Auburn students found global snack provider, take second place at SEC Start-Up competition

Craving a taste of Italian potato chips? How about a handful of Soletti Salzstangerl pretzel sticks from Austria, or even Greek Joyva chocolate-covered halvah?

If so, two Auburn University students have you covered.

Harrison Ranier, a junior in apparel merchandising in the College of Human Sciences, and Liam Heary, a junior in computer science and software engineering in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, are the creative minds behind Planet of Snacks — an innovative startup that delivers snack boxes packed with treats from around the world. With handpicked selections from 32 different countries, their mission is simple: deliver a taste of the world—one mailbox at a time.

Judges at the second SEC Start-Up — a pitch competition for student-athletes in the conference — were sold as Ranier and Heary (swimming and diving) were awarded second place and $8,000. They previously won second place and $20,000 at Tiger Cage in March, the university’s premier student business pitch competition.

“When we represent Auburn, we're really representing the people on campus who have invested time and interest into what we're doing,” said Heary, who spent the summer interning at Cisco Systems in Austin, Texas.  “Using what we’ve learned at the New Venture Accelerator along with all the resources we can access — including support from international programs and student leaders — everything we’re doing is rooted in Auburn. It makes us proud to show appreciation for the people who’ve helped us.”

Ranier said being positioned to represent the university on a national stage was “incredible.”

“If you told me a year ago where we’d be today, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said. “It shows what Auburn is all about, what it offers and what it can do for you through the entrepreneurship program and the lessons learned through our coursework.”

The SEC Start-Up, held June 18 in Birmingham, was aired by the SEC Network on Monday, July 14. Teams were allotted five minutes to present and five minutes for questions and answers before a panel of four judges, including former Auburn basketball star Daymeon Fishback.

“That experience was so much different than Tiger Cage,” Ranier said. “At Tiger Cage, we stayed and watched all the other pitches. That helped us feel better and see what we could improve for the next round. This time, we couldn’t watch anyone, so we had no way to compare ourselves.”

Pitch time was only five minutes, so Heary and Ranier had to make each second count.

“The main messages we shared were we sell that widest variety of snack boxes on the internet and that we’re trying to connect cultures through snacks,” Heary said. “We drilled those points.”

Having secured $28,000 in funding through Tiger Cage and the SEC Start-Up, Ranier and Heary are shifting focus from pitching to now growing their business.

“We’re moving on to the real competition,” Heary said. “We’re slowing down after these investment pitches, looking at what we’ve built and what we need to refine.”

The team is developing plans to enhance the product’s user experiences with new display templates by adding inserts to the snack boxes, featuring icebreakers, fun activities, nutrition facts and cultural tidbits.

“We received feedback from the judges at the SEC Start-Up that we need to make our boxes more fun and represent what we’re doing, like connecting cultures through snacks,” Heary said. “We’re trying to do a little bit of a box rebranding right now to display what our values are, which is home and comfort.”

Auburn students are no strangers to success at SEC-level entrepreneurship competitions. Mechanical engineering graduate students Allison Tanner, David Edmondson and David Hollinger (track and field) won the inaugural SEC Start-Up in 2024 for their business plan, The Digital Athlete (now known as Stride Sync).

Zac Young (mechanical engineering) won first place at the 2020 SEC Student Pitch Competition for his startup Vulcan Line Tools. Parvin Fathi-Hafshejani (electrical and computer engineering) won third place at the 2023 SEC Student Pitch Competition for her idea, Dropllel, while Thomas Lester (industrial and systems engineering) took third place at the 2024 SEC Student Pitch Competition for his startup, The Earlybird Company.

Want to support Planet of Snacks, Auburn University’s latest student-led business startup? Visit here for a detailed, global inventory from Japanese Matcha Kit Kats and Korean Choco Pies to British crisps and Thai Lay’s in flavors not found in local grocery stores. To order, click on a snack box to learn more, then press “add to cart” when ready.

Customers are also encouraged to sign up for monthly subscription boxes filled with surprise snacks from around the globe.

Bon appétit.