Emerging Brands Podcast

Charlotte Langley's journey as a celebrated Chef, Canner, and Ocean Steward is rooted in a desire to transform the often-staid world of preserved food. Driven by a culinary expertise and a bold, confident spirit, she created Nice Cans—a brand that proves canned goods can be gourmet, vibrant, and utterly delicious. Nice Cans is a Boldly Delicious Canned Food Brand that celebrates and empowers its c...

After a 15-year career shaping luxury hospitality experiences for brands like Mandarin Oriental and Ian Schrager, Kristin Charbo found herself ready for a new challenge—one that was delicious, nostalgic, and deeply personal. Along with her partner, Grover Light, her "healthy, yummy donut things" accidentally went viral, sparking the birth of glonuts. Glonuts is a better-for-you donut brand that re...

While building her career at the intersection of fashion, hospitality, and brand development, Wesley Davis, CEO and Co-Founder of Society De La Rassi, saw a shift happening. People were seeking out connection and clarity at their social events, but the celebratory options felt limited. This sparked the idea for a sophisticated, premium dealcoholized sparkling wine crafted for discerning palates an...

Patrick Coyne loved the bustling energy and incredible flavor of the roadside dumpling shops he visited in China. That experience, and the incredible food, was something he missed back home—and something he realized was missing from the American frozen food aisle. Seeing an opportunity to merge authentic flavors with modern convenience, Patrick founded Laoban, a brand dedicated to delivering the d...

Andrew Bly is a strategic brand and advertising designer focused on delivering unique, ownable creative for brands looking to reach the next level of growth. He is also the founder of Snacks & Design, a neighborly shop to discover up-and-coming brands focused on indie goodies made with good stuff by even better people. Andrew brings his expertise and unique perspective on both branding and retail...

Launching a successful CPG food & beverage brand starts long before you ever hit production — it starts with a rock-solid brand concept. In this solo episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes of Week 1 of my proprietary four-week strategy, revealing the exact methodology I use to help my clients nail the foundational elements of their business. This process involves deep market research and intens...

Lindsay Holden, Co-founder of Odele, left her stable corporate role to make prestige beauty accessible to all. Alongside her fellow working mother co-founders, she launched a line of clean, inclusive, affordable, and shareable hair care, guided by the philosophy: "Crazy good doesn't have to be crazy expensive." You can now find their products, developed by hair type and texture, at major retailers...

After a decade at Google and YouTube — most recently leading business development for YouTube Health — Ariel Altman knew she wanted to build something that drove impact at the intersection of health and innovation. That passion, combined with her Brazilian roots by marriage, led her to co-found Figa Foods. Figa is a company reimagining the chocolate aisle with bars made from the upcycled seeds of...

As a bartender in Toronto, Amanda Chen lost all her work during the pandemic. What seemed like a setback turned into a blessing: a one-way ticket to Mexico that changed her life. Now four years sober, she is dedicated to trailblazing the next wave of non-alcoholic beverages. This journey led her to create Tomonotomo, an award-winning non-alcoholic distilled agave spirit handcrafted in Oaxaca, Mexi...

Halli Sigel began her career in the thick of some of New York's fastest-growing startups. Excelling at the junction of customer experience and operations, she quickly realized her ideal venture would merge her passion for scaling businesses with her love for bringing people together. Halli and her friend, Shelby Sims, founded Quincy on the belief that great cocktails need a fantastic mixer and gar...

Stephanie Berwick is an innovative entrepreneur who transformed her 20-year career in fintech and diverse background into founding Pastazerts. Her journey is a testament to the power of trusting your instincts and embracing a new path, a bold move that led to the creation of the world's first chocolate ravioli dessert. Pastazerts is the culmination of Stephanie's unconventional vision, uniting two...

Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and a tastemaker at heart, Ana Lander traded a decade long career in social and data for broth packets after a health journey inspired by her roots. Now, she's building Pikora, a brand dedicated to bringing the bold flavors she grew up with to your kitchen. Pikora is a women-founded, culture-forward brand on a mission to deliver better nutrition through its i...

