Express Checkout

Express Checkout

The Express Checkout podcast digs deeper than headlines to uncover the context, connections, and cultural shifts driving the world of consumer products. Join hosts (and CPG nerds) Nate and Jenna for analysis and conversations with the people and businesses shaping tomorrow's shopping cart. www.expresscheckout.co

  1. 6d ago

    How Sauz built a $22M pasta sauce disruptor

    Welcome back to another episode of Express Checkout (surprise! new name)!! This week, we sit down with Troy Bonde, Co-Founder of Sauz, the brand that's rewriting the rules of the $10 billion tomato sauce category. Troy takes us through his wild journey—from a COVID-era hand sanitizer dropshipping hustle to building Sauz into a nationwide brand at Target and Sprouts, backed by $22 million in funding. We dig into how Sauz found its brand moat, the story behind the name, their viral "pimping Troy out" social campaign, the new Basic Basil marinara launch, and what's next for the brand. Let’s get into it! The breakdown: 0:00 - Intro 0:36 - Introducing Troy 1:08 - From hand sanitizer to pasta sauce 5:35 - Learning CPG through angel investing 7:47 - Breaking category norms 11:33 - The story behind the name “Sauz” 14:37 - The California Naturals tomato lip balm collab 19:16 - Launching Basic Basil marinara 24:44 - Sauz’s viral social media strategy 29:31 - Measuring repeat purchase and loyalty 31:25 - Scaling distribution: Target, Erewhon, and beyond 39:17 - Closing thoughts 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to Express Checkout wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

  2. Jul 29

    How coconut water is making a comeback

    Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week we dive into coconut water's surprising resurgence—why a 2010 darling is suddenly back in the spotlight and what brands are doing to capitalize on it. Check out our full deep dive on coconut water here! Then, we dig into how the PB&J wars are heating up, a new squeezy peanut butter, Smash Foods’ fresh $18M raise, and the truth about Gen Z drinking habits. Let's get into it!The Breakdown 00:00 Intro 02:12 Why coconut water is the hottest bev right now 14:29 The PB&J wars heat up 22:14 Squeezy PB launches in US 24:42 $18M for jam 28:11 Gen Z is indeed drinking again 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to The Curious Consumer wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

    How coconut water is making a comeback

  3. Jul 22

    Is this the next "it" grocer?!

    Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! We're excited to kick off this week's show with an interview with Kristina Garrido, Director of Emerging Categories at Whatnot. Whatnot is the fastest-growing livestream shopping platform in the U.S currently valued at nearly $12 billion. The app has processed 1 billion orders since its founding, across collectibles, beauty, and now food.In this episode Nate (just Nate, no Jenna today) also recaps his incredible 24 hours at Target’s HQ for their Food & Beverage Discovery Day where he had the opportunity to chat with SVP of F&B merchandising, John Conlins. Plus some fun CPG news including Coca-Cola’s “Spricy” trademark, Final Boss Sour’s $4M raise, and Fairlife’s production pause after a massive ransomware attack. Lets’s get to it! The Breakdown 00:00 Interview with Kristina Garrido, Director of Emerging Categories at Whatnot 13:34 24 Hours at Target HQ 25:01 Spicy Sprite?! 26:49 Final Boss Sour’s sick $4M raise 30:21 Fairlife shuts down 31:27 Outro 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to The Curious Consumer wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

    Is this the next "it" grocer?!

  4. Jul 15

    How this THC brand is fighting the ban

    Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! We're excited to share a fascinating full-episode interview with Jake Bullock, the Co-Founder and CEO of Cann—the pioneer of the microdose THC beverage category. Jake breaks down the whole hemp-derived THC beverage landscape, from how it came to be (and Cann’s role in that) to the regulatory threat it now faces with the impending November ban. Plus, he shares how Cann is responding with a new product launch that just came out this week: Cann 0mg. Let’s get into it! The breakdown:0:00 - Intro1:34 - How Cann created the microdose THC beverage category5:52 - Navigating the dispensary channel and the 2018 Farm Bill11:11 - Cann's original vision for distribution13:16 - The regulatory threat: What the 2026 hemp ban means17:08 - The industry's push for federal regulation19:15 - Introducing Cann Zero MG (0MG)26:58 - Distribution strategy for 0MG31:04 - Lobbying efforts34:11 - Closing thoughts 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to The Curious Consumer wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

