Sydney and Andrew Verwilst opened their Chicago shop, Ingrained, in 2019 with the goal of creating health-conscious snack products and finding her creative outlet. 

Ingrained has an ever-changing menu that’s fully vegan and free of refined sugars, oils, gluten and soy.

“I’ve always been into manipulating food to make it healthier for me, more functional, while also being nostalgic and delicious,” Verwilst said. “Is it going to provide me with the nutrients I need and is it balanced, and will I walk away feeling full and like I feel happy?”

In 2016, Verwilst started by selling granola out of her apartment and to vendors like Siniša Rasberger from Chicago Health Foods. Verwilst said the initial support encouraged her to continue with culinary entrepreneurship. 

“It catapulted me into believing in myself and believing in what I was doing,” Verwilst said. “Just that initial positivity — it allowed me to stack my wins.” 

Now, Verwilst’s primary products are her frozen superfood bars. Rasberger said Verwilst has gained noticeable momentum since opening up the Ingrained storefront. 

“She’s your one in a million,” Rasberger said. “Made a cold plunge and succeeded with all the incredibly hard work, and not giving up, and getting over a million obstacles and actually succeeded. And I really admire that. That’s not an easy task by any means.” 

After she quit her financial services job in 2019 to fully pursue Ingrained, Verwilst’s husband Andrew quickly followed to help run the business, adding to the small team of Sydney and two part-time employees. 

The Ingrained team has always been “lean,” according to Verwilst, because she wants every member of their team to understand the brand and its goals. 

“It’s very difficult to add to our team because, in the food space, people often rotate and leave,” Verwilst said. 

Verwilst has no formal culinary training, instead studying Mandarin and political science at Saint Mary’s College. But she said food has always been “innate” for her. 

“A lot of my things that I do I can’t teach others,” Verwilst said. “I just know what I’m going for in consistency and smell and texture.”

Verwilst says Ingrained prioritizes high-quality products by making small batches.

“It’s kind of the Dior of snacks,” Verwilst said. “If you were to buy a Dior bag, it wouldn’t feel so good to see it come off an assembly line and thrown.” 

She wants eating her products to be an experience. 

“I think your food should be beautiful,” Verwilst said. “I think you should feel like a f—ing queen when you’re eating it. When your food is so thoughtfully made, it’s beautiful.”

Helena Shannon attended Saint Mary’s College with Verwilst and has followed the Ingrained journey from the beginning. She first began supporting Verwilst by buying her granola. 

“The quality and integrity is absolutely second to none,” Shannon said in an email to The DePaulia. “When you are someone (like me) who cares deeply about what I put in my body, it’s very important to know that what you are consuming is what they say it is. Sydney and Andrew put the utmost care into the sourcing and producing of their items.” 

Verwilst says customer and vendor support mean a lot to the Ingrained team. 

“That is one thing that keeps us showing up,” Verwilst said. “Just seeing people feel so good about the food that we make.” 

Shannon says there hasn’t been an Ingrained item she hasn’t liked and particularly enjoys the bars. When Shannon’s wedding was canceled during the pandemic, Verwilst made her a carrot cake, and she had Ingrained products catered for her bachelorette party in 2020.  

While Ingrained has been used to build connections with others, Verwilst said she also wants her business to be a way to practice self love. Having struggled with finding a balance with food in the past, she aims for Ingrained to be a source of healing. 

“I’ve used food to harm myself in my life, both in restricting it and overdoing it,” Verwilst said. “I want my food to be a catalyst to be good to myself.” 

Verwilst said intuitive eating has also been a big inspiration for Ingrained because when she began to trust herself with food, it spread to other areas of her life.

“When you have that strong relationship to what you know is good for you, and you know what ticks … I think it’s really easy to take that confidence and utilize it outside of the dinner table,” Verwilst said. 

Verwilst hopes that Ingrained can do the same for her customers. Verwilst says she’s always wanted to help people with food issues, but knew she didn’t want to be an eating-focused therapist. 

“What my goal is at the end of the day, and what I opened Ingrained to do, is to create things that people can eat that heal their relationship with food,” Verwilst said.

Even if Ingrained doesn’t help customers with food, Verwilst hopes her products serve as a source of inspiration.

“Ingrained is an idea,” Verwilst said. “If you’re really passionate about something, whether it be surfing or whatever, if you want to ingrain that in other people, I want my brand to be something that’s more lifestyle.”

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