Brand Alchemist Podcast

Jason Burke is the Founder and CEO at New Primal, a clean-label meat snack brand making better-for-you jerky, meat sticks, and kid-friendly protein snacks. He launched the brand in 2012 after a homemade jerky recipe caught on with coworkers and has since built New Primal into a national CPG brand. In his role, Jason leads the company's growth strategy, product innovation, and retail expansion, hel...

Liz Zwillinger is the Co-founder of Biologica, a wellness brand creating drinkable multivitamins tailored to women's hormonal life phases. Drawing on her own journey navigating hormonal symptoms, Liz recognized significant gaps in women's health and turned her focus to researching nutrition, hormones, and aging. She launched Biologica to simplify supplementation, combining essential vitamins, mine...

Clara Sieg is the Co-founder and CEO of Loonen, a glass-bottled water company rethinking hydration through spring-sourced, purified water, third-party testing, and transparent quality reports. In her role, she guides the brand's vision, product standards, retail growth, and consumer education, ensuring every decision reflects Loonen's commitment to clean water without plastic packaging. As a forme...

Breezy Griffith is the Co-founder and CEO of SkinnyDipped, a better-for-you snack brand reinventing treats with big flavor, less sugar, and real ingredients. She and her mom launched the company from their kitchen table after a family tragedy inspired them to build something meaningful together. Breezy has guided SkinnyDipped from door-to-door sales to national retail growth and leads strategy, in...

Taja Dockendorf is the Founder and Creative Director of Pulp+Wire, a female-founded, full-service CPG branding and marketing agency. With over 18 years of experience, she has helped build, launch, and scale hundreds of brands across the natural and organic foods, cannabis, hemp, and lifestyle categories. She has led brand strategy and creative campaigns for notable companies, including Ryan Snacks...

Camillo Franchi Scarselli is the Co-founder of Libellula, a collective supporting small family olive farms in Italy's Sabina region, north of Rome. Based near Montelibretti, he works closely with local growers to preserve traditional groves while connecting them to international markets. Through Libellula, Camillo helps farmers share resources, maintain sustainable agricultural practices, and brin...

Brian Upton is Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Elevate Organic, a wellness brand focused on regenerative agriculture and science-backed organic supplements. He helps lead the company's commercial strategy and brings products with clinically studied ingredients like organic Shatavari and regenerative Ashwagandha to market. With over a century of combined natural products industry experience...

Adam Deremo is the Co-founder and CEO of AWAKE Chocolate, a brand pioneering the fusion of delicious chocolate and functional benefits. With a strong background in CPG, Adam has played a pivotal role in growing the brand, and AWAKE Chocolate is now one of the leading functional chocolate brands in North America, with products now carried in thousands of retail locations. Before launching AWAKE Cho...

Jane Wong is the Co-founder, CEO, and Creative Director of NOON, a cognitive wellness brand where neuroscience meets nature. She leads NOON's brand strategy, product vision, and innovative design — blending Eastern plant wisdom with modern neuroscience to create functional, science-inspired tools for focus, calm, and sleep. Jane's expertise spans creative direction, design, immersive environments,...

Holly Arbuckle is the Co-founder and CEO of Singing Pastures, a regenerative farming-based food company known for pasture-raised pork products. She leads the brand's strategy and growth with a focus on sustainability, storytelling, and healthier protein options. Holly launched Singing Pastures with her husband to promote regenerative agriculture and fill a gap in truly pasture-raised snacks. Under...

Taja Dockendorf is the Founder, Owner, and Creative Director at Pulp + Wire, a female-founded, award-winning, full-service CPG branding and marketing agency. Pulp + Wire specializes in helping natural and organic foods, cannabis, hemp, and lifestyle brands discover their identities and create websites, packaging, and social media strategies that resonate with their audiences. Taja has built P+W in...

Taja Dockendorf is the Founder, Owner, and Creative Director at Pulp + Wire, a female-founded, award-winning, full-service CPG branding and marketing agency. Pulp + Wire specializes in helping natural and organic foods, cannabis, hemp, and lifestyle brands discover their identities and create websites, packaging, and social media strategies that resonate with their audiences.  Taja has built P+W i...

Taja Dockendorf is the Founder, Owner, and Creative Director at Pulp + Wire, a female-founded, award-winning, full-service, CPG branding and marketing agency. Pulp + Wire specializes in helping natural and organic foods, cannabis, hemp, and lifestyle brands discover their identities and create websites, packaging, and social media strategies that resonate with their audiences.  Taja has built P+W...

