Welcome to Tippins Foods

In 2019, Will Tippins and one of his close friends were preparing to hike the Laurel Highlands Trail in Western Pennsylvania. The planning process proved daunting, of course, but no part more so than planning out his meals for the trip. Will found himself knee-deep in spreadsheets trying to calculate weight, calories, and macro-nutrients in his meals. When he finally got everything together, he looked out over the mass of food that had eaten hours of his life—half-boxes of protein bars and painstakingly repackaged trail mix—and he thought to himself: there has to be a better way to do this.

This moment was the birth of the idea of Tippins Foods: a company dedicated to making food on the trail tastier and easier.

As with most folks, the Covid-19 pandemic was the catalyst for a massive shift in Will’s life, and those shifts spurred him to pursue his passion for food and the outdoors with his own business. A lifelong Pittsburgh resident, he knew that he wanted to build his business in the community that raised him, so Tippins Foods started with the vision of becoming a place that plays an active and reciprocal role in the local economy.

Since then, he’s been hard at work building the business and the team, taking great care to encode the values and sensibilities that he believes are critical to success into the DNA of the company at every step. After a lot of metaphorical and literal sweat, we’ve found ourselves at the trailhead, gazing up at the ridges looming overhead with excitement and trepidation.

With the Out-Pak launched and our first sales under our belt, we’re ready to begin the real hike. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone that has supported us all the way here, from field testers to mentors, and we can’t wait to establish more connections in our local community and the outdoor industry as a whole.