Shelf Help: The Tactical CPG Podcast

Adam Steinberg
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Entrepreneurship

If you’ve ever thought, "Why doesn’t anyone talk about this in CPG?", this is the podcast for you. Host, Adam Steinberg, co-founder of KitPrint, interviews CPG leaders to uncover the real-world tactics, strategies, and behind-the-scenes insights that really move the needle.

  1. 1d ago

    The Man Behind BIG Licensing Deals in CPG | Rhett Silverstein, Hegemon

    On this episode, we're joined by Rhett Silverstein, Founder and President of Hegemon - the agency that represents manufacturers and brands on the licensee side of licensing deals, brand collaborations, and celebrity partnerships.  Rhett started out as an IP attorney, worked as a sports agent at Lagardère and a brand licensing agent at an Omnicom-owned agency before ultimately launching Hegemon in 2014. Rhett breaks down why he built an agency for the licensee side after years of sitting across the table from manufacturers who had no one negotiating for them, even though they carry the lion's share of the risk. He walks through how Hegemon helped Ghost land Warheads as its first candy collab, which grew into a six-property deal with Mondelez across Oreo, Chips Ahoy, Sour Patch Kids, and Swedish Fish. He also shares why Ghost put real cookie pieces in its protein, even though it meant giving up zero sugar. We also get into deal economics: royalty rates, minimum guarantees, and why the licensee always has to make the first offer. We cover straight licenses vs. co-branded collabs, evergreen SKUs vs. limited drops, who holds final packaging approval, and how to revive legacy brands like Teddy Ruxpin, Jolt, and Certs for a generation that's never heard of them. --------------- Episode Highlights: ⚖️ From IP attorney to sports agent to licensing agent 🪑 Why licensees never had anyone on their side of the table 💼 How The Angel Group and Hegemon feed each other ⚠️ Why licensees carry the lion's share of the risk 🍬 How Ghost landed Warheads as its first candy collab 🍪 Real Oreo pieces and the decision to give up zero sugar 💰 Royalties, minimum guarantees, and making the first offer 🤝 Straight licenses vs. co-branded collabs 🧳 A Wrangler luggage license now in year 10 at Walmart ✅ Who holds final approval on packaging 🧸 Reviving legacy brands (Teddy Ruxpin, Jolt, Certs) 🌟 Celebrity JVs, equity splits, and the celebrity brand graveyard 📈 Why Hegemon gets paid on sales, not retainers --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:47 – From IP attorney to sports agent 03:02 – Why licensees had no one on their side 05:48 – Why Hegemon stays behind the scenes 07:05 – Joining The Angel Group 08:46 – Licensees carry most of the risk 10:01 – The pay-to-play reality of licensing 11:37 – Ghost and the Warheads deal 15:40 – What makes a good-fit collab partner 17:14 – Real Oreo pieces and giving up zero sugar 18:54 – Deal economics and making the first offer 22:15 – Have deal terms shifted toward licensees? 23:26 – Straight licenses vs. co-branded collabs 26:42 – Evergreen SKUs vs. limited drops 28:36 – Who owns creative approval 30:42 – Reviving legacy brands 34:46 – Celebrity JVs and equity splits 37:34 – Why Hegemon doesn't take retainers --------------- Links: Hegemon – https://www.hegemonagency.com/ Follow Rhett on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhettsilverstein/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

