Hardware Podcasts

#117 Rebranding, Fundraising, and the Success Behind Launching Myles Comfort Foods at Target with Myles Powell

The Startup CPG Podcast · 5 Dec 2023 · 38m · Episode 1

What this episode covers

Myles Powell, founder of Myles Comfort Foods, explains how he bootstrapped the brand before securing a $1.5 million seed round and executing a critical rebrand from '8 Myles' to 'Myles Comfort Foods' to support aggressive retail growth. He details an unconventional entry into Target by manually stocking shelves for six weeks to generate sales data, which led to a formal business award and national distribution. Powell also discusses leveraging NIQ’s Byzzer for category insights, navigating the complexities of the frozen food category, and his fundraising journey involving angels and micro-VCs to support expansion into food service.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Myles Comfort Foods, 8 Myles, Target, Giant, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Thrive Market, Fresh Market, Mazanadas, Friendly Bread, Ooze and Oz, Ben's Chili Bowl, Founding Farmers, NIQ
Products
Byzzer, RangeMe, Cin7

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • How I Built This · 1h 08m

    Happy Family Organics: Shazi Visram (2020)

    Shazi Visram, founder of Happy Family Organics, explains how she pivoted from a failed frozen baby food concept to a $200 million brand by adopting the pouch format after seeing it in Australia. She details raising $550,000 from friends and family after rejecting a VC term sheet that would have given investors 70% equity, and leveraging a free American Express Super Bowl commercial to raise $8 million in three weeks. Visram discusses selling 92% of the company to Danone to secure resources against competitors like Gerber and Plum Organics, driven by both strategic necessity and her son’s autism diagnosis.

    Validation & product-market fitFundraising & investors
    7 chapters

  • How I Built This · 56m

    nutpods: Madeline Haydon

    Madeline Haydon, founder of nut pods, explains how she grew a plant-based coffee creamer brand from a $30,000 Kickstarter into a national retailer staple before its acquisition by Emperor Rock. She details the technical challenges of creating a shelf-stable, unsweetened formula that wouldn't curdle in coffee, the pivot from single-serve pods to cartons based on Whole Foods feedback, and the strategic decision to launch on Amazon to build brand equity before entering retail. Haydon also discusses the difficulties of fundraising as a pregnant woman of color with no industry experience and the eventual sale of the company.

    Crowdfunding & preordersPricing, margins & unit economics
    7 chapters

  • How I Built This · 12m

    Live From The HIBT Summit: Stacy Madison of Stacy's Pita Chips

    Stacy Madison, co-founder of Stacy's Pita Chips, explains how she and her husband Mark bootstrapped a snack empire from a Boston sandwich cart without a business plan or outside capital. She details the pivot from gourmet stores to securing a massive Trader Joe's account, which provided the cash flow to fund growth and avoid selling to food conglomerates. Madison also discusses the personal toll of scaling the business and her current venture, B-Bold Energy Bars, where she is applying those hard-won lessons to a new startup.

    Starting a product companyFundraising & investors
    6 chapters

  • How I Built This · 59m

    Simple Mills: Katlin Smith

    Katlin Smith, founder of Simple Mills, explains how she launched a grain-free baking brand from her Atlanta apartment in 2012 after struggling with health issues as a Deloitte consultant. She details the early challenges of sourcing ingredients, securing a Whole Foods buyer with just 12 bags of product, and managing cash flow while bootstrapping with $70,000 of her own savings and a mortgage from her parents. Smith also discusses the pivotal role of influencer Danielle Walker in boosting Amazon sales, the difficulties of hiring and leadership, and the strategic decision to avoid 'natural flavors' to maintain product integrity.

    Starting a product companyValidation & product-market fit
    8 chapters

  • How I Built This · 46m

    Advice Line with Jeni Britton of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

    Jeni Britton, founder of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and her new fiber company Floura, advises three early-stage founders on marketing, fundraising, and PR. Jesse Koenig of Jesse & Ben’s discusses how to market his healthy frozen fries to grocery buyers without relying solely on the 'seed oil' narrative. Casey White of Jaju Pierogi asks how to sustainably grow her dumpling brand to big-box retailers like Costco without losing control to outside venture capital. Callie Zeher of Ube.co seeks guidance on hiring a PR firm for her purple sweet potato pet treats while balancing her full-time science career.

    Pricing, margins & unit economicsFundraising & investors
    5 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Startup CPG Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.