On this episode, we're joined by Isabel Washington, Founder & CEO of Laurel's - the canned latte brand made, built for people who actually look forward to their RTD coffee. 

Isabel spotted the gap while working at McKinsey, noticing that roughly 90% of the RTD coffee aisle was non-dairy, ultimately leaving in early 2024 to build the dairy-forward latte she wanted to see on the shelf.

We get into formulation, why decaf was the wrong white space, why every can lands at 80mg of caffeine instead of the category's usual 200, and why she bet that taste, not convenience, was the real gap in RTD coffee.

We also dig into the realities of an A2 dairy supply chain, the white can and cow on the front that made people think it was canned milk, and why the most important job of a label is communicating one attribute clearly, not ten.

Isabel shares how Laurel's got into Erewhon, what buyers really want (incrementality and a real promo plan), how UNFI Up Next and KeHE Elevate help young brands, pricing strategy, and the investor catch-22 that comes with scaling.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

☕ Spotting the gap: 90% of RTD coffee is non-dairy
🥛 Why 100% A2 dairy, and what makes it gut-friendly
⚡ Building for 80mg caffeine, not 200
🏭 From kitchen espresso shots to a real co-packer
🐄 A2 supply chain risk and the Alec's Ice Cream drama
🎨 Why the can is white (people thought it was canned milk)
📦 Packaging advice: nail the one attribute that matters
🚀 Just launch, then iterate (40 demos in her first 40 days at Erewhon)
💰 The category price ceiling and making the unit economics work
🛒 How Laurel's got into Erewhon (they just applied online)
📊 What buyers want: incrementality, not another me-too SKU
🚚 UNFI Up Next and KeHE Elevate for emerging brands
👀 Brands Isabel is watching right now

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
01:05 – Origin story: from McKinsey to the RTD coffee gap
05:21 – Early R&D and why decaf was the wrong bet
07:36 – Why 80mg caffeine, and taste vs convenience
09:11 – From kitchen espresso shots to a co-packer
10:30 – A2 dairy supply chain and the Alec's drama
14:07 – Why the can is white
17:00 – Packaging advice: the one attribute that matters
18:36 – Just launch, then iterate
22:33 – Pricing and the category price ceiling
25:55 – How Laurel's got into Erewhon
26:48 – What buyers want: incrementality and support
29:25 – Distributors: UNFI Up Next and KeHE Elevate
32:30 – Being a true partner to your distributor
36:52 – Velocity vs expanding distribution
40:53 – National vs regional, and the investor catch-22
42:24 – Brands Isabel is watching
45:42 – Where to find Isabel and Laurel's

---------------

Links:

Laurel's – https://drinklaurels.com/
Follow Isabel on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabeldwashington/
Laurel's on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/drinklaurels/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Jason Wright, Founder and CEO of WILDE Protein Snacks - the brand that figured out how to turn chicken breast into a thin, crispy chip (and now crackers!) and has since grown into a $100M+ business across 20,000+ retail doors. 

Jason walks through the full journey - from a failed meat-based protein bar to the eureka moment at the bottom of a potato chip bag, through R&D at Colorado State's meat science lab, a disastrous test run at a pork rind facility, and the moment that inspired WILDE's now-patented production equipment.

We get into why WILDE had no choice but to vertically integrate and what it took to build a 55,000 sq ft facility in Kentucky during COVID - WILDE is now opening a 130,000 sq ft plant. 

Jason also breaks down pricing strategy, why demos remain the top velocity driver, and how TikTok creators are scaling a "disbelief" marketing message.

