[Greatest Hits] Using Events & Competitions To Market Effectively with Jeff Vierling, Co-Founder & CEO at Tailwind Nutrition

September 29, 2022 • 50 MIN

In this episode, Jeff Vierling, Co-founder and CEO of Tailwind Nutrition, joins the conversation. Jeff is an endurance biker who competes in races all over the country. As a result of his experiences, Jeff was intimately familiar with the challenges of keeping his body fueled while competing. Unfortunately, Jeff couldn't find any products with the nutrition he needed to compete in endurance events, so he created one. Jeff talks about how to scale your business by effectively marketing using events and competitions, digital marketing, and strategically going after targeted wholesale accounts worldwide. Jeff also shares why they chose to manufacture in-house and how he keeps this production operationally simple.

[Greatest Hits] Why Brands Need to Focus on Understanding Their Customers with Mia Medina, Founder & CEO at Gather Brands

September 22, 2022 • 40 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Mia Medina, Founder and CEO of Gather Brands, a full-service marketing management agency that focuses on women-owned and women-run companies in the CPG industry. Today, she talks about common mistakes that she has seen brands make when they try to break into retail and the importance of understanding your customers and why they choose your product.

[Greatest Hits] The Benefits of Selling Online & FTC Labeling with Juan Salinas, CEO & Founder at P-nuff Crunch, a Mark Cuban Company

September 15, 2022 • 23 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, we speak with Juan Salinas, CEO & Founder of P-nuff Crunch, a Mark Cuban Company. Juan shares his insights on why you should bring on help as soon as possible when starting a CPG business, the benefits of selling online, and how getting into retail is more expensive than you might think.

[Greatest Hits] Getting Your Brand into Retail Stores with Allison Ball, Founder & CEO at Food Biz Wiz

September 8, 2022 • 42 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, we speak with Allison Ball, Founder and CEO of Food Biz Wiz. Allison shares her experience as a buyer for a fast-growing grocery chain and how that taught her lessons about why brands succeed or fail in retail. She also gives tips on how to get in front of buyers and the mistakes brands make when engaging with them.

[Greatest Hits] Turning Misfortune Into Success with Ted Fleming, Founder and CEO at Partake Brewing

September 1, 2022 • 46 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, Ted Fleming, Founder and CEO of Partake Brewing, shares his life and experiences after receiving a devastating medical diagnosis and how that inspired him to create his product. Ted tells us that he knew in his core that there was a market for this product, even though others thought it was a terrible idea. He also shares the actions he took after his manufacturer sent him a bad batch of the initial product and how that led to the creation of a different product that he still sells to this day.

Innovating and Disrupting the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Market with Jordan Bass, CEO and Cofounder at HOP WTR

August 25, 2022 • 43 MIN

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, Ken Ojuka is joined by Jordan Bass, CEO and Cofounder of HOP WTR, a non-alcoholic brand alternative to beer. Jordan covers his personal experiences that eventually led him to start HOP WTR and shares his approach to analyzing the market and gathering the data while still staying true to his intuition and life experience. Jordan also explains how to position your product and business for each customer any CPG brand has to consider: the distributor, the retailer, and the consumer.

[Greatest Hits] An Incremental Approach To Distribution & Product Development with Chris Kirby, Founder at Ithaca Hummus

August 18, 2022 • 42 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, Chris Kirby, Founder of Ithaca Hummus, shares the story behind building his hummus company, the value of an incremental approach to wholesale, and how that allowed him to continue to develop his product into a nationwide CPG brand.

[Greatest Hits] The Importance of Forming a Close Relationship with your Co-Packer with Pat Bennett, President & Founder at Pat’s Granola

August 11, 2022 • 51 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, Pat Bennett, President and Founder of Pat's Granola, shares advice on working with a local co-packer along with the advantages of being onsite, especially during the initial production, and how crucial it is to have a close working relationship with your co-packer.

Bringing Your CPG Manufacturing In-House with Ryan Margolin, CEO at Professional Hair Labs

August 4, 2022 • 59 MIN

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, Ryan Margolin, CEO of Professional Hair Labs, joins the conversation to discuss his company's transition from outsourcing their manufacturing to manufacturing their own line of products in-house. Ryan talks about the hidden cost every manufacturer needs to stay on top of, how to finance and bootstrap the expenses of starting up your own production line, and the advantages to brands of selecting custom formulations versus the private label. Coming from a digital marketing background, Ryan also shares some tips on marketing and how brands should use social media to find new markets and sell their products. This was a great conversation applicable to both manufacturers and brands that teaches you how to improve your current manufacturing processes, whether you're doing that in-house or using a co-man. We appreciate Ryan’s willingness to share some tips for others looking to do the same. This is a must-listen if you've ever debated whether to bring your CPG product manufacturing in-house or not.

[Greatest Hits] Co-Manufacturing Mastery with Dustin Finkel, CEO at Awakened Foods

July 28, 2022 • 23 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, Dustin Finkel, CEO of Awakened Foods, shares transparent and actionable insights that help those raising capital to scale their brands and gives some invaluable tips on partnering with co-manufacturers.

[Greatest Hits] Launching, Growing, & Perfecting an Ice Cream Brand with Hannah Hong, Co-Founder at Must Love

July 21, 2022 • 52 MIN

If you’ve been looking for healthy and delicious ice cream, look no further! Must Love is a Los Angeles-based ice cream company founded by Hannah Hong and her best friend Molly that focuses on producing non-dairy ice cream made with real, simple ingredients. Hannah explains what makes Must Love a healthier product and describes their strategy to enter grocery stores in Southern California and expand nationally. Hannah shares the challenges of distributing a temperature-controlled product like ice cream in the CPG space and how being on Shark Tank forced them to embrace D2C and perfect it. She also talks about how a chance meeting with a customer in Hawaii led to an introduction to a Costco buyer and eventually a fantastic deal.

[Greatest Hits] Scaling Up Your Brand with Jessi Freitag, a CPG Operations Consultant, Podcast Host, and Producer at Startup CPG and Iroh's Corner

July 14, 2022 • 53 MIN

Not long ago, Jessi Freitag, a CPG Operations Consultant, Podcast Host, and Producer at Startup CPG and Iroh's Corner, joined us on a great episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast. She talked about her CPG experience, the advantages and drawbacks of manufacturing in-house, and how the operations team works with marketing and sales to scale the brand. Jessi also shared the exciting efficiencies you can find when looking for small operations improvements daily and a lot more.

[Greatest Hits] The Power of a Brand Autopsy with Tyler Merrick, Founder at Project 7

July 7, 2022 • 69 MIN

One exciting conversation we had on The Physical Product Movement podcast was with Tyler Merrick, the Founder of Project 7, a premium confectionery brand with a social mission to fund critical areas of need through their keto-friendly plant-based candies and delicious gummies. Tyler unfolded his experience launching Project 7 and how he managed to perform a brand autopsy to revive it. He also shared lessons he learned the hard way from relying too much on brick-and-mortar sales and how COVID reinforced that experience.

