Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford

Send us Fan Mail

Recently, two founders called me. Both were facing the same market: buyers and stockist type. The first was three months into a problem, and they were angry, tearful, and completely worn down.

Honestly, it was hard to hear.

The second had rung with a plan to build a brand that could change how an entire category gets bought and sold. They'd been pitching their idea to buyers, brokers, and distributors already.

What struck me wasn't that one had problems and the other didn't, because they both did, and both will again. It was where each of them had pointed their attention once the problems showed up.

That contrast was all in the mindset.

I've seen the brands that made it and the brands that quietly didn't, and I've come to believe the thing that separates them has less to do with talent or product than we'd like to think.

In episode 173 of the Foodpreneur podcast, the final for Season 18, I tell the story of both and what you can learn from them. Here's what you'll hear:

❤️ The piece of advice I gave for the heart

🪟The window I ask them to give themselves when the bad news lands

📊 The piece of advice I gave for the mind and the antidote to their fears

💡 The thing I'd invest in if I were starting my business again, having done most of it the hard and slow way myself for eleven years

If you've ever had a door closed in your face and wondered whether everyone else has this figured out except you, you'll recognise yourself in this episode. But it's much more than that: you'll hear hope. It has never been just you facing the tough times, and perhaps you'd like to be reminded of that.

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• BlueRock website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

If you want a genuine look ahead at where food and drink is heading, not just what's hot this month, this episode is essential listening.

I talk to THE most learned person in the business.

Lulu Gibbons is a research and insight specialist at Langdon, sister company to NFTC. Up until recently, Lulu was based in London, UK, and she's now in Australia. Lulu's job is to sit five to ten years ahead of the curve, spotting the small, quiet consumer signals from around the world long before they become a trend on shelf. 

She's also an expert in telling the difference between something with real staying power and something that's just noise.

Lulu’s  knowledge is next level. It blew my mind, and she knows how to share it.

In our conversation, Lulu unpacks what's actually happening with:

🌾 GLP-1 globally

🌾 why formulating for the GLP-1 consumer takes a lot more than a high protein, high fibre call-out on pack

🌾 the fibre nuance most brands are getting wrong

🌾 why getting it wrong can work against the very consumer you're targeting

We talk about gut health, hormone health and the vagus nerve, why personalisation is only going to get more specific, and what the UK's grab-and-go grocery category can teach brand owners everywhere.

It's an informative episode told by an expert. If functional claims are on your pack, do yourself a favour and take the time to listen today.

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• On the Cycle website
• Episode #167 How Nicky Jackson got her functional snack brand, Lioness, listed in 1900 Target US stores
• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• BlueRock website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Would landing on the shelves of Woolworths be a dream come true for you? For Sarah Leung, it was - and it still wasn't enough to keep her in the business.

Sarah is the founder of Umei Foods, a modern Asian condiment brand known for its plant-based mayo range in flavours like yuzu and gochugaru. Before Umei, she spent six years building Alg Seaweed, a dietitian-led seaweed brand that scaled fast - including 200+ new Woolworths stores in eight weeks. By any outside measure, it was working.

But growth and rightness aren't the same thing.

Sarah still hasn't fully let go of Alg Seaweed. She still owns the domain, still uses the email, still has product sitting in her warehouse. As she puts it, "I'm the seaweed girl - if I'm not the seaweed girl, who am I?"

Then came Umei. Working a part-time job to fund it, markets and tastings most weekends, two young kids at home - by the end of last year she'd hit a wall. Her words: "I'm done." 

In episode 171 of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, you’ll hear the part of building a brand that rarely makes the highlight reel: the exhaustion, the self-doubt, and the question every founder eventually has to sit with — at what cost?

You'll hear:

🌊 Why Sarah still hasn't fully let go of her first brand

😮‍💨 Hitting a wall in Umei's first six months, and what she did next

🧠 Why she started seeing a therapist

🥢 Why she's keeping Umei deliberately small this time round

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Umei website
• Umei Instagram
• Umei TikTok
• Sarah Leung LinkedIn 
• R&D episode with Anthony from BlueRock
• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• BlueRock website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

There are four things you cannot get wrong if you want to scale and exit a beverage or wider CPG business. Get one wrong, and it doesn't matter how good the rest of your business looks; you're leaking value somewhere you probably can't see yet.

In episode 170 of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, I talk to James "JP" Purcell, founder of Drinks 101, a commercial advisory for beverage founders. James breaks down exactly what those four things are, where they usually go missing, and the one part of the puzzle most founders neglect without realising it.

Listen and learn:

🚗 the 4 things you cannot afford to get wrong if you want to scale and exit, and why most founders only find out the hard way

🛞 an analogy that will change how you think about where value quietly leaks out of a growing business

💰 what actually changes on either side of the $2 million revenue mark, and why the metrics that matter shift

🏪 how knowing exactly where your product belongs on shelf, grocery, specialty, liquor, even a florist, shapes who you choose as a sales and distribution partner

🔍 the one part of the framework founders neglect more than any other

📖 a live, unnamed client example, and the disagreement at the centre of it

If you've ever wondered whether you're building a brand or building a business, this one's for you.

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• James "JP" Purcell LinkedIn
• Drinks 101 Method
• Listen to Scott Mendelsohn on What It’s Taken to Get to $100 Million
• Listen to Ollie Puddick of Innerbloom on Sales Is the Lifeblood: Bootstrapping a Beverage Brand
• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• BlueRock website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

How do you build a consumer packaged goods business that's breaking through $100 million in gross sales, entirely bootstrapped, with no outside investment?

My guest today is Scott Mendelsohn, founder of Raw C, Australia's leading coconut brand. I first interviewed Scott back in October 2023 (link in show notes), and this is the follow up so many of you have been asking for, what does the business actually look like now, a few years on.

The numbers are staggering. Coconut water as a category is up 99 per cent in supermarkets in two years. Household penetration has gone from around 13 per cent to 34 per cent. Raw C has doubled in that time. But Scott doesn't just talk top line, he gets real about what that kind of growth actually costs behind the scenes, and the moments he's wanted to throw it all in.

You'll hear:

😬 What Scott admits he still feels, even at this level of success

🤝 How Scott decides which brand collabs to say yes to, and which to walk away from

🥥 The story behind the Woolworths pistachio collab launch, the biggest first week of any coconut product in Australian retail history

🛒 What's really happening with private label in the coconut category, and whether it's a genuine threat or a distraction

📺 The cost of Natural Raw C's first ever TVC campaign

🇺🇸 What's next for Natural Raw C, including a US Target launch

If you want a real look at what it takes to build a category leading, independently owned brand in a genuinely tough market, this episode is for you.

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Natural Raw C website
• Natural Raw C Instagram
• Scott Mendelsohn LinkedIn
• #84 Natural Raw C: Behind the Scenes of What it Really Takes to Scale
• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• BlueRock website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

If you treat distributors like a sales opportunity to be won - like a grocery store, cafe, pharmacy, or speciality retailer - you'll go far. Unfortunately, most brand owners think landing a distributor is the finish line, a "set and forget." That's not how they work, no matter what level of distributor you're working with.

Bronwyn Manolas runs Devine Food Wholesalers, a distribution business built around beautiful, high-quality products kept out of the major supermarkets, and a door-to-door, relationship-first sales model most brand owners never see from the inside - the door-knocking, the tastings, the relationship-building that happens long before an order shows up in your inbox.

In episode 168 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, Bronwyn opens the door and invites you in on what a distribution business actually looks like day-to-day - so you know how you need to fit in.

If you have a distributor and the relationship isn't working, or you don't have one but want one, do not miss this episode - you'll learn:

💰 What margin you need, and how to think about pricing before you approach one
🎯 What Bronwyn looks for before she'll even consider sampling a new product
🤝 What's more important - tastings or discounts, and why
📅 When you need to take action for Christmas listings
💳 Payment terms to plan your cash flow around

If you've ever wondered what a distributor is really thinking when your product lands on their desk, this episode answers it.

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Devine Food Wholesalers website
• Devine Food Wholesalers Instagram
• NFTC website
• BlueRock website
• Loco Love website
• Enriche Foods website
• Sorry Nonna website
• Tummy Gummies website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Nicky Jackson has been a CPG brand owner before, so she knew the ropes. When she first talked to Target US, she didn't ask for a trial, she asked for 700 doors. What came next was a surprise even to Nicky. Target came back with an offer of over 1,900.

Nicky is the founder of Lioness, a daily functional snack range built around what women actually want throughout their day. Before Lioness, Nicky spent years at Kellogg Company  and Pepsi Co, then built RangeMe, the platform that changed how brands and retailers find each other.

In episode 167 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, Nicky and I get into why she built a product the category didn't have, and what it actually cost her to get there.

