Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford

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Would landing on the shelves of Woolworths be a dream come true for you? For Sarah Leung, it was - and it still wasn't enough to keep her in the business.
Sarah is the founder of Umei Foods, a modern Asian condiment brand known for its plant-based mayo range in flavours like yuzu and gochugaru. Before Umei, she spent six years building Alg Seaweed, a dietitian-led seaweed brand that scaled fast - including 200+ new Woolworths stores in eight weeks. By any outside measure, it was working.
But growth and rightness aren't the same thing.
Sarah still hasn't fully let go of Alg Seaweed. She still owns the domain, still uses the email, still has product sitting in her warehouse. As she puts it, "I'm the seaweed girl - if I'm not the seaweed girl, who am I?"
Then came Umei. Working a part-time job to fund it, markets and tastings most weekends, two young kids at home - by the end of last year she'd hit a wall. Her words: "I'm done." 
In episode 171 of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, you’ll hear the part of building a brand that rarely makes the highlight reel: the exhaustion, the self-doubt, and the question every founder eventually has to sit with — at what cost?
You'll hear:
🌊 Why Sarah still hasn't fully let go of her first brand
😮‍💨 Hitting a wall in Umei's first six months, and what she did next
🧠 Why she started seeing a therapist
🥢 Why she's keeping Umei deliberately small this time round
Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.
LINKS & RESOURCES:
Umei website
Umei Instagram
Umei TikTok
Sarah Leung LinkedIn 
R&D episode with Anthony from BlueRock
NFTC website
NFTC LinkedIn page
BlueRock website
Your Free Pitch Plan
Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter
Season 18 with NFTC
Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.
If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.
They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.
Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.
Check them out at nftc.com.au

