The Food Startups Podcast
by Hema Reddy
We bring in top performers like Bob Moore of Bob's Red Mill, Legendary Investor Jim Rogers (Skip the MBA and Start a Farm), and founders of emerging food startups in a weekly show designed to educate and entertain.Exclusive tips and insights to help you build a meaningful and profitable food business.
Episodes
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Ep 176: Mental Health Roundtable with Jeremy Smith, Mark Samuel & Hugh Thomas
A discussion on mental health with our guests: Jeremy Smith - CEO of Launchpad Mark Samuel - Founder & CEO of iWON Organics Hugh Thomas - Co-founder & CEO of Ugly Drinks In this episode we trigger up some thoughts from three serial entrepreneurs who share their close encounter with it, how they...
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Ep 175: Position Your Business and Investor Relationship For Success
Tom Spier is the Founder and Managing Partner of Boulder Food Group(BFG), a venture capital firm that seeks partnerships with early stage food and beverage consumer product companies. Tom previously co-founded EVOL Foods and was the COO of Bear Naked Granola. Under Tom's management, both…
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Ep 175: Position Your Business and Investor Relationship For Success
Tom Spier is the Founder and Managing Partner of Boulder Food Group(BFG), a venture capital firm that seeks partnerships with early stage food and beverage consumer product companies. Tom previously co-founded EVOL Foods and was the COO of Bear Naked Granola. Under Tom's management, both…
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Ep 174 - Going from 0-1300 stores in Eight Months
Jessica Levison is the Founder and CEO of Pekaboo Ice Cream. In her search to get veggies into her three toddlers, this lawyer turned Ice Cream Confectionist started infusing vegetables in ice cream and ended up starting a successful ice cream brand called Peekaboo Ice Cream. In this episode,...
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Ep 173 - How Collaboration Can Catapult a Brand's Success
Francisco Pavan is the Co-Founder of Kumana, a company that makes Avocado Sauces inspired by Venezuelan cuisine. After traveling the world and experiencing different cultures through food, he decided to change career paths from being an automotive parts supplier, to a food startup entrepreneur.…
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Ep 172 - Turning a Home Remedy to a Successful Beverage Brand
Kenneth Park is the founder and CEO of Detoxwater, an Aloe Vera water brand that started as a home remedy that his mom used for digestive problems and other illnesses. Ken eventually introduced Aloe water to the market, originally branded as Superleaf Aloe Juice, selling from his dorm room and...
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Ep 171 - Importance of Shelf Strategy, Perseverance and Vision - Matt Cohen of KidFresh
Mark Cohen is the founder and CEO of Kidfresh, a food brand that was inspired by Matt's goal to provide a line of better-for-you and tasty kids meals to-go made with the same quality ingredients enjoyed by parents but for children. In this episode, he shares several key insights for shelf…
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Ep 171 - Importance of Shelf Strategy, Perseverance and Vision - Matt Cohen of KidFresh
Mark Cohen is the founder and CEO of Kidfresh, a food brand that was inspired by Matt's goal to provide a line of better-for-you and tasty kids meals to-go made with the same quality ingredients enjoyed by parents but for children. In this episode, he shares several key insights for shelf…
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Ep 170 - How to Make Your Product an Amazon Best Seller and More, with Katie Jesionowski
Katie Katie Jesionowski is Co-Founder of MySuperFoods, a company that makes superfoods for kids. With three product lines distributed nationally via natural food channels, traditional grocery, food service, schools and export as well as online, they are a snack brand on the rise. Katie shares her...
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Ep 169 - The technique of self distribution and building strong relationships with buyers - Sadie from Bread Srsly
Sadie Scheffer is the founder and CEO of Bread Srsly, a wholesale sourdough bread company that wants to reunite gluten-free eaters with their beloved sourdough bread. All of their bread rises for more than 12 hours, breaking down hard-to-digest grains and plus, Bread SRSLY gluten-free sourdough...
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Ep 168 - How fanaticism and a solid channel mix strategy can help you thrive in the beverage industry - Matt from Wandering Bear Coffee
Matt Bachmann is the co-founder of Wandering Bear Coffee, a company that produces and distributes cold brew beverages. The company started back in 2013 and is now sold in over 750 retailers, including Target, Costco and Whole Foods and is distributed nationally to offices via their website. Matt...
