Hamilton Colwell’s relentless experimentation helped turn Maia Yogurt into a regional success story
Hamilton Colwell was that kid—the one with a gazillion questions and the gumption to find answers. That curiosity eventually turned into something more practical and entrepreneurial. He launched his own healthy food company in his 30s following years of kitchen-based experiments in his apartment.
“For as long as I can remember I’ve had the curiosity of a child,” says the Stamford father of two, who refined his Greek yogurt recipe until it was right. Today, Maia Yogurt is sold in more than 400 stores across the Northeast. Big Y is among them; Stew Leonard’s and Stop & Shop, too. “We’re the fastest growing yogurt at Wegmans,” he says, of the brand named for the Roman goddess of spring. The name also reflects a focus on natural ingredients. Maia Yogurt is made with milk from 100-percent grass-fed cows.
Colwell, who founded his company in 2010, says getting into Wegmans was an eight-year process. “You have to be persistent to get lucky,” says the entrepreneur, who lives with his family in an old French farmhouse. “You can be lucky without persistence, but that’s not sustainable.”
Persistence can be as simple as offering taste tests. “If you see me out and about, there’s a 50-50 shot I’ll have yogurt in tow,” says Colwell, who has a portable cooler that serves as his backpack.
But persistence can also be complex, as he learned this past winter when a milk truck went off the road in a storm. “We were unable to produce yogurt—essentially 63,000 cups of yogurt.”
Colwell had to tell every partner what happened and how he was addressing the shortfall. “There was a week-and-a-half delay in production because cows are milked, people buy the milk and you just have to figure it out. But yes, we were able to find milk through our family farmers and service our customers.”
People appreciate clear and candid communication, says Colwell, who grew up in Cheshire, and whose background is in restaurant management (Greenwich Village and beyond) and finance (JP Morgan Chase).
He and his wife moved to Stamford before the birth of their first son (their boys are 5 and 2) because they wanted access to excellent transportation, awesome restaurants (“We love to eat,” he says) and great grocery stores.
Looking back on his journey, he says Maia Yogurt was born of necessity during a time when he had pregnant siblings and cousins (including one with gestational diabetes), seeking nutritious food options. His curiosity kicked in when he learned some yogurts contained sugar servings similar to what you’d find in a candy bar. Appalled, he tried to figure out how to make his own.
“First, I taught myself. Then I surrounded myself with Cornell University dairy experts to understand what it takes to make the absolute best low-sugar, high-protein yogurt.”
Colwell’s roommates thought he was crazy. But soon they were helping him.
“I came home with raw unpasteurized milk from the farmers’ market. I added yogurt cultures and literally concocted my first batch of Maia Yogurt on my gas range in my tiny New York City apartment on 77th and 1st.”
He and his roommates would put yogurt samples in Dixie cups, walk to 2nd Avenue and start “sampling the product with strangers.” The response, then and today, keeps him moving forward.
“The world of yogurt is competitive, but we’ve persisted through lots of challenges,” he says. That includes a fire that occurred at Maia headquarters in Hamden about 10 years ago. Even with setbacks, the brand’s popularity continues to grow. The product line consists of six core flavors—vanilla bean, strawberry, blueberry, plain, pomegranate cherry and peach. And as for distribution, Maia continues to reach new markets. In spring, it appeared in the dairy aisle at Walter Stewart’s Market in New Canaan.
Meanwhile, Colwell has his family (all yogurt fans), to guide him. “I would say my boys are the driving force. I learn from my boys every day, what they like and what they need.”