Podcasts about cpg

What if the biggest bottleneck in your commerce strategy isn't the strategy itself, but the time it takes your team to actually perform the actions to execute it?Agility requires not just having the right insights, but also the operational capacity to act on them at the speed the market demands.Today, we're going to talk about a critical bottleneck many brands face: the delay between data-driven insight and real-world execution. Commerce teams are often drowning in data but struggle with the manual, time-consuming work of implementing changes, whether it's updating product pages or optimizing media spend. This has led to a major shift, where brands are looking beyond traditional agency models and toward a new paradigm of 'agentic AI'—using automated agents to handle execution, freeing up human experts to focus on what they do best: strategy.We are here at eTail Palm Springs, and to help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Himanshu Jain, Co-Founder and Head of Product, and Bill Schneider, VP Product Marketing at CommerceIQ. About Bill Schneider and Himanshu Jain Himanshu Jain is the Cofounder and Head of Product at CommerceIQ, a Series D agentic AI company based in the Bay Area. CommerceIQ is a leader in retail technology, having raised $200M from SoftBank and Insights Partners, and serving 10 of the top 12 CPG brands globally. He builds vertical AI and autonomous agent platforms that help the world's largest consumer brands win across ecommerce and omnichannel retail. Over the past decade, he has repeatedly taken AI products from zero to product–market fit, scaling them into multi-million-dollar businesses across retail media, pricing, supply chain, and digital shelf. With deep roots in machine learning, SaaS and enterprise strategy, he operates at the intersection of advanced AI systems and measurable commercial impact. Himanshu Jain is the Cofounder and Head of Product at CommerceIQ, a Series D agentic AI company based in the Bay Area. CommerceIQ is a leader in retail technology, having raised $200M from SoftBank and Insights Partners, and serving 10 of the top 12 CPG brands globally. He builds vertical AI and autonomous agent platforms that help the world's largest consumer brands win across ecommerce and omnichannel retail. Over the past decade, he has repeatedly taken AI products from zero to product–market fit, scaling them into multi-million-dollar businesses across retail media, pricing, supply chain, and digital shelf. With deep roots in machine learning, SaaS and enterprise strategy, he operates at the intersection of advanced AI systems and measurable commercial impact. Bill Schneider and Himanshu Jain on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-schneider-b32a6a/ Resources CommerceIQ: www.commerceiq.ai The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Ashley Rouse shares how surrender, letting go, and reinvention led to clarity and new beginnings after closing her company, Trade Street Jam Co. _____ After building a nationally recognized brand, Ashley Rouse returns to Dreams In Drive - eight years later - to share the raw truth about closing Trade Street Jam Co., embracing surrender, and stepping into new beginnings with her new creative agency Rouse Like House. A heartfelt, inspiring conversation for anyone navigating change, letting go, or finding clarity and purpose in life's next chapter. ______ In this deeply honest and full-circle conversation, Ashley Rouse (Episode 174 guest) returns eight years later to Dreams In Drive to reflect on the evolution from the woman who was scaling Trade Street Jam Co. at lightning speed to the woman she is today — one who chose surrender, healing, and alignment over external definitions of success. Ashley opens up about the circumstances surrounding and the grief of closing Trade Street Jam Co., the loss of identity that comes when your life's work ends, and the emotional and spiritual clarity that followed. She shares how motherhood and deep personal growth forced her to redefine what success, ambition, and purpose look like in this new season. Most importantly, she reframes surrender as a power move, a conscious decision to trust that releasing what no longer aligns creates space for new vision, new pathways, and a more authentic future. What We Discussed: Surrender & Purpose: Finding the courage to realize that a business is just a "tangible asset" and that her true purpose—helping other entrepreneurs—remains intact. The Realities of Running A Product-Based Business: Ashley breaks down why running a product-based CPG business is "no joke," discussing the capital intensive, inventory-heavy nature of the industry and the pressure of scaling, and seeking investors as a Black Woman The Power of Community: How sharing her "messy" journey on Instagram built a community that ultimately saved her during her transition. This conversation is for anyone who: Feels the pull toward a new beginning Is questioning a long-held dream Is learning to detach their worth from their work Is navigating a transition season You'll walk away with both the emotional language and the practical mindset shifts needed to: Recognize when it's time to move on Honor the chapter you're closing without shame Trust the unknown Rebuild from a place of clarity and self-alignment. FIND ASHLEY ROUSE ON: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleymarierouse Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rouselikehouse Website: https://www.rouselikehouse.com

Nationwide Whole Foods distribution. A seven-figure DTC engine. A five-person team. In this episode, Ashley Nickelsen, the founder and CEO of nutrition bar and chocolate brand B.T.R. Nation, breaks down the systems behind her brand's growth, from using DTC zip-code data to unlock retail expansion, to building a creative-first Meta ads strategy that drives real revenue (not just impressions).  She shares why velocity is her North Star metric, how she thinks about omnichannel as a flywheel – not separate businesses – how she evaluates when syndicated data is worth the cost, and why she chose to self-warehouse to maintain margin and operational control.  Ashley also unpacks her approach to pricing across channels, portfolio expansion beyond a single hero SKU, and constant creative testing in one of grocery's most competitive categories.  Show notes: 0:20: Ashley Nickelsen, Founder & CEO, B.T.R. Nation – Ashley talks about her deep ties to New York City and a life largely spent on the road for work. She also shares her path into CPG from a master's in higher education and then into the supplement world and applied lessons from her experience to B.T.R., Ashley's discusses evolution as a spokesperson and her belief that brands need a consistent "face," explains B.T.R.'s origin story and how losing both parents to rare cancers before age 30 shaped her mission and her decision to avoid natural flavors. She describes how trust and community grew "organically" through direct customer engagement and helps generate retail discovery and online reorders across channels. She also details how B.T.R. approaches growth with constant iteration while keeping affordability and velocity in mind, and shares practical learnings on Meta advertising and how to pair digital attribution with retail data stories to win new accounts. Brands in this episode: B.T.R. Nation, Spindrift, Mid-Day Squares, Graza, Simple Mills, Siete, Perfect Bar, Lily's, Unreal, Heinz, Crumbl

#800 From backyard-grown herbs and screen doors used as drying racks to national retail shelves, Jodi Scott's journey with Green Goo is a masterclass in building a mission-driven CPG brand! In this episode, host Brien Gearin sits down with the co-founder and CEO of Green Goo to unpack how they set out to “reinvent first aid” with plant-based solutions that actually work — earning passionate customer stories, scaling into major retailers (including the Army & Air Force Exchange), and adapting fast when the market wasn't ready for “plant-based” a decade ago. Jodi also shares the behind-the-scenes reality of hypergrowth, navigating financing and forecasting, surviving the retail shutdown during COVID by ramping DTC, and the hard-earned mental fitness practices that helped her buy the company back and rebuild after a failed partnership nearly wiped everything out! What we discuss with Jodi: + Reinventing first aid + Plant-based + high efficacy + Backyard-to-kitchen production + Farmer's market validation + Customer stories (eczema, wounds) + Launching a website to reorder + Retail expansion learning curve + Army & Air Force Exchange pitch + COVID pivot to DTC + Amazon + Selling, losing, buying back the brand Thank you, Jodi! Check out Green Goo at GreenGoo.com. To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marketers obsess with platform metrics, because these are the numbers they can tactically control the most. However, buried in every CPG product's design are hidden sensory variables that work with or work against the efficiency of marketing. Let me explain in this episode.Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Is Big Food finally catching up to emerging brands on speed to market? As legacy CPG giants roll out protein- and fiber-forward innovations faster than ever, the team debates whether startups still hold the advantage. Plus, we give a heartfelt sendoff to Jacqui Brugliera as she departs BevNET after 12 years. Show notes: 0:23: Honoring A Legend. More Meetups! Heading West. Speedy Delivery. Creamy Everything. – Ray Latif and co-hosts John Craven and Mike Schneider mark Jacqui Brugliera's final show at BevNET after 12 years, sharing heartfelt praise for her impact as a teammate, friend, and steadying presence. The conversation then shifts to a recap of Taste Radio's recently held Miami meetup as well as an upcoming event in New York City on April 16. The hosts also discuss whether big CPG brands are catching up to entrepreneurial ones as they chase "better-for-you" trends like protein and fiber and whether legacy companies can truly match the credibility and branding agility of smaller players. They also riff on the rise of "creamy condiments" and highlight a new RTD Vietnamese coffee, a decaf sparkling coffee, buttermilk pancake mix, hop-infused cocktails, and a wave of new products from Athletic Brewing. Brands in this episode: Doritos, Smartfood, SunChips, Angie's Boomchickapop, Rebel Roots, Poppi, Fruities, CronchClub, Lasso, Tia Lupita, Bachan's, AleSmith, Athletic Brewing, Guinness, Fuzzee Coffee, North Shore Roasters, Phoenicia Diner

This week we are LIVE with Mike Levinson, Founder of FS Octopus. Mike brings 25+ years in foodservice/alternative channels and retail, with deep expertise in CPG distribution — aka how products actually move, not just how they look on a pitch deck.He's worked with startups and big brands, so he understands both the hustle and the scale. His FS Octopus approach breaks foodservice/alt. channel sales down to what really drives results: distribution, marketing, buyer relationships, and sharp brand positioning.FS stands for Food Service and it's always an underlooked channel for CPG Brands - but not anymore! IF you want to learn about the Food Service side of CPG - TUNE IN!https://fsoctopus.com/

Lucy Dana is the co-founder and CEO of One Trick Pony, the peanut butter rapidly gaining fame for its bright packaging that sits upside down on the shelf. On this episode of ITS, Ali and Lucy talk peanut butter problem solving, the new rules of social media, and how to build certain, lean and ready for learning.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Retention Chronicles, Mariah sit down with Jo, founder of Nutcase Milk, to unpack how a late-night craving for better-for-you chocolate milk turned into a fast-growing CPG brand with creator partnerships and a hard-earned product reset .Jo shares how testing the product at her restaurant sparked early demand, how a random Vegas brunch led to VC backing, and how poker connections evolved into partnerships with names like Ninja and Steve Aoki. But the real lesson comes after launch. When repeat purchase didn't meet expectations, the team made the tough call to pause, reformulate, and improve the product before scaling further.We talk luck versus determination, founder-led brand voice, handling public criticism, and why retention always starts with product quality. This is an honest look at what it really takes to build in public and get better in real time.