We also dig into WILDE's innovation pipeline - the hard lesson from discontinuing a pork chip, and why the brand is now focused on formats. Crackers just hit the shelf, a tortilla chip is coming later this year, and a pita chip is on the horizon.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

🥣 From granola founder in NYC to chicken chip inventor
🧪 R&D at Colorado State's JBS-built meat science lab
🏭 The pork rind facility disaster and what came next
🔧 A bulldozer-inspired idea that led to patented equipment
⚠️ IP leakage at a co-man (Conagra, Tyson, Hershey)
🏗️ Building a 55K sq ft facility during COVID - and now a 130K sq ft plant
🎨 Naming the brand after Oscar Wilde (and the trademark fight)
🛒 How Whole Foods pioneered the protein snack set
🚀 Demos as the #1 velocity driver (and scaling TikTok creators)
💡 The "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" marketing philosophy
🧀 Launching the WILDE cracker (chicken breast + four cheeses)
🎯 Why WILDE is now focused on formats, not proteins
👀 Innovation roadmap: tortilla chips, pita chips, flat pretzels

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
01:00 – Origin story: Feed Granola and health food in NYC
03:17 – The failed meat-based protein bar
06:57 – R&D at Colorado State's meat science lab
08:03 – The pork rind facility disaster
09:30 – The bulldozer moment and patented equipment
11:00 – Why WILDE had to vertically integrate
12:01 – Co-man in Virginia and IP leakage risks
14:00 – Why Kentucky and how they financed the build
18:11 – Brand identity and "protein chips" framing
20:07 – Naming the brand after Oscar Wilde
22:17 – Pricing strategy and retail expansion
24:05 – Landing at Whole Foods and the protein snack set
26:27 – Driving velocity: demos, TikTok, and disbelief marketing
29:25 – Distribution: UNFI, KeHE, going direct
31:03 – Pork chip lessons and the pivot to formats
35:51 – New product launch challenges
39:12 – Fundraising tips: seed vs. growth stage

---------------

Links:

WILDE Protein Snacks – https://www.wildebrands.com
Follow Jason on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-wright-ceo/
WILDE on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wilde-protein-snacks/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Bar Bruhis, Founder and CEO of Boostcous, the gluten-free, high-protein couscous brand that packs 18 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber into a five-minute meal. 

Before going all in on Boostcous, Bar spent a decade in SaaS and DTC, running day to day at KnoCommerce and helping start Sumo.com.

Bar walks through the two-year formulation grind: roughly a hundred failed kitchen batches, a promising overseas manufacturer that collapsed the moment tariffs hit, and the decision to rebuild the supply chain and vertically integrate production in the US.

We dig into how Bar funded the first run for under $50K, the signal that made him leave KnoCommerce to go all in, the five customer segments, and why he personally texts and calls one-star reviewers.

We also talk about cracking paid ads with a founder video he spent 70 hours making, going viral through Snaxshot and the New York Times, finagling his way into ExpoWest for free, and the aisle-placement that puts Boostcous next to rice and quinoa instead of pasta.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

🥣 Why regular couscous is just a carb bomb
🧪 Two years and 100 failed kitchen batches
⚠️ How tariffs killed the overseas manufacturing plan
🏭 Vertically integrating production in the US
💸 Launching for well under $50K
🚀 The signal that made him leave KnoCommerce
👥 The five customers he never expected
📞 Why he texts and calls one-star reviewers
🛒 The first 500 orders sold from his garage
📈 Going viral via Snaxshot and the New York Times
🎬 The 70-hour founder ad that cracked paid
🛍️ Finagling his way into Expo West for free
🤖 Building the company AI-first

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:50 – Origin story
02:55 – The product: 18g protein, 11g fiber, three ingredients
03:25 – The two-year formulation journey
05:22 – Tariffs blow up the plan, rebuilding in the US
07:12 – Moroccan vs Israeli couscous
10:18 – Funding the first run (write it to zero)
12:28 – The signal to go all-in and leave KnoCommerce
14:17 – Who the core customer actually is
17:08 – Finding your real customer fast
19:05 – The first 500 orders from Bar's garage
20:04 – Brand identity and naming Boostcous
22:58 – Cracking paid and going viral
25:01 – The 70-hour founder ad
26:44 – Expo West strategy
28:48 – First retail doors and velocity learnings
33:05 – Building the company AI-first
35:42 – Product roadmap and flavors
37:14 – Where to follow along

---------------

Links:

Boostcous – https://boostcous.com/
Follow Bar on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbruhis/
Boostcous on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/boostcous/
Follow Bar on X – https://x.com/Bbruhis
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Morgan Zanotti, Founder and CEO of Waay - the sparkling protein water brand with 10 grams of protein, zero sugar, and 45 calories a can.