  2. 6d ago

    Bootstrapping to $7M+ Profitably | Jackson Jones, Farm To Pet

    On this episode, we're joined by Jackson Jones, Founder & CEO of Farm to Pet - the Chicago-made single-ingredient treat brand behind the 100% chicken breast Chicken Chip.  Before Farm to Pet, Jackson spent years in operations and supply chain inside Berkshire Hathaway's Marmon Group and Duracell, among others. Jackson walks through how the Chicken Chip started in his basement during COVID, and why every co-manufacturer he visited either passed on an unproven startup or wanted to add fillers and preservatives. We get into what it actually takes to maintain a one-ingredient treat: testing, kill steps, moisture control and a two-year shelf life. A big part of the conversation focuses on vertical integration. Jackson breaks down why he built his own facility, how in-house margins have nearly closed the gap with a co-man, why CapEx is the real constraint, and the bird flu chicken spike he absorbed without raising prices. We dig into Amazon, why the second order is now the team's biggest LTV lever, how 1,000+ independent retailers found Farm to Pet with no distributors, and why he chose StartEngine crowdfunding over institutional money. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🐔 The basement origin of the Chicken Chip 🏢 Corporate supply chain playbooks vs startup reality 🏭 Why co-manufacturers passed (and what they wanted to add) 🧪 Kill steps, moisture and a two-year shelf life 🎨 The Grey Barn: putting his grandparents' barn on the bag 🔧 Why Farm to Pet owns its manufacturing 💰 In-house vs co-man margins (CapEx is the hard part) ♻️ Turning crushed chips into a cat line and toppers 🐦 Absorbing a 50% bird flu spike in chicken costs 🛒 Subscribe & Save, keyword bids and the Amazon Creator program 🔁 Why the second order is the real LTV lever 🎃 Halloween snack packs and 1,000+ independent retailers 🚀 Why he chose crowdfunding on StartEngine --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:46 – Origin story: the Chicken Chip 02:02 – Corporate ops lessons vs startup reality 04:59 – Going all in and buying the first factory 06:56 – Stripping it down: R&D and food safety 09:24 – Brand identity and the Grey Barn 11:09 – Why vertically integrate 14:18 – In-house vs co-man margin math 15:19 – When a co-packer could make sense 16:05 – Bird flu, beef prices and concentrated risk 19:25 – Subscribe & Save on Amazon 20:16 – Winning on Amazon ads 21:33 – The Amazon Creator program 22:36 – Listing pitfalls and Amazon partners 24:32 – What drives LTV: the second order 27:02 – How 1,000+ independents found Farm to Pet 29:11 – Seasonal retail and the next five years 31:16 – Why crowdfunding on StartEngine --------------- Links: Farm to Pet – https://farmtopettreats.com/ Farm to Pet on StartEngine – https://www.startengine.com/offering/farm-to-pet Follow Jackson on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonajones/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

  3. Oct 19

    From Losing 90% of Retailers to a Top 10 Target Supplement | Hudson Davis-Ross, Plant People

    On this episode, we're joined by Hudson Davis-Ross, Co-founder and CEO of Plant People - the functional wellness brand behind Wonder Gummies, the line of zero-sugar, vegan mushroom and botanical gummies sold at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Erewhon, Target, and more.  Before Plant People, Hudson was on the founding team of Rise Brewing Co. and helped build Aloha. Hudson walks through the origin story: two co-founders recovering from spinal surgery, a bootstrapped launch that did $4.5M in its first 18 months, and a COVID collapse that wiped out 90% of their independent retail accounts. We dig into the survival playbook that followed, including a line-by-line P&L purge, agency payment plans, and the two decisions that saved the business: moving from glass jars to pouches (packaging went from $1.50 to about 20 cents a unit and DTC shipping from $8.95 to $4.95) and shutting down in-house fulfillment for a 3PL. We also get into the move to gummies, why adherence beats potency, how they priced the launch at $34.99, and the rebrand from clinical to colorful. Hudson breaks down how customer demos and surveys shape new SKUs, how he thinks about Grüns, AG1 and Lemme crowding the category, what really happened after landing 800+ Target doors, and why they raised a Series A while already profitable. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🌿 How two spinal surgeries led to an herbal supplement brand 💵 Bootstrapping to $4.5M in 18 months with two part-time employees 🚧 Losing 90% of retailers when COVID shut down independents 🍬 Why gummies beat capsules on adherence (and where they lose on potency) 🏷️ Pricing at $34.99 and anchoring a new category ✂️ Going line by line through the P&L to survive 📦 Glass jars to pouches ($1.50 to about 20 cents per unit) 🚚 Shutting down in-house fulfillment for a 3PL 🎨 Rebranding from clinical to colorful with the Wonder line 🥊 Competing as Grüns, AG1 and Lemme flood the gummy aisle 🧪 How customer demos and surveys shape new SKUs 🎯 Saying no to Target, then landing 800+ doors 💸 Raising a Series A while profitable --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:59 – Origin story and bootstrapping to $4.5M 02:20 – COVID and losing 90% of retailers 03:01 – Launching the Wonder gummy line 05:03 – Gummy adherence vs. potency 07:57 – Pricing the launch at $34.99 09:57 – Hardest decisions coming out of COVID 12:12 – Glass jars to plastic pouches 14:52 – Pouch economics and shipping savings 16:53 – Moving from in-house fulfillment to a 3PL 18:59 – Early brand identity on a lean budget 21:23 – Rebranding from clinical to colorful 23:15 – Defending share in a crowded gummy category 28:16 – How new SKUs get greenlit 32:08 – Breaking into Target 35:47 – Operational lessons from the Target launch 39:12 – Raising a Series A while profitable 42:08 – Where to follow Hudson and Plant People --------------- Links: Plant People – https://www.plantpeople.co/ Follow Hudson on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hudsongr/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