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Ep 167 - Learn about regenerative agriculture and how it can reverse climate change - Annie from Kiss The Ground
Annie is an activist, writer, scientist, and marketing manager dedicated to environmental issues related to food, water, and agriculture. She works with consumers, suppliers, and purchasers to drive demand for regenerative products, transition farms to regenerative agriculture, and inspire brands...
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EP166 - How the passion for spirits combined with strategic execution made this cocktail vinegars brand a hit
Don Morton is a bartender, WSET trained wine nerd, cocktail geek, fermentation enthusiast, and an eager host. After 10 years of working in public policy, Don founded Shrub District to bring a little more happiness into the world. Today, their cocktail vinegars (aka shrubs) and 'built cocktails'…
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Ep165 - Launch a record breaking kickstarter campaign and a solid marketing strategy - John "Sonic" Ban and Mark Yu of Grass Fed Coffee
John "Sonic" Ban has worn many hats, is a serial entrepreneur and shares valuable lessons from his experience, in this episode. Also known as DJ Sonic, due to 10+ years in a hip hop radio station, his first brush with starting his own business was with the Indianapolis food truck scene and…
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Ep164- Build a Community Before a Food Brand - Hema of Crafty Counter
Hema Reddy is the Founder & CEO of Crafty Counter, an innovative packaged food products company, and their first product line is available in the market today, and they called Wundernuggets. She is also the Founder & CEO of Epicurate Media - a digital marketing firm that is hyper-focused on…
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Ep163- Why Amazon-Whole Foods is unlikely to work (for Whole Foods)
There is no denying the inventory and logistics benefits of Whole Foods being purchased by Amazon. Any spreadsheet or report can show that. But what is often overlooked in the history of acquisitions is culture. Jeremy Smith believes there is a high probability that Whole Foods will fail...
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Ep162- On Building True Fans, Mentors and E-commerce Dominance - Madeline of nutpods
In just a few years, nutpods is on fire. A dairy-free coffee creamer, they have passed Coffee Mate on Amazon.com for # of reviews. Talk about "review capital"! She entered the food space as an outsider. With a beginner's mindset and the ability to develop die-hard fans, nutpods has become a great...
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Ep160- Logistics Strategy Part 1
Andrew Lynch is co-founder and president of the Zipline Logistics, an award-winning North American 3PL that specializes exclusively in the transportation of retail consumer goods and food and beverage products. Zipline Logistics works with popular brands such as Vita Coco, Chameleon Cold Brew,...
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Ep159- Cauliflower as a Bread Replacement? - Jeanne of Outer Aisle
Jeanne David has created a company by taking a long-used veggie as a replacement for pizza crust and bread. By cutting out refined carbs, one can transform health. We talk about the anti-inflammatory diet, getting on restaurant menus, dealing with unexpected sales spikes via a popular blog, and...
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Ep158- A Pragmatic, Visionary Capitalist - Michael of Green Chef
Mindset, packaging, food labeling, logistics, innovation, systems thinking, sustainability, traceability, and big e-commerce in the delivery space. This episode has it all. I don't say this lightly, but this episode should be listened to by all food entrepreneurs. Michael Joseph is the CEO of…
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Ep157- Seaweed, Category Leading, and 25 Years in the Game - Steve of GimMe Health
Steve Broad is on his second startup in the food space. He previously had Co-Founded and was CEO of Annie Chun's Inc. with his wife, Annie Chun. They started at the Farmer's Market in 1992 and built it into a national brand, then sold the company in 2008 to CJ Corp, Korea's largest food company....
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Ep156- Personal Strength, Community, and Homegrown Veggies - Sam of Vinder
Sam Lillie is the founder/CEO of Vinder, a peer-to-peer marketplace for homegrown produce that connects home gardeners who hate seeing their excess veggies go to waste, with fellow community members looking to buy local produce. Sam graduated from San Jose State in 2015 then solo-hiked from…
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Ep155- How to Last in the Natural Foods Space - Joshua of Living Intentions
"I had a lot of experiences where I truly manifested my reality. And those experiences continue." Joshua Mchugh has been at this for 13 years. Not many startups make it to the decade mark. How did he do it? Starting out, he would spend endless hours reading recipe books with the intention of...
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Ep154- Food Biz Success in 3 Steps
Hi all! In today's brief episode, I evaluate the success of the past 50 guests on the show and synthesize it into 3 steps.