Morgan co-founded Primal Kitchen, which she helped grow from a kitchen to roughly $50 million in revenue before a $200 million exit to Kraft Heinz.

We get into the origin of Waay, starting with the clear whey protein isolate that made Morgan wonder why no one had put it in a sparkling water. Morgan walks through the rapid launch timeline, the rollout across Whole Foods, Sprouts, and a Target protein end cap, where a sparkling protein belongs on shelf, and why the brand took off on Amazon and TikTok Shop faster than she expected.

We also talk about the importance of reaching profitability ASAP in order to maintain ownership, what five years inside Kraft Heinz taught her, and what strategics and PE really look for in a brand.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

💡 The clear whey protein "aha" moment behind Waay
💪 Why the protein message finally tells women to eat more
🥤 10 grams of protein, zero sugar, 45 calories
🔁 Why a second-time founder gets back in the ring
📊 Chasing a $40 billion TAM instead of a niche
🛒 Landing a Whole Foods national yes with blank silver cans
⏱️ Three months to build a brand from scratch
🏁 Riding Target's protein end cap, and the risk
📦 Why beverage blew up on Amazon and TikTok Shop
💰 Staying profitable to keep ownership
🏢 Five years inside Kraft Heinz after the exit
🔭 The brands and trends she's watching now

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:49 – The origin story: a millennial mom and clear whey protein
01:40 – How the message to women shifted to protein
03:06 – Why a second-time founder jumps back in
04:55 – True innovation and a $40 billion TAM
06:40 – How GLP-1 reshaped the category
08:13 – Selling Whole Foods national with silver cans and a trademark
10:43 – Three months to build a brand, find a co-packer, and nail the taste
14:09 – The protein arms race and a "support, not solution" position
14:55 – Sprouts, Target, and the end cap bet
16:31 – Where a sparkling protein sits on shelf
17:57 – Why beverage took off on Amazon and TikTok Shop
19:11 – Staying profitable to keep ownership
21:28 – Her cap table approach vs Primal Kitchen
22:30 – Five years inside Kraft Heinz and "keep being you"
24:40 – What acquirers actually look for
27:21 – Reading an exit, and why she loves Good Culture
29:56 – Brands and trends she's watching

---------------

Links:

Waay – https://drinkwaay.com/
Follow Morgan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-buehler-zanotti-31989620/
Waay on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/drinkwaay/posts/?feedView=all
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Rogers Healy, Founder and CEO of Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners, the Dallas-based venture firm backing consumer and CPG brands like Waterloo, MOSH, WHOOP, and G.O.A.T. Fuel. 

Before going all in on venture, Rogers spent two decades building one of Texas' largest independently owned real estate brokerages.

We dive into how Rogers built Morrison Seger as a deal-by-deal SPV firm, and how he only writes checks for simple, non-controversial consumer products he can authentically pitch himself. He breaks down his thesis across beverage, food, snacks, pet, and family, and what it actually takes to get conviction in a crowded category.

Rogers shares the founder traits he bets on, the talent he says can't be taught, and the single habit that separates founders who survive from the ones who stall out: relentless over-communication.

