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 22 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 22 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #22

  The VC Behind Your Favorite Celebrity Brand - Scott Van den Berg on HotStart's Investment Thesis

  Sep 11, 202654 minS1

  Everyone wants a celebrity co-founder. Almost nobody knows how to structure that deal without blowing up their company. Scott van den Berg is the founder of Hot Start (formerly Influencer Capital), a venture fund that exclusively invests in and builds brands with celebrities and creators. Before this, Scott worked at an investment bank helping European startups raise US capital, which is where he first started brokering equity deals between celebrities and consumer brands, years before "celebrity equity" became a buzzword. In this episode, Scott breaks down why fame is not a business model, why JLo's alcohol-free cocktail line collapsed while a creator with 2 million followers built a $40M hair care brand in her first year, and why the best celebrity brands are always product first, never celebrity first. We also get into: Why follower count means nothing without "authentic creator product fit" The real story behind Sasha Pieterse joining Hot Start and investing in Hydrant Why Hot Start's due diligence looks at product and team before it ever looks at the celebrity How equity splits actually work, from ambassador deals to true co-founders Why "you need to date before you get married" when bringing a celebrity onto your cap table Why CPG celebrity brands cap out around a billion dollars, and why tech is the next frontier Hot Start's first company already incubating with 20 creators on the cap table If you've ever wondered whether attaching a celebrity to your brand is genius or a trap, this one lays out exactly how the smartest operators in the space actually think about it. Connect with Scott van den Berg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/ Visit HotStart: https://hotstart.vc Listen to The HotStart VC Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5u8fxPrbmH0RjqhTv0ZDBG Subscribe to The Fame Game newsletter: https://hotstart.beehiiv.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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  Episode #21

  From Gourmet Pies to Teen Skincare - Maree Glading on Building Evre. Skincare

  Sep 3, 202659 minS1

  \Maree Glading has built two companies from nothing, sold one before she turned 40, and is now taking on the US beauty market all the way from New Zealand. In this episode of ShelfSpace, she sits down with Connor Macpherson and Luke Anthony to unpack 28 years in CPG and the playbook behind it all. Maree launched her first business, gourmet pie company I Love Pie Co, with just $3,000 and a van that broke down so often the AA refused to keep towing it. She grew it into every supermarket in New Zealand, exported across Australia, Asia and China, expanded into better-for-you biscuits, and sold the business roughly eleven years later. Then came evre. (pronounced "Every"), a 100% natural skincare brand for teens and tweens, born when her 12-year-old daughter asked for a $100 moisturiser and Maree realised the market had nothing gentle, clean and actually made for young skin. Today evre. is in Whole Foods nationwide, and the story of how she got there is wild. She landed the yes without even pitching, watched it fall apart when the buyer got promoted, and came back a year later stronger with more SKUs on shelf. Inside the episode: The "three Ps" she runs every business on: passion, problem, purpose Her domino strategy for US retail: Grove and Thrive, to natural independents, to Sprouts, to Whole Foods Why she is deliberately saying no to Australia and to new customers right now Building for two shoppers at once: the mum who pays and the teen who chooses Funding a capital-heavy brand mostly herself, and why a raise is still coming Words over goals: why "intentional" and "community" beat a resolution list The tenacity it really takes to keep going when the money is slow and the knocks keep coming Whether you are building your first brand or scaling your next one, Maree's honesty about retail, funding, focus and staying power is the kind you rarely hear on the record. #evre #TeenSkincare #CPG #ConsumerGoods #WholeFoods #FounderStory #RetailStrategy #FMCG #BeautyBusiness #Entrepreneurship #NewZealandBusiness #ScalingBrands #ShelfSpace #PlusForty #Podcast Connect with Maree Glading: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mareeglading/ Shop evre.: https://www.evreselfcare.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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  Episode #20

  From Instagram DM to 1,200 Stores - Sean Knecht on Inventing a New Snack Category with Tantos

