What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 1
Digest
This podcast episode delves into the world of food entrepreneurship, showcasing the journeys of three individuals who turned their food ideas into successful brands. Becca Milstein, founder of FishWife, shares her experience transitioning from a Brown University graduate to a food entrepreneur. Inspired by her love for high-quality tinned fish in Spain and Portugal, she launched FishWife during the COVID-19 lockdown, facing challenges in sourcing fish and building a direct-to-consumer brand. Brian Rudolph, founder of Bonza, discusses his journey from business school to creating a chickpea pasta brand. Driven by his desire to cut gluten from his diet, he experimented with chickpea flour and faced challenges in finding a manufacturer and scaling production. Kawaii Suplisi, founder of Barnana, shares his story of transitioning from a professional triathlete to a food entrepreneur. Inspired by the popularity of Brazilian products in the U.S., he launched Barnana, an upcycled banana snack brand, navigating the challenges of finding a co-packer and bootstrapping the business. The episode concludes with a discussion on the common challenges and strategies of building food businesses. Becca emphasizes the importance of branding and visual identity, while Brian highlights the difficulties of scaling production and finding the right manufacturer. Kawaii shares his experience with bootstrapping and navigating early growth.
Outlines
Building Food Brands: From Idea to Success
This episode explores the journeys of three food entrepreneurs, Becca Milstein (FishWife), Brian Rudolph (Bonza), and Kawaii Suplisi (Barnana), highlighting the challenges and strategies of building successful food brands.
FishWife: From College to Tinned Fish Empire
Becca Milstein, founder of FishWife, shares her journey from a Brown University graduate to a food entrepreneur. She discusses her early exposure to high-quality tinned fish in Spain and Portugal, the inspiration for FishWife during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the challenges of sourcing fish and building a direct-to-consumer brand.
Bonza: The Chickpea Pasta Revolution
Brian Rudolph, founder of Bonza, talks about his journey from business school to creating a chickpea pasta brand. He explains his decision to cut gluten from his diet, his experimentation with chickpea flour, and the challenges of finding a manufacturer and scaling production.
Barnana: Upcycled Bananas and Entrepreneurial Spirit
Kawaii Suplisi, founder of Barnana, shares his story of transitioning from a professional triathlete to a food entrepreneur. He discusses his love for dried bananas, the inspiration from other Brazilian products gaining popularity in the U.S., and the challenges of finding a co-packer and launching the brand.
Keywords
Tinned Fish
Preserved fish packed in airtight cans or jars, often in oil, brine, or sauce. Popular in European cuisine, offering a convenient and flavorful source of protein.
Direct-to-Consumer (D2C)
A business model where companies sell their products directly to consumers online, bypassing traditional retail channels. Offers greater control over branding, customer experience, and pricing.
Chickpea Pasta
A gluten-free and vegan pasta alternative made from chickpea flour. Offers a higher protein content and fiber compared to traditional wheat pasta.
Co-packer
A third-party manufacturer that produces products according to a brand's specifications. Often used by startups and small businesses to outsource production and focus on branding and marketing.
Upcycled Food
Food products made from ingredients that would otherwise be wasted, such as imperfect fruits and vegetables. Promotes sustainability and reduces food waste.
Bootstrapping
Starting and growing a business with minimal external funding, relying on personal savings, revenue generated from sales, and other creative financing methods.
Food Entrepreneurship
The process of starting and running a business that focuses on the production, distribution, and sale of food products.
Food Branding
The process of creating a unique identity and image for a food product or brand, including its name, logo, packaging, and messaging.
Q&A
What inspired Becca Milstein to start FishWife?
Becca's experience with high-quality tinned fish in Spain and Portugal during her college years, combined with the desire for convenient and healthy food options during the COVID-19 lockdown, sparked the idea for FishWife.
What were some of the challenges Brian Rudolph faced in scaling Bonza's chickpea pasta production?
Brian encountered difficulties finding a manufacturer experienced in chickpea pasta production, as it was a relatively new category. He also faced challenges with the pasta's consistency and had to experiment with different cooking methods to ensure a good product.
How did Kawaii Suplisi finance the initial launch of Barnana?
Kawaii bootstrapped the business, relying on personal savings and support from friends and family. He also secured some investment from industry folks after the initial launch.
What are some key challenges faced by food entrepreneurs?
Food entrepreneurs face challenges such as sourcing ingredients, finding reliable manufacturers, scaling production, building a strong brand identity, and navigating the complexities of the food industry.
What are some strategies for building a successful food brand?
Strategies for building a successful food brand include developing a unique value proposition, creating a strong brand identity, leveraging digital marketing channels, building relationships with key stakeholders, and adapting to changing consumer preferences.
Show Notes
Innovation is a constant in the food industry. But it’s incredibly difficult to go from a tasty idea to an actual spot on the grocery store shelves. So if you have an idea for a food business, how do you turn it into reality?
In this special two-episode series brought to you by Klaviyo, three founders share what it took to get their products on those shelves – and what it still takes today to keep their brands growing.
This episode covers the journey from ideation to production and actual sales. Guy is joined by Becca Millstein from Fishwife, Brian Rudolph from Banza, and Caue Suplicy from Barnana.
This episode was produced by Alex Cheng with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was James Willetts.
Our thanks to Klaviyo for sponsoring today’s episode.
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