Jordan Buckner (00:00)
Today's episode is a special one. We're gonna be exploring something you don't really hear about often in CPG, the decision to merge three founder-led brands into one unified company. Tuyyo Foods, Nemi Snacks and Toda Verde each built loyal followings in different categories rooted in culture, flavor, and purpose. And instead of competing or staying siloed, these founders really chose a way to collaborate as a growth strategy.

As we're gonna hear about today, they really started working together to figure out how they can support one another, which is so important as you're building a company, and ultimately decided to merge their companies together. So I'm joined by Jocelyn, Regina, and Stefanie, who are the three founders behind these brands to talk through, I see why they did it, what it took to align as founders together.

and what this kind of partnership unlocks that solo growth can't sometimes. This is really fun for me as well, because Regina and Stefanie I've met and known for about 10 years as I was just getting started in the CPG space. I think Regina for you too, I think Stefanie you have been in the industry for a little longer from your work with Whole Foods, but you were kind of in the brand side at that point. And Jocelyn and I know we've met just relatively recently in the grand scheme of things, but so excited

to hear more about the story. so me, Jocelyn, I'll start with you, and let's go around, I'd love for you just to give a quick introduction of what each of your three brands originally were, and then we can talk through what the new company is and how that came about. So Jocelyn, you reached out, kind of sharing that news, so I'd love for you to start talking through just, know, Todo Verde and what your company wants, and how you got started.

Jocelyn (01:41)
Yeah, so I initially got started with Todo Verde as a food service company, as a chef here in Los Angeles. And with the pandemic, I pivoted from that to product line. So in about 2023 is when I officially launched and started getting into retail doors. And it's a true to culture taco seasoning that I currently have on shelf in flavors like al pastor and tinga. And I was really thinking about how do I create these nostalgic flavors that feel chef crafted that people can use to build really

delicious meals in such a short time.

Jordan Buckner (02:12)
I love that. Regina,

tell me about Nemi and the holy sticks that you created.

Regina (02:18)
Jordan, thank you. Yes, I started NemiSnacks almost seven years ago.

because almost every Hispanic-inspired brand that I saw at their grocery store was rooted in stereotypes and cultural cliches about Latin culture, and not because something is Mexican, it's cheap, it's unhealthy or low quality. So I wanted to create a brand that where I could elevate Latin cultura through better for you products in Mexican-inspired flavors. And Nemi snacks are high protein, high fiber chips in Mexican flavors.

Jordan Buckner (02:47)
And love too that you're really building the time with the Nopale was building, there are a lot of products being created with it and helping to pioneer that ingredient into more foods here in the US as well, which is really great.

Stefanie, how about you?

Stefanie Garcia Turner (03:02)
Yeah, I started Tuyyo which will be the brand that we will all be going under when I was going back to school to get my executive MBA. So it actually started in 2020, which was so crazy, right? To be going back to school. And, you know, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do if I was going to continue consulting, which is what I was doing at the time, or go back to, you know, join a company or do something like completely different. And

I remember being with my family and just kind of talking through these ideas and just thinking about, what if I did like a product, you know? And they were all like, yeah, that would be really cool. What would you do? And I was like, well, you know, I grew up in being an 80s, 90s child with Kool-Aid and Lunchables and all of that stuff, but there is no natural Kool-Aid. And then, you know, being Mexican-American, I also have like Menudo and Awafrida.

and all this and I was like, well, what if we can make an ala fresca, but like a Kool-Aid? So it would be in a powder form using real ingredients and that's what I did. And so I created what I believe is like the first all-natural powdered ala fresca mix to be in market and have been going since 2020.

Jordan Buckner (04:18)
Oh my goodness, that's so exciting. You know, I also grew up on Kool-Aid and can't believe probably how much red for the dye I probably consumed as I came throughout my life. And I remember, you know, just as a side rate, when there's all the talk around like how many teaspoons of sugar and sodas and everyone's outraged. I was like, I used to make Kool-Aid from the packets and I would put two cups of sugar into a gallon to like, I knew exactly how much sugar was going in there, but not how bad it was for me.

Regina (04:25)
Thank

Stefanie Garcia Turner (04:25)
So much.

my gosh.

Jocelyn (04:42)
wow.

Stefanie Garcia Turner (04:44)
So yeah.