  4. Oct 14

    Inside Teton Valley Brands' Trojan Horse Strategy | Matt Price, Teton Valley Brands

    On this episode, we're joined by Matt Price, President & CEO of Teton Valley Brands - the Idaho chip company behind Real Idaho Potato Chips and Tallow & Stone. Matt took the CEO seat in 2024 after working alongside founder Kyle Nehring as a consultant. We dig into why Matt thinks so many brands raise money the wrong way, when venture is actually the right tool, and his case for building the company first and letting the brand follow. Matt breaks down the decision to go vertical and build out an in-house manufacturing facility, using co-packing as a profit engine that funds the brands, and bringing in Cranney Farms, the potato grower that's also the company's largest cash investor. He's candid about what broke first, from unpredictable retail orders to standing up a manufacturing team that runs nothing like a startup. We also get into the Trojan horse play: using the easy yes of Snake River Farms to open doors with retailers, distributors and brokers, then loading Tallow & Stone in right behind it. Matt walks through branding Idaho the way Napa brands wine, how an Alaska Airlines six-month trial turned into three and a half years and the real operational cost of cooking in tallow. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🥔 From rebagging chips in a basement to an Idaho potato chip plant 💸 Where brands go wrong on fundraising, and when venture is the right tool 🏭 The decision to go vertical instead of staying asset light 💰 Co-packing as the profit engine that underwrites the brands 🌾 Bringing in a potato farmer as lead investor (equity and debt) ⚠️ What broke first: forecasting orders for startup brands 👷 Building a manufacturing team that can't cut corners 🐴 The Trojan horse strategy with Snake River Farms 🍷 Branding Idaho the way Napa brands wine ✈️ Alaska Airlines: a six-month trial now three and a half years in 🥩 The real cost of cooking in tallow (cleaning, kosher tradeoffs) 🌮 Pricing Tallow & Stone for conventional grocery ($6.99-$7.99) 👀 Brands Matt's watching (Bawi Agua Fresca, Ithaca Hummus) --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:50 – Origin story 02:38 – Where brands go wrong on fundraising 04:22 – Co-packing as the profit engine 05:09 – When venture is the right tool 06:02 – Build the company and the brand follows 07:57 – The decision to go vertical 10:41 – What broke first when ramping up 11:43 – Financing with a farmer partner 13:09 – Building a manufacturing team 14:59 – One culture across corporate and production 16:00 – The Trojan horse strategy 17:27 – Positioning Real Idaho Potato Chips 19:39 – Equipment upgrades and Alaska Airlines 20:41 – Tallow vs seed oils 21:45 – Building Tallow & Stone price-first 24:17 – Multi-brand go-to-market and velocity 26:27 – Brands Matt's watching --------------- Links: Teton Valley Brands – https://www.tetonvalleybrands.com/ Follow Teton Valley Brands on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/teton-valley-brands/ Follow Matt on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattyprice12/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

