Building a Dessert Brand as a Solo Founder | Lex Evan, Lexington Bakes

On this episode, we’re joined by Lex Evan, the Founder and CEO of Lexington Bakes. My audio isn't great so apologies in advance....Lexington Bakes is a radically transparent dessert brand crafting nostalgic American treats with organic and fair-trade ingredients. What started as a pandemic side hustle quickly grew into a national CPG brand known for its bold design, clean labels, and radically honest sourcing.From $5,000 in brownie pre-sales and a self-built Shopify store to landing in Erewhon, Foxtrot, and scaling toward 1,000 retail doors, Lex has built Lexington Bakes into a category-defining brand with just one full-time employee: himself.In this episode, Lex shares how his background in design and brand strategy shaped the business, how he's preparing to scale with a co-manufacturer, why ingredient integrity is non-negotiable.We chat with Lex about how to pitch retailers, package for impact, navigate a solo founder journey, and his recent journey to raising a $1M seed round.—---------------Episode Highlights:🍫 How a $50 brownie box launched the brand📦 Designing a brand rooted in emotional connection🌱 Why Lexington Bakes lists its ingredient partners on every package🧁 The “No Naughty Ingredients™” standard🔧 Moving from kitchen to co-manufacturer🛒 What retailers actually want to see in a pitch🎨 Packaging tips from a J&J design alum🚀 How Lex is scaling while staying solo💰 Fundraising as a first-time founder💡 Why being “great to work with” is Lex’s superpower—---------------Table of Contents:00:00 – Intro & Origin Story03:00 – Radical Ingredient Transparency06:00 – Brand Building & Solo Founder Journey10:00 – Packaging Design Advice14:00 – Co-Manufacturing & Scaling Production21:00 – Retail Strategy & Launching in Stores28:00 – Fundraising & Investor Tips40:00 – Final Thoughts & Where to Find Lex—---------------Links:Lexington Bakes – https://www.lexingtonbakes.comFollow Lex on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexevan/Follow Adam 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 KitPrint.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.