The Food Means Business Podcast

Karen Merz of Next Level Grains shares how a COVID-era rabbit hole into home flour milling became a food brand, what she learned about operations and margins in the Food Business Bootcamp®, and why she developed a children's book and DIY kit to bring customers into the grain-to-cookie experience.

Maria Javier of Toasty Polvo shares how she pivoted from 15 years in government and nonprofit to launching a Filipino shortbread brand, why she chose food service over retail as her go-to-market strategy, and why the best way to reach your customer is to let them experience your product first.

Sarah Hwang of Gamsa Foods shares how she turned a childhood staple into a Korean-inspired breakfast brand, what she learned about building a category that barely exists, and why knowing your why matters more than having the perfect plan.

Alejandro Quintero Corral of Mucha Macha shares how he turned a beloved Mexican chili crisp into a CPG brand, what he learned about operations from building inside the Food Business Bootcamp®, and why taking the first step matters more than having all the answers.

In this episode, Juliette "Juju" Clark shares how she went from home kitchen to market-ready in under a year, what the Food Business Bootcamp® Startup Accelerator taught her about building under pressure, and why she believes food founders should never do a stealth startup.

Coby Farrow didn’t set out to launch a beverage brand.  But when a restaurant concept he was working on fell through, he couldn’t shake the idea of turning avocado seed tea into something bigger. What started as a kitchen experiment quickly became a crash course in CPG, with plenty of hurdles along the way, as Coby embarked on a years-long journey to establish Avsome Brand. In this episode, Coby s...

JW Wiseman started his career in marketing and not specifically in the food industry. But that didn’t stop when he decided to branch out into the CPG industry via non-alcoholic cocktails. After years in the corporate world and seeing how alcohol was embedded into networking and socializing in the sphere, he wanted an alternative, and one that used better ingredients than what he could find on the...

When you’re starting out creating a CPG brand, one of the most challenging aspects can be simply getting eyes on your product. It’s hard to sell when no one knows you exist, and it’s also hard to create an audience from scratch. But what if you could borrow someone else’s audience to jump start the process? In this episode, Mike Currie, fractional CMO and marketing advisor, is here to break down h...

Jana didn’t necessarily plan to start a CPG business… she just wanted better snacks for her kids that they would actually eat.  But after struggling to find the products that would work for her family, she turned to making her own, first in the kitchen at home and then eventually through her company, Happy Wolf, a snack bar company using allergen-free and no sugar added ingredients. Despite all he...

At the beginning of his career, Josh Johnson didn’t plan on starting a CPG company with his wife and sister, but now that he’s here, he wouldn’t have it any other way. While business and family might be a volatile mix for some, but when it comes to the Poppa’s Custard Company, that’s part of the magic.  In this episode, Josh Joshson joins me to share how he planned out his transition from corporat...

When it comes to creating amazing CPG products, one often overlooked aspect is the difficulty of actually sourcing the necessary ingredients, especially if they are specialty. And that’s where Ingredient Brothers comes in. In this episode, Eran Mizrahi, co-founder of Ingredient Brothers, is here to break down supply chain logistics for us. He’s sharing the importance of having company partners you...

You can make an amazing product, start the best marketing campaign, and partner with national chains… But if your product doesn’t make it to the stores, or more importantly, your end user, none of that actually matters. In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Andrew Lynch of Zipline Logistics on why young CPG brands shouldn’t overlook the logistical aspects of their business. Andrew shares how he go...

When it comes to PR and marketing for CPG brands, good design and strategic plans are important… But what if you could spread the word about your product through authentic relationships with partners who are just as enthusiastic about your product as you are? In today’s episode, I’m joined by Alison Seibert, founder of The James Collective, to talk about her unique approach to building relationshi...

Scott Frohman grew up washing cars door to door before he could even drive. Even as an adult in a corporate career, he couldn’t quash his entrepreneurial spirit. But he also wanted to do something sustainable for his own energy, the environment, and for his larger community.  So when he discovered mushroom powders that gave him energy without the jitters nearly a decade ago, he knew he had to crea...

Ariana Ruiz, a former corporate talent acquisition specialist, loved her career at Whole Foods and other start-ups, but eventually, motherhood pushed her to step back from the corporate world and into entrepreneurship. Now, she helps other small businesses hire and develop passionate employees so both the businesses and individuals can grow and thrive. In this episode, she breaks down her top thre...

Justine Reichman, founder of NextGen Purpose, has entrepreneurship in her DNA. And today, she’s here to chat about those roots and how they cross over with her love of food and cooking.  In this episode, Justine explains how NextGen Purpose is helping CPG and food startups craft authentic stories that resonate with their target audience. She shares her best advice on building sustainable businesse...

Bruno LeGreco is never one to sit still. Having gone through several career iterations earlier in life, he was ready to go all in once he started The Biscotti Company four years ago. But there’s nothing easy about food entrepreneurship, and Bruno’s sharing lessons he’s learned along the way. In today’s episode, Bruno tells the story of how he founded The Biscotti Company, the disciplined and persi...

In entrepreneurship, it’s not uncommon to hear stories of meteoric success, founders looking for investors of all kinds, and businesses trying to expand as quickly as possible to take up market share. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not the kind of entrepreneur that Chitra Agrawal is. Chitra is the founder of Brooklyn Delhi, and she’ll be the first to tell you that she’s very risk av...

When Maura Duggan started Fancypants Baking Co. two decades ago, it was just her, baking decorative cookies in her kitchen in Massachusetts. Twenty years later, Maura’s family has grown and changed… and so has her business. In this episode, Maura is sharing how her company slowly grew into a national brand, what she’s learned in every step of expanding her business, and how she eventually decided...

Bruno LeGreco is never one to sit still. Having gone through several career iterations earlier in life, he was ready to go all in once he started The Biscotti Company four years ago. But there’s nothing easy about food entrepreneurship, and Bruno’s sharing lessons he’s learned along the way. In today’s episode, Bruno tells the story of how he founded The Biscotti Company, the disciplined and persi...

From the very beginning, Myles Powell has loved food. But STEM felt more practical than going to culinary school, so Myles became an engineer. His love of food and cooking never diminished though, so while working a full-time engineering job, Myles built his CPG company on evenings and weekends, and nearly a decade later, Myles Comfort Foods is still growing. In this episode, Myles Powell of Myles...

Quentin Vennie has always felt the call to be a person of service, whether as a personal trainer, a nonprofit leader, or most recently, as the mission-focused entrepreneur and founder of Equitea.  Today on the podcast, Quentin is sharing how he transitioned from the nonprofit world to starting Equitea, how he founded the company with the ideals of equity, community, and self-care in mind, how his...

Dom Crockett is making waves with a CPG product containing organ meat (something that most Americans don’t traditionally eat.) That might sound like a liability for some companies, but Dom has built a market, an audience, and is on a trajectory to keep growing. And he’s done it all without venture funding. Today on the podcast, Dom is sharing his unconventional start-up advice, the sacrifices he’s...

In 2020, Kara Still and Carmen Dianne were outside hiking, doing whatever they could to stay busy and lamenting the closure of so many Black-owned businesses during the pandemic. From those conversations and a deep passion to support and uplift Black-owned businesses and farmers, Prosperity Market was born. In today’s episode, Kara and Carmen share their Prosperity Market origin story, including t...

Kara Rubin has spent her career championing thousands of better for you brands. During this conversation, she shares her journey in the food business including: leading the Northeast Region Grocery division of Whole Foods and managing brand and product strategy for Just Water.  Kara also talks about her current role as CPG advisor for JPG Resources and as co-founder of Makor Partners as well as gi...