Scaling Your Healthy Food Product

Jacinta Kemboi
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  • Entrepreneurship
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If you are an enterepreneur or solopreneur selling healthy/ "Better-for you" product to the world looking to scale and commercialize, this podcast is for you. In this podcast you will learn from a food scientist with 12 years plus experience in the food industry. I have successfully helped companies develop, scale and launch their healthy food products. If you are looking to scale your healthy food product by having it listed in more healthy food stores and displayed on more grocery store chains shelves, you are in the right place. This podcast will provide you with actionable steps and tips to help you succeed. You will learn how to correctly prepare your product to scale and commercialize like a pro. Stay tuned.

  1. 6d ago

    What I Wished I Knew Before Starting My Food Business Series- With Betsy A Gluten Free Food Business Founder

    #82 If you started your food business without a clear read on your margins, your ingredient list, or how many SKUs you actually need — you're not alone. Jacinta revisits a listener-submitted clip from Betsy, a gluten-free food founder, recorded as part of a series asking food founders what they wish they'd known before starting. Betsy's answer centers on margins, the challenge of ingredient-heavy gluten-free formulations, and how many SKUs a brand actually needs. Jacinta walks through why margins tend to shrink once you're already committed to a retailer, how multifunctional ingredients can help you simplify a gluten-free formulation without losing what customers love about the product, and how to think through SKU rationalization — including a real example from a private-label client who had to discontinue underperforming SKUs after launch. 💡 In This Episode You'll Learn Why margins should be locked down before saying yes to a retailer, not after Why margins naturally shrink over time — and how to plan for it from day one The challenge of gluten-free formulation: replacing wheat's bulking and structural role often means stacking many ingredients How to evaluate whether an ingredient is doing double duty — and when it's worth paying more for a multifunctional one to protect your product's "gold standard" attributes (texture, mouthfeel, etc.) How to figure out how many SKUs you actually need, and how to spot when one SKU is cannibalizing another A real client example: a private-label brand that launched with four SKUs, cut it to three, and is now consolidating further to focus marketing on the top performer Why revisiting your SKU lineup and margins regularly — not just at launch — is critical as you scale from small batch to large batch 🎧 Episodes Mentioned Episode 69 — Margins and why they always trend downward Episode 71 — Multifunctional ingredients and maximizing your product's potential Episode 73 — How many SKUs you really need 📖 Coming Soon: Book Jacinta announced she's writing a book as part of the ETS Method framework, built to help you scale your food product. She'll be calling for founding/first readers to review the first chapter — details and sign-up link coming soon. 📣 READY TO SCALE? ➡️ Loved this episode? Leave a review and share it with a food founder who needs to hear Links & Resources Join Emerging Food Business Newsletter here Connect With Me Instagram: @jacintakemboim Website: https://camaresearch.com Email: info@camaresearch.com #Foodfounderpodcast #glutenfreefoodbusiness  #foodproductmargins #howmanySKUsdoIneed #foodproductscaling #CPGfounder #foodentrepreneurmindset #foodbusinessmarginstrategy #scaling a food product #ETSMethod

  2. Aug 8

    Why You Need to Be a Proactive Food Founder — How to Build Toward Retail Instead of Reacting to It Runtime

