The Startup CPG Podcast · 6 Sept 2024 · 36m · Episode 76
Mackie Swan, CEO of Woo More Play, discusses scaling a premium organic intimacy brand from its origins as a solution for UTIs to a major retail player. She details the rigorous FDA 510(k) clearance process for personal lubricants as medical devices, the challenges of navigating social media censorship, and the strategic decision to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign on Startengine. Swan also offers advice on vetting venture capital partners and maintaining brand integrity in the sexual wellness industry.
companies scaling up
Other shows on the same ground, closest first.
Supergoop! founder Holly Thaggard joins Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders on scaling and marketing. Christina Davis of Davis Cookie Collection seeks strategies to scale beyond her current bottleneck, while Andy Kemp of the Clean Shave Company asks how to position his water-saving razor rincer. Finally, Aaron McLaughlin of Flagguard discusses how to educate consumers on the necessity of his life-jacket-mounted visibility flag.
Sean Riley, Chief Executive Dude of Dude Wipes, and AJ Peek, CMO of Weenus Lube, discuss the journey of building disruptive CPG brands. Riley details how Dude Wipes grew from a bootstrapped apartment startup to major retail distribution, emphasizing the importance of brand differentiation and online validation before seeking retail partners. Peek and his father launch Weenus Lube as an entrepreneurial learning project, focusing on fun branding and direct-to-consumer sales to test product-market fit.
Raegan Moya-Jones, co-founder of Aden + Anais, explains how she identified a gap for cotton muslin blankets in the US market, sourcing manufacturing from China and securing a major retail deal with Target. She details the painful dissolution of her partnership with Claudia, which led to her buying out the other founder and taking on private equity that eventually resulted in her being fired as CEO. In an updated segment, Moya-Jones discusses her recovery from that trauma and her launch of a new company, St. Luna Spirits, a premium rye-based moonshine brand.
Orgain founder and CEO Andrew Abraham joins Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders on product positioning and growth. Bryn Snyder of Slate Electric Flosser discusses her $79.99 electric flosser and strategies for simplifying complex oral health benefits for consumers. Turner Lewis of 4 Craft Cocktails, a radiologist launching golf-inspired canned cocktails, seeks advice on scaling distribution and finding value-add investors. Catherine Smart of Not Just Co, a pasta sauce brand in 240 Target stores, asks how to secure seed funding despite investor skepticism about her $1 million sales run rate.
Susan Griffin-Black and Brad Black, founders of EO Products, explain how a chance encounter with essential oils in London inspired them to build a $50 million natural body care company without venture capital. They detail their scrappy early years, including manufacturing bath salts in a garage and securing a pivotal order from Bloomingdale's that led to the brand name 'EO'. The episode covers their strategic decision to avoid VC funding to protect product integrity, their divorce in 2007, and their unique decision to remain business partners. They also discuss launching the 'everyone' brand to enter mass retail channels like Walgreens and Walmart.
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