The Mastro name is synonymous with steak.
Jodi Mastro is now selling granola.
She and her best friend Manisha are the women behind Two Friends Granola, a crunchy, caramelized recipe first made for Jodi’s husband and children long before either woman imagined building a business around it.
The recipe came first. The company came years later.
Jodi and Manisha tell the story in their own words.
JODI
My love of granola started long before Two Friends Granola.
I have always loved cooking and baking. I used to pick up cooking magazines at the grocery store and cut out recipes that caught my eye. One day, I came across a granola recipe and decided to try it.
That first batch was an immediate hit.
I kept making it and tweaking the recipe along the way until it became the granola our family and friends knew, loved and kept asking for.
For years, it was just my homemade granola.
The restaurant industry has definitely influenced the way I think about food and hospitality. Through my husband and the Mastro family, I have learned that every detail matters. The quality of the ingredients matters. Consistency matters. How people are welcomed and treated matters.
All of that gave me a real appreciation for what it takes to create an exceptional product.
With Two Friends Granola, we have carried those same standards into something much smaller and more personal. We are very particular about our ingredients, our flavor combinations and ensuring every batch is something we are proud to put our names on.
MANISHA
The idea of turning the recipe into a business really came together during the last couple of years.
We both genuinely love cooking, we had more time as empty nesters and, honestly, we did not think there was another granola on the shelves that tasted quite like this one.
There are plenty of granolas filled with nuts, seeds and a million different ingredients, but that does not always mean they have a lot of flavor.
We wanted to create something that reminded people of the traditional granola we grew up eating. Simple ingredients, great flavor and, most importantly, that irresistible crunch.
Granola is also one of those foods you can enjoy in so many different ways. It can be a snack, a cereal, a topping, or an ingredient.
We loved the versatility, but we also knew the recipe itself was special.
JODI
Starting the company with Manisha made sense because we have been best friends for decades.
We are suckers for a good story, and this business is now another chapter in ours. I hope that one day we will be able to share this experience and all the memories that came with it with our grandchildren.
What I love most is that our friendship has remained at the heart of the business.
We started Two Friends Granola because we believe in the product and in each other.
MANISHA
Becoming business partners has not changed our friendship very much. We have always enjoyed doing things together, but it has given us an even greater appreciation for the different personalities and strengths we each bring.
We are both dedicated, creative and determined. We know our lanes, and we try to stay in them.
Jodi has a wonderful ability to remind me not to sweat the small stuff and that everything will work out. I also love being able to lean into her outgoing personality.
Of course, taking a homemade recipe and preparing it for customers required more work than either of us expected.
One of the biggest challenges was learning how to take a recipe that worked beautifully for a couple of cups of granola and turn it into a much larger batch without changing the flavor or texture.
We quickly discovered that you cannot simply multiply every ingredient by five and expect the same result.
I spent a lot of time adjusting the amount of each ingredient and refining the baking process until we could consistently create the same flavor and caramelized crunch in a large batch.
JODI
Then came everything outside the kitchen.
We had no idea how many licenses, permits and legal requirements were involved in starting a baked goods business. There was definitely a learning curve.
Our cousin and web designer also played a tremendous role in helping us figure out packaging and shipping as we grew.
We are still learning.
The moment everything truly felt real was when we finalized our logo and sent it to our attorney to begin the trademark process.
Until then, Two Friends Granola still felt a little like a fun passion project. Sending that logo made it official.
JODI AND MANISHA
Our husbands are also a big part of why we started this business.
From the beginning, they have been incredibly supportive. They are our official taste testers, our sounding boards when we are making business decisions and, every now and then, our delivery guys.
We currently have three flavors.
Maple Pecan Crunch is our original recipe and the flavor that started everything. Almond Berry Crunch brings fruit and almonds into the mix, while Simply Oats keeps the focus on that classic flavor and crunch.
Manisha’s favorite is Maple Pecan Crunch because it has the nostalgic taste she loves.
Jodi refuses to choose.
The biggest thing we've learned? Patience.
When you are younger, you tend to want everything to happen immediately. As we have gotten older, we have learned that some of the best things take time.
People often say there is never a better time than the present. We think it is more about knowing when the time is right for you.
If something matters to you and you are passionate about it, you will figure out how to begin.
Two Friends Granola is currently available at twofriendsgranola.com, and it will soon be sold nationwide. They are also working with restaurants interested in incorporating our granola into their menu items.