The Startup CPG Podcast

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Denise Lambertson, founder and Managing Partner at Constellation Capital — a boutique follow-in venture fund investing in consumable CPG and wellness brands. Denise brings one of the most distinctive backgrounds in consumer investing: she began her career as Madonna's executive assistant, spent six years producing world tours and brand partnerships, then built LMS, a pioneering celebrity and influencer marketing agency that served nearly 250 businesses over 15 years. That experience became the foundation for Constellation Capital, where she pools celebrity, athlete, influencer, and operator LPs to deploy both capital and deep marketing expertise into emerging brands.

Constellation's Fund 1 ($10M, fully deployed, launched 2018) concentrated heavily on consumable CPG, and Fund 2 (targeting $25M) is currently in market. The fund writes initial checks of ~$250K as a follow-in investor — meaning Denise doesn't lead rounds or set terms, but invests alongside institutional or angel leads and brings differentiated value through what she calls her "network capital advantage."

Hannah and Denise dig into what it really means to be a follow-in investor, what Denise's diligence process looks like through a marketing lens, and what she's seeing work — and not work — in digital and influencer marketing today. They also tackle the growing importance of AI literacy for CPG founders, what pre-launch marketing done right actually looks like, and what team structure should look like before an early-stage fundraise.

Listen in as they cover:
Denise's path from Madonna's executive assistant to pioneering celebrity/influencer marketing to venture capital
Constellation Capital's fund structure, LP base (celebrities, athletes, influencers, operators, independent grocers), and investment thesis
What a follow-in investor actually does — and how it differs from a lead investor
How Denise sources deals, collaborates with co-investors, and adds value post-check
The "network capital advantage" and why celebrity alone does not make a business
A standout portfolio company that built 30,000 qualified email subscribers before launch — and why it worked
What founder EQ looks like: the portfolio founder who consistently does exactly what she says she'll do
Why AI literacy is now a core diligence criterion in Fund 2 — and how it can add 12–18 months of runway
Influencer marketing reframed: building it as a performance channel and distribution network, not just getting posts
Why "we haven't spent anything on marketing" is not a flex — and what investors actually want to see
Team structure advice: no more than four people pre-fundraise, lean into fractional talent and AI tools
How to reach Denise, co-invest with Constellation, and get started in CPG investing

Whether you're a founder preparing to fundraise, an operator building out your marketing strategy, or someone curious about what non-traditional paths into venture capital look like, this episode is full of sharp, practical insight from someone who's been in the room — and on the stage — from the very beginning.

Episode Links:

Constellation Capital: [constellationcapital.com]
Denise Lambertson on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/deniselambertson
Denise Lambertson on Substack: Constellation Capital
Pitch Constellation: [email protected]
Co-invest or connect: [email protected]
Angel investing platforms mentioned: Sidecar (sydecar.com), AngelList

Connect with the guest: 
Denise Lambertson — Founder & Managing Partner, Constellation Capital 
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deniselambertson/ 
📧 Pitch: [email protected] 
📧 Connect/co-invest: [email protected]

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
Follow @startupcpg
Visit host Hannah's Linkedin 
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [email protected]
Episode music by Super Fantastics

If you’re interested in learning more about the science behind Cognizin,
Head to www.cognizin.com to learn more.

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Gabriella Labi and Tonya Reznikovich, co-founders of Gato Dates—dark chocolate covered, nut butter stuffed Medjool dates in four decadent flavors: pistachio butter, cashew butter and walnut, almond butter, and peanut butter.

Gabriella shares how years of working with functional medicine doctors, studying nutrition, and hosting Friday night Shabbat dinners led her to create a treat she could eat every day without guilt—one that just happened to blow every guest's mind. Tonya shares how one bite at that dinner table sent her straight to the freezer for seconds and eventually to writing a full business plan email.

Together, they built Gato Dates from a home kitchen staple into a brand with celebrity fans, a loyal DTC following, and major retail accounts on the horizon—all while staying true to the premium, giftable identity that sets them apart in a crowded snack landscape.

Caitlin and Gabriella and Tonya dig into why quality ingredients are non-negotiable, how five months of LA farmers markets became their proof-of-concept lab, and why organic celebrity discovery (think: LeAnn Rimes sharing with Kristin Cavallari) beats any influencer gifting strategy. They also cover the logistics of co-packing whole Medjool dates, the case for local delivery as a farmers market transition, and what it really looks like to go full-time on a food brand in year two.

