Little Latke

0:00Taylor Blue:Welcome to the Emerging Brands podcast. Sharing the stories behind brands you'll want to shop next. I'm your host, Kelly Bennett. I am a New York City-based brand strategist for CPG Food and Beverage Brands. In each episode, I'll take you behind the scenes of founders that are building better-for-you products and bringing them to market. it. Also, I talk to brand builders, retailers, industry experts, and tastemakers who help bring those cool products to your shopping cart. You will hear stories of real-life founders, their launch strategies, and practical advice you could use to grow your own brand or simply discover what's next on shelf.

0:42Taylor Blue:And the best part is you could shop all the brands featured on the show. This podcast is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered deduction management tool that disputes and recovers invalid deductions, winning brands, thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours back to founders so that they can focus on what really matters most. If you're a brand selling in retail, go to tryglimpse.com backslash trial for 30 days free and let them know I sent you. Now let's dive into the new episode. Hi everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Emerging Brands Podcast with Kelly Bennett. Today I have Taylor Blue.

1:30Taylor Blue:She is the founder and CEO of Little Latka. And I have to say, Taylor, your potato crisp don't last long in my home. My girlfriend and I are truly obsessed. She just is obsessed with them. And she always says, do we have any Little Latkas in the house when she wants a good snack? And you really created and innovative product based off of Nostalgia, which is one of my favorite niches in CPG. And I'm so happy to have you on the show and talk about how you've been not just launching, but really now in this next phase of scaling. And so I'm so happy to have you on the show. Yeah. Thank you so much.

2:17I am so excited to be here. And you were right. They don't last long. It's kind of like in anyone's household, some people are hiding them. You got to protect your goods.

2:28Taylor Blue:Yes, absolutely. So let's first start off with how you came up with this idea. What was that light bulb moment? Yeah, it really goes back to a specific moment in 2020. I also will touch on, you know, the whole brand was inspired by my mother's traditional potato laka recipe. And if you're not familiar with a traditional laka, they're essentially a fried potato pancake fritter, typically enjoyed around the December holidays. But they're also sold year round at delis, some, you know, some grocers. But really, what I took is like the best part, the crispy edges and wrapped it up into a cracker crisp.

3:07And that all came about when, again, back in 2020, where my mother was the holiday season and my mother always makes a ton for our family with very large families. So it's never enough. and she was complaining in the kitchen and was like everyone's begging me for my lockers this year I just don't have the time it's too much and I said well time you know time is money I said I know how to make them why don't we just have a fun thing and sell them by the dozen and so people can have them for their gatherings and you know flash freeze them throw a sticker on it with instructions and so I did that and within the two days I was doing it we had sold over a hundred dozen and something I had, and this was just by word of mouth within our community, of course.

3:48And so what I had noticed was that of course people were buying them for their, their holiday gatherings, but they were also trying to buy extra to store in their freezer for year round. And so that moment really is the first time I thought, why is the potato laca not more of a mainstream item? The shelf staple, you know, idea was not something in my mind at the time, but it was like, why is this not more of a mainstream item? Because when you go to a traditional grocer, you're not really seeing that in the frozen aisle. Trader Joe's has their version of it. Um, but really an authentic looking one.

4:21And so, yeah, that is really what the brand was inspired by. Um, it really was after a few years of on and off research doing, you know, going to market as a frozen item that I started sending out surveys and it was really basic questions. Have you ever had a potato laca? If so, what's your favorite part? And it wasn't new knowledge, but seeing all of these answers flood in saying, if I have a laca, it has to be crispy or my favorite part's the crispy edges. That was the light bulb moment. That was the light bulb. That was the light bulb. Yeah. That I was like, wow, let me start completely shifting my direction here.

4:58And the whole mission again, was to make it a mainstream item and what better way to make it so much more approachable and fun than an easy crispy snack.

5:08Taylor Blue:I mean, who doesn't love a good chip? Right. It's for people who are not familiar with potato latkes. I say, think of like your favorite crispy edges of a hash brown. Right. Essentially, you know what we are, we are wrapped up not only the golden edges of a latke, but really any crispy, you know, hash brown like that. So it's definitely a snack for everybody. Absolutely. What was your background in 2020? Like what were you doing professionally and what did that look like making the shift then to become a CPG founder, which is an adventure in itself? I would love to hear what that looked like for you.

5:49Yeah, I was actually in logistics, specifically intermodal logistics, which is railroad logistics. I was working with like, you know, companies like Costco, things like that. And it was a completely different world. And while I was happy with it, I just, I was always intrigued by the food and beverage world. I didn't know what that exactly looked like for me, but I actually was living in Chicago at the time and decided to make the leap and go to culinary school. Definitely a huge pivot. I went to night class, had my day job, but I decided there There was a great culinary program in the city of Chicago.

6:26And so I went to culinary school and I started working for some catering companies in the city and just learning the ins and outs of how a kitchen's run. Again, at the time, I didn't have a clear direction of what my goal was, but that really led me to the confidence because it was really three years I had been sitting on this idea for Little Laka. It wasn't something I had. Oh, interesting. Yeah.

6:49Taylor Blue:In 2020, then you went to culinary school and was just researching and developing what this could be. Right. Yeah. It was on and off research for a while, focusing on the frozen market. And I learned a lot and came up with the name Little Haka in 2020, immediately secured it. But it originally was a frozen concept until I dove deeper. But yeah, I certainly apply knowledge my logistics. Yeah. I mean, that's a great piece of a toolkit to have as a CPG founder to understand the logistics. I mean, that is a huge piece of running a successful CPG brand. Absolutely. I'm always finding pieces where I can apply knowledge for sure.