  Aug 27, 20261h 14mS1

  What happens when you DM a Top Chef finalist about pasta dough and end up co-founding a snack brand? Sean Knecht is the co-founder of Tantos, the first and only puffed pasta chip, built alongside celebrity chef Joe Sasto. What started as a happy accident called "pasta nachos" at a pop-up dinner turned into a brand new snack category now sitting in over 1,200 stores including Kroger, H-E-B, The Fresh Market, and World Market. Oh, and it became the first class snack on every JetBlue flight within three months of launch. Sean is also a two-time Shark Tank alum. In this episode, he breaks down exactly what happened in the Tank the second time around, why Daniel Lubetzky's failed pasta chip venture from the 90s soured the room, and why walking away with no deal still triggered 3,000 orders in 72 hours. This is a masterclass in building a CPG brand lean: a core team of three, everything else outsourced, and a supply chain built to scale from day one. In this episode: The Instagram DM that started it all (and the birthday tortellini class that sealed it) Selling out 1,500 units in 13 minutes from Joe's apartment Getting rejected by co-packers everywhere, then finding a mentor who became lead investor Why "first and only" beats chasing protein and fibre trends How to vet brokers: owner background, realistic timelines, and the reference questions nobody asks The JetBlue deal that kept manufacturing alive Inside the 400-store Kroger test across 13 divisions Pricing for national scale before you have it Two Shark Tank appearances, ten years apart, and what changed Raising capital as a long game: quarterly updates, data rooms, and selling yourself, not just the business Juggling two businesses without burning out" Whether you're launching a CPG brand, hunting for a co-packer, or wondering if Shark Tank is worth it, Sean's playbook is one of the most tactical we've had on the show. Connect with Sean Knecht: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-knecht-a1398b11 Shop Tantos: https://www.eattantos.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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  Episode #19

  The Fractional Operator Behind Brooklyn Beckham's Cloud 23 - Mac McAvoy on Building CPG Ops

  Aug 21, 20261 hourS1

  Most CPG founders can tell you how many cases they have on hand. Almost none can tell you how many days that actually buys them. In this episode, Connor and Luke sit down with Mac McAvoy, founder of DeepWorks CPG and one of the sharpest operators in consumer goods, to unpack the unglamorous backend work that quietly decides whether a brand scales or stalls. Mac has done it in the deep end. He packed two duffel bags, moved from Florida to LA to run operations for Dirty Lemon, took a cold-chain, HPP beverage all the way to shelf-stable so it could land in Walmart, and did it partly living out of an Escalade during COVID. From there he ran operations for one of California's top cannabis brands with 125 people and over 200 SKUs across three shifts a day, helped build Barcode's hydration story, and now runs DeepWorks, a fractional operations firm for CPG brands, with clients including Stiller's Soda, HY-Q, and Brooklyn Beckham's Cloud 23. Inside the conversation: How to track inventory in days on hand instead of cases, and the weighted velocity burn formula Mac builds first for every client (25% last 14 days, 25% quarter to date, 50% year to date). Why the 75% shelf life rule forces you to clear your floor every 90 days. The build, fix, or enhance framework for knowing exactly where a brand needs help. How to actually manage a co-packer relationship, why "you'll be back" is a threat you should never make true, and the break-room trick that gets a facility to care about your product. If you are a founder running and gunning with nothing on the backend, or scaling faster than your systems can handle, this one is a masterclass in the work nobody claps for but every brand needs. Connect with Mac McAvoy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mac-mcavoy-2a230365/ Work with DeepWorks CPG: https://www.deepworkscpg.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 #CPG #ConsumerPackagedGoods #CPGoperations #SupplyChain #InventoryManagement #DTCtoRetail #BeverageIndustry #FractionalCOO #RetailStrategy #COGS #Walmart #FoundersJourney #OperationsLeadership #ShelfSpacePodcast #DirtyLemon #DeepWorks

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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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