{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Whole Foods Said Wait. Little Spoon Built A $150M Brand Instead.","description":"How do you build a $150M CPG brand when your first retail opportunity falls apart? For Little Spoon, the answer was to stop waiting for the shelf and start building a relationship with the customer. After its initial plans to launch fresh baby food with Whole Foods hit a roadblock, co-founder and chief product officer Angela Vranich helped steer the company toward a DTC-first strategy that transformed Little Spoon into the largest direct-to-consumer baby and kids food brand in the U.S. The company has since expanded into more than 100 products, entered retail through an exclusive partnership with Target, and built a business around understanding what modern parents want. In this episode, Vranich breaks down the decisions, challenges, and operating principles behind Little Spoon\u2019s rise \u2014 from product innovation and customer education to scaling a complex food business without compromising quality. Show notes: 0:20: Angela Vranich, Co-Founder, Little Spoon \u2013 Angela discusses how a setback with Whole Foods ultimately shaped Little Spoon\u2019s trajectory, prompting the company to pivot to a direct-to-consumer model. After selling more than one million meals in its first year, Little Spoon validated an opportunity to disrupt kids\u2019 nutrition and build a deeper relationship with families. She talks about the company\u2019s commitment to premium ingredients, rigorous testing, and transparency, as well as the operational complexity of managing more than 25 co-manufacturers, six fulfillment centers, and products across ambient, refrigerated, and frozen categories. Angela also shares how Little Spoon built a brand centered on education and content, recognizing that parents were looking not just for food, but guidance and support as they navigated feeding their children. She also highlights the company\u2019s culture, where transparency and collaboration help ensure that ideas can come from anywhere within the organization. Finally, Angela explains why Little Spoon entered retail through a major Target launch in 2025 and how the company is using insights from its DTC platform to inform its retail strategy and thoughtful expansion into additional chains. Brands in this episode: Little Spoon ","author_name":"Taste Radio","author_url":"http:\/\/tasteradio.com","html":"