Stonyfield Yogurt: Gary Hirshberg

How I Built This · 2 Oct 2017 · 59m

What this episode covers

Gary Hirshberg, co-founder of Stonyfield Yogurt, recounts the company's journey from a nonprofit side project in a drafty New Hampshire barn to a $100 million brand sold to Danone. He details the near-death experiences of the early years, including maxing out credit cards, borrowing from family, and surviving a factory seizure by a co-packer. The episode highlights the strategic pivot to outsourcing production, the desperate fundraising for a new factory, and the eventual sale to Lactalis for $875 million.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Danone, Lactalis, Bread and Circus, Market Basket, SBA, Bank of New England, New Alchemy Institute, Hampshire College, Sheraton, Disney, U.S. Bank, Creative Home Engineering
Products
Stonyfield Yogurt

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