Founder Feature: Nikki Seaman of Freestyle Snacks
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of The Startup CPG Podcast, Grace Kennedy welcomes Nikki Seaman, founder and CEO of Freestyle Snacks, to discuss the journey behind reimagining olives as a premium, convenient snack. Nikki shares her inspiration for launching Freestyle Snacks during the pandemic, identifying a gap in the market for fresh, flavorful olives packaged for modern, on-the-go lifestyles.
From early product development to navigating over 200 co-packer rejections, Nikki provides a behind-the-scenes look at building a CPG brand from the ground up. Discover how her data-driven approach, innovative packaging, and strategic focus on diverse channels like grocery, hospitality, and even Delta Air Lines snack boxes have contributed to the brand’s success.
If you’re curious about the intricacies of product design, scaling into retail, and creating a snack that stands out in a crowded market, this episode is packed with valuable insights.
Listen in as they share about:
- Introduction to Freestyle Snacks
- Challenges in Early Development
- Product Development
- Go-to-Market Strategy
- Unique Brand Positioning
- Expansion and Key Channels
- Trends and Market Fit
Episode Links:
Website: https://www.freestylesnacking.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-seaman/
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 | Beep! Did you know that the beep of a barcode scan is heard at the point of sale more than 10 billion times a day worldwide? |
| 0:10.3 | Make sure your product is ready to go beep in the store or when you're selling online with a barcode from GS1US. |
| 0:18.5 | It's trusted by trading partners across the world. |
| 0:21.9 | GS1US is a not-for-profit standards organization that helps you meet retailer requirements, |
| 0:27.6 | enhance customer satisfaction, and streamline your operations. |
| 0:31.7 | GS1US offers flexible pricing options to fit the needs of your business and product line. |
| 0:36.5 | To estimate how many barcodes you need and to learn more about how to set up your supply chain |
| 0:41.2 | for success, go to gs1.us.org today. |
| 0:47.1 | That's gs1us.org. |
| 1:05.7 | Music org. As far as the recipe development, that was a lot of just formulating in my kitchen, |
| 1:10.6 | what flavor profiles |
| 1:11.6 | I thought went really well together, and then always ensuring that we were using super |
| 1:16.3 | fresh ingredients. So with our lemon garlic olives, for instance, we use a freshly squeezed lemon |
| 1:22.1 | juice. And I think that freshness and that quality really comes across in the product today. |
| 1:28.8 | Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. |
| 1:33.4 | This is Grace and I'm back with another founder feature. |
| 1:37.0 | Today I'm talking to Nikki Seaman, the founder of Freestyle Snacks. |
| 1:41.8 | Freestyle Snacks makes high quality, delicious, marinated olives from |
| 1:46.1 | grease with convenient liquid-free packaging. Nikki and I talk all about what it's like |
| 1:51.6 | to reimagine a long-standing category, how she is approaching multi-channel distribution, |
| 1:57.7 | and how she got her product into the hands of one very famous reality TV star with |
| 2:02.8 | over a million followers. I hope you enjoyed this episode and as always, let me know what you think. |
... |
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