We also talk about why he's so focused on women-led brands when less than 3% of venture funding goes to them, the parent and family space he's watching, and the baby boom he's betting on next.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

🎸 Naming a VC firm after Van Morrison and Bob Seger
🥤 Why he only backs simple, non-controversial consumer brands
💵 Running a self-funded firm on deal-by-deal raises
🔎 The founder talent that can't be taught
📣 Over-communication as the No. 1 survival trait
⚠️ The one thing that makes him walk away from a deal
⭐ What gives celebrity-backed brands real staying power
📉 Why deals actually fall apart
🚺 Backing women-led brands when under 3% of VC goes to them
🍪 Miracle Mama and spotting under-the-radar founders
👶 The baby boom he's betting on next
📧 What a strong investor update actually includes
🔮 The unconventional path into CPG venture capital

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:49 – Origin story and naming the firm
03:55 – The investment thesis
06:48 – What non-controversial really means
09:45 – The self-funded, deal-by-deal model
10:44 – Writing checks in crowded categories like beverage
12:37 – Spotting talent that can't be taught
15:53 – The trait that separates founders who survive
17:26 – The dealbreaker that makes him walk away
18:00 – Celebrity-backed brands and real staying power
20:08 – Why deals fall apart
21:58 – Backing women-led brands
23:39 – The parent and family space and Miracle Mama
25:10 – The baby boom call
26:23 – What makes a great elevator pitch
29:24 – What a great investor update looks like
30:51 – Breaking into VC from an unconventional path
32:42 – Where to find Morrison Seger

---------------

Links:

Morrison Seger – https://www.morrisonseger.com/
Follow Rogers on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogershealy/
Morrison Seger on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/morrison-seger/posts/?feedView=all
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Alan Chen and Conner Mennig, Co-founders of Frozen One, the high-protein ice cream brand packing 40 grams of protein, under 400 calories, 75% less fat and 62% less sugar than traditional ice cream into every pint.

Alan and Conner walk through the formulation journey from flavored protein powders and Oreos to milk protein concentrate, and how they tested 50 grams of protein per pint but landed at 40 as the functional ceiling.

We also get into finding their first co-packer outside Austin, the in-house packaging design, and expanding from six Royal Blue Grocery doors (averaging 25.9 units per store per week) to Central Market, Bristol Farms, Wegmans, Raley's, Heinen's, Busch's, Schnucks, Fresh Thyme, a Kroger First Pitch win at Expo West, and an upocoming 1,464-door Target launch.

We break down how Target deal came together, the scramble to fund the first big order, the oversubscribed $2M round led by Supernatural Ventures and The Angel Group, and the important thing on Alan and Conner's mind right now.....hiring.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

🍦 The Ninja Creamy origin story (still memorialized in the office)
🧪 Real ice cream science, freezing point depression and the refreeze problem
💪 Why 40 grams is the functional protein ceiling (50 grams blew gaskets)
🏭 Finding a small local co-packer willing to run 100-pint test batches
🎨 Building the brand and packaging in-house with a friend
✏️ How the name "Frozen One" came from "The Chosen One"
🛒 First retail: Royal Blue Grocery, portable freezer, sell sheet, repeat visits
💰 Pricing evolution from $9.99 super-premium to $6.99–$8.99 conventional mass
📊 25.9 units per store per week as the early velocity proof point
🚀 The Target inbound, the broker, and 1,464 doors in 15 months
💸 The fundraising scramble when no lender would touch them
🤝 The three hires that unlock the next stage (sales, frozen ops, digital marketing)
🔮 Why the ice cream category still has massive white space

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:51 – Origin story and how Frozen One started
02:55 – Late-night R&D in the Ninja Creamy
05:20 – The protein source and the 40-gram ceiling
07:49 – Choosing the three core flavors
09:05 – Finding the right co-packer
11:48 – Co-packer advice for founders
13:04 – Brand identity and packaging design
14:25 – The naming process
15:16 – First retail accounts at Royal Blue Grocery
17:00 – Pricing strategy and moving from premium to mass
18:20 – Early velocity and the role of demos
19:47 – Landing Target through a cold website inbound
21:00 – The fundraising scramble and the $2M round
23:30 – What makes Target different (Roundel, granular data)
24:30 – Managing multiple retailer launches at once
25:59 – One tip for first-time CPG founders
26:57 – Building the team and the three key hires
29:04 – How to reach Alan and Conner
29:30 – Staying ahead of the protein ice cream pack
30:39 – Biggest risks and opportunities ahead
31:48 – Brand crushes (Fruit Riot, Graza)

