On this episode, we’re joined by Ryan Gill, the Director of Marketing at Three Chord Bourbon, and a spirits industry veteran with deep roots in off-premise retail.

Before joining the team at Three Chord, Ryan spent over a decade running top-tier off-premise locations across the South, managing $XXM+ stores and building high-performance teams. That front-line retail experience gave him a rare lens on what really moves bottles - insights he now brings to one of the fastest-growing bourbon brands in the U.S.

Ryan unpacks how his time on the floor shaped his philosophy on brand building, distributor management, and the power of field marketing. He shares tactical advice for emerging brands trying to stand out on crowded shelves, plus his playbook for training retail staff, building local market awareness, and executing limited drops that actually drive velocity.

We also dive into Three Chord’s unique origin story, why music plays into their blending process, and how they’re scaling into 40+ states while staying connected to the whiskey community.

Episode Highlights:
🏪 What 10 years in off-premise retail taught Ryan about winning in spirits
📊 Why so many brands misunderstand the off-premise buyer
🛒 Tactical tips for activating in retail without huge budgets
🏀 How spirits distribution has become like the NBA
🥃 How Three Chord Bourbon trains retailers to become brand evangelists
🎸 From guitar riffs to mash bills: Three Chord’s musical roots
📍 Building a national brand with limited resources
🔁 Navigating the 3-tier system from the brand side
🧃 Lessons in merchandising, demos, and field marketing

Table of Contents:
00:00 – Intro & Retail Background
05:00 – Lessons from Off-Premise Retail & Frontline Sales
12:00 – Joining Three Chord & Shifting to Brand Side
18:30 – Field Marketing & Retail Training
25:00 – Limited Drops & Community Building
30:00 – Scaling Distribution with Focus
40:00 – Final Thoughts & Industry Advice

Links:
Three Chord Bourbon – https://www.threechordbourbon.com
Follow Ryan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-gill-3chord/
Follow me on LinkedIn – Adam Steinberg
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support

On this episode, we’re joined by Tara Foster, the COO of Evergreen (a better-for-you waffle brand), and the former COO of Nutpods.

Tara was part of the founding team at Nutpods, where she helped scale the plant-based creamer brand to a nine-figure run rate and the #2 brand in the category.

With over a decade of experience across ingredient sourcing, supply chain strategy, and operational leadership, Tara brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.

Tara dives into her co-manufacturing playbook. From evaluating partners and negotiating agreements to scaling production without losing control, she unpacks what most brands get wrong about COGS, how to manage risk through supplier redundancy, how ops teams evolve as brands scale, what she learned from bumpier moments like warehouse moves and formulation changes, and why continuous improvement is key.

Episode Highlights:
🥥 Scaling Nutpods to a nine-figure brand
🏭 What to look for in a great co-manufacturer
⚠️ “Take or pay” clauses and how to avoid them
🚚 Hidden costs that destroy your margin
📦 Packaging decisions that drive retail success
📉 Redundancy and de-risking the supply chain
📊 Forecasting COGS with real-world benchmarks
🚀 When it does make sense to vertically integrate
👥 Hiring your first ops lead vs. building a full team

Table of Contents:
00:00 – Intro & Evergreen Overview
02:00 – Early Nutpods Journey & Co-Man Lessons
06:00 – How to Source and Pitch a Co-Packer
10:00 – Scaling, Formulation Shifts, and Loss of Control
14:00 – Supplier Redundancy & Risk Mitigation
18:00 – COGS, Margins & Avoiding Common Pitfalls
21:00 – New Product Launch Best Practices
24:00 – Packaging for Efficiency vs. Shelf Appeal
28:00 – COO Role Evolution from Startup to Scale
33:00 – Trends Tara’s Watching in CPG
34:00 – Where to Follow Tara & Evergreen

Links:
Evergreen – https://www.eatevergreen.com
Follow Tara on LinkedIn – Tara Foster
Follow me on LinkedIn – Adam Steinberg
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.

On this episode, we’re joined by Will Nitze, the Founder and CEO of IQBAR, a functional nutrition brand pioneering “brain + body” fuel for the modern consumer.

Launched in 2017, IQBAR is on track to hit $125M this year with just nine full-time employees, spanning 10,000+ retail doors including Walmart, Costco, and Target.

Will unpacks how he built one of the most capital-efficient brands in CPG, his unique “hub and spoke” operating model, and how he engineered each year of growth around a new business “unlock.”

We dive deep into IQBAR’s multi-category expansion strategy, pricing philosophy, agency management tactics, and how Will strips cost out of his supply chain while still scaling velocity.

Will also reveals a pretty game-changing upcoming product launch (that’s now in market as of today).

Episode Highlights:
📦 Building a $125M brand with just 9 employees
📊 The “hub and spoke” model that drives $7M+ revenue per head
⚡ How faster iteration unlocked IQBAR’s biggest growth leaps
💰 Pricing to maximize volume (and a 50% velocity bump at Walmart)
🏷️ Rebrand learnings that doubled shelf velocity
🌱 Supply chain control as a gross-margin unlock
📈 Why category “durability” matters more than trend-hopping
👨‍🍳 Tease: upcoming product collab with chef Thomas Keller

Table of Contents:
00:00 – Intro & IQBAR Origin Story
04:00 – Lean Team, Big Business: The $125M Org Chart
08:00 – Broker Management & Third Party Ecosystem
14:00 – Agency Diligence & Accountability
18:00 – Rapid Iteration vs Long-Term Strategy
23:00 – COGS Reduction via Ingredient Sourcing
27:00 – Product Roadmapping & Category Selection
31:00 – Functional Ingredient Strategy
34:00 – Premium vs Value Pricing Strategy
38:00 – Rebrand Strategy That Boosted Velocity
42:00 – Trends (Liposomal Gels, etc.)

Links:
IQBAR – https://www.eatiqbar.com
Follow Will on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-nitze/

Follow Adam on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.