Healthy Hustle Spotlight

In this episode, we sit down with Grace Finerman , founder of Date Smarter , the date-sweetened caramel brand, to discuss what’s driving the growth of dates as a category and how taste and texture keep a better-for-you product differentiated as more brands enter. Grace shares how a pitch competition win opened the door to a major East Coast distributor, why a retail-first strategy fits a heat-sens...

Lauren Wall spent a decade as an M&A lawyer representing CPG companies before crossing over to build and invest in the space herself, first with Funhaven, a snack brand she ultimately chose to walk away from, and now as a co-founder of Bocca Bocca while actively angel investing. In this episode, she breaks down what separates a true competitive moat from an overhyped one, what makes a brand in...

Allison Taylor , co-founder of Le Prunier, joins the show to unpack how her family's fourth-generation dried plum farm turned a discarded byproduct into a patented ingredient platform with 16 proprietary innovations. She shares how staying self-funded shaped Le Prunier's product cadence, why they waited years before pursuing retail partners like Sephora, and how the family is now thinking...

Brittney Lim , co-founder of Tamarind Heads , joins us to break down how a globally beloved but underused ingredient became the base for an award-winning barbecue sauce. Tamarind Heads went from a homemade family recipe to a Sophie Gold winner, and Brittney walks through the deliberate retail strategy that followed, starting in Central Market in Texas to prove the product against serious barbecue...

Chelsey Maschhoff grew up on a sixth-generation pork farm in the Midwest before co-founding Lottie's Meats , a sister-owned sausage brand bringing clean-label, whole-cut quality to a category that hasn't seen real innovation in decades. In this episode, Chelsey shares how her culinary background shaped Lottie's product standards, why the brand is winning over chicken sausage loyalists,...

Ilay Karateke , co-founder of Bezi , joins us to talk about building Labneh into America's next big CPG category — starting with the manufacturing edge that makes it possible. Her co-founder comes from one of Turkey's largest cheese-making families, and that partnership gave Bezi a custom dairy process most competitors can't replicate: double the protein, two and a half times the shelf...

Eddie Zelenak , co-founder of Buoy , shares why he bet on unflavored electrolyte drops when the entire category was going powder, and how refusing to compromise on formulation became the brand's edge as the market caught up. We get into the early CVS launch that taught them they weren't ready for retail, the D2C and Amazon learnings that shaped their return to shelves with Wegmans, and why...

In this episode, Amy Dell , founder of Sababa Foods, breaks down what it takes to commercialize a family recipe without a CPG background: navigating co-packers, earning shelf space door-to-door, and making the leap to Erewhon within three months of launch. She also shares why education and in-person demos have been as important to her growth as distribution, and how she's positioning Sababa Fo...

James Zackler , co-founder of DIRTY VIRGO, joins us to talk about building a non-alcoholic cocktail brand for the mainstream moderator — not the sober-curious wellness crowd. Drawing on his background at Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch, and Blue Bottle, James shares why he and his co-founder bet on non-alc cocktails over non-alc beer, how they self-distributed by hand-delivering product to bars and...

Luca Alessandrini left a six-year finance career to build Casa Virgin , an Italian drizzling oil brand rooted in his family's olive groves outside Florence. In this episode, he shares how he repositioned olive oil from a cooking fat to a table condiment, why leading with use case over quality changed everything with retail buyers, and how Casa Virgin has scaled to 200+ independent stores throu...

In this episode, Liz Gabriel breaks down why brand is so much more than a visual identity: it's a decision-making lens that should inform hiring, culture, financial planning, and everything in between. She introduces the concept of story stewardship, explains the difference between brand evolution and shiny object syndrome, and shares what she looks for as an angel investor evaluating early-st...

Ariel Altman , co-founder of Figa Foods , joins us to share how a love of travel, health, and dark chocolate led her to cupuaçu — a Brazilian superfruit that's been hiding in plain sight. She walks us through the origin story of Figa Foods, the R&D process of making cupuaçu taste as good as chocolate, and why she's focused on building an entirely new category rather than positioning ag...

In this episode, Crystal Manuel shares how a health crisis on her Montana farm led her to convert to regenerative organic farming, and how those convictions eventually became Gruff Grains. We dig into why most Americans are eating grains in a form their bodies were never meant to digest, what it actually costs to bring a regenerative certified product to market, and the hard lessons of landing on...

Brian Folmer , founder of FirstLook and FirstLook Ventures , shares how his unique investor box model is changing the way Angels and VCs discover and evaluate early-stage consumer brands. He breaks down what he looks for in founders, how to think about valuation strategy at the pre-seed and seed stage, and where he sees the biggest opportunities in consumer products today — from better-for-you bra...

In this episode, we sit down with Meredith Mills-Merritt, Founder of The Original Southside, to unpack her journey building a premium ready-to-drink cocktail brand. They discuss what it takes to stand out in a legacy alcohol industry, why transparency and ingredient quality matter more than ever, and how marketing in this category is shifting from digital to real-world experiences. Meredith also s...

What if the future of food starts beneath our feet? In this episode, host Ariana Korman sits down with Joni Kindwall-Moore, founder and CEO of The Ryzosphere and Snacktivist, to explore the surprising connections between soil health, human health, and the future of CPG food systems. From AI-powered supply chain innovation to community-driven food ecosystems, Joni shares how regenerative agricultur...

In this episode, we sits down with Mayur Aras, Founder of Lucinda Capital, to discuss how an operator’s background creates a true edge in venture investing — and why backing underrepresented founders is both a strategic opportunity and a necessary shift in CPG. Drawing from his experience inside the industry, Mayur shares how empathy, discipline, and moving beyond traditional pattern recognition s...

Charbel Mawad, founder of Projo, shares how a personal mission to create a better coffee alternative turned into a fast-growing functional beverage brand. We discuss the challenges of formulation, the power of early consumer feedback, the expansion to stick packs to balance product and scalability, and what it takes to build trust in a crowded beverage market. A candid conversation on product iter...

In this episode, we sit down with Max Luthy, founder of Plink! , to unpack his journey from trend forecasting to building a modern hydration brand. Max shares what it takes to turn insights into execution in CPG, including the humbling realities of operations, unlearning assumptions about consumer behavior, and knowing when a trend is ready to become a product. They explore the evolution of hydrat...

From a traditional butcher shop in Switzerland to building one of the most premium bone broth brands in the U.S. — this episode features Thomas Odermatt , founder of Butcher’s Bone Broth . We dive into how old-world craftsmanship became a modern CPG business, why in-house manufacturing is central to quality, and what it means to build a legacy brand instead of chasing quick exits. Thomas shares hi...

In this episode, we speak with George Ho and Brian McDermott of Frönen about leading through change and building consumer brands with long-term thinking. They discuss stepping into leadership during a transition, earning trust with investors and retail partners, and making disciplined decisions that prioritize consistency, quality, and credibility over short-term wins. The conversation offers a ca...

This conversation dives into the realities of today’s retail landscape and what emerging brands need to know. We chat with Rachel Krupa , founder of The Goods Mart in NYC and Krupa Consulting, to cover the art of curation, how consumers are actually shopping, the importance of team education, and the power of anecdotal data. You’ll learn what retailers look for, how to prepare your product and pit...

In this episode, we sit down with brand and marketing expert Ruth Fittock to unpack what truly makes a challenger brand break through. With nearly 20 years of experience in health and wellness, Ruth shares how smart positioning, radical transparency, and clear consumer messaging separate winning brands from the rest. She also dives into her approach to angel investing, the founder qualities she lo...

In this episode, Sam Moore shares his journey from a high-performing software sales executive to building Hazlo — a functional beverage brand redefining how we drink. We talk about his personal experience with alcohol, the rise of the sober curious movement, and how Hazlo is creating a healthier alternative that doesn’t sacrifice flavor or experience. Sam breaks down his product philosophy, strate...

In this episode, we chat with Katie Cella to explore what today’s investors are really looking for — and how founders can better tell their story, demonstrate traction, and build meaningful relationships with capital partners. We also break down how aspiring investors can start angel investing, make confident decisions, and contribute to a more diverse, future-focused investment landscape.