Shopify Masters Podcast: The Secret to a $0 Customer Acquisition Cost

Date: March 24, 2026
Guests: Leah Marcus & Yasaman Bakhtiar, Co-Founders of Good Girl Snacks
Host: Shopify Masters Interviewer

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the creation and viral growth of Good Girl Snacks, the brand behind “Hot Girl Pickles.” Co-founders Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar share how they built a cult following and achieved a truly rare feat for a CPG company: a $0 customer acquisition cost (CAC). They unpack their strategy of building in public, leveraging TikTok and Instagram, community-driven product development, and lessons in scaling, retail partnerships, and authenticity. The episode offers actionable advice for founders, particularly about branding, community-building, and “building in public.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Viral Origin of Good Girl Snacks

• Founding Story

  • Sparked by online trends, especially the “pickle renaissance” on TikTok (~9.5 billion hashtag views).
  • Leah joked about quitting her job to start a pickle company, and Yasaman texted her to make it real.
  • Bought the domain and built the company with a focus on fun, flavor, and bold branding.
  • Both founders leveraged their cultural backgrounds (Persian, Egyptian, Tunisian) for unique flavors.

• Quote:

  “We were like, honestly, we should just quit our jobs and start a pickle company at this point.”
  —Leah Marcus (00:00)

2. Building in Public & Social Media as the Growth Engine

• Pre-Product Community Building

  • Started posting on TikTok and Instagram before having a product.
  • Daily vlogs about quitting corporate life and starting a company as best friends became a “TV show” that drew in followers.
  • Audience invested emotionally in the founders, not just the pickles.

• Conversion Power of Snack ASMR

  • The ASMR ‘crunch’ in videos became a viral sensory hook, unintentionally making viewers crave pickles.

• Inclusivity the Brand Created

  • Attracted new customers—even those who “don’t like pickles” tried and loved the product after following along.

• Quote:

  “We basically started posting on social media before we even had a product... People saw us build in public, and for that reason, they really want to support the brand.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (01:29)

• Algorithm-Driven Consistency

  • Posting daily is essential for “the algorithm to reward you” and building “the rule of sevens” touchpoints in marketing.

• Quote:

  “If you don’t post every day, the algorithm does not reward you... Consistency is key, for sure.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (11:52)

3. Achieving and Maintaining a $0 Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

• Necessity Meets Strategy

  • The $0 CAC arose primarily out of necessity, being bootstrapped, but became a strategy seeing its natural efficacy, especially with Gen Z’s aversion to paid ads.

• Transferable Lessons for Other Founders

  • “Being the face of your brand” and daily posting are now as important as other business investments.
  • If founders are not extroverted, hiring someone to be the face or manage socials is necessary.

• Quote:

  “If you’re not posting every single day and not the face of your brand, you’re not doing your best to have a $0.00 CAC.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (10:52)

4. Community-Driven Product Development

• Direct Engagement

  • Always reply to comments for at least the first 10 minutes to boost algorithm visibility.
  • Good Girl Snacks hosts private “Good Girl Gossip” channels, loyalty programs, and chat/text perks.

• Followers as Influencers

  • PR sent to core fans; major product decisions and new flavors are often crowdsourced from comments.

• Memorable Product Story

  “We were launching our bread and butter flavor... We said, ‘Guess the flavor in the comments,’ and got thousands of responses we still use for inspiration.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (16:24)

5. Viral Flavors, Packaging, and Retail Expansion

• Flavor Innovation

  • Middle Eastern influences in honey harissa, garlic cumin, etc., balance unique taste with mass appeal.
  • Packaging breaks shelf conventions—bright, bold colors stand out on traditionally dull pickle shelves.

• Retail Strategy

  • Carefully select retail partners to preserve brand equity, focusing on organic, clean ingredients.
  • Demos in stores replace rebates or discounts.

• Quote:

  “Even if you wouldn’t pick it up on the shelf... most people who try the product end up loving it and then want to buy it.”
  —Leah Marcus (21:05)

6. Learning, Scaling, and Hiring

• Scaling Realities

  • First hire driven by need to manage operational complexity as they scaled into thousands of stores.
  • Committed to “being the dumbest person in the room”—surrounding themselves with experienced talent.

• Building in Public as a Coping Mechanism

  • Sharing mistakes (like broken PR boxes or shipment errors) not only boosted authenticity but became viral content and fostered generosity from other founders.

