# Founder Feature: Sue Delegan and Kim Hehir of Brutus Bone Broth

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2025-07-04
- Length: 39m
- Episode: 168
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-07-04-founder-feature-sue-delegan-and-kim-hehir-of-brutus-bone-broth
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/e27a0057

## Summary

Sue Delegan and Kim Hehir, co-founders of Brutus Bone Broth, detail their journey from home kitchens to national distribution in Target. They discuss navigating state-by-state pet food regulations, specifically the New York labeling dispute, and leveraging beta testing with Wegmans and Big Y to refine pricing and product positioning. The sisters explain their lean, scrappy financing strategy, including a friends-and-family round, and their aggressive negotiation tactics to secure retail partnerships while maintaining US-sourced ingredient quality. They also highlight recent innovations, such as powdered bone broth and functional goat milk, and their expansion into new retailers like Whole Foods and Sam's Club.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Sue Delegan and Kim Hehir of Brutus Bone Broth
2. Origin Story and Manufacturing Partnerships
3. Beta Testing with Wegmans and Big Y
4. Regulatory Hurdles and Packaging Challenges
5. Securing Target and Financing the Launch
6. Negotiation Strategies and Cost Management
7. Marketing, Sampling, and Consumer Education
8. Product Innovation: Powdered Broth and Goat Milk
9. Future Expansion and Community Engagement

## Topics

- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Brutus Bone Broth (product)
- Wegmans (company)
- Big Y (company)
- Target (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Sam's Club (company)
- Aafco (other)
- 1Q (tool)

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- [EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-07-15-eo-products-susan-griffin-black-brad-black) (How I Built This)
- [Bobo’s: Beryl Stafford.  A Single Mom Turns a Baking Project into a $100M Business](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-03-09-bobos-beryl-stafford-a-single-mom-turns-a-baking-project-into-a-100m-business) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Jeni Britton of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-03-27-advice-line-with-jeni-britton-of-jenis-splendid-ice-creams) (How I Built This)
- [Simple Mills: Katlin Smith](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-15-simple-mills-katlin-smith) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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