I started eating frozen fruit years ago for one simple reason — I hated how I felt after late-night snacking.

I grew up in Carmel, California, where health wasn’t optional. My mom fed me spinach and broccoli daily. Naturally, I rebelled — milkshakes, sugar, whatever I could get. But eventually everything catches up to you.

By 20, I had to decide who I wanted to be.

I’ve always questioned things. The food industry was one of the biggest. Kids grow up on addictive food engineered for profit — not health. I needed better options.

That’s when I found frozen fruit.

First, It tastes incredible.

Secondly, I could eat as much as I wanted and never feel bad about it.

And I realized something strange — no one was selling frozen fruit as a snack. Just fruit. Not smoothie blends. Not bowls. Just fruit.

So I started Still Life.

A friend helped with the name. My last name is Stilwell. A still life painting is usually fruit on a table. And to me, “Still Life” also meant preserving life — freezing it at its peak.

I started in my own kitchen with high hopes.

We became an online hit almost immediately. Demand exploded. I couldn’t fulfill orders. I was losing money. I learned quickly that food — especially healthy food — is expensive, competitive, and frozen is one of the hardest categories in the world to scale.

So I stepped back.

I spent much of 2025 testing, tasting, traveling, sourcing, and rebuilding from a position of strength. My goal was simple: build a healthy food brand that keeps its values — and actually works financially.

I don’t want to sell out.

I don’t want to raise money.

I don’t want to compromise the brand.

It’s March 1, 2026 as I write this.

We’ve launched freeze-dried fruit. We’re expanding into dried fruit (my personal favorite). And for those who want a little indulgence, we’re introducing some of the cleanest chocolate-covered fruit I could source — thoughtfully made, simple ingredients, nothing unnecessary.

I will only release products with ingredients you can pronounce and understand.

And I haven’t given up on frozen fruit. Not at all. I just want to do it right — because doing it the way I believe in is complicated.

If you’re still reading this, thank you.

Your support means everything.

— Richard Stilwell

Founder, Still Life