Keya Wingfield never planned to start a snack company. A pastry chef by trade, she found herself pivoting during the pandemic when customers couldn't stop asking for one unexpected item: her Bombay spice potato chips. That simple side offering became Keya's Snacks, a brand introducing authentic Indian flavors to mainstream grocery shelves across the country.

In this episode of Shelf Talkers, Adam sits down with Keya to talk about building a CPG brand without a traditional CPG background, scaling from handmade production to thousands of retail stores, and why authenticity, not watered-down global flavors, is at the heart of everything her company creates.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How a pandemic pivot unexpectedly launched Keya's Snacks
• Why authentic flavor can become a competitive advantage
• Lessons from scaling from 12 stores to more than 2,000
• Building a memorable brand through intentional packaging and positioning
• The operational realities of growing a young CPG company
• Advice for founders navigating uncertainty and rapid growth

Guest Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keya-wingfield/
• Website: https://keyassnacks.com

Learn More

See how Avidity helps emerging CPG brands create packaging that earns attention at shelf and drives sales.

https://aviditycreative.com

What does it take to launch a food brand, earn your first customers, and scale into stores across the country in just over a year?

In this episode of Shelf Talkers, Adam Feller sits down with Katherine Horvath, Co-Founder and CMO of Teddy’s Tallow Chips, to discuss the remarkable story behind one of the fastest-growing emerging snack brands in the better-for-you space.

Katherine shares how a mission-driven family business turned into a national brand, the early decisions that helped them gain traction, and the lessons they've learned while growing at an incredible pace. She also offers practical advice for founders looking to build momentum in today's competitive CPG landscape.

Katherine is the Co-Founder, Co-Owner, and Chief Marketing Officer of Teddy’s Tallow Chips, a rapidly growing better-for-you snack brand focused on traditional ingredients and exceptional quality.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The origin story behind Teddy’s Tallow Chips
• How they found and won their first customers
• What fueled their rapid growth and nationwide expansion
• Building a brand and package design without an agency
• The decisions that made the biggest impact early on
• Lessons and advice for founders building CPG brands today
• How brand evolution can support the next stage of growth

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn
• Website

Learn More:

See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com.

In this episode of Shelf Talkers, host Adam Feller sits down with Abby June Richards, founder of The CPG CFO, to talk about one of the most important parts of building a sustainable CPG business: understanding your numbers.

Abby shares how she found her way into the finance side of CPG, why she started The CPG CFO, and how she helps emerging brands get more clarity around cash flow, pricing, margins, and growth.

A big focus of the conversation is The CPG CFO’s CASH FIGHT framework, a practical tool designed to help founders understand how cash moves through their business. During the episode, Abby walks through the C.A.S.H. portion of the framework, including conversion cycle, alert level, shelf pricing, and shipping and fulfillment.

The conversation covers why sales growth does not always mean a business is financially healthy, how cash can get tied up in inventory or delayed payments, and why founders need to understand the real costs behind each sales channel. Abby also explains why strong pricing, regular cash flow reviews, and better financial visibility can help founders make smarter decisions before cash gets tight.

This episode is a helpful listen for CPG founders who want to build a stronger financial foundation, avoid common cash flow surprises, and understand what their numbers are really telling them.

In this episode we cover:

• How Abby got into CPG finance and started The CPG CFO

• Why “knowing your numbers” matters for emerging brands

• What the CASH FIGHT framework helps founders understand

• Why cash flow issues can happen even when sales are growing

• How pricing, payment cycles, and fulfillment costs impact profitability

• Why founders should regularly review their cash position and channel performance

About Abby June Richards

Abby June Richards is the founder of The CPG CFO, where she provides fractional CFO services for emerging CPG brands. Her work helps founders better understand their numbers, manage cash flow, and build more sustainable businesses.

Before starting her own firm in 2023, Abby spent years working in operations, accounting, audit, outsourced accounting, and technology implementation. Today, she focuses specifically on helping CPG founders build financially healthier companies.

Links

Connect with Abby June Richards on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbyjuner/
Learn more about The CPG CFO: https://www.thecpgcfo.com
Download The CPG CFO’s 13-week cash flow template: https://www.thecpgcfo.com/cashflowforecast

Work with Avidity Creative

At Avidity Creative, we help food and beverage brands build stronger brand identities, packaging, and sales materials that are designed to perform on shelf and support growth.

Learn more at: https://www.aviditycreative.com