In our recent webinar with JPG Resources, we delved into the fascinating journey of product development, where we explored the process of transforming your cherished recipe formulations from the cozy confines of your kitchen and benchtop to a grand production scale. We dived deep into key topics, including: the critical aspects of shelf stability crucial task of selecting the right manufacturer invaluable insights on approaching manufacturers such as ingredient quality, process adaptation, simpl...
Sep 18, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Aaron Luo , CEO and co-founder of the new DTC Spanish charcuterie brand, Mercado Famous . Aaron was born in China, but raised in Madrid, where he grew up eating a blend of Spanish cuisine incorporating Chinese ingredients. He’s also the co-founder of Caraa, a fashion apparel brand. This episode we discuss building a DTC CPG brand, focusing on long-term growth, and digital advertising. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG foun...
Sep 11, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 138
How do you determine your marketing budget and how do you find a way to stretch those dollars when in comes to content and social media? I’ve invited on Emily Teater, founder of Set Creative Studios who works with emerging CPG brands to create content and run their social media and e-mail campaigns. Learn more about Emily Teater and Set Creative Studios Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and part...
Sep 08, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 137
We all hear that working with influencers can be beneficial for your brand, but I find most founders are highly underutilizing the opportunity. So how can you do better? I invited on Esther Kim , founder of Maven Reach to talk through how you can better leverage influencers for your brand. 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 ab...
Sep 04, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Building a beverage brand comes with its unique challenges. I sit down with Victor and Jordan, co-founders of Bawi to learn how they’ve navigated their journey. Bawi takes a modern twist on agua frescas by creating a health-conscious and bubbly version of the classic Mexican beverage. Learn how they started in farmers markets to now 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 par...
Aug 28, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Is your company vision aligned with how you’re growing your business and choosing your sales channel strategy? If it’s not, you’ll find yourself on a journey that you didn’t intend to and that takes away your energy. Join me for a conversation with Caroline Grace, a retail strategist for Emerging CPG Brands | Founder & CEO of Product & Prosper. We discuss how to create a clear vision for the way you want to design your journey as a founder, the key foundational steps you need to build as...
Aug 23, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Do you know how your business is performing? If you aren’t crystal clear, then it’s time to learn how to review your finances to make sure you’re on track to hit your goals. Join me as I discuss how to review your business finances with Alice Zhang, CEO of MyPocket CFO, a platform that helps you achieve financial independence through automated bookkeeping, simplified planning & analysis, and access to cash & capital. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to conn...
Aug 21, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 133
The retail landscape is experiencing another whiplash in buyer and consumer behavior. Are you prepared for the changes? Join me for a conversation with Steve Zurek, VP of Advanced Analytics and Thought Leadership for NIQ. We discuss: Post pandemic assortments and what they mean for small brands. Forced trial…or discovery. How supply shortages for the big guys benefits small brands. Knowing your consumer and their worth to the retailer gets your foot in the door. Proving that you’re bringing incr...
Aug 16, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 132
Good accounting will reveal the fundamentals of your business performance and show the good and bad. But great bookkeeping can be challenging for inventory based businesses. Join me for a conversation with Mike Pignatelli, Co-Founder of Unloop Accounting as we break down the top accounting mistakes CPG Companies make and how to solve for them. Solve your accounting needs with Unloop, starting at just $299/month. Start Here Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connec...
Aug 14, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 131
On today’s episode I talk with RollinGreens ’ CEO and co-founder, Lindsey Cunningham . She started RollinGreens in a food truck in Boulder, CO, and launched a CPG product that’s now expanded into Sprouts’ Innovation Centers and into over 2,600 Walmart's so valuable. Now 12.5 years into their journey, Lindsey shares her key points for building a successful CPG brand. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resou...
Aug 09, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 130
Sanzo has experienced skyrocketing growth over the past 4 years building the first Asian-Inspired sparkling water brand. I sit down with founder Sandro Roco to discuss what led to starting the brand and how he’s navigated their fast growth. 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...
Aug 07, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 129
We all know that raising your first few fundraising rounds can be incredibly challenging, with many investors wanting to see elusive “proof of success” before they invest large sums of money. One way to lower the cost of investment and show interest in your business is through an equity crowd funding campaign. But here’s the magic, you don’t need to only raise from “consumers”, you can create a campaign to raise smaller checks from angel investors, who instead of having to contribute $50,000, ca...
Aug 03, 2023•15 min•Season 1Ep. 128
Building a profitable business is possible for CPG brands, but it takes focus to get there. Join me and Keith Kohler for a conversation on how to achieve profitability and build a sustainable business in the process. We’ll be breaking down: Why profitability needs to be a clear go to reach it. How to analyze your P&L statement. Cash requirements and debt options for profitable brands. and more. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage...
Jul 31, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 127
Did you know that most retailers start planning for the holidays now? That means planning out displays, promotions, and brand features, all while most of us are still sweating under the summer heat. As founders, we usually find ourselves reacting to our business week by week, but it can cause us to miss out on opportunities because we don’t plan far enough out. I sat down with Sari Kimbell from Food Business Success on her podcast to discuss what you need to think about with retail and E-commerc...
Jul 24, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 126
New York City is home to the densest metro area in the US, but launching a CPG product there has its own unique set of challenges. Trent has helped launch dozens of brands into the market and leads a team of high-impact merchandisers. We discuss what it takes to be successful and how you can stand out. 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.co...
Jul 17, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 125
Welcome to Problem Solved, a Startup To Scale mini series co-hosted by myself, Jordan Buckner and Aaron Gailmor, founder of Brass Roots. On this episode, Aaron and I discuss the challenge CPG brands have reaching profitability and specific steps Aaron did at Brass Roots to reach that point. Begin with profitability in mind Review your products and channels to find unprofitable product lines and cut them. Review your business structure, how you’re manufacturing and the SG&A Startup to Scale i...
Jun 28, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Building a beverage brand is one of the toughest categories in CPG. The order MOQs are high, competition is fierce, and the heavy product makes DTC challenging. So how do you succeed? I invited Noah Wunsch, founder of Ruby Sparkling Hibiscus to share how he approaches building the brand, which involves an extensive field marketing plan executing 15-30 demos across the country each week. These in person events are an integral part of the brand’s research, development, and evolution. Listen in to ...
Jun 26, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 123
Margarita Womack is the founder of Mas Panadas, a line of frozen empanadas. She built her business to profitability by self-manufacturing and creating a private label line, while supporting immigrant hispanic women. Learn how she managed to do it all and what’s next for the company. 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 bec...
Jun 21, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 122
Search is still one of the primary ways customers learn about your brand. Are you doing everything you can to be found? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of making your website content easily discoverable on search engines like Google and Bing, so customers can find you. The reality is that most founders don't have a strong SEO strategy and leave it as an afterthought. Join me for a conversation with Roger Bautista, a BigCommerce growth coach who trains merchants on how to sell su...
Jun 19, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 121
Consumers have sifted from buying food D2C back to retail, but many are still buying through platforms like Instacart. This episode I talk with Kevin Gawronski, of Gawronski Food and Beverage to get an overview of Instacart advertising and the opportunity. We discuss: Instacart advertising tools, which ones are most effective How to know if Instacart is right for your brand. Optimizing your product listings Ad credits $$$ for women and minority founders. Want to drive sales through Instacart for...
Jun 12, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Learn why working with regional distributors may be a better path for your business. I talk with Sid from Wild Bay about how his kombucha company started self distributing and now distributes for other brands. 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....
Jun 07, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Everyone’s talking about UGC content, but how can you really implement it for your brand? Join me as I talk with my guest Anna from No Revisions and break down The different types of content. How to create it. The cost of working with creators. Best practices for utilizing UGC content. Show Notes: Norevisions.co and use code FOODBEVY for 20% off https://www.kalecard.com/ Anna’s favorite places for finding and working with UGC creators: https://www.usetwirl.com https://insense.pro https://stackin...
Jun 05, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Curious about how to build a Google Ads strategy for your brand? Join me for an insightful conversation with Andy Janaitis from PPC Pitbulls, as we discuss the strategies and tactics behind building a strong Google presence and running effective Google Ads campaigns. We use my other brand Joyful Co as an example. Gain valuable insights into marketing plans, measuring success with Google Analytics, and implementing a winning Google Ads strategy. Whether you're a business owner or a marketing enth...
Jun 02, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 117
Summer is here, and for many brands, it brings a peak consumer buying season. Families are having parties, people are traveling, and there’s a huge uptick in demand. As brands, are you taking advantage of this key time? How are you merchandising your products differently? Should you run promotions? I’ve invited on Georgios, VP of sales specializing in Emerging Brands with Trax to answer these questions. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, bev...
May 22, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Sustainability has made it into the business discourse and is starting to change how companies behave in the world. At the same time, the pandemic forced many companies to release single serve packaging that resulted in higher waste. How are brands supposed to balance sustainability with their business and consumer needs? To answer this question I’ve invited on Sherry Frey, VP of Total Wellness at NIQ, to talk about the evolving business case for sustainability. Startup to Scale is a podcast by ...
May 15, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Building a company in 2023 has a vast number of challenges: increased competition, constricted financial markets, and higher supply chain costs. So what are founders to do about it? Mike Fata joins me to share his perspective on what founders can do today to set themselves up for success tomorrow. Mike is a prolific writer, mentor, and entrepreneur in the CPG industry. Mike co-founded Manitoba Harvest in 1998, which he grew for over 20 years until selling to $419 million. Since selling the compa...
May 10, 2023•23 min
Are you active across Amazon, Shopify, Meta, and Google without a cohesive strategy? Most founders are operating each in a silo and missing out on combined learnings from each. Luke Tierney is the founder of Eco D2C and joins me as we discuss how to leverage the strengths of each digital platform to continuously optimize your product listings and marketing to tell a cohesive story designed to convert. These learnings will increase your sales as you optimize your conversion rates. Don’t have time...
May 08, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 113
Starting a beverage company is one of the toughest categories to launch in. MOQs are much higher, cash requirements are high, shipping costs are expensive due to weight, ingredient lead times are long, and so much more. At the same time, consumers are drinking more RTD beverages than ever and there are a ton of leading trend indicators that show opportunities in the marketing. Join me for a conversation with Brian Post and Greg Kaminski of G&B Filling Station , a beverage launchpad on opport...
May 03, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 112
Food VC was approaching the industry like they do tech, which is based on market-size and growth. That hasn’t been working the last few years Companies that grow sustainably and don’t require much capital to do so. Do companies have strong gross margins. Money in and money out. Building customers that love you Building strong companies that are made to last and have their own manufacturing. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CP...
Apr 26, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 110
Choosing your product packaging is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in starting your company, but it often gets rushed over. Your packaging impacts your shelf-life, branding, manufacturing method, and more. Join me for a conversation with Jeff Jacobs with ePac as we discuss what you need to consider when choosing packaging for your brand. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and part...
Apr 24, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 109
