# Founder Fundraising Journey: Frozen One, Alan Chen & Conner Mennig

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2026-07-25
- Length: 39m
- Episode: 344
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-07-25-founder-fundraising-journey-frozen-one-alan-chen-conner-mennig
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/469b1571

## Summary

Alan Chen and Conner Mennig, co-founders of Frozen One, detail their journey from prototyping with a Ninja Creami machine to securing $5.5 million in funding and expanding into 2,300 retail doors, including Target and Wegmans. They discuss how their differentiated protein ice cream product, featuring 40 grams of protein and under 400 calories, allowed them to overcome investor skepticism about the frozen category by highlighting velocity data from early retailers like Central Market. The founders explain their three-stage fundraising process, from a $250k initial SAFE to an oversubscribed $2 million round, and their current focus on hiring key leadership, including a COO from Van Leeuwen, to manage rapid scaling.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Alan Chen and Conner Mennig of Frozen One
2. Origin Story: From UW Madison to Ninja Creami Prototyping
3. Product Differentiation: 40g Protein and Retail Expansion
4. Fundraising Milestone 1: The $250k SAFE and Austin Investor
5. Fundraising Milestone 2: The $2M Round and Target Expansion
6. Current Strategy: $5.5M Round and Team Building
7. Lessons Learned: Relationships, Feedback, and CPG Complexity

## Topics

- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Frozen One (company)
- Ninja Creami (tool)
- Target (company)
- Wegmans (company)
- Central Market (company)
- Van Leeuwen (company)
- Angel Group (company)
- Brand Foundry (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Advice Line with Jeni Britton of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (2025)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-09-advice-line-with-jeni-britton-of-jenis-splendid-ice-creams-2025) (How I Built This)
- [Yasso: Amanda Klane and Drew Harrington](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-25-yasso-amanda-klane-and-drew-harrington) (How I Built This)
- [nutpods: Madeline Haydon](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-05-13-nutpods-madeline-haydon) (How I Built This)
- [Happy Family Organics: Shazi Visram](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-20-happy-family-organics-shazi-visram) (How I Built This)
- [Halo Top Ice Cream: Justin Woolverton](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-04-17-halo-top-ice-cream-justin-woolverton) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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