On this episode, we’re joined by Bryn Jones, the VP of Marketing & Retail at Huse Culinary, 123-year-old company with 8 restaurants in Indy and millions in CPG retail sales across the U.S.

While most guests enjoy St. Elmo for its legendary shrimp cocktail, Bryn has transformed the brand into a multi-category CPG powerhouse with sauces, spices, and spirits sold in over 3,000 stores nationwide. Bryn built the CPG division from the ground up.

Bryn shares the ulcer-inducing R&D stories behind his most successful launches, how they 10x’d their year 1 forecast, and the unique advantage of owning bars and restaurants as a CPG brand.

Episode Highlights:

🍤 The origin of St. Elmo’s iconic cocktail sauce
📈 How a restaurant brand became a CPG growth engine
🧠 Bryn, the “intrapreneur”
🧪 Formulation stories and co-packer headaches
🥃 How they built a spirits line from in-house bar recipes
🛒 How to use restaurant data to pitch retail buyers
💰 The spirits SKU that 10x’d its year-one forecast
📦 Category strategy and GTM lessons
🧊 Managing refrigerated, shelf-stable, and alcohol supply chains
🚀 Trial is everything
📊 Bryn’s perspective on category trends and innovation

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Table of Contents:

00:00:00 – Huse origin story and portfolio
04:18:11 – Expanding from 8 restaurants into selling millions of units in CPG
05:55:28 – Bryn, the "intrapreneur"
07:46:13 – How Bryn splits his time between 8 restaurants and the CPG division
09:32:09 – Shrimp cocktail sauce, spices, then spirits + the difficulties of CPG
13:39:20 – Formulation and R&D, getting an ulcer or two
16:24:00 – Standing out in competitive categories like sauces and spices
18:42:09 – Spirits formulation process, leveraging Huse bars and their expert team
21:39:06 – The spirits SKU that 10x’d the year 1 forecast
24:13:16 – Leveraging restaurant and bar data for CPG production innovation
27:40:28 – Using restaurant/bar data to pitch retailers (or not)
30:23:18 – The foodservice and CPG flywheel
33:00:22 – How they 10x’d the year 1 forecast
34:43:15 – CPG retail go-to-market recommendations
36:55:08 – Catering to multiple buyer groups and retail stakeholders
39:57:21 – Trial is the north star
44:46:27 – Trends/brands Bryn is tracking

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Links:

Huse Culinary – https://www.huseculinary.com
Follow Bryn on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/1brynjones/
Follow me on LinkedIn – Ahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.

On this episode, we’re joined by Hank Watt, Co-founder of Nature’s Wild Berry, the miracle fruit brand that transforms sour and bitter foods into sweet, candy-like treats - without sugar or artificial sweeteners.

After losing 80 lbs and reversing pre-diabetes using miracle berries to sweeten his green juices, Hank teamed up with chef Juliano Bonanni to launch a business around this West African fruit.

Today, Nature’s Wild Berry is riding a wave of viral content, Amazon success, and a deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner on Shark Tank.

Hank breaks down the origin story, what happened leading up to Shark Tank and after the episode aired, and why he’s deliberately holding off on retail until the brand reaches mass awareness.

We also dig into how Gary Vaynerchuk and his team changed their growth plan.

Episode Highlights:

🍋 Losing 80 lbs thanks to the miracle berry
📺 How Shark Tank changed the game overnight
📦 Why Amazon is their core channel (and what Hank learned about product reviews)
🏪 When retail expansion makes sense—and when it doesn’t
🎥 Gary V’s UGC growth advice
🧪 New formats, clinical use cases, and the long-term vision
📈 Trends Hank is watching in sugar reduction, functional ingredients, and consumer behavior

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Table of Contents:

00:00:00 – Intro
00:54:05 – Nature’s Wild Berry origin story and the magic behind the berry
07:13:18 – The Shark Tank experience
11:00:04 – Focusing on Amazon
16:27:18 – Expanding into retail
19:23:08 – Gary V’s UGC recommendation
21:18:12 – Product roadmap
22:45:13 – Brands and trends Hank is tracking

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Links:

Nature’s Wild Berry – https://www.natureswildberry.com
Follow Hank on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hankwatt/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
Need CPG production design support? Check out https://www.kitprint.co/

On this episode, we’re joined by Alex Witt, Co-founder and CEO of Battle Bars, a fast-growing, veteran-owned protein bar brand known for its Rice Krispie-like texture and nostalgic flavors.

A Navy veteran turned entrepreneur, Alex has taken Battle Bars from a side hustle to a multi-million-dollar brand with nationwide distribution.

Alex shares how he and his co-founder took inspiration from childhood snacks and Muscle Milk to create a new format in the crowded bar category. He unpacks the hard-earned lessons from their co-packer journey - including five months of production shutdown - and how they ultimately became part owners of their new co-packer to enable more control and to create aligned incentives.

We dig into fundraising, the evolution of their packaging identity, and how Battle Bars leverages gyms (including Alex’s own) as a launchpad and feedback loop. Alex also reflects on what brands get wrong about scaling and why he pulled back from Meta and Google ad spend.

Episode Highlights:

🍫 Battle Bars’ nostalgic taste strategy (and Muscle Milk inspiration)
🛠️ Surviving co-packer hell and becoming a minority owner
🥥 Reformulating with coconut oil and the cost realities
🏋️ Gyms as both a testing ground and a beachhead
🚀 Why growing too fast nearly killed the business
🎯 Lessons from breaking into traditional retail
📦 Packaging that stands out and signals “indulgence”
💰 Fundraising, paid media pullbacks, and retail velocity focus
🔥 The brand Alex is most hyped on right now (that’s not his)

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Table of Contents:

00:00:00 – Intro
01:19:19 – Battle Bars origin story
04:28:03 – The transition from the military to entrepreneurship
10:43:17 – Formulation and flavor, Muscle Milk as an inspiration
16:38:05 – The marshmallow crisp technology, navigating co-packer “hell”
21:18:10 – Becoming a minority owner in their new co-packer
22:25:06 – Vetting co-packers, trusting your gut
28:04:21 – Shifting from canola oil to coconut oil, evolving the formulation, cost implications
31:28:19 – Gyms (including the ones Alex owns) as a beachhead and a testing ground
35:34:24 – Selling into gyms vs. traditional retail
38:14:03 – Breaking into retail: learning lessons and recommendations
40:02:20 – Growing too fast is a problem
42:57:01 – Visual identity and packaging design
44:22:18 – Fundraising
48:07:12 – Backing off from Meta and Google
49:41:01 – The brand he’s most hyped on (that’s not Battle Bars)

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Links:

Battle Bars – https://www.battlebars.com
Follow Alex on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-witt-6a7a8b7a/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support