Founder Feature: Maxi Heidenblut of Häppy Candy
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Grace Kennedy sits down with Maxi Heidenblut, the founder of Häppy Candy, a better-for-you gummy candy brand with 70% less sugar—without using artificial sweeteners. Maxi shares her journey from working in asset management to launching a CPG startup, tackling the challenges of bootstrapping, cold-calling manufacturers, and navigating the retail landscape.
She also discusses how Häppy Candy is making waves in independent stores and national retail, leveraging social media, influencer marketing, and trade shows to expand its footprint.
Tune in to hear how Maxi is reshaping the candy industry with a healthier, delicious alternative—all while managing a full-time job in New York City.
Listen in as they share about:
- Overview of Happy Candy
- Product Development and Manufacturing
- Challenges as a First-Time Founder
- Business Launch & Initial Growth
- Retail & Expansion Strategy
- DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) & Social Media Strategy
- Challenges of Bootstrapping & Financial Planning
- Future Goals
Episode Links:
Website: https://haeppycandy.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/haeppy-candy/
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Transcript
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| 0:39.5 | of their case studies. |
| 0:40.6 | Make sure to mention us at Startup CPG for a special |
| 0:43.1 | discount. |
| 1:08.6 | Thank you. So our target audience and where we get the most demand from is millennial moms, basically, who are shopping for their kids. |
| 1:15.6 | We see a lot of moms reaching out and buying our candy for their kids because no dyes and no funny aftertaste and less sugar. So it's more in the natural channel. I would say Whole Foods would obviously be a great banner to be in |
| 1:22.6 | because that's exactly where our target audiences. |
| 1:25.6 | But it's also for millennials and Gen Zers that |
| 1:28.0 | want to reduce their sugar consumption, but they don't want to have any fake sugars. And there's |
| 1:33.8 | actually a recent very interesting study from the International Food Information Council, the IFIC, |
| 1:39.6 | and they had a food and health survey from 2024. And what they found is that especially younger Americans, |
| 1:45.9 | millennials and Gen Zs, prefer moderate amounts of sugar over those fake sugars, those sugar |
| 1:51.9 | substitutes. And the reason is that it just tastes better. Hello everyone and welcome |
| 1:58.2 | back to the startup CPG podcast. This is Grace and I'm here with another founder feature. |
... |
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