Jordan Buckner (04:48)
my goodness, I love that. So tell me about when you started coming together to talk with one another about just like your businesses and problems and how those conversations really started out.

Jocelyn (05:00)
I think I can jump in there because it was kind of the center point. So it kind of started when Regina and I were traveling a lot together in 2024. We were doing in-store demos, trade shows. And at the end of one of those trips, I think we were like sitting in the back of an Uber on the way to the airport in Dallas or something like that or Austin. Regina was like, what if we connected monthly and just continue to check in and see how we can support each other? Because it was just so great.

Regina (05:18)
So, ⁓

Jocelyn (05:27)
to have another founder where you can kind of vent, share the challenges that you're facing and then to be able to receive that immediate support or have a sounding board. And so she mentioned setting up regular calls and I said, well, what if we thought about bringing our brands together?

And it was just like this pause of like, hmm. And nothing happened right in that moment. We just decided to kind of keep it in our back pocket, keep talking about it. And then it didn't spark again fully until Stefanie reached out to me mid 2025 before Newtopia. We were prepping for that show, figuring out what events we were going to, where we're staying, all of the things. And at the end of that call, Stefanie, without me mentioning anything, said, what if we had

some sort of a holding company or brought brands together. We're doing a lot of the same sort of work and our flavors are all so good. And I was like, my God, I've actually been having this conversation. Would you want to connect? Right? Like should all three of us get on a call? So we said, okay, let's time out. Let's go to Newtopia Let's talk in person. And when we come back, we'll regroup and figure it out. Literally, I get back the next day, Regina texts me, can you talk? I get on the phone.

with her and she's like let's do it let's merge and I was like my god you don't know I just talked to Stefanie so it was just synergy happening it just manifested in a way that was really special and was meant to be and it's been so great working with each other so far they're both incredible founders so I'm glad that the connection happened

Regina (06:38)
Thank

you

Jordan Buckner (06:56)
I absolutely love that. Stefanie, when you reached out and kind of came up with the idea kind of on your own as well about merging, what was going through the head of your mind and kind of where Two-Year-Old Foods was?

Stefanie Garcia Turner (07:08)
Yeah, well, there's so many really wonderful founders and products and you know things out in the market and I think that you know one thing that came out of the pandemic was like this ability for people to kind of experiment and kind of start to launch things that they might not have previously. So with that, you know for me what's always been important is highlighting you know my culture, my heritage.

making sure that the foods that you know our community have are you know full of high quality ingredients very much like Regina was talking about and so when I was thinking about the future of Tuyyo I was like man like this is hard like even though there's a lot of companies that are starting and the entrepreneurial spirit is really high it's super hard to be successful in food and beverage there's a lot of capital needed there's a lot of

of things like you don't know and you can't get trained on until you do it. So I was like, if I'm gonna really make this work, I need help. I've been doing it by myself with just some help and some consultants here and there. But really if I wanna make this grow and be a business that is going to fulfill my objective of really elevating Latin culture through food and beverage, I need to do it with someone. And so I had met

Regina (08:10)
Thank you.

Stefanie Garcia Turner (08:30)
Jocelyn through the Naturally Network Minority Owned Fellowship and I was like, it was funny because I had like, I was following you on Instagram and stuff too and I was like seeing the products like it's you know, it's so funny and I was like that's cool like she's gonna be in this fellowship I'm gonna get to like meet her and you know that just like was a really cool synergy and then knowing Regina from Chicago again like super awesome so when I was thinking

you know, again, that idea of like, what if we had this like bigger company that just, you know, put the resources together? I mean, that it's it was really kind of natural because alone with the limited, you know, funds and, and everything and resources, the statistics show that, you know, the opportunity to actually succeed and get something like off the ground in a meaningful way is so small. I think it's like one or two per

right? So it was just kind of a necessity, I think, at that point of really thinking outside the box of how I can make this successful.

Jordan Buckner (09:31)
I love that and I think you're totally right and we know from experience just how many companies come and go just because of so many headwinds that face small businesses as they're growing and totally see that opportunity to work together. know, Justin, I kind of mentioned that you two talked and you took a little bit you were thinking about like what it could mean to merge. I know from...

our experience in the past business, you had a business partner and then you're running this business on your own. What was going to go through your mind as you were thinking about this opportunity and do you want to bring on and work with other partners in the business?

