# 214 - Alex Cree on how he met Mark Cuban and innovated a new food product

- Show: [People of Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging)
- Published: 2023-09-20
- Length: 39m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product
- Listen: https://encase.substack.com/p/214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark

## Summary

Alex Cree, co-founder of Baozza, explains how he combined Chinese bao buns with pizza toppings to create a unique food product, starting with pop-ups in China and securing investment from Mark Cuban. The company faced significant packaging challenges when transitioning to the US market, specifically finding microwave-safe, steamable bags that could be flow-wrapped by American co-packers. Despite pandemic-related supply chain disruptions forcing them to source packaging locally at higher costs, Baozza successfully launched in major US retailers like Sprouts and Target.

## Chapters

- [0:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product#t=38) Introduction: Alex Cree and Baozza
- [3:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product#t=207) Origin Story: Pizza Bao in China
- [13:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product#t=825) Securing Mark Cuban's Investment
- [20:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product#t=1239) Pivoting to CPG During the Pandemic
- [26:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product#t=1616) Packaging Challenges: Microwave Bags and Flow Wrapping
- [34:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product#t=2056) US Supply Chain and Co-packer Constraints
- [37:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product#t=2270) Current Retail Presence and Conclusion

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Baozza (product)
- Mark Cuban (other)
- Sprouts (company)
- Target (company)
- Kroger (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Mondi (company)
- Taobao (company)
- Harmon's (company)
- Specright (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Reinventing the Pizza Bagel: Bagelverse's Jacob Cooper on Nostalgia and CPG](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-10-09-reinventing-the-pizza-bagel-bagelverses-jacob-cooper-on-nostalgia-and-cpg) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Jen Liao of MìLà](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-08-23-founder-feature-jen-liao-of-mila) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 1](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-18-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-1) (How I Built This)
- [Taking Networking & Tortillas to the Next Level with Henri Revel, Founder of Eureka Tortilla](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-02-28-taking-networking-tortillas-to-the-next-level-with-henri-revel-founder-of-eureka) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Banza: Brian Rudolph. The Chickpea Pasta That Nearly Turned to Mush](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-09-21-banza-brian-rudolph-the-chickpea-pasta-that-nearly-turned-to-mush) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-09-20-214-alex-cree-on-how-he-met-mark-cuban-and-innovated-a-new-food-product. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to People of Packaging.