If Glanbia wanted to further increase Optimum Nutrition and ISOPURE brand household penetration, should it focus more on brand marketing or production innovation? Glanbia Plc (LON:GLB) is a multibillion-dollar global nutrition company that's currently comprised of three divisions that span across the B2B supply chain (i.e. Health & Nutrition and Dairy Nutrition) and branded products (Performance Nutrition). “Health & Nutrition” is a leading global ingredients solutions business, providing value added ingredient and flavor solutions to a range of attractive, high-growth end markets. In 2025, revenue was $629 million, which increased by 11.5% YoY. “Dairy Nutrition” is the number one producer of whey protein isolate…and provides a wide range of dairy and functional protein solutions. In 2025, revenue was $1.52 billion, which increased by 2.8%. The brands in the Glanbia Performance Nutrition portfolio include; Optimum Nutrition, BSN, think!, ISOPURE, and Amazing Grass. In 2025, Glanbia Performance Nutrition revenue was $1.8 billion, which decreased 0.9% YoY. Additionally, I'll dive deeper into Glanbia Performance Nutrition geographical, sales channel, product format, and categorial performance. As part of the branded products portfolio part of the group-wide transformation program announced last November, Glanbia completed the sale of SlimFast and Body & Fit. Optimum Nutrition, which was the initial M&A transaction in 2008 that created the GPN division, now represents 75% of the total revenue. In 2025, Optimum Nutrition generated revenue of approximately $1.35 billion. The other largest GPN brand is ISOPURE, which is a premium high-protein, low-carb brand grounded in purity. And I've loudly proclaimed for several years that “ISOPURE had arguably the largest untapped upside of the entire GPN portfolio.” In fact, I've said it had billion-dollar global brand potential. But with the two largest brands within GPN growing in 2025, what must be solved for Optimum Nutrition and ISOPURE to reach their greatest ambition level. Therefore, our examination will focus on household penetration, as it's often used as a key performance indicator that helps quantify brand health and growth opportunities for CPG brands. Essentially, higher household penetration proves velocity, making retailers more likely to stock a brand, thus increasing all commodity volume, while selling more items to these new households increases total distribution points. Moreover, product innovation and brand marketing act as the "fuel" to this “primary growth engine," accelerating the relationship between household penetration, ACV, and TDPs.

What does “smart money” actually mean in beverage — especially in one of the most capital-intensive categories in CPG?In this sponsored episode, we sit down with Karen Xiang, Investment Lead at Btomorrow Ventures, the corporate venture arm backed by British American Tobacco. And we go deep into how corporate venture capital is evolving — and what it really means for founders building functional and full-size beverage brands today.Btomorrow Ventures (BTV) is not a traditional VC fund. With a £150M first fund and a newly launched £200M second fund, BTV is investing across “better brands” and “better habits” — with a particular focus in the U.S. on full-size functional beverages and functional snacks. But capital is only part of the story.Karen explains how BTV's new in-house growth platform is designed to unlock operating leverage — connecting portfolio brands to distribution pilots, commercialization support, data analytics, and internal expertise inside a global FMCG infrastructure.For founders, this episode is an insightful discussion about:•  What corporate venture capital (CVC) actually is — and how it differs from traditional VC•  What to ask before taking strategic capital•  Why beverage remains a difficult category for many VCs — and what that means for your cap table•  How to think about partnering with strategics without becoming “the last fry on the truck”Karen also offers a thoughtful framework for avoiding trend-chasing in drinks. In a world of protein pivots and format fads, she argues that fundamentals — consumer clarity, occasion ownership, distribution sequencing — still win over time.For investors, we explore how BTV thinks about co-investing rather than competing — and why having a strategic partner on the cap table can accelerate growth across the entire syndicate.If you're a founder navigating functional beverage, a co-investor evaluating corporate capital, or an operator thinking about long-term category shifts, this episode offers a rare inside look at how one of the industry's more nuanced CVC models is building in the U.S.As always, we focus on the mechanics of growth — not just the headline numbers, but how brands actually scale.Listen in for a grounded, strategic conversation about capital, distribution, and the future of value-add investing in drinks.For the latest updates, follow us:Business of Drinks:Business of Drinks website (sign up for our newsletter!)Business of Drinks YouTubeBusiness of Drinks LinkedInInstagram @bizofdrinksErica Duecy, co-host: Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks and one of the drinks industry's most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs the consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.Erica Duecy LinkedInInstagram @ericaduecyScott Rosenbaum, co-host: Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. Most recently, he was the Portfolio Development Director at Distill Ventures. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor.Scott Rosenbaum LinkedInCaroline Lamb, contributor: Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a key account sales and marketing specialist at AHD Vintners, a Michigan-based importer and distributor.Caroline Lamb LinkedInInstagram @borkalineIf you enjoyed today's conversation, follow Business of Drinks wherever you're listening, and don't forget to rate and review us. Your support helps us reach new listeners passionate about the drinks industry. Thank you!

Retail Sound Bites marks a major milestone with its 100th episode, celebrating four years of conversations at the intersection of retail, CPG, and commerce transformation. Hosts Barry Thomas and Rachel Dalton kick off the episode by reflecting on the journey so far and spotlighting the top 10 most‑listened‑to episodes from the past four years. The episode also features Ted Riedel, President of Kantar's North American Retail Practice, and James May, EVP of CPG & Hospitality. In a fast‑paced, candid conversation, they explore: ·       How modern health, GLP‑1s, and protein‑led innovation are reshaping portfolios ·       Why agentic commerce, AI, and algorithmic decision‑making are the next frontier ·       The evolving, often fractured but interdependent relationship between brands and retailers ·       Which KPIs matter less today and why incrementality, precision, and proprietary data matter more ·       What it really takes to future‑proof a CPG organization in 2026 and beyond Have a topic you'd like us to cover? Contact us at Kantar's Retail Sound Bites Podcast. Contact Barry: Email | LinkedIn Contact Rachel: Email | LinkedIn ·

Scott Dancy is the founder and CEO of Azuna, a fast-growing brand in the natural air freshener space. With a background in staffing, technology, and several entrepreneurial ventures, Scott started Azuna in Buffalo in 2019, scaling the business from hand-packaging orders to becoming the world's largest purchaser of tea tree oil and achieving significant success in both DTC and Amazon channels. In this episode of DTC Pod, Scott shares his journey of launching Azuna, from navigating supply chain challenges and product R&D to unlocking consistent growth and managing cash flow as order volumes soared. He covers the pivotal product decisions, strategies for boosting AOV, lessons from high-profile partnerships, and Azuna's approach to retail expansion. Scott also offers practical advice for founders on knowing their numbers, avoiding expensive mistakes, and building a team that's invested in the brand's success. Episode brought to you by Stord - 3PL for Commerce Episode brought to you by EMF Radar - Health Starts with EMF Safety in mind Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack. On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover: 1. Scott Dancy's entrepreneurial background and Azuna's origin story 2. Early-stage bootstrapping: packaging, fulfillment, and ad writing 3. Scaling operations: manufacturing, 3PLs, and hiring expert talent 4. Product and packaging strategy: sustainable materials, bundling, and raising AOV 5. Building a brand moat with proprietary tea tree oil sourcing 6. Subscription economics and customer retention strategies 7. Navigating cash flow, funding growth, and working with MCAs 8. Knowing key metrics: revenue, gross profit, AOV, and cash allocation 9. D2C vs Amazon vs retail channel strategy 10. In-house vs agency operations and pitfalls 11. Brand marketing and influencer partnerships 12. Lessons learned from sports and celebrity partnerships 13. Timing retail entry and optimizing product mix for channels 14. Importance of customer service and product quality 15. Entrepreneurial learnings: failures, details, and staying data-driven Timestamps 00:00 Scott Dancy's background and founding Azuna 03:05 The “aha moment”—tea tree oil product discovery 04:10 Early days of hand-packaging, first sales, COVID impact 05:36 Scaling up: building the team, manufacturing, growth in Buffalo 07:14 Transition to 3PL and challenges of scaling past $10M 08:10 Product development, bundling, and packaging strategy 10:05 Target audience and tea tree oil sourcing 13:41 Growth channels: Meta, Google, and influencer seeding 15:53 Subscription model economics and retention 19:03 Funding growth: inventory buys, cash flow, using Clearco 22:24 Data-driven decisions and knowing your numbers 26:25 Channel mix: Amazon, DTC, retail launch, pricing strategy 32:00 Learning from agency mistakes and shiny object syndrome 35:06 Retail timing, product mix, and learnings from entering stores 42:02 Brand partnerships: AKC, NFL, influencer marketing 46:44 Final lessons and what Scott would have done differently 47:50 Where to find Azuna and connect with Scott Show notes powered by Castmagic Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.   Additional episodes you might like: • #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth • #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content • #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views • #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands • #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook • ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands ----- Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you. Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox? Check out our newsletter here. Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for Content Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Scott Dancy - CEO & Founder of AzunaBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

What makes for a good entrepreneur in today's start-up landscape? How do you work to scale and when is it right to go from bootstrapping to seeking funding? How are the roots of innovation now fundamentally different than the dot com era? Lori Rosenkopf is a Professor of Management and also the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, San Francisco campus. She is also the author of the book Unstoppable Entrepreneurs: 7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation. Greg and Lori discuss Lori's focus on Wharton's student and alumni entrepreneurial ecosystem, and she explains how entrepreneurship skills overlap with the innovation inside large organizations and universities. Lori describes seven entrepreneurial pathways and six “Rs” that reflect an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing that many successful entrepreneurs first build industry experience in standard careers rather than launching ventures immediately after school.  Their conversation covers how Wharton's curriculum has evolved over time, adding majors and coursework in entrepreneurship, innovation, analytics, and now AI; experiential learning; venture pitching for credit. Greg asks how the Venture Acceleration Lab helps expose students to scaling alumni ventures. Lori and Greg discuss different stereotypes of entrepreneurs, and Lori touches on why alumni and industry-affiliation networks remain powerful, how innovation increasingly happens through ecosystems, partnerships, and acquisitions rather than in-house R&D, and the continuing importance of universities in basic science commercialization, including Penn's Pennovation initiative and strong biomedical startup activity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Episode Quotes: The stereotype of a unicorn founder 17:18: I think that we have grown accustomed to a stereotype, which is, let us name them out, college dropout. Young. Venture capital backed tech, unicorn, great personal and commercial wealth. And now we are depending on them for philanthropy. We can have a whole discussion just about whether that is a good thing or not. But that is sort of the image. Is there a way people can cultivate their resilience? 32:00: Resilience, it can come from being in love with your problem and wanting to solve that so deeply. Now it has to be a problem that enough of the marketplace shares that they are willing to think about your solution. But people who want to solve a problem are going to claim lots and lots of different ways to attack it. And this is what entrepreneurs are constantly dealing with, negative feedback and challenges. In many cases, it is very rare that companies of ventures first offering is something that everybody falls in love with. What has Lori learned about information diffusion over 30 years of research? 11:17: I think that as we have gone to where more digital products and services, that it gives us the opportunity to build up these bigger ecosystems where different parties are collaborating in a variety. So it might be as extreme as acquisitions. And that is not just happening when Apple, that is CPG companies are buying little startups where people have developed new grants that are cool. They are partnering in many cases, so they may not be a full on acquisition, but there will be a contractual set of arrangements and maybe a conformance to a standard, as well. So that has become more and more common, and the idea that any one firm can invent everything in house, I think it does feel a little bit passé, you know, like rate of change is getting quicker and quicker. Show Links: Recommended Resources: Patrick T. Harker Entrepreneurship Venture Lab | University of Pennsylvania Max Weber Bell Labs Guest Profile: Faculty Profile at Wharton Business School LoriRosenkopf.com LinkedIn Profile Guest Work: Unstoppable Entrepreneurs: 7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation Google Scholar Page Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

MSG has been labeled as the villain of the food world, but Jennifer Ko is rewriting the story and bringing it back with a bold new twist. In this episode, Reid Jackson sits down with Jennifer Ko, the founder of Dime, a company that's reinventing how we think about MSG. Jennifer shares her personal connection to MSG, the cultural beliefs that shaped her family's avoidance of it, and how she's working to debunk common myths about this misunderstood ingredient. She also discusses the challenges of packaging, logistics, and the supply chain that come with launching a product in the competitive CPG space. In this episode, you'll learn: How Jennifer's curiosity about MSG turned into a business idea The challenge of changing consumer perceptions  The importance of streamlining packaging and logistics in CPG Things to listen for: (00:00) Introducing Next Level Supply Chain (01:57) Jennifer's entrepreneurial journey (06:08) Breaking down the misconceptions about MSG (11:33) Building a brand around a stigmatized product (18:28) The challenges of building a business in the food industry (29:17) Advice for startups and aspiring entrepreneurs (33:19) Jennifer Ko's favorite tech Connect with GS1 US: Our website - www.gs1us.orgGS1 US on LinkedIn Register now for this year's GS1 Connect and get an early bird discount of 10% when you register by March 31 at connect.gs1us.org.  Connect with the guest: Jennifer Ko on LinkedInVisit Dime at dimemsg.com

Gen Z is not shopping the way Millennials did and they are definitely not responding to the same packaging playbook.In this episode, I sits down with Sanders, founder of Nuex Creative, to unpack how Gen Z discovers new food and beverage brands, what signals authenticity and what feels forced, and why traditional front of pack claims have stopped doing the heavy lifting.They explore the visual languages Gen Z actually responds to, where bold design helps or hurts trust, and how founders with limited budgets can make high impact packaging decisions without a full redesign.If you are building a brand for the next generation of consumers or wondering why your packaging looks great but is not converting, this episode will help you rethink what matters now.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.

You don't need a bigger team to scale your CPG brand. You need the right who. Most founders think the next move is hiring a full-time VP of Sales, a marketing team, or a supply chain lead. But at $5M, $10M, even $20M, that kind of overhead can crush your cash flow before retail ever pays you back. In this episode, we sit down with Les Hamilton, founder of CPG Integrated and former Target buyer, agency executive, and Chief Revenue Officer. He breaks down what actually happens when you get into retail—and why so many brands fail after they "win" the shelf. You'll hear: • Why retail is an audition—and most brands fail it • The hidden cash flow trap behind national rollouts • What buyers really care about (hint: it's not your factory) • Why premium pricing beats competing on margin • When to hire marketing first—and when you desperately need a CFO • How fractional executives can get you to $70M without a $300K salary If you're a founder trying to move from digital to brick-and-mortar—or from $7M to $70M—this conversation could save you millions. Listen now and rethink how you scale.  

Send a textRunning a consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand is exciting, but it comes with financial challenges - from inventory management to seasonal sales swings. In this episode, I sit down with Tien Do from BlueRock to break down the essential tools for building confidence and control in your business finances.What you'll learn in this episode:

After decades in fine dining, renowned restaurateur Jamie Mammano turned his attention to a new challenge: reinventing the tortilla chip. In this episode, he shares how a small tortilla bakery experiment evolved into Mi Niña, one of the country's fastest-growing premium tortilla chip brands, now sold in thousands of retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target and Wegmans. Inspired by his Mexican family and frustrated by the lack of authentic, high-quality tortillas in the market, Jamie discusses how Mi Niña's clean-label, organic positioning helps it stand out in a crowded snack aisle, why innovations like olive oil- and protein-enhanced varieties are driving its next phase of growth, and why he's choosing to forgo private equity as he builds the company on his own terms. Show notes: 0:20: Jamie Mammano, Founder, Mi Niña – Jamie reflects on the origins of Mi Niña, explaining how an early pivot from his initial CPG concept became the catalyst for the brand's growth. He recounts how a chance meeting with Whole Foods sparked early retail momentum and how the company has since expanded to roughly 7,000 stores nationwide. He details how Mi Niña differentiates itself with organic ingredients, clean labels, small-batch production and distinctive packaging, and why he credits product quality and consumer trial—not heavy marketing—for its success. Jamie also discusses staying true to the brand's roots while innovating with new offerings, including an upcoming protein-enhanced chip, addresses private equity interest in the company, explains why he sees CPG as more competitive than the restaurant industry, and shares his vision of "changing the snack game." Brands in this episode: Mi Niña, Tito's, Lay's, Doritos

In this episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter speak with Toby Espinosa, VP of Ads at DoorDash. Toby shares how DoorDash built one of the fastest-growing retail media networks, and why the next phase of growth depends on making performance comparable across platforms, partners, and budgets.They unpack the tension between local trade dollars and national media budgets, how CPG organizations split ownership between sales and marketing, and what it takes to unlock both. Toby also explores how AI can accelerate integrations, lower the cost of connecting data, and raise the bar for targeting and outcomes across commerce media.Key takeawaysNational media budgets scale when incrementality is clear and performance is standardized.The biggest growth unlock comes from aligning trade and media dollars around shared outcomes.Consistent, comparable reporting builds trust and drives long-term investment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can BUM Energy successfully make the move from “supplement store” niche product to the energy drink market's next breakout superstar? Admittedly, while dubbing BUM Energy a “supplement store niche product” is probably unfair…it speaks to how the energy drink was launched as a collaboration between six-time Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead (CBUM) and his fellow co-owners in the sports nutrition brand RAW Nutrition. And few supplement brands (especially in the last handful of years) have captured the zeitgeist of the fitness and lifestyle community quite like RAW Nutrition (and BUM Energy). Moreover, everyone has likely heard this “broken record” (by now), which expresses my long-held belief (proven correct) that the best and brightest sports nutrition brands could compete against any large CPG incumbent when it comes to functional food and beverage. So, if anything…I'd consider it a somewhat “badge of honor” earned within this journey navigating the rapidly evolving beverage landscape. But then, it's important to establish my definition of a “breakout star” within the approximately $27 billion U.S. energy drinks market…which is currently growing somewhere between the low- to mid-teens percentage YoY range. But when referring to a “breakout star,” I'm talking about (1) being among the “top 15” energy drink brands based on last 52-week retail sales data, (2) growing at least five times the categorical average, and (lastly) not being partially/wholly owned by one of the Big 3 nonalcoholic beverage giants. But in my latest first principles thinking content piece, I'll explore various strategic reasons why I believe BUM Energy is currently positioning itself as one of the most credible challenger energy drink brands. Likewise, why this upcoming “Year 3” will be its most important…especially if BUM Energy wants to become the energy drink market's next breakout superstar.

This is the Steaz comeback story! Hear how the brand founders were brought back into the company to help renew the purpose and passion of the brand, which led to a collaboration with Wild Orchard to launch the first line of Regenerative Organic Certified ® canned teas! We speak with Eric Schnell of Beyond Brands, who was one of the original founders of Steaz, to learn more about the history of Steaz and his vision for the reboot. Then Mike Fransz, Director of Marketing for Nova Naturals, the company that owns and manages the Steaz brand now, shares why they brought the founders back and how it's recharged the whole team and brand. Michael Ham, co-founder of Wild Orchard, then shared the story of the world's first Regenerative Organic Certified ® tea farm and the role they play in this collaboration. We discuss the new product line, the challenges of this innovative and collaborative process, and what's bringing each guest hope for the future of our food system. Enjoy!Takeaways:Steaz was the first certified organic soft drink brand in America.Steaz was also the very first fair trade certified tea.The journey of Steaz began with a passion for tea and health.Reviving Steaz involved bringing back the founders to guide its new direction.The collaboration with Wild Orchard got them access to the world's only Regenerative Organic Certified ® green tea.Wild Orchard was the first USDA organic certified farm in Korea.Regenerative Organic agriculture enhances soil health and product quality.The younger generation is increasingly conscious of health, environment, and where their food comes from.Challenges in R&D delayed the launch of new products.Transparency in the supply chain builds consumer trust.Steaz's 1% for the Planet commitment reflects their dedication to sustainability and regenerative agriculture.Sound bites:“Our five P's, which is what we call the Quintuple Bottom Line Business Value System is rooted in Passion, Purpose, People, Planet, and Prosperity.”“We helped get the first fair trade certified tea estate in Sri Lanka up and running.”“We're evangelists for this regenerative organic certification process, not because it's just the cool next thing, but because it creates really meaningful impact across so many different places around the globe.”“The farm that was regenerative organic had the bees and the birds and the deer running through. It seemed to just attract an ecosystem, like Gaia.”“When we consume foods grown in healthy soil, it's actually syncing everything with our gut microbiome and it improves our overall health.”“At Steaz we call it doing good by brewing good.”"You are what you eat. If the soil is healthy, the plant's going to be healthy and tastier, and then when we eat it, it's going to be better in our body too!”“Everybody loves a comeback story. And this is a great one. One of the best I've seen.”Links:Steaz - https://drinksteaz.com/Steaz on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/steaz---the-healthy-beverage-company/Steaz on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/officialsteazSteaz on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/steaz/Steaz on X - https://www.facebook.com/officialsteaz…Eric Schnell on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-schnell-b133a425/Beyond Brands - https://beyondbrands.org/Beyond Brands on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyondbrands/…Mike Fransz on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikefransz/Nova Naturals - https://nova-natural.com/Nova Naturals on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-natural/…Michael Ham on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-d-ham/Wild Orchard - https://www.wildorchard.com/Wild Orchard on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wildorchardteas/Wild Orchard on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wildorchardteas/#Wild Orchard on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wildorchardteasWild Orchard on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ21UewP8Yx6ZMlzh8NKe0wWild Orchard on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@wildorchardtea…Natural Products Expo West: https://www.expowest.com/en/home.html…Brands for a Better World Episode Archive - http://brandsforabetterworld.com/Brands for a Better World on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/brand-for-a-better-world/Modern Species - https://modernspecies.com/Modern Species on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-species/Gage Mitchell on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagemitchell/…Print Magazine Design Podcasts - https://www.printmag.com/categories/printcast/…Heritage Radio Network - https://heritageradionetwork.org/Heritage Radio Network on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/heritage-radio-network/posts/Heritage Radio Network on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HeritageRadioNetworkHeritage Radio Network on X - https://x.com/Heritage_RadioHeritage Radio Network on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heritage_radio/Heritage Radio Network on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@heritage_radioChapters:03:00 The Origins of Steaz: A Journey Through Tea09:16 Reviving a Legacy: The Return of Founders18:13 Collaboration for Change: Steaz and Wild Orchard23:48 Understanding Regenerative Organic: A New Standard28:03 The Impact of Healthy Soil on Health and Taste35:00 The Rise of Regenerative Organic Certification37:55 Community and Education in Regenerative Practices41:03 Commitment to the Planet: 1% for the Planet43:00 Challenges in Collaboration and Supply Chain53:55 Hope for the Future of Food SystemsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mike Kurtz, Founder of Mike's Hot Honey, shares invaluable hospitality insider insights on building a successful hospitality business from the ground up. Discover how strategic restaurant partnerships and collaborations fueled the rapid growth of Mike's Hot Honey, making it one of the fastest-growing food brands nationwide. Mike dives deep into hospitality trends shaping brand expansion from restaurant menus to grocery store shelves through effective CPG strategies. Listeners will learn key restaurant growth strategies and what it takes to stay authentic amid intensifying competition. Mike also discusses menu innovation, flavor experimentation, and how hospitality executives and restaurant operators can create lasting brand trust while scaling their businesses without losing their unique identity. Tune in for a wealth of knowledge from a hospitality industry leader that offers practical advice for anyone involved in the restaurant industry podcast landscape, hospitality media, or looking to elevate their hospitality leadership skills. Episode Credits:Sponsored by: DirecTVProduced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: GrodMediawww.thehospitalityhangout.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CPG companies are facing a day of reckoning due to tariffs. Aldi is dealing with a meatball recall. And health-focused consumers are reading more labels. 

"AI should be a tool, not a replacement...I've seen some very terrible ads." -Nicole Ramirez   Nicole Ramirez is a journalist-turned-marketer with deep experience leading growth marketing across CPG, financial services, B2B SaaS, media, and healthcare. She specializes in translating complex marketing challenges into measurable growth by blending performance marketing with customer-centric storytelling. As Co-Founder of BrandME and a LinkedIn Personal Brand Strategist, Nicole helps executives and professionals build thought leadership, visibility, and opportunity through strategic content, coaching, and fractional CMO consulting. She is also the host of the Talk Digital To Me podcast, a published Forbes and Entrepreneur contributor, and a featured speaker at events including TEDx and SXSW. Website: https://www.brandmelabs.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerayeramirez/    Alison Daley is an entrepreneur, product designer, and international trainer passionate about using authentic storytelling and purpose-driven marketing to create meaningful impact. She's the creator of the Ernestine McClendon Talent Grant, a scholarship initiative that turned goodwill into real-world brand engagement. Through her work, Alison helps leaders and teams align who they are with what they create. Website: https://recruitinginnovation.com/  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alisonldaley   In this episode, we explore expert insights on digital marketing, AI strategies, personal branding, and recruiting innovation for growth-driven professionals.   Apply to join our marketing mastermind group: https://notypicalmoments.typeform.com/to/hWLDNgjz   Follow No Typical Moments at: Website: https://notypicalmoments.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-typical-moments-llc/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G7csw9j7zpjdASvpMzqUA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notypicalmoments Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NTMoments  

Scaling a CPG brand doesn't always mean hiring fast or hiring locally. In this episode, I sits down with Luke Anthony, founder of Morning Made, to break down how he used global, VA-style talent to grow the brand without overextending cash or complexity.Luke shares how international support helped him move faster across marketing, operations, and day-to-day execution, the lessons he learned managing remote talent as a founder, and the systems that made it all work. That hands-on experience eventually led to the creation of Plus Forty, an agency designed to help other founders do this the right way.This episode is for founders who know they need help, but want to scale intentionally, not recklessly.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.

"AI should be a tool, not a replacement...I've seen some very terrible ads." -Nicole Ramirez   Nicole Ramirez is a journalist-turned-marketer with deep experience leading growth marketing across CPG, financial services, B2B SaaS, media, and healthcare. She specializes in translating complex marketing challenges into measurable growth by blending performance marketing with customer-centric storytelling. As Co-Founder of BrandME and a LinkedIn Personal Brand Strategist, Nicole helps executives and professionals build thought leadership, visibility, and opportunity through strategic content, coaching, and fractional CMO consulting. She is also the host of the Talk Digital To Me podcast, a published Forbes and Entrepreneur contributor, and a featured speaker at events including TEDx and SXSW. Website: https://www.brandmelabs.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerayeramirez/    Alison Daley is an entrepreneur, product designer, and international trainer passionate about using authentic storytelling and purpose-driven marketing to create meaningful impact. She's the creator of the Ernestine McClendon Talent Grant, a scholarship initiative that turned goodwill into real-world brand engagement. Through her work, Alison helps leaders and teams align who they are with what they create. Website: https://recruitinginnovation.com/  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alisonldaley   In this episode, we explore expert insights on digital marketing, AI strategies, personal branding, and recruiting innovation for growth-driven professionals.   Apply to join our marketing mastermind group: https://notypicalmoments.typeform.com/to/hWLDNgjz   Follow No Typical Moments at: Website: https://notypicalmoments.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-typical-moments-llc/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G7csw9j7zpjdASvpMzqUA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notypicalmoments Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NTMoments  

Innovation doesn't need to (and usually shouldn't) be complicated. In fact, look at the recent Wonderbelly acquisition. It reimagined OTC medicine by moving beyond sterile branding, offering effective products with clean ingredients and enjoyable flavors…targeting health-conscious Millennials (and Gen Z) looking to make digestive relief a more positive experience. So, if you really want to create something that has lasting impact, it needs to be a combo of “new” yet “familiar.” And many of today's most successful CPG brands resulted from identifying that doing something too closely related to market leadership won't get noticed…but doing something too novel and it will create confusion.

Amber and Andrew Salisbury turned a marriage argument about coffee into an eight-figure health food empire. After Andrew couldn't find a single coffee brand that prioritized health over marketing, the husband-and-wife founders spent two years in research and development with leading coffee scientists to create Purity Coffee—the first specialty-grade coffee engineered specifically for maximum health benefits. No shortcuts. No compromises. Just pure science-backed coffee that tastes incredible. In this interview, the co-founders of Purity Coffee break down how they lab-tested 59 competing coffee brands to prove the market gap, why they focus on the presence of good compounds rather than just the absence of bad ones, and the exact margin structure that allows them to reinvest in regenerative farming and continuous product innovation. What you'll learn in this interview: • How a marriage argument about coffee led to building an eight-figure brand • Why they spent two years in R&D before launching their first product • How they lab-tested 59 coffee brands to validate the market opportunity • The science behind chlorogenic acids and why roasting matters for health benefits • Why they target 50% gross margin to reinvest in supply chain innovation • How to build a product-first brand that wins on fundamentals, not marketing • The power couple dynamics of complementary strengths in business • Why focusing on the underlying product matters more than selling tactics • How a big vision attracts resources and people who want to help • The importance of daily rituals and honoring the entrepreneurial journey If you're building a CPG brand, competing in a crowded market, or trying to figure out how to justify premium pricing through genuine product innovation, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about product development, market positioning, and what it takes to build something truly differentiated. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH AMBER AND ANDREW SALISBURY Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/purity_coffee/ Website → https://www.puritycoffee.com/ Andrew's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsalisbury35 Amber's Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/amberleighsalisbury/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠

This week on CPG Vibes, We talk with Yuval Selik. Yuval is the Co-Founder and CEO of Promomash and Host of the 7 Hats Podcast! Yuval is a fantastic follow on LinkedIn where he drops CPG wisdom nearly daily with more than 20+ years of CPG leadership experience. Promomash is the people + platform solution CPG brands rely on to achieve more in trade. Powered by CPGenius™, we help brands improve trade spend efficiency across trade promotion planning and execution, deduction management, and field marketing — combining purpose-built software with hands-on industry experts who work as an extension of your team.http://promomash.comhttp://the7hats.com/

What does it really take to scale a food brand when your standards make everything harder?In this episode, Eva sits down with Tara and Megan, the founders behind Canadian functional food company Rawcology. What started in a family kitchen with a dehydrator and a mission to remove inflammatory ingredients from everyday snacks has grown into a nationally distributed brand now carried by retailers including Whole Foods, Bulk Barn and Costco.But growth didn't follow the typical startup playbook. They chose to self-manufacture instead of co-packing, prioritized ingredient integrity over margins, and navigated fundraising as a women-led company in a category dominated by massive incumbents.They share the realities behind building a CPG business — the economics of distribution, why the system favours cheap food, the bias they encountered raising capital, and how staying close to customers shaped their product strategy.This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, and defining success on your own terms when your values come first.This season of our podcast is brought to you by TD Canada Women in Enterprise. TD is proud to support women entrepreneurs and help them achieve success and growth through its program of educational workshops, financing and mentorship opportunities! Please find out how you can benefit from their support! Visit: TBIF: thebrandisfemale.com // TD Women in Enterprise: td.com/ca/en/business-banking/small-business/women-in-business // Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/thebrandisfemale

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Joshua Gebhardt CEO & Co-Founder and Brandon Nutter, CTO & Co-Founder of Ampd which connects paid social campaigns to actual sales at retailers, unlocking new, full-funnel targeting capabilities for brands that want to scale CPG sales from Meta and TikTok ads.Follow Joshua Gebhardt on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuagebhardt/Follow Brandon Nutter on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonnutter/ Follow Ampd on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ampd-ads/ Follow Ampd online here: https://www.ampd.io/This episode is sponsored by Ampd.We ask Joshua & Brandon these questions:What exactly does Ampd exist to do, and why did you and Brandon set off on this journey as co-founders?Where do you see the media world most ripe for disruption? Where are the biggest "old problems" waiting for new solutions?When you look at paid social today, what are some things brands' competitors are doing that should honestly trigger a little FOMO for anyone not keeping up?You've said discovery and commerce engines are fundamentally disconnected—how did we end up here, and why is that such a big problem for CPG brands?Shopper Journey, and touch on a topic that I know energizes you. “Where to Buy” used to be the standard—why doesn't it work anymore in a social-first, mobile-first world?You talk about brands needing to “move at the speed of culture.” What breaks down when teams can't optimize paid social in-flight?How does a one-click shopper journey change conversion behavior compared to traditional paths to purchase?Can you share the details of that creative split-test you ran for one of the world's leading CPG portfolios?You've built a Next Gen MMM specifically for offsite traffic to Amazon—why is that so important, and what did the beverage brand learn when Meta showed an 8x sales contribution in their ad console?How do you address fair and equitable requirements without limiting growth or causing massive headaches for operators?For CPG leaders who feel like paid social isn't delivering retail results, what's the first step they should take—and how can Ampd help?CPG Guys Website: http://CPGguys.comFMCG Guys Website: http://FMCGguys.comSheCOMMERCE Website: https://shecommercepodcast.com/Rhea Raj's Website: http://rhearaj.comLara Raj in Katseye: https://www.katseye.world/DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.

It was a total blast recording this episode with Evelio Mattos and the incredible founders of Perro Verde Mezcal, Juan Santiago Rodriguez and Mariana Carvajal.This wasn't just a conversation about spirits; it was a masterclass in how brand story, heritage, and “un-compromised” design come together to create something truly rare—or as they say in Spanish, a Perro Verde.

What does it actually take to build a non-alcoholic spirit that the bar world respects?In this episode of Business of Drinks, Chris Abbott, co-founder of The Pathfinder, walks us through how the NA brand scaled to more than 20,000 nine-liter cases in 2025 — up over 80% year-over-year — by doing something many emerging brands skip: Earning credibility on-premise first.From Day One, The Pathfinder wasn't positioned around what it doesn't have. Instead, the team spent two years developing a fermented and distilled hemp-seed base, layered with 20 botanicals, so bartenders could treat it like a real spirit. Their key insight? If you want back-bar respect, build like a spirits brand — not a wellness brand.Chris shares why they went after the hardest accounts first — bars you can't buy your way into — and how landing 50 to 100 serious on-premise placements before leaning on distributors changed the entire conversation. As he observes, case studies are helpful, but visible traction in elite accounts is what turns heads inside distribution (and for consumer brand awareness).He's also transparent about what really motivates distributor partners. It's not just growth charts. It's whether reps believe they can make money selling the brand. Once that clicks, velocity follows.We talk about the unexpected upside of scarcity (including an early COVID-era stockout that created outsized buzz), why the company resisted the typical CPG urge to launch multiple SKUs too early, and how RTDs were introduced later as a smart trial and versatility play — not as a distraction from the core bottle.Retail expansion through Total Wine and Whole Foods became another proof point. When Pathfinder started selling in markets where the founders weren't personally hand-selling or training staff, that's when they knew product-market fit had moved beyond the echo chamber.At its core, this is a conversation about disciplined growth. Chris returns again and again to fundamentals: Unit economics, profitable scaling, and earning the right to expand into new states and new channels.If you're building in non-alc, spirits, THC, functional, or any emerging drinks category where credibility with the trade matters, this episode offers a replicable blueprint for how to do it — and how to scale without losing focus.For the latest updates, follow us:Business of Drinks:YouTubeLinkedInInstagram @bizofdrinksErica Duecy, co-host: Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks and one of the drinks industry's most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs the consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.LinkedInInstagram @ericaduecyScott Rosenbaum, co-host: Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. Most recently, he was the Portfolio Development Director at Distill Ventures. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor.LinkedInCaroline Lamb, contributor: Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a key account sales and marketing specialist at AHD Vintners, a Michigan-based importer and distributor.LinkedInInstagram @borkalineIf you enjoyed today's conversation, follow Business of Drinks wherever you're listening, and don't forget to rate and review us. Your support helps us reach new listeners passionate about the drinks industry. Thank you!

