#210 - Commodity Boards 101 with California Walnut Board and Doosra
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 19 August 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff is joined by Keith Seiz of the California Walnut Board and Kartik Das, founder of the emerging snack brand Dusra.
The conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at how commodity boards can play a critical role in supporting food and beverage startups — not just through marketing, but via product innovation, R&D resources, and industry connections. Keith shares how the California Walnut Board helps brands unlock the full potential of walnuts, from selecting the right varietals to facilitating prototyping and sourcing. Kartik discusses how this partnership enabled the successful development of Dusra’s newest snack mix — a modern take on Indian flavors featuring skinless California walnuts, chickpea puffs, and vegan dark chocolate.
This episode is a must-listen for founders looking to leverage underutilized industry resources, enhance product development, and build thoughtful partnerships that fuel growth.
Tune in now!
The California Walnut Board would love to hear from anyone out there interested in their resources or education, you can email them at foodinnovation@walnuts.org
Listen in as they share about:
- Commodity Boards and Their Role
- California Walnuts in Product Innovation
- Dusra’s Product Development Journey
- Partnership Between Dusra & the California Walnut Board
- Product Development and Strategy
- Trends in Walnuts and Nuts in General
- Strategic Growth and Go-To-Market Planning
- Advice to Other Founders
Episode Links:
Website: http://walnuts.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithseiz/
Website: https://eatdoosra.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daskartik/
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Show Links:
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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A few years back when I ran a beverage company, we had to launch using those plastic sleeves to put our designs on the cans. |
| 0:08.0 | But they looked bad, the sleeves get stretched out, they don't cover the full can, and overall they just look and feel low quality. |
| 0:14.0 | Lucky for you, digital can printing technology has come so far over the last few years that now you can launch your beverage brand or new skews with a fully |
| 0:21.7 | printed look and it's at similar pricing to those plastic sleeves. |
| 0:25.3 | Our friends at CanWorks, which is the largest U.S.-based digital can printer, are happy to work with |
| 0:30.1 | our community at very low minimums, even one palette. |
| 0:32.9 | They've got locations in the East Coast, the West Coast, Texas. |
| 0:36.0 | Get in touch with them through our contact form. |
| 0:38.2 | It's at canworksprinting.com slash startup CPG. |
| 0:42.7 | Thank you. The real benefit of working with someone like Keith and the WAMHup board is that they're representing two sides of the equation, right? |
| 1:05.4 | They want to help the primary constituent are the growers trying to figure out how to take this incredible product. And then |
| 1:11.8 | you've got the brand coming in with no idea of what they want. And their real superpower is finding |
| 1:16.7 | ways. There might be innovation that the walnut folks have come up with that are not advertising |
| 1:21.6 | yet, right? But I'm just giving them a problem to solve. And they're saying, we can solve a little |
| 1:26.0 | walnuts. I think that's really the value of working with the board. Welcome to the startup CPG podcast. Friends, I've heard |
| 1:33.0 | about so many brands out there who have some kind of a trick up their sleeve, a mysterious benefactor, |
| 1:37.6 | somebody helping them out with their supply chain and R&D education and a lot more. And it turned |
| 1:42.8 | out to be a commodity board. There are a bunch of |
| 1:45.5 | them out there. They're formed to support commercial activities for farmers who all grow a certain |
| 1:49.3 | kind of product. And actually, these boards can provide a lot of resources for startup brands. |
| 1:54.7 | So today I wanted everyone to learn all about what one of the boards is doing for an incredible |
| 1:59.0 | brand from our community. So we've got Kartik from Dusra. |
... |
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