[Greatest Hits] Kickstarter Campaign Mastery with Will Nitze, Founder & CEO at IQBAR

June 30, 2022 • 60 MIN

Recalling some of the greatest episodes we had on the podcast, we couldn't miss Will Nitze, Founder, and CEO of IQBAR, the leading "brain+body" plant-based protein bar. After attending Harvard, studying psychology and neuroscience, he moved toward the world of software sales and, ultimately, launched his own business. In this episode, Will shares his experience with the countless iterations that led him to create IQBAR and then leverage the Kickstarter campaign for market research and to gain initial traction. Lastly, Will provides tremendous insight into his distribution strategy through D2C, retail, and Amazon.

Developing a Successful and Tasty Organic Product with Grace Ventura, CEO & Founder at Grace’s Goodness Organics

June 23, 2022 • 57 MIN

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, we're joined by Grace Ventura of Grace’s Goodness Organics, a plant-based sipping broth made from simple ingredients like vegetables, wellness herbs, and MCT oil. Her brand focuses on those with an active lifestyle looking for a healthy mini-meal or a quick pick-me-up. Grace tells the story of how food and nutrition were a big area of struggle for her clients. Wanting to help them, she landed on plant-based sipping broths. Grace describes how she started Grace’s Goodness Organics, explains the importance of authenticity behind the brand, and how customers can feel the intention and energy in the brand’s products.

Why CPG Brands Needs to Differentiate Their Products to Thrive with Laurel Orley, CEO & Co-Founder at Daily Crunch Snacks

June 16, 2022 • 52 MIN

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement podcast, we talk with Laurel Orley, CEO and Co-Founder of Daily Crunch Snacks, a women-owned and non-GMO healthy snack company. Laurel spent thirteen years building brands at Unilever and had the opportunity to work on well-known brands like Lipton Tea, the Ragu line of sauces, Dove Body Wash, and the Dove Men’s line of products. She has a unique approach on what is needed to succeed as a brand. Today, Laurel talks about different trends in the CPG space and how Keto and Plant-based brands need to differentiate more to connect meaningfully with the consumer. Laurel also shares her approach to trade shows and how to get better results from virtual or in-person trade shows. Lastly, she talks about how getting into a retail store is just the beginning, and what you need to do as a brand to cultivate that relationship and succeed with the retailer.

[Greatest Hits] Understanding Landed Costs & Profit Margins with Marc Siden, Co-Founder & CEO at Cloud Water

June 9, 2022 • 57 MIN

Is there any way smaller, emerging beverage brands can compete with giants like Coca-Cola? In one of the previous episodes of the Physical Product Movement podcast, we got a positive answer. Marc Siden, Co-founder, and CEO of Cloud Water is an ambitious entrepreneur who has established a natural sparkling hemp beverage brand with premium botanicals. Marc shares the challenges of leading his company through COVID and how they've been able to thrive. He also talks about difficulties and opportunities in the beverage space, specifically on how to compete against established giants like Coca-Cola. Lastly, Marc gives some great insights on the importance of understanding your landed and promotional costs, distributor margins, retailer margins, and shipping.

[Greatest Hits] The Secrets to Conducting Useful Customer Research with Josh Belinsky, Co-Founder at Slate Milk

June 2, 2022 • 44 MIN

Since the first episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, we have heard many incredible stories from different CPG entrepreneurs. Among our guests was Josh Belinsky, the Co-Founder of Slate Milk, a line of lactose-free, high protein, and better-for-you chocolate milk. Josh shared how his struggle with lactose intolerance while also having a love for chocolate milk, motivated him to start Slate Milk. Josh also talked about the importance of asking the right questions when doing customer research and staying curious, especially when breaking into a very competitive category. It was a great episode, and we believe you'll get a lot out of this conversation with Josh Belinsky.

Redefining Kombucha and Developing a Unique Functional Beverage with Jamba Dunn, Founder & CEO at Rowdy Mermaid

May 26, 2022 • 54 MIN

Jamba Dunn, Founder, and CEO of Rowdy Mermaid, is our guest today on The Physical Product Movement podcast. Rowdy Mermaid is a premier kombucha and functional beverage brand located in Boulder, Colorado. Jamba talks about his obsession and passion for kombucha and how his scientific and research-focused approach led to a unique, light, refreshing, clean, and functional beverage. He shares how his past experience had made him extremely reluctant to become an entrepreneur until he got positive support and feedback from friends and family. Jamba also discusses how he started Rowdy Mermaid, the importance of being selective about the words used to position and market products, and how that impacts customer expectations.

[Greatest Hits] CPG Operations and Scaling with John Schiaroli, President and Founder at Armatura Company

May 19, 2022 • 26 MIN

We had many fantastic amazing guests on the Physical Product Movement podcast with unbelievable stories. And one of them was John Schiaroli, President and Founder of Armatura Company, which helps food and beverages entrepreneurs scale their businesses. With his decades of experience in food and beverage, John makes operations simple and scalable. He shared everything CPG entrepreneurs need to know about CPG operations, from the dos and don’ts of working with co-packers to the differences between brands that thrive and brands that fail. We had a fantastic conversation with John and decided to share it again.

[Greatest Hits] How to Validate Your Product Idea FAST with Justin Fenchel, Co-Founder and CEO at BeatBox Beverages

May 12, 2022 • 56 MIN

Those of you listening to The Physical Product Movement from the very beginning may have heard about Justin Fenchel, Co-Founder, and CEO at BeatBox Beverages, "The World's Tastiest Party Punch." Justin was a great guest with some fantastic advice about how you can build an authentic brand and grow it successfully. He also talked about how to validate your product idea quickly and inexpensively and the importance of partnering with the right distributor to get your product in front of your "target customer." It was such an exciting conversation, and we're more than happy to share it again with you.

Launching a Plant-Based CPG Company and Helping the Environment with Matt Feldman, Founder & CEO at Moku Foods

May 5, 2022 • 38 MIN

Matt Feldman, founder and CEO of Moku Foods - and a member of the Forbes 30 under 30, is our guest today on The Physical Product Movement podcast. Growing up in Hawaii, Matt developed an appreciation and love for the environment, which inspired him to launch a company that reduces the negative environmental impact of the meat industry. Matt started Moku Foods, to make delicious, plant-based jerky that everyone can enjoy. When launching his CPG brand, Matt learned some invaluable lessons he shares with us here. He talks about what it means to commercialize your product and why the product you make in your kitchen is not the same one you take to market. Also, Matt explains the value of seeking out strong operational partners to avoid many of the common pitfalls in the CPG space. Lastly, he shares how he was able to reach out to investors to get them interested in his product and ultimately invest and partner with him.

The Science Behind a Successful Pain Relief Product Brand with Ryan Gresh, Founder & CEO at The Feel Good Lab

April 28, 2022 • 57 MIN

Today's guest of The Physical Product Movement podcast is Ryan Gresh, Founder & CEO at The Feel Good Lab, a leading line of pain relief products made from all-natural ingredients. Ryan shares how a dinner conversation with his dad and brother convinced him to leave his career as an engineer in the aerospace industry to launch his own company. Ryan also talks about the advantages and disadvantages of sourcing products and ingredients from domestic suppliers, especially in the wake of COVID-19 and the related supply chain issues. Ryan discusses why you should not only negotiate on price but also on terms and how that can impact your cash flow. By far the most impressive thing about Ryan’s mindset is his passion for his customers' problems and his determination to solve them.

