Hardware Podcasts

Founder Feature: Breanna and Jared Golestani of Kokada

The Startup CPG Podcast · 14 Feb 2025 · 38m · Episode 122

What this episode covers

Breanna and Jared Golestani, co-founders of Kokada, discuss their journey from pandemic-era kitchen experiments to launching a nationally distributed coconut-based snack brand. They detail the strategic decision to scale rapidly after winning the NOSH Pitch Slam, the challenges of managing an international supply chain with co-packers in Sri Lanka and domestically, and their financing strategy relying on angels and family offices rather than venture capital. The founders also explain the development and retail testing of their new product, Kokada Dunks, leveraging FDA guidance on coconut to target school-safe, peanut-allergy-friendly markets.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Sprouts, Wegmans, Weaver Street Market
Products
Kokada, Kokada Dunks
Also
NOSH Pitch Slam, Duke, Wharton, FDA

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • How I Built This · 1h 07m

    Dang Foods: Vincent and Andrew Kitirattragarn

    Vincent and Andrew Kitirattragarn, co-founders of Dang Foods, explain how they scaled their Asian-inspired snack brand from a home kitchen experiment to over 10,000 retail locations. Vincent details the origin of their coconut chips and the strategic pivot to rice crackers and keto-friendly energy bars, while Andrew discusses the operational challenges of scaling production and managing supply chain disruptions. The brothers recount the costly failure of their vacuum-fried onion chips, the serendipitous boost from social media influencers, and the internal family dynamics that required therapy to resolve as they grew the company.

    Validation & product-market fitPricing, margins & unit economics
    9 chapters

  • How I Built This · 1h 26m

    Perfect Snacks: Bill and Leigh Keith

    Bill and Leigh Keith, co-founders of Perfect Bars, explain how they turned their father's homemade peanut butter and honey recipe into a major CPG brand, eventually selling to Mondelēz International. They detail the bootstrapped journey from hand-rolling bars in a Sacramento warehouse to securing deals with Whole Foods and Costco, and the critical decision to introduce a chocolate chip flavor to meet investor metrics. The episode highlights a major crisis when a false positive salmonella test forced a massive recall, nearly shutting down the company before they secured $15 million in investment from VMG Partners.

    Starting a product companyCrowdfunding & preorders
    9 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 · 52m

    KiwiCo: Sandra Oh Lin

    Sandra Oh Lin, founder of KiwiCo, explains how she transitioned from a high-level career at eBay and PayPal to launching a subscription box company for kids' science and craft projects. She details the early challenges of prototyping in her garage, securing seed funding despite being a 'mompreneur' in Silicon Valley, and the critical pivot to expanding product lines (Tinker Crate, Doodle Crate, Quala Crate) to achieve profitability. Oh Lin highlights the operational evolution from domestic sourcing and internal kitting to overseas manufacturing, resulting in over 50 million crates shipped and a self-sustaining business model.

    Starting a product companyValidation & product-market fit
    10 chapters

  • How I Built This · 1h 14m

    Kodiak Cakes: Joel Clark (2020)

    Joel Clark, co-founder of Kodiak Cakes, recounts the 15-year struggle to scale his family's whole grain pancake mix from a garage operation to a $200 million brand. He details near-bankruptcy events, including a failed cookie venture and a $50,000 error from a doubled Safeway promotion, before securing a transformative Target order and a Shark Tank appearance. The episode highlights the launch of Power Cakes, which capitalized on the high-protein trend, and the eventual acquisition by a private equity firm after years of bootstrapping and family-backed financing.

    Starting a product companyCrowdfunding & preorders
    9 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.