Hardware Podcasts

Stacy's Pita Chips: Stacy Madison

How I Built This · 27 May 2019 · 1h 03m

What this episode covers

Stacy Madison, co-founder of Stacy's Pita Chips, explains how she and Mark Andrus pivoted from a Boston food cart to a $250 million sale to PepsiCo by solving scaling challenges, including hand-cutting bread and managing cash flow. They overcame industry skepticism by investing in custom machinery, such as a conveyorized oven and a modified carrot-cutting machine, to transition from home-baking to industrial manufacturing. The episode details their strategic retail partnerships with Bread & Circus and Trader Joe's, which allowed them to avoid equity dilution, and their successful crowdfunding-style bootstrapping through bank loans. It also covers the operational crisis of a factory fire during the acquisition process and the personal dynamics of a clean divorce while maintaining 50-50 business ownership.

Most relevant to

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

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
PepsiCo, Bread & Circus, Trader Joe's, Costco, Sam's Club, Frito Lay, Campbell's, Cape Cod Potato Chips
Products
Stacy's Pita Chips, REACT!

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 35m

    Founder Feature: Marilyn Yang of Popadelics

    Marilyn Yang, co-founder and CEO of Popadelics, explains how she and her husband pivoted their pandemic-era shiitake mushroom chip brand from a DTC model to a retail-focused business, now present in over 3,000 stores including Whole Foods and CVS. Yang details the rigorous product development process with R&D consultants, the strategic decision to hire a branding agency to create an edgy identity, and the operational challenges of reformulating the product for retail shelf life and natural market certifications. She also discusses the company's self-funded origins, the decision to seek outside capital only after proving traction, and the difficulties of managing the 'hot and cold' timeline of securing major retail placements.

    Validation & product-market fitPricing, margins & unit economics
    9 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 33m

    Founder Feature: Becca Wright of Piedmont Pennies

    Becca Wright, founder of Piedmont Pennies, explains how she turned her grandfather's North Carolina cheese cracker recipe into a bootstrapped CPG brand now sold in 35 states. She details the decision to self-manufacture to protect product quality, describing the transition from hand-pinch production to semi-automated packaging and the challenges of finding affordable commercial real estate. Wright also discusses her retail strategy, focusing on boutique and gifting channels rather than mass grocery, and her use of grants to fund early equipment purchases.

    Starting a product companyManufacturing partners & offshoring
    7 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 33m

    Founder Feature: Stephanie Berwick of Pastazerts

    Stephanie Berwick, founder of Pastazerts, explains how she transitioned from a 20-year fintech career to launching the world's first chocolate ravioli, a frozen dessert pasta. She details the journey from amateur cooking competitions and self-manufacturing in a commercial kitchen to scaling production with a pasta-focused co-manufacturer in North Carolina. Berwick discusses the strategic decision to use debt-based crowdfunding via Honeycomb Credit to bridge cash flow gaps, the challenges of navigating frozen logistics and retail placement, and her focus on building velocity in natural grocery stores along the East Coast.

    Crowdfunding & preordersManufacturing partners & offshoring
    7 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 27m

    Founder Feature: Sean Knecht of Tantos!

    Sean Knecht, co-founder of Tantos (the first and only puffed pasta chip), discusses building the brand with celebrity chef Joe Sasto, detailing their origin story from a DM about flour-to-egg ratios to appearing on Shark Tank twice. Knecht explains the 'Shark Tank effect,' noting 3,000 orders in three days but also a significant cash flow hit due to Amazon holding funds for over a month. He outlines his strategy for pitching Whole Foods by analyzing SKU data to prove the snack aisle was oversaturated with tortilla chips, leading to a direct conversation with the buyer.

    Crowdfunding & preordersPricing, margins & unit economics
    6 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 1h 00m

    #59 Welcome to the Oat Haus! Celebrity Collaboration, Sprouts Launch, and Mental Health with Ali Bonar

    Ali Bonar, Co-Founder and CEO of Oat Haus, discusses the evolution of her oat-based spread brand from a side hustle to a national retailer presence. She details the strategic launch of the Brownie Batter flavor in collaboration with Jameela Jamil, the challenges of securing a national Sprouts Grocery launch, and the importance of hiring scrappy early employees like VP of Sales Todd and VP of Marketing Lisa. Bonar also opens up about her mental health journey, the isolation of scaling a business, and her methods for maintaining founder wellbeing.

    Direct-to-consumer & e-commerceRetail, wholesale & distribution
    7 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.