Startup To Scale
Episodes
261 episodes
262. How I Eat My Greens Is Reviving Soup with Flavor, Freshness, and Smarter Retail Growth
In this episode, I sat down with Mac Villarreal, founder of I Eat My Greens, to talk about how he is bringing fresh, flavorful refr...
261. What Big CPG Brands Know About Winning on Shelf (That Emerging Brands Don’t)
Big CPG brands don’t win just because they have bigger budgets.They win because they understand how shoppers actually make decisions in-store.In this episode, I sit down with Kevin S...
260. Building It Better the Second Time: Scaling a Smarter CPG Brand
In this episode of the Startup to Scale Podcast, I sit down with Smári Ásmundsson, founder of NØRSE CØDE and the former founder...
259. CPG Brokers Explained: When You Need One (and When You Don’t)
Hiring a CPG broker can unlock retail growth or become an expensive distraction.In this episode, I break down the real role brokers play in scaling a food and beverage brand with Lis...
258. Why Pricklee Rebranded from Cactus Water to Natural Hydration
In this episode, I sit down with Kun Yang, CEO and co-founder of Pricklee, to talk about the brand’s shift from cactus water to natural hydratio...
257. Building a Business That Still Feels Like You
As companies grow, something subtle often happens: the business starts to change the founder. Decisions get filtered through investors, advisors, benchmarks, and expectations and slowly, the company can stop feeling like an extension of the per...
256. How to Turn Affiliate and Ambassador Programs Into a Real Growth Channel
Affiliate marketing can be a strong growth lever for CPG brands when it’s approached with the right strategy. In this episode, I talk with David Abbey, co-founder of
255. Tuyyo Foods Merger: Latina-Founded Food Brands Merge to Form Unified Cultural CPG Brand
What happens when collaboration becomes the growth strategy?In this episode, we sit down with the founding team behind TUYYO Foods to unpack the decision to merge
254. Is Your CPG Brand Converting Gen Z?
Gen Z is not shopping the way Millennials did and they are definitely not responding to the same packaging playbook.In this episode, I sits down with Sanders, founder of
253. How to Grow a CPG Brand Using VAs and Global Talent with Morning Made
Scaling a CPG brand doesn’t always mean hiring fast or hiring locally. In this episode, I sits down with Luke Anthony, founder of
252. Building an Operating System for Your CPG Business
Growing a CPG brand gets messy fast. More SKUs, more people, more tools, more decisions. In this episode, I sit down with Brian, co-founder of Peasy, to talk about why most founders feel overwh...
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251. How Insurgent CPG Brands Stand Out in Crowded Categories
In this episode, I talk with John Ferrante from EO Space about how high-growth CPG brands find white space, build emotional differentiation, ...
250. How Vacation Rental Sampling Helps CPG Brands Reach High-Intent Consumers
I sit down with Rachel Vigil, Founder of UpClose Marketing, to break down one of the most overlooked sampling channels for emerging CPG brands: vacation rentals and short-term stays.<...
249. The Trade Spend Traps: The Biggest Mistakes Brands Make After Getting Into Retail
You made it onto the shelf. Great. But now the real spending begins.Trade spend is one of the biggest drivers of success in retail — and one of the fastest ways for emerging brands to lose money, stall velocity, or get discontinued. In t...
248. A Pit Master and a Navy Aviator Create a Meat Chip
In today’s episode, I’m joined by Ian Timmons and Billy Knox, founders of Beefy, and one of my favorite new snacks—featured in our Winter Foodbevy Insider Box.We talk about:what went wrong (and right) in ...
247. The Hidden 6-Figure Mistakes Hiding in Your Packaging
In this episode, I share how one “small” packaging change can snowball into a six-figure problem—and how to stop that from happening to your brand. I sit down with
246. 1500+ Doors on 6 Months, Joon Pistachio’s Tremendous Growth
In this episode, I sit down with Joon co-founders Cody Allen and Alexandre Bennet to talk...
245. How to Use Consumer Testing to Build High-Performing Packaging with Michael Keplinger of SmashBrand
Most founders design packaging based on gut feeling — not data. But what if you could know, before launch, exactly how consumers will respond?In this episode, I chat with
244. Pitch to PO: How to Win a Retail Buyer Meeting Without a Broker
Getting a meeting with a retail buyer is tough — but winning that meeting is even tougher. In this episode, I talk with Tia Ellis, Founder and CEO of Wildflower Insight, about how to pitch you...
243. Redefining Success: Building a Business That Fits Your Life
What does success really mean to you? For many founders, that answer gets buried under industry pressures, investor expectations, and comparisons to competitors. In this episode, I sit down with
242. How Opply Is Fixing Supply Chain Chaos for CPG Founders
When I ran my own CPG brand, supply chain headaches nearly broke me — late POs, cash crunches, and endless supplier follow-ups. In this episode, I sit down with
241. Holiday Cash Flow Strategies with Brad Ebenhoeh of BELAY
I sat down with Brad Ebenhoeh of Belay (formerly Accountfully) to unpack how CPG founders can actually make money during Bl...
240. Behind the Scenes at Little Spoon: Scaling a Perishable Supply Chain
I sat down with Garrett Otondo, Director of Strategic Operations at Little Spoon, to explore how their team scaled from...
239. Better Sour: Reimagining Candy with Global Flavors
I sat down with Semira Nikou and Bella Hughes, co-founders of
238. From Chef to Quinoa Milk Pioneer: How Kyle Stoulil is Shaping the Future of Plant-Based Dairy
I sit down with Kyle Stoulil, founder of Kyle’s Organics, to explore how a trained chef turned his home-kitchen experiments into a pioneering brand in the nut and seed milk space. From th...
