Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Startup CPG Podcast
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| #165 - The Rise of BRĒZ with Aaron Nosbisch | 15 Oct 2024 | 00:50:51 | |
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Daniel Scharff interviews Aaron Nosbisch, the founder and CEO of BRĒZ, a rapidly growing cannabis beverage company using hemp-derived THC. Aaron shares his journey through the cannabis and e-commerce landscapes, offering a deep dive into BRĒZ’s innovative approach to cannabis-infused and functional beverages. Discover the unique elements of BRĒZ’s product line, from their craft cocktail-inspired flavors to the incorporation of functional mushrooms like lion's mane. Aaron discusses the company's e-commerce strategies, the challenges of scaling a beverage company, and how they’ve crafted a distinctive brand and product formulations. The conversation also delves into the specifics of hemp-derived THC beverages, highlighting how BRĒZ’s nano-emulsified THC results in quicker onset and shorter duration effects, similar to alcohol. Aaron addresses key market challenges, including dosage consistency, regulatory hurdles, and the transition from dispensary-only to mainstream market availability. Learn about BRĒZ’s psychographic targeting strategy designed to appeal to those seeking enjoyable, non-alcoholic alternatives without the negative effects of traditional alcohol. Aaron also provides insights into their retail expansion plans, regulatory concerns, and the entrepreneurial scene in West Palm Beach. He reflects on the company's growth, marketing tactics, and the balance between his professional and personal life. Tune in for an enlightening conversation on the future of cannabis beverages and the innovative strategies driving BRĒZ’s success! Listen in as they share about:
Episode Links: BRĒZ Website Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
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| Founder Feature: Gloria Allorbi of Gloria’s Shito®️ | 11 Oct 2024 | 00:42:04 | |
In this bonus episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Grace Kennedy chats with Gloria Allorbi, CEO and founder of Gloria’s Shito®️, a spicy chili oil brand inspired by Ghana’s traditional condiment, Shito. Gloria shares her entrepreneurial journey, from creating her product for personal use to scaling it into a thriving business in U.S. grocery stores. They dive into the challenges of maintaining authenticity while adapting the recipe to be vegan and the process of getting her product into retailers like Erewhon. Gloria also talks about her mission to introduce Ghanaian cuisine to the U.S. market and how she educates customers through in-store demonstrations, pairing Shito with familiar dishes like pizza and avocado toast. She reflects on the financial hurdles of bootstrapping her business and her experience with capital raising, all while building a strong community around her brand. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about culture, food, and entrepreneurship! Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast, and connect with us to stay updated on more exciting founder stories. Listen in as they share about:
Episode Links: Gloria Allorbi LinkedIn Gloria’s Shito®️ Website Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
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| #160 - Whole Foods 101 with Kristin Sherman, Kelly Landrieu, and George Daines | 10 Sep 2024 | 01:05:11 | |
In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Daniel Scharff is joined by Whole Foods Local & Emerging Brands team Kelly Landrieu (Global Coordinator/Director, Local and Emerging Brands) and Kristin Sherman (Principal Local Forager) as well as George Daines, formerly national beverage category manager at Whole Foods and now Director at Cultivate CPG, a retail sales brokerage that’s a sponsor of ours, to discuss the keys to succeeding as a supplier at Whole Foods. They cover everything from the importance of the Whole Foods supplier portal to mastering the new item submission process. They emphasize building strong relationships, maintaining consistent marketing efforts, and the delicate balance of patience and urgency in retail. Register on the Whole Foods supplier portal, review category, review calendars, and start developing your Whole Foods-specific strategy today! Cultivate CPG: A national broker and partner of Startup CPGs (the ones who sponsored our retail sales tracker!) If you’re interested to chat with them, email startupcpg@cultivatecpg.com Whole Foods Supplier Portal: https://supplier.wholefoodsmarket.com/ Retail Sales Tracker Link: https://startupcpg.notion.site/Startup-CPG-Resources-0ecd7c3624c44798ac76e4adf8f13bd8 View the slides for this webinar here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KFLRQyG_RXoap2C8hKNYtg0tKEB7cufw/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112807267628955730478&rtpof=true&sd=true Get Whole Foods data with 3 free reports from NielsenIQ / Byzzer: https://nielseniq.com/global/en/landing-page/startupcpg/ Listen in as they share about:
Episode Links: George DainesLinkedIn Kelly Landrieu LinkedIn Kristin Sherman LinkedIn Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
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| #104 How Project Potluck is Creating a More Inclusive, Equitable, and Colorful CPG Industry with Kathleen Casanova | 22 Aug 2023 | 00:34:51 | |
I’m so excited to introduce you to today’s guest and for the chance to feature an incredible organization everyone in CPG should know about, Project Potluck. Kathleen Casanova is the Founding Executive Director of Project Potluck, which is the largest professional community inclusively for People of Color (POC) in CPG. People of Color face systemic barriers to accessing social, human, and financial capital. As a result, today’s CPG industry is not representative of the US population or the consumers that support and purchase products, especially natural and organic products. Currently, 40% of the US population are POC but only 16% of leadership teams in CPG Natural Products are POC. Project Potluck is empowering People of Color to build successful companies and careers in the CPG Industry. If you are a Person of Color, this episode will introduce you to Project Potluck as a resource. If you are not, this episode will introduce you to how to support the Project Potluck community and contribute to serving 1,000 People of Color in CPG, creating a more colorful CPG industry, and a more equitable society.
Get your ticket to the Expo East Mic Drop party for a chance to win a spot on the podcast: https://tinyurl.com/4nafz284 This episode was sponsored by Settle. Go to https://www.settle.com/startupcpg Episode Links: Mic Drop Party at Expo East Giveaway:
Settle Links: Graphite Financial Links
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| #103 Reimagining Multivitamins: Tend's Real Food Supplements for Pregnancy and Beyond with Co-Founders Hannah & Behzad Varamini | 15 Aug 2023 | 00:44:55 | |
Today’s guests are active members of the Startup CPG community and were a crowd favorite Backpack Brand at Startup CPG’s Expo West Alley Rally! Hannah and Behzad Varamini are the co-founders of Tend, the first snackable, real food prenatal. They are reinventing multivitamins, replacing synthetic, hard-to-stomach pills and gummies with superior real food supplements for every stage of life - beginning with pregnancy. I loved getting to hear more about their story and am so excited for you to hear about their journey so far. Listen in as Hannah and Behzad shares about:
Get your ticket to the Expo East Mic Drop party for a chance to win a spot on the podcast: https://tinyurl.com/4nafz284 This episode was sponsored by Graphite Financial. Go to graphitefinancial.com/cpg Episode Links: Mic Drop Party at Expo East Giveaway:
Graphite Financial Links
Settle Links: Show Links:
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| #102 Beyond the Certificate: How to Navigate Insurance Related to Fundraising and Inventory with Amelia Risk | 08 Aug 2023 | 00:52:44 | |
I don’t always love talking about insurance, but I love talking about insurance with today’s guest, Danielle Holyoake, because I always learn so much and end up feeling more empowered with knowledge. Danielle, is the CRO and co-founder of Amelia Risk, a CPG insurance brokerage equipped to handle all lines of commercial insurance, and I actually met Danielle through the Startup CPG Slack back in 2021 when she helped me with an urgent insurance issue. Last year, in 2022, Danielle came on the show for a CPG insurance 101 level episode of Let's Demystify Insurance - How to navigate insurance in CPG, which is linked in the show notes and may be helpful to listen to before or after this episode, as it’s packed with really great information about general liability, product liability, recall, and worker’s comp insurance. Today we continue with our 100 level CPG insurance knowledge by focusing in on two areas of insurance that often get overlooked, but become super important as a CPG company scales: D&O or Directors & Officers insurance and stock throughput insurance, which come into play around conversations about fundraising and inventory respectively. This episode was sponsored by Amelia Risk.
