Almond Milk in a Can — How Gaena Lu Built Marin Living Foods from Scratch (and Why She's Tasting It on Camera)

Gaena Lu has been making almond milk for 13 years.It started with lactose intolerance and a holistic culinary school in Berkeley. It went through three rebrandings, a seven-day shelf life that made logistics nearly impossible, a move to refrigerated with 21 days, and eventually — two years ago — a leap to something nobody had done before: almond milk in a recyclable aluminum can. Shelf stable. No refrigeration required. Nationwide shipping. Made in the US.In this episode of Books & Backbone, Gaena sits down with Donna Harris to talk about what it actually looks like to build a food product business from scratch as a solo founder — the capital challenges, the logistics nightmares, the customer education required to get someone to trust a shelf stable product when they're used to fresh, and why doing in-person demos is still the most powerful sales tool she has.Donna also tastes the cinnamon flavor live. She has a lot to say about it.This one is for anyone building a physical product business, anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to get a food product onto retail shelves nationwide, and anyone who is lactose intolerant and tired of the almond milks in the box.Two new fruit flavors coming in early 2026.Gaena LuFounder, Marin Living Foodsmarinlivingfoods.comDonna Harris, MBA, MAccCEO, Bookkeeping Made Simple LLCmysimplebookkeeping.com | 801-692-0032