CRAVE THE DAY Story

CRAVE THE DAY is a food lifestyle clothing brand born from a culinary and branding expert in the food industry. Steve Carlson, Founder of Food Smackdown, was always looking for the perfect clothing to bring together his passion for food + lifestyle in a simple but fashionable way. When he couldn't find this, he recognized it was a missed niche and he set out to create it for foodies as a way to showcase and express their lifestyle with a desire to also incorporate a give back to help others. That's when CRAVE THE DAY was born!

Steve Carlson, CEO/Founder: Recognized Expert, entrepreneur, investor and consultant in the culinary industry with a successful track record in company branding, business development and technology. Steve has a successful track record of several start-up companies and also serves as a consultant and a serial entrepreneur. Steve is the Founder of Food Smackdown, Inc. which is a unique catering and venue development company, arranging food trucks and developing pop up restaurants for the largest events in the country such as Vidcon, Blizzcon, NAMM, Expo West, D23 and also working with Clients such as Google, Nordstrom, Macy's, Redfin, HauteLook, JetBlue, Zappos, Groupon and more. Steve has been featured on the Food Network, Cooking Channel, ABC News, Where Women Cook and works with the top food trucks, caterers, and celebrity chefs featured on ABC's tv show "The Taste", Food Network's tv show "Chopped" and others. Steve loves innovation, technology, food photography, surfing, good food and sharing his dining experiences.

Nikki Carlson, Partner: Recognized in the industry as a leader in public relations, marketing, retail strategy, product development, store placement and brand awareness. Nikki has co-founded and built two successful major product and marketing companies. She co-owns and runs a successful fashion + function electronics brand which has been carried in retailers such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Target, Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Bed Bath & Beyond as well as private label partnerships with Vince Camuto, Vera Bradley, Givenchy and Banana Republic. Her brand has been featured in the media several times by Today Show, People Magazine, Instyle and more as well as by Influencers such as iJustine, Cindy Crawford, Miley Cyrus, Nicole Richie, Gabby Douglas and others. Nikki also co-owns and runs a PR/Channel Management company with over 40 employees representing over 200 brands placing them in national and international media and major retail stores as well as managing social and influencer + celebrity campaigns. Nikki has an entrepreneurial spirit and loves to eat and share about it.

THE MISSION:  With a passion for food and a desire to help ensure others are properly fed and removed from poverty, the mission behind CRAVE THE DAY is to help others live not only filled with food for the stomach but also food for the soul. CRAVE THE DAY's mission is to fight child poverty through purposeful purchasing where a percent of profits are donated to feed a child.

Since 2010, Steve and Nikki have sponsored a child through the organization Compassion International whose goal is to release children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. Most recently, the child who Steve and Nikki supports is located in Indonesia. Prior to 2010, Nikki had been involved with Compassion International for several years by working on their radio program called "Speak Up With Compassion", sponsoring a child and traveling with the President and several radio stations on a mission trip to Bolivia where she saw first hand the poverty and the amazing work of the organization, giving hope and resources to the children in need.

Read more about CRAVE THE DAY's mission of fighting child poverty using purposeful purchasing with a percent of profits donated to Compassion International.

Crave the day every day and make a difference by purposeful purchasing.