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Hosted by Roberta Townes · 🇺🇸 US · EN-US · 170 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
Shelf Talks is the podcast for female founders, CPG entrepreneurs, and product-based business owners who want to get their products into retail stores and build brands that thrive once they're on the shelf. Hosted by Roberta Townes , a retail buyer with more than 15 years of experience discovering and launching products at national retailers, each weekly episode features honest conversations with female founders who have successfully landed on retail shelves. Together, they pull back the curtain on how they pitched buyers, built wholesale partnerships, scaled distribution, increased brand awareness, and overcame the challenges of growing a product-based business. Whether you're preparing for your first retail pitch or looking to expand into more stores, you'll gain practical strategies for retail readiness, wholesale growth, buyer expectations, merchandising, and increasing sell-through once your product hits the shelf. If you're
Roberta Townes hosts Shelf Talks, a business show with 170 episodes published.
Send us Fan Mail One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a retail buyer is that bigger isn’t always better, especially when you’re building a brand. That’s why I’m bringing back this Founder's Flashback episode
Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to build a product-based brand and get it onto retail shelves? In this Founder’s Flashback episode of Shelf Talks, I revisit my conversation with Keta Burke-Williams, founder of
Send us Fan Mail Originally aired in May 2025. Re-released because the lessons are just as relevant today. Some podcast conversations are worth revisiting, and this is one of them. When this episode first aired, Candace
Send us Fan Mail Getting a meeting with a retail buyer is a huge accomplishment. Walking out of that meeting feeling confident, only to receive a "no," can be frustrating. In this solo episode of Shelf Talks, Roberta Tow
Send us Fan Mail Every great retail brand starts with a story. In this Retail Readiness Round, Alysa Seeland, founder of Fond Bone Broth, shares the deeply personal experience that inspired her business. After facing a s
Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to build a premium brand that retailers believe in? In this episode of Shelf Talks, Roberta Townes sits down with Alysa Seeland, founder of FOND Regenerative, to discuss the jour
Send us Fan Mail Getting your product onto a retailer's shelf is only the beginning. In this Retail Readiness Round, Belle Robinson, founder of ROXII Supercube, shares three quick but powerful lessons every product found
Send us Fan Mail What happens when you realize the wellness aisle is too complicated? Belle Robinson did something no one else had done before. Instead of another powder, capsule, or ready-to-drink beverage, she created
Send us Fan Mail Thinking about getting your product on retail shelves? Start here. In this Retail Readiness Round of Shelf Talks , Hannah Perez, co-founder of SEEQ shares three actionable insights every founder should h
Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to build a category defining consumer brand? In this episode of Shelf Talks, I sit down with Hannah Perez, Co Founder of SEEQ, to talk about the journey from a simple product ide
Send us Fan Mail How do you build a beauty brand that earns shelf space at Target, Ulta, Walmart, and CVS and keeps growing once it's there? In this episode of Shelf Talks , I sit down with Lindsay Holden, Co-Founder of
Send us Fan Mail What separates brands that stay local from those that scale nationally? According to Rachel Krupa, founder of The Goods Mart, it starts with passion, purpose, and the willingness to build something bigge
Send us Fan Mail What if the best retail strategy isn’t going national—but going local first? In this episode of Shelf Talks , I sit down with Rachel Krupa, Founder and CEO of The Goods Mart, the better-for-you convenien
Send us Fan Mail In this Retail Readiness Round, Karishma Thawani and Tekla Black get tactical about what actually keeps a brand on shelf. They break down which communities and trade shows delivered real value, why found
Send us Fan Mail This week's Shelf Talks Podcast I sat down with Karishma Thawani and Dr. Tekla Black founders of KEY energy. From Karishma's personal health journey that inspired the idea to Tekla's deep expertise in nu
Send us Fan Mail In this Retail Readiness Round, Stacie Skinner, founder of Superb Bakehouse, shares three powerful insights every founder should hear before pursuing retail growth. From knowing when you're truly ready f
Send us Fan Mail What happens when a mom can't find safe, nutritious, and delicious food for her child with severe food allergies? She creates it herself. In this episode of Shelf Talks, I sit down with Stacie Skinner, f
Send us Fan Mail Denise Woodard didn’t launch into national retail overnight. Before building Partake Foods into the powerhouse brand it is today, she was hand-unloading pallets, storing inventory in a storage unit, and
Send us Fan Mail Sarela Herrada, co-founder and CEO of SIMPLi, joins Shelf Talks for a candid conversation packed with actionable retail insights every product-based founder needs to hear before pitching buyers and launc
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Shelf Talks, Roberta sits down with Sarela Herrada, co-founder and CEO of SIMPLi, to unpack the journey of building a mission-driven food brand from the ground up and transforming rege
Denise Woodard
Founder and CEO · Partake Foods
1 appearance on this show
Sarela Herrada
co-founder and CEO · SIMPLi
1 appearance on this show
Carrie Sporer
Co-Founder · SWAIR Hair
2 appearances on this show
Keta Burke-Williams
Ourside
1 appearance on this show
Candace Wu
Wonder Monday
1 appearance on this show
Alysa Seeland
Fond Bone Broth
2 appearances on this show
Belle Robinson
ROXII Supercube
1 appearance on this show
Karishma Thawani
KEY Energy
1 appearance on this show
Stacie Skinner
Superb Bakehouse
2 appearances on this show
Sarela Harrada
SIMPLi
1 appearance on this show
Jillian Salinas
Beach City Coffee
2 appearances on this show
Clara Sieg
Loonen Water
2 appearances on this show
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Shelf Talks is hosted by Roberta Townes. The show is categorised under business (entrepreneurship) and has published 170 episodes.
Shelf Talks has published 170 episodes.
Shelf Talks regularly covers business, entrepreneurship, careers. It sits in the business category, with a entrepreneurship focus.
Shelf Talks is accessible for guests with genuine business expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
Shelf Talks hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of Shelf Talks average 24 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
Our data rates Shelf Talks's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
Methodology. Booking Probability™ blends Listen Score, 30-day Virality, open-to-guests detection, and Apple ratings. Data refreshed every 60 minutes. Listen Score and Booking Probability are calculated by PitchCentric. Last enriched today.