Startup To Scale

Alex Matthews is the co-founder and CEO of De La Calle , a brand that's bringing tepache—a fermented pineapple drink with roots dating back to pre-Columbian Mexico—to the forefront of the beverage industry. Alex's journey is one of passion, innovation, and a deep respect for cultural heritage. We'll dive into how Alex discovered tepache, the challenges he faced in bringing this uniq...

You need to know where you’re going in order to get there. For CPG brands this means creating a brand strategy, knowing your business, and then mapping a path to getting where you want to go. I’ve been pitched by agencies who charge $50,000 for this service, but if you’re like me, you have no where near that budget to pay for strategy. So how can you do it yourself? I’ve invited on Ashley and Sara...

Launching a CPG brand is definitely hard, but competing in the highly competitive snacking category is comes with it’s own unique challenges. Laurel Orley, the co-founder of Daily Crunch just launched her sprouted nut snacks in over 450 Target stores nationwide. In this episode you’ll learn about how she and her team hold themselves accountable through KPIs and weekly check-ins, how to acquire new...

It’s no secret that money is tight for CPG brands. The era of surplus investor funding is gone for now, and businesses need leaner operations. That said, you still need cash to grow, so when and how can you get it? I’ve invited on Jim and Carly from Aion to discuss when you should access working capital as a CPG Brand. Learn more about Aion Financial Here Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy...

When Ori left his previous VC funded tech startup, he was determined that his next company would be bootstrapped so he could control his own destiny. Ori co-founded Burlap & Barrel with Ethan Frisch, a single-origin spice company. They made sure the company was profitable from day 1 (without paying themselves). Initially they put all the money back into the company, doing consulting on the sid...

 Building a CPG brand can be a winding road. Often times the product you start out creating ends up changing as you learn and iterate with your customers. Now, changing from your original idea can be hard, but ultimately you’ll create a better product if you align your core vision with customer feedback.  Shibani Baluja knows this journey well. She’s a long time friend and founder of Lil gourmet’s...

Will Nitze created IQ Bar, a protein bar to increase mental health and cognition, and now runs a multi-million dollar brand selling bars, hydration sticks, and mushroom coffees. Learn his strategy for growing a brand to a projected $55 million including fundraising, channel strategy, and mindset. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, an...

As a CPG founder, it’s necessary to understand where you want to go in your business in order to get there. Financial Modeling, Forecasting, Budgeting are crucial steps to turning your strategic vision into actionable steps. Join me for a conversation with Brad Ebenhoeh, CEO of Accountfully as we break down how to do each of these for your business. Need help with your finances? Accountfully speci...

Kaitlin Mogentale founded Pulp Pantry in 2019 to reduce food waste and increase nutrition using upcycled veggie pulp. She had great initial traction getting accepted into Target’s Accelerator, airing on Shark Tank, and launching in major retailers. She found that while consumers say they are interested in sustainable messaging, labeling her product as “pulp” and “upcycled” was turning away potenti...

As you launch in retail most brands will start by taking orders manually via email, phone call, or even text. But once you start working with larger retailers, they’ll usually require you to process orders via EDI. In this episode I break down: What is EDI? When do you need it? How does it implement for a brand? How to choose an EDI provider? How long does it take to set up? How much should I expe...

If you find yourself constantly putting out fires, this episode is for you. I talk with Katie Armistead about how to build strong relationships and processes across your supply chain so you don’t have to solve every issue that comes up. We discuss building SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and how to improve those with your partners. I am excited to announce our friends at JPG Resources are cel...

Tia Lupita Foods pitched on Shark Tank in April 2023 and made a deal with Kevin O’Leary. So what’s new? I invited on Jose Carrillo, Tia Lupita’s Head of Marketing and Strategy to discuss. We get into how Shark Tank affected their brand awareness, channel strategy, and a packaging rebrand to better communicate to consumers. Listen in! Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community...

