After 10 Years in Food & Beverage, Austin Dugan Launches Dugan Food Brands and Introduces Shirley’s Yogurt

WICHITA, Kan. 08/25/2026 — After nearly a decade of building businesses in food and beverage, Wichita entrepreneur Austin Dugan is launching a new chapter with Dugan Food Brands, a company created to develop and grow food brands with a focus on quality, flexibility, and real-world usefulness for cafés and retailers.

The first brand to come out of Dugan Food Brands is Shirley’s, a live-cultured yogurt line that has quietly been part of Dugan’s work for years.

“I’ve spent the last 10 years learning what it really takes to operate in food and beverage,” Dugan said. “What I kept coming back to was the creative side. I love building products, working through packaging, finding ways to make things easier for operators, and creating something people actually want to come back to.”

Dugan’s background includes operating businesses in juice, hospitality, liquor, and health-focused food concepts. Through that experience, he saw firsthand how difficult it can be for small businesses to introduce new products while also managing labor, prep, staffing, sourcing, and day-to-day operations.

That idea became part of the foundation for Dugan Food Brands.

“I know how hard it is to run a small business and still try to innovate,” Dugan said. “If we can create a really good product that saves a café time, cuts down on prep, and still gives their customer something memorable, that has real value.”

Shirley’s Gets Its Turn

Shirley’s is named after Dugan’s mother and reflects both a personal and product story that has been developing for years.

Growing up, Dugan’s mother put significant time and care into preparing food that supported his health and shaped the way he thought about food from an early age. Her family’s German roots also influenced the brand’s connection to cultured and fermented foods.

The yogurt itself has been made and served through Wichita cafés for years, but until now it never had a standalone identity.

“The yogurt always took a back seat,” Dugan said. “I knew I wanted to do something more with it, but other parts of the business took the time and energy. Shirley’s is finally getting the attention I always wanted to give it.”

The initial Shirley’s lineup is focused heavily on wholesale and foodservice, including café-ready yogurt cups, bulk yogurt, grab-and-go formats, smoothie applications, and other live-cultured products.

The goal is to make the product easy for cafés to receive, store, serve, and adapt to their own menus.

Built to Stay Flexible

Dugan Food Brands is operating from a new Wichita production space that will serve as a kitchen, product-development space, and meeting place for wholesale partners.

Rather than opening another traditional storefront, Dugan wanted a space where products could be tested, refined, and developed alongside the businesses using them.

“We can bring a café team in, sit down around the table, and actually talk about what they need,” Dugan said. “Maybe it’s bulk yogurt. Maybe it’s a single-serve product. Maybe it’s a different package or a completely new application. Right now, being small gives us a lot of flexibility.”

That flexibility is intentional.

Dugan says the company plans to grow carefully, refine products through real-world use, and eventually expand into broader grocery and distribution channels.

The long-term vision is for Dugan Food Brands to become the umbrella for multiple food and beverage brands that can share production resources, equipment, and distribution.

“This is really a fresh start,” Dugan said. “After being tied to one brand for so long, it feels exciting to create again. Shirley’s is the first step, but it’s definitely not the last.”