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Ep153- Investing in the 1% - Jordan of AccelFoods
"Back the jockey, not the horse." At early revenue stages, the founder is crucial when deciding whether or not to invest. Out of every 100 or so food startups Accel Foods invests in just 1. What makes them say yes to this small handful of companies? Cofounder Jordan Gaspar and I dive into her...
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Ep152- How to Run a Premium, Global Brand - Reza of Icelandic Glacial
Reza Mirza has an exciting job: CEO of Icelandic Glacial. A premium brand, they control the sole commercial rights to bottle and sell water from the legendary Ölfus Spring. In 21 countries with only 40 total employees, they are organized, efficient, and growing. Their U.S. distribution is handled...
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Ep151- #1 on Amazon + Road Trip Retail Strategy - Alex of Bizzy Coffee
When I asked Alex how they came up with the idea for an energy shot. It was simple: Our customers told us. Before the interview, I thought: "Why would anyone start a cold-brew coffee company? There are so many on the market already." I quickly learned the unique value proposition of Bizzy Coffee...
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Ep150- Raising Money + Lessons from 1000 Founders - Steven of CircleUp
For Steven, it's all about patterns. He has spoken to over 1,000 founders and has developed a sense for which startups are going to flourish. He focuses on sourcing and evaluating premier brands and coaching entrepreneurs through the fundraising process at CircleUp. CircleUp is the platform...
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Ep149- Health, Wealth + Coconuts - Alex of Genius
Most Americans are sick. Alex Bayer saw it first hand, dealing insurance policies for AFLAC in southern California. Born and raised in Palos Verdes, he has followed an extremely healthy and active lifestyle from an early age. In his 20's, he became 'too busy' and was always on the go, never…
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Ep148- The Blockchain and Food - Emma of AgriDigital
Imagine if, in 1996, you knew that the internet was going to be the next big thing. In hindsight, it seems obvious, but it wasn't at the time. Now we are on the brink of a new technology that can be as monumental to the world as the internet: the blockchain. Food and Ag is just one of many...
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Ep147- More on Brokers, Costco, and the Evolving Food Space - Jeremy of LaunchPad
Jeremy Smith is back. If you haven't heard the first interview, listen here. There is trouble in the food broker space. The market has changed dramatically. Based on listener response to the first episode and Jeremy's intuition, we continued the conversation on Costco, brokers, and how to adapt…
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Ep146- How to Join and Thrive at a Food Startup - Amanda Sains of B'more Organic
In the last episode, we spoke with the founder of B'More Organic. This week we interview their secret weapon, Amanda Sains. Amanda was in the corporate world and wanted a change. She started as a brand ambassador, doing product demos on her lunch break. She has since rebranded the company,...
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Ep145- Resourcefulness, Skyr, + Taking a Bite out of Disease - Andrew of Skyr
"Necessity creates opportunities in my life." Andrew Buerger was in his 40's and stuck in a declining industry. He had to find something new. While mountain climbing in Iceland, tried their traditional yogurt, Skyr. Even though he is lactose-intolerant, Andrew loved the yogurt and felt great…
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Ep144- A Lesson on Biz Dev and Consumer Behavior - Andy of Basket Savings
In the space Andy Ellwood plays in, every few years you need to be prepared to start over. On his dynamic career "path", Andy has become a high-performer in business development with a track record to back it up. He helped Gowalla through its acquisition by Facebook in 2011, Waze through to its...
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Ep143- Finding the White Space - Mikey's
He started Mikey's Muffins as a side hustle to pay the rent. As of today, his products are in more than 4500 retailers nationwide. Michael Tierney began working in professional kitchens at the age of 13 and followed his passion to The Culinary Institute of America, where he earned his degree in...
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Ep142- Raw Sugar, Strategy, + Serendipity - Robbie of Just Panela
He thought he was going to be a diplomat. While gaining international experience in Medellin, Colombia, he fell into a circle of entrepreneurs. And everything changed. Robbie Thomas teamed up with another expat and launched Just Panela, a true raw cane sugar. The company has grown fast. 18 months...
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Ep141- How to Reinvent Yourself, Build Startups - Tobias of Square Roots
Tobias Peggs understands how to pivot; how to evolve. He has primarily operated in venture-backed tech startup environments (twice as CEO w/exits to Walmart and Adobe). He has led companies across various domains including mobile, search, social, e-commerce, ad-tech and speech rec. Now, with…
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Ep140- Mushrooms, Customer Rituals, and Lifestyle - Tero of Four Sigmatic
Tero Isokauppila, the founder of Four Sigmatic, is on a mission to make medicinal mushrooms, some of the world's most researched superfoods, more accessible to everyone. Born in Finland to an agronomist father and nursing teacher mother, Tero grew up on a farm his family has owned since 1619....
