Podcast
Emerging Brands Podcast
Hosted by Kelly Bennett · EN
Welcome to Emerging Brands Podcast® with Kelly Bennett
This is the podcast where you'll discover the stories behind your new favorite CPG brands. Each episode dives into the brand and founder journey—how they launched, what sets them apart, and the strategy behind going to market. We talk plans for growth, practical advice for emerging founders, and where to shop the products making waves in food, beverage, wellness, and beyond.
You'll also hear from industry experts—brand builders, investors, and operators—who should absolutely be on your radar if you're growing a CPG brand today.
Whether you're building something of your own or love supporting what's next, you're in the right place.
36episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
GIR
May 1100:29:17Tap to summarizeThe way we interact with our homes is changing, and Suze Dowling is at the forefront of that shift. As the Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Pattern Brands, Suze is building a modern "house of brands" designed to help people enjoy daily life at home. One of the stars of this family is GIR (Get It Right), a brand that has revolutionized the kitchen tool category with its high performance, platinum cured silicone essentials. Suze shares how Pattern Brands identifies and scales businesses that prioritize thoughtful design and functional excellence. By bringing brands like GIR into their ecosystem, Pattern is creating a cohesive world of products, from the kitchen to the living room, that solve tiny frustrations and make the rituals of home life more satisfying. Inside the Episode: Suze discusses the strategy of building a multi-brand platform focused on the home and how they select brands that align with their mission of design and durability. A look at how GIR's philosophy of "Getting It Right" fits into the Pattern family, focusing on tools that are easy to clean, heat resistant, and built for real life cooking. How being part of the Pattern Brands ecosystem allows individual brands like GIR to thrive through shared expertise in branding, operations, and customer experience. 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!
Transcribe →Love&Cookies
May 1100:28:27Tap to summarizeWhen Ashley Cameron's son was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease, baking cookies became more than just a kitchen activity; it became a vital source of comfort and connection during a difficult recovery. Those family moments and recipes eventually grew into Love&Cookies, which has quickly become one of the fastest-growing names in the frozen cookie dough category. Ashley leads the brand with a deep commitment to community and philanthropy. Since its inception, Love&Cookies has partnered with the Kawasaki Kids Foundation, ensuring that every step of the brand's growth also supports a larger mission. Now available in major retailers like Sprouts, Wegmans, H-E-B, and Harris Teeter, Love&Cookies is proving that a brand built on heart can lead to serious retail success. Inside the Episode: How a family's personal health journey transformed a simple bonding activity into a rapidly scaling frozen dough brand. Insights into the challenges and triumphs of entering the competitive frozen category in retailers like Wegmans and H-E-B. Ashley talks about the value of her children seeing the reality of hard work firsthand, including the hardships and resilience required to build a business from the ground up. 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!
Transcribe →Furthermore Ventures
May 400:43:52Tap to summarizeInvestor and certified integrative health coach Alaina Sparks is a systems thinker working at the intersection of health, capital, and everyday life. After a distinguished 15 year career at Deloitte, where she led global financial relationships, designed innovation strategies, and built the firm's fintech practice, Alaina recognized a critical imbalance: capital powerfully shapes opportunity, yet an incredibly small fraction of it flows to women founders. In 2021, Alaina launched Furthermore Ventures, an investment platform specifically designed to back women led companies building healthier solutions across the everyday sectors that drive long term outcomes. Through Furthermore and her reflective health platform, what sustains us, Alaina explores how daily life quietly shapes wellbeing and how shifting the flow of capital can build a better future for everyone. Inside the Episode: How Furthermore Ventures functions as an investment platform that organizes syndicates of angel investors and aligned partners to back better-for-you, women led companies in food, agriculture, and everyday goods. Alaina shares the personal health journey and professional reflections that inspired her to bridge the gap between wellness and venture capital, focusing on how daily life impacts long term vitality. How leading fintech and global ecosystem strategies provided the foundational "systems thinking" required to build a modern investment platform. Connect 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!
Transcribe →Mudita Earth
May 400:26:44Tap to summarizeBuilding on a deep family history of farming in Punjab, India, co-founder Pooja Chopra is redefining what it means to lead a clean beauty brand. Alongside her mother and co-founder Jessica, Pooja launched Mudita Earth to combine farm grown ingredients with modern cosmetic science. While currently pursuing her MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Pooja is scaling the brand across hundreds of retail locations, driven by a mission to provide affordable and accessible clean beauty for people of color. At the heart of Mudita Earth is a data driven approach to sustainability and inclusivity. Pooja shares how her heritage in Punjab and her appreciation for low waste practices led to the creation of a botanical skincare line that fills a glaring gap in the beauty industry. It is a story of a mother daughter duo working to ensure that clean, sustainable beauty is empowering and inclusive for everyone. Inside the Episode: The origin story of the brand, starting with Jessica handcrafting botanical products at home before scaling the mission into a professional skincare line. How the early success and positive community feedback at local farmer's markets paved the way for a pitch at Walmart, sparking the brand's strategic focus on retail. Pooja discusses how utilizing high quality ingredients sourced directly from their own family farms allows them to offer premium, effective skincare at an accessible price point. 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!
Transcribe →Lottie's Meats
May 400:29:08Tap to summarizeHaving grown up on a sixth generation pork farm, Cassie Maschhoff spent a decade building a career in tech strategy and marketing at Google and Waze before returning to her family roots. Alongside her sister Chelsey, a Culinary Institute of America graduate and professional chef, she co-founded Lottie's Meats. Together, they are elevating pork in a clean and creative way, transforming a traditional staple into a premium, protein packed sausage brand that brings both flavor and fun to the kitchen. By blending professional culinary expertise with high level operations and marketing, Cassie and Chelsey have built a brand that prioritizes both quality and convenience. Cassie shares the story of how they merged their respective backgrounds in award winning kitchens and tech giants to launch a sister owned business that is now making waves in the premium meat category. Inside the Episode: Cassie discusses how she and her sister are challenging the historically male dominated pork industry by bringing a fresh, sister owned perspective to a traditional category. How Chelsey's culinary training and Cassie's strategic background create the perfect foundation for a modern food brand. Insights into the operational side of scaling a premium brand into major retailers like Target and Misfits Market. Shop at 200+ Targets & Nationally at Misfits Markets 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!
Transcribe →Lundberg Family Farms
Apr 2700:31:39Tap to summarizeAs a third generation farmer and VP of Agriculture, Bryce Lundberg continues a legacy that began in 1937: a promise to leave the land better than he found it. Alongside him, CEO Suzanne Sengelmann leverages 30 years of brand building expertise, including leadership roles at Clorox and Angie's Boomchickapop, to transform this nearly 100 year old family farm into a consumer relevant powerhouse. Together, they have positioned Lundberg Family Farms as a leading U.S. Regenerative Organic Certified® brand, proving that land restoring practices and premium taste go hand in hand. The farm's commitment to habitat preservation and soil health is matched only by Suzanne's mission to make the brand behave with the agility of a startup. Bryce and Suzanne share how the Lundberg family tends to soil, air, and wildlife as carefully as their crops, and how a purpose driven strategy is bringing high quality rice varieties and snacks to a new generation of conscious eaters. Inside the Episode: Bryce shares the specific farming practices that allow Lundberg to restore land and preserve habitats while growing award winning rice. Suzanne discusses the strategic transformation of a multi-generational family business into a modern, consumer facing brand. The importance of maintaining a single, "true north" purpose when scaling a business that prioritizes the environment as much as the bottom line. 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. Try it free for 30 days at tryglimpse.com/trial.
Transcribe →Yough!
Apr 2700:42:00Tap to summarizeWhen one of Yough!'s co-founders was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and told he would have to give up pizza, he knew there had to be a better way. This challenge led him to the viral two-ingredient dough trend, which sparked the creation of a brand that rethinks frozen favorites through the power of Greek yogurt. Together, co-founders Michael Rolland and Jason Miller have built a better-for-you food brand that prioritizes high protein and clean, simple ingredients without losing the light, fluffy texture that pizza lovers crave. By utilizing a first-of-its-kind Greek yogurt dough, Yough! delivers 40 to 50g of protein and fewer calories than traditional options. Michael and Jason are driving the brand's rapid momentum through playful branding and an engaging online community, leading to a nationwide presence in Target and Sprouts Farmers Market as they continue their mission to make pizza accessible for everyone. Inside the Episode: How a personal health journey with Ulcerative Colitis served as the catalyst for creating a gut-friendly, high-protein alternative to traditional dough. Why the combination of Greek yogurt and simple ingredients creates a nutritional profile of 40 to 50g of protein while maintaining a light texture. Michael and Jason discuss their strategy for using fun, engaging content to build a loyal community in the competitive frozen food aisle. 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. Try it free for 30 days at tryglimpse.com/trial.
