Startup To Scale is your resource for growing your food, beverage, and CPG company from a young company to a successful business.
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June 9, 2026Episode 26923 min
269. Why Your CPG Brand Might Be Losing Money on Amazon
Amazon can drive sales, but that doesn’t always mean your brand is profitable. In this episode, I talk with Ryan Eales of The Amazon Whisper about the common mistakes CPG brands make on Amazon, from ads and inventory to listings, keywords, and agency expectations.If you’re selling on Amazon or thinking about launching there, this episode will help you understand what it really takes to grow profitably.Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
June 3, 2026Episode 26821 min
268. Building a Brand People Believe In
What actually happens when a CPG founder and a creative agency build a brand together from the ground up?In this episode, I sit down with Dana Francks of JK Creative NYC and Grace Finerman of Date Smarter Snacks to break down the real-world branding process behind an emerging snack brand.We walk through how Date Smarter developed its visual identity, packaging, ecommerce presence, and overall customer experience and why having one connected creative partner can make scaling a brand significantly easier.The conversation also explores:The hidden operational cost of fragmented brandingHow cohesive design improves retail readiness and ecommerce conversionWhat founders should prioritize first when budgets are tightHow to create premium perception without overspendingThe relationship dynamics between founders and creative agenciesLessons learned from building a modern snack brand in a crowded categoryIf you’re building a CPG brand and trying to make your packaging, website, social content, and customer experience actually feel connected, this episode is packed with practical insights.Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
May 26, 2026Episode 26723 min
267. From $0 to $100M and Back Again: Jeff Church on Building, Breaking, and Rebuilding in CPG
Jeff Church has built, scaled, and rebuilt in CPG.As co-founder of Suja Life, he helped take the brand from zero to $100M+ in just over five years, becoming one of the most recognized names in the beverage space.We also get into what he’s building now, from mentoring founders and writing his book to launching a new protein soda brand, Proda, nationwide at Sprouts Farmers Market, and developing a CPG-focused AI tool. As an 8x founder and BevNET Person of the Year, Jeff shares practical, execution-focused advice through CPG Founders Group that you can actually apply as you grow. Check out his free CPG toolkit at cpgfoundersgroup.com/resources.Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
May 18, 2026Episode 26621 min
266. He Fixed His Own Coffee Problem. Then Built a $300K+ Brand Without Retail or Funding
In this episode, I sit down with Danny Walsh, co-founder of Peak State Coffee, to talk about how he turned his own coffee and health problem into a $300K+ brand without relying on retail or outside funding.We get into how Peak State grew through farmers markets, ecommerce, and repeat customers, why Danny chose to bootstrap, and how he’s balancing growth, profitability, and impact as a B Corp certified brand.Sponsored by Peasy - the free operating system built by former CPG founders for modern, scrappy teams. Peasy gives CPG brands 100% free access to its full platform, no limits, no credit card, no contracts replacing spreadsheets with one simple system for purchasing, receiving, production, inventory, and sales. You can get started in under 10 minutes with hands-on onboarding support in just one week.Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
May 11, 2026Episode 26523 min
265. How CPG Brands Can Use Off-Price Retail as a Strategic Growth Channel
Off-price and value retail is often misunderstood. A lot of founders think of it as a last resort for excess inventory, but it can actually be a strategic channel for discovery, customer acquisition, and incremental revenue.In this episode, I talk with Matt Goldbloom, Founder and CEO of Common Shelf, about how brands can approach retailers like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Burlington, and HomeGoods with the right strategy. We break down what buyers are looking for, how the treasure hunt model works, and how founders can think about pricing, packaging, and protecting brand equity.We also get into how Matt is building a lean team using global talent and AI-supported workflows to move faster and reduce founder bottlenecks.This episode is sponsored by Plus Forty, which helps CPG brands and service providers build lean, reliable teams with vetted global talent.Exclusive Foodbevy Offer: Plus Forty is giving 2 brands 5 free VA hours with no upfront costs. Their CPG- and AI-capable VAs can help with retail research, content repurposing, admin cleanup, inbox support, data entry, SOPs, and reporting.Apply for 5 free VA hours to see what a Plus Forty VA can do for your business. APPLY HEREStartup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
