Share
))
HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons hosts the most downloaded sports podcast of all time, with a rotating crew of celebrities, athletes, and media staples, as well as mainstays like Cousin Sal, Joe House, and a slew of other friends and family members who always happen to be suspiciously available.
…
continue reading
Manage episode 507102810 series 3658694
Content provided by Adam Steinberg. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Adam Steinberg or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://staging.podcastplayer.com/legal.
On this episode, we’re joined by Eli Bank, the Co-founder and COO of Absurd Snacks, a top-9-allergen-free, snack company that started as a senior capstone project at the University of Richmond and now sells in Whole Foods, Kroger, Publix, and college campuses across the Mid-Atlantic.
Eli walks us through how he and co-founder Grace turned their classroom idea into a fully commercialized brand, navigating student grants, allergen-safe formulation, hand-filling tens of thousands of bags, and eventually scaling to a co-packer.
We dig into the behind-the-scenes of launching in national retailers, demo tactics that drive real velocity, and how grants in the early days can be an alternative to fundraising.
—---------------
Episode Highlights:
🥣 From college project to Whole Foods shelves
💰 How to fund your brand with grants (instead of VC)
🌰 Making snacks that are top-9-allergen-free
🏭 When to move to a co-man (and how to pick one)
🛍️ Opening doors at Whole Foods, Kroger & Publix
📈 Demo strategies that actually drive turns
🎯 Channel differences and retailer expectations
🚀 What he’s learned after producing 100K+ units by hand
📦 Fancy Food Show & trade show strategy
📊 Trends Eli’s watching in snacking and allergen-friendly CPG
—---------------
Table of Contents:
00:00:00 – Intro
00:40:11 – Absurd Snacks intro
04:17:00 – From capstone project to on the shelf
09:49:25 – Grants, the alternative to early-stage fundraising
11:48:25 – Formulation and commercialization philosophy
14:21:26 – Transitioning to a co-packer, allergen free reqs
19:36:22 – A bunch of recommendations surrounding co-packers
22:50:08 – Opening up the first few doors
25:54:07 – Demo strategies
29:36:18 – Whole Foods vs Kroger vs Publix
34:16:26 – Fancy Food 2025
38:37:09 – Trends Eli is tracking
—---------------
Links:
Absurd Snacks - https://absurdsnacks.com
Follow Eli on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elibank/
Follow me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.
49 episodes
