A Different Kind of Vibe

Shannon Weston hasn't always been in the healthy foods industry, but it's something she's been passionate about for years. Her son suffered from health issues from the time he was born, and though they tried many different medications, nothing helped. After a celiac diagnosis at the age of eight, a friend recommended assessing his diet. Finally, they had found an effective solution that resulted in dietary changes for the entire family.

Shannon began excitedly experimenting with healthy food options that her family of six would all enjoy. After leaving her stressful corporate job after 27 years — and with lots of encouragement from her kids — Shannon decided to start her own business providing nutritious, fresh foods to the public. Vibe Foods was born.

Vibe Foods products are gluten free, dairy free, free of refined sugar, unprocessed, and full of nutrients, enzymes and minerals. Most importantly, they taste great!

"Owning your own business is a different kind of hard," Shannon said. "I worked long hours with a lot of pressure and quotas to meet in my corporate career, but I had others to rely on, like an IT team. As a small business owner, I had to learn accounting, how to fix a blender, and I'm presently covered in peanut butter! But I get to do something I believe in and spend more time with my family."

Three of Shannon's four children have worked at Vibe Foods running the cash register, promoting the business on social media, and even creating recipes.

"If you want to start a family business, know that it can be hard, especially on a marriage," Shannon said. "Make sure you communicate and have boundaries between work and home. Know when to leave work at work."

Shannon is also passionate about her restaurant's impacts on the environment. Therefore, she sources eco-friendly packaging for all their products that are either recyclable or compostable, as well as providing recycling and composting bins in the store. While it costs the company four times as much to use these products, Shannon believes the extra cost is well worth it. They have also invested in energy efficient equipment and purchase fresh produce from local sources. Vibe Foods has been ranked #1 by Alpine Waste and Recycling for adding the least amount of trash to the landfill. In fact, the company only throws out one small bag of trash per day.

"I didn't know anything about owning a restaurant when I started the business," said Shannon. "I really relied on the team at Vectra Bank for help. They not only taught me about things like processing credit cards and cash flow management, but they encouraged me to get started. It was nice to have cheerleaders that gave me that extra push to become a business owner."

Vibe Foods currently has a location in Lone Tree, Colorado, with plans to open additional locations in Parker, CO and Memphis TN in the coming year.