back. The hard lessons are the reason we can help the next student-founder we meet.
Iannelli: There is nothing major I would change about the process because I truly believe everything happened for a reason. Every challenge or setback turned into a learning opportunity that made us better operators and founders. Those experiences also allow us to help other student entrepreneurs avoid the same mistakes and obstacles that we once faced ourselves.
What’s something particularly challenging or surprising about this work that people probably aren’t prepared for?
Iannelli: One of the biggest challenges throughout our journey has been finding the right co-manufacturer. That process alone took us more than three years. A lot of people think once you find a manufacturer, everything becomes easy, but in reality, that is when a whole new set of challenges begins. Now our focus is on managing manufacturing, operations, scaling production and improving efficiency every day. Thankfully, we have built a strong network of advisors who have given us incredible guidance throughout the process, and their advice has been invaluable.
Running a business is a work in progress every day
Can you recall a specific moment when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
Nastasi: The biggest wake-up call was the assumption that landing a co-manufacturer meant we were set. It’s not. It’s the beginning of an endless cycle of dialing in the formulation, building production efficiency, driving labor costs down and figuring out how to scale ingredient sourcing so cost-per-unit actually works. We fixed it the only way you can — putting in the hours, asking advisors the right questions and accepting that it’s a work in progress every single day. We’re still learning, and we get sharper every iteration.
How long did it take for the side hustle to see consistent monthly revenue?
Nastasi: Our first big competition win in 2023 was the inflection point. From there, revenue started coming in consistently, and notably, we didn’t spend a dollar on paid advertising or social media until about two months ago.
Iannelli: After winning our major pitch competition in 2023 and receiving media coverage through news articles and television segments, we saw a major spike in revenue. That momentum allowed us to reinvest back into the business, which eventually helped us turn those initial sales into more consistent recurring monthly revenue over time.
Averaging $8K a month and eyeing $1M annual revenue
What does growth and revenue look like now?
Nastasi: We’re seeing very consistent monthly revenue — around $8,000 per month — and are targeting $1 million in revenue this year as our retail partners and product rollouts come online.
How much time do you spend on the business? What does a typical day or week look like?
Nastasi: Every single day of my life. There isn’t a moment I’m not thinking about how to put more superfoods in people’s hands. We hand bars to everyone around us, gather feedback and look for the next angle to scale or learn the industry better. Right now, it’s a three-person team: me, Justin and our COO Frank Kopaczewski. So we wear every hat across product, operations, sales and growth.
Iannelli: Outside of my internship at CobbleStone Software, I am basically focused on Bobica Bars 24/7, weekends included. I carry my laptop everywhere because if an idea comes to mind or inspiration strikes, I want to act immediately. Most days are spent fulfilling orders, working on operations, talking with partners, creating content or planning for growth. This business has become our entire lives, and we are fully committed to making Bobica Bars our full-time focus. We know this is a huge opportunity, and we are not going to let it slip away.
Building a business around a genuine solution for people
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
Nastasi: Knowing I solved a real problem for my own family and the same product can spread smiles and health to other families. Being a genuine solution for the people who usually get left out of the snack aisle keeps me going.
Iannelli: Creating something that can genuinely help people while also building something I am deeply passionate about. I love providing a healthier snack option for others, especially families dealing with allergies or looking for better ingredients. I also love the constant challenge of entrepreneurship. There is always something to improve, learn or build, which makes every day exciting.
Make the business real on day one and never stop trying
What is your best piece of specific, actionable advice?
Nastasi: Just start and make it real on day one. Design the logo. File the LLC. Get a working prototype in someone’s hand. The moment you do, you’re in motion. Then it’s a snowball effect. Every problem you hit and every small win compound into more momentum tomorrow.
If you’re a student in particular, enter the pitch competition circuit early. That’s how we raised over $75,000 in non-dilutive funding and met the advisors who shaped the business. Free money, free feedback, free network. There is no better deal in early-stage entrepreneurship.
Iannelli: Keep trying over and over again. Before Bobica Bars, Harrison and I came up with countless ideas. Honestly, looking back, some of them were pretty terrible. But the important thing was that we kept experimenting, learning and staying persistent. Another big piece of advice is to never stop learning. It is easy to think you know everything early on. But once you start surrounding yourself with other founders, you realize there is always another level of knowledge to gain. The people who continue learning and adapting are the ones who keep growing.
Key Takeaways
- Nastasi and Iannelli built their superfood-glazed granola bar brand while attending Rowan University.
- Through personal savings and pitch competitions, they funded their business to $8,000 a month.
- They’re eyeing $1 million in annual revenue — and are excited to focus on the business full-time.
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Harrison Nastasi, 21, and Justin Iannelli, 21, of Pine Hill, New Jersey. The recent Rowan University graduates are the entrepreneurs behind Bobica Bars, a business selling superfood-glazed granola bars. The friends turned founders built Bobica as a side hustle during college. Today, Bobica sees consistent monthly revenue averaging $8,000 and is aiming for $1 million in annual revenue. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Starting a superfood side hustle as college students
When did you start your side hustle, and what inspired it?
Nastasi: We officially started in 2022. The side hustle inspiration came from my parents and a very specific summer ritual. I used to bike to the local açaí shop to bring my mom her favorite superfood bowl. She relied on the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits to help with her arthritis. By the time I got home, the bowl had usually melted into a sugary puddle she no longer wanted. And even fresh, smoothie bowls came with a hidden cost: sky-high sugar that worked against the very benefits she was after.
Around the same time, my dad was diagnosed with celiac disease. The message was clear. Our family needed snacks that were both functionally beneficial and genuinely allergy-safe. Justin and I built Bobica Bars first to serve our own family’s health challenges. Now, we’re giving the wider community a snack that delivers real superfood benefits without compromise.