Regina (10:08)
Yes, it was really last summer when I was about to fundraise and there was something that made me uncomfortable about that process and it went beyond asking for money, went beyond learning about the process which is new and different and scary and a lot of rejections. There was something else and I started going deeper and I realized that I didn't want to continue doing it on my own and I also realized that I needed capital.

You need more than capital to scale and grow a business. And capital was not going to be the solution to grow NEMI. And I started thinking, what's next? Should I be a co-founder for NEMI, a COO, a CEO? What's the next step for this to continue connecting with the consumer the way that they demand the product? And there was some alignment with the brand already with the consumer and how can I do this different and better? I also had the experience with Gifted Breads working with Dati as co-founders and as partners.

And it was amazing what the two of us could do in the business, you know, with not a lot of time. So I thought, what if I did this for this business as well? You know, with somebody that shares the mission, aligned consumer, you know, even aligned personalities with the things that we like and we don't like. that's when I thought I'm going to call Jocelyn to see if she's still interested, if this is something that she was still thinking about. Because if I really want to...

do what I want to do with Nemi and continue serving the consumer in a bigger way. I don't want to continue doing it by myself and I don't think I can continue doing it by myself without having a big trade-off of my mental health or relationships with myself and with the people around me. And that's when I called her. And it took me about a month to figure this out, having conversations with a lot of people and really thinking about how I wanted to do it and knowing that

I could choose how I wanted to do it too. So I called Jocelyn and when she told me about Steph I was like, yes, yes, when can we talk? And we got into the, it was a Tuesday, we...

We did a Zoom call and then we planned a retreat, an in-person retreat in Chicago. And it was three days, the three of us in a room. And we went through tough conversations and questions and we did personality tests and we did like speed dating for co-founders. And I knew

really wanted to do this with them and there was an alignment. But after that retreat, I had no doubt.

and it was an amazing experience.

Jordan Buckner (12:28)
That sounds great. I'm so happy that you took this

step by step to really figure this out and had those deep dives because finding alignment in both leadership style and vision and working is so important and it can go wrong in so many ways if that's not aligned. I'm curious, there anything, Jocelyn as well, that you found...

really interesting or inspiring like once you talk to Regina Stefanie and kind of did this deep dive anything that like stood out in your mind.

Jocelyn (13:01)
I mean, I think for me, was to see that they're both very values oriented. it's obviously we want to be successful business owners, but we both really care about family, taking care of ourselves, our health. So it just synergistically also align. Like we've been sharing not just like business related reads that we should all check out, but also like spiritual reads and just all this stuff. So to have that type of alignment to me is also really important.

because I want to make sure that my values show up in all the places where I show up.

Jordan Buckner (13:34)
You know, as I was thinking about this news and why it really feels so special is because

I almost never hear about this happening. And I hear about maybe some smaller companies selling and then maybe advising, but they kind of leave after a couple of months or maybe just selling the business completely or, you know, in some cases companies have to shut down. And I realized, I think one of the biggest barriers to founders coming together is really about ego, right? Especially if you're building a business together, you're like, this is mine and no one else

can do it well and then I'm gonna feel like this weird need to make decisions and then also probably that feeling of being the person at the top who's making all the decisions and being used to that in your own business and I think a lot of founders based on where they are in their life just aren't quite ready for coming together and really building out a co-founder relationship. I'm curious if...

what you thought about, what made it special, depending on the life cycle of your business or just where you are in life, that made this feel like a good fit, where you can think like, yes, what I built maybe alone, and I think all three cases was great, but I'm actually ready for a partner. I know, Regina you mentioned that a little bit. Stefanie, how did that come up for you as you were thinking about actually coming together and working with two other partners?

Stefanie Garcia Turner (14:57)
Yeah, you know, during the retreat, we basically said, what is the final like objective of this? Right. And it's really about, want to build this business. We want to do what's good for the business to get it to a point where, you know, eventually we want to exit it. And with that in mind, you know, we thought, well, in order to accomplish that, like there have to be like no egos, you know, there has to be,

just a communication, consistency and ability to make decisions that are gonna be for the good of the business, not because we want to do things like a certain way. So, we had those conversations as Regina mentioned that really kind of level set what we're getting into. So now we have this understanding we're all equal partners in this new company.

combined

venture and our goal is to, you know, our goal is our goal and we don't want to let anything get in the way of that. So we do have like a very good kind of community decision making process that we're establishing now before things get really crazy and a lot more complicated down the line.