[Greatest Hits] How To Build An Authentic Brand with Colby Bauer, Co-founder at Thread Wallets

April 21, 2022 • 39 MIN

Amongst the greatest hits of The Physical Product Movement podcast is the inaugural episode — our very first guest was Colby Bauer, the Co-founder & CEO at Thread Wallets. Thread® is a minimalist accessory brand that promotes originality and expression, bringing life to a product category saturated with bulky and boring products. In this episode, Colby talks about the inspiration behind Thread® and details every step he took to set up and grow the business. Colby also shares advice on building an authentic and original dot-com brand.

[Greatest Hits] Understanding the Netflix of Coffee with Mike Lackman, CEO at Trade Coffee

April 14, 2022 • 56 MIN

At the end of 2021, we talked with Mike Lackman, CEO of Trade Coffee. The brand unites over fifty of the best roasters in the country with 400+ coffees that are rich in variety and taste. And the numbers have been growing ever since. Trade Coffee has adopted a unique approach to retail. Driven by the idea that "every cup you drink should be the best damn coffee," Trade Coffee is often compared to Netflix, but for the coffee industry. In this episode, Mike describes how Trade Coffee can help you find your perfect freshly roasted coffee match so that you can enjoy it daily. Also, he gives some valuable advice about designing consumer experiences by gathering data in a survey to then curate recommendations. And lastly, we dive into the importance of the story behind a product. It was a great experience learning about Mike's story and Trade Coffee. And for those of you who missed the episode, you can listen to it now.

Building a Socially-Driven CPG Brand with Juan Giraldo, CEO & Co-Founder at Waku

April 7, 2022 • 45 MIN

Juan Giraldo, CEO, and co-founder at Waku joins us to share his insights on starting a mission-driven brand and how you first need to satisfy customers’ tastes and functional requirements before you earn the right to enlist them in your mission. Waku is a beverage brand of ready-to-drink herbal teas infused with prebiotics. Since Juan is from Ecuador, he wanted to make an impact in his home country by sourcing organic, high quality and pure ingredients directly from farms in Ecuador. He talks about the challenges of setting up a co-manufacturer and a raw ingredient supply chain in another country. Juan also walks us through the steps he took to get his first products manufactured and how he repositioned his product several times based on the feedback he received from his customers.

Building a Sustainable CPG Business on Amazon with Fernando Campos, Co-founder at MarketplaceOps

March 31, 2022 • 48 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, Fernando Campos, co-founder at MarketplaceOps, shares the pluses and minuses of selling on Amazon. He reveals some of the winning strategies brands use to grow on Amazon despite its saturation and competitiveness in nearly every category. Fernando also talks about the characteristics of products that do well on Amazon, the critical first 90 days of a product launch, and the five mistakes brands make that keep them from capitalizing on the Amazon opportunity.

How to Start & Scale a Food Business Successfully with Jordan Buckner, Founder at Foodbevy

March 24, 2022 • 38 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, Jordan Buckner, Founder of Foodbevy, highlights common mistakes brands make in distribution, marketing, and manufacturing. Jordan shares a painful and costly mistake that made it difficult for him to move from a commercial kitchen to a co-packer and how you can avoid it. He offers tips on how to get a buyer's attention by speaking their language and focusing on their goals and metrics instead of your own goals and product.

The Benefits of Manufacturing In-House with Robert Birnecker, CEO & Co-Founder at KOVAL Distillery

March 17, 2022 • 39 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, Robert Birnecker, CEO and co-founder of Koval Distillery, talks about the pivots he and his wife made before landing on their current line of products. He details the challenges and opportunities of working with great distributors, and how that has helped them with international expansion. Robert also talks about the advantages of manufacturing in-house to ensure quality and adapt to changing market conditions.

Bringing Inventory Operations Software for CPG Brands Into the Modern Age with Ken Ojuka, Host of The Physical Product Movement Podcast and Co-founder of Fiddle

March 10, 2022 • 58 MIN

In this episode, Ken Ojuka, host of The Physical Product Movement Podcast and Co-Founder of Fiddle, joins Jessi Freitag for tea, a Business Operations Consultant, Podcast Host, and Producer at Startup CPG and Iroh's Corner. Ken shares his career path from having a CPG brand to creating software for CPG brands, his focus on building inventory software with a modern, intuitive interface, and how he strives toward "work-life harmony."

How to Lead CPG Operations Successfully with Elena Guberman, CEO at TBH

March 3, 2022 • 43 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, Elena Guberman, CEO of newly launched CPG brand TBH (an honest snacking company founded by Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp), joins us to discuss creativity and art in operations and how learning new things on the job and through a community has always helped her thrive. Elena also explains why operations should work closely with sales and marketing to win and succeed, why it's important to be iterative and flexible, her rule of five when asking someone for advice, and plenty of other words of wisdom.

How to Launch Your Food Business Sustainably & Effectively with Eric Diamond & David Miller at Central Kitchen

February 24, 2022 • 51 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, Eric Diamond and David Miller from Central Kitchen talk about what it takes to succeed as a new food and beverage brand, exciting new trends, and plant-based foods. We also dive into why Eric and David have chosen not to take on any outside funding, the growing popularity of ghost kitchen spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, how to be true to yourself and business, and a new perspective on the great resignation and work-life balance.

Launching, Growing, & Perfecting an Ice Cream Brand with Hannah Hong, Co-Founder at Must Love

February 17, 2022 • 51 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, Hannah Hong, co-founder of Must Love, talks about her experience working in brand strategy and innovation and how Must Love went from being in Southern California grocery stores to expanding nationally. Hannah also details the importance of maintaining relationships and how a chance meeting with a customer in Hawaii led to an introduction to a Costco buyer and eventually a deal. Hannah describes the challenges of distributing a temperature-controlled product like ice cream in the CPG space and how being on Shark Tank forced them to embrace D2C and perfect it.

Scaling Up Your Brand with Jessi Freitag, a Business Operations Consultant, Podcast Host, & Producer at Startup CPG & Iroh's Corner

February 10, 2022 • 52 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, Jessi Freitag, a Business Operations Consultant, Podcast Host, and Producer at Startup CPG and Iroh's Corner, shares some great insights from an operations perspective. She was previously the Director of Marketing and Operations at LivBar, where she helped the company grow from manufacturing in a small room to a 12,000 square foot facility. Jessi talks about the advantages and drawbacks of manufacturing in-house and how the operations team works with marketing and sales to scale the brand. We also dive into the exciting efficiencies you can find when looking for small operations improvements every day and a lot more.

Insurance Coverage For CPG Brands 101 with Danielle Holyoake, COO & Co-Founder at Amelia Risk

February 8, 2022 • 40 MIN

Business insurance is one of those important things we often leave on the back burner until it’s too late. Luckily, Danielle has years of experience and knowledge she shares during our conversation. When should brands consider getting insurance? What are the different types of coverage and what can they do for me? Do I choose a brokerage or go straight to the insurance company? What if my co-packer or supplier already has insurance, can I rely on that? Keep listening for the answers to those questions and more PLUS some stories from her clients that prove just how helpful insurance can be! Enjoy this episode all about business insurance for CPG brands!

Building a Socially Conscious Clothing Brand with Connor Curran, Chief Laundry Folder & Founder at Local Laundry

February 3, 2022 • 42 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Connor Curran, Chief Laundry Folder and Founder at Local Laundry. Inspired by his parents, Connor wanted to become an entrepreneur and find a way to connect with the community, bring people together, and make their lives a little bit better. He shifted his attention towards clothing, as he believes the way we dress and present ourselves to the world sends messages about who we are and what we believe in. So he started an online t-shirt company called Local Laundry. Since anyone can start a t-shirt company, the main factor is to differentiate yourself. Local Laundry focuses on giving back to the community, bringing people together, building a community around a brand, and celebrating everyone in that community. Furthermore, Local Laundry switched all of its manufacturing to Canadian-made products. People are willing to pay slightly more as all the profit goes back to the Canadian community. Connor also describes how the pandemic offered them the opportunity to switch their business focus from retail to custom garments and details the benefits of this move.

Inventory Management For CPG Brands 101 with Ken Ojuka, Founder & CEO at Fiddle

February 2, 2022 • 46 MIN

If you have ever struggled with managing your sourcing, production, inventory, or anything on the operations side of your business, then today’s episode is what you need! It’s called Inventory Management 101 - a conversation between our founder, Ken Ojuka, and Jessi Freitag on the Startup CPG podcast. They talk about why you should manage your inventory more like you manage your personal finances with a bank account, how to make it all easier through automation, helpful tips for working with your co-packers and suppliers, when you should consider switching from spreadsheets to software for sourcing, production, and inventory management, and tons more. Whether you’re new or a veteran in the CPG space, you’ll definitely learn something new in the episode

Building A Next-Gen Nutrition Company with James Oliver, the Founder & CEO at Atlas Bar

January 27, 2022 • 48 MIN

In this episode, James Oliver, founder, and CEO of Atlas Bar shares his exciting journey in starting his own CPG brand in nutrition. It is a great story that combines his passion for nutrition, athletic background, and a genuine concern about the impact of food on both the body and the mind. The Atlas Bar is a unique product because it's the only one in its category that provides functional nutrition that supports both physical and mental health. James also talks about how he drove Uber and sold knives to raise money, how he started advertising the product to different gyms, the risks, and processes involved with launching the company, and why entrepreneurs have to learn and develop persuasion.

Understanding the Netflix of Coffee with Mike Lackman, CEO at Trade Coffee

December 30, 2021 • 54 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Mike Lackman, CEO of Trade Coffee, a coffee company that unites over fifty of the best roasters in the country with 400+ coffees that are rich in variety and taste. They offer this coffee to consumers nationwide on a subscription basis. We can compare Trade Coffee to Netflix, but for coffee. It's an innovative approach to retail that other businesses can also apply. Mike has some valuable advice about designing consumer experiences by gathering data in a survey to then curate recommendations. Moreover, we talk about the importance of the story behind a product. Also, we discuss how to highlight your suppliers, the source of your product, and search for and take forward the uniqueness of the people, product, geography, and process involved in bringing a product to market.

The Stories Behind Fiddle and The Physical Product Movement with Ken Ojuka

December 23, 2021 • 26 MIN

In this episode, Ken Ojuka, the host of The Physical Product Movement Podcast and Co-founder at Fiddle, joins Alex Bayer, the founder and CEO at Genius Juice and the host of 15 Minutes of Genius Podcast. Ken shares his background and reveals his motivation behind starting Fiddle and The Physical Product Movement Podcast.

Old Product, New Perspectives: Lessons on How to Leverage Tahini on the Food Market with Amy Zitelman, CEO & Co-Founder at Soom Foods

December 16, 2021 • 38 MIN

In this episode Amy Zitelman, CEO and Co-founder of Soom Foods, joins us in the next episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast. Soom Foods is a sister-owned Tahini products company whose products are used by award-winning restaurants and chefs around the world. Amy has been featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 and is also the author of "The Tahini Table." Amy tells the founding story of Soom Foods, how she and her sisters identified Tahini as an ingredient used heavily in other parts of the world but underrepresented in the United States market. She talks about the challenges and opportunities of selling a less-known category product. She also discusses the early days of loading up her bags with jars of Tahini and cold-calling restaurants. And finally, Amy outlines some of the surprising benefits of targeting wholesale channels first before eventually going direct to consumers. Amy is a great entrepreneur with a lot to share.

Mac & Cheese, Mental Anguish, & Retail Entrepreneurship with Myles Powell, the Founder & CEO of 8 Myles

December 9, 2021 • 43 MIN

In this episode features Myles Powell, the Founder and CEO of 8 Myles, a popular and fast-growing line of gourmet mac and cheese. Myles tells us about his pivot from selling barbecue sauces at farmer's markets to selling the mac and cheese he was making to showcase his sauces. He talks about the struggle he had with deciding when to quit his job and the mental anguish it took to make that decision, only to then be forced to make it again a couple of years later. He also shared with us how he took advantage of the open shelf space made possible through the effects of the COVID pandemic on the supply chain, and how he used that to get his product into popular retailers like Target and Whole Foods.

Gamification, Brand, and Offensively Delicious Cereal with Emily Elyse Miller, CEO & Founder at OffLimits

December 6, 2021 • 46 MIN

Hey listeners, you’re in for a fantastic interview today. Our guest is Emily Miller, the CEO & Founder of Off Limits, an innovative and modern cereal brand taking the CPG space by storm. Emily has a super unique background in fashion, forecasting, and hosting breakfast meetups. There’s an obvious connection between breakfast meetups and creating a cereal brand but how does her fashion and forecasting experience influence her brand? You’ll hear about that, NFTs, how she thinks about the CPGs and the metaverse, why she’s adamant about sourcing her own ingredients, why customers spend hours on the Off Limits website, and a lot more.

Getting Your Brand into Retail Stores with Allison Ball, Founder & CEO at Food Biz Wiz

December 2, 2021 • 41 MIN

In this episode, we speak with Allison Ball, Founder and CEO of Food Biz Wiz, a company that helps packaged food, beverage, and grocery brands get on to supermarket shelves, manage their wholesale strategy, and increase their sales. Allison talks about her experience as a buyer for a fast-growing grocery chain and how that taught her lessons about why brands succeed or fail in retail. She also shares some great tips on how to get in front of buyers, and the mistakes brands make when engaging with a buyer. Today’s interview is all about getting your food or beverage brand into retail stores.

Franchising - Top Tips on Scaling and Expanding Your Business with Betsy Hamm, Chief Executive Officer at Duck Donuts

November 25, 2021 • 39 MIN

Betsy Hamm, the Chief Executive Officer at Duck Donuts, joins us in today's episode, where she talks about how she started in PR and worked her way from marketing to operations. Betsy also offers insights into the growth strategy behind franchising a business, what it takes to get a new location off the ground, and tips on succeeding as a franchise. Duck Donuts just hit the 100 store milestone and in 2022 is looking to open up 40 new locations. They are growing fast and picking up momentum. This interview illustrates how to develop a brand, how to find and maintain healthy partnerships, and how to build processes into your business so that customers have a consistently great experience.

How Fiddle Automates Your Inventory Management, with Founder & CEO Ken Ojuka

November 22, 2021 • 41 MIN

Today’s episode is extra special. Most of you are accustomed to hearing our founder Ken Ojuka interview all of our amazing founder guests. Today, the tables turn and Ken gets interviewed by G. Steven Cleere on the Nexxt Level Brands Podcast. They talk about Ken’s history as an entrepreneur and CPG founder himself, how he helped his friend start his own co-manufacturer, and how that led him to create Fiddle. You’ll hear how supply chain and production management are the foundation of successful CPG brands and exactly how Fiddle helps you source ingredients, track all of your inventory, fulfill orders on time, and prevent stockouts so your customers and partners love buying from you!

Successful Business Strategies for the Beverage Market with Mitch Barnard, CEO & Founder at Wildpack Beverage

November 18, 2021 • 35 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Mitch Barnard, CEO, and Founder of Wildpack Beverage. Mitch talks about the massive opportunity he and his firms see in the beverage market, which is currently growing at 23% per year, blowing many other categories out of the water. He discusses why distributing co-packing close to target cities is key to a brand’s success. He also talks about common mistakes food and beverage entrepreneurs make when scaling their brand and how you can avoid them.

Making CPG a Game, Pivoting Your Product, and NFTs + CPG w/ Tyler Phillips, Chief Edible Officer & Founder at Hummii

November 17, 2021 • 59 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Tyler Phillips of Hummii, a "healthy + yummii plant-powered universe". Hear how Tyler has always loved snacks from a young age, how he got the idea for Hummii after going on a run in Puerto Rico, how he thinks about branding, the future of the CPG space with NFTs, how he makes business a game, and tons more.

How To Land Retail In The Modern Era of CPG with Sandra Velasquez, Sales Coach to CPG Brands

November 15, 2021 • 64 MIN

Learn how to pitch your product, how to stay on the shelf, and how to work with distributors. You need to nail all three areas in order to truly win at retail. Sandra Velasquez has helped numerous brands grow into retail locations all over the country following the tips and strategies she covered in this webinar recording. Get ready to take a lot of notes!

Community-Fueled CPG and NFTs with Dev Sevy, Head Popper & CEO at Sizzle Popcorn

November 12, 2021 • 54 MIN

Today’s episode is with Dev Sevy, the Head Popper, and CEO of Sizzle Popcorn. Our conversation ran the gamut in the best way. He's built Sizzle with a community-first mentality. We talked about how an old popcorn machine sparked Dev’s idea to start Sizzle, why he focuses on immediate action over long-term planning, how he launched a successful NFT component to his brand, and tons more. I hope you dig our conversation as much as I did!

Reinventing Cereals with Margaret Wishingrad, Co-founder at Three Wishes Cereal

November 11, 2021 • 36 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Margaret Wishingrad, Co-founder of Three Wishes Cereal. Margaret talks about the opportunity she saw in the crowded and competitive breakfast cereal market while feeding her young and very picky son. Using her experience in marketing and advertising, Margaret started her journey by doing product and consumer research. Eventually, Three Wishes was launched and was able to find success in retail, getting into Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. She goes into detail about why she felt her brand resonated with these buyers. Margaret is an open book with great stories and insights for food and beverage entrepreneurs.

Accounting 101 For CPG Brands

November 8, 2021 • 32 MIN

Today, we have a bonus episode for you: Accounting 101 For CPG Brands. This was originally presented as a webinar and because it was so well received, we wanted to make the audio available here on the podcast. Our guest is Andrew Nelson, a Manager at Squire and Company, a forward-thinking CPA firm that has worked with thousands of brands. We talked about a wide range of questions important to CPG brands, like the business benefits of following good accounting practices, common mistakes to avoid, doing it in-house vs. hiring a third party, supply chain challenges from an accounting perspective, and tons more. Andrew is a wealth of knowledge and shares tons of useful insights. Enjoy the episode!

Why Brands Need to Focus on Understanding Their Customers with Mia Medina, Founder & CEO at Gather Brands

November 4, 2021 • 38 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Mia Medina, founder and CEO of Gather Brands, a full-service sales consulting agency focusing on women-owned and women-run companies in the CPG industry. Mia has tons of experience from working in sales for some of the biggest nationally distributed brands to launching her own CPG brands. She talks about common mistakes that she's seen brands make when they try to break into retail and the importance of understanding your customers and why they choose your product.

How to Grow a Successful D2C Business with John Merris, CEO at Solo Brands

October 28, 2021 • 35 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by John Merris, CEO of Solo Brands, maker of the incredibly popular and fast-growing Solo Stove. We covered a lot in this interview, including John's belief and passion for customer experience. This has motivated Solo Brands to make intuitive moves, like stand up their in-house global awareness and fulfillment platform has also inspired them to continually focus on D2C, which drives most of their revenue. John talks about how this closeness to the customer has helped them iterate their initial product, and how it inspired the creation of other products. John discusses their acquisition of other outdoor brands and the economies gained from leveraging their warehouse and fulfillment capabilities.

Launching and Growing an Asian Meal Kit Delivery Business with Nona Lim, CEO & Founder at Nona Lim

October 21, 2021 • 31 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Nona Lim, Founder and CEO of Nona Lim; a fresh, modern, and clean label Asian CPG brand, that distributes healthy Asian comfort food in retail stores such as Whole Foods, Kroger, and Costco. Nona, a successful and experienced entrepreneur, tells us about how she started her journey competing professionally in fencing tournaments, working her way to the Olympics, before eventually moving to San Francisco and launching a meal kit delivery business. Nona also talks about what motivated her to productize some of her dishes, which eventually became her very own CPG brand. In addition to this, Nona reveals some of the supply chain challenges her business is currently facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are shifting things to adapt to the changing landscape of distribution. Nona also disclosed some of the criteria she uses to assess whether to manufacture some of her products in-house while continuing to use co-packers for other product lines.

Creating Better Coffee with George Pasantino, CEO & Co-Founder at Quokka Brew

October 14, 2021 • 21 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by George Passantino, CEO, and Co-founder of Quokka Brew; a ready-to-drink, fully caffeinated generalist coffee. George talks about how inspiration hit while he and his Co-founder were cramming for finals at UC Berkeley realizing how much coffee they were consuming to try to stay sharp and realized ultimately it wasn't working. In addition to this, they were full of jitters, had a big rush of energy, then a sudden crash that got them thinking about developing a better coffee. Without a doubt, George subsequently shared about their college campus ambassador program and how they were able to do their initial research by tapping into their college campus connections of students and professors but then continued to promote the brand on campus after they launched. And finally, George revealed how their go-to-market strategy changed when COVID hit and all the students left campus.

The Benefits of Selling Online & FTC Labeling with Juan Salinas, CEO & Founder of P-nuff Crunch, a Mark Cuban Company

October 7, 2021 • 21 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Juan Salinas, Founder & CEO of P-nuff Crunch, a Mark Cuban Company; made from protein-filled Peanuts, fiber-full Navy Beans, and energy-lasting Rice baked into a crunchy, powerful puff snack. In this hot seat session with Andy Burningham, Juan tells us about his hardest-won lessons in the initial stage of developing and launching his product. He also shares important insights: for example... why you should bring on help as soon as you can for marketing, sales, and other business functions. And most importantly, he spills the beans on the benefits of selling online and how it leads to faster and quicker feedback directly from your customers and how getting into retail is more expensive than you think.

