Shelf Talkers

Join Adam Feller, Founder and Creative Director of Avidity Creative, as he explores the ever-evolving world of CPG. Through conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and decision-makers, discover the insights, trends, and strategies shaping the future of food and beverage brands. Whether you’re scaling a brand or navigating the complexities of the CPG landscape, “Shelf Talkers: CPG Insights” is your go-to source for inspiration and actionable advice.

Shelf Talkers is a business podcast hosted by Adam Feller, with 16 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.

Adam Feller hosts Shelf Talkers, a business show with 16 episodes published.

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  Episode #15

  Why Wild Monkey Bar Said No to Whole Foods (And Other Founder Lessons)

  Jul 28, 202634 minS1

  Wild Monkey Bar wasn't created in a boardroom. It started after a climbing trip in Rocky Mountain National Park when founders John and Brooke Campbell realized the snacks they packed simply weren't good enough. In this episode, John shares the deeply personal story behind building Wild Monkey Bar, from leaving corporate life behind to hand-making every bar in Boulder while growing the business one relationship at a time. For founders and emerging CPG brands, this conversation is a reminder that sustainable growth often comes from patience, discipline, and saying no to opportunities that aren't the right fit. In this episode, we discuss: John's journey from commercial real estate to entrepreneurship How a backcountry climbing trip inspired Wild Monkey Bar Building a premium snack brand with limited resources Why they turned down early retail opportunities—including Whole Foods Lessons on branding, customer acquisition, and long-term thinking The importance of building a business alongside your partner Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-campbell-97579467/ Website: https://wildmonkeybar.com Learn more: See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at https://aviditycreative.com .

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  Episode #14

  Turning Authentic Indian Flavors Into a Fast-growing Snack Brand

  Jul 14, 202624 minS1

  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

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  Episode #13

  Shark Tank and Shelf Success With the Founder of PrideBites and Tantos

  Jun 30, 202625 minS1

  What does it take to build not one successful consumer brand, but two? In this episode, Adam sits down with entrepreneur Sean Knecht, founder of PrideBites and co-founder of Tantos, to discuss the realities of building brands from the ground up. Sean shares how a simple idea for custom college-themed dog toys grew into a nationally recognized pet products company, how a Shark Tank appearance accelerated growth, and why he decided to jump into an entirely new category with Tantos, the world's first puffed pasta chip. Along the way, he opens up about the decisions that paid off, the mistakes that taught the biggest lessons, and what founders should know about scaling a brand in competitive markets. In this episode, we discuss: Building PrideBites from a college sports-inspired dog toy idea into a national pet products brand The impact of appearing on Shark Tank and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling How a friendship with Chef Joe Sasto led to the launch of Tantos Launching a new snack category with puffed pasta chips The best decisions Sean has made as a founder Mistakes, lessons learned, and advice for growing consumer brands Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-knecht-a1398b11/ PrideBites: https://pridebites.com Tantos: https://www.eattantos.com Learn more: See how Avidity can improve your shelf impact at aviditycreative.com .

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  Episode #12

  First Customers, Fast Growth, and Founder Lessons from Teddy’s Tallow Chips

  Jun 18, 202624 minS1

  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 .

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  Episode #11

  Understanding Your CPG Numbers

  Jun 4, 202631 minS1

  <p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>A big focus of the conversation is The CPG CFO’s CASH FIGHT framework, a practical tool designed to help founders understand how...

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