Nancy Kalish

As a former health journalist with more than 20 years of reporting experience and a big sweet tooth, Nancy’s passion was to create healthier alternatives for the sugary treats people crave. In 2014, she got busy in her Brooklyn kitchen – one year and hundreds of dirty pans later, she had developed Rule Breaker: chewy, soft-baked brownies, blondies, and bites that were 100% plant-based, certified gluten free and free from nuts and the top 11 food allergens. Nancy could now enjoy a treat without guilt or fear of health concerns, and so could the rest of the world.

“I know it sounds corny, but I wake up every morning wanting to make the world a better place, especially for kids,” she says. “Hearing that a kid with food allergies took our birthday cake blondies to school to celebrate their birthday or that moms feel good about putting one of our brownies into their lunchbox, it never gets old. It might be a small thing, but it's very meaningful to me.”

As of 2021, Rule Breaker was in more than 3,500 stores and had surpassed $1 million in sales; landed an investment from Grupo Bimbo, the biggest baked goods company in the world (Sara Lee, Thomas, Arnold); and appeared on Shark Tank, in People magazine, and received a shout out from celebrity Kristen Bell. 

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