Get your ticket to the Expo East Mic Drop party for a chance to win a spot on the podcast: https://tinyurl.com/4nafz284 This episode was sponsored by Kickfurther. Go to https://www.kickfurther.com/startupcpg Episode Links:
Mic Drop Party at Expo East Giveaway:
Kickfurther Links: Graphite Financial Links:
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| #101 Celebrating 10 Years of Growth: Family, Foodservice, and Forging your Own Path with Soom's Amy Zitelman | 01 Aug 2023 | 00:56:03 | |
Making it to the 10 year mark as a food business is no small feat, and our friends at Soom Foods just passed their 10 year anniversary. Today we are joined by Soom’s CEO and co-founder, Amy Zitelman. Amy had just graduated from college when she and her sisters started Soom, and since then, her and her sister Jackie were on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, Soom has been featured by Forbes, Bon Appetit, and The New York Times, and they have grown into the trusted brand for tahini and tahini products. I met Amy at a Mental Health for Founders event that I hosted last year and was so impressed with her calm, steady wisdom, so I was so excited to share her insights with all of you in today’s conversation! Make sure to grab Soom products at your local Whole Foods and Sprouts and I’ve linked a great blog post in the show notes where Amy reflects further on 10 years at Soom. Listen in today as Amy shares about:
This episode was sponsored by Graphite Financial. Go to graphitefinancial.com/cpg Episode Links:
Graphite Financial Links
Kickfurther Links: Show Links:
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| #100 Toasting to 100 Episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast with Our Favorite Moments | 25 Jul 2023 | 00:44:56 | |
Today’s episode is a celebration. A celebration of 100 episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast! Can you believe it? If you’ve been listening since the beginning, that’s amazing! If this is your first episode, that’s also amazing - welcome! I want to give a heartfelt thank you to each of you as listeners and to our incredible sponsors - you all have allowed us to keep the show going! I thought to commemorate the occasion, I’d share my top 100 moments on the podcast - just kidding, I’ll just share 10-ish things. From most used metaphors to most surprising stories to most actionable tips to fan favorite episodes, we’re going to count backwards to the #1 moment on the podcast so far. I also made a playlist in the shownotes of all the episodes mentioned in this roundup in case you want to check out the full conversations. I hope you enjoy and would love to hear from you - what’s your favorite episode or moment on the show? Send me a message on LinkedIn or in the Startup CPG slack (or post it to LinkedIn!). Also, just a quick note that it was incredibly difficult to narrow down this list of moments - there are so many incredible guests and episodes not in today’s roundup - I used a mix of download data + your feedback + my own memory to curate this. Enter the July 2023 podcast review giveaway by completing this form: https://tinyurl.com/28zyjr3e This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg Episode Links:
July 2023 Podcast Review Contest:
Shopify Links:
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| #99 Navigating the Foodservice Landscape: Key Players and Their Roles (Distributors, Buying Groups, Operators, & more) | 18 Jul 2023 | 00:54:59 | |
I’m so excited to bring back a very popular guest from last year, Jenna Cameron, for another foodservice episode! We released episode #74 with Jenna during December of last year as part of the First Hire Series, and our conversation focused on first hires for foodservice sales. Our community seems hungry for foodservice knowledge and so we asked Jenna to come back on the show to walk us through the biggest players in foodservice from distributors, to operators, to buying groups and more. Jenna is currently the sales lead at SIMULATE and has 10+ years of experience in plant-based foodservice sales for growing brands. Listen in as Jenna shares about:
Please note that Jenna drops a ton of detailed information in this episode and if you are worried about catching the company names she’s dropping, fret not! I included all the distributors, buying groups, and operators she mentions in the show notes with links. Enter the July 2023 podcast review giveaway by completing this form: https://tinyurl.com/28zyjr3e This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg Episode Links:
July 2023 Podcast Review Contest:
Shopify Links:
Kickfurther Links: Graphite Financial Links
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| #98 Reimagining Grocery Shopping: Instacart's AI-Powered Future with ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence | 11 Jul 2023 | 01:00:04 | |
We’re hearing a lot about AI, artificial intelligence these days, especially with the release to the public of Chat GPT, which may of you have been experimenting with. Chat GPT can help with brainstorming, writing, coding, and more - definitely check out the free version if you haven’t yet. When I first saw the demo of Chat GPT that used Instacart’s plug-in in a recent TED talk (which I’ve linked in the show notes) and it generated a shopping list based on a prompt for a dinner party, my first thought was, “How do emerging brands fit into this picture when AI helps us shop?” How can our community stay informed about how AI is involved in shopper choices and take advantage of the opportunities available now and going to be available? Because Instacart is on the forefront of using AI in grocery and because they are the leading grocery technology company in North America, I decided to reach out to them. Lucky for us, Ali Miller, their Vice President of Product Management, Ads, was willing to come on the show! As you’ll hear, I’ve been personally using Instacart since 2018 and love the platform and have dug into their ads platform, 3rd party tools, and their new AI features from the Chat GPT plug-in to the new Ask Instacart. I think this episode is packed with really powerful knowledge from Ali about how Instacart works and opportunities available for emerging brands to tap into this technology. Instacart partners with more than 1,200 national, regional, and local retail banners, which is approximately 80,000 stores in North America through their marketplace and nearly 6,000 brands use Instacart Ads to connect with consumers.
