Did you know that for the FDA to consider a product a jam, it needs to be 55% sugar content? When Anna Peck found this out, she thought it was wild and started experimenting in her kitchen. In 2019, Anna teamed up with co-founder Steve Ford to bring Chia Smash to market; a jam with 75% FRUIT content (and that's Upcycled Certified)! Full disclosure, Anna sent me some samples to try and my spouse is obsessed. And me? I've just been eating it the raspberry jam out of the jar with a spoon. Listen in as Anna shares the story behind Chia Smash, her time at Blue Apron, finding a co-founder and commercializing the recipe, launches with Thrive Market, Imperfect Foods, Misfit Markets, Whole Foods, and Sprouts, the rebrand process, beautiful recipe content, and more.Episode Links:Chia Smash website & IG @chiasmashAnna's LinkedInSteve's LinkedInStartup CPG Pitch Competition Trailer from Nov 2020 featuring Chia SmashShow Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (8K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

What if you could leverage the resources and experience of one of the largest snack companies in the world to grow your brand? Today we get to hear from two brands who did just that as members the 2022 CoLab cohort by SnackFutures at Mondelēz International. In this episode you'll hear from Brigette Wolf and Jackie Haney from SnackFutures, who are returning guests, and from the co-founders of GoNanas (Annie Slabotsky & Morgan Lerner) & Pan's Mushroom Jerky (Michael Pan & Shannon Lehotsky). It's a lot of voices with a lot of great insights in an episode with the most guests we've ever had on the show at once! Listen in to hear about the experiences of Pan's and GoNanas participating in the program including what they learned, long-term connections they made, and how it's accelerating their growth (including new retail launches, consumer insights, operations mastery), and also hear about the timing of the next cohort, how to apply, and what makes a brand a great fit for the program. SnackFutures is a proud sponsor of Startup CPG.Episode Links:SnackFutures websiteBrigette's LinkedInJackie's LinkedInGoNana's website & IG @go_nanasMorgan's LinkedInAnnie's LinkedInPan's Mushroom Jerky website & IG @mushroomjerkyMichael's LinkedInShannon's LinkedInClip from Pan's Shark Tank episode Link to our other podcast episode with Brigette & Jackie about CoLabShow Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (8K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

Have you seen those "how it started; how it's going" posts? Today we basically get to do that as we catch up with one of the brands from Startup CPG's second pitch competition in November of 2020: Tsubi Soup, which since then, has really utilized the Slack community to make many helpful connections. Started by Tsubasa Nishitani, whose nickname is Tsubi, Tsubi Soups are gourmet plant-based instant soups made with premium vegetables and state of the art freeze drying technology. Today we're joined by Tsubi and husband Alex Novak to hear how they bring Japanese miso soups to the US, including the decision to pivot from the Japan market to the US market. Listen in as Tsubi and Alex share about creating the Tsubi Soup product we see today, learning how to export to the US and setting up the myriad of logistics, their other entrepreneurial adventures including saké and property management, a recent rebrand, and more.Episode Links:Tsubi Soup website & IG @tsubisoupTsubi's LinkedIn & Alex's LinkedInStartup CPG Pitch Competition Trailer from Nov 2020 featuring Tsubi SoupFour Fox Saké websiteHakuba White Fox property management websiteShow Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (8K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

Today is our third episode in the "First Hire" series where we talk about making first hires in marketing, finance, sales, and operations. So far we've covered sales and operations, so be sure to check out those episodes, and today's subject is hiring for marketing. When is it time to hire a full-time marketing person? When and how do you hire a marketing agency? What functions should a first marketing hire cover? Here to help us answer these questions is Vanessa Ting, Owner of CPG Growth Partners, where she provides fractional CMO support and general management services. Listen is as Vanessa covers the different considerations and possible paths for a first marketing hire, how to think about hiring for/outsourcing social media and content creation, a framework for building a marketing team, the importance of agency/vendor management skills, how to prepare for your first marketing hire and common pitfalls, and more.Episode Links:Vanessa's LinkedInCPG Growth Partner's websiteShow Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (8K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

Today is Part 6 our podcast series with Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who has been joining us once a month to talk hot topics in CPG. This episode's questions came from you because for the first time ever, we had listeners call and write in questions for Seth! Also, last time we talked to Seth, Coca-Cola had just announced their decision to discontinue Honest Tea, and since then, Seth and team at Eat the Change have decided to launch the Just Ice Tea line, so we get the early details straight from the source. In case this is your first episode with Seth, you may know him as the co-founder of Honest Tea and author of Mission in a Bottle, and Seth is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Eat the Change, Co-Founder of PLNT Burger, and Chair of the Board for Beyond Meat. Listen in as Seth answers all your tough questions around scaling without compromising values, his most challenging low points, influencer marketing, fundraising, recessions, and more.Episode Links:Just Ice Tea announcementEat the Change’s websiteSeth’s book - Mission in a BottleHow I Built This episode with Seth about Honest TeaSeth’s TEDx talk: How Entrepreneurs Can Change SocietyShow Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (8K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

