Founder Feature: Bringing Froyo Back, Building in Public, and Why Pressure is a Privilege - Ashley Whalen of Chara

The Startup CPG Podcast

Startup CPG

Startup, Food, Business, Beverage, Cpg, Entrepreneurship

4.9 • 642 Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Ashley Whalen, founder of Chara — a Greek frozen yogurt brand bringing back the joy of froyo with a modern, better-for-you twist. High in protein, packed with certified living probiotics, naturally sweetened with maple and agave, and completely lactose free, Chara is the frozen treat today's health-conscious consumer has been waiting for. Ashley started the brand during her senior year at USC, launched less than a year ago, and is already in retail, doing pop-ups across SoCal in a renovated vintage Volkswagen bus, and landing brand collaborations with everyone from Fabletics to the Bureau Padel Classic.

Caitlin and Ashley get into all of it — from the college apartment origin story and the seven roommates who inspired the product, to how Ashley is differentiating Chara in a crowded protein frozen dessert space by leaning into joy, natural ingredients, and a Mediterranean-inspired stripe aesthetic that nobody else in the freezer aisle has thought to own. Ashley also shares how she landed her first retail chain through a connection made at Nootopia Now, why she bought a vintage VW bus instead of running ads, and the founder mindset shift that changed everything for her: pressure is a privilege.

Listen in as they cover:

How Chara was born in a college apartment with seven roommates and a lot of Greek yogurt bowls
Why Ashley chose maple and agave over artificial sweeteners — and why that decision is paying off
How Chara is differentiating from the protein ice cream category by decentralizing the narrative of protein
The story behind the name Chara — and what the Greek word for joy has to do with frozen yogurt
Why Ashley bought a vintage Volkswagen bus and renovated it into a froyo pop-up vehicle
How cold outreach on LinkedIn led to brand collaborations with Fabletics, Shopbop, and celebrity Padel tournaments
Landing the first retail chain at Lunds and Byerly's through a connection made at Newtopia Now
Why building in public on TikTok is one of the most powerful tools a young founder has
The advice that stuck: pressure is a privilege — and how that mindset shift changes the way you build
Chara's 2026 goals: scaling the supply chain and expanding into natural retail nationwide

Whether you're a young founder just getting started, a brand navigating the frozen category, or someone who just wants a better froyo, this episode is for you.

Episode Links: Chara Website: https://www.charafroyo.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charafroyo Ashley Whalen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-whalen321

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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Episode music by Super Fantastics

Transcript

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0:00.0	Did you hear that? That's opportunity knocking. We've been building something big.
0:08.0	Introducing Opportunity Knocks, a new campaign giving startup CPG brands exclusive, direct access
0:14.3	to submit to leading retailers, distributors, investors, media, and more. Here's how it works.
0:20.6	On Fridays, a new submission window opens
0:23.1	exclusively for active startup CPG email subscribers. Each campaign features a custom form tailored to
0:29.7	that partner. Share your brand story, products, distribution, and traction. Startup CPG delivers your
0:36.2	applications directly to the partner's team.
0:38.9	Some campaigns include a live fireside chat so you can meet the partner and ask questions directly.
0:44.7	To get every drop, subscribe at startupcg.com slash okay. That's just the letters O and K.
0:51.8	Today's drop is live and it's with Rayleigh's. Ready, go. Go wrong, you can either look at it. the concept of pressure is the privilege and the mentality around like I even mentioned as an example
1:28.6	when something goes wrong you can either look at it as a negative or it's stressful but when you
1:35.0	start seeing that as wow you're that's an opportunity for growth and now it's pushing you to make
1:40.1	the next step in your business I really think that's the only way businesses grow.
1:48.3	And once you can kind of understand that that's how it operates, you can use it as a tool rather than, I guess, you know, a weakness or something that can really knock you down.
1:54.4	Hey, everybody. This is Caitlin Bricker, managing editor at startup CPG. We are back with another
2:00.0	founder feature. Today I'm sitting down
2:02.1	with Ashley Waylon, founder of Chara, a Greek frozen yogurt brand that's bringing Froyo back but
2:07.7	making it way better. Low calorie, high protein, naturally sweetened with maple and agave and packed
2:14.1	with certified living probiotics. I'm not seeing that on shelf anywhere else.
2:19.0	Ashley started this brand in her college apartment with seven roommates,
2:22.7	launched less than a year ago,
2:24.3	and is already making waves with a vintage Volkswagen Froyo bus doing pop-ups across SoCal.
	...

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