Hardware Podcasts

Founder Feature: Katie Lefkowitz of Harken Sweets

The Startup CPG Podcast · 6 Dec 2024 · 31m · Episode 100

What this episode covers

Katie Lefkowitz, founder of Harken Sweets, explains how her health journey inspired a line of nutrient-dense candy bars using dates and oats as natural sweeteners. She details the two-year product development process, the strategic decision to launch locally in New York City before scaling to over 4,000 stores including Walmart and Safeway, and the importance of being operationally ready for rapid growth. Lefkowitz discusses bootstrapping the business, managing cash flow in the low-margin CPG space, and leveraging social media and sampling to drive retail velocity.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Caulipower, Walmart, Safeway, Amazon, TikTok Shop
Products
Harken Sweets
Also
Expo West, Snacks and Sweets

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