Our Head of U.S. Internet Research Brian Nowak joins U.S. Small and Mid-Cap Internet Analyst Nathan Feather to explain why the future of agentic commerce is closer than you think.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Brian Nowak: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Brian Nowak, Morgan Stanley's Head of U.S. Internet ResearchNathan Feather: And I'm Nathan Feather, U.S. Small and Mid-Cap Internet Analyst.Brian Nowak: Today, how AI-powered shopping assistants are set to revolutionize the e-commerce experience.It's Tuesday, February 17th at 8am in New York.Nathan, let's talk a little bit about agentic commerce. When was the last time you reordered groceries? Or bought household packaged goods? Or compared prices for items you [b]ought online and said, ‘Boy, I wish there was an easier way to do this. I wish technology could solve this for me.'Nathan Feather: Yeah. Yesterday, about 24 hours ago.Brian Nowak: Well, our work on agentic commerce shows a lot of these capabilities could be [coming] sooner than a lot of people appreciate. We believe that agentic commerce could grow to be 10 to 20 percent of overall U.S. e-commerce by 2030, and potentially add 100 to 300 basis points of overall growth to e-commerce.There are certain categories of spend we think are going to be particularly large unlocks for agentic commerce. I mentioned grocery, I mentioned household essentials. We think these are some of the items that agentic commerce is really going to drive a further digitization of over the next five years.So maybe Nathan, let's start at the very top. Our work we did together shows that 40 to 50 percent of consumers in the U.S. already use different AI tools for product research, but only a mid single digit percentage of them are actually really starting their shopping journey or buying things today. What does that gap tell you about the agentic opportunity and some of the hurdles we have to overcome to close that gap from research to actual purchasing?Nathan Feather: Well, I think what it shows is that clearly there is demand from consumers for these products. We think agentic opens up both evolutionary and revolutionary ways to shop online for consumers. But at the moment, the tools aren't fully developed and the consumer behavior isn't yet there. And so, we think it'll take time for these tools to develop. But once they do, it's clear that the consumer use case is there and you'll start to see adoption.And building on that, Brian, on the large cap side, you've done a lot of work here on how the shopping funnel itself could evolve. Traditionally discovery has flowed through search, social or direct traffic. Now we're seeing agents begin to sit in the start of the funnel acting as the gatekeeper to the transaction. For the biggest platforms with massive reach, how meaningful is that shift?Brian Nowak: It is very meaningful. And I think that this agentic shift in how people research products, price compare products, purchase products, is going to lead to even more advertis[ing] and value creation opportunity for the big social media platforms, for the big video platforms. Because essentially these big platforms that have large corpuses of users, spending a lot of time on them are going to be more important than ever for companies that want to launch new products. Companies that want to introduce their products to new customers.People that want to start new businesses entirely, it's going to be harder to reach new potential customers in an agentic world. So, I think some of these leading social and reach based video platforms are going to go up in value and you'll see more spend on those for people to build awareness around new and existing products.On this point of the products, you know, our work shows that grocery and consumer packaged goods are probably going to be one of the largest category unlocks. You know, we already know that over 50 percent of incremental e-commerce growth in the U.S. is going to come from grocery and CPG. And we think agentic is going to be a similar dynamic where grocery and CPG is going to drive a lot of agentic spend.Why do you think that is? And sort of walk us through, what has to happen in your mind for people to really pivot and start using agents to shop for their weekly grocery basket?Nathan Feather: I think one of the key things about the grocery category is it's a very high friction category online. You have to go through and select each individual ingredient you want [in] the order, ensure that you have the right brand, the right number of units, and ensure that the substitutions – when somebody actually gets to the store – are correct.And so for a user, it just takes a substantial amount of time to build a basket for online grocery. We think agentic can change that by becoming your personal digital shopper. You can say something as simple as, ‘I want to make steak tacos for dinner.' And it can add all of the ingredients you want to your order. Go from the grocery store you like. And hey, it'll know your preferences. It'll know you already like a certain brand of tortillas, and it'll add those to the cart. And so it just dramatically reduces the friction.Now, that will take time to build the tools. The tools aren't there today, but we think that can come sooner than people expect. Even over the next one to two years that you start to get this revolutionary grocery experience.And so, it's coming. And from your perspective, Brian, once agentic grocery shopping does start to work, how does that impact the broader e-commerce adoption curve? Does it pull forward agentic behavior in other categories as well?Brian Nowak: I think it does. I think it does lead to more durable multi-year, overall e-commerce growth. And potentially in some of our more bull case scenarios, we've built out – even an acceleration in e-commerce growth, even though the numbers and the dollars added are getting larger. But there is some tension around profitability.We are in a world where a lot of e-commerce companies, they generate an outsized percentage of their profit from advertising and retail media that is attached to current transactions. Agentic commerce and agents wedging themself between the consumer and these platforms potentially put some of these high-margin retail media ad dollars at risk.So talk us through some of the math that we've run on that potential risk to any of the companies that are feeding into these agents for people to shop through.Nathan Feather: Well, in our work for most e-commerce companies, a majority – or sometimes even all – of their e-commerce profitability comes from the advertising side. And so this is the key profit pool for e-commerce. To the extent that goes away, there is one potential offset here, which is the lower fee that agentic offers for companies that currently have high marketing spend. To the extent that agentic offers a lower take rate, that could be an offset.But we think it's going to be very important for companies to monitor the retail media landscape and ensure they can try to keep direct traffic as best as possible. And things like onsite agents could be really important to making sure you're staying top of mind and owning that customer relationship.Now, on the platform side, search today captures an implied take rates that are 5-10 times higher than what we're seeing in the early agentic transaction fees. If this model does shift from CPC – or cost per click – towards a more commission based model, Brian, how do you think search platforms respond?Brian Nowak: I think the punchline is the percentage of traffic and transactions that retailers or brands or companies selling their items online that's paid is going to go up. You know, while search is a relatively more expensive channel on a per transaction basis, search works because there's a very large amount of unpaid and direct traffic that retailers benefit from post the first time they spend on search.Just some math on this. We're still at a situation where 80 percent of retailers' online traffic is free. Or direct. And so if we do get into a situation where there's a transition from a higher monetizing per transaction search to a lower monetizing per transaction agent, I would expect the search platforms to react by essentially making it more challenging to get free and direct and unpaid traffic. And we'll have that transition from more transactions at a lower rate; as opposed to fewer transactions at a higher rate, which is what we have now,Nathan, in our work, we also talked about a Five I's framework. We talked about inventory, infrastructure, innovation, incrementality and income statement, sort of a retailer framework to assess positioning within the agentic transition. Maybe walk us through what your big takeaways were from the Five I's framework and what it means that retailers need to be mindful of throughout this agentic transition.Nathan Feather: Well, for retailers, I think it's going to be very important that you're winning by differentiation. Having unique, competitively priced inventory with infrastructure that can fulfill that quickly to the consumer and critically staying on the leading edge of innovation.It's one thing to have the inventory. It's another thing to be able to be actively plugged into these agentic tools and make sure you're developing good experiences for your customers that actually are on this cutting edge. In addition, it's one thing to have all of that, but you want to make sure there's also incrementality opportunity.So [the] ability to go out, expand the TAM and gain market share. And of course what we just talked about with the margin risk, I think all of those are going to be very important. And so on balance for retailers, we do see a lot of opportunity. That's balanced with a lot of risk. But this is one of those key transition moments that we think companies that really execute and perform well should be able to perform nicely.Now finally, Brian, over the next five years, how do you think agent commerce reshapes competitive dynamics across the internet ecosystem?Brian Nowak: I think over the next few years, we're going to realize that agentic commerce is no longer a fringe experiment or a concept. It's a reality. And we may get to the point where we don't even talk about agentic commerce or agentic shopping. We just say, “‘This cool thing I did through my browser.' Or, ‘Look at what my search portal can do. Look at how my search portal found me this product. Look at how my groceries got delivered.' And it'll become part of recurring life. It'll become normal.So right now we say it's agentic, it's far off. It's going to take time to develop. But I would argue that every year that goes by, it's going to be becoming more part of normal life. And we'll just say, ‘This is how I shop online.'Nathan, thanks for taking the time todayNathan Feather: It was great speaking with you, Brian.Brian Nowak: And thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen. And share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.

