# What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 1

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2024-10-18
- Length: 36m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1

## Summary

Guy Raz interviews Becca Millstein of Fishwife, Brian Rudolph of Banza, and Caue Suplicy of Barnana about the early stages of building their food businesses. Millstein explains how she leveraged social media and distinctive packaging to launch Fishwife as a direct-to-consumer brand during the pandemic. Rudolph details Banza’s journey from a kitchen prototype to securing a major retail deal with Meijer, despite catastrophic manufacturing failures with chickpea pasta. Suplicy describes bootstrapping Barnana by sourcing co-packers and initially rejecting large orders from retailers like Wegmans due to capacity constraints.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=1) Introduction: Food Business Founders
- [1:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=83) Becca Millstein and the Origin of Fishwife
- [6:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=369) Brian Rudolph and the Idea for Banza
- [11:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=702) Caue Suplicy and the Inspiration for Barnana
- [20:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=1223) Fishwife’s DTC Strategy and Sourcing
- [25:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=1528) Banza’s Crowdfunding and Retail Partnership
- [27:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=1644) Banza’s Manufacturing Crisis and Fix
- [31:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1#t=1886) Barnana’s Bootstrapping and Expo West

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Fishwife (product)
- Banza (product)
- Barnana (product)
- Meijer (company)
- Wegmans (company)
- Expo West (other)
- Klaviyo (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#268 The Rise of Gymkhana Fine Foods with Gulrez Arora](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-09-29-268-the-rise-of-gymkhana-fine-foods-with-gulrez-arora) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Aman Blana, Growee Foods](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-05-03-founder-feature-aman-blana-growee-foods) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [354 - Beyond the dieline with the incomparable Jake Karls from Mid-Day Squares](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-07-22-354-beyond-the-dieline-with-the-incomparable-jake-karls-from-mid-day-squares) (People of Packaging)
- [#48 Just TOAST-IT! Data-first, customer-focused, and expanding into Publix with Mafe & Coco](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-06-14-48-just-toast-it-data-first-customer-focused-and-expanding-into-publix-with-mafe) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [339 - Beyond the Dieline ep 1 with Tom Seymour and Jessica Kwon from Moka Energy!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-02-05-339-beyond-the-dieline-ep-1-with-tom-seymour-and-jessica-kwon-from-moka-energy) (People of Packaging)

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