Enter the July 2023 podcast review giveaway by completing this form: https://tinyurl.com/28zyjr3e This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg Episode Links:
July 2023 Podcast Review Contest:
Shopify Links:
Graphite Financial Links
Kickfurther Links: Show Links:
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| #97 Co-Packing 101: Tapping into a Motherlode of Co-Packing Wisdom | 04 Jul 2023 | 00:56:03 | |
One of the hottest topics in our Slack community is brands looking for the right co-packer, and since this is something that I often help brands navigate outside of my work at Startup CPG, it’s a topic near and dear to my heart and I wanted to bring on one of my favorite co-packers to talk with, Motherlode Co-Packing in Colorado. Our guests today are Kit Maxfield, their Chief Marketing Officer and Partner, and Adam Bender who is their New Product Development Manager. I met Kit and Adam through my work at Boyle Brands and have always been impressed by their organization and willingness to educate, so I’m so excited to share this 101 level conversation where we establish some of the basics of working with a co-packer. Listen in as Kit and Adam shares about:
Because this topic is near and dear to my heart as an operations person and it’s the area spend the most time freelancing in, I’ve added in some extra context and term explanations throughout the episode and linked a bunch of resources in the show notes that can help you navigate the world of co-packing. Now let’s hear from Kit and Adam! This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg Episode Links:
Shopify Links:
Strategy Maven Agency Links: Kickfurther Links: Show Links:
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| #96 How to Understand the Unit Economics of a CPG Company with Graphite Financial | 27 Jun 2023 | 00:56:21 | |
If you are in the Startup CPG Slack #finance channel, you’ll regularly see tons of questions about projections, cash flow, and unit economics, so I’m so excited today that we are joined by Paul Bianco, CEO and Founder of Graphite Financial. Born out of a VC fund, Graphite provides startup accounting, finance & tax services for high growth brands. For the past few months, Graphite has even been offering 1:1s with our community members for free to get specific advice for their business (keep an eye out in Slack for more opportunities). Today we’ll focus on the topic of unit economics for CPG companies. Listen in as Paul shares about:
This episode was sponsored by Graphite Financial. Go to graphitefinancial.com/cpg Episode Links:
Shopify Links:
Promomash/Crisp Links:
Strategy Maven Agency Links: Show Links:
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| #95 GT Dave - Founder & CEO of GT’s Living Foods: 25+ years of building the kombucha industry one batch at a time | 20 Jun 2023 | 01:23:33 | |
I don’t usually like to play favorites, but this week’s episode is a really special interview, especially for me personally. I LOVE kombucha. I mean love kombucha. And as you’ll hear me mention during the interview, once I found Synergy Kombucha by GT’s Living Foods, I was hooked, and dug deep into the story of the brand, how it’s made, and started following founder GT Dave. I’ve listened to many interviews with GT over the years, so the chance to be the interviewer and spend some time with GT, is a personal dream come true. I also really thought that GT could offer a really interesting perspective to our community. He’s had multiple offers to acquire his company over the years and has taken on no outside investment, which is incredible for a nearly billion dollar brand that owns 40% of the kombucha market. For almost 30 years, he’s operated as the 100% owner and as you’ll hear, has no plans for that to change. I think there’s room for so many different operating models and perspectives in this space, and part of the fun of my job is getting to share different perspectives, hoping that you’ll be able to find and take pieces that resonate with you as you build your own adventure. If you aren’t familiar with GT’s Living Foods, you’ve no doubt seen the ubiquitous tall glass bottles with a white lotus - the Synergy line is oven what people recognize. GT was the first person to bottle kombucha back in 1995 after his parents received a SCOBY from a friend after a trip to the Himalayas - and this was well before you could Google making kombucha! As you’ll hear GT mention, he saw kombucha become part of his parents’ lives, help his mom while recovering from cancer, and he decided to try to sell a few bottles to the local health store as 15 year old who had dropped out of high school. He then got the product into Erewhon and Whole Foods and has grown steadily - while other kombuchas have entered the market and now it’s a whole separate category. GT continues to innovate in the living foods space with ancient mushroom elixirs, non-dairy water kefir, and raw, fermented, non-dairy, coconut yogurt. I’ve linked a few of my favorite other interviews with GT in the show notes in case you want to dig into more of the founder story - today’s conversation we really focus on leadership, culture, hiring, and health and priorities as a founder. Listen in as GT shares about:
This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg Episode Links:
Shopify Links:
Strategy Maven Agency Links: Promomash/Crisp Links:
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| Founder Feature: Mackie Swan of Woo More Play | 06 Sep 2024 | 00:39:55 | |
In this bonus episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Grace Kennedy sits down with Mackie Swan, CEO of Woo More Play, to delve into the world of premium organic intimacy products for women. Mackie shares the inspiring story behind Woo More Play, highlighting the brand’s dedication to pleasure and natural ingredients while tackling societal taboos and navigating the retail landscape of the sexual wellness industry. Tune in to hear Mackie discuss the complexities of crowdfunding and the startup journey in this niche market, including the significant time and effort required, as well as the unique regulatory challenges. She also offers invaluable advice for aspiring founders in specialized industries, stressing the importance of staying true to one's mission despite obstacles. Listen now and get inspired by Mackie’s journey! Listen in as they share about:
Episode Links: Woo More Play Website Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
Episode music by Super Fantastics | |||
| #94 Buyer Series: Fostering good buyer vibes with Wade Yenny & Alex Bayer | 13 Jun 2023 | 00:55:57 | |
If you are in the CPG industry and active on LinkedIn, chances are you are familiar with the dynamic duo, Alex Bayer and Wade Yenny, co-hosts of the weekly podcast CPG Vibes. They have over 35 years of combined experience in the industry. Alex is the founder of Genius Juice and you also may know him from his other podcast, 15 Minutes of Genius. Wade is currently the VP of Center Store at The Fresh Market and has held buyer roles at a number of retailers including Jimbos, Rouses (rhymes with mouses), and Buehler Food Markets. For this second installment of our Buyer Series, I wanted to explore both the buyer and brand sides of the coin when it comes to best practices for working with retail buyers. Listen in as Alex and Wade share about:
This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg Episode Links: Shopify Links:
Promomash/Crisp Links:
IFT Links: Show Links:
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| #93 Creating a More Equitable & Transparent Food System with Amazi | 06 Jun 2023 | 00:51:41 | |
Consumers are looking for more and more transparency into the sourcing and production of their products. We’ve had Social Nature on the show to talk about The Modern Wellness Consumer and the data backing their values based shopping, and I wanted to dig into the behind the scenes of a brand building a really transparent supply chain. Renee Dunn, Founder of Amazi, has been in the Startup CPG community from the beginning, and I’ve been following them for a couple of years. Amazi is on a mission to help people snack on purpose with their 100% made in Uganda tropical fruit snacks and are building a more sustainable and equitable supply chain. Earlier this year, the Amazi team posted a reel on Instagram with Joel, their Operations and Co-Production Manager based in Uganda, and I asked Renee if her and Joel would be willing to come on the show and talk about building their transparent supply chain and navigating an operation spanning two continents. Thankfully they both said yes and we had a great conversation that I’m excited to share today. Listen in as Renee & Joel share about:
