The Startup CPG Podcast

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

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Mollye Santulli, Principal at Springdale Ventures—an early-stage consumer venture firm investing in food, beverage, beauty, pet, personal care, and supplements. Mollye brings a rare combination of brand-side operating experience and investor pattern recognition to the table, having started her career at RXBar, gone on to General Mills and Simple Mills, and joined Springdale during her MBA before coming on full time in 2024.

Springdale invests in brands doing $1–$15 million in revenue, with a sweet spot of $1–$5 million, partnering with founder-led brands at the seed and Series A stage. What sets them apart isn't just the check—it's that every person on the team, from founding partners Genevieve and Dan to Mollye herself, has operated inside consumer brands. That operating DNA shapes everything from how they evaluate deals to how they show up for founders over a five-to-ten year investment relationship.

Mollye and Hannah dig into what Springdale is actually looking for when they underwrite a deal: repeat purchase data, velocity across retail and DTC, a clear path to $100M+ in revenue, and a believable exit story. But just as important as the metrics is the founder—someone who understands their unit economics cold, can attract and inspire a team, and responds to feedback in a way that signals they'll be a good long-term partner.

They also tackle one of the trickiest questions in early-stage fundraising: how do you communicate scale potential when you're building in an unproven or emerging category? Mollye's answer is practical—get retailer feedback, find tangential comps, and make it as easy as possible for investors to see where your product lives on shelf.

Throughout the conversation, Mollye and Hannah discuss the investment journey from first check to exit, why cash management and hiring are the two things Springdale spends the most time on post-investment, and what founders should be asking investors before they sign anything.

Listen in as they cover:
Springdale's investment thesis: categories, check sizes, stage, and what "early stage" really means
Why the team's operating background shapes how they partner with founders
How trends factor into (and don't drive) Springdale's investment decisions
Current areas of excitement: protein, GLP-1 tailwinds, fiber, and frozen
The diligence pillars Springdale anchors on — repeat data, velocity, scale path, and exit potential
Why understanding your own unit economics might be the single most important founder trait
How to communicate category size when you're building something genuinely new
What the company profile looks like at investment vs. exit
Why $100M in revenue is Springdale's general threshold for believable exit conviction
A Slack community case study: how long do you actually need to show traction?
How to build a relationship with Springdale before you're ready to raise
Advice for anyone who wants to break into CPG investing

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

Episode Links:

Springdale Ventures: https://www.springdaleventures.com/ 
Deal intake form: available on the Springdale website
Molly Santulli on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyesantulli/ 

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 Jessica Hamel, founder of PlantChi, a new type of pantry staple made from superseed blends mixed with flavorful ingredients that you can sprinkle on anything for effortless nutrition from real food. No optimization required.

Jessica shares how growing up in a "weird food house" in the 90s, running long distances without a watch, and a doctor's simple advice to sprinkle hemp seeds on everything all converged into a brand built on one core belief: nourishment shouldn't be stressful. PlantChi isn't trying to make you a Greek God. It's trying to make you feel a little more nourished—one sprinkle at a time.

With a background in marketing and a previous natural frosting company whose customers included some of the top ultra runners in the world, Jessica brings both creative instincts and hard-won CPG experience to PlantChi. She's self-funded, scrappy, and deeply intentional—using farmer's markets as live market research, updating packaging based on real customer feedback, and choosing to slow down on retail expansion in early 2026 to first build a strong online community and education foundation.

Caitlin and Jessica dig into why 62% of consumers no longer believe health claims, why seeds don't need to be revolutionary to be powerful, and why PlantChi's positioning—real food that just happens to be nutritious—is landing at exactly the right cultural moment. They also cover Jessica's honest take on protein label deception, the underrated power of independent retailers, and why anyone starting a food business just to make fast money is, in her words, what's wrong with the industry.

Throughout the conversation, they discuss the parallels between PlantChi and the broader consumer fatigue with wellness as performance, the buzz around fiber and protein heading into 2026, and why a product toddlers keep coming back to at a vegan festival might be the ultimate market validation.

