The Startup CPG Podcast

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Moira O’Connell, Vice President at Astō Consumer Partners, to unpack what late-stage consumer investors look for in a brand, how founders can tell whether an investor is the right fit, and what early-stage brands can learn from companies that have already scaled. Moira started her career in investment banking at Bank of America’s finan...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Kai Lim and David Yu, co-founders of Reprise Health, a modern gummy brand making Eastern herbal wellness accessible and approachable, to talk about how they built a brand that now spans natural and conventional retail. Kai and David met in business school and bonded over the same childhood memory: grandmothers on two continents feeding t...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Megan Castellon of Syren Spreads, Andrew Kuzera of Ono, and food scientist Andrew Firestone of Firestone Consulting Group to give an inside look at Startup CPG’s first-ever Founders & Formulators event, where brands could get unlimited product feedback and find their ideal formulator match. Megan is Co-Founder and C...

In this Founder Fundraising Journey episode, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Zoë Sakoutis, Co-Founder and CEO of Bittman’s and founder of Blueprint, to trace her path from bootstrapping a cold-pressed juice brand to a full acquisition, and now to raising capital again for a whole grain sourdough brand. Zoë’s first business was a dog grooming shop in the basement of her family’s optometry center...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Darin Alpert, founder of Gheelish, a snack brand built around ghee, the clarified butter, as its star ingredient, for the story of how a cold email to Sprouts turned a kitchen popcorn recipe into a nationwide launch. Darin co-created Find Me Gluten Free about 12 years ago, an app that now has roughly 3 million users, and spent 15 years s...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with David Heiser, Co-Founder of Grassroots Marketing, to walk through a new, free report analyzing 34,000 in-store demos at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Central Market, and Erewhon, and what it means for where, when, and how brands should spend their demo dollars. Grassroots runs demos and in-store sampling events across the count...

In this episode of R&D Radio, host and food scientist Adam Yee sits down with Dr. Selina Wang, chemist and Professor of Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Davis, to talk about a recent study suggesting that many store-bought products made with avocado oil may not contain 100% avocado oil. Dr. Wang is Faculty Director of the UC Davis Olive Center and an internationally recog...

In this Founder Fundraising Journey episode, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Ryan Raish, founder of Fave, a first-to-market certified organic powdered drink mix bringing nostalgic flavors back to the category without artificial colors, flavors, or excess sugar. Ryan has spent nearly two decades in CPG, working his way from grassroots demos at Guayaki to building out the West Coast for Honest Te...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Jacob Cooper, founder of Bagelverse, who's reinventing the classic pizza bagel with real mini New York bagels and bold flavors like spicy vodka and barbecue chicken. Jacob spent eight years as a CTO in AI and tech before making a complete 180 to chase a childhood nostalgic idea. He launched Bagelverse in April 2026, and in the months sin...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Amanda Puck, Vice President of Communications and Brand Development for Roundy's, for the "Mariano's 101" episode listeners have been asking for. Amanda has been with Mariano's since 2014, working in the grocery retail business after years in restaurants and a lifelong love of grocery shopping that started as a kid clip...

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Tara Hyland, Principal at Main Post Partners, to break down how growth equity differs from venture capital and what founders should understand about building an enduring consumer business. Tara's path to Main Post started in investment banking on a consumer-focused food and beverage team, followed by a move into private equity at Swand...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Jane Kate Wong, founder of Noon World, a cognitive wellness company making dual-layer gummies designed for mind, mood, focus, chill, and sleep. Jane's path to Noon ran through architecture, where she designed urban planning projects, high-end residential and commercial spaces, and cultural centers, before moving into interaction design a...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with his longtime friend Gulrez Arora, founder of Gymkhana Fine Foods, the retail brand born out of London's two-Michelin-star Gymkhana restaurant, to talk about building a global premium Indian food brand from scratch. Gulrez and Daniel first met working together at Mars, where Gulrez spent nearly a decade in strategy roles...

In this episode of R&D Radio, host Adam Yee sits down with longtime friend Thom King, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Icon Foods, for a deep dive on sweetener systems from a food scientist's perspective. Thom founded Icon Foods in 1999 (originally as Steviva Brands), becoming one of the first companies to import stevia glycosides into the US. After partnering with Quest Nutrition on th...

In this Operator Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Hye Rin (Juliet) Choi, VP of Product at Grüns, to unpack the product philosophy and process behind one of the fastest billion-dollar acquisitions in CPG history. Hye Rin (Juliet) started her career in brand management at Johnson & Johnson's consumer health division, working on brands like Neutrogena and Tylenol, before pursuing her...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Erica Haft, founder of Sweeter Collective, an organic hard candy brand modernizing the category with just 16 calories, less than 3 grams of sugar, and nearly 2 grams of fiber per piece. Erica spent almost 10 years as an attorney before leaving law behind to build the brand. Her inspiration was close to home: her mother, a registered diet...

In this bonus solo episode, host Daniel Scharff breaks down everything founders need to know about Founders & Funders, Startup CPG's flagship fundraising event happening December 10th in New York City, to help you decide whether you should apply. Daniel explains why he built the event: after hearing founders describe spending up to 50% of their time on fundraising, he wanted to create a highly...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Adam Marsh and Gabrielle McGonagle, partners at Giannuzzi Lewendon, a top-tier CPG law firm, for a deep dive on term sheets and what every founder needs to understand before raising capital. Adam has spent nearly 13 years practicing law focused on the CPG space, while Gabrielle brings over a decade of experience at the...

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Ashley Hartman, Managing Partner at Bluestein Ventures, an early-stage firm investing at the intersection of culture, science, and technology in modern wellbeing and consumer brands. Ashley's path to venture capital ran through financial consulting at NERA Economic Consulting and then operating strategy at her family's manufacturing bu...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Caroline Dai, founder of TofuGo, a savory protein snack made from whole foods tofu with 12 grams of protein, zero sugar, and zero natural flavors. Caroline grew up eating tofu daily in her Chinese family before moving to Seattle at age 13. After years working in business and finance, constantly snacking on sugary protein bars at her desk...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Lindzi Shanks, founder and CEO of XO Marshmallow, to unpack how she built an organic social following of 1.4 million across platforms and turned it into real, trackable sales. Lindzi started XO Marshmallow 10 years ago with a background as an influencer and blogger, designing the brand from day one to be visually sharea...

In this episode of R&D Radio, host Adam Yee sits down with Drake Nickell, founder of Dimitri's Greek Kitchen, to talk through how he used Startup CPG's Product Developer Database to find the right partner for reformulating his brand's pita chips. Drake and his sister built Dimitri's Greek Kitchen around traditional Greek and Mediterranean snacks with a modern twist, starting with whipped feta...

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Ellen Gorra of Whole Foods Market, who leads the retailer's equity investment and warrant partnership programs, to unpack how one of the industry's most influential retailers evaluates, invests in, and supports emerging brands. Ellen's path to Whole Foods wound through equity research at Piper Sandler, buy-side coverage of hedge funds...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Harri Magaldi, founder of My Neighbor's, a regenerative tallow and vegan skincare brand manufactured in-house in the Hudson Valley. Harri left nine years on Wall Street after her daughter developed eczema as a baby. Unable to find anything that worked, she started making beef tallow balm at home in a crock pot using suet from a local far...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Marion Nestle, Professor Emerita of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU, to unpack decades of cereal industry marketing history and what it reveals about food policy today. Marion is one of the most influential voices in food politics, having helped pioneer food studies as an academic discipline and served...