Startup CPG Podcasts

Today is our fourth episode in the "First Hire" series where we talk about making first hires in marketing, finance, sales, and operations. So far we've covered sales, marketing, and operations, so be sure to check out those episodes, and today's subject is hiring for finance. When is it time to hire a full time finance person? How early do you nee…

Did you know that for the FDA to consider a product a jam, it needs to be 55% sugar content? When Anna Peck found this out, she thought it was wild and started experimenting in her kitchen. In 2019, Anna teamed up with co-founder Steve Ford to bring Chia Smash to market; a jam with 75% FRUIT content (and that's Upcycled Certified)! Full disclosure,…

What if you could leverage the resources and experience of one of the largest snack companies in the world to grow your brand? Today we get to hear from two brands who did just that as members the 2022 CoLab cohort by SnackFutures at Mondelēz International. In this episode you'll hear from Brigette Wolf and Jackie Haney from SnackFutures, who are r…

Have you seen those "how it started; how it's going" posts? Today we basically get to do that as we catch up with one of the brands from Startup CPG's second pitch competition in November of 2020: Tsubi Soup, which since then, has really utilized the Slack community to make many helpful connections. Started by Tsubasa Nishitani, whose nickname is T…

Today is our third episode in the "First Hire" series where we talk about making first hires in marketing, finance, sales, and operations. So far we've covered sales and operations, so be sure to check out those episodes, and today's subject is hiring for marketing. When is it time to hire a full-time marketing person? When and how do you hire a ma…

Today is Part 6 our podcast series with Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who has been joining us once a month to talk hot topics in CPG. This episode's questions came from you because for the first time ever, we had listeners call and write in questions for Seth! Also, last time we talked to Seth, Coca-Cola had just announced …

Do you really know your consumer? What if you had access to data about one million natural products consumers? Today we get a look at that data with Jessica Malach, VP of Marketing & Insights, at Social Nature, a product discovery and trial platform in the better-for-you space. With over one million users in their community, they've gleaned incredi…

I'm so excited to share a conversation with you about kombucha and operations - two of my favorite topics! I recently was the moderator for a session that was held at UCLA Anderson by The Food & Agriculture Business Association for a group of MBA candidates where I had a fireside chat with Justin Trout, co-founder and former COO of Health-Ade Kombu…

If you saw Encanto (which even if you haven't, you've probably have heard the song "We don't talk about Bruno"), you may remember the arepitas that can cure anything. Lucky for us, TOAST-IT is bringing delicious arepas to a store near you, and after trying, I think they also might be magical. Behind the magic is the hard work, vision, and story of …

Today I'm thrilled to share a conversation with Miguel Leal, Co-Founder and CEO of SOMOS, a new brand bringing food from the heart of Mexico to your home. Miguel co-founded SOMOS alongside two former co-workers and KIND Snacks executives, Daniel Lubetzky and Rodrigo Zuloaga. With decades of food industry experience, Miguel most recently spent two y…

Today is Part 5 our podcast series with Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who has been joining us once a month to talk hot topics in CPG. At the time of recording, Coca-Cola had just announced their decision to discontinue Honest Tea, so we pivoted this episode to cover Seth's thoughts on the news. As the co-founder of Honest T…

Welcome to the Startup CPG Podcast! Startup CPG is a community of thousands of founders and emerging brands who make food, beverage, and beauty products, aka, consumer packaged goods. Listen in to our weekly podcast, join our free 7K+ Slack community, and head to startupcpg.com to subscribe to our free newsletter for all the details on upcoming net…

Today is our second episode in the "First Hire" series where we talk about making first hires in marketing, finance, sales, and operations A couple weeks ago we covered operations, so be sure to check out that episode, and today's subject is hiring for sales. When is it time to hire a full-time sales person? How do brokers fit into the picture? How…

Part 4 our podcast series with Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who has been joining us once a month to talk hot topics in CPG. Just in time for summer, this episode is all about field marketing - interns, in-store demos, events, guerrilla marketing, grassroots marketing, and more. You may know Seth as the co-founder of Honest…

This is the first episode in our new "First Hire" series where we'll talk about making first hires in marketing, finance, sales, and operations, and today's subject is hiring for operations. When is it time to make the leap to a full-time operations person? When should you use a consulting firm? How do you find the right fit for your company? Here …

Most of us know the term SKU for stock keeping unit, but I'm excited to introduce you to a SKU that's actually a program with opportunities for our Startup CPG community members! Today we get the chance to talk with Emily Kealey and Michelle Breyer from SKU, a world-class accelerator driven by a community of the nation’s top CPG leaders, successful…

Today is Part 3 our podcast series with Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who is joining us once a month to talk hot topics in CPG. This episode is all about sustainability, planet-based commitments, and Earth Month. You may know Seth as the co-founder of Honest Tea and author of Mission in a Bottle, and Seth is now the Co-Foun…

Based on latest Torrance test data, 85% of today's children are less creative than their 1980s counterparts. CPG industry veterans Erin Fasano and Liz Seelye realized that part of the problem is old thinking when it comes to what kids eat and drink. They started dreaming up drinks and snacks with their kids to bring imagination back to lunchboxes a…

Rohit Sabnis joins us to give an introduction to Prop 65 regulation, which applies to consumer products sold into California via retailer, Amazon, eCommerce, etc. Ro is a Partner at Keller & Heckman, an internationally renowned law firm with a broad practice in the areas of regulatory law, public policy, and litigation. Listen in as Ro covers the b…

Today we continue our podcast series with Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who is joining us once a month to talk hot topics in CPG. This episode is all about innovation. You may know Seth as the co-founder of Honest Tea and author of Mission in a Bottle, and Seth is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Eat the Change, Co-Founder of …

Expo West hadn’t been held since 2019, so there was a lot of anticipation leading up to the 2022 event. With 57,000 attendees, 2,700 exhibitors, and 800 people at the Startup CPG Alley Rally event, I thought we needed multiple perspectives and voices to try to sum up such a massive event. In this episode you’ll hear clips submitted by Startup CPG c…

Tortillas are often a mere vessel to transport their tasty contents. But what if they could be the star of the meal packed with fresh, bold flavors? Back in 2018, Henri Revel and his wife Belén had a “Eureka moment.” Inspired by Belén’s Latin roots, Henri's passion for better tortilla options, and both of their entrepreneurial spirits, they created…

Bonus Episode! At Startup CPG, we recently curated another new & free resource - the first list of freight carriers and brokers just for CPG companies. I (Host Jessi) had the pleasure of helping build this resource, and I thought it'd be fun to bring on one of the many brands who submitted their freight providers to be added to the list to chat abo…

This is the first episode of a very special new podcast series from Startup CPG. Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, will be joining us once a month for the next few months to talk about hot topics in CPG. Today we kick off by talking all things Expo West. With twenty-one Expo West events under his belt, who better to answer our …

Less than a year ago, I (Host Jessi) had an insurance emergency at LivBar. I searched "insurance" in the Startup CPG slack and found Danielle Holyoake's name. I sent her a quick email and we jumped on a call. In record time, she solved a problem that other brokers had told me wasn't possible (full story in the episode!). I was so excited when Ameli…