  5. Oct 9

    Scaling Mozzarella Sticks from Stadiums to Conventional Freeze Aisles | Matt Gallira, Big Mozz

    On this episode, we're joined by Matt Gallira, Founder & CEO of Big Mozz - the premium mozzarella stick brand that started as a stadium and restaurant food service business before eventually landing in the freezer aisle. We get into how Matt went from handmade pasta sauces to a Brooklyn pop-up tent, the in-store sauce demo where he watched a cheesemaker stretch mozzarella and he asked to work for free. Matt breaks down the original recipe and why fresh garlic one thing he won't let a co-man swap for a dehydrated version. Matt touches on why Big Mozz launched food service first: a COVID pivot, operator-first selling to restaurants and stadiums, pitching Sysco category managers who already carry 10 mozzarella sticks, and why food service now supports the whole business. We also dig into the jump to retail, from Wakefern to Whole Foods nationwide, reformulating for home ovens, how too many TPRs trained shoppers to wait for a yellow tag, the new packaging built to read through a frosty freezer door, and innovating around usage occasions instead of flavors alone. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🍝 From handmade pasta sauce to a Smorgasburg pop-up stand 🚐 A van with 375,000 miles and a 150-person catering operation 🧀 Learning to stretch mozzarella from a North Jersey deli 🧄 Why fresh garlic is the one ingredient Matt won't compromise on 🏭 Getting co-man machines to do things they weren't built for ⏱️ The COVID pivot and the line trial that saved the company 🏟️ Launching food service first through stadium connections 🍽️ Operator-first selling and the Sysco "why do we need another one?" pitch 💰 Food service as the funding engine and top of the retail funnel 🏷️ Why too many yellow tags trained shoppers to wait 📦 Packaging built to read through a frosty freezer door 🍷 Innovating by occasion (one mozz stick and a glass of wine) 👀 Frozen brands Matt is watching (Jesse & Ben's) --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:51 – Origin story: from pasta sauce to Smorgasburg 02:56 – Growing a pop-up into a 150-person catering company 04:52 – The sauce demo that sparked Big Mozz 07:34 – Asking a North Jersey deli to work for free 08:30 – R&D and the original recipe 10:12 – Holding the line on fresh ingredients at scale 12:56 – Getting machines to do what they weren't built for 13:47 – Why Big Mozz launched food service first 14:48 – The COVID pivot and a lucky line trial 16:54 – Operator-first selling and the Sysco pitch 19:06 – Food service as the top of the retail funnel 21:29 – Food service vs. retail margins and the ground game 24:58 – The food service to retail brand flywheel 28:52 – Launching retail and reformulating for home ovens 32:54 – Driving velocity: promos, Instacart and packaging 38:44 – Innovating by occasion: nuggets, Flamin' and ranch 41:38 – Frozen brands Matt is watching --------------- Links: Big Mozz – https://bigmozz.com/ Big Mozz on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/big-mozz/ Follow Matt on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-gallira-22646529/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

