Shelf Talkers

Summary:

Artificial dyes are becoming one of the biggest topics facing food and beverage brands. As regulations evolve and consumer expectations continue to shift, many companies are asking the same question: how do you reformulate without sacrificing product quality?

In this episode, Adam talks with Kelly Anderson, founder of Dye Converter, about what brands should be thinking about now—from regulatory timelines to the real-world challenges of replacing synthetic colors with natural alternatives. Kelly also shares the story behind launching Dye Converter after nearly two decades leading innovation at some of the world's best-known food companies.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Kelly's journey from corporate food innovation to entrepreneurship
• Why artificial dye regulations are creating urgency for CPG brands
• What product reformulation actually looks like—including costs, timelines, and common challenges
• How brands can transition to natural colors while protecting quality, consistency, and consumer experience

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyai/
• Website: https://dyeconverter.com

Learn more:

See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

Summary

Building a premium brand takes more than a great product. In this episode of Shelf Talkers, Adam sits down with Lauren Ephrat, founder of Dogistry, to discuss how she identified an opportunity in the luxury dog accessory market, navigated the realities of inventory management, and discovered the power of investing in creative and strategic business guidance.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Lauren's founder journey and the market opportunity that inspired Dogistry
• Why investing in professional creative direction and photography changed the trajectory of the brand
• How the SKU Accelerator program helped her better understand her business and unlock new growth
• Lessons learned from early inventory challenges and the realities of building a physical product business

Guest Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenephrat/
• Website: https://dogistry.com

Learn More

See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

Summary:

You'd think starting your third company would be easier than starting your first. But that's not necessarily how entrepreneurship works.

Kevin Brodwick has spent his career building consumer brands that challenge conventional thinking. After founding Thinkbaby and Brixxy in the better-for-you personal care space, he's now tackling an entirely different category with ATOMICO, a sparkling vitamin water brand.

And despite his experience, Kevin has found that building a beverage brand comes with a whole new set of challenges.

In this episode of Shelf Talkers, Adam Feller talks with Kevin about the lessons he's learned across three businesses, how his approach to entrepreneurship has evolved, and why experience doesn't always translate into an easier path forward.

They explore what it takes to introduce products consumers don't yet realize they need, how to recognize which lessons from previous businesses still apply, and why moving into a new CPG category can challenge even experienced founders.

For emerging CPG brands, it's a useful look at the realities of building a business, navigating unfamiliar markets, and learning when to trust your experience—and when to rethink everything.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Kevin identified opportunities that led him to start his first businesses

• What he's learned from building three consumer brands

• Why launching ATOMICO in the beverage category has been more challenging than his previous ventures

• How experienced entrepreneurs balance pattern recognition with assumptions that may no longer apply

• The importance of surrounding yourself with the right people

• What Kevin would tell himself before starting his first company

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-brodwick-8539014b/

• Website: https://goatomico.com

Learn more:

See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

Summary:
What does it take to build a snack brand that stands out in one of the most competitive aisles in retail? In this episode, Adam sits down with Caleb Majors, co-founder of Brothers Nuts, to discuss how a deeply personal mission evolved into a fast-growing CPG brand that's expanding from hundreds of stores to national retail.

From early packaging decisions to retail strategy and product education, Caleb shares what they've learned while building a bootstrapped business focused on clean ingredients and sprouted nuts.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The personal story that inspired Brothers Nuts
• What makes sprouted nuts different—and why consumers care
• Landing their first retail accounts through persistence and outreach
• Using in-house demos to drive retail velocity
• How retailer feedback shaped their packaging and pricing strategy
• Why they chose to stay bootstrapped while scaling nationally

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-majors-745598185/
• Website: https://www.brothersnuts.com

Learn more:

See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

Landing a retail meeting is only half the battle. The real challenge is knowing what buyers actually care about once you're in the room.

In this episode, Adam sits down with Tia Ellis, founder of Wildflower Insights and former retail broker, to unpack what separates successful retail pitches from the ones that never turn into purchase orders. Drawing from years of helping brands generate more than $200 million in retail sales, Tia shares practical advice for founders who want to build retailer relationships, pitch with confidence, and avoid costly mistakes.

Whether you're preparing for your first buyer meeting or rethinking your retail strategy, this conversation offers actionable guidance you can apply right away.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why selling to retail buyers is different from selling to consumers
• The biggest mistakes founders make during buyer meetings
• How to build relationships with buyers before asking for shelf space
• When brokers make sense—and when founders should do it themselves
• Creating messaging that attracts buyers instead of chasing them
• Preparing for retail meetings with confidence and clarity

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiaellis/
• Website: https://wildflowerinsight.com

Learn more:
See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

Adam's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfeller/

Wild Monkey Bar wasn't created in a boardroom. It started after a climbing trip in Rocky Mountain National Park when founders John and Brooke Campbell realized the snacks they packed simply weren't good enough.

In this episode, John shares the deeply personal story behind building Wild Monkey Bar, from leaving corporate life behind to hand-making every bar in Boulder while growing the business one relationship at a time.

For founders and emerging CPG brands, this conversation is a reminder that sustainable growth often comes from patience, discipline, and saying no to opportunities that aren't the right fit.

In this episode, we discuss:

• John's journey from commercial real estate to entrepreneurship
• How a backcountry climbing trip inspired Wild Monkey Bar
• Building a premium snack brand with limited resources
• Why they turned down early retail opportunities—including Whole Foods
• Lessons on branding, customer acquisition, and long-term thinking
• The importance of building a business alongside your partner

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-campbell-97579467/
• Website: https://wildmonkeybar.com

Learn more:

See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at https://aviditycreative.com.