Listen in as they cover:
How a Shabbat dinner dessert became the foundation of a luxury confection brand
Why Medjool dates are the perfect vessel—and why size really does matter
The farmers market strategy that generated $1,500 on day one and proved the concept
How LeAnn Rimes, Kristin Cavallari, and Addison Rae found Gato Dates completely organically
The giftable format strategy that's turning customers into brand ambassadors
Their retail expansion playbook: knocking on doors, building buyer relationships, and landing major grocery accounts
What being invited into a giveaway with Fishwife, Poppy, and Loops Beauty meant to them
The upcoming healthy Nutella spread and what's next for the brand
Why year two is the hardest—and what separates brands that survive from those that don't

Whether you're a founder figuring out how to scale a premium food product, a buyer looking for the next breakout confection brand, or a date obsessive who just needs to know where to get your next fix, this episode is for you.

Episode Links: 
Gato Dates Website: https://gatodates.com 
Gabriella Labi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriella-labi-25a3079b/ 
Tonya Reznikovich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonya-reznikovich/
 Gato Dates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gato-dates/

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:

Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
Follow @startupcpg
Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin 
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [email protected]
Episode music by Super Fantastics

In this episode of R&D Radio, hosted by Adam Yee, Adam sits down with Brian Chau, founder of Chau Time — an R&D operations consulting firm lowering the barrier to entry in the food industry. With a team of 12 spanning every U.S. time zone and experience across 20+ countries, Brian walks through the full concept-to-commercialization process and shares why setting clear parameters — with ranges — is the single most important thing an entrepreneur can do before working with a food scientist.

Brian breaks down his four-phase R&D process, explains the trade-offs between cost, flavor, nutrition, and shelf life that every founder inevitably faces, and makes a bold prediction: fiber will eventually surpass protein as the dominant functional ingredient trend.

He also shares two standout case studies in better-for-you chocolate: Dirty Gut (prebiotic/probiotic chocolate using fiber stacking from upcycled cocoa husks, acacia fiber, and chicory inulin) and Femme Health (a women's health chocolate using lactoferrin for improved iron absorption) — both developed during the global cacao supply crisis.

Listen in as they discuss:
Why you should create a parameter list with ranges before engaging any food scientist
The four phases of R&D and why three rounds of development is the magic number for an MVP
Fiber stacking: what it is and why it makes functional chocolate work
How to navigate the cacao supply crisis by going direct to smaller and heirloom farmers
Why fiber is poised to surpass protein over the next decade
Bioactives trending in women's health, sexual wellness, and mushroom-derived nutraceuticals
How startups vs. large companies prioritize trade-offs very differently

Episode Links:

Brian Chau – Founder & Principal, Chau Time 

🌐 Website: www.chau-time.com 

🍄Webiste Linked: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chau-time/

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chautime/

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:

Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
Follow @startupcpg
Visit host Adam's Linkedin 
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [email protected]
Episode music by Super Fantastics

If you’re interested in learning more about the science behind Cognizin,
Head to www.cognizin.com to learn more.

In this special episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with the three winning brands from Startup CPG's biggest-ever Grocery Run event — held the night before the KeHE Summer Show in Denver. Kiki Couchman (co-founder of Sourmilk), Cam Loyet (founder of Honeymoon Chocolate), and Ryan Raish (founder of Fave) share what it was like to compete among 70 vetted brands in front of 400 buyers and KeHE account managers, and what the night led to for each of their businesses.

Kiki describes how the Grocery Run served as the perfect training ground before Expo West — her brand's very first trade show experience — and how every single conversation felt worth the flight to Denver. Cam shares how the reaction to his brand-new honeycomb chocolate product completely blew away his expectations compared to years of selling bars at Whole Foods. And Ryan reveals how a 15-minute huddle at the event turned into a verbal commitment from Sprouts for a national launch into their innovation set in June — completely reshaping Fave's go-to-market strategy.

Throughout the episode, the founders share hard-won advice on how to stand out at a trade show: bringing a physical hook to the table (like a raw honeycomb frame or a cocoa pod), using bright visuals and branded tablecloths, asking questions instead of pitching, and keeping the energy low-pressure and relationship-first. Ryan also opens up about what made him finally launch his own brand after years in the industry — and why his 4-year-old daughter naming the company "Fave" during a preschool taste test was the sign he needed.

Whether you're preparing for your first trade show, evaluating whether KeHE is the right distribution partner, or just trying to understand what these Grocery Run events are all about, this episode is packed with real, actionable insight from founders who just lived it.