Behind nearly every breakout CPG brand is an early believer willing to write the first check. In this episode, Adam Spriggs — a founding member of the early-stage investor community The Angel Group and a general partner at its funding arm, Supernatural Ventures — shares how a casual investing experiment evolved into a 275-member syndicate backing the next generation of emerging brands. Along the way, The Angel Group has invested in standout companies including Painterland Sisters, Poppi, Siete, Goodles, Bachan's, and Jesse & Ben's — a track record that underscores its eye for breakout potential. Adam breaks down how his team evaluates nearly 1,000 opportunities each year, why founder quality remains the ultimate differentiator, and what he means by backing brands that are both "interesting and obvious" — concepts that feel fresh yet inevitable in hindsight. He also discusses the firm's evolution from early-stage "signature" checks to larger growth investments, how they support founders beyond capital, and why categories ranging from THC beverages to frozen potatoes and premium tortilla chips still hold significant untapped upside. Show notes: 0:20: Adam Spriggs, Founding Member, The Angel Group – Adam discusses his background in CPG branding and business development, explaining how his path to angel investing began with informally reviewing deals alongside industry peers before ultimately formalizing the Angel Group. He talks about how the group has completed 35 investments, primarily in brands generating less than $1 million in revenue and why its members have increasingly pursued "top-shelf" opportunities in more mature, high-growth businesses. He outlines the group's funnel along with the core signals they prioritize and ranks key investment criteria, including the founder, retail velocity, COGS, and price point, and illustrates these principles with examples such as Poppi and emerging categories like THC beverages. Adam explains how the group supports portfolio companies through regular check-ins, industry introductions, and structured updates. He closes with advice for aspiring angel investors: don't invest alone, recognize the inherent risk of early-stage bets, and seek curated deal flow and a strong community where investors can add value through expertise and connections. Brands in this episode: Poppi, Garage Beer, Olipop, Goodles, Siete, Nowadays, Shift Naturals, Painterland Sisters, Ayoh!, Jesse & Ben's, El Nacho, Wild Monkey Bar, Magic Spoon, Graza, Truff, Coyotas, Stone & Skillet, Modelo

If you've ever heard me talk about Superconsumers, SuperGeos, or why you should Name, Frame, and Claim your new category - all of that thinking comes from today's guest, one of my heroes: Eddie Yoon.Eddie is one of the world's leading thinkers on category design. He's a longtime Harvard Business Review contributor, co-founder of Category Pirates (a top Substack you must subscribe to), and has spent decades advising Fortune 100 companies on how to create new categories instead of just fighting for scraps of market share.I've studied Eddie's work obsessively for years because he doesn't just teach marketing - he teaches thinking. AND in this conversation, we jam together (riffing on ideas, building on each other's thoughts) about why everything you've learned in marketing strategy is likely wrong.We talk about K-pop Demon Hunters, how Nespresso and Gillette grew massive categories, and why breakthrough categories don't come from better features or nicer packaging - they come from deeply understanding what outcomes your super consumers are looking for.This episode is PACKED with real-life brand examples: Velveeta, Keurig, Tesla, Spam Musubi, frozen peas, and more. Eddie brings category design to life with stories that will completely change how you think about growing your business.Next Steps: Go find your K-pop moment, your Velveeta insight, your frozen peas problem - that's where exponential growth lives!In This Episode You'll Learn:Why 99% of CPG brands are playing the wrong game - stealing market share vs. growing categories, and why the biggest companies are least likely to create new categoriesBenefits are dead, outcomes are everything - The Velveeta $100M growth story: how solving one super consumer outcome (getting kids to eat greens) unlocked massive growthThe power of super consumers & super geos - Why you should hire your super consumers, and the shocking Cherry Garcia data: 3,000 of 30,000 stores drove 80% of salesLightning strike marketing - How to turn a £60K budget into £600K of impact (the Dude Wipes strategy of keeping 75% of marketing unplanned)Don't be afraid to niche down - Why 99% of experts are wrong when they say you're leaving people behindUseful linksConnect with Eddie Yoon on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-yoon-ewg/Connect with Category Pirates on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/category-pirates/https://www.categorypirates.com/https://www.youtube.com/@categorypiratesMentioned in This Episode: Books & Frameworks:Competitive Strategy by Michael PorterSuperconsumers by Eddie YoonClayton Christensen's "Jobs to Be Done" (milkshake example)Byron Sharp (mentioned as conventional wisdom)Mentioned in This Episode: Brands & Case Studies:Gillette (China market expansion)Keurig vs. Starbucks VerismoNespressoVelveetaBen & Jerry's Cherry GarciaSpam & Spam Musubi (Hawaii)TeslaNvidiaK-pop Demon Hunters (Netflix)Dude WipesRogaineRoyal CaninAnheuser-Busch============================================================Thanks to Brand Growth Heroes' podcast sponsor - Joelson, the commercial law firm=============================================================If you're a founder, you already know how much of your energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with your consumers.But don't forget that scaling a CPG business also comes with a maze of legal complexities that can make or break your business journey. From contracts, term sheets and regulatory compliance to protecting your brand's intellectual property as you expand, it's essential to get it right.And that starts with the right legal partner.So we're thrilled to introduce you to Joelson, a leading commercial law firm that specialises in guiding the founders of scaling CPG brands, as Brand Growth Heroes' sponsor.With long-term relationships with clients like Little Moons, Trip, Eat Natural, Bear Graze, and Pulsin, Joelson is also famous for advising the innocent founders in their landmark sale to Coca-Cola! As a female team, we are especially impressed by Joelson's commitment to championing female founders in CPG.Not many law firms are also BCorps, nor do they specialise in helping founders navigate the legal challenges of scaling without stifling the creativity and momentum that got you here in the first place. So thanks, Joelson—we're delighted to have you on board for the second year running.If you'd like to get in touch to find out more, why don't you drop them a line at hello@joelsonlaw.com==============================================.Please don't hesitate to join our Brand Growth Heroes community to stay updated with captivating stories and learnings from your beloved brands on their path to success!Follow us on our Brand Growth Heroes socials: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.Thanks to our Sound Engineer, Gyp Buggane, Ballagroove.com and podcast producer/content creator, Kathryn Watts, Social KEWS.

Points of discussion:1. How CODO Rebranded Countermeasures [Case Study]-Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com-Have a topic or question you'd like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: hello@cododesign.com-Join 9,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com 

Dave's guest this week is Chris Riedy, CRO at Ibotta, where he's helping evolve promotions and offers into a true performance marketing engine for CPG brands.In this episode, Chris breaks down why great sales is really about problem-solving, trust, and empathy - not transactions. He shares how Ibotta has evolved from a consumer app into a platform that connects manufacturers, retailers, and shoppers in moments that change behavior.Dave and Chris also dig into what makes promotions incremental instead of subsidized, how creative and offers can travel across retail media and even into CTV, and why AI and machine learning are most powerful when they help marketers learn faster, not guess better.Connect with Chris on LinkedInFollow Beyond the Shelf on LinkedInLearn More about It'sRapidGet the It'sRapid Creative Automation PlaybookTake It'sRapid's Creative Workflow Automation with AI surveyEmail us at sales@itsrapid.io to find out how to get your free AI Image AuditTheme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

From Istanbul to Grocery Aisles: Arda and the Hummzies StoryIn this episode, Kenny and Phil sit down with Arda, the founder of Hummzies — a hummus-based, chickpea snack that's quickly gaining traction across Canadian retail shelves. Arda shares his remarkable journey from growing up in Istanbul, where a bombing near his high school prompted his family to send him to Canada at just 16 years old, to studying political science at the University of Toronto, and eventually finding his passion in the food industry. He talks about how his mentor Eyub at Red Crown Pomegranate Juice gave him the foundation to learn the business, how honest advice from distributor Ratan at Jiva led him to his current partnership with Star Marketing, and why doing your own demos and treating your distributor like a true partner — not just a service provider — is the key to building a brand the right way. Whether you're a new CPG founder trying to figure out distribution or just love a great immigrant entrepreneur story, this one's packed with real talk and practical lessons. check out Hummzies at https://www.hummzies.com/Thank you to LGDF Wholesale for sponsoring this episode: https://www.lgdfwholesale.com/  

Send a textIn this video, we share insights from working with numerous brands and brand owners, focusing on strategies to break the $1 million revenue barrier. We discuss crucial aspects of building a strong brand strategy and effective cpg marketing. This is essential for anyone in the consumer packaged goods industry looking to grow their business.Breaking the $1 million barrier requires strong brand awareness, frictionless first purchase experience, and clear customer acquisition cost strategy.Direct-to-consumer and CPG brands must focus on retention marketing, customer lifetime value, segmentation, email and SMS marketing, and subscription models to increase repeat purchases.Understanding unit economics, scaling customer acquisition, lowering CAC, and improving LTV are critical for ecommerce growth and long-term profitability.Book a call today and get clear answers on how to scale your brand past the $1 million mark: https://bit.ly/4jMZtxu--------------------------------------------------------------------------Want free resources? Dowload our Free Amazon guides here:Amazon Proft Margin Defense 2026: https://hubs.ly/Q042trRH0Amazon PPC Guide 2026 is here!: https://bit.ly/4lF0OYXAmazon SEO Toolkit 2026: https://bit.ly/4oC2ClTAmazon Seller Strategy Report 2026: https://bit.ly/3YN1RME2026 Ecommerce Website & SEO Readiness Checklist: https://hubs.ly/Q040Jg0M0Amazon Crisis Kit: https://bit.ly/4maWHn0Timestamps:00:33 – Why Awareness Is Everything01:13 – UGC vs Influencers for Brand Growth02:38 – Make the First Order Frictionless03:44 – Customer Lifetime Value and CAC04:25 – Building a Real Retention Funnel05:26 – Segmentation for Repeat Purchases06:34 – Why Subscriptions Matter for CPG07:36 – Understanding Unit Economics of Scale09:09 – Breaking Down Customer Acquisition Cost10:02 – Why Profit Focus Can Hurt Growth________________________________Follow us:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28605816/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenpopemag/Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/myamazonguys/Twitter: https://twitter.com/myamazonguySubscribe to the My Amazon Guy podcast:My Amazon Guy podcast: https://podcast.myamazonguy.comApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-amazon-guy/id1501974229Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4A5ASHGGfr6s4wWNQIqyVwSupport the show

My guest today is Don Sklenka, SVP of AI Optimization at Claritas and one of the rare operators who's lived at the intersection of creative media and machine intelligence long before AI became a buzzword on every deck. With nearly 25 years in digital marketing, Don built his foundation inside global agency powerhouses like Publicis and Dentsu, leading omni-channel strategies for Fortune 500 brands across retail, CPG, automotive and healthcare. Today, Don is scaling patented AI solutions that turn data into decisions and campaigns into performance engines, real-time optimization, predictive analytics, smarter, creative, better outcomes, less noise, and more signal. Finally, he's a lifelong Cleveland sports fan, which tells you everything you need to know about his resilience and commitment to the long game!

