CPG Operator Podcast

Rachel Krupa, founder of The Goods Mart, shares what emerging CPG brands can learn from small format retail, curated placements, and real shopper behavior. She also breaks down the reopening of The Goods Mart in Brooklyn, a new South Williamsburg location with double the space, expanded grab and go, frozen, pantry, beauty, home, vintage snack finds, and a front row view into what consumers actually buy.

You will learn:

• How small format retail can help brands test packaging, price, and positioning

• Why taste and founder hustle matter more than launch hype

• How placement at small format retail stores can lead to press, investors, and new accounts

• How to think about hotels, offices, coffee shops, and other nontraditional channels

• Why operational readiness matters before expanding into new outlets

• How to use customer feedback to understand what drives repeat purchase

This conversation began as a Nombase webinar, and due to listener demand, we turned it into a podcast episode.

In this episode, Evan Walther of Oceans walks through a discussion with Troy Bonde, co-founder and CEO of Sauz, William Hicks, CEO and co-founder of Magic Mind, and Ian Myers, founder of Oceans, on what really happens when a CPG brand moves from early traction into serious growth.They get into the messy middle between roughly $2M and $20M in revenue, when product market fit is real, but the team, cash flow, operations, and retail systems are suddenly under pressure.

You will learn:

• How Sauz handled a Target PO bigger than its lifetime revenue

• Why founder bandwidth becomes the first real scaling bottleneck

• How Magic Mind improved cash flow by renegotiating supplier terms

• Why unit velocity matters more than top line revenue in retail

• When to spend on packaging before paid marketing

• How to use retail media, demos, and display to drive trial

• Why early hiring mistakes can create more drag than leverage

• How to know when your systems are breaking before your team does

If your brand is working, but everything is starting to feel stretched, this episode will help you understand what's normal, what's avoidable, and what to fix before growth breaks the business.

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Chris Robb, founder of Supernatural Ventures and early investor in brands like Bachan's, shares how he evaluates founders before revenue, what separates breakout brands from the rest, and why most CPG companies waste money too early.

You will learn: • Why unit velocity matters more than total revenue in early retail growth • How to price your first fundraising round without hurting future raises • Why packaging is the one area early brands should overspend on • How to use retailers and store buyers as real world product validation before scaling • What Chris looks for in founders before investing pre revenue capital

Chris also breaks down how Supernatural Ventures approaches pre-seed investing, why he avoids heavy marketing spend early on, and how brands can build momentum organically before raising larger rounds.

OpenSky Ventures has backed brands like Fishwife, Magic Mind, and Habiza, and is actively deploying capital into the next wave of innovative businesses. They focus on brands with early traction, strong customer loyalty, and clear potential to scale into lasting, differentiated brands.

In this episode, Stephanie Nwokolo Hussey, Principal at OpenSky Ventures, breaks down exactly what they look for, how they evaluate founders, and how to know if your brand is a fit before you pitch.

You will learn: • How to prove real brand strength through repeat rates, subscriptions, and early customer loyalty signals • What investors actually want in a deck, including must show metrics and common deal breaking mistakes • How to stay capital efficient by controlling marketing spend, supply chain costs, and team structure • How to build a go to market strategy using organic growth, community tactics, and customer first channels • How VCs separate real trends from hype using examples like protein demand and GLP 1 driven behavior shifts

If you are a food or beverage founder thinking about raising, this episode will help you quickly understand whether Open Sky should be on your target list.

Landing a major retail account can change a brand overnight, but only if the operational foundation is ready to support it. Join Paul Verdu and Mitch Wedemeier from Octopi, a co-manufacturing partner backed by Asahi Group, to break down what really happens when brands scale into large national and club retailers.

You'll learn:

• Why landing a retailer like Costco or Target often creates a 90 to 180 day production sprint and what must happen within that window

• The critical documentation required including specs, certifications, and material data to enable a smooth transition between co manufacturers

• How differences in co-manufacturer equipment and capabilities impact product quality, timelines, and scalability

• Common surprises around packaging, lead times, and retailer requirements and how to plan for them early

• How to balance forecasting, inventory risk, and production flexibility to avoid stockouts amid unpredictable reorder cycles

Yuka is increasingly influencing what gets bought and what gets put back at shelf, with millions of consumers using it in real time while they shop. In this episode, we're joined by Gabriella Sebag-Weingrad, who leads Yuka's US business, to break down how it all works and what it means for food and beverage brands trying to stay competitive. For founders, understanding Yuka is no longer optional, it's a competitive advantage.

