Alec Jaffe, the founder of the climate-conscious and gut-friendly ice cream brand Alec's Ice Cream . Alec’s Ice Cream is the first and only regenerative-verified & USDA organic certified ice cream. On this episode we discuss the regenerative agriculture movement, building an ice cream manufacturing plant, and launching nationally into Sprouts. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners t...
Apr 19, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 108
True Scoops is an innovative, premium ice cream mix company helping to bring the joy of making ice cream at home without the use of an ice cream maker. Founded by Shelly Marshall and Kelly Williamson who met at Penn State University’s “Ice Cream School”. On this episode we discuss the challenges of launching ice cream outside the ice cream aisle, how to succeed with merchandising, and their new Kickstarter launch. Learn more: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maketruescoops/true-scoops-ice-cr...
Apr 12, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 107
Financing a new food and beverage business is a huge hurdle, especially when investing in growth. After being a bootstrapped small business with a local fan base and distribution for a couple of years, Arik Markus, Founder of Herbn’ Pantry picked up the largest account he could have imagined- Fred Meyer. The PO came in for 4 pallets of his sauces, a pallet of each, a total of over 11,000 bottles and 30 day delivery terms. Arik turned to James and the Aion Financial team to fund that order collat...
Apr 10, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 106
Daniel launched Dan the Baking Man, a plant-based baked goods company with his broth. Their goal is to create great tasting gluten-free and vegan sweets, starting with their cookies. Learn about how they got started and how the journey is going. Learn more: danthebakingman.com Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming ...
Apr 05, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Conversations around finance are often stuck in budgets and forecasts, leaving out the most important part: our relationship with money. We all have limiting believes that are holding us back from fully engaging with our finances and this episode breaks them down. All of us have deep seeded emotions from childhood that shape our relationship with money. Listen to my conversation with Keith Kohler, the Financing Man to uncover how the limiting stories you tell yourself might be holding you back. ...
Apr 03, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 104
Most brands aren’t investing in merchandising and they’re losing on shelf. Merchandising is the process of placing your product in store, at the right places to get in front of the right consumers with the best offer. This includes everything from making sure your product is actually on shelf to setting up out of aisle displays. Join me as I talk with Georgios Tzafis, VP of sales specializing in Emerging Brands at Trax Retail. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to co...
Mar 27, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 103
Welcome to Problem Solved, a Startup To Scale mini series co-hosted by myself, Jordan Buckner and Aaron Gailmor, founder of Brass Roots. I’m partnering with Aaron as he’s a friend and fellow food founder who’s in the trenches everyday. For today’s episode, we’re going to turn the mic on Aaron as his Shark Tank Pitch recently aired and I have a ton of questions for him. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great re...
Mar 24, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 102
Tax season is here, and for businesses, most of our taxes are due very soon. Do you have any questions as you prepare to file? Whether you work with an accountant or file taxes yourself, this episode is for you. I put together a panel of finance experts to discuss common accounting mistakes. We discuss: The biggest accounting mistakes CPG brands make. The R&D Tax Credit and how it applies to CPG Brands. When to hire a salaried employee vs. an independent contractor. Panelists: Eric Sonsino, ...
Mar 22, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 101
Welcome to episode 100 of the Startup to Scale Podcast! I can’t believe that we’re here… 99 interviews later. Today, I want to share my gratitude that you chose to join me on this journey of building a thriving Food and Beverage Ecosystem. On today’s episode, I want to share my personal reflections on the state of the food and beverage industry. There are 3 major themes that have stood out. The food and beverage community is extremely positive and supportive of small businesses, and there are so...
Mar 20, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 100
What’s it like to bootstrap a food business for 10 years? Sarah Lanphier launched Nuts about Granola in 2008 and embarked on the wild ride of entrepreneurship. She built her own brand and sold to top retailers like Costco, Self-manufactured and built a private label business, and ultimately left the business. We discuss her journey and her top lessons learned. Sarah posted about rebranding. https://drivnfoodbeverageagency.com/i-must-be-nuts Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online c...