---------------

Links:

Frozen One – https://www.frozen-one.com/
Follow Alan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanychen7/
Follow Conner on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/conner-mennig-84a469170/
Frozen One on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/frozen-one/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Russell and Julia Menez, husband-and-wife Co-Founders of RJ Naturals, makers of Nature's Candy Bar, the refrigerated, organic, whole-food snack bar made with grass-fed butter. 

The brand was born out of Russell's stage 4 cancer journey, when Julia started making bars from scratch to support his recovery.

We dive into how those homemade bars turned into a SoCal brand now in some of most iconic retailers in the region, including Mother's Market, Lassen's Natural Foods, Clark's Nutrition, Fermentation Farm, as well as a growing presence on the East Coast. 

Russell and Julia break down the formulation behind a bar built on dates, sprouted oats, grass-fed butter, coconut, raw honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt, why they chose Deglet Noor dates over Medjool, and why most co-manufacturers resist butter.

Julia  also walks through the role of coffee shops, gyms, and wellness studios in building community, and how a single networking event landed their anchor retailer and first distributor in the same afternoon.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

🩺 The cancer journey that started the brand
🧈 Why grass-fed butter is the hero ingredient
🌴 Deglet Noor vs Medjool dates (and why it matters)
🥶 Why most bar brands won't go refrigerated
🍠 The next flavor in the pipeline (hint: ube)
🏭 Interviewing over 20 co-packers to find the right one
✋ Going from 600 bars a day by hand to thousands per run
🎨 Evolving from RJ Naturals to Nature's Candy Bar
🛒 Landing Mother's Market and a distributor in one room
☕ Why gyms, coffee shops, and wellness studios still matter
📣 Demos plus social as the velocity engine
🚦 Saying no to shiny objects as you scale
🎯 The Q4 Whole Foods regional plan

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
01:13 – Origin story and the stage 4 cancer journey
04:38 – Formulation and R&D
06:30 – Why grass-fed butter
08:00 – Deglet Noor vs Medjool dates
08:46 – Flavor pipeline and the ube hint
10:22 – Refrigerated by design, not by default
12:49 – Home kitchen to commercial kitchen
13:41 – Moving to a co-packer
15:38 – Interviewing 20+ co-manufacturers
18:09 – Sticking to the formulation at scale
21:31 – Evolving the brand from RJ Naturals to Nature's Candy Bar
25:11 – Landing Mother's Market and a distributor in one room
26:43 – Coffee shops, gyms, and wellness studios as the community layer
27:30 – Demos and social as the velocity engine
28:53 – Saying no as you scale
30:50 – Biggest risks and opportunities
31:32 – Q4 Whole Foods regional launch
32:30 – Trends and brands they're watching

---------------

Links:

RJ Naturals – https://rjnaturals.us/
Follow Russell on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/russellmenez/
Follow Julia on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliahsuh/
Follow RJ Naturals on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/rjnaturals/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by William Underwood, Founder of Talent Brew - the CPG-focused recruiting and headhunting firm helping scaling beverage and food brands find the right talent through competitive-set focused outreach.

William breaks down what the CPG talent market looks like right now. With post-COVID reorgs, acquisitions, and layoffs, brands have historic access to exceptional talent, but many don't know how to vet or retain it. 

We get into the roles trending up, from DTC and TikTok Shop managers to channel-specific account roles, and why AI fluency is becoming a must-have even though most CPG brands don't know exactly what that hire looks like yet.

