“Gary Vaynerchuk has a book called Crushing It!,  and he has a line in there that says that some people are born with a burning desire to build something,” says Jordan Wenck. “As soon as I read that I was like, ‘That’s me.’ There was just something inside me that was screaming to be let loose.” Wenck has always been a driven person. A Sarasota native, she studied marketing at Florida State University and earned a master’s degree in 2012. She spent time working in corporate marketing for major companies including Coca-Cola, Bridgestone and Puma, jobs that took her all over the country. But there was a sense of connection missing. Wenck has had a lifelong passion for wellness and in 2019 she decided to make a big shift, returning to school to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition. She returned to Sarasota in 2024, and in January of 2025 she launched her own business, called Beanie Bites.

Beanie Bites is a baking mix designed by Wenck that is built on the idea that indulgence and nutrition can live side by side. Made with organic, sprouted chickpeas and naturally sweetened with dates, Beanie Bites Original is a versatile mix that can be used to make cookies, muffins, pancakes, waffles and more. Wenck has also developed the Beanie Bites Chocolate Brownie Mix, which incorporates organic sprouted black bean flour to create rich, fudgy brownies that are as nutritious as they are flavorful. Both mixes are available for sale on her website, but Wenck also operates stands at the Waterside Farmers Market in Lakewood Ranch and the downtown Sarasota Farmers Market. There, people can buy the mixes as well as baked goods. “All the baked goods I sell at the market are made from my mix,” Wenck says. “I try to have four options for people. I always have black bean brownies and banana bread, but then I rotate the others to show people how versatile the mix is.” If you happen to fall in love with one of Wenck’s baked goods, it’s easy to replicate at home. She’s listed the recipes on her website so people can recreate their favorites.  “It always tastes better when you make it at home because there’s just something magical about cooking in your own kitchen,” Wenck says. “I’ve done the heavy lifting for you. All you have to do is add banana, egg and milk.”