Transcribe →Smood Sweets
Apr 2700:20:48Tap to summarizeCo-founders Oliver Sindlev and Frederic Naayem are longtime food and beverage entrepreneurs who noticed a persistent problem in the confection aisle. For too long, "healthier" candy felt like a compromise in flavor, while legacy brands remained stuck in a cycle of artificial ingredients and refined sugars. To bridge this gap, they launched Smood Sweets, a modern brand that uses real fruit as the hero ingredient to deliver the nostalgic taste and texture of classic candy. Best known for its candy-coated dates, Smood Sweets has already made a massive splash with a nationwide launch at Target. Oliver and Frederic are challenging legacy players by sitting at the intersection of better-for-you and fun-for-you, proving that nature can be brought back into the candy bowl without losing the joy of indulgence. Inside the Episode: Why Oliver and Frederic chose the date as the foundation for their candy and how they achieved a texture that rivals traditional sweets. The founders share their journey of developing a product that satisfies both health-conscious requirements and the craving for true indulgence. How their previous experience in functional foods allowed them to identify and solve overlooked gaps in the candy market. 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. Try it free for 30 days at tryglimpse.com/trial.
Transcribe →Nurtured with Nature
Apr 2000:26:06Tap to summarizeWhen Ani Widham founded Nurtured with Nature in 2023, she set out to solve a problem every busy parent faces: the difficulty of finding quick, stress-free meals that are actually healthy. Frustrated by the "scary," unrecognizable ingredients found in most packaged foods, Ani created a brand rooted in radical simplicity. Its flagship frozen pancakes are made with just four unprocessed organic ingredients, proving that convenience doesn't have to come at the cost of nutrition. Now available in grocery stores across New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, Nurtured with Nature is quickly becoming a freezer staple for families who value transparency. In this episode, we discuss Ani's journey from a diverse career in tech and finance to the test kitchen, and how her "no-compromise" approach to ingredients is making a tangible difference in people's lives. Inside the Episode: How Ani's lifelong love for healthy eating met the reality of motherhood, leading her to realize she could batch-cook and freeze these nutritious meals for life on the go. Ani's background in climate tech and financial services, and how it influences her innovative approach to product development and business operations. The strategy behind expanding into grocery stores throughout the Northeast and building a brand that busy families trust. Find Nurtured with Nature Near You! 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. Try it free for 30 days at tryglimpse.com/trial.
Transcribe →Malai
Apr 2000:32:31Tap to summarizeWhen Pooja Bavishi founded Malai in 2015, she set out to do more than just make dessert; she wanted to be in the business of delivering happiness. Inspired by the aromatic spices of her first-generation Indian-American upbringing—like ginger, saffron, and cardamom—Pooja has built a Brooklyn-based brand that is revolutionizing the frozen treat category. By blending rich cultural heritage with innovative, eggless formulations, Malai offers an indulgence that is simultaneously nostalgic and entirely unique. Malai's ice creams are celebrated for their robust flavors and creamy textures, available in a variety of forms from kulfi pops to ice cream sandos. In this episode, we discuss Pooja's journey from a Brooklyn startup to a multi-city scoop shop operation and how she leverages her deep culinary and business expertise to keep Malai at the forefront of innovation. Inside the Episode: How the vision for Malai started more than 10 years ago, fueled by Pooja's lifelong sweet tooth and a deep fascination with the hospitality and joy that surrounds sharing desserts. How Pooja uses traditional South Asian ingredients to create "robust" flavor profiles that challenge the standard vanilla and chocolate norms. The strategic roadmap behind moving from a Brooklyn startup to a multi-city scoop shop operation with regional grocery distribution. Find Malai Near You! 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. Try it free for 30 days at tryglimpse.com/trial.
Transcribe →