The Startup CPG Podcast

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Moira O’Connell, Vice President at Astō Consumer Partners, to unpack what late-stage consumer investors look for in a brand, how founders can tell whether an investor is the right fit, and what early-stage brands can learn from companies that have already scaled.

Moira started her career in investment banking at Bank of America’s financial sponsors group before moving to the growth fund at L Catterton, where she worked across food, beverage, beauty, fitness, and consumer tech. She joined Astō during its first fundraise, drawn to the...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Kai Lim and David Yu, co-founders of Reprise Health, a modern gummy brand making Eastern herbal wellness accessible and approachable, to talk about how they built a brand that now spans natural and conventional retail.

Kai and David met in business school and bonded over the same childhood memory: grandmothers on two continents feeding them bitter herbal teas and soups. Kai grew up in Singapore, studied accounting and finance, and started his career at Boston Consulting Group. David studied math at UCLA, then spent his 20...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Megan Castellon of Syren Spreads, Andrew Kuzera of Ono, and food scientist Andrew Firestone of Firestone Consulting Group to give an inside look at Startup CPG’s first-ever Founders & Formulators event, where brands could get unlimited product feedback and find their ideal formulator match.

Megan is Co-Founder and CEO of Syren Spreads, makers of Skinglow, a chocolate hazelnut spread built around Tremella and a blend of botanicals. Andrew Kuzera is the founder of Ono, a better-for-you protein soda with 12 grams of protein pe...

In this Founder Fundraising Journey episode, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Zoë Sakoutis, Co-Founder and CEO of Bittman’s and founder of Blueprint, to trace her path from bootstrapping a cold-pressed juice brand to a full acquisition, and now to raising capital again for a whole grain sourdough brand.

Zoë’s first business was a dog grooming shop in the basement of her family’s optometry center at age 12. She went on to found Blueprint with roughly $5,000 borrowed from her brother, scaled it profitably without outside capital, and sold it to Hain Celestial after five yea...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Darin Alpert, founder of Gheelish, a snack brand built around ghee, the clarified butter, as its star ingredient, for the story of how a cold email to Sprouts turned a kitchen popcorn recipe into a nationwide launch.

Darin co-created Find Me Gluten Free about 12 years ago, an app that now has roughly 3 million users, and spent 15 years selling enterprise software to companies like Caterpillar, IBM, T-Mobile, and Costco before building a CPG brand of his own. With severe gluten and lactose intolerances, he struggled to find...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with David Heiser, Co-Founder of Grassroots Marketing, to walk through a new, free report analyzing 34,000 in-store demos at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Central Market, and Erewhon, and what it means for where, when, and how brands should spend their demo dollars.

Grassroots runs demos and in-store sampling events across the country at major natural retailers and independents alike. Daniel first met David’s team while launching his own beverage brand at Erewhon, where Grassroots is the retailer’s official demo partner, and the two...

In this episode of R&D Radio, host and food scientist Adam Yee sits down with Dr. Selina Wang, chemist and Professor of Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Davis, to talk about a recent study suggesting that many store-bought products made with avocado oil may not contain 100% avocado oil.

Dr. Wang is Faculty Director of the UC Davis Olive Center and an internationally recognized expert in edible oil quality, authenticity, and chemistry. Her early studies of supermarket olive oil helped inform California's olive oil standards adopted in 2014, and in 2020 her lab published the first...

In this Founder Fundraising Journey episode, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Ryan Raish, founder of Fave, a first-to-market certified organic powdered drink mix bringing nostalgic flavors back to the category without artificial colors, flavors, or excess sugar.

Ryan has spent nearly two decades in CPG, working his way from grassroots demos at Guayaki to building out the West Coast for Honest Tea, a 10-year run at Popchips, and stints at Super Coffee and Chloe's Fruit Pops. The idea for Fave came to him in a grocery store aisle, watching his five-year-old beg for Kool-Aid loaded...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Jacob Cooper, founder of Bagelverse, who's reinventing the classic pizza bagel with real mini New York bagels and bold flavors like spicy vodka and barbecue chicken.

Jacob spent eight years as a CTO in AI and tech before making a complete 180 to chase a childhood nostalgic idea. He launched Bagelverse in April 2026, and in the months since has sold over 80,000 pizza bagels through pop-ups around New York City, won a Shelfie Award, and had one of the most visited booths at Summer Fancy Food.

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Amanda Puck, Vice President of Communications and Brand Development for Roundy's, for the "Mariano's 101" episode listeners have been asking for.

Amanda has been with Mariano's since 2014, working in the grocery retail business after years in restaurants and a lifelong love of grocery shopping that started as a kid clipping coupons with her grandmother. Today she leads communications, brand strategy, and community engagement for Mariano's and Metro Market, both banners of Kroger with deep Midwest roots dating back 150 years to Roundy's founding.<...

