MFD Pod

Our guest today is Jody Polishchuk, CEO of Sundays. Sundays is re-inventing the Oreo, finally. Zero Sugar and 1g Net Carbs. We discuss his aha moment that led to starting Sundays, what owning your entire supply chain actually means, why they are purely focused on DTC, and much more.

This show is brought to you by Manufactured. Manufactured is an online platform that helps brands manufacture, finance, and distribute inventory across 20 industries and 25 countries. If you’re interested in learning more, check out manufactured.com

Our guest today is Jimmy Semrick, founder & CEO of Brella. Brella makes cocktail drops that turn seltzers (Hard or NA) into balanced and complex adult beverages. We discuss how he thought of the opportunity with Brella, how he quickly pivoted early on, his approach to formulation and sourcing each ingredient, and much much more.

Our guest today is Alex Duong, Founder and CEO of Fair & Square. Fair & Square makes delicious crackers that are gut friendly, gluten free, grain free and nut free. I can’t tell you how delicious they are. I met Alex at an event a couple of weeks ago and might have eaten all of his samples he was offering. Alex comes from a heavy CPG ops background, previously as Head of Procurement at Thrive Market. We discuss how he’s building Fair & Square, why he picked the cracker space, how he thinks about different sales channels and ingredients and much more.

Our guest today is Jacob Zuppke, CEO of Whisker. Whisker is the maker of Litter-Robot, the highest-rated, self-cleaning litter box for cats. This episode was recorded live at the Retail Innovation Conference and Exhibit in Chicago – thank you for letting us use your studio.

This is brought to you by Manufactured. Manufactured is an online platform that helps brands manufacture, finance, and distribute inventory across 20 industries and 25 countries. Visit Manufactured.com for learn more.

Our guest today is Hugh Thomas, Co-Founder and former CEO of Ugly Drinks. Ugly Drinks was a sparkling water brand that had great tasting flavors. He is now the the CEO of Youtuber Jack Septic Eye’s coffee brand Top of the Mornin. We discuss how he scaled and grew Ugly over a few years, what impacted his margins during the pandemic and ultimately led it to it shutting down and how he’s building Top of the Mornin.

If you’ve ever asked: 

We think you’ll find this webinar useful.

If you are looking for fulfillment and warehousing help – we recommend chatting with our friends at Extensiv. Extensiv is a visionary technology leader focused on creating the future of omnichannel fulfillment.

If you’re looking to expand your business internationally, but not sure where to start. We’d recommend talking to Passport. Passport is an international shipping carrier built for e-commerce companies and their 3PLs.

If you do need help with your supply chain and inventory financing needs for your brand, we’d love to chat with you. Manufactured helps consumer brands source, manufacture and finance their inventory with our 700 vetted vendors across 25 countries. We make the manufacturing process a breeze for consumer brands. You can manage the entire process from one dashboard.

Our guests today are Michelle Razavi and Nikki Elliott, Co-Founders of Elavi. Elavi makes superfood snacks with their nutbutters and bars We discuss why they started with creating a nutrition bar but quickly found opportunity in nutbutters, their approach to building out their supply chain and relationship between each SKU, and how they evaluate new retail channels from a product standpoint.

This show is brought to you by Manufactured is an online platform that helps brafnds manufacture, finance, and distribute inventory across 20 industries and 25 countries. If you’re interested in learning more, check out manufactured.com

Our guest today is Katina Mountanos, Founder & CEO of Kosterina. Kosterina is a wellness brand centered around high-antioxidant extra virgin olive oil and the Mediterranean lifestyle. We discuss why start an olive oil business, the challenges and opportunities when only sourcing and producing in Greece, how she thinks about partnerships, new sales channels and more.

Enter RECOGS for 15% off at https://www.kosterina.com/

This is the replay of our webinar on May 31st about when to use debt and equity for your business.

Here are our panelists –

Cessna Mac is a Principal at Amberstone. Amberstone is a venture capital and private equity firm that backs ambitious entrepreneurs scaling brand-first consumer product companies into nationally distributed category leaders. Some of their investments include Honey Mama’s, Partake Brewing, Mush and June Shine.

Keith Kohler is the President of K2 Group and advises consumer brand operators and entrepreneurs what types of financial products best fit their needs.

Jonathan Maroko is a fractional CFO and Vice President at FlowFi. FlowFi is a first-class finance team and platform that delivers accurate books and actionable financial intelligence.

re:COGs is Manufactured's podcast. Manufactured.com helps consumer brands source, manufacture and finance their inventory. With over 700 vetted vendors across 25 countries we make the manufacturing process a breeze for consumer brands. You can manage the entire process from one dashboard.

Our guest today is Justin Seidenfeld, who is the co-founder and CEO of Doris Dev and Canopy. Doris Dev is a full suite product development agency based in NYC with a dedicated engineering and manufacturing team in Hong Kong. Canopy is a consumer brand, and are making beauty & wellness routines effortless for the whole family starting with their humidifier. We discuss how to find and partner with the right manufacturers and what he learned spending a few years in Hong Kong and China, his approach to product development and why he focuses on durable products and how he thinks about how much inventory to produce.