264. Retail Said Yes. Your P&L Might Say No. How to Pressure Test Growth Before It Breaks Your Brand

Jeff Church has built, scaled, and rebuilt in CPG.As co-founder of Suja Life, he helped take the brand from zero to $100M+ in just over five years, becoming one of the most recognized names in the beverage space.We also get into what he’s building now, from mentoring founders and writing his book to launching a new protein soda brand, Proda, nationwide at Sprouts Farmers Market, and developing a CPG-focused AI tool. As an 8x founder and BevNET Person of the Year, Jeff shares practical, execution-focused advice through CPG Founders Group that you can actually apply as you grow. Check out his free CPG toolkit at cpgfoundersgroup.com/resources.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 Danny Walsh, co-founder of Peak State Coffee, to talk about how he turned his own coffee and health problem into a $300K+ brand without relying on retail or outside funding.We get into how Peak State grew through farmers markets, ecommerce, and repeat customers, why Danny chose to bootstrap, and how he’s balancing growth, profitability, and impact as a B Corp certified brand.Sponsored by Peasy - the free operating system built by former CPG founders for modern, scrappy teams. Peasy gives CPG brands 100% free access to its full platform, no limits, no credit card, no contracts replacing spreadsheets with one simple system for purchasing, receiving, production, inventory, and sales. You can get started in under 10 minutes with hands-on onboarding support in just one week.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.

Off-price and value retail is often misunderstood. A lot of founders think of it as a last resort for excess inventory, but it can actually be a strategic channel for discovery, customer acquisition, and incremental revenue.In this episode, I talk with Matt Goldbloom, Founder and CEO of Common Shelf, about how brands can approach retailers like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Burlington, and HomeGoods with the right strategy. We break down what buyers are looking for, how the treasure hunt model works, and how founders can think about pricing, packaging, and protecting brand equity.We also get into how Matt is building a lean team using global talent and AI-supported workflows to move faster and reduce founder bottlenecks.This episode is sponsored by Plus Forty, which helps CPG brands and service providers build lean, reliable teams with vetted global talent.Exclusive Foodbevy Offer: Plus Forty is giving 2 brands 5 free VA hours with no upfront costs. Their CPG- and AI-capable VAs can help with retail research, content repurposing, admin cleanup, inbox support, data entry, SOPs, and reporting.Apply for 5 free VA hours to see what a Plus Forty VA can do for your business. APPLY HEREStartup 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.

Founders are getting more retail opportunities right now than we’ve seen in a long time.But retail growth only works if the economics work.In this episode, Abby Richards walks through how to pressure test a retail opportunity before you commit. We break down contribution margin at the case level, how trade spend actually impacts your numbers, and why volume alone won’t fix a broken model.We also get into the three places most brands break: retailer economics, cash timing, and company-level reality.If you’re scaling into retail or about to land a major account, this episode will help you make sure growth actually moves your business forward. • Download The CASH FIGHT Framework - a free resource on our website  • Follow Abby on LinkedIn, Instagram or subscribe to The CPG CFO YouTube ChannelStartup 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.

Inventory is one of the most important and most overlooked parts of running a CPG brand. Too little inventory means missed sales and unhappy retailers. Too much ties up cash and creates operational chaos.In this episode, I’m joined by Matt Lynn from BELAY to break down how emerging CPG brands should think about inventory management software when to implement it, how to choose the right system, and how to set it up correctly from day one.We talk through the common mistakes founders make when moving from spreadsheets, what good inventory data actually enables in your business, and how the right systems can unlock better forecasting, production planning, and retail execution.If you’re still managing inventory in spreadsheets or you’ve implemented a system but it still feels messy this conversation will give you a practical roadmap to get it right.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 sat down with Mac Villarreal, founder of I Eat My Greens, to talk about how he is bringing fresh, flavorful refrigerated soups to a category that has felt stale for years. We also get into the challenge of not just getting on shelf, but selling off the shelf, and Mateusz Drela from Retail Media IQ joins the conversation to share how digital retail media can help brands drive retail velocity and smarter 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.

Big CPG brands don’t win just because they have bigger budgets.They win because they understand how shoppers actually make decisions in-store.In this episode, I sit down with Kevin Smith from SmashBrand to break down what large CPG companies know about shelf performance that most emerging brands completely miss.We talk about:Why most packaging fails before a shopper even reads itThe science behind shopper behavior and visual attentionWhat big brands test before going to retailHow founders can apply enterprise-level methods without enterprise-level budgetsIf you're launching into retail or trying to increase velocity this episode is your playbook for competing smarter, not louder.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 of the Startup to Scale Podcast, I sit down with Smári Ásmundsson, founder of NØRSE CØDE and the former founder of Smári Organics.Smári spent more than 10 years building Smári Organics into a nationally distributed yogurt brand carried by retailers like Whole Foods Market, Target, and Walmart, reaching $5M in annual sales. But when COVID hit, the business collapsed.Instead of walking away from CPG, Smári started again.Today he’s building NØRSE CØDE, a plant-based protein powder brand with a proprietary formulation, strong repeat purchase rates, and a focus on building a profitable, durable business from the ground up.In this conversation, we talk about the emotional reality of losing a company, the lessons that only come from scaling to national distribution, and how Smári is applying 15 years of hard-earned experience to build his next brand the right way.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.

Hiring a CPG broker can unlock retail growth or become an expensive distraction.In this episode, I break down the real role brokers play in scaling a food and beverage brand with Lisa from Run the Numbers. From understanding retailer relationships and review cycles to structuring compensation and setting performance expectations, this is a tactical guide for founders navigating wholesale growth.We cover:What brokers actually do (and what they don’t)When it makes sense to hire one and when it doesn’tHow brokers get paid and what that means for your marginsThe differences between brokers, in-house sales, and fractional sales supportHow to evaluate, manage, and measure broker performanceIf you’re thinking about retail expansion or already working with a broker, this episode will help you make smarter decisions and avoid costly mistakes.Read our Ultimate Guide to CPG Brokers Here: https://www.foodbevy.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-cpg-brokers/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 Kun Yang, CEO and co-founder of Pricklee, to talk about the brand’s shift from cactus water to natural hydration. We break down what sparked the rebrand, how the team tackled consumer education barriers, and why simplifying the message became key to scaling in a crowded beverage category.This conversation also covers packaging strategy, retail rollout decisions, product-market fit, and the role clear positioning plays in driving trial and repeat purchase. A great listen for founders thinking about rebranding or refining how their product shows up on shelf.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.