• How Yuka's scoring system actually works and which ingredients can instantly cap your score or drag it down
• The specific additives and formulation choices most likely to get your product put back at shelf
• What happens after a scan, including when consumers switch, trade up, or abandon products entirely
• How brands are reformulating in response and what they're removing without replacing
• Ways to improve your score without destroying margin, taste, or shelf life
• How to turn Yuka from a risk into a growth lever by positioning your product as the winning alternative

Growth is exciting, until your operations start pushing back.

Many founders try to solve this by working harder, producing more, or expanding faster. But the brands that actually scale learn a different lesson: at some point, you have to stop forcing it and start building systems that work with your business, not against it.

In this Nombase podcast, Dirty Gut founder Daniel Berlin sits down with Jesse Barruch, co-founder of Whims, to get some advice on how to navigate that shift without breaking your business.

Find out:

• How to know when you're forcing growth instead of building real scale

• How to schedule smaller production runs early to save you from costly mistakes later

• How to approach co-manufacturer selection and avoid the wrong partners

• What to track when you have little to no data and how to build useful systems over time

• How to think about inventory, forecasting, and demand planning in the early stages

• The operational problems that only reveal themselves as you grow

• How to decide what to handle yourself and what to outsource as a founder

• The tradeoffs between control, cost, and efficiency in your operations

• How to structure your time around high impact work that actually drives growth

• Why your vision for the business should guide every operational decision you make

After raising capital, most founders feel like they have finally unlocked the ability to grow. But what you do next can determine whether that capital creates momentum or quietly sets your business back.

In this episode, Day Out Snacks founder Becky Pleat sits down with Phil Trowler, former finance lead at Olipop, to discuss the specifics on how early stage CPG brands should actually think about deploying capital, building financial discipline, and preparing for what comes next.

You will learn:

• The most expensive mistake founders make right after raising capital

• Why expanding into more retail doors too early can hurt your business

• How to prioritize velocity over distribution when deploying capital

• What burn rate and contribution margin actually mean in practice

• The key financial metrics every founder should know weekly

• How to think about fundraising timing, milestones, and dilution

• What strong unit economics look like and how to improve them over time

• The difference between scaling your business and just getting bigger

• When to invest in people versus systems as your company grows

• How profitability changes your leverage in fundraising conversations

Make smarter decisions with your capital and avoid costly mistakes early!

Building a great product is not enough, especially in a category that actively works against you.

In this episode, Ayeshah Abuelhiga of Mason Dixie joins Hey!Hunger's Shireen Khera to talk about what it actually takes to win in one of the toughest environments in grocery. From getting customers to physically find your product to navigating low awareness, inconsistent merchandising, and long repurchase cycles, you'll see behind the scenes into the real work behind building a brand that sells:

• What it actually takes to get customers to find, try, and buy your product in a challenging category
• Why getting on shelf is only the beginning and how to actively drive demand through demos, local marketing, and constant presence
• Why early brands should prioritize velocity and depth over expanding into more doors and how to know when you are truly ready to grow
• How to think about distribution, brokers, and expansion so you don't outgrow your ability to support the business
• How to understand your customer in a way that drives decisions on ingredients, pricing, and margins
• How to win the long game of building a brand in a category with high costs and slow repurchase cycles

Whether you are in frozen or any competitive category, you'll learn what it really takes to turn early traction into real, lasting growth.

Expanding beyond the US is one of the biggest growth opportunities for CPG brands, and one of the easiest ways to get wrong.

In this episode, Ruth Fittock, managing partner of Tomorrow Brands, breaks down what it actually takes to launch successfully in the UK, a market worth billions in annual food and beverage sales. Drawing on experience with brands like Vitamin Water, PopChips, and Harmless Harvest, she shares what separates brands that scale from those that stall.

This conversation goes far beyond geography. It's a deep dive into assessing true product market fit, identifying category white space, and determining if your brand is actually ready to scale. It also covers how to pace retail expansion, build demand before distribution, navigate strict regulations, and adapt positioning for a more skeptical consumer. Whether or not global expansion is on your roadmap, you'll hear practical information to help build a brand that can win anywhere.