We also dig into the hiring roadmap for scaling brands - who to hire first, and the common traps like chasing logos on resumes and inflating titles too early.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

🍳 From executive chef to CPG recruiter (the origin story)
🍺 Launching a beer-focused firm during the worst market since Prohibition
📊 Why it's a historic buyer's market for CPG talent right now
🛒 Roles trending up: DTC, TikTok Shop, channel-specific managers
🤖 AI fluency as an emerging (but undefined) hiring requirement
💸 The real cost of a bad hire (financial, emotional, mental bandwidth)
🎯 Competitive set focused recruiting (50-100 companies, 3 referrals per placement)
⚠️ The trap of chasing logos and inflating titles too early
🔥 "Fire in their belly, throwing elbows, and polish"
🏢 Culture = what your employees do that you don't talk about
🧹 How to fix a struggling culture (and when to fire fast)
👀 Brands he's watching: Recess, Trip, Go Brewing, Throne Sport Coffee

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:44 – William's origin story (from executive chef to recruiting)
02:55 – Expanding from craft beer to broader CPG
03:50 – The current CPG talent market (buyer's market)
05:30 – Roles trending up right now
07:00 – TikTok Shop and ecom hiring challenges
08:31 – AI fluency in CPG hiring
10:22 – The real cost of a bad hire
11:45 – Smart hiring roadmap for scaling brands
14:00 – Common founder hiring mistakes (logos and titles)
15:55 – Generalist vs. specialist (and leveraging agencies)
17:00 – Competitive set focused recruiting explained
19:55 – Red flags when evaluating a recruiting firm
22:07 – Interview questions that actually work (go past tense)
25:02 – What brands want vs. what they actually need in a hire
26:36 – Ideal candidate profiles by revenue stage
29:00 – Building and maintaining company culture
33:20 – Brands and trends William is watching
35:00 – Where to find William and Talent Brew

---------------

Links:

Talent Brew – https://mytalentbrew.com/
Follow William on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-underwood-405677245/
Follow Talent Brew on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/mytalent-brew/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Hannah Awada, Co-founder and CEO of Hummus Goodness - the Michigan-based brand making authentic, clean-label Lebanese-style hummus with real ingredients and zero preservatives.

We talk about selling hummus out of her kitchen window in Shanghai to expats on WeChat, to re-launching Hummus Goodness in a church kitchen in Michigan in 2019. Hannah walks through the formulation decisions that keep the product authentic - olive oil over soybean oil, fresh lemon juice, no citric acid - and how a made-to-order production model protects cash and margin.

A big part of the conversation focuses on the Meijer relationship - how a competitor recall opened the door, how Hannah grew from 3 local format stores to all 278 Meijer locations, and why in-store demos remain her number one velocity driver. 

Hannah also breaks down the brand's major packaging refresh, going from a clear cup with a white lid to bold, personality-driven packaging with playful flavor names like Garlic Glory and The Big Dill.

We also get into the anchor account strategy Hannah uses for new market expansion, bootstrapping for five years before a pre-seed round with Michigan Rise, and the tight-knit Michigan CPG founder community she leans on.

---------------

Episode Highlights:

🏠 Origin story: selling hummus out of a kitchen window in Shanghai
🧪 Formulation: olive oil, fresh lemon, and zero preservatives
⏱️ Made-to-order production (not made-to-stock)
⛪ From a church kitchen to a 7,000 cups/week operation
🏭 Finding a manufacturing partner through family connections
🛒 How a competitor recall opened the door at Meijer
📈 Growing from 3 local format stores to all 278 Meijer locations
🎯 In-store demos as the #1 velocity driver
🎨 The packaging rebrand that matched the brand's personality
✈️ Food service channel (Delta Sky Lounges, universities)
💸 Bootstrapping for 5 years before a pre-seed round
🤝 The Michigan CPG founder community
👀 "Kitchen Couture" and the rise of beautiful packaging