May 6, 2026Episode 26422 min
264. Retail Said Yes. Your P&L Might Say No. How to Pressure Test Growth Before It Breaks Your Brand
Founders are getting more retail opportunities right now than we’ve seen in a long time.But retail growth only works if the economics work.In this episode, Abby Richards walks through how to pressure test a retail opportunity before you commit. We break down contribution margin at the case level, how trade spend actually impacts your numbers, and why volume alone won’t fix a broken model.We also get into the three places most brands break: retailer economics, cash timing, and company-level reality.If you’re scaling into retail or about to land a major account, this episode will help you make sure growth actually moves your business forward. • Download The CASH FIGHT Framework - a free resource on our website • Follow Abby on LinkedIn, Instagram or subscribe to The CPG CFO YouTube ChannelStartup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
May 4, 2026Episode 26323 min
263. Setting up an Inventory Management Software for Your CPG Brand
Inventory is one of the most important and most overlooked parts of running a CPG brand. Too little inventory means missed sales and unhappy retailers. Too much ties up cash and creates operational chaos.In this episode, I’m joined by Matt Lynn from BELAY to break down how emerging CPG brands should think about inventory management software when to implement it, how to choose the right system, and how to set it up correctly from day one.We talk through the common mistakes founders make when moving from spreadsheets, what good inventory data actually enables in your business, and how the right systems can unlock better forecasting, production planning, and retail execution.If you’re still managing inventory in spreadsheets or you’ve implemented a system but it still feels messy this conversation will give you a practical roadmap to get it right.Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
April 20, 2026Episode 26226 min
262. How I Eat My Greens Is Reviving Soup with Flavor, Freshness, and Smarter Retail Growth
In this episode, I sat down with Mac Villarreal, founder of I Eat My Greens, to talk about how he is bringing fresh, flavorful refrigerated soups to a category that has felt stale for years. We also get into the challenge of not just getting on shelf, but selling off the shelf, and Mateusz Drela from Retail Media IQ joins the conversation to share how digital retail media can help brands drive retail velocity and smarter growth. Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
April 13, 2026Episode 26120 min
261. What Big CPG Brands Know About Winning on Shelf (That Emerging Brands Don’t)
Big CPG brands don’t win just because they have bigger budgets.They win because they understand how shoppers actually make decisions in-store.In this episode, I sit down with Kevin Smith from SmashBrand to break down what large CPG companies know about shelf performance that most emerging brands completely miss.We talk about:Why most packaging fails before a shopper even reads itThe science behind shopper behavior and visual attentionWhat big brands test before going to retailHow founders can apply enterprise-level methods without enterprise-level budgetsIf you're launching into retail or trying to increase velocity this episode is your playbook for competing smarter, not louder.Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
April 6, 2026Episode 26018 min
260. Building It Better the Second Time: Scaling a Smarter CPG Brand
In this episode of the Startup to Scale Podcast, I sit down with Smári Ásmundsson, founder of NØRSE CØDE and the former founder of Smári Organics.Smári spent more than 10 years building Smári Organics into a nationally distributed yogurt brand carried by retailers like Whole Foods Market, Target, and Walmart, reaching $5M in annual sales. But when COVID hit, the business collapsed.Instead of walking away from CPG, Smári started again.Today he’s building NØRSE CØDE, a plant-based protein powder brand with a proprietary formulation, strong repeat purchase rates, and a focus on building a profitable, durable business from the ground up.In this conversation, we talk about the emotional reality of losing a company, the lessons that only come from scaling to national distribution, and how Smári is applying 15 years of hard-earned experience to build his next brand the right way.Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
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