    #81 There's a specific kind of moment every food founder hits — a buyer reaches out, or an opportunity lands out of nowhere, and suddenly you're deciding whether to say yes on the spot. In this episode, I'm talking about the difference between a reactive founder and a proactive founder — and why retail doesn't reward the best product, it rewards the founder who was actually prepared for the yes. I walk through what it really means to know your ultimate goal, a six-point retail readiness checklist, and answer listener questions on timing, margins, and when it's smart to stay DTC on purpose. What We Cover [0:45] Retail Readiness Cohort 2 — who it's for and what it covers [1:30] The real difference between a reactive founder and a proactive founder — and why retail rewards prepared founders, not just good products [4:00] What "knowing your ultimate goal" actually means — three questions to ask before you chase retail [7:00] The 6-point Retail Readiness Checklist: margin math, proof of velocity, right-sizing your channel, infrastructure, trade spend tolerance, and a broker/distributor strategy [10:00] Listener Q&A — how to know if you're actually ready, what to do when a buyer approaches you early, staying DTC on purpose vs. out of fear, and how to calculate your real retail margin Key Takeaways Retail doesn't happen to you — it's a strategy you build toward. The founders who thrive are prepared before the opportunity shows up, not after. "I want to be in stores" isn't a goal, it's a wish. Know whether retail is the endgame or a means to something else, and know which retail before you chase it. If you can't hit roughly 50–55% gross margin at retail pricing after slotting, distributor cuts, and trade spend, retail will bleed your business, not grow it. Staying DTC-only can be the proactive move, not the fallback — as long as it's a decision, not avoidance. Retail Readiness Program Cohort 2 — For Better-For-You Food Founders Opens September | Limited to 10 Founders A hands-on program to get your product structurally ready for retail so you can maximize growth without the costly mistakes that come from going in unprepared. I'll walk each of you through implementing my ETS Method — Evaluate, Transform, Scale — directly on your own business. 👉 [Apply / join the waitlist here] Only 10 spots — this fills up fast. Links & Resources Retail Readiness Program Cohort 2 is Starting in September: Submit Application Plant trial podcast episode:What a plant trial actually is Why Skipping it is the most expensive shortcut in food. Join Emerging Food Business Newsletter here Connect With Me Instagram: @jacintakemboim Website: https://camaresearch.com Email: info@camaresearch.com

  3. Jul 31

    3 Things Your Ingredient Supplier Could be Doing For You- A Kombucha Case Study

    #80 Most product developers treat their ingredient supplier as a line item. This week, we break down three things a good supplier can actually do for you — ingredient interaction insights, flavor compatibility guidance, and co-manufacturer connections — and walk through a real, in-progress kombucha project where all three made a measurable difference. Key Takeaways Ingredient suppliers often have real-world interaction data (pH sensitivity, stability, off-notes) that can save weeks of blind trial-and-error. Flavor compatibility guidance from a supplier can shortcut the back-and-forth of working with multiple flavor houses. Established supplier relationships can fast-track co-manufacturer vetting by pointing to facilities that already run the ingredient successfully. Sample access to adjacent/complementary ingredients allows faster side-by-side formulation testing. Treating suppliers as technical partners — not just vendors — can meaningfully compress product development timelines. Timestamps (adjust to actual recording) 00:00 — Intro: 3 things your supplier can do for you 02:15 — The kombucha project setup 04:00 — Part 1: Ingredient interaction insights & fermentation stability 09:30 — Part 2: Flavor compatibility and cutting down trial-and-error 14:45 — Part 3: Co-manufacturer connections & ingredient sampling 19:00 — Wrap-up and key takeaways   Links & Resources Plant trial podcast episode:What a plant trial actually is Why Skipping it is the most expensive shortcut in food. Join Emerging Food Business Newsletter here Connect With Me Instagram: @jacintakemboim Website: https://camaresearch.com Email: info@camaresearch.com

  4. Jul 24

    Believing in Your Product (And What to Focus On to Stay the Course)

    There's a specific kind of doubt that hits at 11pm — the dashboard isn't what you wanted, a review stings, a competitor just launched something shinier, and the voice in your head starts asking if this is even worth it. In this episode, I'm talking honestly about what it actually means to believe in your product, why that belief naturally erodes over time, and more importantly the four specific things to focus on so doubt doesn't derail you before the work has a chance to pay off. What We Cover [2:00] The real difference between believing in your product and being in denial about it — and the one question that tells you which one you're actually doing [5:00] Why belief gets shaky: comparison, slow feedback loops, and being too close to your own flaws [8:00] The four things to focus on instead — the problem (not the product), the few signals that actually matter, direct contact with your users, and a definition of success you write down before the storm hits [12:00] A real story from the messy middle — what almost made me quit, and what I focused on instead [14:00] Staying the course vs. staying stuck — how to tell real warning signs apart from normal founder fatigue [16:00] Free training: Unlock the Secret to Retail Success with the ETS Method Key Takeaways Belief and denial can look similar from the outside — the difference is whether you're still listening to evidence that might contradict your original idea. Doubt isn't always data. Comparison, slow feedback loops, and proximity to your own flaws can manufacture doubt that has nothing to do with whether the product actually works. Anchor to four things when doubt shows up: the underlying problem, a small set of signals that matter, direct conversations with real users, and a definition of success you set before things got hard. The skill isn't "never doubt" — it's telling the difference between doubt that's just fatigue and doubt that's real evidence something fundamental is broken. Free Training Unlock the Secret to Retail Success with the Exclusive ETS Method 📅 July 27th | 🕐 1:00–2:00 PM EST | Live & Free Join me for a live walkthrough of the exact framework I use to get a food product genuinely retail-ready — how manufacturing, distribution, and retail positioning fit together into one repeatable system. 👉 Register here Spots are limited — save your seat. Links & Resources Registration link for July 27th training Why Most Food Founders Stay Stuck Episode 63 Join Emerging Food Business Newsletter here Connect With Me Instagram: @jacintakemboim Website: https://camaresearch.com Email: info@camaresearch.com

  5. Jul 17

    4 Things I'm Tracking Right Now in My Mid-Year Food Product Launch Strategy

    We're at the mid-year mark, and if you're building a food product business, this is the moment things stop being theoretical. In this episode, I'm giving you an honest, behind-the-scenes look at four things I'm tracking right now: our September/October launch window, narrowing down our co-manufacturer, growing local retail distribution, and how it's all building toward a bigger retail launch next year. Plus — I'm sharing details on a free training I'm running later this month on the exact framework I use to get retail-ready. What We Cover [00:45] Why mid-year is actually a more important planning checkpoint than January [02:30] The September/October launch window — why it's really an August deadline in disguise, and the four things that have to be locked first (production lead time, packaging & compliance, marketing runway, retail readiness) [05:30] Narrowing down our co-manufacturer — the five-part framework I'm using (MOQs, quality consistency, capacity to grow, communication, geographic/logistics fit) [08:30] Growing local retail distribution — why independent stores matter beyond the revenue, and what we're doing to expand our footprint [11:00] The bigger picture — how this year's decisions are building the track record for next year's retail launch [13:30] Free training: Unlock the Secret to Retail Success with the ETS Method Key Takeaways A fall launch date is really an earlier deadline in disguise — everything meaningful (production, packaging, compliance) has to be locked 6–8 weeks out. Choosing a co-manufacturer is one of the highest-leverage decisions you'll make all year — vet in parallel, not sequentially, and prioritize consistency and capacity over a single great sample batch. Local retail accounts aren't just revenue — they're proof points that make the bigger retail pitch credible. Everything happening this year (co-man, fall launch, local stores) should be sequenced toward one goal: walking into next year's retail conversations with a track record, not a pitch deck. Free Training Unlock the Secret to Retail Success with the Exclusive ETS Method 📅 July 27th | 🕐 1:00–2:00 PM EST | Live & Free Join me for a live walkthrough of the exact framework I use to get a food product genuinely retail-ready — how manufacturing, distribution, and retail positioning fit together into one repeatable system. 👉 [Reserve your spot here] Spots are limited — save your seat. Links & Resources Registration link for July 27th training Plant trial podcast episode:What a plant trial actually is Why Skipping it is the most expensive shortcut in food. Join Emerging Food Business Newsletter here Connect With Me Instagram: @jacintakemboim Website: https://camaresearch.com Email: info@camaresearch.com

  6. Jul 10

    Why Your Emerging Food Brand Should Sign Up for that Contest

    div]:bg-bg-000/50 [&_pre>div]:border-0.5 [&_pre>div]:border-border-400 [&_.ignore-pre-bg>div]:bg-transparent [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8"> _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 standard-markdown"> You worked for months on your product. You finally got it retail-ready. You started applying to every opportunity that could get your name in front of buyers. And then… you saw a contest deadline in your industry and scrolled right past it. Here's the truth nobody tells emerging founders early enough: building a good product is not the finish line. Getting other people to notice it is. And one of the most overlooked ways to do that — sitting in plain sight, usually for free — is something founders talk themselves out of before they even try. A contest. In this episode, Jacinta breaks down why contests are one of the most underrated growth tools available to emerging brands, why a submission deadline can do more for your business than another month of "getting ready" ever will, and how the relationships built in a contest room often outlast the competition itself. 🎯 In This Episode: Why "I'm not ready yet" is the wrong reason to skip a contest — and what a deadline actually does for your business The free marketing and exposure that comes with simply entering, win or lose Why contest judges are a source of expert feedback you'd otherwise pay for The peer relationships from contest rooms that turn into collaborations, referrals, and long-term support What separates founders who use contests as a growth strategy from founders who wait until they "deserve" to enter ➡️ Apply to join upcoming Retail Readiness Program Cohort — Apply to Join 🌟 Enjoyed the episode? Share it with a founder who's been sitting on a contest submission — this one might be the push they need. Quick note: I carried over the same CTA links from your shelf life episode since I don't have the actual contest/registration link for this one — swap those for whichever offer you want to point to here.

  7. Jul 3

    Expert Segment: How to Build a Brand that Stands Out — with Katie Mleziva

    You have a great product — but is it a strong brand? There's a big difference, and most food founders don't realize it until they're already stuck. In this episode, Jacinta sits down with food brand strategist Katie Mleziva to break down what it actually takes to go from making a great product to building a brand that makes people want to choose you — every single time. If you've ever struggled to explain what makes your product different — or found yourself leading with "it tastes great and uses quality ingredients" — this episode is for you. Katie Mleziva, founder of Real Food Brands and host of the Food Business Marketing Podcast, walks us through the brand strategy framework she's used with food founders across the country. From identifying your purpose, vision, and values, to building brand pillars that give your whole business a backbone — this conversation will help you get out of your own head and into a brand that truly connects. 💡 In This Episode You'll Learn Why great products don't automatically become strong brands — and what bridges the gap The "know thyself" approach to brand strategy that Katie starts every founder with What features, benefits, and fire-in-the-belly really mean — and why you need all three How to build brand pillars that organise your thinking and guide every business decision Why your brand history and your brand story are two very different things How to extend your brand experience beyond the farmers market or tap room to the shelf What "shaking up shopping carts" actually looks like in practice for real food brands How to know if you're ready to expand regionally or nationally — and what to check first 🎧 Listen to Katie's Recommended Episode Katie's suggested starting point if you want to go deeper on brand strategy: Food Business Marketing Podcast — Episode 101: Where to Get Started with Brand Strategy 🔗 Connect with Katie Mleziva 🌐 Website: realfoodbrands.com 📱 Instagram: @realfoodbrands 🎙️ Podcast: Food Business Marketing Podcast (formerly Real Food Brands Podcast) — available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Spotify Playlist to Get Started 📣 READY TO SCALE? ➡ Take the Scale Up & Retail Readiness Quiz to find out exactly where you are — and what to focus on next. [Take the Quiz] ➡ Join the Emerging Food Business Hub waitlist to be the first to know when doors open. [Learn more about the Hub]

    Expert Segment: How to Build a Brand that Stands Out — with Katie Mleziva

  8. Jun 26

    When Is the Right Time to Move from a Commercial Kitchen to Co-Manufacturing?

    Most food founders ask the wrong question. They ask "Am I ready for a co-manufacturer?" when the question they should be asking is "How much time do I have?" In this episode, I share the story of a snack bar founder who called me frustrated after approaching three co-manufacturers with six months until his retail launch date. He made it — but the process was painful, rushed, and strained relationships he'll be managing for years. I don't want that story for you. Today I break down the three signals that tell you it's time to start the co-manufacturing conversation — before urgency forces your hand — plus a concrete backwards-planning timeline so you know exactly how early "early" actually is. In this episode: The real reason the best co-manufacturers are hard to get into (and it's not your product) The three signals that tell you to start the conversation now Why your margin getting worse as your volume grows is a sign, not a coincidence How to work backwards from your retail date to know when to act The difference between a proactive founder and a reactive one — and what it costs you to be the latter Take the Scale Up & Retail Readiness Quiz: [Get to Know Your Score] co-manufacturing co-packer commercial kitchen food founder scaling food business food startup retail ready minimum order quantity MOQ food business margins COGS food product development emerging food brands healthy food brand snack brand food entrepreneur retail launch food scale up plant trial ETS Method food business strategy CPG founder better for you food food manufacturing production planning

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If you are an enterepreneur or solopreneur selling healthy/ "Better-for you" product to the world looking to scale and commercialize, this podcast is for you. In this podcast you will learn from a food scientist with 12 years plus experience in the food industry. I have successfully helped companies develop, scale and launch their healthy food products. If you are looking to scale your healthy food product by having it listed in more healthy food stores and displayed on more grocery store chains shelves, you are in the right place. This podcast will provide you with actionable steps and tips to help you succeed. You will learn how to correctly prepare your product to scale and commercialize like a pro. Stay tuned.

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