Opportunities for Innovation in White Space with Jeremy Vandervoet, CEO & President at Little Secrets Chocolates

September 30, 2021 • 42 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Jeremy Vandervoet, CEO and President at Little Secrets Chocolates; an innovative and fast growing chocolate company competing against some of the heavyweights in the confectionery industry. Jeremy talks about the trends he sees in the CPG space and what he describes as the white space for innovation, including new business models and ventures. We also talk about the effects of COVID-19 accelerating direct to consumer businesses and how it presents challenges with shipping a product like chocolate, especially in the summer months.

The Secrets to Conducting Useful Customer Research with Josh Belinsky, Co-Founder at Slate Milk

September 23, 2021 • 43 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Josh Belinsky, Co-founder of Slate Milk; a line of lactose-free, high protein and better for you chocolate milk. Josh tells us about lactose intolerance and what motivated him to start his company. He also shares a story about a time when he sent random LinkedIn messages to someone he really looked up to, which led to them connecting and Josh gaining a new investor and mentor. Josh also talks about the importance of asking the right questions when doing customer research and staying curious, especially when breaking into a very competitive category.

Delicious Plant-based Meat Alternatives with Kim Le, CEO & Founder at Prime Roots

September 16, 2021 • 44 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Kimberly Le, CEO & Founder of Prime Roots. Kim studied Food Science and Technology at UC Berkeley, graduating Magna cum laude, and immediately started looking for a way to put her degree to use, leading to the founding of Prime Roots. Kim talks about product development, specifically focusing on plant-based diets. She also opens up about the effects COVID had on her business and shares her experience fundraising in the CPG space during the pandemic. Most importantly, Kim tells us about one of her basic ingredients “Koji”, a fungus commonly used in Asian cooking that is high in protein. This ingredient helped her to produce a delicious line of plant-based meat alternatives, starting with bacon.

Preparing for the Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales with Morgan Gilliam, Co-Founder & COO at Fiddle

September 9, 2021 • 24 MIN

In this episode, Morgan Gilliam, Co-founder and COO of Fiddle talks about getting your inventory and operations ready for Black Friday and other seasonal sales using four crucial strategies and tactics, why you need a plan for each aspect of your supply chain, and how to take advantage of the next wave of buyers after Black Friday.

Growing CPG Brands Using Inventory Management with Morgan Gilliam, Co-Founder & COO at Fiddle

September 2, 2021 • 22 MIN

In this episode, Taylor Howe introduced Morgan Gilliam, Co-founder and COO of Fiddle, for this special part of their webinar. During this workshop, Morgan talked about traceability across batches, tracking all orders, recipe and bill of material tracking, supplier pricing and lead times, production runs and reorder point best practices. Morgan shared some awesome new tips and strategies that will help you improve your inventory management.

Co-Manufacturing Mastery with Dustin Finkel, CEO at Awakened Foods

August 26, 2021 • 22 MIN

In this episode, which is guest hosted by Andy Burningham, Sales Director at Fiddle, we’re joined by Dustin Finkel, CEO of Awakened Foods. Awakened Foods is a well-established private labeling and co-manufacturing company that works with some very well-known clients in the CPG industry. Dustin shared some transparent and actionable insights that will be of great help for those raising capital to scale their brands and some invaluable tips on how to partner with co-manufacturers.

Driving Down Costs by Working with Co-Packers with Dan Stephenson, Co-Founder & COO at Daily Crunch Snacks

August 19, 2021 • 48 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Dan Stephenson, Co-founder and COO of Daily Crunch Snacks; A brand centered around superfood-infused sprouted nuts. Dan talks about how he fell in love with the taste and crunchiness of their product the instant he experienced it. He shares how that love for the product and his desire to use clean, natural ingredients has shaped Daily Crunch Snacks’ ethos. Dan talks about the challenges and opportunities of sourcing your own raw materials, how to engage with, and work with co-packers, and how to think about your margins for Wholesale, Retail, and D2C. With years of experience in CPG, Dan had great actionable advice for anyone trying to launch and grow a CPG brand.

CPG Operations and Scaling with John Schiaroli

August 17, 2021 • 25 MIN

Our guest today is John Schiaroli, the Founder and President of Armatura Company, John makes operations simple and scalable with his decades of experience in Food & Beverage. We get into all things operations on the podcast today from the dos and don’ts of working co-packers to differences between brands that thrive and the brands that fail. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Helping Food Businesses Streamline Operations with Andrew Runnette, Operations Manager at Pod Foods

August 12, 2021 • 42 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Andrew Runnette, Operations Manager at Pod Foods and the Founder and CEO of Natural Food Solutions, an operations and strategy consulting company to CPG brands and food-service businesses. First and foremost, Andrew started his career as an Italian-trained chef, then worked his way up the ranks at Whole Foods for 14 years, leaning into his experience in CPG as a consultant. In addition, he now helps brands avoid the common operations mistakes he sees them making. Importantly, he talks about powerful trends he sees in the marketplace and how brands are capitalizing on them. Last but not the least, Andrew also shares some valuable tips on how to reduce costs when launching a new CPG product or food service business.

Breaking into the Beverage Space with Kayla Castañeda, Co-Founder & CEO at Agua Bonita

August 5, 2021 • 50 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Kayla Castañeda, Co-Founder, and CEO of Agua Bonita, a beverage brand made with 100 percent real fruit aguas frescas which gives the end-product a delicious flavor profile. Kayla discusses launching her company during the pandemic and only meeting her Co-Founder in person once before launch. She walks us through Agua Bonita’s timeline, from the genesis of her idea to this month when her company won the BEVNET and Coca-Cola best new beverage award. Kayla had some great advice for people looking to break into the beverage industry, including how to work closely with your packer to ensure you get the product you expect. She also delves into topics such as the best way to plug into the CBG community and how to keep your head up when going through hard times. We see big things in Kayla and Agua Bonita’s future and are delighted that they are so successful.

Producing Delicious Ketchups, BBQ Sauces & Cooking Sauces with Richa Gupta, Founder & President at Good Food for Good

July 29, 2021 • 45 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Richa Gupta, Founder and President of Good Food for Good. Richa talks about her journey working for General Mills as a Marketing Manager, to founding her own brand and starting her mission to help people eat less sugar. Richa brought her ideas to life by whipping up her first batch of sauces in her own kitchen and selling them at a Farmer's Market. Richa tells us about a chance encounter with a customer at a Farmer's Market that inspired her to create what became her best-selling product. This enabled her to get her product on the shelves of Whole Foods Market and took her business to the next level.

Turning Misfortune Into Success with Ted Fleming, Founder & CEO at Partake Brewing

July 22, 2021 • 44 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Ted Fleming, Founder and CEO of Partake. Ted talks about his life and experiences after receiving a devastating medical diagnosis and how that inspired him to create his product. Ted tells us that he knew in his core that there was a market for this product, even though others thought it was a terrible idea. He also shares the actions he took after his manufacturer sent him a bad batch of the initial product and how that led to the creation of a different product that he still sells to this day.

