Elizabeth McMillin never stops moving. The president and founder of California-based HiiT Nutrition doesn’t drink coffee to fuel her — instead, the high-energy entrepreneur prefers to start her mornings with a run or a workout where she can channel her energy to focus and plan out what her day is going to look like.
For McMillin, it’s a constant juggling act between making sure her business is running smoothly, whether it’s filing a sales and tax report or packaging orders for her signature HiiT Dough and parenting her bubbly 3-year-old. She does most of it solo while her MARSOC husband is away for training or deployed, yet somehow, she also manages to find time to study to be a certified functional health practitioner.
By the time she calls it quits and heads to bed, it’s between 12 and 1 a.m, she says.
“There’s never a moment where I am like, ‘Oh I’m done with everything,’” she said.
Despite the challenges of wearing so many hats, McMillin is incredibly passionate about her mission of creating products with simple, clean ingredients that fuel the body efficiently and without compromising taste.
Her dream took root more than seven years ago, when she was taking a course in human nutrition and metabolism and began experimenting with a protein bar specifically for military special forces personnel.
“I designed the bar to have all the things my husband would need for optimal energy on a ruck, but without spiking his insulin,” she explained.
McMillin, who has several food allergies, also wanted to make sure that she and others with similar intolerances could enjoy her products. The result was a gluten, dairy, soy, and egg free bar made with premium ingredients, high in protein and fiber, and without added or refined sugars or preservatives.
Of course, as a lover of all things sweet, she wanted to ensure her products were delicious, too.
“Taste is most important,” she said. “You can have great ingredients but if it doesn’t taste good, people aren’t going to buy it again.”
McMillin is a supertaster, which means her sense of taste is much more intense than the average person’s.
“That’s how I’m able to get a perfectionist, spot-on flavor,” she said. “My employees always laugh at me because I taste things at different levels. Also, if something goes wrong, I can taste it and know exactly what the issue is.”
One day while working on a new bar flavor, McMillin accidentally messed up the recipe, and the product turned out like a dough. She looked to see if there was anything comparable on the market and found nothing like it. HiiT Dough was born, which McMillin describes as a “nostalgic-like cookie dough but without the junk.”
Almost immediately, the business took off, quickly gaining customers and endorsements from health influencers on social media. The company currently employs two other military spouses, and is in the process of hiring another, to keep up with demand.
HiiT Nutrition’s goal is to provide a product that can fuel and satisfy any lifestyle and body type, from body builders and athletes to workers who need a healthier breakfast on-the-go, to people with food allergies, to sweet lovers who don’t want the insulin spikes.
Especially during the holidays when it’s easy to go overboard on sugar, McMillin said HiiT Dough can be a great alternative “if you’re going to a party and really don’t want to eat all the junk that’s there, roll the dough into balls and add your favorite toppings, or just bring a jar to share.”
One of her favorite recipes is to put a scoop of Brownie Batter HiiT Dough on an almond flour tortilla and microwave it for 18 seconds max.
“It tastes just like a chocolate croissant!”
McMillin said the most important question to ask about her products is how they can help meet each customer’s needs.
“What do you want HiiT Dough to do for you? Is it going to help with portion control? Is it going to help you snack better?” she said. “Is it going to help you eat a good breakfast? Is it going to be a way to have a treat while keeping your insulin levels stable?”
Regardless of the answer, McMillin is confident customers will love her products just as much as she does and can rest assured they are getting superior quality.
“I consume so much of my own product I can’t afford to compromise the quality of the ingredients, because my gut will feel it,” she said. “This is a way to give yourself an indulgence without feeling like your body is going to suffer.”
HiiT products are available for purchase online.