Launching a new CPG business is tough at any time, but launching one in 2024? Let’s find out. I invited on Brian Bethke, founder of Bear Maple, a new Ginseng Maple Water. Brian first came up with the idea in 2020 when looking at Maple Trees outside of his window. Fast forward a few years, he officially launched the brand at Expo West 2024 to much fanfare, winning the KeHE Trendfinder “Golden Ticke...

As a CPG brand, understanding your business financials is imperative to building a successful company. You first need to understand your business goals to get where you want to go. I’ve invited on Brad Ebenhoeh from Accountfully to talk through how to build a strong financial foundation for your business. We discuss: The difference between Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Finance Choosing between Prof...

Telling your brand story comes naturally for some, but challenging for others. In this episode I invite you to learn how to build a compelling story for your brand so you can influence how customers thing about you. I invite on Jake Ahles to walk though his F.E.E.E.D. Method to story telling. F.E.E.E.D. stands for: Facts Emotion Education Engagement Differentiation Startup to Scale is a podcast by...

Business insurance is one of those things that most founders think about once, and never thing about again. That is, until a major problem happens and they’re desperately trying to figure out if insurance will cover it. As your brand grows, you should be reviewing your insurance needs annually to make sure you’re covered in all the ways you need, incase something goes wrong. To talk about all the...

Every CPG brand I’ve talked to over the past year has been laser focused on expanding into retail. While the initial order volumes can look promising, growth takes significant investment in managing those relations and driving sales. So how do you keep track of what’s going on once you’re in in thousands of stores? My guest today is Will Salcido, founder of Bedrock Analytics who’s here to discuss...

Growing in retail means managing orders in multiple formats. Email, EDI, it can get overwhelming. Join me for a conversation with Ian Leaman, founder of Pantry as we breakdown some of the common challenges founders face and how proper order management, forecasting, and AI can overcome them. Learn more about Pantry here: Pantry.ai Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to c...

The past year has been excruciating for emerging CPG brands. The lack of capital, rise in expenses, and sales challenges have been really tough. This year looks like more of the same, but the good news is that you can position your business to not just survive, but thrive this year. So today, I want to share some strategies on how to build a resilient CPG brand and invited on Jeff Grogg, CEO of JP...

 The foodservice channel is one of my favorite channels for CPG Brands, but it’s gone through some change over the past few years. I’ve invited on Kristi McGill VP of Sales at Rooted Food Sales to talk through foodservice trends for 2024 and how to build a strategy for your brand.  Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders...

Amazon is an amazing platform for CPG brands to reach your customers where they want to buy. As a seller, there are a ton of tools on Amazon, and you may be wondering what are the most impactful ones to grow your sales. There’s a lot of talk recently about Premium A+ Content, and the impact it can make for you. I’ve invited on Daniela Bolzmann, founder of Mindful Goods for this episode, as she and...

Fundraising for CPG brands in this environment is extremely challenging, especially for emerging brands. My guest today, Jimmy Semrick is the founder of Brella and has managed to raise $650 thousand dollars in the past 2 years and is using that money to expand distribution with MolsonCoors + Anheuser-Busch while extending their manufacturing space. Listen to learn how he built investor relationshi...

What does it take to build a successful CPG business in 2024? In this episode I invite on a panel to talk through industry trends, founder survival, and finding the support you need to grow your business. My guests are: - Christine Couvelier - Sachi Kittur - Tricia Ryan From foodbizmentoring.com Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy , an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and...

As you launch into new retailers, what tools do you have to drive sales and velocity outside of the store? Retail E-commerce is a new marketing category that’s recently grown, which can help you make all your digital marketing shoppable. I talk with Louis Condon at Pear Commerce on exactly how to utilize it to: Driving Trial and Discovery Velocity and increasing sell through Key sales boosts at la...

Branding is more than just your logo or packaging design. Branding is how you and your company show up in the world, and how people view your actions, your values, your products, your mission, and your vision. Your visual identity just becomes a shorthand for customers to easily identify all the other more meaningful things. Join me for one of my favorite recent conversations with Leonard Grape, f...