Selling a Unit Every 30 Seconds at Costco | Christian Karim Khalil, Yaza

On this episode, we're joined by Christian Karim Khalil, Founder & CEO of Yaza - the fast-growing brand bringing traditionally made, clean-ingredient labneh and Mediterranean dips to the U.S. market. Christian brings years of global CPG experience from a handful of countries around the world. Christian walks through the nine-month R&D process, the grueling six-month search for a dairy co-packer (printing hundreds of pages from the FDA's IMS certificate list and cold-calling every company on it), and the production challenges that came with scaling up for Whole Foods.We get into the Yaza rebrand, why Christian pushed for it early, and his framework for deciding when a rebrand is worth the investment: it has to solve specific problems, not just look better. Christian also breaks down what it took to land Whole Foods nationwide before even having product in market, the Costco roadshow model and selling a unit every 30 seconds, and the consumer education playbook for a category that's still new to the majority of American shoppers.---------------Episode Highlights:🧀 How labneh is traditionally made (and why it's different in the U.S.)🏭 The six-month co-packer search (FDA binders, cold calls, near-quitting)🧪 Nine months of R&D to match Lebanon's gold standard🎨 Why Yaza rebranded early and the problems it solved🛒 Landing Whole Foods nationwide before having product in market📈 Growing 200%+ at Whole Foods through strategic promotions🏪 The Costco roadshow model (selling a unit every 30 seconds)🍽️ Labneh on Michelin-star menus as a consumer education driver📦 Building a "brand block" with baba ganoush and muhammara🚀 Why Yaza skipped Expo West (and where that $100K+ goes instead)👀 Why protein and fiber shouldn't be "trends" - they should be daily staples---------------Table of Contents:00:00 – Intro00:54 – Origin story and the Hashimoto's connection02:57 – Early R&D and making labneh at home05:09 – Researching the market at Whole Foods05:40 – Finding a co-packer (the IMS binder story)07:18 – Perfecting the formulation10:04 – Scaling production for Whole Foods11:35 – Brand identity and the first packaging13:43 – The rebrand: why, when, and how16:00 – Expanding the product line (baba ganoush, muhammara)19:25 – Advice on when a rebrand is worth it22:01 – Landing Whole Foods nationwide24:55 – Costco roadshows and what they revealed28:04 – Consumer education and category creation29:37 – Driving velocity: demos, promotions, social media33:07 – Why Yaza skipped Expo West34:30 – Trends, brands, and what's next for Yaza---------------Links:Yaza – https://yazafoods.com/Follow Christian on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-karim-khalil-8b615b185/Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.