Shelf to Scale

Devesh Tilokani
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Shelf to Scale is a podcast featuring conversations with the founders, operators, and industry leaders behind today’s growing consumer products. Each episode explores how brands expand distribution, navigate retail partnerships, and scale across new channels and markets. From emerging CPG/FMCG startups to established manufacturers, we unpack the real-world challenges of growing consumer products across retailers, regions, and distribution networks. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani, Shelf to Scale brings together perspectives from across the consumer goods ecosystem to share what it takes to scale

  1. 20h ago

    He Lost $120,000 to a Recall. Here's What Saved the Company

    One dairy trace cost this Canadian plant based brand $120,000, three months of unpaid shipments, and a public recall. PlantUp founder Aamir Malkani on getting into Sobeys, UNFI, and 1,200 retail stores across Canada. Aamir came to Canada from a textile manufacturing family in India, knew nothing about food, and cold messaged plant based protein suppliers on LinkedIn until one took a bet on him. Three years later PlantUp is in the frozen aisle and the snack aisle at Sobeys, Metro, Longo's, Fortinos, Whole Foods, Save On Foods and IGA. This conversation is the unglamorous version of CPG distribution. How he booked a trade show booth directly opposite UNFI, served dumplings like a food fest, and turned a lukewarm distributor conversation into a national buyer referral in one afternoon. Why he and his co-founder personally walked into 54 Sobeys and Foodland stores in five days and converted 42 of them before a single category review. Why he thinks a Toronto brand chasing national listings in year one is making a mistake, and the 7 million person math behind that. He also breaks down what a broker actually does versus a distributor, why trade spend is the line item most founders underestimate, and why he switched from pea and chickpea protein to Canadian grown fava beans for the snack line. Then the hard part. A dairy trace in the biggest butter chicken bite run of the year, a national recall, chargebacks that kept arriving seven months later, and what he did on a 20,000 member Facebook group instead of going quiet. If you are trying to get a food or beverage brand onto Canadian grocery shelves, this is the playbook. GUESTAamir Malkani — PlantUpLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aamirmalkani/Website: https://plantup.ca/ SHELF TO SCALEWeekly conversations with CPG and FMCG founders on distribution, retail, and scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani

    He Lost $120,000 to a Recall. Here's What Saved the Company

  2. Jul 30

    Self-Manufacturing a CPG Food Brand: Why oomé Built Its Own Smokehouse

    Distributor or broker? Miki Talebi built oomé smoked tofu into Whole Foods and breaks down the CPG distribution mistake most founders make. If you think signing a distributor means your product will finally get on shelves, this episode is the correction. Miki Talebi, founder of oomé, grew a premium smoked tofu brand into Whole Foods, Save On Foods, Metro and Longos with no CPG background and a PhD in psychology instead. She explains why she self-manufactures (there are no vegan smokehouses)why her product has to stay between 1 and 4 degrees or it gets rejected at the dockhow she prices at a premium and makes retail buyers more money doing itthe distributor-versus-broker confusion that quietly kills early food and beverage brands. Essential listening for any CPG or FMCG founder working on distribution, retail, and getting into grocery. GUESTMiki Talebi — oomé Instagram: @thisisoomeWebsite: https://thisisoome.com/pages/store-locator SHELF TO SCALEWeekly conversations with CPG and FMCG founders on distribution, retail, and scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani

    Self-Manufacturing a CPG Food Brand: Why oomé Built Its Own Smokehouse

  3. Jul 23

    How to Choose a 3PL That Won't Lose Your Inventory | Rahim, Get Set Prep

    How to choose a 3PL for your ecommerce or CPG brand from a 3PL owner who once had a fulfillment company lose his entire $1,500 order. Rahim is the founder of Get Set Prep, a Toronto 3PL fulfilling for CPG and ecommerce brands across Canada and the US. In this episode, he walks through the complete playbook for finding a fulfillment partner: when to switch from self-fulfillment to a 3PL, the 5 data categories you need for an accurate 3PL quote the questions to ask a 3PL before signing how to negotiate a 3PL contract — including why the strongest lever isn't price. He also shares a warehouse tour checklist for spotting red flags before your inventory arrives, and why 75% of brands that outsource fulfillment to him grow sales month over month. If you're a CPG founder comparing third party logistics providers or still packing your own boxes, this is the buyer's guide. GUESTRahim Velji — Get Set Prep Website: https://getsetprep.com/contact-us/Email: rahim@getsetprep.com Rahim's Phone Number: ⁠416-802-0816⁠ SHELF TO SCALEThe podcast for CPG and FMCG founders navigating distribution, retail, and international scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani

    How to Choose a 3PL That Won't Lose Your Inventory | Rahim, Get Set Prep

  4. Jul 16

    Rejected by Dragons' Den 3 Times. Now in 1,300 Stores.

