Founder Feature: Joe Cassinelli of El Nacho
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2025
⏱️ 31 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 Startup CPG, Caitlin Bricker speaks with Joe Cassinelli, founder of El Nacho, a premium tortilla chip brand bringing restaurant-quality taste and craftsmanship to the snack aisle. Drawing on nearly 35 years in the restaurant industry, Joe shares the journey of building a manufacturing facility during the pandemic, rebranding from a generic product to a premium offering, and creating bold, lucha libre–inspired packaging that captures consumer attention.
Joe discusses El Nacho’s commitment to quality through the use of regeneratively farmed corn, in-house nixtamalization, and frying exclusively in avocado oil. He also explains how unique, all-natural flavors are developed directly from the menu of his Mexican restaurants, ensuring both authenticity and innovation. From navigating the slower pace of the CPG world to embracing its collaborative community, Joe offers valuable insights into scaling a brand in a competitive category while maintaining product integrity and consumer trust.
Tune in now!
Don’t miss the chance to connect with investors and brands—secure your spot at fandf.startupcpg.comÂ
Listen in as they share about:
- Flavor Creation & Inspiration
- Consumer Feedback & Iteration
- Relaunch & Rebranding
- Market Position & Retail Strategy
- Sales & Distribution
- Business Lessons & Advice
Episode Links:
Website: https://elnachochip.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-cassinelli-05a66b38/Â
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 | Okay, you know that moment when someone hands you a business card and then it disappears into the void 10 minutes later? |
| 0:07.6 | Yeah, same. |
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| 0:27.6 | where it gets next level. You get real-time data on who scanned it, where, what they clicked. |
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| 0:39.4 | handshakes into trackable leads automatically. If you're managing a team, you can deploy branded |
| 0:45.2 | cards at scale. You can lock templates for your brand consistency and automate updates |
| 0:50.4 | across the whole organization. So no more printing, guessing, or hoping that the card didn't end up in the hotel trash can. |
| 0:56.8 | Skip the paper, start making every hello measurable. |
| 1:00.6 | Hit the link in the show notes or visit unico.com slash CPG business cards. |
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| 1:13.0 | not their recycling bin. All right. |
| 1:42.9 | The great thing is, like, I think that the CPG world is a lot more collaborative than what, you know, kind of like what the restaurant world used to be, where a lot of chefs were always helping each other and you'd lead on each other and you'd, like, borrow ingredients from each other. |
| 1:47.5 | Like, hey, I ran out on tuna, and that's Friday night. I could call a friend and say like when you borrow a compound's a tuna you know that's changed a little bit now in this like new modern restaurant world but I have to say like |
| 1:54.0 | the openness for everybody in the CPG world to kind of jump in and like just give advice and |
| 1:59.0 | people aren't afraid to tell you where they messed up |
| 2:03.4 | and neither am I. And I've always taken a lot of pride in helping like chefs that have worked |
| 2:08.5 | for me grow and like open their own restaurants. And I feel like the CPG world is a lot like that. |
| 2:15.3 | Like you know, people are more willing to lift you up than to knock you down. |
| 2:22.2 | Hey everybody. |
... |
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