Founder Feature: Bar Bruhis of Boostcous

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Bar Bruhis, founder of Boostcous - the world's first better-for-you couscous, built to fill a gap in a grocery aisle that hasn't seen a single innovation while pasta brands like Banza and Goodles have completely reinvented their category. Boostcous delivers 18 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber per serving using just three ingredients - chickpeas, lentils, and peas - with zero fillers or xanthan gum.Bar was born in Israel, grew up eating couscous, and spent two years and over 100 kitchen batches formulating a version that actually tastes good. He comes from a DTC and SaaS background, launching direct-to-consumer first to prove product-market fit before ever approaching a retailer - hitting 10,000 Shopify orders in six months.Caitlin and Bar dig into his immigrant mentality and why he built such a strong network early, the genius post-purchase survey question that got him a call with a Costco buyer, and why he's now in Lieber's Locavore and pitching Whole Foods and Walmart after his first trade show at Summer Fancy Food.Listen in as they discuss:Why the couscous aisle has seen zero innovation while pasta has been completely reinvented by brands like Banza and GoodlesHow a licensing deal with an Italian protein-couscous manufacturer collapsed overnight because of Trump-era tariffsBetting a small, capped amount of personal capital with a U.S. co-man just to test product-market fitHitting 10,000 Shopify orders in six months and why starting DTC-first was non-negotiableBar's immigrant mentality, early mentorship from Noah Kagan, and building an entire events business (D2Ski) just to deepen his CPG networkThe one post-purchase survey question that turned into a Costco buyer call within three daysGoing from zero in-person sampling to landing on shelf at Lieber's Locavore through Startup CPG's Denver grocery runKey lessons from Boostcous's first major trade show at Summer Fancy Food, including new conversations with Whole Foods and WalmartWhy gluten-free shoppers and parents of toddlers have become two of Boostcous's strongest customer demographicsEpisode Links:Bar Bruhis – Founder, Boostcous LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbruhis/Website: boostcous.comInstagram: instagram.com/boostcousDon't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.Show Links:Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to "Transcript" at the top)Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Caitlin's LinkedInQuestions or comments about the episode? Email [email protected] music by Super Fantastics Head to eatmezcla.com and use code STARTUPCPG for 20% off your first order.Promo code expires on September 30th 2026.