Startup To Scale

When Lindsay Hancock first joined me in 2024, My Better Batch was just beginning its retail journey. Today, the brand is in thousands of stores, including Target, Wegmans, H-E-B, and Kroger.I invited Lindsay back to share what happens after getting onto retail shelves. We discuss the hidden costs of distribution, cash flow challenges, building brand awareness, and the pressure of maintaining retail velocity.In this episode, learn why getting into retail is just the beginning and what it really takes to build a sustainable CPG 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.

 What if AI could do more than answer questions and actually help you run a more profitable CPG brand? In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Conti, Co-Founder of Peasy, to explore how industry-specific AI is changing the way CPG founders manage inventory, supply chains, pricing, and daily operations. We discuss how AI can uncover hidden costs, improve profit margins, simplify supplier sourcing, and automate time-consuming tasks using real business data. Ryan also shares why the future of AI isn't about replacing people, but empowering founders to make smarter decisions and focus on growing their brands. 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.

The better-for-you movement has transformed everything from soda to cereal, but cookies, candy, and other indulgent categories may be among the next major areas ripe for disruption.In this episode, I sit down with Rip Pruisken, CEO and Co-Founder of Rip Van, to explore how changing consumer expectations are reshaping the future of snacking.We discuss the impact of reduced-sugar diets and GLP-1 adoption, the rise of what Rip calls functional indulgence, and why emerging brands are increasingly competing directly with legacy products rather than simply occupying a niche health-food aisle.Rip also shares how Rip Van approaches product development, retail strategy, taste, nostalgia, and nutrition, and what founders should understand about building products for consumers who increasingly want indulgence and wellness at the same time.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 if your product is great, but AI doesn't know it exists?AI shopping assistants like ChatGPT and Claude are changing how consumers discover and choose products. But is your brand ready to be recommended?In this episode, I sit down with Andy Kurtts, Founder and Creative Director of Buttermilk Creative, to explore the rise of the "third shelf" and what it means for CPG brands.We dive into surprising findings from testing real CPG brands across six AI platforms, why some products remain invisible in AI recommendations, and how packaging design, product claims, and consistent online information can improve discoverability.If you're a CPG founder looking to stay ahead as AI transforms shopping, this conversation is for you.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.

After building Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams into one of the most recognizable brands in modern food, Jeni Britton is starting again.Her new company, Floura, is taking on a very different challenge: rethinking how consumers get fiber and plant diversity through products made with ingredients that might otherwise go to waste.In this episode, Jeni shares why she decided to become a startup founder again, what she’s doing differently the second time around, and how the lessons from building Jeni’s are shaping Floura. We talk about creating a new category, educating consumers, developing products people actually crave, building a brand with multiple benefits, and what it feels like to go from running an established company back to building from the ground up.It’s a conversation about Floura, but also about how experience changes the way you build when you get the opportunity to start again.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, 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 accountsRecording deductions correctlyApplying retailer paymentsKeeping AR clean and actionableKnowing when to implement trade accrualsCleaning up accounting issues before they impact cash flowWhether 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.