Hardware Podcasts

nutpods: Madeline Haydon

How I Built This · 13 May 2024 · 56m

What this episode covers

Madeline Haydon, founder of nut pods, explains how she grew a plant-based coffee creamer brand from a $30,000 Kickstarter into a national retailer staple before its acquisition by Emperor Rock. She details the technical challenges of creating a shelf-stable, unsweetened formula that wouldn't curdle in coffee, the pivot from single-serve pods to cartons based on Whole Foods feedback, and the strategic decision to launch on Amazon to build brand equity before entering retail. Haydon also discusses the difficulties of fundraising as a pregnant woman of color with no industry experience and the eventual sale of the company.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Whole Foods, Kroger, Emperor Rock, Tetra Pak, Pacific Foods, PCC Natural Markets, Circle App, Y Combinator, Danone, Nestle
Products
nut pods, Silk, Coffee-Mate
Also
Kickstarter, Amazon

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