Incredible Mulk: Class Project Becomes Thriving Business

Incredible Mulk: Class Project Becomes Thriving Business

By Bri Phillips

Melissa Finestone launched The Mulk Co. in June 2018, only one year after she graduated from CSUSM with a bachelor's degree in global business management. Photo by Alicia Lores

Melissa Finestone remembers the assignment in her business marketing class that started it all.

Each student was required to develop a business plan based on a product they conceived. Finestone decided to curate a product that combined her passion for cooking with a childhood love of chocolate milk.

But Finestone wanted to develop a healthy alternative to other chocolate milks on the market. She noticed that there was a growing demand for more plant-based options, and she wanted to create a product that would avoid a laundry list of unfamiliar ingredients.

When Finestone couldn't find a product on the market that met her requirements, she chose to make her own. Using her Vitamix blender to grind almonds in her kitchen at home, Finestone crafted samples of chocolate- and strawberry-flavored, plant-based almond milk. She served it to each student in the class while presenting her product.

"I remember a classmate saying, 'I do not drink flavored milk, no matter what kind of milk it is, but I would buy this one,' " said Finestone, then known by her maiden name of Mandim.

The overwhelming support from her peers inspired Finestone to launch The Mulk Co. in June 2018, only one year after she graduated from Cal State San Marcos with a bachelor's degree in global business management.

"What she is doing in starting up a food business is extremely difficult," said Dick Lansing, who worked with Finestone as part of the College of Business Administration's Career Mentor Program. "There are all sorts of hurdles and problems and costs that you need to go through and take into consideration.

"I generally don't recommend anybody go into the food business, as an individual person, unless they have a lot of money they want to lose. But she had a plan, which was really good and really smart."

Today, Finestone's signature almond milk is available at nine farmers markets throughout San Diego County and three in Los Angeles. She has gone from grinding almonds in her kitchen to using a commercial space in Vista, where she produces 10 different flavors and three seasonal offerings. The chocolate and strawberry flavors that she shared in class are among the most popular - and the recipe hasn't changed much since then.

"I can't pick a favorite, but I associate each flavor with a memory," Finestone said. "When I think of strawberry, I think of the student who complimented me in class because I couldn't believe that she liked it so much."

Finestone takes pride in using only real ingredients in her almond milk; it contains no additives, fillers or preservatives. She sources her almonds from a farm in California's Central Valley, where 80% of all almonds in the United States are harvested.

Mulk has become so successful that Finestone has employees to cover the numerous farmers markets, though she still can be found each Sunday at the Leucadia Farmers Market.

"My husband tries to get me to stay home and rest on Sundays, but I just love it," she said. "There's just something about the community and relationships you build with other vendors. I love the friendships you make, not just with your customers but with fellow business owners."

Finestone never intended to be an entrepreneur. It took a one-way ticket around the world for her to discover this path.

Finestone grew up in South Africa, where she earned a bachelor's in fine arts from Witwatersrand College and then graduated from Inscape Design College. She had a well-established career in interior design, even winning an interior designer of the year award for Virgin Airlines' launch in South Africa.

When Finestone's parents moved to Australia, where her sister had landed a job, Finestone decided to move with them. But she quickly learned that Australia wasn't where she wanted to live long term. Instead, she packed her belongings to find someplace that felt like home. It began a journey that took her from Melbourne to Sydney and then on to Chile, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, India and Thailand.

With visits to more than 30 countries over her lifetime, Finestone credits the globe-trotting experiences for shaping her as a businessperson. In fact, it was a trip to India that inspired one of Mulk's most popular flavors. The company's golden almond milk is blended with turmeric, cinnamon and ginger, a nod to the Indian drink masala haldi doodh, which translates to "golden milk."

"I remember drinking it at Indian street markets, and it was delicious," Finestone said. "I knew I wanted to create a version of it for Mulk."

After nine months of traveling, Finestone returned to Australia to see her family. She didn't stay long, taking an offer to visit a friend in Los Angeles. This trip was different from the others, though. It was her first time in the United States, and she fell in love with Southern California.

Finestone found herself with new opportunities, and she leaned into her passion for cooking, which had been a constant in her life since she was 6 years old and honing her skills with her mother and grandmother. Her talents led to a job as a chef for Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.

But Finestone yearned for something else. She started studying business leadership and management at Santa Monica College and landed internships in public relations and marketing. She always thought her time in the U.S. would be temporary, that she would eventually return to Australia to be closer to her family. Then she met her future husband, Adam.

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One of Finestone's internships was located next to the packing and shipping company owned by Adam's parents. She frequented the store to mail packages, becoming such a regular that Adam's parents invited her to a Christmas party where she met their son, who was visiting from San Diego.

Finestone eventually moved south to be closer to Adam and continued to pursue her business degree, first at Palomar College and then at CSUSM.

"I liked the idea of having a degree that would support any industry," Finestone said.

Finestone also had support from Adam, whom she credits for inspiring the name of her almond milk business.

"My husband makes fun of me when I say 'milk.' It sounds like I'm saying 'mulk' because of my South African accent," Finestone said. "The name just stuck, and I felt like it was fitting for my business."

Starting any business comes with challenges, and the food industry is notoriously difficult for budding entrepreneurs. It wasn't just Lansing, a College of Business Administration advisory council member, who warned Finestone about how grueling it could be.

As Finestone grappled with whether to start a business or find a corporate job, she reached out a week after graduation to Jim Hamerly, then the college's dean.

"I certainly shared some of my concerns and skepticism with Melissa about starting a food business," Hamerly said. "She told me, 'Well, I'm manufacturing it in my kitchen at home and I'm crushing my own almonds.' And I'm thinking, 'Oh my.' "

Hamerly knew that could be problematic for adhering to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines and that a commercial kitchen would be needed. At the time, Hamerly was helping his brother with a soup stock business, which required Hamerly to learn about packaging and manufacturing fluids. He shared what he learned with Finestone, even connecting her with his brother.

Both Hamerly and Lansing were impressed with Finestone's drive to launch her business. She decided after meeting with them that she would start small and serve her milk at a few local farmers markets. It was familiar territory to Finestone, who worked as a food service vendor for Bitchin' Sauce, an almond dip company, while attending CSUSM.

"I knew the lay of the land," Finestone said. "I was able to create connections with other farmers market vendors and get ideas for my business."

When Finestone was just starting out, Hamerly was a regular visitor to her booth at Poway's farmers market on Saturday mornings to support her and purchase Mulk products.

"She's really good with people," Hamerly said. "I used to sit on the sidelines and watch her sell to people as they came through the farmers market. A lot of CSUSM students start businesses, but she's really got a great head for business. She gets it."

Six years after launching Mulk, Finestone is familiar with the landmines that come with owning a business. But the happiness that radiates from her customers keeps her going. She is continuing to grow the business, with hopes of one day having Mulk available in Whole Foods.

Finestone still thinks often about the day that her classmates tried her almond milk for the first time. She smiles when she recalls their reaction, and the memory never ceases to fuel her motivation for the future.

"I have had lots of challenges," Finestone said. "But I believe in my product and I see people's faces when they find something they like. And when customers keep coming back, it just tells me that I'm actually fulfilling some sort of need. That's really what keeps me going."

Melissa Finestone

Major at CSUSM: Global business management

Graduation year: 2017

Company: The Mulk Co.

Website: themulkco.com

Founded: 2018

Number of employees: 3

What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs?

"Rank on a scale of 1 to 10 how passionate you are about this idea because it needs to be 11. Don't be scared of starting a business. It might fail, but it also might set you up for your next success. I've come across entrepreneurs who have started one product, realized there were a lot of roadblocks with the product and then they switch and start doing something else. And then they actually move forward with that one."

What's the greatest challenge in starting your own business?

"Employees and when your equipment breaks. I use industrial equipment and I'm not an engineer. So if something goes wrong, it's really stuck."

Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?

"It would have been so cool if I was studying business while I was starting a business. Because I think I would learn a lot of principles and it would have helped getting feedback from professors."

What are the qualities of a good entrepreneur?

"Resourcefulness, passion and a high learning curve."

Media Contact

Bri Phillips, Communications Specialist

[email protected]