  6. Oct 5

    Leading Social for the Fastest-Growing CPG Brands | Adam Brown, Sircle Media

    On this episode, we're joined by Adam Brown, Founder & President of Sircle Media - the go-to social media agency for CPG brands. Adam has been in and around digital since 1999, starting Sircle in 2012 after a decade running sales and marketing in the mortgage industry. Adam walks through what it takes for social to impact retail velocity. One brand told him: move 10,000 units at Walmart and I do not care what it costs. He breaks down how his team proves that lift with control regions, geofencing and hyperlocal creator support, and why the Costco parking lot video every creative director hates keeps beating the polished stuff. He also shares the seeding math most founders never hear, one or two posts out of ten when you gift cold, and the college campus playbook he would run instead. --------------- Episode Highlights: 💡 The light bulb moment behind Sircle Media 💸 Pricing an agency at the cost of one hire ⚠️ The messy middle and the toughest year in CPG in 14 years ✂️ Why a 10% haircut beats cutting a partner 🔀 Social as a horizontal, not a vertical 📱 Two primary platforms, two secondary 🛒 What it takes for social to move retail velocity 📸 Scrappy UGC versus studio content 🎓 The college campus playbook for seeding 💳 The hot take that it is all paid now 🛍️ TikTok Shop and who it actually fits 💬 Community management as the most common miss 🔮 Trends: a return to fundamentals --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 01:05 – The light bulb moment behind Sircle Media 03:19 – Pricing an agency at the cost of one hire 04:54 – When a brand is ready for an agency 06:19 – The messy middle and the toughest year in CPG 07:47 – The 10% haircut across partners 09:37 – Social as a horizontal, not a vertical 11:59 – Two primary platforms, two secondary 14:56 – Making social drive retail velocity 18:34 – UGC versus studio when money is tight 20:00 – The college campus playbook 22:42 – Building for constant algorithm change 25:26 – The hot take that it is all paid 27:56 – TikTok Shop and who it actually fits 31:23 – Vetting influencers and creators 34:53 – Why most seeding programs flop 37:52 – Community management as table stakes 39:56 – Trends: a return to fundamentals --------------- Links: Sircle Media – https://www.sircle.me/ Follow Adam Brown on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjbrown23/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

  7. Sep 30

    Six Brands, Four Exits, and the Leading Fractional CPG Firm | Eric Schnell, BeyondBrands

    On this episode, we're joined by Eric Schnell, Founder of BeyondBrands - the 40-plus partner operating group that works as a fractional management team for early stage CPG brands. Eric co-founded Steaz in 2002 and has since co-founded or helped launch Good Catch, GoodSAM, Cool Beans, and Free Bird. Eric breaks down the Quintuple Bottom Line model the firm runs on and the one test every brand they co-found has to pass: can it sit in front of any buyer and credibly claim it will be a category captain? We get into the Good Catch story, from the seafood thesis they wrote with the Good Food Institute to extrusion R&D with help from friends at Beyond Meat, a Whole Foods launch, roughly $6 million in revenue, and a full exit inside three and a half years. Eric also walks through GoodSAM, where the team built direct trade relationships with regenerative organic farmers in Colombia and brought Thrive Market onto the cap table weeks before COVID shut down retail. We also spend time talking about why most brands die from running out of capital rather than product fit, what a believable five-year plan shows an investor, the 17 seconds a shopper spends scanning a cooler door, and how freight and geography quietly eat a P&L. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🫖 Selling $30 vitamins before selling $4 organic tea 🤝 The lawyer question that turned a favor into a firm 🌱 The Quintuple Bottom Line: passion, purpose, people, planet, prosperity 🐟 Why seafood, not meat, was the plant-based white space 🏆 The category captain test every new brand has to pass 🌎 Direct trade vs fair trade with farmers in Colombia 🛒 Putting Thrive Market on the cap table right before COVID 💸 Why most brands die in year one (it is capital, not product) ⏱️ The 17-second shelf window and the rainbow effect 📦 Why packaging gets fixed two or three times in year one 📈 56 equity positions and the ESOP model behind them 🧮 What a fundable five-year plan actually shows 🚚 Freight and geography, the black hole in the middle of the P&L --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 01:06 – From $30 vitamins to $4 organic tea 02:19 – Exiting Steaz and choosing the next chapter 03:32 – The lawyer question that created BeyondBrands 04:45 – Backing pre-revenue founders nobody else would touch 06:34 – The Quintuple Bottom Line business model 08:22 – How BeyondBrands decides what to co-found 09:11 – The plant-based seafood thesis behind Good Catch 10:23 – Building flaky plant-based tuna from legumes 11:35 – Whole Foods, $6M, and a fast exit 12:48 – The category captain test 14:49 – GoodSAM, regenerative organic, and direct trade 18:38 – Thrive Market on the cap table before COVID 20:53 – Why most early brands run out of capital 24:35 – The 17-second shelf window and the rainbow effect 26:53 – 56 equity positions and the ESOP model 30:55 – What a fundable five-year plan looks like 34:37 – Freight, geography, and the P&L black hole --------------- Links: BeyondBrands – https://beyondbrands.org/ Follow Eric on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-schnell-b133a425/ BeyondBrands on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyondbrands/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