    An ice cream brand put freezers in the produce aisle, next to the bananas, and sales jumped 200% in six weeks.How does a local startup out-merchandise global brands, survive three Dragons' Den rejections, and land 1,300 stores? Yazeed Yasin co-founded NanaShake with his wife Tamara after their son's asthma ruled out dairy and every alternative on shelf made things worse. In this episode: the pivot from a COVID-closed Toronto scoop shop to national CPG distribution,the four product iterations behind Nanopops 4.0why they deliberately avoided the pint category for six years, the merchandising move no ice cream brand had ever pulled off. GUESTYazeed Yasin - NanaShakeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yazeedyasin/Website: https://nanashake.com/store-locator/ SHELF TO SCALEWeekly conversations with CPG and FMCG founders on distribution, retail, and scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani

    Rejected by Dragons' Den 3 Times. Now in 1,300 Stores.

  5. Jul 9

    0 to 250 Stores in 12 Months Selling Vietnamese Fruit Snacks

    David Ngo helped build North America's #1 poop bag brand. Then he bet everything on dried mango from Vietnam and hit 250 stores in 12 months. How do you scale a CPG brand when your first dollar doesn't come back for 9 months? David launched Nam Fruits in May 2025 and will be in 250+ Canadian stores including IGA, Provigo, and Metro by the end of June 2026. In this episode he breaks down the exact math: why a $1 retail product needs to survive a store margin and a distributor cut, why trade shows cost $6-10K and are still worth it, and why he says he couldn't have started this company without AI. If you're a CPG founder trying to crack retail distribution especially with an imported product, this is the operating manual. GUESTDavid Ngo — Nam FruitsWebsite: https://namfruits.com SHELF TO SCALE Weekly conversations with CPG and FMCG founders on distribution, retail, and scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani

    0 to 250 Stores in 12 Months Selling Vietnamese Fruit Snacks

  6. Jul 2

    The Pricing Mistake That Kills Beverage Brands

    Costco will pull every price you've ever sold at, find the lowest, and ask for 40% under it. Here's how a beverage operator prices so that never happens. Autumn heads R&D at Gnusante (Newbies, Radiate, 52 North) without a food science degree, after a career in ballet, modeling, and scuba diving. She breaks down the real margin math of beverage, the clear-pouch sampling trick that catches dishonest feedback, why a 33% velocity jump came from making the product smaller, and the barcode change that can get you delisted overnight. If you're building a CPG brand and trying to survive the move from DTC to retail, this is the operator detail most founders learn the hard way. GUEST Autumn — Gnusante (Newbies, Radiate, 52 North) Website: https://www.gnusante.com/ SHELF TO SCALE Weekly conversations with CPG and FMCG founders on distribution, retail, and scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani

    The Pricing Mistake That Kills Beverage Brands

  7. Jun 25

    From 0 to 1,500 Stores With Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

    He made ice cream out of cottage cheese. It's now headed for 1,500 stores. How do you build a frozen category that didn't exist, then get Sprouts, Whole Foods, and a 500-store retail win in your first year? Smear Case is the first and only frozen cottage cheese ice cream. Half the fat, half the calories, and the most protein of any pint on the shelf. Joe coined and trademarked the word "Froco" before he'd sold a single unit, won the Albertsons Innovation Launchpad pitch at Expo West (and 500 stores with it), and is closing in on 1,500 doors nationwide. If you're a CPG founder trying to create a category instead of fighting for shelf space in an existing one, this conversation is the playbook. GUESTJoe Rotondo - Smear CaseLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephrrotondo/Website: https://smearcase.com/ SHELF TO SCALEWeekly conversations with CPG and FMCG founders on distribution, retail, and scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani | Silvertop Trading.

    From 0 to 1,500 Stores With Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

  8. Jun 18

    He Lost 1,500 Stores Overnight. Here's What He Did Next.

    Arshad Bahl built Amrita Health Foods into 1,500 stores across Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Wegmans. Then lost all of it overnight to a product recall. What came next changed how he thinks about everything.In this episode: - Why a product recall was actually the best thing that happened to Arshad's business- The real role of distributors in your supply chain and why it's not what most founders think- How he built his own manufacturing facility for $150,000 using eBay and Facebook Marketplace- Why $10M in revenue at 15% margin beats $100M at 3% and the math behind staying small- What Peter Rahal, the Tom's Shoes founder, and dozens of other big exits have in commonArshad has been in CPG for over a decade — ran co-packers, ran his own factory, ran DTC, ran retail. He's one of the few founders in the space who has operated at every level of the value chain. This conversation is not about inspiration. It's about the structural decisions that actually determine whether a food brand survives. Guest links:- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshad-bahl-61206373/- Website: https://www.amritahealthfoods.com/ Shelf to Scale is a weekly podcast for CPG and FMCG founders navigating distribution, retail, and scaling. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani.

    He Lost 1,500 Stores Overnight. Here's What He Did Next.
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About

Shelf to Scale is a podcast featuring conversations with the founders, operators, and industry leaders behind today’s growing consumer products. Each episode explores how brands expand distribution, navigate retail partnerships, and scale across new channels and markets. From emerging CPG/FMCG startups to established manufacturers, we unpack the real-world challenges of growing consumer products across retailers, regions, and distribution networks. Hosted by Devesh Tilokani, Shelf to Scale brings together perspectives from across the consumer goods ecosystem to share what it takes to scale

Information

  • Creator
    Devesh Tilokani
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Devesh Tilokani
  • Show Website
    Shelf to Scale