Also a quick note that Joel’s audio can be a little tougher to hear at times due to the internet connection, but how cool is it that technology allows us to record podcasts with people across the world! I think you are going to find Joel’s perspective combined with Renee’s so helpful, so let’s dive in. This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg. Episode Links:
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IFT Links: Promomash/Crisp Links:
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| Angel Investing 101 with Marcia Dawood (2022) | 31 May 2023 | 01:20:28 | |
This week we’re bringing back one of our most popular episodes of all time, “Angel Investing 101.” This episode aired last November and while the fundraising landscape continues to shift and evolve, Marcia’s advice continues to ring true as a seasoned angel investor and an important member of the investing landscape. She’s actually wrapping up her tenure as the board of the Angel Capital Association because she’s been appointed to the US SEC, Securities & Exchange Commission, as a member of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, where she’ll continue to support entrepreneurs and how fundraising works. Marcia’s the kind of person you want to learn from and with the number of requests in the Startup CPG Slack I’ve been seeing around learning about angel investing, I thought it was time to once again share Marcia’s wisdom. We’re also migrating podcast hosting platforms, so you shouldn’t experience any interruptions to your listening experience, except that if you like to listen via web browser instead of a specific podcast app, there’s a new link you can use in the show notes. Please reach out to me with any questions at podcast@startupcpg.com and if you haven’t already, I’d so appreciate a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help us continue to grow the show. I hope you enjoy this conversation! You’ve all let me know that fundraising content is some of your favorite, so I thought I would bring my favorite angel investing expert on the show, Marcia Dawood, for a 101 level episode on angel investing. Marcia currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Angel Capital Association, the professional society for angel investors in the US and globally. She is an investor in several early stage private companies, and in addition to her own investing, she is a Venture Partner with Mindshift Capital and a part of the investment committee for Next Wave Impact Fund. Marcia and I actually met at an Angel Capital Association event back when I worked in that industry and I’m so grateful we’ve been able to stay in touch and that I get to introduce you all to her today. I asked Marcia to help us understand angel investors and their motivations and I think she really delivered. Listen in as Marcia shares about:
And, stay tuned at the end for the first ever bonus segment - today featuring Startup CPG Shelfie Award winner, Uproot Teas (at minute 52:53). Marcia and I will share our reviews of Uproot mid-episode and then at the end of the episode, you can catch a mini-interview with Uproot Tea’s founder, Cindy, to learn more! This episode was sponsored by Promomash + Crisp. Go to promomash.com/startupcpg Episode Links:
Promomash/Crisp Links:
Strategy Maven Agency Links: IFT Links: Show Links:
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| #92 Behind the Dream [Pie] Collaboration of Ben & Jerry’s and Partake Foods with Marlo Giudice | 23 May 2023 | 00:50:44 | |
When you peruse Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors, do you ever think, “What would my flavor be if I were famous?” Maybe that’s just me, but perhaps you dream about your own brand one day collaborating with Ben & Jerry’s? This became a reality for Partake Foods, and when I saw the news, I wanted to know the behind the scenes of how a collaboration like this gets to market. Partake makes inclusive allergy-friendly snacks that give delicious peace of mind to those with dietary restrictions along with “How is this so good?!” enjoyment. Partake’s collaboration with Ben & Jerry’s all started with a cold email in 2020 from Marlo Giudice who was one of Partake’s 3 total team members at the time. Now their Ben & Jerry’s collaboration flavor, Oatmeal Dream Pie, launched this year and has been added to the Ben & Jerry’s evergreen lineup available nationwide in Target, Walgreens, and more retailers near you. Partake has also experienced other very impressive growth the past few years. Marlo is now Partake’s Vice President of Sales, Strategic Channels, there are nearly 20 people on the Partake team, and their cookies and snacks will be available in over 13,000 stores as of this July 2023. Listen in as Marlo shares about:
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| #91 Becoming the Willy Wonkas of Marshmallows with Funky Mello’s Delisa Harper | 16 May 2023 | 00:50:22 | |
Are you ready to hear from the world’s first and tastiest refrigerated, plant-based marshmallow creme? I have been full stop obsessed with Funky Mello since discovering them through the Shelfie Awards last year after they won and we did a short minisode with co-founder Delisa Harper last year (that I also recommend listening to) where I loved hearing more about their story. Today I’m so excited that we get a full episode with Delisa to dive into the world of Funky Mello. At Expo West, Delisa and Zach shared Funky Mello as a Backpack Brand at the Alley Rally event and were in the top crowd favorites (for good reason), so it was amazing to meet in person. They gave me some mini cremes to take home, which were the perfect size for making fluffernutter sandwiches, and now, I can’t stop making them. If you haven’t made a fluffernutter sandwich, it’s peanut butter (or the butter of your choice) plus marshmallow creme, and I also like to add a little tbh hazelnut spread, which is another past podcast guest. I think you’ll notice that my love of marshmallows really comes through in this episode. Listen in as Delisa shares about:
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| #90 Buyer Series: Earth Fare with Mitch Orland | 09 May 2023 | 00:49:46 | |
This is the first episode in our new buyers series and today we’re joined by Mitch Orland, VP of Merchandising and Procurement at Earth Fare. Earth Fare is a health and wellness supermarket with 20 locations in 8 states in the Southeast US. Mitch has deep food industry experience including being a restaurant owner and former Executive Chef at Earth Fare, and he now manages a 15 person merchandising team at Earth Fare. Listen in as Mitch shares about:
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| An AWSM (Sauce) Bonus Episode with Carl Starkey | 04 May 2023 | 00:21:46 | |
Today we have a bonus episode that actually pairs with this week’s earlier episode on packaging and design with Kirk and Andy. Kirk and Andy unboxed ASWM Sauce and gave their reviews, and so now, we get to hear from AWSM sauce co-founder and Lord of Sauces Carl Starkey himself. AWSM Sauce won a Shelfie Award last year and was a backpack brand at Expo East. Carl & I recorded this episode at the end of 2022 and have some great laughs - warning though, there are puns ahead. Listen in as Carl shares about how AWSM Sauce got started, how they are pivoting into foodservice, their experience participating in Techstars, Carl’s legendary 3 day Clubhouse bender, the behind the scenes of developing a powdered sauce, why started a podcast to get into Expo West didn’t work (but you should still listen to the Ketchup & Hustle podcast), what’s up next for AWSM Sauce, and more. Episode Links:
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| #89 Packaging Design and Printing 101 with Kirk & Kurtts | 02 May 2023 | 00:56:26 | |
