The Startup CPG Podcast

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

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

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Edouardo Jordan, founder of Food with Roots—an ethnic food brand based in Seattle, Washington, celebrating Black food ways through products like their award-winning pimento cheese and Southern cornbread mixes.

Edouardo shares how a love of cooking with his mom and grandmother in St. Petersburg, Florida led him through an unlikely path: a college degree in sports management, a stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, culinary school against his mother's wishes, and eventually a career cooking at some of the world's most celebrated restaurants—including the French Laundry and Per Se. He went on to open his own restaurants in Seattle, becoming the first African American to win two James Beard Awards in a single night.

When the pandemic shuttered his restaurants, Edouardo saw an opportunity. Customers who loved his pimento cheese—a staple on his restaurant menu—wanted to keep getting it at home. That question sparked the launch of Food with Roots, which quickly landed on shelves at Whole Foods and local Pacific Northwest markets.

Caitlin and Edouardo dig into why he put chitlins on his fine dining menu as a deliberate act of reclamation, how he's building a brand around the motto "sharing soulful stories through food," and why he intentionally resists making Food with Roots a "Black-owned brand" first—and a quality product second. They also cover his nonprofit Soul of Seattle, which has raised over $1 million for youth of color in the greater Seattle area, and his long-term vision to take his pimento cheese from the Pacific Northwest to coast-to-coast distribution.

Listen in as they cover:
How a childhood show-and-tell moment involving chitlins shaped Edouardo's identity as a chef and storyteller
Why foods like oxtail and pimento cheese were "poverty food" to his grandparents—and how he's working to reclaim and celebrate them
The tension between leading with Black identity versus leading with product quality in CPG retail
How Food with Roots got its start during the pandemic and landed in Whole Foods and Metropolitan Market
His expansion targets: California and Texas, markets already familiar with pimento cheese
The story behind Soul of Seattle and why he pays vendors to participate rather than charging booth fees
Why Food with Roots' pimento cheese retails at $9.99—and why it's worth every penny

Episode Links:

Instagram: @thefoodwithroots

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/edouardojordan

Website: thefoodwithroots.com

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

Think Misfits Market is just a place to offload short-coded inventory? Think again. In this episode, Daniel Scharff sits down with the Misfits Market buying team — Steve Edelman, Jessie Kimsey, and Emma Dineen — to pull back the curtain on the "new" Misfits Market and what it really takes to get your brand into their curated assortment.

From the treasure hunt experience they've built for subscribers to the live brand pitching session at the end, this one is packed with insight for any emerging CPG brand looking to crack e-commerce.

You will learn:

How Misfits evolved from rescued produce to a tightly curated grocery destination of ~1,100 SKUs
The three pathways to get on their platform: opportunity buys, LTOs, and replenishment
What a winning pitch email actually looks like (hint: know their assortment before you reach out)
Why transparency about your pricing, MOQs, and operations matters more than a perfect margin
What categories they're actively looking to fill right now: dairy, frozen, charcuterie, and more
Why some brands that underperform elsewhere absolutely soar on Misfits — and the "1 in 1,100" advantage
Live brand pitches from the audience — and which ones made the Misfits team's eyes go wide

Episode Links:
Brands who pitched:

Vital Halva — Brooklyn sesame bar, 19g fiber, 12g protein: https://vitalhalva.com/
Veggie Vice — Freeze-dried veggie chips (zucchini & salt, broccoli sour cream & onion), viral on TikTok: https://www.veggievice.com/
Nout — Macadamia nut butter with black sesame and matcha: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nout
Aveyo  — Avocado mayo made from actual avocados, 75% less fat/calories than oil-based mayo: https://www.aveyolife.com/ 
Little Gourmets — Fresh, veggie-rich, globally inspired baby food: https://lilgourmets.com
Ptashka — Fully cooked frozen sweet & savory crepes: https://www.ptashkacrepes.com
Pezzy Pets — Pet treats made from invasive species sourced from fishermen and hunters: https://pezzypets.com/
SAYSO  — Stick pack cocktail/mocktail mixes, dehydrated, low sugar: https://drinksayso.com/
Reclamation Foods — Upcycled Korean-style bone broth, shelf stable, jiggles in fridge: https://reclamationfoods.com/
Pantry Gems  — Single-tablespoon tomato paste portions: https://pantrygems.co/
OH MY!  — Spoonable dessert butter in jars and squeeze pouches, gluten/dairy free: https://eatohmy.com/collections/dessert-butters
Hot Girl Sauce— Squeezable chili oil bridging chili crisp and hot sauce categories: https://thehotgirlsauce.com

Reach the Misfits buying team directly: 📧 [email protected]

Connect with the guests:

Misfits Market Website: https://www.misfitsmarket.com/
Stephen Edelman, Sr. Director Category Management, Misfits Market 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenedelman/
Jessie Kimsey, Associate Director Vendor Strategy & Category Innovation, Misfits Market
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-kimsey-80023266/
Emma Dineen, Category Manager, Misfits Market
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmadineen/
Shop Misfits Market: https://www.misfitsmarket.com/hp58

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