Do you really know your consumer? What if you had access to data about one million natural products consumers? Today we get a look at that data with Jessica Malach, VP of Marketing & Insights, at Social Nature, a product discovery and trial platform in the better-for-you space. With over one million users in their community, they've gleaned incredible insights about the "modern wellness consumer." Listen in to hear Jessica share all things about the modern wellness consumer including: how they define health, which certifications and labels resonate most, how they find new products, what drives repurchase, how not to market to them, if and how they use promo codes, and more. Social Nature is a proud sponsor of Startup CPG.Episode Links:Social Nature’s website Jessica's LinkedInJoin the Social Nature community as a consumer here As a CPG Brand, learn more about Social Nature’s programs here or contact their team at marketing@socialnature.comLink to “The Complete Guide to Online-to-Offline (O2O) Marketing” mentioned by Jessica and JessiFollow the #trynatural movement @socialnature Show Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (7K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

I'm so excited to share a conversation with you about kombucha and operations - two of my favorite topics! I recently was the moderator for a session that was held at UCLA Anderson by The Food & Agriculture Business Association for a group of MBA candidates where I had a fireside chat with Justin Trout, co-founder and former COO of Health-Ade Kombucha. In this conversation, Justin dives into the nitty gritty, behind-the-scenes stories about growing a kombucha business from a single farmers market to almost 50,000 retail doors during his tenure as COO and you get some snippets from me about growing LivBar. Listen in to learn the stages of Health-Ade's growth, the decision to self-manufacture, the process of transitioning from doing operations work to managing a team of operations personnel, first operations hires, overcoming a year with over 2,000 employees turning over, implementing an ERP system, discerning which experts to listen to, where Justin draws inspiration and why he loves operations, and more.Episode Links:Health-Ade's website & IG @healthadeUCLA Anderson websiteAudience questions at the end facilitated by MBA Candidate Julia Sweitzer Show Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (7K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

If you saw Encanto (which even if you haven't, you've probably have heard the song "We don't talk about Bruno"), you may remember the arepitas that can cure anything. Lucky for us, TOAST-IT is bringing delicious arepas to a store near you, and after trying, I think they also might be magical. Behind the magic is the hard work, vision, and story of co-founders and sisters Mafe and Coco, who wanted to bring the arepas from their childhood to the US. Listen in as Coco & Mafe share about pivoting from big corporate careers to entrepreneurship, launching TOAST-IT online, building their brand, getting on shelves at big retailers like Publix, and what's next in bringing their delicious arepas to more consumers.Episode Links:TOAST-IT website & IG @justtoastitCoco's LinkedInShow Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (7K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

Today I'm thrilled to share a conversation with Miguel Leal, Co-Founder and CEO of SOMOS, a new brand bringing food from the heart of Mexico to your home. Miguel co-founded SOMOS alongside two former co-workers and KIND Snacks executives, Daniel Lubetzky and Rodrigo Zuloaga. With decades of food industry experience, Miguel most recently spent two years as the Chief Marketing Officer at Cholula following his three years as the CMO at KIND. As you'll hear in the episode, I may have developed a slight obsession for SOMOS products after trying, and once you try the Unusually Think and Crunchy Tortilla Chips, you'll understand. Listen in to this episode to hear Miguel share about the story behind SOMOS, building an authentic and clear brand identity, launching in thousands of retailers including HEB, Kroger, and Sprouts and supporting those launches with a digital strategy, the decision to launch with a large portfolio of SKUs in multiple categories, creating the SOMOS team, and more. Episode Links:Miguel's LinkedInSOMOS website & IG @eatsomosLearn more about Alebrijes artwork and the Sobremesa tradition Show Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (7K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com

Today is Part 5 our podcast series with Seth Goldman, Startup CPG's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who has been joining us once a month to talk hot topics in CPG. At the time of recording, Coca-Cola had just announced their decision to discontinue Honest Tea, so we pivoted this episode to cover Seth's thoughts on the news. As the co-founder of Honest Tea and author of Mission in a Bottle, Seth shares his reaction, stories that he's been thinking of, and what's on his mind during a time like this. Seth is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Eat the Change, Co-Founder of PLNT Burger, and Chair of the Board for Beyond Meat, so he also shares about his continued commitment to his current work and the entrepreneurs' imperative to keep going.Episode Links:Announcement by Coca-ColaSeth's LinkedIn Post in reaction to the announcement Sourcing videos mentioned by SethRETHINK WHAT YOU DRINK videoEat the Change’s websiteSeth’s book - Mission in a BottleHow I Built This episode with Seth about Honest TeaSeth’s TEDx talk: How Entrepreneurs Can Change SocietyShow Links:Join the Startup CPG Slack community (7K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Jessi's Linkedin or websiteQuestions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at jessi@startupcpg.com