Today we’re joined by two of my favorite Startup CPG community experts: Kirk Visola and Andy Kurtts. The world of printed packaging is complex to navigate, and I wondered what was top of mind for Kirk and Andy as they help brands daily with designing and executing branding and packaging at Kirk’s agency Mind the Font and Andy’s agency Buttermilk Creative. Our goal was some 101 level content around designing and printing packaging for your brand. Listen in as Andy and Kirk share about:
And, stay tuned for a bonus episode this week featuring co-founder Carl from AWSM Sauce - not only a Shelfie winner, but also one of the fan favorites from our Backpack Brands event at Expo East last year. Episode Links:
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| #88 Undaunted Leadership with Hint Founder Kara Goldin | 25 Apr 2023 | 00:37:30 | |
Today’s episode is really special - Kara Goldin, the founder of Hint, agreed to come on the show to talk about leadership! Kara founded Hint in 2005 and the company is best known for being the first unsweetened flavored water with no preservatives on the market. She scaled Hint to over 30,000 retail locations and over 150 employees, including growing Hint 40% during 2020. Kara has been named one of InStyle’s Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Northern California, and in 2021 Hint was named one of Inc.’s Best-Led Companies in America. She’s also been featured on How I Built This (a great interview that I recommend), and her book “Undaunted” has been a WSJ and Amazon best seller. And actually, due to some technical difficulties, my time with Kara was cut a bit short, so I’ve included at the end of the episode a bit of a “book club” where I share some of my favorite pieces from Kara’s book, which I highly recommend. Listen in as Kara shares about:
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| #87 How Natural Shoppers are Responding to Inflation with Social Nature's Jessica Malach | 18 Apr 2023 | 00:49:45 | |
At the time of recording, the numbers for the latest food at home index had increased 10.2% over the past 12 months. So what does that mean? How can we plan and adjust for inflationary times as emerging CPG brands? Luckily we have access to awesome natural shopper data experts, and today we get to chat with Jessica Malach, VP of Marketing & Insights, at Social Nature, an all-in-one shopper marketing platform for natural CPG brands to successfully launch products at retail. With over one million users in their community, they have great data on how natural shoppers are currently responding to inflationary times. Listen in to hear Jessica share about:
Episode Links:
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| #159 - EDI 101: Emily Curran, SPS Commerce | 03 Sep 2024 | 00:43:53 | |
In this episode of Startup CPG Podcast, Daniel Scharff sits down with Emily Curran, Senior Manager of Product at SPS Commerce, to talk about the role of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in optimizing supply chain processes. Emily breaks down how EDI automates the exchange of business documents between retailers, distributors, and brands, offering listeners an introductory understanding of its basic concepts and benefits for efficiency and accuracy. They also cover the necessity of EDI for brands aiming to partner with large retailers, including the costs involved, the setup process, and the numerous advantages it offers. Emily highlights how EDI can save time, reduce manual data entry, and enhance order management, making it a valuable tool for growing brands. This episode is a must-listen for small businesses looking to streamline their operations and strengthen their trading partnerships through the adoption of EDI. Tune in now ! Listen in as they share about:
About SPS Commerce Episode Links: SPS Commerce Website Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
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| #86 From Target Buyer to Nationally Launching Upcycled Pet Brand Shameless Pets with James Bello | 11 Apr 2023 | 00:50:15 | |
Today we have a special episode for you to celebrate the launch of the pet channel in the Startup CPG Slack! The number of pet brands in our community is growing and we wanted to create a space dedicated for pet brands to discuss unique challenges and regulations. We thought who better to join us than one of our early Slack members, Shameless Pets, who I’ve personally been following for quite a few years. James Bello is the co-founder and CEO of Shameless Pets and is a former Target Buyer with lots of wisdom to share that’s relevant to all CPG brands. Shameless Pets makes healthy dog and cat treats and foods that utilized upcycled ingredients in an effort to fight food waste. As of our recording date, they’ve saved about 1.2 million pounds of food from going into landfills. Listen in as James shares about:
This episode was sponsored by Social Nature. Go to business.socialnature.com Episode Links:
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| #85 First Hire Series: Culture with Jennifer Yepez-Blundell (+ Tiny Sprouts) | 04 Apr 2023 | 00:55:59 | |
Today is our seventh episode in the "First Hire" series where we’ve so far covered making first hires in marketing, finance, operations, and retail & foodservice sales, and we’ve talked with one of our community brands, Sweet Nothings, about making their first few hires. Culture comes up some in those conversations, but I wanted to dedicate an entire episode to culture. We’re joined today by expert Jennifer Yepez-Blundell, owner of Merida Consulting, and our former Startup CPG Podcast host, to guide us in this conversation, and I’m so excited to share Jennifer’s wisdom with you and have her on the other side of the mic. When I was the first marketing and operations hire at a CPG startup brand, I had big dreams about building a culture different than those I had experienced in the corporate world. Over the next 2 years and growing to 30 employees, I wish I could have had someone like Jennifer guide that startup from the beginning. Within our community of emerging brands are tomorrow’s next household brand names. Can you imagine if the Frito Lay’s and Coca-Cola’s of the world had these conversations from day one? There’s an incredible opportunity to make change through building not only a mission-driven product, but also through the mission-driven team of humans behind those products. Listen in as Jennifer shares about:
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| #84 Legal Tips for Fundraising: Navigating SAFE Notes, Priced Rounds, Exits, & More (+ Balkan Bites) | 28 Mar 2023 | 00:56:33 | |
We’ve heard on the show before how big of an undertaking fundraising is from both founders and investors, but we haven’t had a chance yet to really dig into the legal side. When Paul from Aura Bora was on the show last year, he shouted out Giannuzzi Lewendon for helping their team during fundraising (episode #68 if you haven’t checked it out yet), so we reached out to Partner Ryan Lewendon, to see if he’d be willing to sit down with us and talk all things fundraising, mergers & acquisitions, and legal help unique to CPG companies. Listen in today as Ryan shares about:
And stay tuned at the end for a special mini interview with Startup CPG Shelfie Award winner, Balkan Bites (41:16). I can’t say enough about how much I love their incredible pastries and you won’t want to miss the founding story with Ariana. Episode Links:
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| #83 Trade Spend & Retail Promotions 101 with Jake Huber (+ Niramaya) | 21 Mar 2023 | 01:10:22 | |
Trade spend and promotions. You want your product to have a shiny sale tag at the store and help people discover it, but how do we get there? It’s a topic that can get expensive and messy really quick, so I wanted to bring back one of our favorite podcast guests and community sales experts, Jake Huber, for a 101 level episode. Jake is the US Sales Director of St Pierre, Americas #1 brioche brand, and has previously been on the show to talk through brokers and first sales hires. Today we dig into how to set yourself up for success when creating promotional calendars, calculating trade spend, and tracking results - all with the goal of driving velocity. Listen in as Jake shares about:
Episode Links:
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| #82 Expo West 2023 Recap: Mushrooms, Mocktails, Mochi, and More | 16 Mar 2023 | 00:53:36 | |
