Ilay Karateke, co-founder of Bezi, joins us to talk about building Labneh into America's next big CPG category — starting with the manufacturing edge that makes it possible. Her co-founder comes from one of Turkey's largest cheese-making families, and that partnership gave Bezi a custom dairy process most competitors can't replicate: double the protein, two and a half times the shelf life, and ownership of their supply chain. We dig into why that operational moat matters more than branding in the early innings, how Ilay is borrowing lessons from hummus's rise without repeating its mistakes, and why she's deliberately staying hyper-focused in New York instead of chasing national scale. We also talk about resisting the pressure to raise big and spray marketing dollars everywhere, and what she's watching for before Bezi goes wide.

Eddie Zelenak, co-founder of Buoy, shares why he bet on unflavored electrolyte drops when the entire category was going powder, and how refusing to compromise on formulation became the brand's edge as the market caught up. We get into the early CVS launch that taught them they weren't ready for retail, the D2C and Amazon learnings that shaped their return to shelves with Wegmans, and why Buoy invested in a university-led clinical trial as an emerging brand. Plus, how founders can market with evidence in an increasingly polarized wellness landscape.

In this episode, Amy Dell, founder of Sababa Foods, breaks down what it takes to commercialize a family recipe without a CPG background: navigating co-packers, earning shelf space door-to-door, and making the leap to Erewhon within three months of launch. She also shares why education and in-person demos have been as important to her growth as distribution, and how she's positioning Sababa Foods to modernize the global pantry category for the health-conscious consumer.

James Zackler, co-founder of DIRTY VIRGO, joins us to talk about building a non-alcoholic cocktail brand for the mainstream moderator — not the sober-curious wellness crowd. Drawing on his background at Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch, and Blue Bottle, James shares why he and his co-founder bet on non-alc cocktails over non-alc beer, how they self-distributed by hand-delivering product to bars and clubs, and what it's taken to scale from 30 on-premise accounts to over 90 retail doors. We also get into fundraising on proof rather than vision, and why he believes big beverage companies are structurally too slow to win this category themselves.

Luca Alessandrini left a six-year finance career to build Casa Virgin, an Italian drizzling oil brand rooted in his family's olive groves outside Florence. In this episode, he shares how he repositioned olive oil from a cooking fat to a table condiment, why leading with use case over quality changed everything with retail buyers, and how Casa Virgin has scaled to 200+ independent stores through self-distribution, intentional market focus, and a first outside raise after a year of bootstrapped growth.

In this episode, Liz Gabriel breaks down why brand is so much more than a visual identity: it's a decision-making lens that should inform hiring, culture, financial planning, and everything in between. She introduces the concept of story stewardship, explains the difference between brand evolution and shiny object syndrome, and shares what she looks for as an angel investor evaluating early-stage companies. Liz also makes the case for moving away from hustle culture toward a more intentional, regenerative approach to building, and why the brands that take that path are often the ones that last.

Ariel Altman, co-founder of Figa Foods, joins us to share how a love of travel, health, and dark chocolate led her to cupuaçu — a Brazilian superfruit that's been hiding in plain sight. She walks us through the origin story of Figa Foods, the R&D process of making cupuaçu taste as good as chocolate, and why she's focused on building an entirely new category rather than positioning against one. We also get into sourcing directly from small family farms in Brazil, navigating sustainability without certifications, and how she and her husband are building the brand while both working full time.

In this episode, Crystal Manuel shares how a health crisis on her Montana farm led her to convert to regenerative organic farming, and how those convictions eventually became Gruff Grains. We dig into why most Americans are eating grains in a form their bodies were never meant to digest, what it actually costs to bring a regenerative certified product to market, and the hard lessons of landing on Erewhon shelves before your marketing infrastructure is ready. A candid conversation about people over profit, the gap between early traction and sustainable growth, and what it really takes to build a mission-driven food brand.

Brian Folmer, founder of FirstLook and FirstLook Ventures, shares how his unique investor box model is changing the way Angels and VCs discover and evaluate early-stage consumer brands. He breaks down what he looks for in founders, how to think about valuation strategy at the pre-seed and seed stage, and where he sees the biggest opportunities in consumer products today — from better-for-you brands crossing over to middle America to the untapped potential of AI in CPG.

In this episode, we sit down with Meredith Mills-Merritt, Founder of The Original Southside, to unpack her journey building a premium ready-to-drink cocktail brand. They discuss what it takes to stand out in a legacy alcohol industry, why transparency and ingredient quality matter more than ever, and how marketing in this category is shifting from digital to real-world experiences. Meredith also shares the realities of scaling an RTD brand, navigating regulation, and building as a female founder in a traditionally male-dominated space.