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There are four things you cannot get wrong if you want to scale and exit a beverage or wider CPG business. Get one wrong, and it doesn't matter how good the rest of your business looks; you're leaking value somewhere you probably can't see yet.
In episode 170 of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, I talk to James "JP" Purcell, founder of Drinks 101, a commercial advisory for beverage founders. James breaks down exactly what those four things are, where they usually go missing, and the one part of the puzzle most founders neglect without realising it.
Listen and learn:
🚗 the 4 things you cannot afford to get wrong if you want to scale and exit, and why most founders only find out the hard way
🛞 an analogy that will change how you think about where value quietly leaks out of a growing business
💰 what actually changes on either side of the $2 million revenue mark, and why the metrics that matter shift
🏪 how knowing exactly where your product belongs on shelf, grocery, specialty, liquor, even a florist, shapes who you choose as a sales and distribution partner
🔍 the one part of the framework founders neglect more than any other
📖 a live, unnamed client example, and the disagreement at the centre of it
If you've ever wondered whether you're building a brand or building a business, this one's for you.
Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.
LINKS & RESOURCES:
James "JP" Purcell LinkedIn
Drinks 101 Method
Listen to Scott Mendelsohn on What It’s Taken to Get to $100 Million
Listen to Ollie Puddick of Innerbloom on Sales Is the Lifeblood: Bootstrapping a Beverage Brand
NFTC website
NFTC LinkedIn page
BlueRock website
Your Free Pitch Plan
Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter
Season 18 with NFTC
Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.
If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.
They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.
Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.
Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail
How do you build a consumer packaged goods business that's breaking through $100 million in gross sales, entirely bootstrapped, with no outside investment?
My guest today is Scott Mendelsohn, founder of Raw C, Australia's leading coconut brand. I first interviewed Scott back in October 2023 (link in show notes), and this is the follow up so many of you have been asking for, what does the business actually look like now, a few years on.
The numbers are staggering. Coconut water as a category is up 99 per cent in supermarkets in two years. Household penetration has gone from around 13 per cent to 34 per cent. Raw C has doubled in that time. But Scott doesn't just talk top line, he gets real about what that kind of growth actually costs behind the scenes, and the moments he's wanted to throw it all in.
You'll hear:
😬 What Scott admits he still feels, even at this level of success
🤝 How Scott decides which brand collabs to say yes to, and which to walk away from
🥥 The story behind the Woolworths pistachio collab launch, the biggest first week of any coconut product in Australian retail history
🛒 What's really happening with private label in the coconut category, and whether it's a genuine threat or a distraction
📺 The cost of Natural Raw C's first ever TVC campaign
🇺🇸 What's next for Natural Raw C, including a US Target launch
If you want a real look at what it takes to build a category leading, independently owned brand in a genuinely tough market, this episode is for you.
Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.
LINKS & RESOURCES:
Natural Raw C website
Natural Raw C Instagram
Scott Mendelsohn LinkedIn
#84 Natural Raw C: Behind the Scenes of What it Really Takes to Scale
NFTC website
NFTC LinkedIn page
BlueRock website
Your Free Pitch Plan
Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter
Season 18 with NFTC
Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.
If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.
They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.
Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.
Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail
If you treat distributors like a sales opportunity to be won - like a grocery store, cafe, pharmacy, or speciality retailer - you'll go far. Unfortunately, most brand owners think landing a distributor is the finish line, a "set and forget." That's not how they work, no matter what level of distributor you're working with.
Bronwyn Manolas runs Devine Food Wholesalers, a distribution business built around beautiful, high-quality products kept out of the major supermarkets, and a door-to-door, relationship-first sales model most brand owners never see from the inside - the door-knocking, the tastings, the relationship-building that happens long before an order shows up in your inbox.
In episode 168 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, Bronwyn opens the door and invites you in on what a distribution business actually looks like day-to-day - so you know how you need to fit in.
If you have a distributor and the relationship isn't working, or you don't have one but want one, do not miss this episode - you'll learn:
💰 What margin you need, and how to think about pricing before you approach one
🎯 What Bronwyn looks for before she'll even consider sampling a new product
🤝 What's more important - tastings or discounts, and why
📅 When you need to take action for Christmas listings
💳 Payment terms to plan your cash flow around
If you've ever wondered what a distributor is really thinking when your product lands on their desk, this episode answers it.
Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.
LINKS & RESOURCES:
Devine Food Wholesalers website
Devine Food Wholesalers Instagram
NFTC website
BlueRock website
Loco Love website
Enriche Foods website
Sorry Nonna website
Tummy Gummies website
Your Free Pitch Plan
Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter

Season 18 with NFTC
Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.
If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.
They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.
Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.
Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail
Nicky Jackson has been a CPG brand owner before, so she knew the ropes. When she first talked to Target US, she didn't ask for a trial, she asked for 700 doors. What came next was a surprise even to Nicky. Target came back with an offer of over 1,900.
Nicky is the founder of Lioness, a daily functional snack range built around what women actually want throughout their day. Before Lioness, Nicky spent years at Kellogg Company  and Pepsi Co, then built RangeMe, the platform that changed how brands and retailers find each other.
In episode 167 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, Nicky and I get into why she built a product the category didn't have, and what it actually cost her to get there.
Don't miss this episode, you'll learn:
 🎯 How Nicky decided what type of product to create
💰 The funding required just to cover a first Target order
🛡️ Why you need insurance, and how far in advance
🤝 What most founders don't realise about broker relationships 
🍬 The thinking behind three products for three moments
If you're chasing your first major retail listing, wanting to get into Target US, or you just want a grounded, numbers-informed look at what that journey really costs, this episode is essential listening.
Season 18 is brought to you by NFTC, a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods like nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds and more for emerging food and beverage brands.
LINKS & RESOURCES:
Lioness website
Lioness Instagram 
Lioness TikTok
Nicky Jackson LinkedIn 
NFTC website
BlueRock website
Your Free Pitch Plan
Become A Foodpreneurs Festival Insider
Chelsea Ford Co. Industry Newsletter
Season 18 with NFTC
Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.
If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.
They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.
Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.
Check them out at nftc.com.au