  5. Jul 9

    Real sugar is unapologetically back

    Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! We're excited to kick off this week's show with an interview with Tara Bosch, the founder of SmartSweets (exited) and the new better-for-you potato chip brand, Snackish.We then get into some of the themes we saw at this week's Fancy Food Show (starting at minute 17), including real sugar/real indulgence, the continued premiumization of frozen food (and restaurant-to-CPG pipeline), Indian flavors, and flavor-packed sauces. Then, we run through some of the most interesting headlines in CPG this week: how Refresh is trying to make gum cool again, the intimate wellness brand that wants to bring sexual care products to Sephora, the real fridge cig, and more. The breakdown:0:00 - Interview with Tara Bosch, founder of SmartSweets and Snackish17:04 - The Fancy Food Show recap and themes34:11 - Can functions make gum cool again?38:38 - The wellnessification of intimate care44:04 - There's still room for a cool ready-to-drink vodka seltzer49:16 - Nutribolt IPOs 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to The Curious Consumer wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

    Real sugar is unapologetically back

  6. Jun 24

    Protein-rich food is a physics problem.

    Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! Today, Jenna is joined by Mike Messersmith, CEO of Lasso Labs—a Harvard-born food tech startup using a patented fiber spinning platform to create high-protein, high-fiber foods with cleaner labels and no compromise on texture or taste. Mike shares his journey from legacy CPG to Chobani and Oatly (both at their peaks) to food tech founder, how the tech actually works, and why he believes the future of food will be won by changing the process, not just the recipe. Plus, we’re getting into the protein reckoning unfolding across the grocery store right now—why the whey shortage is a symptom of a much bigger industry shift, how Lasso’s tech could meet that demand, and combatting fear-mongering around processed foods. Let’s get into it! Chapters: 0:00 Introduction to Lasso 1:47 Mike’s background: PepsiCo, Chobani, and Oatly 3:58 From dairy to oat milk: category creation and disruption 11:49 What is Lasso and how the technology works 13:59 Inputs, outputs, and product applications 23:38 Building a brand vs. a B2B food tech company 26:28 Why big food companies haven’t cracked this yet 27:14 The whey protein shortage and what it really signals 34:02 Ultra-processed foods: separating fear from facts 38:47 Food physics vs. food chemistry 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to The Curious Consumer wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

  7. Jun 18

    Thrilled to try Tom Brady's Good Nuts.

    Welcome back to The Curious Consumer! This week, we're getting into e.l.f's foray into haircare, Tom Brady's Good Nut (this is not a joke), how AG1 is striving to stay relevant, the bubble-free boom, and the derm-as-creator skincare brand that's taking off in Target. Chapters:0:51 e.l.f. enters haircare8:40 Tom Brady's Good Nut and coconut water's rise16:32 AG1 Pro and the greens powder wars25:13 Svedka's new soda water29:03 REMEDY's $20M raise 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to The Curious Consumer wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

    Thrilled to try Tom Brady's Good Nuts.

  8. Jun 3

    Performative grocery shopping + pro-peptides.

    Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! Today, we’re joined by Priyanka Ganjoo, the founder of South Asian beauty brand Kulfi Beauty—the first South Asian female-owned makeup line to be carried at Sephora. Priyanka shares her journey building an inclusive beauty brand, and the power of a strong emotional and cultural moat. Plus, we’re chatting about the boom of Erewhon lookalikes (and how they’ll survive when mass-market becomes a discovery channel), the water brands capitalizing on fear of microplastics, one brand’s attempt to legitimize peptides, and more. Let’s get into it! The breakdown: 0:00 Kulfi Beauty + the wave of inclusive beauty 5:36 Kulfi’s Sephora growth and changing audience 9:49 The power of the emotional moat in beauty 14:49 Everything is Erewhon now (the new age of bougie grocers) 21:52 Water brands vs. microplastics 29:34 Kellogg’s cereal front-of-pack framework 34:31 Target’s private-label chef collabs 40:10 Peptides are the wild west of wellness 🎧 Love the show? Subscribe to The Curious Consumer wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop weekly. 📧 Get the inside scoop Subscribe to Express Checkout, our newsletter packed with consumer insights, trends, and exclusive content straight to your inbox at expresscheckout.co. 🗣️ Let’s connect! Follow us for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips, and more: @expresscheckout 💬 Join the conversation Have a product you’re curious about? DM us your questions or drop them in the comments—your topic could be featured in our next episode! If you have any thoughts/questions/suggestions, feel free to email us at hello@expresscheckout.co :) ⭐ Help us grow If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other curious consumers find us! Get full access to Express Checkout at www.expresscheckout.co/subscribe

See All (40)

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

The Express Checkout podcast digs deeper than headlines to uncover the context, connections, and cultural shifts driving the world of consumer products. Join hosts (and CPG nerds) Nate and Jenna for analysis and conversations with the people and businesses shaping tomorrow's shopping cart. www.expresscheckout.co

Information

  • Creator
    Express Checkout
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Express Checkout
  • Show Website
    Express Checkout

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