Listen in as they cover:
Why Jessica built PlantChi as an antidote to wellness optimization culture
How farmer's markets became her most valuable (and actionable) market research tool
The packaging update that came directly from customer feedback
Why seeds are an underrated, nutrient-dense answer to the protein and fiber craze
The truth about misleading protein claims and consumer trust in food brands
Her strategy of pausing retail growth to invest in community and education first
What independent retailers like Happier Grocer and Levers Locavore taught her about launching smart
Her advice to founders: follow your heart, stay resourceful, and don't ruin the industry
How PlantChi compares to everything but the bagel seasoning—and why it wins on nutrition

Whether you're a founder looking for a grounded approach to brand building, a buyer searching for a joyful new addition to the spice aisle, or a consumer who's exhausted by wellness culture and just wants to eat good food, this episode is for you.

Episode Links:
Jessica Hamel — Founder, Plant Chi
 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicarhamel/ 
 🌐 Website: https://plantchi.life/

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 debut episode of R&D Radio, a series hosted by Adam Yee, Adam sits down with Rachel Zemser, founder of A La Carte Connections. With 30+ years in the field and hundreds of products brought to market, Rachel shares the advice that stops most entrepreneurs in their tracks: before you spend a dime on R&D, find your co packer.

Rachel explains why the manufacturing process represents 60% of what you're actually building, walks through how to use platforms like Keychain and PartnerSlate to start that search, and shares the real story of bringing Island Vibe — musician Pretty Kenny's cocktail mixer — from kitchen concept to award-winning pasteurized beverage. She and Adam also dig into the sweetener landscape: why allulose and erythritol are letting formulators down on functionality, why small amounts of real sugar are quietly making a comeback, and date sugar's surprising FDA classification.

Listen in as they discuss:

Why co packer conversations should come before any R&D
How having a food scientist gets you taken seriously by manufacturers
The Island Vibe cocktail mixer story: concept to production run
Co packer negotiating dynamics — and why founders need to bend more than they think
The "cleanish label" trend: small amounts of real sugar returning for functionality
Why allulose won't crystallize and erythritol won't brown
Date sugar's status as a non-added sugar under current FDA guidance

Episode Links:

Rachel Zemser - Food Science Industry Consultant, A La Carte Connections
🔗 Website: www.alacartconnections.com
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/culinologist/

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 bonus mini episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Bill Hayes, Director of R&D Applications at Vibrant Ingredients, to finally answer a question that trips up a lot of product developers: what's the actual difference between a tea extract and a tea essence?

Bill breaks it down in the most satisfying way — that irresistible aroma that hits you the second hot water meets a tea bag? That's your essence. The body, color, astringency, and mouthfeel that makes a tea beverage actually taste like tea? That's your extract. Together, they're what makes a great RTD tea tick.

Vibrant Ingredients is the world's largest private equity-owned natural ingredients provider, and they're doing a lot more than tea. The conversation covers cold brew coffee extracts, natural flavors, functional ingredients like L-theanine, EGCG, and natural caffeine — all using a pure water-based extraction process that keeps things clean and natural. Bill also shares his tips for formulators and brand founders on how to move quickly from concept to commercialization by knowing your "must haves" vs. your "nice to haves" and partnering with ingredient suppliers who actually understand your brand's mission.

If you're working on a tea, coffee, or functional beverage — or just curious how your favorite RTD gets that fresh-brewed character — this one's for you.
🔗 Get in touch with the Vibrant Ingredients team: https://bit.ly/4d9gWjJ 

🔗 Connect with Bill Hayes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-hayes-83008764/

Listen in as they discuss:
The real difference between a tea essence and a tea extract (and why both matter)
How Vibrant Ingredients uses pure water extraction to keep things natural
What categories use tea essences and extracts (hard teas, RTDs, functional beverages, and more)
When and why alcohol or other solvents might be used instead of water
Functional add-ins: L-theanine, EGCG, natural caffeine, antioxidants
Tips for formulators: how to move fast and partner effectively with ingredient suppliers
The full scope of what Vibrant Ingredients offers — from concept to commercialization

Episode Links:
Get in touch with the Vibrant Ingredients team: https://bit.ly/4d9gWjJ 
Guest: Bill Hayes, Director of R&D Applications, Vibrant Ingredients
Website: https://vibrantingredients.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-hayes-83008764/ 

About Startup CPG: Startup CPG is the largest community for emerging CPG brands: 35,000+ Slack members, the #1 podcast in CPG, 100+ events per year, and award-winning resources to help brands grow. Join free today: https://startupcpg.com/sign-up

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)
Follow @startupcpg
Visit host Daniel's Linkedin 
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [email protected]
Episode music by Super Fantastics