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Tara Hyland, Principal at Main Post Partners, to break down how growth equity differs from venture capital and what founders should understand about building an enduring consumer business.

Tara's path to Main Post started in investment banking on a consumer-focused food and beverage team, followed by a move into private equity at Swander Pace Capital. She joined Main Post, a consumer-focused private equity firm known for its "partnership not ownership" philosophy, in 2020, and works primarily with founder-led businesses navigating their first institutional capital raise.

<...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Jane Kate Wong, founder of Noon World, a cognitive wellness company making dual-layer gummies designed for mind, mood, focus, chill, and sleep.

Jane's path to Noon ran through architecture, where she designed urban planning projects, high-end residential and commercial spaces, and cultural centers, before moving into interaction design at Nike, Google, and Apple. After burning out from that work, she built Noon as a culmination of her interests in design, technology, and health, focused on what she believes is the next frontier of wellness: cognition...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with his longtime friend Gulrez Arora, founder of Gymkhana Fine Foods, the retail brand born out of London's two-Michelin-star Gymkhana restaurant, to talk about building a global premium Indian food brand from scratch.

Gulrez and Daniel first met working together at Mars, where Gulrez spent nearly a decade in strategy roles across Asia Pacific chocolate and later ran an internal innovation and venture studio program. That experience taught him how hard it is to manufacture true founder energy inside a large corporation...

In this episode of R&D Radio, host Adam Yee sits down with longtime friend Thom King, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Icon Foods, for a deep dive on sweetener systems from a food scientist's perspective.

Thom founded Icon Foods in 1999 (originally as Steviva Brands), becoming one of the first companies to import stevia glycosides into the US. After partnering with Quest Nutrition on their first bar, the company shifted fully into ingredient supply, eventually rebranding to Icon Foods and expanding into rare sugars, fibers, and polyols. Thom holds a Master's degree in Food...

In this Operator Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Hye Rin (Juliet) Choi, VP of Product at Grüns, to unpack the product philosophy and process behind one of the fastest billion-dollar acquisitions in CPG history.

Hye Rin (Juliet) started her career in brand management at Johnson & Johnson's consumer health division, working on brands like Neutrogena and Tylenol, before pursuing her MBA at Stanford, where she met Grüns founder and CEO Chad Janis. She joined as employee number nine and the company's first product hire, helping build the product function from the ground up...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Erica Haft, founder of Sweeter Collective, an organic hard candy brand modernizing the category with just 16 calories, less than 3 grams of sugar, and nearly 2 grams of fiber per piece.

Erica spent almost 10 years as an attorney before leaving law behind to build the brand. Her inspiration was close to home: her mother, a registered dietitian, has eaten hard candy daily for over 30 years to satisfy her sweet tooth without derailing her health goals. After nearly two years of R&D, including an early attempt at...

In this bonus solo episode, host Daniel Scharff breaks down everything founders need to know about Founders & Funders, Startup CPG's flagship fundraising event happening December 10th in New York City, to help you decide whether you should apply.

Daniel explains why he built the event: after hearing founders describe spending up to 50% of their time on fundraising, he wanted to create a highly efficient, application-based summit that brings together the top 100 VCs in emerging CPG with the community's strongest brands for a single, high-impact day. Unlike the free, ticketed regional roadshows Startup CPG runs throughout the...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Adam Marsh and Gabrielle McGonagle, partners at Giannuzzi Lewendon, a top-tier CPG law firm, for a deep dive on term sheets and what every founder needs to understand before raising capital.

Adam has spent nearly 13 years practicing law focused on the CPG space, while Gabrielle brings over a decade of experience at the firm, including work on major exits like BodyArmor's $8 billion sale. Together, they've guided countless CPG brands through fundraising, from pre-revenue startups to companies doing nine figures in revenue...

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Ashley Hartman, Managing Partner at Bluestein Ventures, an early-stage firm investing at the intersection of culture, science, and technology in modern wellbeing and consumer brands.

Ashley's path to venture capital ran through financial consulting at NERA Economic Consulting and then operating strategy at her family's manufacturing business, giving her a rare blend of analytical rigor and hands-on operating experience. She's now co-Managing Partner at Bluestein Ventures, which evolved from a family office into an independent, family-backed VC fund, and has made more than 40 investments across...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Caroline Dai, founder of TofuGo, a savory protein snack made from whole foods tofu with 12 grams of protein, zero sugar, and zero natural flavors.