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Ep139- Costco, Chobani, and Becoming Iconic - Jeremy of LaunchPad
Jeremy Smith is fed up with the food brokerage industry. There are a shortage of great food brokers. And grocery buyers have noticed. That's why he is back in the game. He previously sold his food brokerage, Level One, and is back with an innovative Food Brokerage and Consultancy: LaunchPad. Over...
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Ep138- Inside the Buyer's Brain - Alli Ball
I thought I knew a decent amount about how to connect with buyers. I was wrong. Alli Ball has all the secrets I wanted to know. She has successfully opened several retail locations, including the Bi-Rite Divisadero location as store manager. She is a rockstar. Listen to this episode and you'll...
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Ep137- Chicory, Prebiotic Health Benefits, and B2B Sales - David of Blue Prarie
When David Woodburn was asked to be the CEO of Blue Prarie, he didn't know what chicory was. Now, he is leading the charge developing prebiotic, chicory-based ingredients that help maintain a healthy gut environment for beneficial bacteria while replacing fast-digesting starches. David is pleased...
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Ep136- Building a Popsicle Empire - Daniel of Good Pop
He founded GoodPop on a ramen noodle budget in 2009 and hasn't accepted investments since. College student at the time, Daniel couldn't find an all-natural popsicle, snow cone or frozen treat to beat the Texas heat. Daniel Goetz decided to quit his advertising internship to launch GoodPop with…
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Ep135- International Man of Food Development - Tim Forrest
Cookies in Saudi Arabia, pomegranates in Croatia, bananas in Ecuador, Olive oil in Georgia. Tim has done it all. In the food business since 1988, he helps companies add thousands of retail locations, millions of dollars in revenue, and millions of capital investment. Tim has worked with large and...
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Ep134- Insights from an Austin Food Legend - Scott of Rhythm Superfoods / Stubb's BBQ
Scott Jensen is Co-Founder and CEO of Rhythm Superfoods, a manufacturer of organic plant-based superfoods snacks. I am snacking on their delicous broccoli bites as we speak! He is the former CEO & President of One World Foods (Stubb's Bar-B-Q), which he co-founded 20+ years ago with C.B....
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Ep133- Food Systems, Startup Investing, and Creating Alpha - Victor of S2G Ventures
Everything changed on his visit to the Central Market in Valencia, Spain: Victor Friedberg realized that food is a system. He returned to the U.S. and dove head first into learning about food systems. At S2G Ventures, Victor and his team invest in innovative food startups. Many of the startups…
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Ep132- Building an Amazonian Enterprise - Dan from Runa
Dan MacCombie is the co-founder and former Co-CEO of Runa, an Amazonian social enterprise and beverage company supporting indigenous farmers sustainably growing guayusa tea in the rainforest. He and the Runa team developed relationships with indigenous farmers and built a supply chain into...
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Ep131- The Future of Chips - Brand Evolution - Christian of Cabo Chips
It all started 12 years ago in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Today, it is a nationwide brand based out of Southern California. Christian Bunte started Cabo Chips in college and has been doing it ever since. In 2012, he made the decision to focus on the natural retail channels. A pivotal shift that...
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Ep130- Nutrition Tips + The Best Baby Food Money Can Buy - Cassandra of Once Upon a Farm
Doing research for this interview, I quickly realized that this is no ordinary baby food. It utilizes start of the art technology. And adults love it too! Cassandra Curtis is a nutrition fanatic foodie with an extensive background in the health and wellness spheres. Her deep understanding of...
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Ep129- Bogotá to Eugene, Solo to Co-Founder, Crafting Beer - Doug of Alesong
Douglas Coombs decided it was time for a change. He left a tech startup in a South American city of 9 million people and moved to a small college town in Oregon to start a brewery. Why and how did he do it? We have a fun conversation about his journey and current venture: Alesong Brewing &...
About this show
We bring in top performers like Bob Moore of Bob's Red Mill, Legendary Investor Jim Rogers (Skip the MBA and Start a Farm), and founders of emerging food startups in a weekly show designed to educate and entertain.Exclusive tips and insights to help you build a meaningful and profitable food business.
Hosted by
Hema Reddy
Categories