# #65 Mid-Day Squares - National Target Launch, Business Therapy, and Dance Vibes with Jake Karls

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2022-10-18
- Length: 49m
- Episode: 42
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/cb2450de

## Summary

Jake Karls, Co-Founder and Chief Rainmaker of Mid-Day Squares, discusses the company's national launch at Target, its transition to self-manufacturing, and the critical role of founder therapy in navigating business challenges. He details the decision to pause US e-commerce shipments due to prohibitive cold-chain shipping costs, the team's structure with co-CEOs handling operations while he focuses on brand building, and their strategy to become a 'world-class' legacy chocolate brand rivaling Hershey or Cadbury.

## Chapters

- [0:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with#t=3) Introduction and Product Overview
- [8:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with#t=497) Company Structure and Growth Stage
- [14:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with#t=841) Brand Strategy and 'Road to 100 Million'
- [20:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with#t=1234) Founder Conflict and Business Therapy
- [31:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with#t=1870) E-commerce Shutdown and Supply Chain Crisis
- [44:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with#t=2654) Target Launch and Community Engagement

## Topics

- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Logistics & fulfilment](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/logistics-and-fulfillment)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Mid-Day Squares (product)
- Target (company)
- Hershey (company)
- Cadbury (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Sprouts (company)
- Mondelēz International (company)
- SnackFutures CoLab (other)
- Peanut Butta (product)
- Cookie Dough (product)
- Fudge (product)
- Almond Crunch (product)
- Brownie Batter (product)
- Erewhon (company)
- Wegmans (company)
- Sobeys (company)
- Instacart (company)
- Moscow Group (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [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)
- [129 - Kirk Visola (Mind the Font) and Jake Karls from Mid-day Squares drops in on a live interview on LinkedIn](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-29-129-kirk-visola-mind-the-font-and-jake-karls-from-mid-day-squares-drops-in-on-a) (People of Packaging)
- [Perfect Snacks: Bill and Leigh Keith](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith) (How I Built This)
- [Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-11-28-guayaki-yerba-mate-david-karr-and-chris-mann) (How I Built This)
- [Aden + Anais: Raegan Moya-Jones (2019)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-26-aden-anais-raegan-moya-jones-2019) (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/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-18-65-mid-day-squares-national-target-launch-business-therapy-and-dance-vibes-with. 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 The Startup CPG Podcast.