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 i...
Jul 18, 2023•55 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Jul 11, 2023•1 hr•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast 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 m...
Jul 04, 2023•56 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast 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 a...
Jun 27, 2023•56 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast 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, ...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast 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 mous...
Jun 13, 2023•56 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jun 06, 2023•52 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
May 31, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast 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 al...
May 23, 2023•51 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
May 16, 2023•50 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast 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: How Earth Fare’s product submission process i...
May 09, 2023•50 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast 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 sh...
May 04, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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: Common mis...
May 02, 2023•56 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Wome...
Apr 25, 2023•38 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast 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 mill...
Apr 18, 2023•50 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast 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 l...
Apr 11, 2023•50 min•Ep 63•Transcript available on Metacast 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, ...
Apr 04, 2023•56 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast 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,...
Mar 28, 2023•57 min•Ep 61•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Mar 16, 2023•54 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Feb 28, 2023•48 min•Ep 58•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Feb 21, 2023•1 hr•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 14, 2023•52 min•Ep 56•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 09, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 wit...
Feb 07, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Par...
Jan 31, 2023•43 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast 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: The process of applying for Shark Tank How recording day works The timing from recording to...
Jan 24, 2023•37 min•Ep 54•Transcript available on Metacast 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 co...
Jan 18, 2023•53 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast 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 w...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Ta...
Jan 03, 2023•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