Keya Wingfield never planned to start a snack company. A pastry chef by trade, she found herself pivoting during the pandemic when customers couldn't stop asking for one unexpected item: her Bombay spice potato chips. That simple side offering became Keya's Snacks, a brand introducing authentic Indian flavors to mainstream grocery shelves across the country.

In this episode of Shelf Talkers, Adam sits down with Keya to talk about building a CPG brand without a traditional CPG background, scaling from handmade production to thousands of retail stores, and why authenticity, not watered-down global flavors, is at the heart of everything her company creates.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How a pandemic pivot unexpectedly launched Keya's Snacks
• Why authentic flavor can become a competitive advantage
• Lessons from scaling from 12 stores to more than 2,000
• Building a memorable brand through intentional packaging and positioning
• The operational realities of growing a young CPG company
• Advice for founders navigating uncertainty and rapid growth

Guest Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keya-wingfield/
• Website: https://keyassnacks.com

Learn More

See how Avidity helps emerging CPG brands create packaging that earns attention at shelf and drives sales.

https://aviditycreative.com

What does it take to build not one successful consumer brand, but two?

In this episode, Adam sits down with entrepreneur Sean Knecht, founder of PrideBites and co-founder of Tantos, to discuss the realities of building brands from the ground up. Sean shares how a simple idea for custom college-themed dog toys grew into a nationally recognized pet products company, how a Shark Tank appearance accelerated growth, and why he decided to jump into an entirely new category with Tantos, the world's first puffed pasta chip. Along the way, he opens up about the decisions that paid off, the mistakes that taught the biggest lessons, and what founders should know about scaling a brand in competitive markets. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Building PrideBites from a college sports-inspired dog toy idea into a national pet products brand
• The impact of appearing on Shark Tank and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling
• How a friendship with Chef Joe Sasto led to the launch of Tantos
• Launching a new snack category with puffed pasta chips
• The best decisions Sean has made as a founder
• Mistakes, lessons learned, and advice for growing consumer brands

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-knecht-a1398b11/
• PrideBites: https://pridebites.com
• Tantos: https://www.eattantos.com

Learn more:
See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

What does it take to launch a food brand, earn your first customers, and scale into stores across the country in just over a year?

In this episode of Shelf Talkers, Adam Feller sits down with Katherine Horvath, Co-Founder and CMO of Teddy’s Tallow Chips, to discuss the remarkable story behind one of the fastest-growing emerging snack brands in the better-for-you space.

Katherine shares how a mission-driven family business turned into a national brand, the early decisions that helped them gain traction, and the lessons they've learned while growing at an incredible pace. She also offers practical advice for founders looking to build momentum in today's competitive CPG landscape.

Katherine is the Co-Founder, Co-Owner, and Chief Marketing Officer of Teddy’s Tallow Chips, a rapidly growing better-for-you snack brand focused on traditional ingredients and exceptional quality. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• The origin story behind Teddy’s Tallow Chips
• How they found and won their first customers
• What fueled their rapid growth and nationwide expansion
• Building a brand and package design without an agency
• The decisions that made the biggest impact early on
• Lessons and advice for founders building CPG brands today
• How brand evolution can support the next stage of growth

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn
• Website

Learn More:

See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

In this episode of Shelf Talkers, host Adam Feller sits down with Abby June Richards, founder of The CPG CFO, to talk about one of the most important parts of building a sustainable CPG business: understanding your numbers.

Abby shares how she found her way into the finance side of CPG, why she started The CPG CFO, and how she helps emerging brands get more clarity around cash flow, pricing, margins, and growth.

A big focus of the conversation is The CPG CFO’s CASH FIGHT framework, a practical tool designed to help founders understand how cash moves through their business. During the episode, Abby walks through the C.A.S.H. portion of the framework, including conversion cycle, alert level, shelf pricing, and shipping and fulfillment.

The conversation covers why sales growth does not always mean a business is financially healthy, how cash can get tied up in inventory or delayed payments, and why founders need to understand the real costs behind each sales channel. Abby also explains why strong pricing, regular cash flow reviews, and better financial visibility can help founders make smarter decisions before cash gets tight.

This episode is a helpful listen for CPG founders who want to build a stronger financial foundation, avoid common cash flow surprises, and understand what their numbers are really telling them.

In this episode we cover:

• How Abby got into CPG finance and started The CPG CFO

• Why “knowing your numbers” matters for emerging brands

• What the CASH FIGHT framework helps founders understand

• Why cash flow issues can happen even when sales are growing

• How pricing, payment cycles, and fulfillment costs impact profitability

• Why founders should regularly review their cash position and channel performance

About Abby June Richards

Abby June Richards is the founder of The CPG CFO, where she provides fractional CFO services for emerging CPG brands. Her work helps founders better understand their numbers, manage cash flow, and build more sustainable businesses.

Before starting her own firm in 2023, Abby spent years working in operations, accounting, audit, outsourced accounting, and technology implementation. Today, she focuses specifically on helping CPG founders build financially healthier companies.

Links

Connect with Abby June Richards on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbyjuner/
Learn more about The CPG CFO: https://www.thecpgcfo.com
Download The CPG CFO’s 13-week cash flow template: https://www.thecpgcfo.com/cashflowforecast

Work with Avidity Creative

At Avidity Creative, we help food and beverage brands build stronger brand identities, packaging, and sales materials that are designed to perform on shelf and support growth.

Learn more at: https://www.aviditycreative.com