Jordan Buckner (16:13)
You know, I'm kind of curious about that because I know you're still kind of figuring it out, but based on where you are now, how are you deciding how to make decisions together and what's your thinking behind that?

Stefanie Garcia Turner (16:24)
Yeah, you know, well, part of the process was also asking like what we each like to do. And it just so happened that like, again, just kind of fate, I think just brought us together. I really like the sales piece and I'm, you know, that's kind of my background as well, like having worked at Whole Foods and working in sales for a few other companies. And then Jocelyn is great at PR and marketing and, you know, just has like really beautiful skill sets there and with design. And then.

with her background of having a law degree is really great with regulations and like operations. So we all kind of really settled into these positions like right off the bat. So it was, it's really helpful because if you have, you know, these complimentary skill sets, like we only kind of needed to fill in those things that we were missing. So we brought in like a fractional CFO who's been helping us get everything merged and pulled together,

is just something that none of us wanted to really attempt to do. So it really is super helpful. And I think, you know, my advice to anybody out there who's looking at this as a potential pathway for their business is that you want to keep that in consideration if the founders are complimentary, because it seems like the businesses that really are successful, that's kind of where the founders find themselves.

Regina (17:44)
I think one, we had, and we still do, very honest conversations. And coming from three businesses where we had already been doing this in a way, we had already experienced what we like doing, what we don't, what we're good at, what we're not good at.

It was, because we also had a finance retreat as well, other than the personal that we did for us to determine roles, responsibilities, what we were good at, what we wanted to do and what we didn't. And then we had the finance retreat because the three of us knew what we're going, where we're going is going to be bigger than where we're coming from. So what do we need for that? And how can we make this happen? And it was very easy. Like, for example, when we were thinking about the brand name and the companies.

For Jocs and myself, was, I mean, I'll let go of Nemi because there is, you I know now from data from the consumer that nobody understands that name. There's a lot of education to do. So how can we make it easier for the consumer? And it was a very easy process for us to let go of the things that we knew were not working because it's more about the product, it's about the brand that the three of us are building.

At the beginning, I remember when I first told our CFO we were doing this and he really wanted to meet with us and we did like again a three day. It wasn't as fun as our first retreat. It was different, but it was a great experience. And at the end of the three day retreat, he said, I really like this. I really like what you have.

Jordan Buckner (18:54)
I bet, yeah.

Regina (19:04)
There's really no egos between where you're coming from. And I think because the three of us independently are happy, confident people. We really care about our personal lives. We feel comfortable where we are, but we know how powerful the three of us can be together.

Jordan Buckner (19:19)
love that. So Jocelyn, you started the conversation with everyone. Tell me now after these retreats and the time that you've had together, what's the new vision for Tuyyo Foods as you see it now?

Jocelyn (19:32)
Yeah, I mean the new vision is really thinking about how do we take this collective brand into this better for you Latin American arena, right? Like really thinking about not just Hispanic consumers, but a more broad consumer and just continuing to use like all natural ingredients. like we all agree, like we want to be non-GMO. We don't want to use any artificial ingredients. We want to make sure anything that we put out moving forward is always going to be plant-based.

So, you know, all of those like main points were all in alignment with. And so now it's just really thinking about the next steps of growth. Like we all have really great key accounts. And so how do we try to figure out how to get the other two people's products into those key accounts and start to grow little by little. So starting to extend that footprint this year and doing it thoughtfully this year and then thinking about which

key accounts we want to maybe take on more of a national stage in the next years.

