Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Until recently, if you Googled “Glen Powell oil,” you’d probably get a still from Top Gun that might make you want to shut your laptop in public. Now, the search results tell a different story — one about Smash Kitchen, the Hollywood star’s latest off-screen venture.
After successfully bringing organic condiments to Walmart shelves nationwide, Powell and his partners Sean Kane and Sameer Mehta are expanding the brand into everyday pantry staples with a new line of cooking oils.
It sounds almost absurd — until you hear him explain why.
Related: 12 Ways to Eat Healthy No Matter How Busy You Are
From Top Gun to Top Shelf
Powell’s interest in pantry products began when he first moved to Hollywood and realized that succeeding in the industry would require taking his health more seriously.
“I thought barbecue chicken pizza was healthy at the time because it had protein,” he laughs.
Over time, he began educating himself on nutrition and how to fuel an active lifestyle without sacrificing flavor. Cooking for friends, hosting barbecues and throwing Game Day parties became a way to combine his love of food with his social nature. Developing Smash allowed him to create products that reflected that philosophy: tasty, high-quality ingredients that don’t compromise.
On the surface, selling condiments couldn’t be more different from starring in blockbusters. But Powell sees similarities. Building a brand, he says, is like making a movie: you assemble the best team, work with talented people and make sure every element is top-notch.
In Smash Kitchen’s case, that meant pairing Powell’s passion for food with CPG expertise from industry veterans Sean Kane and Sameer Mehta.
Kane is as traditional an entrepreneur as they come. While most kids his age were out trick-or-treating, he was busy upselling his secondhand Halloween candy. He studied accounting but soon realized his true passion was entrepreneurship, which led him to PriceGrabber and eventually to co-founding The Honest Company, known for eco-friendly baby products and household goods.
Kane recalls, “We were making better diapers, better shampoos — everything organic — and people thanked us for creating products that were safer and healthier for their families.”
When he left, he knew he wanted to build something new, and serendipity brought him together with Mehta and Powell.
Mehta, meanwhile, brings experience from founding Jinx, a premium dog food company focused on health and nutrition. That venture taught him a lot about wellness and consumer behavior, which he applied when evaluating the human food category.
He saw a gap: traditional brands were full of artificial ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, and sodium, while clean, organic options were often overpriced and lacked flavor. That observation inspired Smash Kitchen’s mission to create products that fill the middle space — healthy, organic, flavorful and accessible.
Image credit: Smash Kitchen
A bigger recipe in mind
Powell is deeply involved in Smash Kitchen beyond financing. He samples every product and has even shipped tons of condiments to a London set so the crew could try them. While filming on a studio lot for a year, he even built a small “camp” outside his trailer, complete with a grill, showing just how hands-on he is.
Whether he’s cooking for friends or the crew, Powell treats food the same way he does film—with care, creativity, and a focus on balance. As he puts it, the experience is “symbiotic… like part of the same journey” as filmmaking
While condiments were a strong first step, Powell’s vision has always been bigger. He wants to transform the entire pantry so consumers don’t have to choose between quality and affordability. He uses his friends as a sounding board, testing ingredients for taste and cost, and emphasizes that trust has been a critical foundation for the brand.
“Eventually, we want to really transform the American pantry,” he says. “We want everybody to be buying Smash.”
For Powell, the mission is personal. Friends back home in Texas, he notes, often can’t justify paying premium prices for organic products. Smash Kitchen is designed to remove that barrier, allowing consumers to buy high-quality, organic ingredients without compromise.
Breaking into an industry dominated by long-established brands is no easy feat — especially one where consumers tend to stick with what they know. But the Smash Kitchen team believes the timing couldn’t be better.
“It probably has a lot to do with where we are right now and how people are thinking about health,” Kane says. “As more people become aware of what they’re putting in their bodies — and as we continue to educate customers — there’s this growing understanding around wellness. It feels like the right place, right time for something that’s both delicious and organic.”
With momentum for healthier choices on the rise — and Powell scheduled to appear in nearly half a dozen upcoming films and shows — Smash Kitchen is poised to be a smash hit among home cooks everywhere.
Until recently, if you Googled “Glen Powell oil,” you’d probably get a still from Top Gun that might make you want to shut your laptop in public. Now, the search results tell a different story — one about Smash Kitchen, the Hollywood star’s latest off-screen venture.
After successfully bringing organic condiments to Walmart shelves nationwide, Powell and his partners Sean Kane and Sameer Mehta are expanding the brand into everyday pantry staples with a new line of cooking oils.
It sounds almost absurd — until you hear him explain why.
The rest of this article is locked.
Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.