They say, “there's levels to this game,” but this episode's guest seemingly built a brand around that philosophy. Blake Niemann, the founder (and CEO) of LEVELS, didn't just launch a protein powder…he engineered a manual for anyone looking to build a CPG brand that lasts. So, what does it actually take to build a category-defining brand with zero outside capital? In this conversation, we examine the different “levels” of his business journey…from the scrappy early days of establishing its “us vs. them” brand identity on Amazon to solving the unsexy puzzle of finance and operations that wins in an omnichannel retail world, and the high-level strategic vision of turning a supplement brand into a true “dairy protein” platform. Also, we're talking through why the next decade of whey protein will be defined by cultural shifts like GLP-1, MAHA, and the necessity of market-wide affordability. Whether you're an operator scaling through trade marketing or a visionary looking to future-proof your business, this is the blueprint for anyone trying to level up.

Growing a CPG brand gets messy fast. More SKUs, more people, more tools, more decisions. In this episode, I sit down with Brian, co-founder of Peasy, to talk about why most founders feel overwhelmed not because they're doing too much, but because they don't have a clear operating system for their business.Brian shares lessons learned from growing Mustard & Co and how building simple, repeatable systems helped his team stay focused, move faster, and make better decisions as the business scaled. We break down what a CPG operating system actually looks like, where founders should start, and how the right structure creates freedom instead of friction.If you're juggling growth, team management, and constant decision-making, this episode will help you step back and build a business that runs with clarity.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.

In this episode of Product & Packaging Powerhouse, Megan Young Gamble talks with fulfillment expert Maïré BAVARDAY-ROSA from ECOMSPACES all things fulfillment, operations, and growth for indie and product-based brands. Maïré details her inspiring journey from a small Caribbean island to launching a logistics business in Atlanta, sharing lessons on resilience and innovation. The conversation covers when to consider a 3PL, the importance of organization (like using SKUs and barcodes from the start!), strategies for inventory management, and why branded packaging and customer service are key growth levers. They also discuss the impact of technology like Shopify, dynamic pricing due to tariffs, retail readiness, and the ever-changing landscape of ecommerce logistics, including AI's growing role. Maïré offers super practical tips: focus on numbers, outsource shipping when it makes sense, and never underestimate operations' impact on customer experience. The episode wraps with a fun “power round” where Maïré shares personal tidbits and her passion for helping purpose-driven brands. Affiliate & Other Links: [Megan Young Gamble Links][AFFILIATE] Ready to crank out your content in as little as 5 minutes? Use Castmagic, AI powered tool to take your content creation from overwhelmed to overjoyed by saving hours of developing content. Save 20 hours by Signing up today! https://get.castmagic.io/Megan [FREEBIE] Learn about “day in the life” of a Packaging Project Manager → Get our “Starter Packaging PM Freebie” [link] https://glc.ck.page/thestarterpackagingprojectmanager [FREEBIE] Access commonly referenced organizations and tools in ONE PLACE with our handy guide HERE [link] https://bit.ly/OSTPlay Subscribe & Access our Video Vault YouTube Channel [ link] https://bit.ly/GLConYouTubeJoin our Email List [link] https://glc.ck.page/55128ae04b Follow and Connect with Megan on LinkedIn [link] https://linkedin.com/in/megangambleLearn about GLC, Packaging & Project execution firm for CPG brands http://www.getlevelconsulting.comWork with Me @ GLC, Schedule Discovery Call https://calendly.com/getlevelconsulting/15-minute-insight-sessionGot a topic you'd love us to cover? Share your ideas here [link] https://bit.ly/ppptopicform[Powerhouse Guest Maïré s LINKS]LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mairehina/Company Website : https://www.ecomspaces.com/Email Address: maire@ecomspaces.comQUOTES:Shipping is the most hated industry, I think, in the entire world. Shipping is hard.If you start spending more than two hours a day shipping, it's time to look at outsourcing your shipping.I would rather pay someone $100 to ship stuff for me in two hours than spend these two hours and lose the opportunity to make $500.Be organized. People overlook how important that is.Packaging is a very underutilized marketing tool.The best marketing is organic marketing.If you treat your customer extremely well and they have the best customer experience possible, you're going to grow organically.

Once Upon a Farm is officially public — and it could mark a turning point for better-for-you brands. In this episode, the hosts break down the baby food company's $198 million IPO, what its $724 million valuation signals for the CPG landscape, and why going public may be emerging as a viable alternative to traditional acquisition. Is this the start of a new era for mission-driven food brands looking to scale on their own terms? Plus, they dig into the growing battle over how "healthy" gets defined at retail. Kroger adopted FoodHealth's nutrient scoring system, which aims to guide shoppers with a balanced approach to nutrient density and ingredient quality. Meanwhile, the Non-GMO Project's stricter Non-UPF Verified certification draws a hard line against processed oils, gums, and natural flavors. Are these systems complementary, competitive, or just confusing? Show notes: 0:23: Fiber Bowl. AMA In MIA. OFRM's IPO. UPF, Maybe Or No? A Burst Of Mayo, Protein & Powder. –  The hosts kick things off with lighthearted Super Bowl banter and a recap of their game-day food spreads before previewing the upcoming Taste Radio Miami Meetup at Casa La Rubia on Feb. 18. The team highlights event features including live podcast interviews, networking, brand sampling, and a new "Ask Me Anything" table hosted by Atomos Strategic Marketing, encouraging founders and industry professionals to attend. The conversation then shifts to industry news, notably Once Upon a Farm's IPO, which raised $198 million and valued the baby and kids food brand at over $724 million. The hosts discuss the rarity of successful CPG IPOs, the tradeoffs between going public and selling to a strategic buyer, and what the move could signal for other better-for-you brands. From there, they explore evolving nutrition standards, comparing FoodHealth's nutrient scoring system with the stricter Non-UPF Verified certification from the Non-GMO Project, touching on hot-button topics like processed oils, natural flavors, and consumer education. The episode also features commentary on innovative products such as Graza's olive oil mayonnaise strategy, protein soda from Joyburst, protein-enhanced fruit spreads from BamJam, and the straightforward drink mix brand Fave. Brands in this episode: Royo Bread, Once Upon a Farm, Annie's, Vita Coco, Bai, Graza, Koia, Joyburst, BamJam, Drippy, Dappie, Fave, BTR Nation, Cadence, Spindrift, Duke's

Will Nitze went from selling Linsanity T-shirts in his college dorm to building IQ Bar into a $125 million brain food empire—with just a team of ten people. No bloated headcount. No burning through VC cash. Just ruthless focus on unit economics and a contrarian approach to funding that let him scale aggressively while maintaining control. In this interview, the founder and CEO of IQ Bar breaks down how he turned a $73,000 Kickstarter into one of the fastest-growing CPG brands in America, why he believes bootstrapping is the worst thing you can do in food and beverage, and the exact moment—five years in—when he knew this could be a massive company. From cracking Costco and Whole Foods to reinventing the business over ten times, this episode is a masterclass in hyper-lean growth, retail strategy, and building a company like a knife fight. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why bootstrapping is the worst thing you can do in CPG • Will's contrarian fundraising strategy: raising less money, more often to maintain control • How he raised just under $10 million while still controlling the company • The exact moment, five years in, when he knew IQ Bar could be a big company • Why IQ Bar has reinvented its fundamental identity over ten times • How to navigate the cash conversion cycle while scaling physical products • Why retail is the "final boss" for CPG brands, even in the e-commerce era • The strategic shift from DTC to cracking Costco, Whole Foods, Walmart, and Target • Why consumers are less loyal every year and how more touchpoints solve that • How building a personal brand creates a network of category experts By the end of this episode, you'll understand how to scale a physical product business without burning cash, maintain control while raising capital strategically, and build the operational discipline required to survive in one of the toughest industries in the world. If you're building a CPG brand, navigating fundraising decisions, or trying to crack retail while staying lean, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about growth, control, and category-defining execution. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH WILL NITZE Instagram → https://www.instagram.com//willnitze/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-nitze Website → https://iqbar.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠

In this episode, Ben Goodwin shares the inspiring story behind Olipop, a brand redefining healthier soda options while prioritizing science, quality ingredients, and societal impact. Tune in to learn about innovative formulations, the challenges of scaling a mission-driven company, and the future of health-focused beverages.Topics:The origin of Ben from personal health struggles and entrepreneurial passionHow Ben develops flavors that honor nostalgic tastes while delivering health benefitsThe science behind Ollipop's probiotic and fiber formulationsThe importance of clinical testing and transparent health claimsChallenges and opportunities in scaling a purpose-driven beverage brandThe role of marketing, branding, and consumer trust in a competitive marketFuture trends in health and wellness CPG, including regulatory and scientific standardsPractical advice for entrepreneurs entering the health and wellness space

Tenley Fitzgerald is the VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy at Yes! Apples, a brand bringing marketing, partnerships, and storytelling to family-run orchards in Upstate New York. On this episode of ITS, Tenley and Ali talk brand-thinking, consumer behavior, convincing farmers, retailers and consumers that "apples to apples" is a wild misunderstanding.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.