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The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

662: I Bet Everything On Sugar Free Candy — Now It Brings In $100 Million A Year

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Entrepreneurship, Business, Marketing

4.9664 Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Daniel Kitay put everything he had—his savings, his mortgage, and two months before his first child was born—on a container ship full of sugar-free gummy lollies from Switzerland. When a $250,000 shipping bill landed before he'd sold a single product, he had no option but to make it work. Five years later, Funday Natural Sweets does over $100 million in retail sales across 8,000 stores in Australia alone, selling a product every single second. In this interview, the founder of Funday breaks down how he convinced Chemist Warehouse to submit a purchase order before he had funding, why he deliberately avoided the confectionery aisle to sidestep Nestlé, Mars, and Mondelez, and his brutally honest take on when retail will make you—and when it will destroy you. What you'll learn in this interview: • How Daniel convinced Chemist Warehouse to submit a purchase order before he had a single dollar of funding • Why a $250,000 shipping bill with no backup plan was the moment that forced Funday to work • The $50,000 stock mistake that accidentally invented their limited edition drop strategy • Why he deliberately launched in the health food aisle—not the confectionery aisle—to avoid competing with the multinationals • The symbiotic DTC and retail flywheel: how retail drives online discovery and online fuels in-store velocity • Why he spent $25,000 on a brand agency before launch—and the real reason behind that decision • His brutally honest take on retail: when it's the biggest unlock for scale, and when it will wreck your margins • How Funday runs a $100 million business with just 25 employees—and the two-part hiring filter that makes it possible • Why he's launching into US retail nationwide in September, and the economies of scale that finally made it possible If you're building a CPG brand, weighing up when to take the leap into retail, or trying to figure out how DTC and bricks-and-mortar can work together instead of against each other, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about distribution, risk, and what it actually takes to build a category from scratch. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/operators⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH DANIEL KITAY Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fundaysweets/ LinkedIn → https://au.linkedin.com/in/daniel-kitay Website → https://www.fundaysweets.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey Founder Fam, I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omniscend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e-commerce founders. We've been recommending OmnisCent to Founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling the seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results.

0:24.0

Did you know on average, Omnysend customers make $68 for every $1 they spend, which is an insanely good return on investment.

0:32.6

And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code Founder 50.

0:39.3

Just head to Omnisend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started. All right, now

0:46.2

let's jump back into the show. So what happens when you bet everything on a container ship

0:51.8

full of gummy lollies from Switzerland? get hit with a $250,000 shipping

0:56.0

bill, and realize you're either about to build a $100 million confectionary empire or lose absolutely

1:01.3

everything. Well, today's guest is Daniel Kite. He's the founder of Funday Suites, the sugar-free

1:06.1

confectionary brand that now does over 100 million in retail sales across 8,000 stores in just five years

1:11.5

in Australia alone. After struggling with his weight throughout childhood and cutting out all sugar,

1:16.7

Daniel spotted a massive gap in the market and today they sell a fun day product every second.

1:22.0

So in this conversation, you're going to discover how Daniel convinced Chemist Warehouse

1:25.8

to submit a purchase order before he even

1:29.1

had funding, the $50,000 stock mistake that accidentally taught him the power of limited edition

1:34.9

drops and he's brutally on his take on retail. Why it's not for everyone and how it can destroy your

1:40.1

D to D to C margins, but why it's the only way to unlock true scale. This is a true masterclass

1:45.9

in building a CPG brand that plays in both D2C and retail and why sometimes the biggest

1:51.2

bets pay off when you have no other option but to make them work.

1:57.7

Hear the stories. Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship.

2:04.6

Welcome to the founder podcast with Nathan Chan.

2:11.6

Daniel Kite, welcome to the show. So you run a company called Funday Natural Sweets. I'm a massive fan. My brother told me

2:20.9

about your company. I'd say about two years ago and we started to go to the local IGA,

...

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