Port Washington is the home of Viki’s Granola founder and CEO Viki Sater, and is also the birthplace of the brand. “When my oldest daughter was still attending Schreiber High School in 2009, she asked me to donate to a bake sale,” said Sater. “I was expecting her to request a storebought box of brownies or cookies but, to my surprise, she said, ‘Granola, please!’ I was amused, but thought, easy, granola…coming right up. The baked granola was literally eaten right up. It was a huge success. Days and weeks following the school bake sale, calls and emails poured in from teachers, parents and even from people in the community who had heard about the bake sale, all asking for Viki’s granola.”
In 2010, Sater started her business, Viki’s Foods, making Viki’s Granola. Her first commercial kitchen space was located on Manorhaven Boulevard. There were many days where the Manorhaven Boulevard kitchen was lined with pallets stacked high with Viki’s Granola, said Sater. “Over a few short years, we just outgrew our facility and required a loading dock to fulfill our surging order requests.” Sater eventually moved the company to Bethpage.
Sater is an entrepreneur with a passion for health and cooking. Sater embraced her innate skill for baking and hosting parties and gatherings as a way to share her favorite foods with friends and family. Today, as the founder of Viki’s Granola, Sater is dedicated to sharing Viki’s Foods’ commitment to creating healthy and great-tasting foods, with not just her own family, but with customers nationwide. “My family was my main focus when I created my first batch of granola; it was made from 100 percent all-natural, high-quality ingredients then and it is still made that way today,” said Sater. “We never add refined sugar, fillers or preservatives. There are less than seven ingredients per flavor. The granola is gluten free, kosher and non-GMO. All of our granolas are naturally sweetened with organic honey or maple syrup.” Today, Viki’s Granola is available in five flavors and has a loyal following.
Sater recently participated in Donna Karan’s “Super Saturday” event to raise funds and awareness for ovarian cancer research. Sater donated snacks for the event.
Sater explained her choice to live and start her business in Port Washington. “For me, Port Washington was an obvious choice. That’s where I live, where my kids went to school and of course where my following began. North Shore Farms was and continues to be an amazing customer of mine, In fact, I was just there and commented that I can’t go anywhere in Port since I can’t help but stop and chat.” Sater also sells her product at Ralph’s Ices as well as at other businesses in Port.
Sater grew up on the West Coast and moved to New York when she was 21 years old. Shortly after starting a family, she moved to Port Washington, where all three of her daughters attended school. Her youngest child just graduated from Schreiber High School this June and will be joining her sisters at Syracuse University in the fall. Sater is a member of the Women’s Business Network (WBENC) and holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Marymount Manhattan College. For more information, go to www.vikisfoods.com.
