Shelf Help: The Tactical CPG Podcast

Frozen One - From a Ninja Creami in Austin to 1,464 Target Doors

On this episode, we're joined by Alan Chen and Conner Mennig, Co-founders of Frozen One, the high-protein ice cream brand packing 40 grams of protein, under 400 calories, 75% less fat and 62% less sugar than traditional ice cream into every pint. Alan and Conner walk through the formulation journey from flavored protein powders and Oreos to milk protein concentrate, and how they tested 50 grams of protein per pint but landed at 40 as the functional ceiling. We also get into finding their first co-packer outside Austin, the in-house packaging design, and expanding from six Royal Blue Grocery doors (averaging 25.9 units per store per week) to Central Market, Bristol Farms, Wegmans, Raley's, Heinen's, Busch's, Schnucks, Fresh Thyme, a Kroger First Pitch win at Expo West, and an upocoming 1,464-door Target launch. We break down how Target deal came together, the scramble to fund the first big order, the oversubscribed $2M round led by Supernatural Ventures and The Angel Group, and the important thing on Alan and Conner's mind right now.....hiring. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🍦 The Ninja Creamy origin story (still memorialized in the office) 🧪 Real ice cream science, freezing point depression and the refreeze problem 💪 Why 40 grams is the functional protein ceiling (50 grams blew gaskets) 🏭 Finding a small local co-packer willing to run 100-pint test batches 🎨 Building the brand and packaging in-house with a friend ✏️ How the name "Frozen One" came from "The Chosen One" 🛒 First retail: Royal Blue Grocery, portable freezer, sell sheet, repeat visits 💰 Pricing evolution from $9.99 super-premium to $6.99–$8.99 conventional mass 📊 25.9 units per store per week as the early velocity proof point 🚀 The Target inbound, the broker, and 1,464 doors in 15 months 💸 The fundraising scramble when no lender would touch them 🤝 The three hires that unlock the next stage (sales, frozen ops, digital marketing) 🔮 Why the ice cream category still has massive white space --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:51 – Origin story and how Frozen One started 02:55 – Late-night R&D in the Ninja Creamy 05:20 – The protein source and the 40-gram ceiling 07:49 – Choosing the three core flavors 09:05 – Finding the right co-packer 11:48 – Co-packer advice for founders 13:04 – Brand identity and packaging design 14:25 – The naming process 15:16 – First retail accounts at Royal Blue Grocery 17:00 – Pricing strategy and moving from premium to mass 18:20 – Early velocity and the role of demos 19:47 – Landing Target through a cold website inbound 21:00 – The fundraising scramble and the $2M round 23:30 – What makes Target different (Roundel, granular data) 24:30 – Managing multiple retailer launches at once 25:59 – One tip for first-time CPG founders 26:57 – Building the team and the three key hires 29:04 – How to reach Alan and Conner 29:30 – Staying ahead of the protein ice cream pack 30:39 – Biggest risks and opportunities ahead 31:48 – Brand crushes (Fruit Riot, Graza) --------------- Links: Frozen One – https://www.frozen-one.com/ Follow Alan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanychen7/ Follow Conner on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/conner-mennig-84a469170/ Frozen One on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/frozen-one/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint. Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse [https://www.tryglimpse.com/?utm_source=podcast%20&utm_medium=podcast%20&utm_campaign=shelf_help], the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

Russell & Julia Menez - From Stage Four Cancer to the Brink of National Distribution

On this episode, we're joined by Russell and Julia Menez, husband-and-wife Co-Founders of RJ Naturals, makers of Nature's Candy Bar, the refrigerated, organic, whole-food snack bar made with grass-fed butter.  The brand was born out of Russell's stage 4 cancer journey, when Julia started making bars from scratch to support his recovery. We dive into how those homemade bars turned into a SoCal brand now in some of most iconic retailers in the region, including Mother's Market, Lassen's Natural Foods, Clark's Nutrition, Fermentation Farm, as well as a growing presence on the East Coast.  Russell and Julia break down the formulation behind a bar built on dates, sprouted oats, grass-fed butter, coconut, raw honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt, why they chose Deglet Noor dates over Medjool, and why most co-manufacturers resist butter. Julia  also walks through the role of coffee shops, gyms, and wellness studios in building community, and how a single networking event landed their anchor retailer and first distributor in the same afternoon. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🩺 The cancer journey that started the brand 🧈 Why grass-fed butter is the hero ingredient 🌴 Deglet Noor vs Medjool dates (and why it matters) 🥶 Why most bar brands won't go refrigerated 🍠 The next flavor in the pipeline (hint: ube) 🏭 Interviewing over 20 co-packers to find the right one ✋ Going from 600 bars a day by hand to thousands per run 🎨 Evolving from RJ Naturals to Nature's Candy Bar 🛒 Landing Mother's Market and a distributor in one room ☕ Why gyms, coffee shops, and wellness studios still matter 📣 Demos plus social as the velocity engine 🚦 Saying no to shiny objects as you scale 🎯 The Q4 Whole Foods regional plan --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 01:13 – Origin story and the stage 4 cancer journey 04:38 – Formulation and R&D 06:30 – Why grass-fed butter 08:00 – Deglet Noor vs Medjool dates 08:46 – Flavor pipeline and the ube hint 10:22 – Refrigerated by design, not by default 12:49 – Home kitchen to commercial kitchen 13:41 – Moving to a co-packer 15:38 – Interviewing 20+ co-manufacturers 18:09 – Sticking to the formulation at scale 21:31 – Evolving the brand from RJ Naturals to Nature's Candy Bar 25:11 – Landing Mother's Market and a distributor in one room 26:43 – Coffee shops, gyms, and wellness studios as the community layer 27:30 – Demos and social as the velocity engine 28:53 – Saying no as you scale 30:50 – Biggest risks and opportunities 31:32 – Q4 Whole Foods regional launch 32:30 – Trends and brands they're watching --------------- Links: RJ Naturals – https://rjnaturals.us/ Follow Russell on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/russellmenez/ Follow Julia on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliahsuh/ Follow RJ Naturals on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/rjnaturals/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/. Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse [https://www.tryglimpse.com/?utm_source=podcast%20&utm_medium=podcast%20&utm_campaign=shelf_help], the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

