#226 - Hungryroot 101: Launch Your Brand & Master Smart Cart Shopping
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 9 December 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with the Hungryroot team for an exclusive inside look at how the fast-growing food tech platform curates products, personalizes grocery shopping through its innovative Smart Cart technology, and simplifies meal planning for millions of customers.
The Hungryroot buyers reveal exactly how they evaluate new products, source clean ingredients across categories like meat, seafood, and snacks, and navigate operational challenges in packaging, shipping, and scaling partnerships. They break down what makes a product launch successful, how customer feedback shapes category strategy, and what emerging brands need to know before pitching to the platform.
The episode closes with nearly 20 CPG brands pitching directly to Hungryroot buyers in real time, offering listeners a rare, behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to launch and grow on one of the most innovative personalized grocery platforms in the market.
Listen in as they discuss:
- How Hungryroot's Smart Cart personalizes grocery shopping and meal planning
- What buyers look for when evaluating new products and brand partnerships
- Sourcing strategies and emerging trends in meat, seafood, and clean-label snacks
- Operational challenges with packaging, shipping, and ready-to-eat meal innovation
- The importance of brand volume and scaling successfully on the platform
- Why the launch is just the beginning: ongoing support and growth strategies
- Real-time brand pitches from nearly 20 CPG founders to Hungryroot buyers
- Opportunities in food innovation, clean ingredients, and personalized nutrition
- How customer feedback drives category expansion and product curation
- Keys to building successful long-term partnerships with Hungryroot
Episode Links
Hungryroot Website: https://www.hungryroot.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hungryroot
Chris Battaglia - Director of Strategic Sourcing Meat and Seafood, Hungryroot LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-battaglia-47569347/
Nika Mosenthal - VP of Food Experience, Hungryroot LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikamosenthal/
Keri Cardenas - Category Lead, Hungryroot LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keri-cardenas/
Julia Bello - Director of Category Management, Hungryroot LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliabello/
Daniel Scharff - Founder, Startup CPG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danscharff/
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
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- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- 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. Don't sleep on hungry root. |
| 1:01.2 | I think for small brands and for large brands alike, |
| 1:06.2 | we consistently get the feedback that our volumes are significant. |
| 1:10.2 | Even for large, well-known brands, we are in their top one to three accounts in terms of driving |
| 1:16.8 | volumes. |
| 1:17.6 | So we are definitely smaller than like a Whole Foods or a Sprout, but in terms of total customers, |
| 1:24.3 | we are rapidly growing and we drive tremendous volume. So don't underestimate |
| 1:29.5 | what you could do on our platform. |
| 1:33.1 | You know, I bet those hungry, hungry hippos wouldn't have been so hungry if they knew about |
| 1:36.9 | Hungry Route. Hungry Route is one of the top online grocers. They are almost at a billion |
| 1:42.8 | dollars in sales and they actually work today |
| 1:45.5 | with just 800 skews, which means anyone lucky enough to get listed with them is in for huge |
| 1:50.0 | volume. So today's podcast was actually a webinar that we did with their buying team, but it's so |
... |
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