With a successful background in marketing, including launching one of the first nationally distributed canned wine brands, Alexis Beechen joined forces with founders Miles Beckett and Steve Seigel to launch Ola Sol. As CEO, Alexis brought her full-stack marketing leadership to handle distribution and implement tech-first sales strategies, helping to bring this unique agave wine to market. Ola Sol...

Samantha Sherman's career started in the fast-paced world of fine dining. From working at an esteemed restaurant in Boston to managing a team for celebrity chef Mario Batali, she quickly found success. But after a decade in the industry, the pandemic prompted her to take a new, more personal path. Samantha leaned into a passion for healthy living and wellness, enrolling in the Institute for Integr...

Sri Kalapala is a snack lover turned founder with a background in healthcare technology, business strategy, and operations. Sri took his background and his passion for snacking to create Kailo, a brand proving that snacks should be both delicious and truly good for you. Kailo is a protein bar crafted for those who value real ingredients — no fillers and no artificial additives. Inside the Episode:...

Date Smarter's founder, Grace Finerman, knows what it's like to be busy. As a former TV news anchor and reporter, she was constantly on the go and realized the need for food that was both healthy and delicious.  Grace took this realization and created Date Smarter, a brand that's breaking up with unhealthy snacks by proving that healthy eating doesn't have to mean giving up on flavor. Inside the E...

Claire Matern grew up immersed in New York City's vibrant food scene. Her family ran a specialty food and cheese store for two decades, instilling in her a lifelong mission: to demystify cooking, take the intimidation out of ingredients, and inspire people to get creative in the kitchen. That passion led her to create JONI, a brand that celebrates the unique and versatile ingredient, verjus (prono...

Quani Burnett brings over 7 years of beauty experience across marketing, community, and influencer partnerships for brands such as Youth to the People, Briogeo, Rhode, Paula's Choice, and more. After witnessing firsthand how textured hair was underserved in prestige beauty, Quani set out to create a brand that would change that. She founded Soft Rows, a premium textured hair brand created in partn...

Tom Malengo is a true veteran of the CPG industry. With over 40 years of business experience, Tom has become a trusted advisor to hundreds of emerging CPG brands, using his business acumen and genuine desire to help founders navigate their entrepreneurial journeys. Tom is also the co-founder of Brandjectory, a platform that connects emerging CPG founders with the investors and experts who can help...

Marc Jonna's career in the specialty retail and wine industry spans more than two decades. He began in his family's business, The Merchant of Vino, where he studied wine and specialty foods from a young age and helped expand the company into an eight-store chain. After its acquisition by Whole Foods in 1999, Marc became the company's National Wine Buyer and later joined the National Leadership Tea...

While working long hours for Oscar-winning producers, Xeba fell seriously ill with a debilitating gut condition. Her healing journey—focused on diet and lifestyle changes—sparked the idea for the snacks she wished existed during her recovery: clean, indulgent, and designed for sensitive stomachs. Preme is a gut health brand that believes true nourishment comes from both premium ingredients and a s...

Ashli Pollard is a powerhouse in strategic business development and marketing, renowned for her direct, results-oriented approach. With over a decade of hands-on experience across diverse sectors—including B2B, agency work, product development, and wholesale—she has driven transformative growth for ambitious brands and emerging leaders alike. As the founder of three successful businesses—The Doers...

Chef and artist Zoe Messinger created Gelée to inspire play, connection, and joy around the table. Gelée blends the wisdom of gelatin's ancient origins with modern molecular science to reimagine a timeless classic—transforming it into luminous delights that are gut-healing, collagen-rich, and endlessly versatile. Born from a time of personal healing, Zoe combines her culinary artistry, hospitality...

Aparna Avasarala is the founder of Denimrush Experience, an agency working at the intersection of merchandise and brand experience for CPG and lifestyle companies. In this episode, she shares how merch can become a powerful brand tool—and what every emerging founder needs to know before investing. Aparna breaks down how to choose the right merch, when it's worth launching, and how to maximize impa...

Daniel Goetz founded GoodPop with a mission to create clean, nostalgic treats that taste amazing—without the artificial sweeteners or additives. What started with just four sales at a music festival has grown into a 16-year journey of building a purpose-driven brand that's now a leader in the frozen treats category. In this episode, Daniel shares his early entrepreneurial beginnings, why he wanted...