Caroline grew up eating tofu daily in her Chinese family before moving to Seattle at age 13. After years working in business and finance, constantly snacking on sugary protein bars at her desk, she realized there was nothing savory, whole-food, and additive-free on the market. She launched TofuGo in March 2026, and just two weeks later, a simple living-room video went viral with...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Lindzi Shanks, founder and CEO of XO Marshmallow, to unpack how she built an organic social following of 1.4 million across platforms and turned it into real, trackable sales.

Lindzi started XO Marshmallow 10 years ago with a background as an influencer and blogger, designing the brand from day one to be visually shareable. As short-form video took off, she realized the marshmallow-making process itself was perfectly suited to content, from ASMR-style pulling and pouring to behind-the-scenes factory footage. That instinct, paired with...

In this episode of R&D Radio, host Adam Yee sits down with Drake Nickell, founder of Dimitri's Greek Kitchen, to talk through how he used Startup CPG's Product Developer Database to find the right partner for reformulating his brand's pita chips.

Drake and his sister built Dimitri's Greek Kitchen around traditional Greek and Mediterranean snacks with a modern twist, starting with whipped feta before pivoting into pita chips after finding a manufacturing partner who could bring the product to life. With the chips now in over 300 stores, including all 189 Jewel-Osco locations across Illinois, Drake...

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Ellen Gorra of Whole Foods Market, who leads the retailer's equity investment and warrant partnership programs, to unpack how one of the industry's most influential retailers evaluates, invests in, and supports emerging brands.

Ellen's path to Whole Foods wound through equity research at Piper Sandler, buy-side coverage of hedge funds and private equity, and a stint at L Catterton in Asia, where she helped lead an $80 million investment in K-pop entertainment company YG Entertainment. After a brief detour into music at Live Nation, she found...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Harri Magaldi, founder of My Neighbor's, a regenerative tallow and vegan skincare brand manufactured in-house in the Hudson Valley.

Harri left nine years on Wall Street after her daughter developed eczema as a baby. Unable to find anything that worked, she started making beef tallow balm at home in a crock pot using suet from a local farm, initially just to help her own daughter and as gifts for friends. After encouragement from other moms, she launched at the Hudson Farmer's Market in May 2024, selling $4,000...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Marion Nestle, Professor Emerita of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU, to unpack decades of cereal industry marketing history and what it reveals about food policy today.

Marion is one of the most influential voices in food politics, having helped pioneer food studies as an academic discipline and served as Senior Nutrition Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she helped oversee the landmark 1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health. She's the...

In this Founder Fundraising Journey episode, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Tal Moore, founder and CEO of Popsmith, a design-forward stovetop popcorn brand that's landed on Oprah's Favorite Things list and is heading into Williams Sonoma nationwide this year.

Tal is a serial e-commerce founder with 25 years in the space, starting as a 12-year-old selling gumballs and candy in elementary school before building and exiting multiple online businesses, including a popcorn equipment store he ran two decades before launching Popsmith. After divesting from his other ventures, he went all-in on building the popcorn brand...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Danielle Nuss, founder of Short Story, a clean electrolyte mix made with organic fruit powder and naturally sourced minerals - and notably, zero natural flavors.

Danielle is a mom of two boys working full-time in tech who started making her own electrolytes at home during her second pregnancy after struggling to find anything clean on shelf. What began as homemade batches for personal use turned into a farmer's market launch in Denver, where she sold through her first full production run and is now heading toward...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Louis D'Angelo, founder of Foundation Foods, a beloved natural products distributor serving Southern California's most quality-focused retailers, to talk about how the company was built, what it takes to get on their shelves, and why strict ingredient standards have always been non-negotiable.

Louis got his start freelancing as a de facto sales rep for small organic brands before ever knowing what a broker was. His path to founding Foundation Foods took a dramatic turn when a rattlesnake bite left him hospitalized...

In this special R&D Radio episode, guest host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Casey Bauer, COO of Bobbie, one of only four infant formula manufacturers in the United States, to dig into what "test obsessed" really means when your product is a baby's sole source of nutrition.

Casey has spent almost a year at Bobbie overseeing quality, regulatory, and supply chain, following roles as COO at Kate Farms, a leading medical nutrition company, and operations leadership at Pharmavite (Nature Made) and Nutrabolt. That background in sole-source and medical nutrition shaped how seriously he takes...

In this Founder Fundraising Journey episode, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Troy Bonde, co-founder and CEO of Sauz, to trace the winding path from a college side hustle to building one of the fastest-growing brands in the tomato sauce category.

Troy's road to Sauz started with a hand sanitizer and thermometer dispenser he and childhood friend and co-founder Winston sold to schools during COVID, using the proceeds to fund early angel investments and, eventually, Sauz itself. Frustrated by a commoditized tomato sauce aisle with no flavor innovation, Troy and Winston sold their cars to...