William Underwood - Inside the CPG Talent Market

On this episode, we're joined by William Underwood, Founder of Talent Brew - the CPG-focused recruiting and headhunting firm helping scaling beverage and food brands find the right talent through competitive-set focused outreach. William breaks down what the CPG talent market looks like right now. With post-COVID reorgs, acquisitions, and layoffs, brands have historic access to exceptional talent, but many don't know how to vet or retain it.  We get into the roles trending up, from DTC and TikTok Shop managers to channel-specific account roles, and why AI fluency is becoming a must-have even though most CPG brands don't know exactly what that hire looks like yet. We also dig into the hiring roadmap for scaling brands - who to hire first, and the common traps like chasing logos on resumes and inflating titles too early. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🍳 From executive chef to CPG recruiter (the origin story) 🍺 Launching a beer-focused firm during the worst market since Prohibition 📊 Why it's a historic buyer's market for CPG talent right now 🛒 Roles trending up: DTC, TikTok Shop, channel-specific managers 🤖 AI fluency as an emerging (but undefined) hiring requirement 💸 The real cost of a bad hire (financial, emotional, mental bandwidth) 🎯 Competitive set focused recruiting (50-100 companies, 3 referrals per placement) ⚠️ The trap of chasing logos and inflating titles too early 🔥 "Fire in their belly, throwing elbows, and polish" 🏢 Culture = what your employees do that you don't talk about 🧹 How to fix a struggling culture (and when to fire fast) 👀 Brands he's watching: Recess, Trip, Go Brewing, Throne Sport Coffee --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:44 – William's origin story (from executive chef to recruiting) 02:55 – Expanding from craft beer to broader CPG 03:50 – The current CPG talent market (buyer's market) 05:30 – Roles trending up right now 07:00 – TikTok Shop and ecom hiring challenges 08:31 – AI fluency in CPG hiring 10:22 – The real cost of a bad hire 11:45 – Smart hiring roadmap for scaling brands 14:00 – Common founder hiring mistakes (logos and titles) 15:55 – Generalist vs. specialist (and leveraging agencies) 17:00 – Competitive set focused recruiting explained 19:55 – Red flags when evaluating a recruiting firm 22:07 – Interview questions that actually work (go past tense) 25:02 – What brands want vs. what they actually need in a hire 26:36 – Ideal candidate profiles by revenue stage 29:00 – Building and maintaining company culture 33:20 – Brands and trends William is watching 35:00 – Where to find William and Talent Brew --------------- Links: Talent Brew – https://mytalentbrew.com/ Follow William on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-underwood-405677245/ Follow Talent Brew on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/mytalent-brew/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/. Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse [https://www.tryglimpse.com/?utm_source=podcast%20&utm_medium=podcast%20&utm_campaign=shelf_help], the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

Hannah Awada - From Selling Hummus in Shanghai via WeChat to Launching in All Mejier Doors

