Founder Feature: Elan Halpern & Kiki Couchman of Sourmilk

The Startup CPG Podcast

Startup CPG

Startup, Food, Business, Beverage, Cpg, Entrepreneurship

4.9 • 642 Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Turn every BFCM QR code scan into sales—get the free report now: www.uniqode.com/bfcmcpg

In this episode of The Startup CPG Podcast, Caitlin Bricker welcomes Elan Halpern and Kiki Couchman, co-founders of Sourmilk, a Greek yogurt brand designed to revolutionize consumer gut health. Elan and Kiki share their journey from Stanford classmates to entrepreneurs transforming the yogurt industry by combining the science of targeted probiotics with a delicious, everyday food. They discuss how Sourmilk stands out from traditional yogurts by incorporating clinically backed probiotic strains that support digestion, hormone balance, and overall wellness—without compromising on taste or quality.

The conversation explores their unconventional “drug deal” pickup model in New York City, where they personally deliver refrigerated yogurt in brown paper bags to early customers, fostering a sense of community and direct connection to their brand. Elan and Kiki also recount their bold rebranding story—from receiving a cease-and-desist letter to landing on the provocative yet memorable name “Sourmilk,” a decision that has helped them stand out in a crowded CPG landscape. Their commitment to transparency, creativity, and consumer engagement shines through as they discuss building in public, learning from customer feedback, and preparing for their first retail launch.

As they look ahead, Elan and Kiki outline a strategic and measured approach to scaling Sourmilk—beginning with select grocery stores in New York City and expanding across the Northeast with an emphasis on quality, freshness, and brand authenticity.

Tune in to hear how Sourmilk is redefining what it means to be a modern CPG brand—rooted in science, community, and creativity.

Listen in as they share about:

The Concept Behind Sourmilk
Founders’ Backgrounds and Inspiration
Building a Food Brand vs. a Supplement
Product Development and Iteration
The “Drug Deal” Pickup Model
The Rebrand Story
Building in Public and Community Engagement
Growth Strategy and Future Plans

Episode Links:

Website: https://www.sourmilk.com/

Instagram: @getsourmilk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsten-kiki-c-242929112/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elan-halpern-99a018193/

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:

Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
Join the Startup CPG Slack community (20K+ members and growing!)
Follow @startupcpg
Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin
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	My friends, the QR code revolution is coming. Are you still printing QR codes just to hope
0:07.4	people scan them? What if every scan gave you first-party data, real-time insights and conversions
0:12.4	you can actually track? Meet Unicode, the platform that turns offline touchpoints into measurable,
0:18.4	branded digital experiences. Whether it's on packaging, in-store signage, trade shows, or product demos, Unicode lets you design custom QR campaigns, change destinations in real time, and track every scan.
0:30.6	We're talking branded QR codes that boosts scan rates by 30%.
0:35.6	No code interactive pages you can launch in minutes and built-in analytics
0:39.2	that finally make offline ROI, not just guesswork. Plus, integrations with Slack, Canva,
0:45.5	meta, Google Ads, and more mean your workflows stay seamless. Trusted by marketers rated 4.9
0:51.8	on G2, GDPR and SOC2 compliant.
0:54.8	And yes, there's 24-7 support.
0:56.9	Don't just place a QR code, make it work.
0:59.4	Scan the code on screen or visit us at Unicode.com slash QRCPG.
1:04.3	That links to the show notes.
1:05.6	It's UNIQO-D-com slash QRCPG.
1:28.1	Fast forward to last year, Kiki and I are starting to think about what we want to do next,
1:32.0	and we realize that this is actually potentially a pretty massive opportunity.
1:37.6	You know, two-thirds of Americans have gut health and digestive issues, and the vast majority to them are probably not going to or unwilling to take a pill or powder or a supplement
1:41.6	to actually heal those issues.
1:43.1	But 92% of American households
1:45.1	consume yogurt. So what if we took this thing that people are already eating every single day
1:50.1	and didn't ask them to change their habit or didn't ask them to make a modification in their diet,
1:55.1	but just kind of swapped it for something that was equally as good, if not better, and had a
	...

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