Mar 15, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 99
Distributor chargebacks collectively cost brands millions of dollars per year. Most of these are in the distributor agreement, but many of them are erroneously charged to brands, and it’s up to them to contest it. When I ran my brand TeaSquares, in 2019 we invoiced KeHE for $32,000 worth of product at our wholesale cost. After all the deductions and fees, we were paid out $21,000. That’s an $11,000 difference, with $8,400 of those fees because of a poor retailer relationship. Today’s conversatio...
Mar 13, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 98
Sean Hall is the founder of Wellious, a line of almond protein powders. I was impressed at the scappy DIY nature that Sean built the brand and became an Amazon Best Seller for his category. Join me as I talk with Sean to uncover how he’s building a successful brand on Amazon with incredibly high repeat rates, and how he leverages TikTok to drive traffic to his e-commerce store. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to...
Mar 08, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Chris Cuvelier founded Zola in 2002 and led the business as CEO for 17 years until 2019. Originally started as an Acai Juice business, he added coconut water 10 years later and eventually dropped the Acai Juice to focus on the Coconut Water. Chris had a goal to build Zola to be a $100 million business and sold the company to a private equity firm in 2016 while staying on a CEO. Join me as we unlock how he built his business, the pivots along the way, and advice he has for emerging founders now. ...
Mar 06, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Today I want to talk about how to manage your grocery business as your number of retailers and doors grow. I’ve found that once you surpass about 500 stores it becomes really challenging to understand what’s happening at each one. Some of the key data you need to measure and track are your velocity by SKU and retailer, Flagging spoiling product and out of stocks, tracking distributor charge backs. To help me with this conversation I’ve invited on Maya Blackburn and Tony Miller, who work with eme...
Mar 01, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 95
On today’s episode I want to address some areas that CPG founders are concerned with according to last month’s state of the CPG industry Report I released. For this conversation I’ve invited on Brad Ebenhoeh, founder of Accountfully to provide actionable guidance from a finance perspective. We discuss reaching profitability, selling across multiple sales channels, and how to manage retail sales. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, a...
Feb 27, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 94
Join me as I talk with Louis Condon from Pear Commerce about the e-commerce strategies of Liquid Death, Olipop, and Reishi Tea. We also dive into Retail E-commerce, a new sub-channel of online sales that came around due to the pandemic. It’s comprised of retailers selling their groceries online for shipping, same-day delivery, and in-store pickup. Most brands in retail are underutilizing this sales channel as a way to drive sales at their retail partners. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbev...
Feb 20, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 93
When growing in retail, you have to “Play to win, don’t play not to lose.” This advice from Amber Bylund is the key to succeeding in retail, as it’s a challenging environment for any emerging brand. Amber Bylund is the VP of Sales Strategy at Siddhi. In this episode we discuss How brands should start in retail Building a retail launch strategy And more Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partn...
Feb 13, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 92
Marcus and Jenni are the co-founders of Modest Coffee and recently experienced the worst of what could happen when a distributor partnership goes bad. What started as a huge win for with a Walmart launch, ended with KeHE returning $250,000 worth of product and the company $200,000 in debt. Listen to learn what happened, their top lessons learned, and how the internet saved their business. Link to full story from Modest Coffee: https://www.modest.coffee/2022/12/how-we-got-grifted/ Startup to Scal...
Feb 06, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 91
Have you tried running Google Ads and seen them as a complete waste of money? Let’s face it, running paid ads is challenging, especially for CPG brands. How do you know if you’re even ready for paid ads and what should you expect? Join me for a conversation with Andy Janaitis, founder of PPC Pitbulls as we break down: What it takes to be successful running Google Ads You minimal budget spend How to setup campaigns What Return on Adspend you can expect Get a free PPC Assessment for your brand her...