  8. Sep 25

    From Board Seat to Buyer: The Alter Eco Turnaround | Keith Bearden, Alter Eco

    On this episode, we're joined by Keith Bearden, CEO of Alter Eco, No Cow and Good Karma - the Trek One Capital portfolio spanning organic Swiss-made chocolate, plant-based protein bars and flax milk. Keith previously led Yogi Tea's international division, served as CEO of Lifebrands US and American Botanicals, and spent 15 years at Dow Chemical. Keith walks through how he went from Alter Eco board member to buyer, flying to Houston to pitch his path-to-profitability plan to Trek One Capital and closing on December 22, 2023. He breaks down the three levers behind a profitable first quarter of 2024: cutting headcount and outsourcing, moving the warehouse from Oakland to Columbus, Ohio (saving over $1M a year and roughly 20 days of lead time), and cutting trade spend from about 25% of sales to 19%. We get into managing a cocoa market that more than tripled after the deal closed, a 39% tariff on Swiss imports, and Keith's bet to take a 12% price increase while competitors took 30 to 40%. We also dig into SKU rationalization without losing shelf space and why Alter Eco doesn't chase trends. Keith also shares how a moment on a granola production floor in Canada became Oat Clusters, why his CMO pushed "delicious" over "organic" and moved "Made in Switzerland" to the front of pack, and how Alter Eco hit 1,400 Publix doors on day one by putting inventory on a plane. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🍫 Alter Eco's origin and "taste is the price of admission" 🤝 From board seat to buyer: the Houston lunch that closed the deal ✂️ Turnaround lever one: headcount, outsourced QA and back office 🚚 Moving the warehouse from Oakland to Columbus, Ohio 💸 Cutting trade spend on truffles that saw no incremental lift 🔄 SKU rationalization and proactive swaps to protect shelf space 🌱 Pre-bought beans and loyal farmers through the cocoa spike 🧾 Eating a 39% tariff on Swiss-made chocolate in 2025 🏷️ The 12% price increase bet when competitors took 30 to 40% ✈️ From granola production floor to airport shelves: Oat Clusters 🇨🇭 Why "delicious" beat "organic" and put a Swiss logo on the front of pack 🛒 Landing 1,400 Publix doors on day one (and air-freighting inventory to do it) 🔮 GLP-1 tailwinds and why No Cow is built for that shopper --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 01:04 – Alter Eco's origin and three core principles 03:36 – Running three brands as one CEO 06:30 – From board member to buyer 08:54 – Turnaround lever one: headcount and outsourcing 10:20 – Moving the warehouse to Columbus, Ohio 11:20 – Cutting trade spend that wasn't driving lift 12:36 – SKU rationalization without losing shelf space 14:16 – Hedging against cocoa's price spike 16:25 – Absorbing a 39% tariff on Swiss imports 19:56 – The 12% price increase bet 22:25 – From natural into conventional grocery 23:33 – Product roadmap and not chasing trends 26:44 – Granola and the Oat Clusters origin story 29:50 – The say-do gap and why "delicious" won 32:18 – Practical Magic 2 and brand collaborations 33:27 – Scaling doors and landing 1,400 at Publix 36:02 – No Cow, GLP-1 and what Keith's watching --------------- Links: Alter Eco - https://www.alterecofoods.com/ No Cow - https://www.nocow.com/ Good Karma - https://www.goodkarmafoods.com/ Follow Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bearden-736821/ Follow me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.  Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

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8 Ratings

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If you’ve ever thought, "Why doesn’t anyone talk about this in CPG?", this is the podcast for you. Host, Adam Steinberg, co-founder of KitPrint, interviews CPG leaders to uncover the real-world tactics, strategies, and behind-the-scenes insights that really move the needle.

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