Meet Katie Athaide of Happy Camper in Hapeville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Athaide Mitchell.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Katie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started my first corporate job out of college in 2014 and had just moved one block from the Eastside Beltline Trail. Before I was working, I would make myself elaborate breakfasts every morning and would get so excited to have a routine that made me feel energized for the day. Once I started working, I had little time to cook and was bringing food to the office or eating what we had in the pantry there each morning. I wanted to feel like I lived somewhere urban and would sometimes get up a little earlier to stop on the way to work to grab breakfast, but there weren’t products that fit my needs for protein and produce filled breakfast.

While I was working, I kept getting more interested in food and how I could serve healthy breakfast to people in Atlanta. One time, I even set up a free oatmeal stand on the Beltline with one of my coworkers to see if people would want breakfast on their walks. Cooking was always my outlet, so sometimes I would come home after work and bake with my roommate, and then bring it to work to test on my coworkers. I started even making breakfast for the whole office on Fridays.

To get some more experience, I asked if I could take a leave for a couple months to go work for a bakery. I thought, if I can work all day every day doing this, I’ll know my head is in the same place as my heart. So I shipped up to Martha’s Vineyard for the summer, and baked pies and pastries all summer in a high-volume seasonal bakery for their tourist season. I had such a fun time, and came back to my job wondering how I would channel this experience into forming my company. I spent the next year saving some money, meeting people in the food industry in Atlanta and, yes, making more breakfast for my office. I started making breakfast for my friends’ offices too!

In September 2017, I took the leap and pursued Happy Camper full-time. I rented some kitchen space that I found from an ad on Craiglist, and since we don’t have a storefront, I started selling to where I had been looking for foods: coffee shops and offices. We took a step back from catering and have pursued selling products online and through farmers markets in addition to coffee shops.

Has it been a smooth road?
NO!!! First of all, figuring out the logistics and regulations for starting a food business was so foreign to me at first. I was still working at my job and trying to call different government departments to understand how to do everything legally. I crafted the first iteration of my company around what I was “allowed” to do. It was going to be another certification or something to sell meat, so I crossed meat off the list. Things like that took a while to figure out. Luckily, many other food company owners including my landlord helped me find the right people and answered my questions.

Before I had my kitchen, I was living with my parents and using their kitchen to test out products and sell to friends and family. It was a test of my parents’ patience and I am so gracious that they have supported me along the way.

Some of the other struggles were very basic, where do I buy ingredients? How do I make labels for my packages? Where do you find the right packaging and equipment for products? I cultivate my curiosity and just ask people questions all the time, no matter how basic they are.

I also got married in the first year of my business, so figuring out how to balance all the changes in my life has been difficult but also rewarding, because I’ve gone through a couple very meaningful and great life changes along the way!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Happy Camper – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We make it possible for people to eat a wholesome and vibrant breakfast in today’s pace of life. We make gluten-free, paleo, and vegan convenience foods you can eat on the go.

Good food connects people. We are listening to how people need a new kind of “good food” today, with changing dietary preferences, demand for higher quality ingredients, and need for function as our lifestyles have changed. Meeting people in their office setting, car, home kitchen, or coffee shop with our products matters because we are telling people good food can exist in the way they live their life now. Too many food companies are promoting how they can change your life with magic ingredients or help you lose weight fast. We are known for using ingredients you’ve heard of in a unique way that is healthy and delicious! Our customers also know that they can get the combination of gluten-free, vegan, and paleo options from us.

I am most proud that in growing our business through partnerships with coffee shops, companies, and stores, we have been able to help other food brands and our vendors grow as well. I’ve learned so much about the food community and strive to support others in their dreams in addition to ours!

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love that the community is supportive. I am from Atlanta originally so I had a foundation, but there are so many people I have met with no previous connection that have been so supportive and interested in getting to know me and my business.

I do not like the traffic and wish we had a river running through the more central part of the city!! I love to run and walk, and I would love to not have to drive to experience running along a river!!

Contact Info:

• Address: 529 N Central Ave
  Hapeville, GA 30354
• Website: happycamper-atl.com
• Phone: (678) 870-4637
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Fresh Harvest , Claire Townsend

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.