This episode is coming to you a bit later in the week, but I wanted to get you an Expo West audio recap as hot off the press as possible. New Hope just announced that there were 65,000 registered attendees and 3,000 exhibiting companies! If you were at the show and we got to meet, I just want to say thank you! It’s incredible to meet podcast listeners in real life and I appreciate each and every one of you so much - truly! I re-assembled the recap dream team that you all let me know you enjoyed for Expo East. So once again, I asked our resident Startup CPG friend and press expert Monica Watrous, Managing Editor of Food Business News & Editor of Food Entrepreneur to join us today, along with Patricia Menegoto, Startup CPG’s Head of Community (I bet you know her from Slack) & Jenna Movsowitz, our Startup CPG Spotlight Magazine Editor. Whether you weren’t able to attend Expo and are hoping to learn what is was like or if you attended but want to hear the trends and takeaways, this episode has something for you. Listen in as we discuss our favorite bites, trends, best swag and booths, the Backpack Brands from the epic Startup CPG Mic Alley Rally Party, and more. Plus, a quick shout out to Sipwell Wine who supplied us with wine to create a Startup CPG Expo West “wine down” - we couldn’t quite get a live show together, but we all enjoyed their canned wine and you can check out a full feature on their brand in the upcoming Startup CPG Spotlight Magazine. Now let’s talk Expo! Episode Links:
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| #81 Meet the Press: Behind the scenes on media publishing with Monica Watrous at Food Business News | 28 Feb 2023 | 00:47:35 | |
Today we get to chat with one of the most incredible champions for emerging CPG brands, Monica Watrous, Managing Editor of Food Business News and Food Entrepreneur. Food Business News is a trade publication covering all aspects of the food and beverage industry, from field to fork. Food Entrepreneur, a sub-brand, focuses on the innovations, trends and personalities in the food and beverage startup ecosystem. You’ve heard Monica on the show a few times during Expo West and East recaps, but this time, I asked Monica if she’d come on the show to share more behind-the-scenes about what her career looks like and how to best work with members of the press. Listen in as Monica shares about:
And…speaking of Shelfie Awards, let’s talk about how you, dear listener, could be a Shelfie Award winner this year! This will be the 3rd annual Shelfie Awards, and due to popular demand, we’re accepting samples by category. First up is health and beauty brands! So, if you are listening to this in March 2023 and you are a health and beauty brand, here’s what you need to do, head to the link in the show notes and complete the application form (it’ll take less than 10 minutes and it’s free!), ship samples to the two locations indicated and have them arrive before March 31st. And that’s it! And if you are listening to this after March, I’ll link to more info about the Shelfies in the show notes. Sample shipments for other categories will be open in April, May, and June. Stay tuned in the Slack as well! Episode Links:
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| #80 From turning down Shark Tank offers to raising $2.7 million for Nopalera with Sandra Velasquez | 21 Feb 2023 | 01:00:02 | |
I love that I get to bring you more Shark Tank content so soon, and with one of my favorite people. Today’s guest is Sandra Velasquez, the CEO & Founder of Nopalera, and a very early member of the Startup CPG community. Nopalera creates Mexican botanicals for bath & body, and as you’ll hear, have become a staple in my life. Sandra appeared on Shark Tank last month during Season 14, Episode 12, and I’m so glad she agreed to come on the show and share the details with us. You don’t need to pre-watch the episode to enjoy the conversation, but I definitely recommend tuning in to watch Sandra’s incredible pitch and how she gracefully received and ultimately turned down two offers from the Sharks. Nopalera also recently closed a fundraising round of $2.7 million unrelated to Shark Tank! Listen in as Sandra shares about:
You also may notice our intro music is a little different, I wanted to feature a song from Sandra’s band, Pistolera - this is "Nuevos Ojos", which was featured in Season 4, Episode 12 of the show Breaking Bad. Episode Links:
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| #79 First Hire Series: Behind the scenes on hiring with Sweet Nothings | 14 Feb 2023 | 00:51:36 | |
Today is our sixth episode in the "First Hire" series where we’ve so far covered making first hires in marketing, finance, operations, and retail & foodservice sales. Today I thought it would be helpful to talk more cross-functionally with one of our community member brands about their experience of making first hires, being a first hire, and what they’ve learned in the process, and I immediately thought of Sweet Nothings, who makes ready to eat superfood snacks (that I think are absolutely incredible as you’ll hear). We’ll talk with both Jake Kneller, the CEO and co-founder of Sweet Nothings, and Lucy King, their VP of Marketing. I met Jake and Lucy in 2021 via Slack and have continued to see them post jobs, questions, and responses all in the Startup CPG Slack channel, so it’s great to catch up and hear what they’ve learned about hiring in the past few years. Listen in as Jake and Lucy share about:
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| Pure Gold Series: How to Prep for a Successful Expo West with Seth Goldman (2022) | 09 Feb 2023 | 00:32:38 | |
Earlier this week we had a bonus episode that was a bit shorter, so I thought this was a good chance to re-air one of my favorite episodes from last year with Seth Goldman about prepping for Expo West (which is less than 1 month away!). We have five other great episodes with Seth from last year available as well. Be sure to stop by the Eat the Change booth in the North Hall if you attend Expo West this year, and while you are there, stop by Startup CPG’s booth and come say hi to me and the team in person. Happy Expo prep! This is the first episode of a very special new podcast series from Startup CPG. Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, will be joining us once a month for the next few months to talk about hot topics in CPG. Today we kick off by talking all things Expo West. With twenty-one Expo West events under his belt, who better to answer our community's Expo West questions! You may know Seth as the co-founder of Honest Tea and author of Mission in a Bottle, and Seth is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Eat the Change, Co-Founder of PLNT Burger, and Chair of the Board for Beyond Meat. Listen in as Seth covers how to stand out among thousands of brands, how to craft your ten second pitch, a simple yet game-changing follow up/lead tracking plan, how to maximize Expo West even without a booth, why you should treat everyone like the most important buyer, and more. Episode Links:
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| Bonus: Raising the bar in the alcoholic beverage category with G’s Dry Hard Ginger Beer | 07 Feb 2023 | 00:25:25 | |
Today we have a bonus episode for you to celebrate the launch of the alcohol channel in the Startup CPG Slack! We realize that alcohol brands face many unique challenges and very different regulations, and now that we have over 10,000 community members, we wanted to dedicate a space just for emerging alcohol brands. In the Startup CPG Slack, you can now go to “All Channels” on the sidebar and then join the new channel #alcohol_brands. And what better way to celebrate this channel launch than with an interview with one of our earliest Startup CPG community members, Donna Katz, founder of G’s Dry Hard Ginger Beer. G’s won a Shelfie Award last year and was a Shelfie Award finalist the year prior. I personally am obsessed with all the flavors of G’s - from the original to the seasonal Toddy, it’s a revolutionary product that I can’t get enough of. In this episode, Donna shares about starting G’s, how creating and selling an alcoholic beverage is unique, and exciting retail expansion with independent stores, plus Target and Safeway. Donna and I recorded this episode in December 2022, and you may notice my audio isn’t quite as crisp as normal (this day of recording was the inciting incident for a platform switch up actually). But Donna’s audio is great, and this was one of those conversations that just left me smiling and feeling inspired by Donna’s infectious energy and attitude. Plus, drinking G’s Hard Ginger Beer also left me feeling awesome, so double win. Now let’s hear from Donna! Episode Links:
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| Founder Feature: Alison Cayne of Haven's Kitchen | 30 Aug 2024 | 00:46:47 | |
In this bonus episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Grace sits down with Alison Cayne, the founder of Haven's Kitchen, to discuss the transformation of her business from a cooking school to a thriving CPG brand. Alison shares the challenges and lessons learned during this journey, touching on topics like sustainable packaging, navigating new food industry categories, and the strategic launch of a line of aiolis. She offers valuable insights into effective, cost-efficient marketing strategies and the importance of staying flexible in a rapidly changing market. They also cover the impact of the pandemic on fresh food products, consumer behavior, and the mental challenges of being a founder. Tune in to learn from Alison's experience and gain practical tips for growing a successful CPG brand. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode! Listen in as they share about:
Episode Links: Haven's Kitchen Website Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
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| #78 Forij adventures: meeting customers on land, air, sea, and online with Parker Olson | 31 Jan 2023 | 00:43:05 | |
If you’ve been on LinkedIn in the last year, chances are you’ve seen pictures of a green van making it’s way around the country, spreading the good word about Forij. I was lucky enough to meet up with founder Parker Olson when he came through Portland in the Forij van, and I think it’s the only time I’ve been elated to received food from a stranger out of a van. Forij’s first product line is a functional granola that’s low sugar, crispy, delicious and also packed with the power of mushrooms. Parker’s energy and creativity are unparalleled, and I’m excited today for you to be inspired by his journey so far. Listen in as Parker shares about:
Episode Links:
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| #77 Making a deal on Shark Tank with wildwonder's Rosa Li | 24 Jan 2023 | 00:37:17 | |
In case you missed it, long-time Startup CPG community member wildwonder just aired on Shark Tank, and today, Founder Rosa Li joins us to share all the details! You don’t need to pre-watch the episode to enjoy the conversation, but I definitely recommend giving Season 14, Episode 11 a watch to see Rosa make a $500,000 deal with Tony Xu, guest Shark and Founder of Door Dash. Listen in as Rosa shares about:
Episode Links:
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| #76 How Liquid Death is Murdering Lame Marketing with Hamid Saify | 18 Jan 2023 | 00:52:34 | |
I figured it was worth putting my soul on the line to bring you some behind the scenes content from one of the hottest brands in CPG. Just a few months ago in October 2022, Liquid Death Mountain Water closed a $70 million Series D round that valued the company at $700 million, their products are in over 60,000 retailers nationwide, they have over 160 employees, and they were only founded in 2018, so things are just getting started. Hamid Saify, Liquid Death’s SVP of Digital Retail, one of the company’s first hires and a long-time Slack community member, joins us today to dig into how he and the team at Liquid Death creates such incredible marketing and branding. Listen in as Hamid shares about:
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| #75 Behind the Scenes of Equity Crowdfunding with tbh (+ Popadelics) | 10 Jan 2023 | 01:03:51 | |
A few weeks back, we talked about Angel Investing 101 on the show, and equity crowdfunding got a brief shoutout. I was super curious on the topic and thought who better to talk about equity crowdfunding than someone in the process right now! Today we’re joined by Elena Guberman, co-CEO of tbh, a brand focused on reimagining nostalgic snacks. Their first product is a better for you, better for the planet, plant-based version of Nutella - with no palm oil, 50% less sugar, and 3x the protein! tbh was co-founded by someone you may know - Stranger Things actor and entrepreneur, Noah Schnapp. Listen in as Elena shares about:
Episode Links:
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| Shark Tank, Sea Moss, and an Ocean of Potential with Alexiou Gibson (2022) | 03 Jan 2023 | 00:54:29 | |
Happy New Year! We’re coming at you this week from the archives again - host Jessi got COVID and temporarily lost her voice! I’m sharing another of our greatest hits from last year, 2022, in case you missed it. It’s one of my personal favorites, and I hope you enjoy! We've got a really fun episode today that I think will bring you a lot of joy and inspiration. It's probably no surprise but your Startup CPG team members are big Shark Tank fans. Our Startup CPG founder Daniel was watching Shark Tank a few months ago and he just knew today's guest was someone we all needed to know. From the Season 13 finale, where he landed a $600,000 deal from Mark Cuban and Kevin Hart, today's guest is Alexiou Gibson. You don't need to have seen the Shark Tank episode to enjoy our conversation but I definitely recommend watching it as soon as you can. So a little about Alexiou - he's founder and CEO of The Transformation Factory and creator of their Sea Moss Gel product and he scaled the company to $3.5 million in revenue in just 11 months (watch the Sharks faces when they hear that!). He's an incredible story teller and I hope you'll be smiling and laughing along with us (or even crying a little like me), plus you might need a notebook for all the wisdom he shares. Listen in as Alexiou shares about his career path from NASA to entrepreneurship, his personal health journey and transformation, launching a sea moss product during a pandemic, the best story I've ever heard for finding an online advertising expert, the process of getting on Shark Tank and what it was like to being on the show, making a deal, and the post-show diligence process, what's next at The Transformation Factory, and more. Episode Links:
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| #74 First Hire Series: Foodservice Sales with Jenna Cameron (+ For Good Granola) | 28 Dec 2022 | 01:07:15 | |
Today is our fifth episode in the "First Hire" series where we’ve so far covered making first hires in marketing, finance, operations, and retail sales. Now we get to cover foodservice sales! Here to help us learn more about first hires in foodservice sales is Jenna Cameron. Jenna is currently the sales lead at SIMULATE and has years of experience in foodservice sales for growing brands. Listen in as Jenna answers:
And, stay tuned at the end for a bonus segment - today featuring Startup CPG Shelfie Award winner, For Good Granola - Jenna and I will share our reviews mid-episode and then at the end of the episode (51:00), you can catch a mini-interview with For Good Granola’s founder, Kiley, to learn more! Episode Links:
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| How to Mind your Packaging, Branding, (and the Font) with Designer and Agency Owner Kirk Visola (2021) | 21 Dec 2022 | 00:37:12 | |
We’re coming at you this week from the archives. Many of you found this pod just this year, so I’m sharing one of our greatest hits from last year, 2021, in case you missed it. It’s one of my personal favorites, and I hope you enjoy! Kirk Visola is an active member of our Startup CPG community with a heart for sharing his design expertise and helping people navigate the complex world of packaging and branding. He has a no-nonsense approach to life and client work. With over 20 years of design expertise working with some of the largest brands in the world, he now operates his own agency, Mind the Font, making his caliber of work available to brands of all sizes. Listen in as Kirk shares about why he started his own agency, tips for approaching a packaging project, and how to build a great relationship with a designer for long term success. Episode Links:
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| #73 In-Store Demos 101: Building a Successful Demo Program (+ Funky Mello) | 13 Dec 2022 | 01:14:45 | |
Let’s talk demos! In-store demonstrations are an important tool in a CPG company toolbox, so we brought our favorite team of demo experts to help us navigate this topic: Bridget Aragon & David Heiser - Co-founders of Grassroots Demos. Grassroots Demos help brands boost sales and reach more customers by sampling their items in-stores. Shoppers get to taste items in a safe environment and give feedback, and brands get super valuable insights and support sell-through. Listen in as David and Bridget share about: And stay tuned at the end of the episode (56:12) for a mini interview with Delisa from Startup CPG Shelfie Award winner Funky Mello - my new favorite marshmallow creme with a wonderful story. Episode Links:
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| #72 How to Optimize the Deductions Management Process | 06 Dec 2022 | 00:43:45 | |
I once received a check from a distributor for $500, but it listed a ton of invoices. I dug in and that check was for $40,000 worth of product - it was a combination of unauthorized free fills that led to a broker conversation and double charges for a big distributor promotion plan that was expensive before doubling it. But the amount of time it took to track down all the info, dispute, follow up, and receive a check back was astronomical, and that was just one of the many instances to investigate. So how can you protect your margins from invalid deductions and understand what’s going on in your business even with valid deductions? It’s not easy, so today we have Bill Poore, a Senior Client Success Manager at Inmar Intelligence with over a decade in deductions experience. Inmar has a DeductionsLink software platform that helps reduce invalid deductions and simplify workflows - reducing deductions administrative work by up to 80%. Listen in as Bill covers:
Thank you to our partner Inmar for sponsoring this episode. Episode Links:
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| #71 Building Content Creation Muscles - Behind Dream Pops’ Marketing with David Greenfeld (+ Nowhere Bakery) | 02 Dec 2022 | 01:01:25 | |
Content creation. We all know it’s more important than ever. But how do you actually create great content as a brand and measure success? To help us answer these questions, we have David Greenfeld of Dream Pops joining us today. Dream Pops is re-imagining cult classic desserts with plant based ingredients - my current favorite is the frozen cookie dough bites. At the time of recording, Dream Pops has created thousands of TikTok videos with nearly 200,000 followers and over 5 million likes, an Instagram with nearly 100,000 followers, David has 45,000 Linkedin followers on his own page and a podcast with 70 episodes, and he and his team just started getting into YouTube Shorts, by uploading about 500 videos in the last few months. Listen in as David shares about:
Episode Links:
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| #158 - SupplySide West 101 with Jon Benninger and Kantha Shelke | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:50:41 | |
In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Daniel Scharff sits down with Kantha Shelke, a certified food scientist, and Jon Benninger, VP at Informa, to delve into an overview of SupplySide West—the best known supply chain trade show for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. This event covers a wide array of sectors including food, beverage, dietary supplements, personal care, and animal nutrition. Daniel, Kantha, and Jon discuss how SupplySide West helps brands looking to connect with suppliers, discover new ingredients, explore packaging and co-packing solutions, and learn how to bring products from concept to market. They emphasize the significance of in-person networking, insights from panels on trends, compliance, and innovation, and strategies for making the most of the trade show experience, and talk about the overall importance of creating your supply chain network. From tips on setting clear goals and identifying key contacts to balancing scheduled meetings with spontaneous networking, they offer practical advice for both startups and established companies. They also share success stories, personal experiences, and insights on how to turn unexpected opportunities into valuable industry relationships. Tune in to hear how to maximize your SupplySide West experience and gain actionable advice for building and leveraging industry connections! Use code CPG50 for $50 off your Expo Pass registration SupplySide West Registration > https://utm.io/registerhere Startup CPG Happy Hour @ SupplySide West Signup: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/startup-cpg-meets-supply-side-west-happy-hour-tickets-1001755707287 Listen in as they share about:
Episode Links: Informa Markets LinkedIn Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
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| #70 Angel Investing 101 with Marcia Dawood (+ Uproot Teas) | 22 Nov 2022 | 01:15:47 | |
You’ve all let me know that fundraising content is some of your favorite, so I thought I would bring my favorite angel investing expert on the show, Marcia Dawood, for a 101 level episode on angel investing. Marcia currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Angel Capital Association, the professional society for angel investors in the US and globally. She is an investor in several early stage private companies, and in addition to her own investing, she is a Venture Partner with Mindshift Capital and a part of the investment committee for Next Wave Impact Fund. Marcia and I actually met at an Angel Capital Association event back when I worked in that industry and I’m so grateful we’ve been able to stay in touch and that I get to introduce you all to her today. I asked Marcia to help us understand angel investors and their motivations and I think she really delivered. Listen in as Marcia shares about:
And, stay tuned at the end for the first ever bonus segment - today featuring Startup CPG Shelfie Award winner, Uproot Teas (at minute 52:53). Marcia and I will share our reviews of Uproot mid-episode and then at the end of the episode, you can catch a mini-interview with Uproot Tea’s founder, Cindy, to learn more! Episode Links:
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| #69 How to Design a High Converting Ecommerce Website | 15 Nov 2022 | 00:54:32 | |
It’s November and we’re entering the biggest online shopping season of the year in the US. How is your ecommerce site functioning? Or are you thinking about launching a new website? Black Friday is in a few weeks, so hopefully you can take away some actionable tips for the upcoming holiday months or this can help you start thinking through your 2023 website planning. Here to help us navigate the topic of building a high-converting ecommerce site today is Kelly Ferris, Director of Sales for Small Business at BigCommerce. BigCommerce is a leading ecommerce software platform that enables companies of all sizes to sell physical and digital goods online. Listen in as Kelly shares about:
Episode Links:
Mondelēz International‘s SnackFutures CoLab program:
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| #68 How to Raise $10 Million: Fundraising Aura Bora Style with Paul Voge | 08 Nov 2022 | 00:57:39 | |
Today’s hot topic is fundraising. And what could be better than talking fundraising with our favorite weird sparkling water brand, Aura Bora. Aura Bora just raised a Series A round, led by Siddhi capital, bringing their lifetime funding as a brand to $10 million, and co-founder Paul Voge is here to share the details with us. Paul and his wife Maddie founded Aura Bora in 2019, and they make sparkling water from herbs, fruits, and flowers for earthly tastes and heavenly feelings. They use unique ingredients like basil, cactus, and lavender for a better-tasting experience, all while donating 1% of annual revenue to environmental causes via 1% For The Planet. Aura Bora is one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the country with their 0 calorie, 0 sugar, non-GMO, plant-based, and craft flavors. Listen in as Paul shares about:
Episode Links:
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