Insomnia Cookies: Seth Berkowitz

How I Built This · 26 Aug 2024 · 1h 17m

What this episode covers

Seth Berkowitz, co-founder and CEO of Insomnia Cookies, recounts the 21-year journey of building a $350 million late-night cookie delivery business. He details early pivots, including a failed partnership with the frozen yogurt brand Tasty Delight and a distraction involving vending trucks, before finding product-market fit with small, corporate-owned retail locations. Berkowitz explains how the iPhone and app culture provided the technological catalyst for scaling, leading to a majority acquisition by Krispy Kreme in 2018 and recent expansion into international markets.

Mentioned

Companies
Krispy Kreme, Crumble
Products
Insomnia Cookies, Tasty Delight
Also
University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, Jared Barnett

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 23m

    Founder Feature: Taylor Espinoza of Unicorn Bites

    Taylor Espinoza, founder of Unicorn Bites, explains how she transitioned from practicing law to building a 100% date-sweetened, allergen-free mini cookie brand. She details the product development process, which involved hundreds of recipe iterations at farmer's markets to find the right sweetener and texture, and discusses the specific challenge of keeping the soft-baked cookies durable during warm-weather shipping. Espinoza outlines her retail strategy, focusing on local expansion in New Jersey and New York before targeting major natural retailers like Whole Foods, while navigating the financial constraints of high ingredient costs.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 21m

    Founder Feature: Lindsay Hancock of My Better Batch

    Lindsay Hancock, founder of My Better Batch, explains how a career in food retail and manufacturing, culminating in a company sold to Kind Snacks, provided the foundation for her solopreneur venture. She details the rapid growth of her clean-label cookie mix, from shipping the first DTC order in April 2024 to securing national distribution in Target, Sprouts, and Thrive Market. Hancock highlights the operational challenges of preparing for trade shows, including baking thousands of cookies in an Airbnb, and the strategic value of the Startup CPG section at Expo West in securing the Target Accelerator program and major press coverage.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 29m

    Reinventing the Pizza Bagel: Bagelverse's Jacob Cooper on Nostalgia and CPG

    Jacob Cooper, founder of Bagelverse, explains his pivot from eight years as a CTO in AI to launching a nostalgic pizza bagel brand with flavors like spicy vodka and barbecue chicken. He details the complex supply chain requiring two separate co-packers for bagels and pizza assembly, and his strategy of validating demand through pop-ups before securing manufacturing. Cooper emphasizes the critical importance of high-quality packaging for emerging brands and his long-term, relationship-focused approach to securing retail placements with major retailers like Target and Whole Foods.

  • People of Packaging · 37m

    244 - Jody Polishchuk from Sundays on how they made the first zero sugar creme cookie

    Jody Polishchuk, founder of Sundays, discusses his journey from previous CPG ventures like The Juice Box and Yuga to creating the first zero-sugar creme cookie. He details the extensive R&D process, which involved three co-packers and three R&D teams over three years and $100,000, to replicate the taste of an Oreo without sugar. Polishchuk also explains his strategic decision to launch with a strong, affordable brand identity designed by Christine Brown and Django Jim, rather than spending heavily on a traditional agency.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 31m

    Founder Feature: Katie Lefkowitz of Harken Sweets

    Katie Lefkowitz, founder of Harken Sweets, explains how her health journey inspired a line of nutrient-dense candy bars using dates and oats as natural sweeteners. She details the two-year product development process, the strategic decision to launch locally in New York City before scaling to over 4,000 stores including Walmart and Safeway, and the importance of being operationally ready for rapid growth. Lefkowitz discusses bootstrapping the business, managing cash flow in the low-margin CPG space, and leveraging social media and sampling to drive retail velocity.

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.