#360 - Supply Chain Lessons from Building Seed, Liquid IV, and Celsius

Natan Bershtel is the Director of Business Development at Pelagic, a fractional supply chain partner for growing brands and CPG companies. Before Pelagic, Natan spent nearly 20 years as a public school teacher before joining and eventually running his family’s contract packaging business—where he worked with iconic names like Seed, Liquid IV, Celsius, and Element. After his company’s exit, Natan teamed up with John Morgan to help brands avoid common operational pitfalls and build supply chains that scale.In this episode of DTC Pod, Natan breaks down what it takes to build a resilient supply chain at every stage of brand growth. He shares practical strategies to avoid common pitfalls, tips on sourcing the right partners, and insights on how successful brands approach manufacturing, fulfillment, and logistics. Natan also highlights why supply chain is core to a brand’s success and how founders can create real competitive advantages by making supply chain decisions based on quality, relationships, and flexibility.Episode brought to you by StordInteract with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. Importance of supply chain in DTC and omnichannel brands2. Key players: sourcing, manufacturing, co-packers, 3PLs, and fulfillment3. Differences in supply chain needs for emerging vs. established brands4. Supply chain pitfalls and how to avoid them5. Vetting, relationship-building, and collaboration with your supply chain partners6. Overlooked areas of supply chain where founders lose time/money7. How to approach minimum order quantities and negotiations8. When to outsource fulfillment vs. doing it yourself9. Logistics of manufacturing, packaging, and distribution10. The impact of scale on supply chain decisions11. Using data and timelines to make faster, smarter choices12. Leveraging agency and partner networks for supply chain speed13. Why in-person vendor relationships are crucial14. How truly great supply chains build brand moatsTimestamps00:00 Intro and the state of supply chain in DTC01:40 Natan Bershtel’s background and path to Pelagic02:24 Lessons from growing a contract packaging family business04:11 Why supply chain is the backbone of every brand05:28 The role of execution vs. creative vision in CPG07:09 How to find and vet the best manufacturing/packaging partners11:15 The agency advantage: getting reps and sharing supply chain intel12:41 Core players in bringing a product to market15:04 Aligning supply chain strategy with brand vision and goals16:56 Two playbooks for scaling: bootstrap profit vs. capital-intensive growth19:48 Timelines—how to ask supply partners the right questions21:41 How and when to ask for what you need from partners26:32 End-to-end product launch: manufacturing, packaging, and fulfillment28:42 When to move fulfillment to a 3PL (and when to keep it in-house)33:15 Tech and process innovation at leading 3PLs35:14 Strategic decisions: packaging, location, and unit economics38:58 Challenging assumptions and reviewing supply chain regularly42:08 Supply chain as brand moat and advantage44:13 Final tips: Always go in-person and build real relationshipsShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTokNatan Bershtel - Director of Business Development at PelagicBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic