The Startup CPG Podcast · 30 Dec 2024 · 46m · Episode 107
Daniel Scharff and Patricia Menegoto of Startup CPG review the community's 2024 milestones, including the expansion of the 'Further' platform for female-founded brands, the success of the Shelfie Awards, and major partnerships with GNC and Whole Foods Market. They discuss the growth of their in-person event network across 17+ cities and the launch of the new 'Grocery Run' series designed to connect founders directly with retailers. The episode highlights the community's rapid scaling, with Slack membership growing from 16,000 to 24,000, and outlines ambitious plans for 2025 to deepen retailer engagement and support for emerging CPG brands.
companies scaling up
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S'well founder Sarah Kauss joins Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders on positioning and growth. She helps Chiara Moonzi of Chigi navigate grocery placement for a chickpea-based hot cereal, Jesús Rualcaba of Paper Tacos expand his Latino-inspired greeting cards beyond specialty stores, and Adam Barker of Bolt Skin and Shave determine his growth strategy for a razor brand targeting men who shave their legs.
Tina Roth-Eisenberg, founder of CreativeMornings, explains how her 2008 Brooklyn co-working space, Studio Mates, evolved into a global network of 200+ free creative meetups. She details the organic growth from a single New York chapter to a distributed model, highlighting the pivotal role of Mailchimp’s Ben Chestnut in providing early sponsorship and the strategic shift toward community-led support. Roth-Eisenberg also discusses her parallel ventures, including the blog Swiss Miss and the temporary tattoo company Tatley, which she sold to Pilot in 2022 to focus entirely on CreativeMornings.
CAVA co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman joins Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders on scaling challenges. Devin Strahan of Spike Root Beer discusses overcoming imposter syndrome and managing rapid growth with limited bandwidth. Sophia Bowden of Little Me Allergy explores expanding sales channels for her allergy accessories through retail partnerships. Sean Murray of Rootless Coffee Company weighs the decision to seek outside investment to fund a national coffee shop expansion.
Jeni Britton, founder of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and her new fiber company Flora, advises three early-stage CPG founders on marketing, fundraising, and PR. Jesse Koenig of Jesse and Ben's discusses marketing frozen fries made with tallow and avocado oil, Casey White of Jaju Pierogi weighs the pros and cons of outside capital for scaling to big-box retailers, and Callie Sayher of ube.co seeks advice on hiring a PR firm for her purple sweet potato pet treats.
Emily Weiss, founder of Glossier, explains how she leveraged her blog Into the Gloss to build a $400 million beauty brand by listening directly to her community. She details the challenges of raising seed funding from a single female investor, Kristen Green, and the process of finding a specialized chemist to develop products bottoms-up. Weiss discusses Glossier's direct-to-consumer strategy, which prioritizes digital connection and community over traditional retail distribution, and her vision for building a digital platform that replicates the social experience of their physical stores.
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