Tero Isokauppila is the Founder and CEO of Four Sigmatic, an omnichannel CPG brand specializing in nutrient-dense foods like mushroom coffee and plant-based protein.

Founded in 2012, Four Sigmatic is predominantly bootstrapped with under 40 employees and has grown into a multiple 8-figure business.

In this episode, Tero tells the story of growing up on his family's farm in Finland, where his grandparents brewed mushrooms during the Second World War when coffee beans were scarce. He learned to appreciate off-the-beaten-path ingredients—like Chaga—and leaned into that experience to share his Finnish traditions with an American market eager to explore healthier coffee alternatives.

You'll hear the direct-to-consumer path he took to gain traction early on in the US market, his process for collecting real-time consumer feedback, and how he streamlined operations by outsourcing manufacturing and fulfillment.

Key Takeaways from Tero Isokauppila

• The origin story of how Four Sigmatic started and scaled to multiple 8-figures.
• Pivoting from retail to direct-to-consumer (sub $10M) and the early warning signs that Four Sigmatic had something special.
• Is doubling revenue every year with a physical product sustainable?
• How Tero used influencer marketing to gain traction early on in the US market.
• Tero's process for optimizing a product offering by collecting real-time consumer feedback—and why too much feedback can sometimes do more harm than good.
• The difficulty of starting and operating a CPG business and why Tero decided to outsource manufacturing and fulfillment from day one.
• A pro tip on how to find great mentors.
• Formulating your own product versus white-labeling.
• Shocking facts about ingestible supplements and foods that most consumers don't realize. Hear Tero's helpful tips for buying safe and reliable products.
• A simple hack for conducting competitive research for your business.

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