# #131 The Rise of Carbone Fine Food with CEO Eric Skae

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2024-03-05
- Length: 43m
- Episode: 21
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/609bf212

## Summary

Eric Skae, CEO of Carbone Fine Food, details his 35-year career in CPG, from early distribution ventures to leading brands like Rao's and now Carbone. He explains how he leveraged the existing brand equity of the Carbone restaurant to launch a premium pasta sauce, focusing on hyper-local velocity in New York before scaling nationally. Skae emphasizes the critical importance of securing strong margins early to withstand supply chain inflation and discusses the challenges of penetrating major retailers like Whole Foods despite the brand's prestige.

## Chapters

- [0:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae#t=10) Introduction: Eric Skae and Carbone Fine Food
- [2:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae#t=171) Skae's Career History: Arizona, Fresh Samantha, and New Leaf
- [9:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae#t=546) Strategy: Hyper-local Velocity and Margin Focus
- [16:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae#t=979) Product Design: Leveraging the Restaurant Menu as Label
- [21:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae#t=1271) Launch Execution: DTC, Stop & Shop, and Retail Partnerships
- [29:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae#t=1747) Marketing Success: Social Media, Influencers, and Family Office Backing
- [35:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-05-131-the-rise-of-carbone-fine-food-with-ceo-eric-skae#t=2120) Turnaround Playbook: Fixing Voids and Shareholder Battles

## Topics

- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Carbone Fine Food (company)
- Rao's Specialty Foods (company)
- Arizona Iced Tea (product)
- Iceland Spring Water (product)
- Fresh Samantha (company)
- Naked Juice (product)
- Popcornopolis (company)
- Stop & Shop (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Vida (company)
- Erewhon (company)
- Walmart (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 2](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-25-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-2) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Sarah Kauss of S'well](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-06-20-advice-line-with-sarah-kauss-of-swell) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Mark Ramadan of Sir Kensington's](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-06-27-advice-line-with-mark-ramadan-of-sir-kensingtons) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Pete Maldonado of Chomps](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-05-02-advice-line-with-pete-maldonado-of-chomps) (How I Built This)
- [Crate & Barrel: Gordon Segal (2017)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-11-18-crate-barrel-gordon-segal-2017) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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