Nombase Podcast

It has been a whirlwind year for food and beverage brands, with lawsuits, heightened regulatory scrutiny, and shifting rules creating real uncertainty across the industry. Justin Prochnow, a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig who advises food, beverage, and consumer brands on regulatory compliance and litigation risk, joins us to help make sense of what's happening and how brands should respond. In...

Getting into Whole Foods Market is a major milestone, but it's only the beginning. What follows is the work of proving velocity, maintaining placement, and deciding when and how to grow beyond your first region. In this episode, Cecilia Rios Murrieta, co-founder of JAS alcohol free functional cocktails, and Jomaree Pinkard, co-founder of Hella Cocktail Co, share what it really takes to grow inside...

Scroll through LinkedIn and it can feel like everyone is winning. Skyrocketing growth charts, big announcements, nonstop momentum, and yes, even the cold plunges. Even when you know it's curated, the pressure can still feel very real. In this episode of the Nombase podcast, wo seasoned CPG leaders cut through that noise with an honest and vulnerable conversation about what building a career and a...

Private label has become one of the most prominent forces shaping CPG retail today. As retailers face margin pressure, shifting consumer behavior, and increased competition, store brands are no longer an add on. They are a core strategic priority. We are rerunning this episode with Kim Greenfeld - formerly of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market, now founder of Campo Verde Solutions.  Kim will expl...

Airline partnerships are a unique growth channel for food and beverage brands — and they operate very differently from traditional retail or on-premise sales. They offer unmatched consumer attention, meaningful trial, and widespread visibility, but they also come with their own rules around procurement, logistics, forecasting, and data access. In this episode, Cy Cain, co-founder of Straightaway C...

Amazon is one of the most powerful growth channels for CPG brands, but the rules are change fast. New fulfillment approaches, evolving advertising tools, and deeper access to customer data are reshaping how food and beverage brands compete on the platform. In this episode with Straight Up Growth, find out what's changing on Amazon heading into 2026 and how those shifts affect growth strategy. The...

Distributor deductions can be overwhelming, but understanding them is essential to running a healthy CPG business. Jenna Oviedo, founder of JAVE Insights, and Greg Esslinger of Floret. Together they explain the mechanics behind deductions, the patterns that lead to costly mistakes, and the dispute paths that actually work. You'll learn how distributors calculate and apply deductions, why certain f...

In this special crossover episode of the Nombase podcast and Taste Radio, Lucía Conejo Mir of Inés Rosales, the century old Spanish bakery behind the classic torta de aceite, and Jennifer Donnellan of Lakrids by Bülow, the Danish confectionery introducing Americans to chocolate coated licorice, share their journeys bringing their European CPG brands to the United States. One brand has spent decade...

Cannabis beverage is a growing category but it comes with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. Success starts with what you can control, and in this category, that begins with the formulation. SoRSE Technology transforms cannabinoids into safe, stable, water compatible ingredients that make consistent commercial scale beverages possible. Michael Flemmens, Executive Vice President of Research and...

TikTok offers a big opportunity for food and beverage brands, but it also brings real challenges. It moves fast, culture shifts daily, and creativity matters more than polish, all while the path from discovery to purchase gets shorter. In this episode, Mike Westgate, Vertical Director of Food, Beverage and Alcohol at TikTok, shares what he has learned as the platform has grown into a major space f...

With new regulations expanding the use of glass in spirits-based RTDs and growing consumer demand for clean, quality packaging, glass has reemerged as a strategic advantage. Join the Glass Packaging Institute, Jimmy Bruton of Via Carota, and Sandstrom Partners to learn why glass is non-toxic, inert, and the most sustainable material, especially when domestically made. Discover how glass affects co...

It's hard to build a brand when the rules keep changing, and few categories test founders like the emerging cannabis beverage space. Hear how Anna Baskin, co-founder of hightail., a newly launched low-dose beverage designed for women, and Angus Rittenburg, co-founder and CEO of Wynk, an established brand known for its consistent quality and innovative mobile production model, are tackling that cha...

Investors all want to see your data, but how and what you present can make or break the deal. In this episode, Edricco Reina of BeyondRoots Growth Partners and Taylor Urlich of Whipstitch Capital break down exactly what investors look for and how to make your numbers tell the right story. Taylor shares Whipstitch's standard data request list, giving you an inside look at what happens behind the sc...

