Founder Feature: Lex Evan of Lexington Bakes
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Lex Evan, founder of LEXINGTON BAKES, a luxury baked goods brand serving protein cookies, protein oat bars, and dessert brownies. But the luxury isn't in the price — it's in the ingredients. Lex just won a NEXTY Award at Expo West for best vegan product, and he's bringing that energy into this conversation.
Caitlin and Lex dig into his 20-year career as a graphic designer, how he taught himself to bake from scratch, and why he trademarked both "radical ingredient transparency" and "no naughty ingredients" — two philosophies that sit at the heart of everything LEXINGTON BAKES does. From printing supplier logos directly on packaging to sharing every award with his ingredient partners, Lex has built a brand that puts integrity above everything else.
They also get into the realities of being a solo founder — protecting your time, setting boundaries with your community, and why putting your head down and staying true to your vision is what ultimately led to winning the NEXTY Award. Plus, Lex drops some breaking news: his co-manufacturer just went out of business, and he's back to self-manufacturing while the brand continues to grow.
Listen in as they discuss:
- How a 20-year design career at Johnson & Johnson laid the foundation for LEXINGTON BAKES
- Why Lex taught himself to bake and how community feedback pushed him to turn a hobby into a brand
- What radical ingredient transparency means — and why he trademarked it
- Why LEXINGTON BAKES prints supplier logos directly on packaging and shares every award with ingredient partners
- What "no naughty ingredients" means and why Lex avoids the word "clean" entirely
- The serendipitous story of how Artisana came to him right as he was developing his nut butter-powered protein cookies
- How being a solo founder shapes every decision he makes about time, energy, and generosity
- Why putting his head down and ignoring the competition led directly to his NEXTY Award win
- Advice for first-time CPG founders: stay true to your vision and don't let unexpected opportunities derail where you're going
Episode Links:
Lex Evan — Founder, LEXINGTON BAKES
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexevan LEXINGTON BAKES
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lexingtonbakes/
LEXINGTON BAKES Website: https://lexingtonbakes.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexingtonbakes
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Show Links:
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Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | My philosophy has always been that we are only as good as the ingredients resource and without our |
| 0:16.6 | ingredient partners, we would not be winning awards. |
| 0:19.8 | Like, our awards are not just for the product that we |
| 0:22.6 | make and sell. Our awards are reflective of the quality of the ingredient partners that we work with. |
| 0:28.2 | So whenever we win an award, I share it with all of our ingredient partners because without them, |
| 0:33.4 | we would not be making award-winning treats. |
| 0:36.8 | Hey, everybody. |
| 0:37.9 | This is Caitlin Bricker, managing editor at Startup CPG. |
| 0:41.2 | We are back with another founder of Feature. |
| 0:43.8 | Today I'm sitting down with Lex Evan, founder of Lexington Bakes. |
| 0:47.4 | Lexington Bakes is a luxury baked goods serving protein cookies, protein oat bars, and dessert brownies. |
| 0:52.9 | But the luxury isn't in the cost of |
| 0:55.0 | the products. It's in the ingredients he so carefully chooses. Lex just won an ex-die award at Expo |
| 1:00.9 | West for Best Vegan Product, and he's bringing that energy into this conversation. We're diving |
| 1:05.9 | into his journey from 20 years as a designer to teaching himself how to bake, why he trademarked radical ingredient |
| 1:12.3 | transparency, and prints his suppliers' logos on his packaging, and his philosophy on protecting |
| 1:18.5 | your time as a solo founder. This is a masterclass in staying true to your vision and building a brand |
| 1:24.1 | with integrity. I'm excited about this one because my first interaction with |
| 1:28.1 | Lex left me stunned in the best way. We'll get into it on this episode. As always, enjoy. |
| 1:37.4 | Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Caitlin and today I'm here with Lex Evan, |
| 1:43.1 | founder of Lexington Bakes. Lex, |
| 1:45.2 | welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I've been waiting to be on the show for |
... |
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