How Instagram's Granola King Earned His Name
Like so many millions of people, Tom Bannister developed a new hobby during the pandemic. But Bannister didn’t opt for sourdough baking or weaving. Instead, the advertising executive started experimenting with baking homemade granola for his wife—who happens to be former beauty editor Eva Chen and his “granola muse”—and their three kids. After a few months of experimenting with his recipes and sharing the results on Instagram, he began to receive DMs from followers asking if they could buy his granola. He wasn’t anywhere close to selling—nor did he even have intentions of doing so—but he realized there was a huge demand. His social media presence grew and Bannister, who was affectionately known as the “Granola King” among his followers, eventually found a commercial kitchen in Queens that he started renting so he could test his recipes on a larger scale.
He mixed and matched dozens of different flavor combinations, with the first success story being “Ginger Zing,” which is granola made with ginger-infused Vermont maple syrup and candied ginger.