Brain health is emerging as one of the biggest functional trends in food and beverage, as consumers look for ways to support focus, clarity, and long-term cognitive function through what they eat and drink. In this episode, Sephora Noormand of MOSH, Katie Emerson of Kyowa Hakko (makers of Cognizin®), Austin Holt of MacroCap Labs, and Josh Schall of J. Schall Consulting discuss how brands are lever...

Brandon Lennox of Lemon Perfect, Neha Soi of BERO, and Vivian Keena of Luxent share how timing, technology, and the right partners can define a brand's growth curve. They open up about scaling challenges, system decisions, and the pivotal role an ERP like NetSuite played in transforming their operations. From manual chaos to structured efficiency, their stories reveal what happens when growth outp...

Faire is a wholesale platform that connects brands with sellers, and it's becoming one of the most effective ways for CPG founders to grow, scale, and build lasting relationships with small and independent retailers. Joining the conversation are Kyle Hughes, who leads retailer partnerships at Faire, and Caroline Grace, founder of Product and Prosper & The Prosper Lab, who helps brands refine their...

Painterland Sisters has gone from maxing out credit cards on a family dairy farm in Pennsylvania to closing a seven-figure seed round and landing national distribution. Co-founders Stephanie and Hayley Painter share how they built the brand, navigated the shock of a withdrawn bank loan, and raised from both hundreds of community investors and institutional backers. Joining them is Kevin Griffith,...

After Flow Water's recent foreclosure left many co-packing customers scrambling, the need for smart co-manufacturing risk management has never been clearer. Brad Woodgate, founder of Joyburst, The No Sugar Company, and Wellnx Life Sciences, joins Brandon Hernandez, co-founder of Whole Brain Consulting, to share how founders can protect their brands from co-manufacturing disasters. Listeners will l...

THC and CBD fueled the early growth of the cannabis beverage world, but today an expanding palette of cannabinoids is giving formulators license to design experiences that build a feeling and create distinct mood states. Cannabis brand FABRIC's Tom Eddleston, Magic Cactus founder Jonny Locarni and SōRSE Technology's Michael Flemmens explore how minor cannabinoids and other emerging compounds are r...

Alejandro González, managing partner of Redwood Group and Santatera Capital, explains how the fund chooses which food and beverage brands to back. He outlines why flavor matters most, what healthy margins look like, and how distribution drives growth. González also shares how Santatera supports founders with research, recruiting, governance, and supply chain expertise. He discusses what an ideal e...

Foodservice can be a powerful marketing arm to lift retail and DTC, but only when brands choose the right partners and know how to use it to build awareness. Poorva and Rajus Korde, co-founders of Aaji's, join Clay Lichterman, VP of Business Development at Sol-ti and former chef, to explore both the opportunities and pitfalls for emerging brands. The group explores how to select the right segments...

Is Wegmans on your radar? For many emerging CPG brands, cracking Wegmans is a dream, but timing, trends, and execution often decide who makes it. In this episode,  Isabel Washington of Laurel's Coffee and Alexander Harik of Zesty Z share the real stories behind getting on Wegmans' shelves, from navigating distributors to building velocity without demos or promos. They're joined by Josh Cannon of C...

Is Wegmans on your radar? For many emerging CPG brands, cracking Wegmans is a dream, but timing, trends, and execution often decide who makes it. In this episode,  Isabel Washington of Laurel's Coffee and Alexander Harik of Zesty Z share the real stories behind getting on Wegmans' shelves, from navigating distributors to building velocity without demos or promos. They're joined by Josh Cannon of C...

Sunnie co-founders Katie Tucker and Lisette Howard recount their path from self-funding to securing a million-dollar raise, navigating manufacturing hurdles, investor rejections, and strategic pivots along the way. They discuss knowing when an investor is the right fit, structuring raises to protect equity, and using customer relationships to unlock capital. Their story highlights the persistence...

Want to know how to turn a Costco roadshow into a lasting spot on shelf? In this episode, Gavin McCloskey of Love Corn, Leila Kairns of Heal Tea, and Carlene Carl of Rebel Solutions Group share insider tips to fast-track your Costco success and help you avoid costly mistakes. They explain how to manage setup, staffing, and inventory; work with store managers and Costco's Club Demo Solutions team;...