Challenges & Opportunities in the Beverage Space with Chris Hunter, Co-Founder & CEO at Koia

July 15, 2021 • 44 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Chris Hunter, Co-Founder and CEO of Koia. Chris is an entrepreneur who has developed a 100 percent plant-based protein drink which is sold in stores nationwide. Chris recounts his experiences investing in another drinks company that ultimately didn't succeed. This led to the rebranding and repositioning of the beverage which eventually became Koia. Furthermore, he talks about the three-tier system of the alcohol market and the differences between that and the non-alcoholic beverage market. Chris gave us some great insights into the challenges and opportunities that exist in the beverage space, specifically around distribution, as well as the moments where he hit it out of the park!

The Importance Of Forming A Close Relationship With Your Co-Packer with Pat Bennett, President & Founder at Pat’s Granola

July 8, 2021 • 49 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Pat Bennett, President and Founder of Pat's Granola. Pat is a wonderful example of becoming a food entrepreneur after a successful career in a completely different field of work. Pat talks about how her love for a recipe she'd been eating with her family for over twenty-five years and without a doubt, inspired her to start their business so that she could share it with even more people. Most importantly, she gives some great advice on working with a local co-packer along with the wisdom of being onsite, especially during initial production and how crucial it is to have a close working relationship with your co-packer.

The Similarities & Differences Between Producing A Machine & Producing A Packaged Product with Dr. Glenn Mathijssen, Co-Founder and CEO at Alberts

July 1, 2021 • 54 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Glenn Mathijssen, Co-Founder and CEO of Alberts. Glenn tells us about his journey from a university project to getting his first investment and launching his own company, ”Alberts Smoothie Station and Soup Station”. Glenn’s an outstanding European entrepreneur who is very driven and definitely knows his stuff. In this interview, he shares some lessons he’s learned about the similarities and differences between producing a physical machine and producing a packaged product.

Going From Thousands in Revenue to Millions & Getting the Most Out of Crowdfunding with Alex Bayer, CEO & Founder at Genius Juice

June 24, 2021 • 50 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Alex Bayer, CEO and Founder of Genius Juice. Alex tells us about his seven-year journey bringing Genius Juice to life, and then scaling it from thousands in revenue to millions. He discusses a wide variety of subjects from his past experiences including getting on Shark Tank, and the importance of having a rock solid product. He also talked about his success with crowdfunding campaigns, including tips on how businesses can get the most out of these strategies. Alex also stresses the importance of surrounding yourself with a team of advisors who have expertise in different aspects of your business.

Using Events & Competitions To Market Effectively with Jeff Vierling, Co-Founder & CEO at Tailwind Nutrition

June 17, 2021 • 48 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Jeff Vierling, Co-Founder and CEO of Tailwind Nutrition. Jeff’s an endurance biker who competes in races all over the country, as a result of his experiences Jeff was intimately familiar with the challenges of keeping his body fueled while competing. Unfortunately Jeff couldn't find any products that contained the nutrition he needed to compete in endurance events, so he decided to create one. Jeff also talks about how he scaled his business by effectively marketing using events and competitions, digital marketing, and strategically going after targeted wholesale accounts worldwide. Jeff talks about why they chose to manufacture in-house and why they continue to do so and how he keeps this production operationally simple.

Accidentally Becoming An Entrepreneur By Inventing A New Category Of Unsweetened Flavored Water with Kara Goldin, Founder & CEO at Hint

June 10, 2021 • 55 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint water. Kara speaks with us about the lessons she learned from working in the tech industry as an executive and how she became an accidental entrepreneur. Furthermore, she explains how she came up with the idea for Hint water and the initial steps she took to get it off the ground, which included getting it into Whole Foods, even though she was still producing it in her own kitchen. Kara’s advice stresses the importance of just getting started, questioning everything, learning quickly and figuring it out along the way. Lastly, we also got her to talk about her wall street journal bestselling book called "Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters”. She shares how the book came about and why she was motivated to write it.

Understanding Landed Costs & Profit Margins with Marc Siden, Co-Founder & CEO at Cloud Water

June 3, 2021 • 56 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Marc Siden, Co-founder and CEO of Cloud Water. Marc talks about the challenges of leading his company through the last year of COVID and how they've been able to thrive to become stronger through these unprecedented challenges. Additionally, he shares the difficulties and opportunities in the beverage space, specifically on how to compete against established giants like Coca-Cola. Lastly, Marc shares the importance of understanding your landed costs, distributor margins, retailer margins, shipping and promotional costs, and why this is absolutely vital to your success as a physical products company.

Embracing Science To Solve Tough Problems & Surrounding Yourself With A Strong Team Of Experts with Laura Modi, CEO & Co-Founder at Bobbie

May 27, 2021 • 44 MIN

In this episode, we're joined by Laura Modi, CEO & Co-Founder of Bobbie. Laura talks about her journey from working at Google and Airbnb and how she made her way from the tech industry to the world of physical products. Importantly, Laura shares the frustration that led to her creating a new and better baby formula product: Bobbie and the challenges of launching the product into a regulated and competitive industry. Laura emphasizes and talks about embracing science to figure out tough problems and the importance of surrounding yourself with a strong team of experts.

Kickstarter Campaign Mastery with Will Nitze, Founder & CEO at IQBAR

May 19, 2021 • 58 MIN

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, we're joined by Will Nitze, Founder and CEO of IQBAR, the leading "brain+body" plant-based protein bar. Will talks about his journey from attending Harvard studying psychology and neuroscience and after graduating, entering the world of software sales and now pivoting to launch his own business. He shares his experience with the countless iterations that ultimately led him to create IQBar and then leveraging Kickstarter campaign for market research and gaining initial traction. Lastly, Will provides a tremendous insight into his distribution strategy through D2C, retail, and Amazon. 

An Incremental Approach To Distribution & Product Development with Chris Kirby, Founder at Ithaca Hummus

May 13, 2021 • 40 MIN

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, we're joined by, Chris Kirby, Founder at Ithaca Hummus. Chris talks about how, as a chef, he got burned out of the restaurant business and how he then used this love of food to identify hummus as a new potential CPG category. Learn how Chris rented a commercial camp kitchen for $200 per month to make the initial batch of product, uses farmer's markets for distribution and gets valuable, direct feedback from his customers.

The Power Of A Brand Autopsy with Tyler Merrick, Founder at Project 7

May 6, 2021 • 67 MIN

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, we’re joined by Tyler Merrick, Founder of Project 7, a brand with a social mission to fund critical areas of need... such as hunger, clean drinking water, and shelter through their keto-friendly plant-based candies and delicious gummies. Tyler uncovered his experience from "knocking it out of the park" with a pet care business he started in his twenties. Tyler then moved from that business to launch the more socially motivated brand: Project 7. Tyler talks about his brand's near-death experience and how he was able to perform a brand autopsy to figure out how to revive it, which meant reducing the number of SKUs offered to allow him to focus on a single product. In addition, Tyler shares some important lessons learned the hard way from relying too much on brick and mortar sales and how COVID reinforced that experience.

