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Hey friends,

On today’s episode, I chat with Michelle Razavi, founder and CEO of Elavi, the better-for-you snack brand known for its protein brownies and dessert-inspired products made with clean ingredients.

Michelle started Elavi while working long days at Sephora and teaching fitness classes at Equinox, struggling to find protein snacks that didn’t upset her stomach. That frustration led her to start making her own products at home, which eventually turned into a fast-growing CPG brand now sold in retailers like Costco, Whole Foods, and H-E-B.

Elavi evolved from protein bars to cashew spreads to protein brownies. But in order to get to protein brownies, Michelle made the tough decision to kill her first product line. They figured out product-market fit through “permissible indulgence.”

She also shares how Elavi scaled quickly through Costco, how she thinks about profitable growth vs vanity retail, and why discipline around unit economics matters more than ever in today’s funding environment.

If you’re interested in building a food brand, retail strategy, or how to navigate product pivots, this episode is a great look at what it really takes to build and scale in CPG.

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Here’s what you’ll learn:

✅ Why Michelle killed her first product line (and why it was the right move)✅ How Elavi found product-market fit with protein brownies✅ Why “permissible indulgence” is working in today’s market✅ How to use Costco as a growth and validation channel✅ The difference between profitable vs vanity retail accounts✅ How to think about channel strategy across mass vs natural✅ Why timing matters when expanding into retailers like Whole Foods✅ How to approach fundraising as a first-time founder✅ Why building in public can attract the right investors✅ How to balance growth with profitability in CPG

Timestamps00:00 Intro01:00 Working 16-hour days before starting03:00 The problem with protein snacks05:00 Building products at home07:00 Launching right before COVID10:00 Losing in-person sampling overnight14:00 Why the first product didn’t scale18:00 Finding product-market fit with a new category22:00 Killing the original product line27:00 The “permissible indulgence” thesis31:00 Launching protein brownies35:00 Getting into Costco39:00 How Costco changed the business43:00 Retail strategy: profitability first47:00 The dangers of bad retail deals51:00 Channel strategy & cash flow realities55:00 Cold outreach that actually worked59:00 Why demos matter more than you think01:03:00 Packaging that converts instantly01:07:00 Fundraising mistakes founders make01:11:00 Why chasing investors doesn’t work

Thanks for listening!

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