Hardware Podcasts

#251 - Scaling the Brand: Ops, Systems, and Simplicity with Mezcla and Doss

The Startup CPG Podcast · 2 Jun 2026 · 47m · Episode 316

What this episode covers

Yoga Charya, President and COO of Mezcla, and Sebastiaan Debrouwe from Doss discuss how Mezcla scaled from a specialty retail niche to national distribution in Target, Whole Foods, and Costco. Charya explains their operational philosophy of 'simplicity scales,' including consolidating to a single Midwest 3PL and using a turnkey co-manufacturing model to maintain focus on product quality. Debrouwe highlights how Doss’s adaptive ERP helps brands manage this complexity without sacrificing their unique brand magic, detailing Mezcla’s transition from Google Sheets to Airtable and finally to Doss to automate sample orders and ensure traceability.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Mezcla, Doss, Whole Foods, Target, Costco, Publix, Sprouts, Albertsons, Citarella, Juice Land, Amazon, Instacart
Tools
Airtable, Google Sheets, NetSuite, Shopify

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • How I Built This · 1h 11m

    Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann

    Guayakí co-founders David Karr and Chris Mann explain how they built a $100 million beverage company by introducing yerba mate to the U.S. market, starting with hand-packing loose tea and touring in a VW bus to demo the product. They detail the strategic pivot to bottled and then canned ready-to-drink formats, which allowed them to scale beyond niche natural food stores into broader retail channels. The founders also describe the difficult decision to build their own direct store distribution network using Chevy Bolts to maintain control over their brand and supply chain relationships.

    Starting a product companyScaling production
    8 chapters

  • How I Built This · 46m

    Advice Line with Tim Ferriss

    Tim Ferriss joins Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders on scaling challenges. Lauren Menard of GOB discusses scaling biodegradable mycelium earplugs across music venues and DTC sleep markets. Emily of EB & Co weighs the growth of wholesale orders against her dominant brick-and-mortar revenue after a viral Taylor Swift moment. Kimberly Becker of K. Becker Designs explores shifting her sustainable clothing brand from inventory to a pre-order model to reduce waste.

    Pricing, margins & unit economicsDirect-to-consumer & e-commerce
    5 chapters

  • Product Startup · 17m

    155: Identifying a Sourcing Partner for Overseas Manufacturing

    Forde Aley, Co-Founder of Shining Way Sourcing, explains how startups can identify and work with overseas manufacturing partners, emphasizing the importance of factory management, quality control, and retail-ready scalability. He details the necessity of verifying factory operations through physical visits and reviewing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) rather than relying on online brochures. Aley also highlights the logistical complexities of retail distribution, including packaging, UPCs, and palletization, and advises maintaining backup factories to mitigate supply chain risks during rapid scaling.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringQuality & yield
    10 chapters

  • How I Built This · 44m

    Advice Line: Scaling Strategies

    Guy Raz hosts a special Advice Line episode with former guests Travis Boersma of Dutch Bros. Coffee, Michael Preysman of Everlane, and Chris Ruder of Spikeball to answer scaling questions from three callers. Andy Atkins of Bad Luck Burger Club asks whether to bootstrap to a brick-and-mortar location or raise capital, with Travis advising on cash flow and overhead. Tiffany Narbonne of T Giselle seeks advice on entering large retailers, receiving guidance from Michael on simplifying her brand story for packaging and retail displays. Finally, Peter Hauk of Rink Rabbit evaluates expanding his figure skating accessories brand internationally, with Chris and Guy advising him to focus on his rapid US growth before tackling complex logistics.

    Scaling productionPricing, margins & unit economics
    6 chapters

  • How I Built This · 50m

    Advice Line with Mark Ramadan of Sir Kensington's

    Sir Kensington's co-founder Mark Ramadan joins Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders on business challenges. He helps Pat of Dripsy LLC navigate the complexities of getting a single-product sink strainer into major retail chains, Lucas of Taco Shop on how to differentiate from an impending Chipotle competitor, and Beth Benneke of Busy Baby on managing cash flow and operational costs while scaling from DTC to mass retail.

    Retail, wholesale & distributionPricing, margins & unit economics
    5 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.