The Startup CPG Podcast #91 Becoming the Willy Wonkas of Marshmallows with Funky Mello’s Delisa Harper
Are you ready to hear from the world’s first and tastiest refrigerated, plant-based marshmallow creme? I have been full stop obsessed with Funky Mello since discovering them through the Shelfie Awards last year after they won and we did a short minisode with co-founder Delisa Harper last year (that I also recommend listening to) where I loved hearing more about their story. Today I’m so excited that we get a full episode with Delisa to dive into the world of Funky Mello. At Expo West, Delisa and Zach shared Funky Mello as a Backpack Brand at the Alley Rally event and were in the top crowd favorites (for good reason), so it was amazing to meet in person. They gave me some mini cremes to take home, which were the perfect size for making fluffernutter sandwiches, and now, I can’t stop making them. If you haven’t made a fluffernutter sandwich, it’s peanut butter (or the butter of your choice) plus marshmallow creme, and I also like to add a little tbh hazelnut spread, which is another past podcast guest. I think you’ll notice that my love of marshmallows really comes through in this episode.
Listen in as Delisa shares about:
- Founding Funky Mello with her husband Zach six months into dating
- Participating in accelerator programs and launching in Whole Foods
- Their holiday rollout with Sprouts and what they learned
- What it’s like to self-manufacture
- How they are exploring the foodservice channel
- Behind the scenes of their new Dippsterz product
- Their social media and events strategies
- What it’s like to work with your spouse
- And more!
Episode Links:
- Funky Mello website, IG @funky_mello, and TikTok @funkymello
- Delisa’s LinkedIn
- Listen to our minisode with Funky Mello in episode #73 In-Store Demos 101: Building a Successful Demo Program (+ Funky Mello) at 56:12
- Brands mentioned: tbh, Shameless Pets
- Food Entrepreneur article where Delisa and Zach mention being the “Willy Wonkas of marshmallows”
- Brands mentioned: tbh, SKU, Naturally Austin, Shameless Pets, FitJoy
Strategy Maven Agency Links:
IFT Links:
Social Nature Links:
- Social Nature website
- Social Nature team email: marketing@socialnature.com
- Learn from & get to know the Social Nature team:
- Episode #87 How Natural Shoppers are Responding to Inflation with Social Nature's Jessica Malach
- Episode #50 The Data Behind the Modern Wellness Consumer with Social Nature's Jessica Malach
- Overview of Digital Sampling with Social Nature founder Annalea Krebs
- Episodes that mention Social Nature campaigns:
- Episode #66 Sharing is Caring: How Alison Cayne & Haven's Kitchen share cooking confidence and industry knowledge (Social Nature discussed at 41:15)
- Episode #86 From Target Buyer to Nationally Launching Upcycled Pet Brand Shameless Pets with James Bello (Social Nature discussed at 37:33)
Show Links:
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (12K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics