Hardware Podcasts

Advice Line with Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali of Chomps

How I Built This · 19 Feb 2026 · 48m

What this episode covers

Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, co-founders of the meat stick brand Chomps, discuss the 'proteinification' of the food industry and how a recent, costly product recall reinforced their commitment to consumer safety. They advise Yari Dariz of Yadi Artisanal Empanadas on scaling strategies, suggesting a commissary model and delivery to manage seasonality, and counsel Zachary of Noble Pies on proving velocity and incrementality to break into big-box retailers like Whole Foods. Finally, they guide Josh Shrinko of Achigan on when to transition his smallmouth bass lifestyle brand from part-time to full-time, emphasizing focus on high-margin product lines like lures.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Yadi Artisanal Empanadas, Noble Pies, Achigan, Whole Foods, Target, Fresh Direct, Trader Joe's, QVC
Products
Chomps
Also
Shopify, DoorDash, Uber Eats

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