Jordan Buckner (20:31)
you envisioning that the three brands will all remain or will all the products be rebranded as Tuyyo Foods

Jocelyn (20:39)
Yeah, so that's a great point. So it's all going to be rebranded under Tuyyo Foods. So it'll be one unified brand. The way that you see Tuyyo now in Stefanie's Agua Fresca products is going to look completely different, a completely different brand identity. And the reason that we wanted to remain with Tuyyo is we talked about a lot of different names Jordan. Like we were like, is it maíz this? it this? Like what's another Latin American term for it? Da da da. And there were a lot of good options on the table, but we kept coming back to Tuyyo. It's a two syllable word.

the

meaning behind it, this idea of tú y yo, you and me, or tú y yo, yours, and lo mío es tú y yo, like what's mine is yours. And so there was a lot of sort of special opportunities for us to take that brand and elevate it to the next level. It just made sense also from a sort of logical perspective. Stefanie's already set up in Kehi Unify. There's a lot of reasons why it also logistically made sense for us to choose that name.

because it would just make the process a lot smoother for us. So I'm really excited about the brand presence for people to start kind of putting their hands on these new products and kind of seeing the storytelling behind it that we're bringing with the new brand. It looks really beautiful. We're actually working with a graphic designer who's done a lot of notable work from Blue Bottle to, you know, like so many kind of iconic brands like Banchon's Japanese BBQ.

Sauce and so many others, we were able to connect with him and he was actually helping me pro bono as I was rebranding Todo Verde, just helping as an advisor and then we brought him on to help with this project and it's just looking so awesome.

Jordan Buckner (22:17)
That's really exciting. from an operational standpoint, what actually changes when three brands become one under this new company that you're dealing with? I know you've talked about the different mergers, the different supply chains and all the finance stuff that you're working with someone else to do, but what all has to come together?

Regina (22:36)
A lot of things change and a lot of things will continue changing and we're still learning about all of that process because the three of us were coming in from working with different comands, different supply chains, from what Jocelyn mentioned, different branding. also, you know, in the kind of the work of how can we just operate more efficiently in every way.

One of it is the branding. How can we do it? We're going to be unified. There was already a registered business. There was already an EIN number. So how can we just continue working in a way that's the most efficient way to grow? And then from the supply chain and operation side, we're trying to simplify that as much as we can. And we're trying to figure out how can we do it in the way that it's going to be the most cost effective. So maybe working with a common that can make more

than one product, three PLs, freight, when working with the retailers, bringing in the whole products, how can we just, and that is a challenge, right? Because there's so many nuances and there's so many differences between how we were working together, but it's been an amazing experience and it's a lot of work, but it's been easy.

in the sense that it's been smooth and of course it's required a lot of our time and energy and space but

It hasn't been complicated and we've also been very mindful about asking for help either from each other or from other people. So on the operation side, we worked with a person whose name is Pedro and he's been amazing on, you know, kind of helping us figure out where are we losing money? Where can we save more money? What can we do together that we're not doing? How can we renegotiate with our partners? And every single question that I think as operators we should be asking ourselves.

to save money and do it better and stronger and more efficiently. So that process has been amazing and it's still in the works and it will always be in the works. There's always ways to do it better.

Jordan Buckner (24:25)
Yeah, I definitely agree. And as you go through this, you're constantly learning, but it also helps to have other strong leaders and friends to lean on as you are going through this to be able to help, which is really exciting. As I was thinking about this, I am really excited about where this could go and continue to go in the future. I'm a huge fan of Siete Foods and what they were able to build with their brand.

I mean, like I'm excited because I see the possibility of a similar type of growth and opportunity to what you're doing to really represent a new way of making, you know, Latin American foods more accessible. And even as accessible, but just like every day as it already is in the homes of everyone in the U S plus other countries. And I can imagine that, you know, to see Tuyyo show up across all different aisles throughout the store with other kind of

products that are there. I'm kind curious with your combined companies, right? You have products in snacking, of beverage, and seasonings. How you're thinking about

maybe new products in the future. I know it's still early, the first step is like merging everything together and then it's probably like new products. And if you see opportunities for new hero products that can really become everyday staples, I think that one thing Siete did well was having a tortilla, right? And like it had all their differentiated with non-wheat products and being gluten-free, but it was like an everyday product that a lot of households use

put on their shopping list every week and then kind of move in tortilla chips and salsas and other things like that. Are you kind of seeing a similar vision in terms of having products and everyday staples kind of across the store or are you still kind of figuring out how that looks?