Jan 30, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 90
How can building your company in public help build your brand? I talk with Lex Evan, founder of Lexington Bakes about how he turned his passion for baking into a Luxury Baked Goods Business. He’s sharing every step of the journey on Linkedin and his newsletter so you can see behind the scenes. Doing so has brought in new partnerships, retailers, and customers. Lex also sees it as a way to give back to other founders and share his years of marketing experience. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Fo...
Jan 25, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 89
Foodservice is an amazing channel for food and beverage products, but can be incredibly challenging to break into. I sit down with my friend Matt Cotton, founder of Rooted Food Sales, who helps CPG brands sell into and succeed in Foodservice channels. We discuss: How to get into your first corporate office The difference between a distributor and an operator What are the job titles to reach out to How to expand once you have a foothold Foodservice 101: https://www.foodbevy.com/how-foodservice-ca...
Jan 23, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Brands are more visible now than ever and consumers expect you to be visible everywhere - online, in store, on TikTok, and beyond. The strongest brands have a strong point of view, and that resonates in their storytelling and design. Join me as I talk with Mike McVicar, co-founder of Gander a Brand Design agency as we dive deep into how to create a meaningful brand. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resou...
Jan 20, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 87
“The best system is the one that gets used” I interview Jessi Freitag, Operations Freelancer and host of the Startup CPG podcast. In this episode, Jessi and I discuss the challenges and opportunities of scaling a startup, with a focus on the operational side of things. From co-manufacturer services and full commercialization to managing sales leads and ingredient suppliers, Jessi will provide practical advice and insights on how to stay organized and set your startup up for growth. Resources Men...
Jan 18, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 86
You don’t know what you don’t know. Starting a business is filled with unknown problems, and it sometimes feels like you’re stumbling through mistake after mistake. But it doesn’t have to feel that way. Join me as I talk with Bill Skeens , founder of Prairie City Bakery, which successfully sold after 25 years. Bill has been through it all, and joins me to discuss the top 10 lessons he learned from his experience running a CPG business. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online commun...
Jan 16, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 85
What does it take to build a profitable business? I sit down with Kyle Koehler, Co-Founder of Wildway to find out. Wildway is now 10 years into their business and became profitable after their 5th year in business. I talk with Kyle about what it's like to run a company without raising capital, self-manufacturing, and growing using debt financing. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to...
Jan 06, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Zach and Delisa Harper created Funky Mello, a line of plant-based marshmallow creams. Join me as Zach and I discuss their founding story, building a company with your spouse, and launching in Sprouts. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today....
Jan 04, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 83
This episode is going to be a little different from my standard podcast format. Today, I want to talk about how to optimize your life going into 2023 so that you can be the best version of yourself possible. I’m excited because I’ve found the right Work + Life Flow that works for me and prioritizes everything I care about. But it wasn’t always this way. As a CPG founder, I used to live every week in chaos. My priorities were out of balance and I was spending countless hours doing things that I d...
Jan 02, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 82
In this episode, I sit down with Monica Watrous, Managing editor of Food Business News and Editor of Food Entrepreneur to discuss food and beverage trends for 2023 . Get a front-row seat to the trends we're expecting and how you can prepare. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner toda...
Dec 23, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Are you looking to breathe some life into your e-mail campaigns? I talk with Emilia from Kaleidocopy about her process for creating a personality-infused email flow, including the importance of researching your ideal customer and using great copywriting to build a relationship with them. Emilia and I partnered together to audit my GoodFoodBrands.com e-mail flows, and completely re-write two of them. Learn why we made those changes and what you can apply to your brand. Startup to Scale is a podca...
Dec 21, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Welcome to Problem Solved, a Startup To Scale mini series co-hosted by myself, Jordan Buckner and Aaron Gailmor, founder of Brass Roots. In episode 2, Alex Bayer, founder of Genius Juice asks how life changes as an entrepreneur when you become a parent. Aaron and I are both parents of young kids and share our perspectives as dads. We discuss: Having Kids can Make You a Better Founder Organization and Time Management Management of Mental, Physical, and Emotional Health We'd love for you to share ...
Dec 19, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 79
