Shelf Space

Conversations with CPG founders at the top of their game. Gathering unique insights and having impactful conversations to help guide the next generation of founders.

Shelf Space is a business podcast hosted by Connor Macpherson and Luke Anthony, with 18 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Connor Macpherson and Luke Anthony hosts Shelf Space, a business show with 18 episodes published.

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  Episode #18

  Retail First, Never D2C - Renee Lee on Building MOXX Brands Inside Walmart, Target and Whole Foods

  Aug 12, 202638 minS1

  Most founders build online first and pray retail works later. Renee Lee did the opposite. Renee co-founded MOXX Brands with Grant Taylor and went straight for the shelf. Five years later, MOXX is one of New Zealand's fastest growing FMCG company with six brands across Walmart, Target, Coles, Woolworths, Sprouts, and Whole Foods. All with a team of just 13. In this episode, Renee breaks down the retail-first playbook: how a reverse brief from a Woolworths buyer created their biggest brand, why they pulled out of a Target pitch on purpose, and how strong Sprouts numbers convinced Whole Foods to skip the standard 10-store trial and hand them a 500-store nationwide launch out of the gate. She also shares the pitch advice most founders need to hear: buyers don't need 20 slides on your brand story. They need to know how you bring new customers to their store, grow their category, and improve their margins. What we cover: Building a multi-brand house instead of betting on one brand Reverse briefs: when the retailer tells you what to build The full MOXX portfolio: Everblue Naturals, Maison & Muse, Restor, Atomic, Kinsey Kids, and Dose Theory Why a failed product still unlocked a $7 million laundry business Landing Whole Foods nationwide off the back of Sprouts velocity Channel strategy: mainstream mass vs naturals, and knowing when to say no Why New Zealand test results don't predict Australia or the US Hiring for grit over resumes in a lean startup team Advice for D2C brands moving into brick and mortar: price, packaging, and the three-second shelf test Whether you're pitching your first retailer or scaling across markets, this one is a masterclass in commercializing brands for mass retail. Connect with Renee Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneelee2/ Shop MOXX Brands: https://www.moxxbrands.com/ Connect with Connor Macpherson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-retail/ Connect with Luke Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-anthony--394052131/ Powered by Plus Forty: http://plusforty.co/ Book a call with Plus Forty: https://calendly.com/d/cr89-stz-hcy/shared-booking-link

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  Shelf Space

  No Investors, No VC, $100M in Year Four - Zelka Ridjosic on Self-Funding Joyburst

  Aug 7, 20261h 4m

  Zelka Ridjosic stumbled into CPG after a career that spanned advertising, consulting, finance, pharma, and building medical animation for the Dr. Oz Show, HBO, and CNN. Then a neighbor said seven words that changed everything: "Come work with me, you'll figure it out." Today she is Co-Founder and President of Joyburst, a self-funded Canadian hydration and energy brand projecting nine figures in sales, sold in Costco, Walmart, Target, Aldi, and beyond. In this episode, Zelka pulls back the curtain on the unconventional playbook behind Joyburst's rise. From convincing a Costco buyer to grant a 50-store test by promising a Super Bowl commercial (and pulling it off for a fraction of the usual cost), to the Disney partnership they nearly deleted as spam, to launching a creatine soda the entire industry swore couldn't exist. She is equally candid about the failures: the protein drink that turned into Jello, the frappe that shipped without coffee, and the two years Costco refused to take a meeting. If you care about building a CPG brand without venture capital, winning retail before DTC, and turning "no" into "yes" on repeat, this one is packed. In this episode: The eclectic path from advertising and pharma to founding a beverage brand Why partner dynamics (the dreamer vs the operator) make or break a company The Super Bowl commercial gambit that unlocked the first Costco order The retail-first, demo-driven strategy that beats burning cash on ads How a "spam" email from Disney became three summer movie partnerships The creatine soda world-first and the science everyone said was impossible Brutal failure stories and how to build a solution-first mindset Why fiber is the next big thing, and building a brand people actually follow Whether you are a founder, an operator, or just love a great origin story, Zelka's blend of corporate discipline and entrepreneurial nerve is a masterclass in modern brand building. Connect with Zelka Ridjosic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zelka-ridjosic-traikos-8bbaa226/ Shop Joyburst: https://joyburst.com/ Connect with Connor Macpherson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-retail/ Connect with Luke Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-anthony--394052131/ Powered by Plus Forty: http://plusforty.co/ Book a call with Plus Forty: https://calendly.com/d/cr89-stz-hcy/shared-booking-link

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  Shelf Space

  The Next Big Hydration Brand - Jordan Iglesias on His Billion Dollar Mission at Dry Water