Me, Stefanie, you can take a stab at that at

Stefanie Garcia Turner (26:15)
I know we're all like, yes, is the short answer, right? No, you know, we really see ourselves as being like the modern Hispanic food and beverage pantry staple brand, right? Very much like you kind of said, but we're looking at items that aren't in such really saturated categories or that what we can bring to the table is gonna be like a much differentiated

Jordan Buckner (26:17)
you

Stefanie Garcia Turner (26:40)
really

cool version, right? With like our crunchitos, which will be the Nopales snacks rebranded to that really fun name are gonna be high fiber, high protein made with the nopal. It's gonna be a functional snack, but it's going to, you know, still be accessible and still be like recognizable as something that is enjoyable as a snack in Latin flavors. So I think like there's a really great opportunity for us to pull

from just Latin American cuisine in general. And then having Jocelyn on board and, you know, a chef who is like very experimental and like we can all kind of brainstorm and think about what we like to eat, but also like what is the consumer looking for? You know, they do want the Hispanic flavors, but they want it to be convenient. You know, they want it to be easy to add to their table. So what can we do and in what format can we present it that's going to meet that consumer's

need.

Jordan Buckner (27:36)
Yeah, I totally hear that.

Jocelyn (27:37)
Yeah.

And one thing I'll add to is a category that we're looking at is one that's still pretty small and growing, which is mole. There's a couple of products that I was working on and already had formulated prior to the merger and decided to wait to put those out there until the merger is complete. So in conversations that I've had with different buyers, I would ask, you know, if you had a brand that was willing to put a new product out there, what do you see is needed?

I heard lot of like simmer sauces, enchilada sauces, like that. And mole is like, I mean, we're doing a mole verde and a pipi en rojo. So the red and the green, right? But so much more flavorful than even just an enchilada sauce. It's like way more body and a category that I think people are learning about and getting more and more excited about. So that'll be the first set of products that we put out as a merged company. And then

and we're still exploring what that looks like in the future in terms of more products.

Jordan Buckner (28:32)
exciting. You know, I for one am looking forward to staying up to date on everything that's going on because I truly want...

each and every one of you to be successful and have an amazing business. So I'm going to be rooting for you and supporting you however I can and for the business to be really great and take off. So I would absolutely love that for you and think that you are on the path to to doing that. As we're wrapping up any final thoughts that you want to share either to about the company and the success going forward or any advice for founders

Regina (28:46)
Thank you.

Jordan Buckner (29:06)
Regina any tips or final things you want to share about this experience?

Regina (29:11)
Yes, think it's, you the main one for me right now has been that it's a difficult path. The CPG space is difficult, it's costly. Being underfunded is tough too, right? The three of us have been bootstrapped so far pretty much and you don't have to do it alone.

And there a lot of community groups out there, founder circles. I did those. To me, it wasn't enough. And having the experience of working with Jocelyn and Steph and the speed and the intention and the commitment behind everything that we're doing. it's only been, I mean, we, we shared about the news, but it's not even there yet. We're still starting. And it's been just an amazing gift and experience. And I am so honored. And we tell each other that all the time, cause

We're partners, we're co-founders, we're friends and I just, you know, and I tell you again, yesterday we were together too, but it's been just an amazing experience and I feel stronger and we feel more confident about what we're doing from being together.

Jordan Buckner (30:07)
Absolutely love that. Stefanie, any final thoughts?

Stefanie Garcia Turner (30:09)
Yeah, the only thing I'll add is, you know, we didn't do this alone. We talked to, you know, trusted advisors. We talked to like our distributor partners, like retail partners. We let all of our buyers know ahead of time. So nothing was a surprise. And, you know, I think that the, I think like the biggest benefit coming out of it is that we're not only bringing ourselves and like our own expertise into it,

But we're bringing this mutual respect and just this single focus of like, we want to build this beautiful, wonderful, elevated brand with amazing products that's going to reach our consumers, our audience, our customers, and really just provide something that for us is just kind of giving back in our own way.

Jordan Buckner (30:59)
That's so exciting and I think that your journey is going to really highlight and showcase all those as you move forward. So thanks so much again for coming on and talking with me. I'm so grateful that you shared your journey and experience with me and especially for having known you for so long and seeing this evolution. I am so excited. I can feel your energy and your excitement and so excited to see this manifest into the world. So for everyone listening, definitely check out and support

their journey and help build this next great company. Thanks so much for being on today.

Regina (31:31)
Thank you, Jordan.

Jocelyn (31:31)
Thank you so

much. Thank you, Jordan.

Stefanie Garcia Turner (31:32)
Thank you.