In this special two-guest Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Gonzalo Bisquerra, founder of Happy Caapi, and Chris Kilham, the botanical expert known as Medicine Hunter, to talk about the first non-hallucinogenic supplement made from the ayahuasca vine.

Gonzalo spent two decades in sourcing and supply chain for major CPG companies before an ayahuasca ceremony in Panama changed the course of his life. After connecting with two friends developing an early prototype, he spent four years navigating the regulatory, sourcing, and formulation challenges of bringing Happy Caapi to market - a legal, shelf-stable...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Ashley Fields and Kim Anderson, co-founders of Fields Good, and Katie Emerson of Kyowa Hakko USA (the makers of Cognizin) to unpack how a new functional cookie brand is trying to prove that healthy and heavenly don't have to be a trade-off.

Ashley Fields grew up as a self-described "nepo baker," the daughter of the founders behind the classic Fields cookie brand. She met co-founder Kim Anderson as roommates at Stanford, and together they spent 18 months developing Fields Good's line of...

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Mackenzie Muth and Nolan Spencer, co-founders of HOL Health Club, makers of the first and only bone broth protein bar - with 20 grams of protein and no protein powder.

Mackenzie and Nolan met in an accounting class at Indiana University and are now married co-founders. Both spent six years in investment banking on Wall Street before starting HOL - Mackenzie in consulting and then at Lazard's consumer group, where she worked on the Siete Foods sale to PepsiCo, and Nolan in technology investment banking. It was...

In this mini episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Keith Seiz of the National Honey Board to unpack why honey has become one of the most in-demand ingredients in food and beverage right now - and what that means for brands and formulators looking to work with it.

Keith has spent 17 years working with the National Honey Board, traveling the country to talk with food manufacturers, distillers, brewers, and bakers about how to formulate better products with honey. In that time, he's watched the conversation shift - what used...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Bob Williams of BevSource - a beverage industry veteran Daniel calls "the beverage Oracle" - to unpack the most common (and costly) manufacturing mistakes beverage brands run into with co-packers.

Bob has spent over 25 years in the beverage industry, most of it around co-packing, quality, and manufacturing operations. He's built out eight high-speed can lines and spent his career getting called in when something has already gone wrong - troubleshooting everything from mysterious can leaks to failed micro tests. Daniel, who...

In this episode of R&D Radio, host and food scientist Adam Yee sits down with Hermi Galstian, founder of The Food QA, to break down the real difference between food safety and quality - and what founders should actually be looking for when they walk into a co-manufacturer's facility.

Hermi's path into food safety wasn't a straight line. She started as a business major on track for law school, worked in HR recruiting, and only discovered food science after training for a marathon as a vegetarian sparked her interest in nutrition. She helped build...

In this Investor Spotlight, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Ryan Ball, founder of Sperian Ventures, to unpack the data, mindset, and founder qualities he looks for before writing a check into an early-stage CPG brand.

Ryan's path into investing started almost by accident, coordinating a group investment while getting his MBA at the McCombs School of Business. That first deal evolved into Sperian Ventures, an angel network that pools capital into individual deals. Ryan brings a founder's perspective to every evaluation - he's started a spice company of his own and now runs a...

Host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Halli Sigel, co-founder of Quincy, to talk about how a jar of olive brine turned into a category-defining mixers and garnishes brand. Quincy's mission is simple - build brand love for the other half of the glass by redefining mixers and garnishes for the modern consumer.

Before Quincy, Halli spent nearly a decade inside high-growth, venture-backed startups like Casper and Chief, working at the intersection of operations and member experience - she was employee number seven at Chief. That mix of scaling businesses and building community stuck with her...

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff turns the mic around on one of his own co-hosts. Hannah Dittman, former investor and host of Startup CPG's Saturday investing episodes, spends a huge amount of her time talking with founders and VCs and reviewing applications for Startup CPG's Founders and Funders events. Daniel puts her on the other side of the interview to answer one of the most common questions the community asks: what actually makes a brand investable?

Hannah walks through her path from Benefit Cosmetics to private equity consulting at...

In this Investor Spotlight episode, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Dan Graham, Co-Founder of Springdale Ventures, a firm writing seed-to-Series-A checks into fast-moving consumer brands. Dan breaks down exactly what Springdale looks for between early traction and institutional readiness - and why founders who lead with data, not narrative, win the room.

Dan's path to venture was anything but linear. After studying computer science and philosophy at UT Austin and starting law school, he co-founded a printing company in 2006 that grew for over a decade before selling to VistaPrint in 2018 for $280 million. That exit...