On this episode, we're joined by Hannah Awada, Co-founder and CEO of Hummus Goodness - the Michigan-based brand making authentic, clean-label Lebanese-style hummus with real ingredients and zero preservatives. We talk about selling hummus out of her kitchen window in Shanghai to expats on WeChat, to re-launching Hummus Goodness in a church kitchen in Michigan in 2019. Hannah walks through the formulation decisions that keep the product authentic - olive oil over soybean oil, fresh lemon juice, no citric acid - and how a made-to-order production model protects cash and margin. A big part of the conversation focuses on the Meijer relationship - how a competitor recall opened the door, how Hannah grew from 3 local format stores to all 278 Meijer locations, and why in-store demos remain her number one velocity driver.  Hannah also breaks down the brand's major packaging refresh, going from a clear cup with a white lid to bold, personality-driven packaging with playful flavor names like Garlic Glory and The Big Dill. We also get into the anchor account strategy Hannah uses for new market expansion, bootstrapping for five years before a pre-seed round with Michigan Rise, and the tight-knit Michigan CPG founder community she leans on. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🏠 Origin story: selling hummus out of a kitchen window in Shanghai 🧪 Formulation: olive oil, fresh lemon, and zero preservatives ⏱️ Made-to-order production (not made-to-stock) ⛪ From a church kitchen to a 7,000 cups/week operation 🏭 Finding a manufacturing partner through family connections 🛒 How a competitor recall opened the door at Meijer 📈 Growing from 3 local format stores to all 278 Meijer locations 🎯 In-store demos as the #1 velocity driver 🎨 The packaging rebrand that matched the brand's personality ✈️ Food service channel (Delta Sky Lounges, universities) 💸 Bootstrapping for 5 years before a pre-seed round 🤝 The Michigan CPG founder community 👀 "Kitchen Couture" and the rise of beautiful packaging --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:48 – Origin story: Shanghai to Michigan 03:30 – Lessons from selling hummus in Shanghai 05:08 – Formulation and shelf life without preservatives 07:10 – Church kitchen to own facility 09:36 – Scaling from 700 to 7,000 cups a week for Meijer 11:00 – Finding a manufacturing partner 13:17 – Co-packer relationship advice 15:00 – How a competitor recall opened the door at Meijer 17:03 – Growing to all 278 Meijer stores 19:29 – Bootstrapping for five years 22:07 – Anchor account strategy for new markets 25:20 – Driving velocity at retail 27:02 – The packaging rebrand 31:13 – Rebrand rollout lessons 33:10 – Food service as a channel 36:13 – Michigan CPG founder community 38:18 – Kitchen Couture and trends to watch --------------- Links: Hummus Goodness – https://www.hummusgoodness.com/ Follow Hannah on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanadyawada/ Follow Hummus Goodness on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/hummus-goodness/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse [https://www.tryglimpse.com/?utm_source=podcast%20&utm_medium=podcast%20&utm_campaign=shelf_help], the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

Rob Johnson - Founding Born Simple, Selling to Mizkan, and Leading Innovation Across a $1B+ Portfolio

On this episode, we're joined by Rob Johnson, Co-Founder & CEO of Born Simple and Head of Innovation at Mizkan America - the protein-forward shelf-stable complete, prepared meals brand that pivoted from barbecue sauces and broth concentrates into a category that every buyer in the country says is desperate for a makeover.  Rob spent years running small natural and organic brands inside Conagra before leaving to build Born Simple, selling it to Mizkan in 2021, and sticking around for nearly five years - one of the longer founder tenures post-acquisition in recent memory. We dig into how Born Simple was literally born in a Whole Foods meeting - the buyer hated the existing brand but loved the products, and Rob walked out with a nationwide launch commitment across two categories before the brand even had a name. Robs gets into what he calls the "NASCAR package" problem in big CPG, the Mizkan acquisition, and what founders should actually pay attention to beyond the check size. We also cover Rob's new role leading innovation across Mizkan America, where he's trying to expand beyond what he calls "innovation behind a computer screen" and replace it with startup-style consumer empathy inside a 225-year-old, $1B+ family-owned company. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🍖 How Born Simple went from barbecue sauce to protein-forward shelf-stable meals 🛒 Landing a nationwide Whole Foods launch before the brand had a name 🎨 Brand design inspired by Brandless and Public Goods - simplicity as strategy 📦 The "NASCAR package" problem and why big CPG over-communicates on shelf 🏷️ Adapting packaging to category - why Tetra Pak pasta sauce didn't work 💰 Selling to Mizkan in 2021 and key deal terms for founders (earnouts, key man clauses) 🤝 Why post-acquisition integration speed is the #1 thing founders overlook 🔄 Pivoting into shelf-stable complete meals - a category in desperate need of a makeover 🚀 Leading innovation at Mizkan America and killing "innovation behind a computer screen" 🧪 Bringing startup thinking to a 225-year-old, $1B+ family-owned company --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:45 – Origin story and the Whole Foods meeting 03:18 – The Brandless and Public Goods insight 04:52 – Small companies doing unscalable things 05:57 – What big CPG experience actually teaches you 10:10 – Sitting on both sides of M&A 12:01 – Building Born Simple's brand identity and packaging design 14:40 – The "NASCAR package" problem 15:55 – Adapting packaging to category (Tetra Pak pasta sauce) 17:18 – The stand cap pouch and glass recycling 21:42 – Selling to Mizkan and reading the funding tea leaves 26:10 – Key deal terms and what founders should negotiate 28:15 – Post-acquisition integration and why it destroys value 32:08 – Pivoting to protein-forward shelf-stable meals 36:33 – Head of Innovation at Mizkan America 38:00 – "Innovation behind a computer screen" --------------- Links: Born Simple – https://www.bornsimple.com/ Mizkan – https://www.mizkan.com/ Follow Rob on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/robj2/ Follow Adam on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams, check out https://www.kitprint.co/. Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse [https://www.tryglimpse.com/?utm_source=podcast%20&utm_medium=podcast%20&utm_campaign=shelf_help], the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.