When the Target buyer asked if they had supply chain issues before offering a chain-wide launch, the founder instantly said 'nope'—despite producing in a 'chicken coop.' This bold move secured the deal, forcing them to rapidly scale.
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Alave's founders turned down a nationwide launch with Whole Foods, opting for a smaller, regional rollout instead. This counterintuitive move allowed them to mitigate risk, learn the retailer's systems in a controlled environment, and build a sustainable foundation before scaling. This proved crucial when a cyber attack hit their distributor.
In their search for a scalable process, the founders experimented with a completely unconventional method: using a paint sprayer and heat guns to coat almonds with chocolate. While it failed, it demonstrates a crucial, scrappy innovation mindset.
To perfect their recipe, the founders didn't just experiment randomly. They carefully deconstructed a high-end chocolatier's almond with a knife to understand its unique properties and palate, which informed their own development.
To secure one of their first major corporate accounts, co-founder Chrissy Holler bypassed traditional channels by sneaking into the Google campus cafeteria. She found the chef and pitched them directly, successfully getting the product stocked for employees.
To boost visibility for their risky chain-wide launch, the founders negotiated for a coveted end cap. Instead of a hefty fee, they offered Target an exclusive peanut butter almond flavor, turning product development into a powerful marketing asset.
Despite landing on the Inc. 5000 list, the company was losing money on a massive scale. The 'growth at all costs' mindset meant they ignored profitability, with founders admitting they didn't even know what COGS were.
Breezy Griffith's early ventures, like selling sorbets and sandwiches at a loss, weren't failures. They were crucial learning experiences that built the foundational skills and resilience needed to launch a successful CPG brand.
The co-founders credit their success to their complementary skills. Daughter Breezy provides the relentless execution ('jet fuel'), while mother Val, the 'visionary,' has an innate ability to see long-term consumer trends before they materialize.
When 40,000 lbs of almonds arrived rancid just before their Target launch, the founders' emergency plan was to deploy an 'army' of friends to buy out bulk bins at every local grocery store and Costco to meet the deadline.
Unable to find a co-manufacturer through traditional means, co-founder Breezy Griffith scoured esoteric chocolate blogs, found a chocolatier's comment, reverse-engineered their screen name to find a phone number, and cold-called them at home.