Emerging Brands Podcast

Kids already love the bubbles and brightness of sparkling drinks, the fizz, the cold can, the flavors, yet nothing had been made just for them. Ali Weiss is the Co-Founder and CEO of NoBiggie, and Aytunc Atabek is her Co-Founder; together they are building a kids' beverage brand reimagining everyday treats. Made with real fruit juices and purées, NoBiggie's juicy sparkling drinks come in 7.5oz aluminum mini cans with up to 5g of naturally occurring sugar and no added sweeteners or dyes. A mom of three and former Chief Marketing Officer of Glossier, Ali teamed up with Aytunc, a dad of two and former Vice President at Vita Coco, to create a clean-label, lower-sugar alternative to traditional juice and soda. NoBiggie bridges the gap between kids' juice boxes and adult-sized sparkling waters, with interactive four-packs featuring gameboard inserts, fun dares, and secret notes that blend flavor, fizz, and play. Inside the Episode: The at-home observation that inspired Ali and Aytunc to launch NoBiggie and their mission to give kids a sparkling drink they can call their own. Ali and Aytunc's journeys from Glossier and Vita Coco to CPG co-founders, and the lessons they carried into building a brand from scratch. The strategy behind finding whitespace in a mature category, creating emotional connection through packaging, and launching community-first before traditional retail. What's ahead for NoBiggie, their advice for emerging founders, and where to shop the brand. Shop here!

Rethinking daily household essentials took on a whole new urgency when Will Gahagan decided to confront a hidden environmental crisis: the billions of pesticide- and microplastic-laden wet wipes clogging oceans and landfills every year. As Co-Founder and CEO of Biom, Will is revolutionizing a massive everyday category with 100% plant-based, non-toxic, and fully biodegradable wipes designed to protect both households and the planet. Growing up on the water in Charleston, South Carolina, Will developed a deep connection to coastal conservation before building a successful decade-long career leading go-to-market teams at high-growth startups like Untapped and Legion Technologies. Combining his commercial scaling background with co-founder Hank Schellenger's industrial design expertise, Will shares how they spent over a year prototyping a zero-compromise solution that blends elevated aesthetics with clean-label, plastic-free performance. Inside the Episode: How turning over a generic wipe container and reading the label sparked Will's discovery of hidden microplastics and pesticides, launching his mission to create Biom. Will discusses the product design and development journey behind creating non-toxic, biodegradable wipes that deliver performance without sacrificing aesthetics. Key go-to-market strategies and scaling insights from Will's background in high-growth startups, and how those lessons apply to building a disruptive CPG brand. Shop here!

Lindsay Joyce is the President of Brand & Innovation at Pet Life Unlimited, where she leads a consumer-first mission to make the experience of dog parenting as rewarding as possible. Inspired by dog parents themselves, Lindsay and her team respond to long-ignored needs in the market, designing elevated care products that deliver on performance and design. Drawing on her deep background in scaling high-growth CPG and wellness brands, Lindsay combines operational rigor with empathetic brand strategy to transform a traditionally utilitarian space. She shares how listening directly to dog parents inspired a portfolio built for modern routines, expanding the brand's reach across both retail shelves and direct-to-consumer channels. Inside the Episode: How Lindsay and the founders of Pet Life Unlimited identified unaddressed pain points in traditional dog care to build products that truly serve modern pet parents. The brand's heavy emphasis on pet parent research, how deep consumer insights uncover unmet needs, and where the broader pet care category is heading next. The innovation framework behind expanding a pet care portfolio while maintaining high standards for performance, design, and customer trust. Find Pet Life Unlimited near you!

Bridging the gap between fresh homemade baby food and shelf-stable convenience requires a total rethink of standard processing. Jess Sturzenegger is the Founder and CEO of Amara, a food technology company redefining organic nutrition for modern families. Founded in 2016, Amara uses a proprietary process that preserves the taste, texture, and nutrients of whole fruits and vegetables without repeat high-heat processing. Propelled by her upbringing with entrepreneurial parents and a deep passion for food culture, Jess set out to make wholesome eating effortless for busy parents. Under her leadership, Amara has scaled from a direct-to-consumer startup to a nationally distributed brand, driving food technology innovation to shape lifelong healthy eating habits from a child's earliest years. Inside the Episode: The lightbulb moment that inspired Jessica to launch Amara and her mission to bridge the gap between truly healthy, nutrient-dense food and convenient, accessible snacks. Jessica's journey from consulting to CPG founder, and how relentless curiosity sparked her leap into the food technology space. The strategic vision behind innovating for modern families and building a mission-driven brand focused on long-term health and convenience. Shop here!  

Authentic regional Indian cuisine received a massive upgrade when Harish Visweswaran joined forces with co-founders Ragoth and Kiru to solve a major everyday dining challenge: how to bring wholesome, traditional Indian meals to busy consumers in a fast, convenient format. As Co-Founder and Lead of Growth and Analytics at The Cumin Club, Harish is driving the retail expansion and data strategy behind a brand on a mission to shift food culture toward nourishing, clean-label, five-minute meals. Growing up in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, before moving to the U.S. in 2014, Harish holds a master's in Data Science from Columbia University and honed his analytical rigor at organizations like Mu Sigma and The Weather Company. A lifelong foodie whose passion naturally aligned with the food industry, Harish shares how he applies data-driven decision-making as a co-founder to scale retail channels, optimize operations, and make high-quality, flavorful Indian dishes accessible to households everywhere. Inside the Episode: How The Cumin Club identified a key whitespace in the CPG market by merging authentic regional Indian flavors with ultimate five-minute preparation convenience. Why the team chose freeze drying as their core preservation method to lock in natural flavors, preserve clean ingredients, and eliminate the need for artificial preservatives. The strategic importance of starting as a direct-to-consumer brand and how early customer feedback and data collection shaped their product development and scaling strategy. Shop here! This podcast episode was made possible by Glimpse — the AI-powered deduction management tool helping CPG brands recover lost revenue from invalid retail deductions. With in-house experts and custom-built AI, Glimpse saves founders time, money, and countless hours so they can focus on scaling. Book a call with the Team to get started!