What does it take to launch and scale a successful vegan CPG (consumer packaged goods) business? To make it off the shelves of Whole Foods Market and catch the attention of celebrity customers? To rise as a female CEO and endure criticism for what you wear? DUX founder and CEO Sabina Ladha has done it all, and in less than three years, her vegan cookie dough company has proven itself to be one to watch.
We’ve interviewed Ladha before, but the conversation focused on building a business (and cookie dough, for obvious reasons). For this day in the life series, we wanted to know how Ladha lives her life every day. What does it take to keep innovating without cannibalizing existing products? With new celebrity partnerships and constant iterations of mouthwatering flavors, when does she sleep? What does DEUX eat between bites?
We asked and Ladha happily replied. Here’s what this vegan entrepreneur does for balance, work, life and all things sweet.
Sabina Ladha
Who is Sabina Ladha?
If you ask fans of the NBC pitch competition show, Shark Tank, you may know Ladha as the woman who wore the infamous pink suit. When we asked about this experience during our last interview, she called it “the pink suit heard around the world.” She was poised, confident, and had a winning product, but the reaction from the Internet focused heavily on her outfit rather than her pitch.
Discouraged by unwelcome and inappropriate comments from those who hid behind the scenes, Ladha built her business without the support of the sharks. DEUX launched in 2020 as a gluten-free, adaptogen-infused, good-for-you vegan cookie dough, and from a consumer perspective, business has thrived.
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Ladha and her team have built a brand with multiple celebrity endorsements (Kristin Cavallari, Karlie Kloss, Hannah Godwin, and Lauren Everts, to name just a few), more than a dozen flavor varieties, and more than 1,200 stockists. In addition to flavors like Birthday Cake and Brownie Batter, DEUX also features two delicious spreads, Chocolate Hazelnut and Cookie Butter, as well as the newly launched Glazed Donuts Bites.
Before Ladha took on her role as vegan cookie dough queen, she honed her skills in business. A graduate of the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, he worked as a marketing analyst for PepsiCo and as an independent consultant specializing in growth and marketing. It’s no wonder that DEUX immediately draws you in with its bright color palette and playful aesthetic.
A 5:15am wake up call
“Lately, I’ve been waking up around 5:15 a.m. to Mariah Carey’s ‘Honey’ … which freaks out my dog and husband — it’s awesome,” Ladha jokes. Maria starts singing and Ladha comes up, downing a powerful supplement—either caffeine or a Joggy Energizer—and making a point not to wash her face. She told us that this practice helped with her acne and overall complexion. Instead of soap and water, she slaps on some Summer Friday moisturizer and a jet lag mask.
By 6 a.m., her husband gets up and she drives them to Berry’s bootcamp class. He answers emails while he drives to keep up with his team on the East Coast. Workout crushed, Ladha downs a smoothie, rolls some facial ice, showers, and heads to her WeWork co-worker’s place.
This routine contains a caveat, which is a new development. Ever since the launch of the new DEUX Glazed Donuts, Ladha has been popping these two sweet treats a day with her coffee. “Sometimes I still can’t believe they’re vegetarian,” Ladha admits. “They’re light, taste like a Dunkin’ Munchkin and are the perfect sweet bite to start my day.”
Calls, meetings, and trips to the grocery store
No two days look the same as a CEO, and you can’t always set your own schedule, but Ladha makes every effort to block out her days to maximize performance and avoid too much screen time.
In a perfect world, meetings and calls are done in one block—9am to 2pm—then meet with an investor in person (he’s fundraising right now) or get together with his team for a content shoot. Ladha admits that this doesn’t always happen, and there are many days where she stays on the computer until sunset, but she tries to minimize those screen days.
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With DEUX’s expansion into more retailers, Ladha is building a habit of visiting grocery stores and positioning its products. With potential out-of-stock issues or incorrect products (for example, kept frozen instead of refrigerated), there is more to this secret grocery store operation than meets the eye of the consumer.
At the end of the day, Ladha retires to her home and often continues her work. Her husband cooks dinner (while he works), and they eat together. In the past, there was a practice of keeping the Ladha television on for background noise. “I’m a TV junkie, always have been,” Ladha claimed, but she made a resolution in 2023 to curb the habit.
After dinner, Ladha would do a little more work, walk her dog, call her mom and sisters, and then go to bed early before starting another jam-packed day.
Ladha’s food philosophy
Her eating style is fluid, but her choices revolve largely around how food makes her feel. She needs to be at the top of her game every day, so it’s only natural that she chooses healthy, plant-based options for most of her meals.
“A lot of what I eat is driven by physical energy [and] Bloating occurs with the said food,” affirms Ladha.
He listed some of his favorite foods and it made our mouths water. A recurring dish was a homemade Carbone Spicy Rigatoni. She will serve it with a little gem salad when hosting or simply enjoying it with her husband.
Ladha’s other go-to dishes are mostly in bowl form. She likes a one-pot Mexican quinoa salad or putting together a rice bowl with air-fried protein and vegetables and something spicy.
“I try to eat ‘real’ foods and like to be heavily plant-based because it gives me energy.”
– Sabina Ladha
When eating out, he mentions two hot spots in Los Angeles: Arevon and Gracias Madre. Technically, Erewhon is a natural grocery store, but their hot bar is a fan favorite. Ladha likes to mix and match with a hot bar combo plate, and it “always has to include white bean avocado kale salad and buffalo cauliflower.” At Gracias Madre, her go-to is vegan ceviche and tacos paired with “a killer spicy margarita.”
Again, the spice element is a recurring theme in all of Ladha’s food choices. We’re looking forward to a spicy DEUX flavor…perhaps a spicy ginger snap flavor?
For more vegan entrepreneur spotlights, read:
Tanya Flink is a digital editor for VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.