Startup To Scale

In this episode, Sigi Hale, Ph.D., Head of Consumer Insights and Testing, explains the neuroscience behind shopper recognition, brand familiarity, and buying behavior. We explore why some packaging redesigns hurt sales, how shoppers rely on memory and visual cues at the shelf, and why changing the wrong elements can disrupt years of brand recognition.

Sigi also shares how CPG brands can approach packaging redesigns more strategically, understand what can safely change, and test new designs before they reach retail shelves.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

In this episode, I sit down with Lindsey Mifsud, founder of LL’s Kitchen, to talk about how she turned a homemade granola recipe into a growing CPG brand now sold in hundreds of stores, including Sprouts nationwide. 

We get into her founder journey, lessons from farmers markets, retail growth, customer feedback, and why genuine storytelling and relationships have been key to building the brand. 

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

Your CPG brand needs senior-level expertise, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need another full-time executive on payroll.

In this episode I’m joined by Beth of S3 Connect, Rich of Atomos, and Rachel of Severo Consulting to break down what fractional leadership actually looks like and when it makes sense for a growing CPG brand.

The three guests represent a larger informal community of cross-functional fractional CPG leaders from across the U.S. that  Beth Brown has built and leads, creating a network of experienced operators who support one another and bring expertise across different areas of the business.

We discuss why fractional leadership goes far beyond “strategy.” The right fractional leader might serve as an ongoing advisor to the founder, build the processes and tools needed to create foundational structure, train or develop someone internally, or help manage execution through outside resources.

We also explore the economics behind bringing in senior-level help. What does it cost when you make the wrong hire? When a junior employee is operating in a role beyond their experience? When poor processes quietly eat into your margins? Or when you make a major pricing, packaging, or operational decision without the right expertise?

Beth, Rich, and Rachel share practical examples of where fractional leaders can quickly uncover opportunities and help founders make better decisions.

If your business is reaching the point where you know you need more experienced leadership but aren’t ready to build out a full C-suite, this conversation will help you understand what fractional leadership can look like and where to start.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

Retail accounting gets complicated fast.

Between distributors, retailers, promotions, deductions, and short payments, many CPG brands find themselves with accounts receivable reports they can’t trust and financial statements that don’t tell the whole story.

In this episode, Jenna Oviedo from JAVE Insights shares the systems every CPG brand should have in place to manage retail accounts receivable from day one.

We discuss:

• Building the right chart of accounts
• Recording deductions correctly
• Applying retailer payments
• Keeping AR clean and actionable
• Knowing when to implement trade accruals
• Cleaning up accounting issues before they impact cash flow

Whether you’re shipping your first retail order or managing national distribution, this episode provides a practical roadmap for building accounting processes that grow with your business.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

In this episode, I sit down with Gardar Stefansson, Founder and CEO of GOOD GOOD, to talk about how he grew an Icelandic startup into a global no-sugar brand now sold at retailers like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, and H-E-B.

We talk about finding product-market fit, competing with legacy brands through taste and better ingredients, the realities of scaling in U.S. retail, and how GOOD GOOD is using AI to make smarter decisions.

Gardar also shares practical advice for CPG founders on testing small, learning fast, and building a product people genuinely love.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

Most creator marketing campaigns fail because they’re treated like isolated marketing tactics instead of long-term growth strategies.

Austin Clare has spent the past 15 years helping brands build creator programs that consistently generate content, drive awareness, and support retail growth. As founder of Shepard Strategies and now leading creator strategy at Endlss, he’s worked with brands across every stage of growth to develop systems that deliver results beyond a single campaign.

In this episode, Austin shares how brands should think about creator partnerships, measuring ROI, building scalable programs, and avoiding the expensive mistakes that many companies continue to make.

Whether you’re just getting started with influencers or looking to improve an existing creator program, this episode is packed with practical advice for CPG founders and marketers.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

Packaging is one of the most important sales tools a CPG brand has. But the packaging that gets you started isn’t always the packaging that will help you scale.

In this episode, I’m joined by Eve Ackerley, Co-Founder and CEO of Evie’s Snacks, and Taja Dockendorf, Founder of Pulp & Wire, the design agency behind Evie’s packaging redesign.

We explore the evolution of Evie’s packaging, including moments when the original design created confusion about the product, and what ultimately led Eve to rethink how the brand showed up on shelf.

From there, Taja shares how Pulp & Wire approaches packaging strategy, product communication, visual hierarchy, and shelf presence. We’ll unpack how founders can recognize when their packaging isn’t working, what actually matters in a redesign, and how to create packaging that stays true to the brand while helping it grow at retail.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

Getting your product on the shelf is only the first step. The real challenge is getting shoppers to notice it, try it, and buy it.

In this episode, I sit down with Matthew Kubick of Local Demo Service to break down how CPG brands can use in-store demos to drive sales, learn from customers, and build stronger retail velocity.

We talk about Matthew’s simple four-step framework for turning samples into purchases, why founders should do their own demos early on, and how your strategy should change across retailers like Sprouts and Costco.

If you’re trying to improve sell-through, make the most of your retail launch, or turn sampling into actual sales, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can use.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

What does it look like to build a CPG brand when you’ve already seen both success and failure?

Kristoffer Quiaoit, founder of Good Journey Foods, shares how he’s approaching this company with a new mindset grounded in self-awareness, mental health, and long-term sustainability.

We start with how Good Journey is being built today, from decision making to daily practices, and why staying even keel has become a core part of his leadership style.

Then we go back to Nui Foods, the company that came before, and unpack what happened, what he learned, and how that experience forced him to confront parts of himself that ultimately made him a better founder.

We also get into the role of nutrition, parenting, and personal development, and why building a business often becomes the catalyst for deeper personal growth.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

Coco5 started with a simple mission: create a better hydration drink for athletes. What began inside the Chicago Blackhawks organization has evolved into a fast-growing, athlete-owned brand distributed across the country.

In this episode, Marc Doggett, CEO of Coco5, shares the realities of scaling a beverage brand today, from retail strategy and channel expansion to innovation decisions and leadership hiring. We explore why Coco5 is investing beyond grocery, what they learned from Costco roadshows, how they think about product innovation, and the systems required to build a lasting brand in a crowded hydration category.

If you're building a beverage brand, navigating retail growth, or thinking about your next stage of scale, this episode is packed with actionable lessons.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.