Melissa Martinelli - Can Surplus Whey Save the Planet? How DRINK SUPERFRAU! Hit 400+ Stores and Fights Climate Change

How I Built My Small Business

Melissa Martinelli is the founder and CEO of Superfrau. Melissa was an immigration lawyer and pivoted to crafting delicious Super Sodas made from surplus fresh whey that is generated during the youghurt fermentation process. She has been featured on the Boston Globe, was a speaker at the Tufts University Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute, and her company @drinksuperfrau has been touted as a top key player in the growing upcycled foods industry.
Listen to her journey, the highs and the lows, and how she went from spark of an idea to over a hundred stores in a couple years. Her company, Superfrau, is on track to be in over four hundred stores nationwide this year.

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Website: https://www.annemcginty.com/
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Chương

1. Introduction and Waste-to-Value Opportunity (00:00:00)

2. Inspiration and Starting Superfrau (00:01:53)

3. Prototype and Launch in Boston (00:05:37)

4. Interest from Whole Foods (00:07:07)

5. Packaging and Incubator Program (00:08:03)

6. Challenges and Grant for Shelf Stability (00:09:01)

7. Product Description and Customer Focus (00:10:27)

8. Focus on Customer Need (00:11:25)

9. Getting into Incubator Program (00:12:24)

10. Gary Hirschberg's Investment (00:13:52)

11. Whey as an Ingredient and Collaboration (00:14:20)

12. Expansion Plans and European Market (00:15:19)

13. Expansion into Whole Foods and Sprouts (00:22:31)

14. Working with Distributors (00:23:26)

15. Challenges of Distributors (00:24:23)

16. Costs and Margins with Distributors (00:26:14)

17. Merchandising and Store Support (00:27:38)

18. Expense Pie Chart and Whey Supply Chain (00:29:03)

19. Flow Chart and Contract Manufacturing (00:30:30)

20. Challenges of Contract Manufacturing (00:32:52)

21. Advisory Board and Outsourcing (00:36:36)

22. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs (00:39:05)

23. Challenges in Fundraising (00:44:15)

24. Advice for Younger Self (00:45:38)

25. Key Takeaways (00:47:34)