  Aug 6, 202654 min

  Jordan Iglesias has sold beverages at nearly every altitude the industry has. Thirteen and a half years at PepsiCo, a stint at Red Bull he thought would last forever, and a front-row seat at Congo Brands as it launched some of the fastest-growing CPG names on the planet in Prime Hydration, Alani Nu, and Lunchly. But his real edge started on the other side of the desk, running stores and buying center-store product for a grocery chain in Colorado. Today he is Chief Sales Officer at Dry Water, a better-for-you hydration powder made from real fruit, and he is chasing one very clear number: a billion dollars in retail sales. In this episode, Jordan breaks down the sales philosophy that has followed him from a Fortune 40 machine to a startup incubator to an early-stage rocket ship. His core message is simple but rarely practiced: stop pitching and start listening. He explains why he never tries to sell anything in a first buyer meeting, the blunt questions he actually asks to uncover what a buyer is measured on, and how to turn "no" into "not now." He also compares the inner workings of PepsiCo, Red Bull, and Congo Brands, and what each environment taught him about getting things done. If you are building a brand and trying to crack retail, this is a masterclass in buyer psychology, partnership, and the unglamorous work that actually wins shelf space. In this episode: The path from grocery buyer to selling for Pepsi, Red Bull, and Congo Brands Why the first buyer meeting should never be a sales pitch The blunt questions that reveal a buyer's real KPIs, margin targets, and priorities Partner vs vendor, and how transparency lets you deliver bad news and still win Turning a no into a not now, and why timing beats persistence PepsiCo vs Red Bull vs Congo Brands, three very different ways to get things done Inside Dry Water's omnichannel rollout across Walmart, Target, Kroger, and more Using DTC as a testing ground before earning a retail shelf The mission to build Dry Water into a billion dollar brand Whether you are a founder, a sales leader, or just love the craft of the deal, Jordan's blend of big-company training and startup hustle is packed with takeaways. Connect with Jordan Iglesias: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-iglesias-21598850/ Shop Dry Water: https://drywater.com/ Connect with Connor Macpherson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-retail/ Connect with Luke Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-anthony--394052131/ Powered by Plus Forty: http://plusforty.co/ Book a call with Plus Forty: https://calendly.com/d/cr89-stz-hcy/shared-booking-link

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  Shelf Space

  1,084 Stores, Zero Outside Investors - Jia Liao on Growing Hotpot Queen Organically

  Jul 30, 20261h 4m

  Jia Liao is the founder of Hapa Queen, a Sichuan hot pot brand built to honor her mother, the original "Queen of Hapa" in China who invented the split broth pot that let spicy and non spicy eaters share the same table. In this episode, Jia opens up about walking away from her first venture (a tea lounge that raised eight million dollars) after learning hard lessons about outside capital, why she chose to bootstrap Hapa Queen instead, and how a failed Kickstarter forced her into a last minute Expo West launch that became the turning point for the brand. Jia and Connor get into the real numbers behind building a CPG brand from scratch: going from 100 cold emails and 7 replies to over 1,084 stores in the US and 215 in Australia, signing two distributors before landing a single retailer, the Whole Foods "golden ticket" that didn't convert, and the packaging mistake an eye tracking study exposed that changed her entire product line. She also talks candidly about why she shares her failures on LinkedIn instead of just her wins, and what it means to build a business at her own pace instead of someone else's. Topics covered: Why she turned down outside funding after her first startup The Kickstarter that failed days before launch Betting everything on an Expo West debut Reading buyers on the trade show floor The packaging fix that changed her growth trajectory Building a community on LinkedIn through honesty, not highlight reels Connect with Jia Liao: / weijia-liao Connect with Hotpot Queen: / hotpotqueen Visit Hotpot Queen Website: https://hotpotqueen.com/ Connect with Connor Macpherson: / connor-retail Connect with Luke Anthony: / luke-anthony--394052131 Powered by Plus Forty: http://plusforty.co/ Book a call with Plus Forty: https://calendly.com/d/cr89-stz-hcy/shared-booking-link

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  Episode #14

  10,000 Stores With a Team of Six - Vinny Wilson on Building NoCap Soda Pop

  Jul 28, 20261h 3mS1

  What happens when you mix Red Bull DNA, PRIME Hydration hustle, and a father-son duo with nothing to lose? You get NoCap Soda Pop - a brand which is on track to hit 10,000 stores nationwide in under two years with a team of just six. Vinny Wilson was the 32nd hire at Congo Brands during the PRIME and Alani Nu explosion, ranking as the number one sales rep in the country for six months straight. His dad spent nearly three decades in beverage, including 10 years at Red Bull and scaling Bang Energy's sales machine. In August 2024, they bet on themselves and launched NoCap, the next-gen soda pop built for the action sports generation. In this episode, Vinny breaks down how NoCap is out-hustling competitors that raised $30 to $50 million, the content engine that has driven their growth, how a sassy 10-year-old at a BMX race changed their entire formulation and more. We cover: Scaling to Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and C-stores nationwide in 18 months Landing the first-ever confectionery licensing deal in modern soda (Albanese Gummies, then ICEE) The cult following playbook: 2,500 tagged posts, 13.9M impressions, and $985K in earned media value in one quarter, all unpaid Why "the loudest brand with no sales" became the loudest brand on the shelf The value play strategy: 16oz cans priced against the share leaders' 12oz Sampling 300,000 cans as real-time R&D No Cap Fridays, expired competitor products, and why you should inspect what you expect The friendly five: NoCap's $5M seed round and the road to a $100 million brand If you're building a CPG brand, this is a masterclass in speed, scrappiness, and betting on yourself. Connect with Vinny Wilson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinnywilson/ Shop NoCap Soda Pop: https://drinknocapsoda.com/ Connect with Connor Macpherson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-retail/ Connect with Luke Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-anthony--394052131/ Powered by Plus Forty: http://plusforty.co/ Book a call with Plus Forty: https://calendly.com/d/cr89-stz-hcy/shared-booking-link

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