---------------

Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:48 – Origin story: Shanghai to Michigan
03:30 – Lessons from selling hummus in Shanghai
05:08 – Formulation and shelf life without preservatives
07:10 – Church kitchen to own facility
09:36 – Scaling from 700 to 7,000 cups a week for Meijer
11:00 – Finding a manufacturing partner
13:17 – Co-packer relationship advice
15:00 – How a competitor recall opened the door at Meijer
17:03 – Growing to all 278 Meijer stores
19:29 – Bootstrapping for five years
22:07 – Anchor account strategy for new markets
25:20 – Driving velocity at retail
27:02 – The packaging rebrand
31:13 – Rebrand rollout lessons
33:10 – Food service as a channel
36:13 – Michigan CPG founder community
38:18 – Kitchen Couture and trends to watch

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Links:

Hummus Goodness – https://www.hummusgoodness.com/
Follow Hannah on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanadyawada/
Follow Hummus Goodness on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/hummus-goodness/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

On this episode, we're joined by Rob Johnson, Co-Founder & CEO of Born Simple and Head of Innovation at Mizkan America - the protein-forward shelf-stable complete, prepared meals brand that pivoted from barbecue sauces and broth concentrates into a category that every buyer in the country says is desperate for a makeover. 

Rob spent years running small natural and organic brands inside Conagra before leaving to build Born Simple, selling it to Mizkan in 2021, and sticking around for nearly five years - one of the longer founder tenures post-acquisition in recent memory.

We dig into how Born Simple was literally born in a Whole Foods meeting - the buyer hated the existing brand but loved the products, and Rob walked out with a nationwide launch commitment across two categories before the brand even had a name.

Robs gets into what he calls the "NASCAR package" problem in big CPG, the Mizkan acquisition, and what founders should actually pay attention to beyond the check size.

We also cover Rob's new role leading innovation across Mizkan America, where he's trying to expand beyond what he calls "innovation behind a computer screen" and replace it with startup-style consumer empathy inside a 225-year-old, $1B+ family-owned company.

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Episode Highlights:

🍖 How Born Simple went from barbecue sauce to protein-forward shelf-stable meals
🛒 Landing a nationwide Whole Foods launch before the brand had a name
🎨 Brand design inspired by Brandless and Public Goods - simplicity as strategy
📦 The "NASCAR package" problem and why big CPG over-communicates on shelf
🏷️ Adapting packaging to category - why Tetra Pak pasta sauce didn't work
💰 Selling to Mizkan in 2021 and key deal terms for founders (earnouts, key man clauses)
🤝 Why post-acquisition integration speed is the #1 thing founders overlook
🔄 Pivoting into shelf-stable complete meals - a category in desperate need of a makeover
🚀 Leading innovation at Mizkan America and killing "innovation behind a computer screen"
🧪 Bringing startup thinking to a 225-year-old, $1B+ family-owned company

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Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:45 – Origin story and the Whole Foods meeting
03:18 – The Brandless and Public Goods insight
04:52 – Small companies doing unscalable things
05:57 – What big CPG experience actually teaches you
10:10 – Sitting on both sides of M&A
12:01 – Building Born Simple's brand identity and packaging design
14:40 – The "NASCAR package" problem
15:55 – Adapting packaging to category (Tetra Pak pasta sauce)
17:18 – The stand cap pouch and glass recycling
21:42 – Selling to Mizkan and reading the funding tea leaves
26:10 – Key deal terms and what founders should negotiate
28:15 – Post-acquisition integration and why it destroys value
32:08 – Pivoting to protein-forward shelf-stable meals
36:33 – Head of Innovation at Mizkan America
38:00 – "Innovation behind a computer screen"

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Links:

Born Simple – https://www.bornsimple.com/
Mizkan – https://www.mizkan.com/
Follow Rob on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/robj2/
Follow Adam on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams, check out https://www.kitprint.co/.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.