Lance Kesner
Lance Kesner is the co-founder of Millie's Sipping Broth, a Bellevue, Washington-based CPG brand that created the first soup-broth tea bag. A former tech executive, Kesner pivoted after a layoff and built the company from a kitchen project into a multi-million-dollar brand now stocked at Walmart and Sam's Club.
Lance Kesner's Bio
Lance Kesner is the co-founder of Millie's Sipping Broth, a specialty food brand that reimagined savory broth as a convenient tea-bag snack. Based in Bellevue, Washington, Kesner developed the concept with his wife Lori after he was laid off from a tech executive role in 2009.
Before entrepreneurship, Kesner worked as a corporate tech executive, bringing operational discipline to the food startup world. The couple tested their first broth-teabag prototype at Pike Place Market, refining the product based on real customer feedback. Millie's Sipping Broth grew from those kitchen experiments into a million-dollar company.
Today, Millie's Sipping Broth is available in nearly three thousand retail locations, including Walmart and Sam's Club. The product is gluten-free, keto, vegan, and kosher, and Kesner continues to lead brand growth and national distribution expansion.
Career Timeline
2009 — Laid Off from Tech Executive Role
Lance Kesner was laid off from a tech executive position, catalyzing his move into entrepreneurship.
2009 — Co-founded Millie's Sipping Broth
Started Millie's Sipping Broth with wife Lori in their kitchen, creating a vegetable broth tea bag.
2015 — Tested at Pike Place Market at Millie's Sipping Broth
Launched early product testing at Pike Place Market to refine the broth-teabag concept.
2024 — National Retail Expansion at Millie's Sipping Broth
Scaled Millie's Sipping Broth into nearly three thousand retail locations, including Walmart and Sam's Club.