Sara Cullen is the Founder and CEO of GEM, a multivitamin made from real food. After years of struggling with fatigue, inflammation, and digestive issues, she discovered she was nutrient deficient and created a transparent and sustainable solution made with nourishing whole foods. Sara is driven by a passion for sustainable farming and global agriculture.  In this episode… The standard American di...

Junea Rocha is the CMO and Co-founder of Brazi Bites, a better-for-you, Latin-inspired, gluten-free frozen foods brand. With a background in civil engineering, she transitioned to the food industry by scaling her family's recipe for Brazilian cheese bread into a thriving brand with multiple product lines sold in thousands of stores nationwide. Junea also launched the Latino Entrepreneur Accelerato...

Mike Glick is the Co-founder and CEO of Goode Health, a health and wellness company specializing in biometric tracking and nutrition products designed to improve overall health. He also leads the Columbus studio for Palm Venture Studios, a private firm for new health and wellness technologies located at Ohio State University. Having spent over 10 years leading adult and pediatric nutrition at Abbo...

Hector Saldivar is the Founder of Tia Lupita Foods, a Mexican-inspired food brand made with clean ingredients. A Mexico City native, he adapted his mother's renowned hot sauce recipe into a thriving business. With 14 years of CPG experience, Hector began his career as a field representative before working for industry giants like Nestlé and Diamond Foods. In this episode… Starting a new business v...

Mike Schanbacher is Co-founder of Blobs, a candy company with clean ingredients and low sugar content. In his role, he spearheads Blob's marketing and growth strategies, infusing the brand with the joy and nostalgia of childhood candy. With experience crafting digital marketing and growth strategies, Mike has held roles at numerous prominent companies, including Ogilvy, Partner Commerce, Quip, and...

Chitra Agrawal is the Founder of Brooklyn Dehli, an Indian-American condiments brand. She founded Brooklyn Dehli to bridge cultures by connecting consumers to authentic Indian flavors. Chitra is the author of the cookbook Vibrant India: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Brooklyn. For over 15 years, she has taught and written about vegetarian food rooted in her Indian heritage. In this epi...

Gardar Stefansson is the CEO and Co-founder of GOOD GOOD, a CPG brand offering all-natural and low-calorie jams, butters, and spreads with no added sugar. In his role, Gardar oversees daily operations and establishes a cross-country network. After noticing most food options were high in sugar or contained artificial sweeteners, he founded the brand to offer tasty and nutritious alternatives. Befor...

Alex Sorenson is the Founder of Blank Slate Kitchen, which crafts internationally inspired sauces with all-natural, quality ingredients. The brand began as a side project before evolving into a successful venture sold nationwide and featured in major publications. As a New York Times- starred chef, Alex has worked in various fine-dining restaurants throughout New York City, France, Rwanda, and Bor...

Ashley Nickelson is the Founder and CEO of B.T.R. Nation, which produces on-the-go, better-for-you snacks that reimagine typical vending machine food. B.T.R. Nation has tens of thousands of customers nationwide and is distributed in over 600 stores. After her parents were diagnosed with cancer, Ashley became their primary caretaker and spent years eating out of hospital vending machines and cafete...

Jenna Liut is the Chief Commercial Officer and Co-founder of Kiddiwinks, a plant-based prebiotic milk for kids. As a marketing and business development specialist, she has experience in food and agriculture systems, storytelling, consumer behavior, and early-stage startup operations. Before Kiddiwinks, Jenna hosted the Eating Matters podcast and was the VP of Product at Ambrosia, a startup fightin...

Derek Wallace is Co-founder of Kalamata's Kitchen, a multimedia platform that encourages children to explore the world through food. Inspired by an episode of Chef's Table, he creates a curious and compassionate generation of eaters by using food to introduce kids to new experiences and cultures. Derek has experience in marketing, branding, go-to-market strategies, enterprise sales, and community...

Chris Kirby is the Founder and President of Ithaca Hummus, the leading fresh-crafted hummus brand. After launching a lemon garlic hummus made with fresh ingredients, Ithaca became the fastest-growing hummus brand in America, sold at over 8,000 retailers nationwide including Wegmans, Whole Foods, Publix, and Sprouts. Chris started his career in the culinary industry as a professional chef.  In this...