Don't miss this episode, you'll learn:

 🎯 How Nicky decided what type of product to create
💰 The funding required just to cover a first Target order
🛡️ Why you need insurance, and how far in advance
🤝 What most founders don't realise about broker relationships 
🍬 The thinking behind three products for three moments

If you're chasing your first major retail listing, wanting to get into Target US, or you just want a grounded, numbers-informed look at what that journey really costs, this episode is essential listening.

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Lioness website
• Lioness Instagram 
• Lioness TikTok
• Nicky Jackson LinkedIn 
• NFTC website
• BlueRock website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Food and drink brands that stand for nothing fall for everything. And that doesn't work.

In episode 166 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, my guest is Janice Williams from Universal Media Co, a digital marketing and publishing company working with food and wellbeing brands. Janice makes the case for finding the right audience, not just a bigger one.

We get into why behavioural data beats demographics every time, and why borrowing trust from a brand that already has it can do more for a new product than any ad spend. The opportunity you now have is finding which brand is best for you to borrow from. Listen to learn how and:

💬 How to distil years of product development into one or two lines that land;

🤝 Why media should be treated as an influencer, not just a channel; and 

🛒 What retailers actually want to see before they'll back you.

If you've ever felt like you're shouting into the void on social media, wondering why sales still aren't moving, this episode will change how you think about where your marketing effort goes.

Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company. If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase — scaling up, landing your first major retailer, or figuring out procurement — NFTC is worth knowing about.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Universal Media Co. website 
• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• BlueRock website
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

In the eighth and final episode of Season 17 of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I am joined by Helen Johnston, co-founder and creative director of Honey and Fox, and Henry Nevile from the Natural Foods Trading Company - two industry insiders who were on the ground at both the BiteBack Awards and Foodpreneurs Festival on 21 and 22 May. Both were there last year, too.

Together, the three of us unpack what actually happened. What stood out at Stickybeak Station, our product showcase. What Brand Story Studio revealed about where emerging brands are right now. And what Helen and Henry observed about the sophistication of this year's attendees' businesses.

More than 15 brands are named throughout the conversation - not as a roll call, but as real examples of what's working, what's standing out on shelf, and what the market is telling us right now to help you grow.

And after four years of bringing the event to life, and ten years working directly with emerging brands, I share what I’m seeing across the market and give you practical advice to help you grow your sales and brand faster.

If you were at the Foodpreneurs Festival, this is your recap. If you weren't, prepare to take notes - this is your free advisory session.

Season 17 is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company. If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, landing your first major retailer, or figuring out procurement—NFTC is worth knowing about.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Collide Drinks
• Intentional Tea
• Mulled Beverages
• Uproar Snacks
• Spicetub
• Oaty Butter
• Seedy Foods
• Coast N Smoke
• Fabio Soda
• Umei Foods
• Made4Change
• Urban Forager
• Raffi Cookies
• Get Dressed
• Sweet Pea & Poppy
• Download your FREE Brand Story Starter Kit
• Honey & Fox website
• Honey & Fox Instagram
• Food Marketing Academy
• Jayne Gallagher LinkedIn
• Helen Johnston LinkedIn
• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• Henry Nevile LinkedIn
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
• Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Most people only think about fibre when something goes wrong. It's been sitting in the health aisle, powdered and medicinal, for decades. Nobody had moved it - until now.

Priscilla Mellado saw something everyone else missed.

Twenty years ago, pregnant and struggling with gut issues, she looked at the fibre category and thought: somebody has to do this better. That child is now 24. And Liquify Drinks is finally here.

In episode 164 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, Priscilla pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to build a CPG brand from scratch. The 6,000 bottles she couldn't sell. The 6am fitness classes she shows up to pour tastings. Packing orders - even on the morning of this interview. 

Priscilla describes it best herself: sometimes it literally feels like hanging upside down, spinning.

And yet - she's built something with real substance, and this week she walks into a room of investors and pitches for the future of her business. You're hearing her story right before that moment.

This is episode one of two. Priscilla pitches at Foodpreneurs Festival this week. We follow up after. You're coming on the journey with us.

Season 17 is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company. If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase - scaling up, landing your first major retailer, or figuring out procurement - NFTC is worth knowing about.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Liquify Drinks website
• Liquify Drinks Instagram
• NFTC website
• NFTC LinkedIn page
• Your Free Pitch Plan
• Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au