Meet Asia Pena | Mompreneur & Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Asia Pena and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Asia, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
In the year 2000, I nicknamed my grandma ‘Nana Snaps’ because she would snap her fingers at me with the intention to make my current actions more hastily. My Nana was a railroad worker and a single mother of two with the dream of living a more family-oriented lifestyle. Through her continuous search for some kind of path that reflected a brighter future, she found a co-worker with similar intentions who informed her about the vending industry. Nana went through months of research and education about owning vending machines. She put together her business plan, company logos, and founded the original Nana Snacks vending machines based on the nickname I had given her and the services she wanted to provide.

It wasn’t until 2021 that Nana Snacks was registered as an LLC by myself, two generations later. It’s been a family victory to be able to carry on a multi-generational dream of creating healthy and happy families throughout our community!

Nana wanted to be able to spend time with her family and involve them in business operations along with providing the other local families with friendly snack options. Today, Nana Snacks operates with the help of the whole family, even the kids!

We also offer family-friendly snacks that are strictly organic, non-gmo, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, kosher and/or vegan, to keep our families happy through healthy snacking.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Nana Snacks LLC is a vending company local to Colorado cities from Denver to Colorado Springs. We work with local business owners and storefronts to provide our services to their customers. Nana Snacks places candy machines with toy options for spaces that wish to increase their family-friendly environments. Along with offering businesses the choice of placing countertop snack boxes, which provide a wholesome snacking experience for everyone.

There have been recent additions to our services so that we can directly serve our community’s residents more directly. Nana Snacks now provides Nana Snack Boxes for individual or subscription purchases so that our local families can stock their pantries with healthy options for everyone. Additionally, Nana Snacks offers catering for any event with our healthy candy baggies.

All of our candies and snacks are organic, non-gmo, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, kosher, and/or vegan brands which means we care about what we’re fueling our families and communities with.

Our stance has been to start off small and work our way into the big-league vending machines and contracts. According to this, we’ve been placing candy machines to start a flow of revenue. Within this next year, our goal is to move into snack and beverage vending machines offering only healthy options throughout Colorado.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many beautiful spots around Colorado to visit that make amazing memories with friends and family! My family’s favorite adventures usually take place at some of Colorado’s museums and exhibits:

1. The Denver Botanic Gardens: a beautiful garden adventure for the family with tons of plant information and exhibits.

2. Fort Collins Museum of Discovery: is an incredible place for family, friends, and kids. There are plenty of hands-on exhibits to keep you distracted for hours!

3. Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource: has dinosaurs for the kiddos! They also do guided family tours which are always interesting and educating.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Nana is the most recognized in the Nana Snacks journey. The entire business that is currently operating is cemented to her original business visions of wanting her family and other families to be able to work, learn, and grow together. Her dream is what fueled and inspired the rest of the family, myself included, to keep working until we accomplish what we want for our lives, no matter what that might end up being. This inspiration kept the spark of the business idea alive and was finally accomplished through steady planning and the interaction of our community.

Website: www.nanasnacksllc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanasnacksllc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NanaSnacksLLC/