Hey, I'm Trace!

In 2018, I ate my first bowl of oatmeal. A few years later, I turned that obsession into a company.

Trace Alexander, founder of Trace's Oats, smiling against a white wall

It all started in 2018 when I was going into my freshman year of high school. I wanted to become a better athlete, so I started learning how nutrition could help me perform and recover.

One day, I Googled the healthiest foods to eat. Oatmeal was on the list, so I decided to try it.

Honestly, I didn't like it at first.

An early bowl of Trace's oatmeal topped with sliced banana and dark chocolate squares

But once I started adding fruit, cinnamon, and almond butter, everything changed. I realized oatmeal could taste like pretty much anything you wanted.

I loved it so much that I started eating it every day. Sometimes twice.

Eventually, I started taking pictures of my oatmeal and sending them to my friends. After a while, they told me to stop sending so many oatmeal pictures.

So on January 1, 2020, I started an Instagram account dedicated to oatmeal. Mostly as a joke.

The original @tracesoats Instagram profile showing a grid of early oatmeal bowls

People started suggesting flavors, and I'd make them. Later that year, I started posting on TikTok, and one of my first videos blew up.

What started as a joke turned into years of making recipes and videos every single day. I was having so much fun that I didn't really think about where it could lead.

Trace filming an oatmeal recipe video at home with a ring light

By the time I got to college, I knew I wanted to do something bigger with oatmeal.

Whenever I went to the grocery store, I couldn't find an oatmeal product I actually loved. The ones that tasted good were often full of sugar and didn't have much protein. And the healthier options didn't taste very good.

I wanted to change that.

So I decided to take a chance, drop out of college, and create the oatmeal I always wished existed.

Early Trace's Oats flavor testing in Trace's kitchen

I spent countless hours experimenting with different ingredients and flavors in my kitchen, trying to find the perfect balance between taste and nutrition.

And even today, every new flavor starts the same way. In my kitchen, with a little scale and a whole lot of oatmeal.

Trace weighing ingredients on a kitchen scale to develop a new Trace's Oats flavor

In May 2025, I finally launched Trace's Oats.

What started with a bowl of oatmeal back in high school had become something I could finally share with everyone.

Trace holding the first Trace's Oats pouches at the May 2025 launch

Today, my goal is still pretty simple. Make oatmeal that tastes incredible, is good for you, and makes healthy eating a little easier.

Thanks for being part of the journey!

Trace Alexander

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