Listen in as they discuss:
What it actually feels like to exhibit at a Grocery Run event — the energy, the camaraderie, and the buyer openness
How Sourmilk used the event to identify which regions were responding best to their product without paying for SPINS data
Why Honeymoon Chocolate's new honeycomb product stole the show — and what it means for their product strategy going forward
How Fave secured a verbal commitment from Sprouts for a national innovation set launch — all from a 15-minute conversation at the event
Booth setup tips: physical hooks, branded tablecloths, tall pitchers, and light leave-behinds buyers will actually carry
How to get a buyer's attention without being pushy — asking for feedback instead of selling, calling out the double-take, and keeping it friendly
Why Ryan spent years in CPG before launching his own brand — and the personal criteria he required before doing it
What early-stage brands can realistically expect from a KeHE onboarding opportunity

Episode Links:
Thank you to KeHe Distributors and our sponsors from our Denver Grocery Run!

Advantage Solutions
FDM
Green Spoon
IGNITE Sales Services (a Division of Acosta)

What's Next? KeHE Holiday Show Grocery Run, Chicago, June 9th
APPLY NOW: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfCr-xzT5_hPGE0CpRhVE2QnTIK_pysg-Sz-o-TP2l_rDsVBQ/viewform
Kiki Couchman – Sourmilk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsten-kiki-c-242929112/ 
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sourmilk/ Website: https://www.sourmilk.com/

Cam Loyet – Honeymoon Chocolate 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camloyet/ 
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/honeymoonchocolates/ 
Website: https://hmchocolates.com/
Ryan Raish – Fave 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanraish/ 
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/favemixes/
Daniel Scharff – Founder, Startup CPG 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danscharff/ 
Startup CPG Newswire: https://startupcpg.com/newswire
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
Follow @startupcpg
Visit host Daniel's Linkedin 
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [email protected]
Episode music by Super Fantastics

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Josh Resnick, co-founder and General Partner at OpenSky Ventures—an early-stage consumer venture firm investing in food, beverage, health, wellness, lifestyle, and the technology that powers growth for consumer brands. Josh brings a rare combination of serial entrepreneurship, deep operating experience, and investor pattern recognition to the table, having built a video game studio (Pandemic Studios) that he sold to Electronic Arts, co-founded the luxury confections brand Sugarfina, and spent years as an angel investor before launching OpenSky.

OpenSky invests at the pre-seed stage with opportunistic Series A involvement, writing checks of $100K–$200K in Fund 1 and scaling to $500K checks in Fund 2 (targeting $25M). What sets them apart is that both partners are former operators — a background that shapes how they access deals, how they evaluate founders, and how they show up as partners over the long haul.

Josh and Hannah dig into everything founders need to know about the fundraising process: how valuations work (and why they're more art than science), why chasing the highest valuation can actually hurt you down the road, and how to think about runway, dilution, and building a cap table that genuinely adds value. They also explore what separates the brands that break through from the ones that don't — from storytelling and brand community to unit economics and must-have product positioning.

They also walk through the full spectrum of funding stages, from the friends-and-family round all the way to Series A, with clear, practical definitions founders can actually use to locate themselves on the journey.

Listen in as they cover:
Josh's journey: from Malibu lemonade stands to Pandemic Studios, Sugarfina, and OpenSky Ventures
OpenSky's investment thesis: stage, categories, check size, and what's changing in Fund 2
The parallels between founders fundraising and VCs fundraising — and what that reveals about what investors need to see
Why valuation is more art than science — and the real risks of setting it too high too early
What a down round signals to investors and how it can trap a brand in a cycle
The case for slowing down: why jumping straight into Costco might not be the right first move
How to think about runway — and why you should always raise a little more than you think you need
The founder traits Josh sees in every successful company he's backed: problem solving, storytelling, authenticity, and "must have" positioning
A founder spotlight: Becca at Fishwife, and why lean cost DNA and branding instincts are a winning combination
What makes a great investor partner — and the specific questions founders should ask before they sign
A clear breakdown of the funding stages: friends & family, pre-seed, seed, and Series A
Advice for anyone who wants to break into CPG investing — and why becoming an LP first might be the smartest move

Whether you're a founder preparing to fundraise, an operator thinking about the jump to investing, or just someone who wants to understand how early-stage CPG capital actually works, this episode is packed with practical, hard-won insight.

Episode Links:

OpenSky Ventures: opensky.vc
Josh Resnick on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joshresnick1

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
Follow @startupcpg
Visit host Hannah's Linkedin 
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [email protected]
Episode music by Super Fantastics

If you’re interested in learning more about the science behind Cognizin,
Head to www.cognizin.com to learn more.