• Quotes:

  “The logistics piece is really the one that got me... All these mistakes are expensive as well, so that adds another layer of stress.”
  —Leah Marcus (29:20)

  “We always make a moment out of these panic/disaster situations, because those are the videos that go viral.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (31:03)

7. Advice for Other Founders

• Niche Down, Then Expand

  • Advice from mentors: “double down on being niche,” even at the risk of excluding some customers, then expand once you’ve established the base.

• Trust Your Gut (with Caution)

  • Many conflicting pieces of advice, but following gut and instinct has set the business apart.

• Quote:

  “A lot of advice you get, take it with a grain of salt... A lot of running a business is on gut feelings.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (38:42)

• Power of Founder-Friendship

  • Being co-founders with your best friend, despite contrary advice, deepened the relationship and strengthened the business.

• Quote:

  “We are literally attached at the hip with everything we do... Our goals are the same, our path to getting there is the same. And that makes two people and their relationship so much deeper.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (40:50)

• Strong Brand Identity

  • Investing time in brand-building early was as vital as any tactical move.

8. Staying Authentic & Resilient

• Openly sharing chaos aligns with their energetic, “chaotic good” brand voice.

• Building in public also helps founders stay sane and enables honest, therapeutic connection with their community and fellow entrepreneurs.

• Quote:

  “The community aspect is a two way street. Like, we need them as much as they enjoy watching our content.”
  —Yasaman Bakhtiar (34:32)

Notable Quotes & Moments w/ Timestamps

• “We basically started posting on social media before we even had a product....” (01:29, Yasaman Bakhtiar)
• “The ASMR part of, like, eating a pickle has been so unintentional but has worked really well...” (03:59, Leah Marcus)
• “Our followers are our influencers... We try to democratize the whole process, especially for product development and new flavors....” (15:52, Leah Marcus)
• “We do a lot of demos and get people to actually try the product because it’s genuinely so good.” (21:05, Leah Marcus)
• “We have done a great job so far bringing this to life... But we’re going to be in thousands of doors next year. We need somebody that can help us sustain that growth and make sure that we’re growing safely.” (28:19, Yasaman Bakhtiar)
• “Posting every single day—day negative one—was the best thing we could have ever done.” (46:20, Yasaman Bakhtiar)
• “Responsibility doesn’t feel like a responsibility... It feels like the most exciting thing in the world.” (47:58, Yasaman Bakhtiar)

Important Timestamps

• [00:00–01:10] – Founding “joke” → launching a business
• [01:29–03:59] – Social media correlation to business, ASMR & the TikTok effect
• [07:40–09:03] – Building a following pre-product with daily docuseries
• [09:21–11:35] – How $0 CAC strategy evolved
• [12:31–13:54] – Consistency, Gen Z trends & building a lasting brand beyond fads
• [14:47–17:22] – Community engagement, loyalty, and PR/fan interaction
• [17:55–19:16] – Middle Eastern flavor inspiration & sales data
• [21:05–22:34] – In-store demos, clean label, and education
• [27:14–29:20] – Retailer relationships, CPG renaissance, and learning curve
• [31:03–34:32] – Using mistakes for content & mental health benefits of building in public
• [35:26–40:07] – Mentorship, advisory networks, and niche-branding advice
• [40:50–41:44] – Foundership/best-friendship dynamic
• [42:00–43:48] – Hiring lessons, operational scaling
• [45:16–46:43] – Product pipeline and brand extension vision
• [47:25–48:14] – Founders’ reflections on the excitement and rewards of entrepreneurship

Key Takeaways

• Daily visibility and authenticity is more powerful than paid media for a new CPG brand, especially for Gen Z/Millennial audiences.
• Building in public and using community input can drive both emotional investment and practical product innovation.
• Trusting one’s gut, even against conventional advice, can lead to genuine differentiation—if paired with a strong partner or co-founder.
• Brand voice and visual identity are non-negotiable assets in today’s competitive physical and digital shelves.
• Operational scaling is hard—mistakes are inevitable, but embracing transparency around them breeds even more loyalty.

For Listeners: If You Remember One Thing

Start building your audience—authentically and visually—immediately. Authentic, daily storytelling builds far more lasting brand equity than any paid ad strategy, especially for CPG startups targeting digitally native shoppers.