Thriving In Difficult & Unprecedented Times with Clara Lahlouh Paye, CEO & Founder at UNiTE Food

April 29, 2021 • 38 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Clara Paye, CEO & Founder of UNiTE Food as she reveals how she recognized an opportunity through her dissatisfaction with the nutritional bars in the grocery aisle ... and how this inspired her to start a line of nutritional bars with culturally diverse flavors. Clara launched her food brand right as the pandemic began and immediately had to rip up her marketing plan and cancel trade show booths due to the pandemic. Given these points, Clara views the pandemic as a great equalizer for up-and-coming food brands like hers and shares all about how she was able to thrive and grow her company in the middle of such a difficult and unprecedented time.

Multiple Revenue Streams & Upcycling Food with Daniel Kurzrock, Co-Founder & CEO at ReGrained

April 22, 2021 • 51 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Daniel Kurzrock, Co-Founder & CEO at ReGrained. Dan shares how he was first introduced to the problem of food waste. When he brewed his own beer back in college, Dan did a great job recognizing the environmental impact of food waste and ReGrained was born out of the desire to try to address this problem. He talks about how, as a company, they've taken a leadership role in the upcycling movement by giving talks, releasing content, and highlighting landmark research on this subject. He also shares some of the great opportunities for companies to differentiate their products by using upcycled ingredients, and also how companies can unlock additional lines of revenue by reviewing the byproducts of their production process.

The Importance Of Knowing Your Margin with Jeff Wiguna, CEO & Co-Founder at Kuju Coffee

April 15, 2021 • 39 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Jeff Wiguna, CEO & Co-Founder of Kuju Coffee: a leading pour over coffee brand targeting the outdoor market. Jeff reveals the story behind Kuju Coffee, how they came up with their branding, positioning strategy and their approach to wholesale distribution. Jeff also talks about the importance of knowing your margin, understanding production capacity and why they chose to manufacture in-house.

From A Social Worker To Paradise Snacks with Emily Edwards, Founder & CEO at Paradise Spreads

April 8, 2021 • 34 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Emily Edwards, Founder and CEO of Paradise Spreads. First and foremost, Emily shares everything about her brand: Paradise Snacks, it's focused on plant based, allergy friendly treats. Emily's journey started as a social worker and followed her passion for food and more specifically: tasty desserts. Emily also uncovers why she steered away from launching a brick and mortar location and why she chose to launch a CPG product instead. Furthermore, she also gives great advice about how to connect with other food entrepreneurs and the specific communities that have been very helpful to her on this journey.

Upcycling, Manufacturing & Plant-based Products with Claire Schlemme, Co-Founder & CEO at Renewal Mill

April 1, 2021 • 40 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Claire Schlemme, Co-founder & CEO at Renewal Mill. Claire shares her learnings from founding an organic juice company, recognizing the large amount of food waste produced and seeing an opportunity to reuse or upcycle these byproducts. In addition, Claire shares the importance today's consumers are placing on sustainability as part of their purchasing criteria, her journey from finding a product to focus on, figuring out the manufacturing process and taking these products to market online and through retail partnerships.

Productizing Brand, Food & Ingredients with Britt Whidden, Co-Founder at Gimme Some

March 25, 2021 • 37 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Britt Whidden, Co-Founder of Gimme Some. Britt shares her difficult experience with taking over her late father's seasoning business and how this experience helped her recognize opportunities for restaurants and food trucks to productize their brand, food and ingredients.

Spotting The Need with Mark A. Samuel, Founder & CEO at IWON Organics

February 26, 2021 • 31 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Mark Samuel, the founder and CEO of IWON Organics. Mark reveals how he was able to spot a need in the market and develop a product to fit this market opportunity. He also shares strategies to develop wholesale and retail partnerships, and his approach to rolling up his sleeves and just getting things done.

A Zero Paid Media Policy with Ynzo van Zanten, Chief Evangelist at Tony's Chocolonely

February 18, 2021 • 32 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Ynzo van Zanten, Chief Evangelist at Tony's Chocolonely... A global chocolate brand that produces a 100% hundred percent slave free product. Ynzo shares the opportunity for brands to become mission driven and how this mission needs to be baked into the company's DNA. He also shares Tony's success at promoting their mission, becoming a successful global brand all while maintaining a zero paid media policy.

How To Validate Your Product Idea FAST with Justin Fenchel, Co-Founder & CEO at BeatBox Beverages

February 11, 2021 • 55 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Justin Fenchel, CEO, and Co-founder of BeatBox Beverages. Justin reveals how to validate your product idea quickly and inexpensively, how to make sure you're partnering with the right distributor to get your product in front of your "Target Customer" and also how to build an authentic brand.

A Socially Responsible & Transparent Supply Chain with Pelle Jørgensen, CEO & Co-Founder at Good Taste

February 4, 2021 • 39 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Pelle Jørgensen, CEO and Co-Founder at Good Taste. At Vera Mexicana, Pelle shares their passion for a socially responsible and transparent supply chain. He also discusses the importance of choosing the right ingredients from suppliers, whilst building genuine partnerships whilst also detailing how they use the depth and richness of Mexican culture to build an interesting and authentic brand.

Positioning A Premium Product with Pete Maldonado, Co-Founder & CEO at CHOMPS

January 28, 2021 • 39 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Pete Maldonado, Co-Founder and CEO at CHOMPS. Pete shares and discusses how to connect with communities around trends to find customers in an organic and authentic way, the challenges and opportunities associated with positioning a premium product and the importance of focus and limiting SKUs to better serve your customers.

From The Bakery To Shark Tank with Heather Saffer, Founder at Dollop Gourmet

January 22, 2021 • 48 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Heather Saffer, Founder at Dollop Gourmet to discuss her biggest challenges growing the brand, the benefits of appearing on Shark Tank and why Heather sold the business.

Managing Manufacturers with Saul Santos, Senior Principal at SAZAKA dsgn

January 15, 2021 • 44 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Saul Santos, Senior Principal at SAZAKA dsgn to discuss getting to know your consumer intimately, the importance of the relationship with your factory and the power of niching down in the physical product business.

Crushing Kickstarter with Lance Williams, Co-Founder at Gravel

January 13, 2021 • 33 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Lance Williams, Co-Founder of Gravel to discuss how and why they launched on Kickstarter, how to increase lifetime value and why you should stop waiting to create that product idea you have ;)

Extreme Product Development with Rob Urry, President & CEO at Kogalla

January 11, 2021 • 47 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Rob Urry, President & CEO of Kogalla to discuss how to source materials to develop awesome products, travelling to China every month to supervise manufacture and why you should ask people out for lunch.

Managing Manufacturers with Devin Killpack, CEO at Gathre

December 14, 2020 • 55 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Devin Killpack, CEO of Gathre to discuss testing physical products in retail before going online, the difference between partnering with and outsourcing to manufacturers and the importance of niche focus.

How To Build An Authentic Brand with Colby Bauer, Co-founder at Thread Wallets

December 14, 2020 • 39 MIN

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, we're joined by Colby Bauer, Co-founder of Thread Wallets to discuss how to build an authentic ecom brand, when they shifted from fulfilling orders themselves to outsourcing and what Colby would do differently if he started again.