Founder Feature: Val Emanuel of Rif Care

The Startup CPG Podcast

Startup CPG

Startup, Food, Business, Beverage, Cpg, Entrepreneurship

4.9 • 642 Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Grace Kennedy sits down with Val Emanuel, the inspiring co-founder of Rif Care, a two-year-old feminine care brand that prioritizes sustainability and wellness. Val shares the journey behind Rif Care's creation, from identifying gaps in the market for elevated, eco-friendly period products to overcoming challenges in manufacturing and scaling the business. She opens up about her diverse career path, the importance of sustainability in product innovation, and the invaluable lessons learned from working at iconic companies like GOOP.

Val delves into key entrepreneurial insights, including building a retail presence with brands like Erewhon, leveraging TikTok and social media for growth. She also highlights the realities of being a female founder of color, the role of grant funding, and the value of accelerators in driving business growth. Plus, Val shares practical advice on scaling a team, pursuing grants, and preparing for Riff Care’s 2025 goals, which include expanding retail partnerships and surpassing $1 million in sales.

Don’t miss these actionable insights on navigating the CPG industry and building a sustainable brand —tune in now!

Listen in as they share about:

Origins of Riff Care
Early Challenges and Launch
Funding and Growth Strategies
Marketing and Sales
Identifying Market Gaps
Marketing and Sales Strategies
Challenges as a Founder
Future Plans for 2025
Advice for Founders

Episode Links:

Website: https://rifcare.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valemanuel/

Instagram: malibumama__

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 Daniel's Linkedin
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
Episode music by Super Fantastics

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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.
0:53.6	Music I was I was
0:58.4	I was reaching out to factories.
1:07.6	When everyone said no,
1:08.6	I just kind of closed the curtain on it.
1:10.4	But this time, I was like, let me think bigger. I had something to show. Like I had a pad. We had samples to one of the buyers, some samples to try. And it was like a pad and a plastic bag. And then I said them in the box separately. And this is a testament to do how the product works and how you feel like you're just sitting on a cushion.
1:28.1	It just feels so much more comfortable than like a plastic pad or a plastic tampon.
1:32.2	But they actually loved it so much that before we were even ready, before product had landed in the United States, they had approved us.
1:41.7	Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast.
1:45.8	This is Grace and I'm here with another founder feature.
1:49.1	Today I'm talking to Val Emmanuel, the founder of RIFCare.
1:53.3	RIFCare makes organic period care out of hemp fiber.
1:56.3	In this episode, Val talks all about why organic period care is so important, the resources she relies on as a woman and Bipak-owned business, and how RIF got into Airwan before they even launched.
2:10.2	I hope you enjoy this episode, and as always, let me know what you think.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Startup CPG, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Startup CPG and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.