7:34Taylor Blue:That's so cool. Okay. So after culinary school and then doing surveys and realizing, okay, the frozen maybe isn't the path. Maybe we do a shelf stable, more of that crispy potato product. What did then that look like of taking the steps to then bringing a product to market? Yeah, I got right to work gathering as many ingredients as I could in my own kitchen, had a lot of funky versions come out. So I did that for probably a few months. And then I was like, you know what, I think, you know, my knowledge only can go so far. So I brought on an independent recipe developer to kind of bring, take it that extra mile, right which was huge I rented what I like to call my shoebox that I started with in Chicago in a facility again it was really just to start testing the concept seeing how people would respond to it so I I rented one of those out and then started systemizing it you know the whole process in there but yeah as far as self-manufacturing at first yes yes I was self-manufacturing which was a whole journey in itself and a lot of lessons learned as you can imagine.

8:44And it was actually not even two weeks after launch, which our launch was just really on our website. I admit it wasn't the most sophisticated, you know, launch plan, but I was just kind of rolling with it. And within two weeks of launch, we, I had to move us into a space that was three times the size of what I had started in because it was, it was really one TikTok, honestly. That you posted? Yes. I posted a TikTok. I remember I was about to go to dinner with my husband and I was like, I need to post something, you know, I got to keep it going. And I posted our Laka crisps being dunked in hummus.

9:24I posted it, didn't think much of it, went on with my evening. And that really was what exploded our online sales and what I had to act quickly.

9:36Taylor Blue:Isn't it so funny, especially with TikTok, it could be the most random thing that you just did really quickly that goes viral. It was so random. And I promise you, it was not the best video that's ever been made. But I love that even more. Yeah, it's crazy. I will never forget that moment seeing the orders come in multiple by the minute. It was really like mind blowing. So, yeah, I moved us into a facility that was like, again, like three times the size. Luckily, the facility I was producing in was working with me and was flexible. And and so, yeah, we were we were self-manufacturing. You were off to the races quite quickly from honestly the very, very beginning.

10:22Taylor Blue:And I know this past year, you've been really working on scale, right? You did a reformulation. Now you have three flavors and you launched the two new SKUs at Expo West this year, which is so exciting and really now taking the brand to the next level. So I would love to hear what that stage looked like. Like what were those indicators that you're like, okay, we need to reformulate in order to scale. I want to bring on more flavors. Cause I think a lot of founders get very anxious about that piece of the puzzle. Like the excitement of getting started. They're like, okay, I can wrap my head around that.

11:05Taylor Blue:But then taking that next step and really doubling down is a bit daunting, right? So I would love to hear from your perspective, Taylor, what was, what were the signs that you're like, okay, it's time and I feel good about this. And then what did that look like of implementing? Yeah. So I I'll go back. So we launched November, 22, 2024 to be exact. And so that was, you know, a peak season for us naturally. And so there was a lot to learn. So yes, it was exciting that there was all of this demand happening with quite literally no marketing and this and that, but it was also the holiday season. And this was a very new, you know snack that I was bringing to the market there was still a lot to learn is this happening because it's the holidays what is it going to look after you know in January and so um it was really I was I think I waited till like March to see like okay where is this where the kind of chips falling and I am happy to say it only grew the demand only grew so it proved that okay people really do enjoy this as their mainstream snack, which of course was our goal.

12:12And so I really, it was like the February or March after like only a few months, like after we launched where I was like, okay, my current process and formula is not going to, I knew it wasn't going to scale. And I definitely created it scrappily and it needed to be commercialized and to kind of explain it in short, our current process we were doing in that facility did not transfer to what manufacturers and how they, their equipment and all of that. Right.

12:42Taylor Blue:Which is a big piece that I think so many emerging brand founders miss. They think if I come up with a recipe in my kitchen or even a recipe developer, that will just work on any machine. And that's something I always find. I'm like, no, no, it really depends on who you use as a co-man. Right. It's, it's a huge piece. I think with our product, there is, and I say this confidently after a very long journey, there is no piece of equipment that exists in the world that can create our product the way that we make it. Um, what sets us apart is that the potato shreds are the star of the show and that is very important.

13:21And so there were, that put us in a very tight corner of like the directions we could go. So I kickstarted with an agency that was willing to not only attack the reformulation and build out the new SKUs, but also at the same time source manufacturers and learn what are their capabilities? How can we kind of do this backwards? And I will say after going through that process, that's not always the answer that everyone, you know, the process everyone should go through. Sometimes you need to create your product and then find that person to, but there's also a beauty and working at the same time with these manufacturers and kind of customizing your process to what they're doing.

14:00Um, so you could say I learned a lot with commercializing this product. We ended up having to completely custom make our, our process.

14:11Taylor Blue:Wow. Yeah. So it's, um, after I had kickstarted that, I think it was, yeah, around the March time I kickstarted that project. And us founders know, like finding a co-packer, it can take six to 12 months or sometimes more. So for us, it was even harder and longer as you can imagine, because they had never seen something produced like this. So it was also really hard to, another thing that us founders know is that convincing a, you know, a manufacturer to take a risk on you as a small brand, you know, your, your volume is low at that point for them. And And I also had to convince them. So, you know, it was worth the time and investing in me to figure this out, but also to, you know, take us on as a client.

14:55Taylor Blue:No, that's huge. And what was the unlock that you learned that really helped you find the right partner? What really helped me find the right partner was someone who just absolutely was as passionate about the brand as I was. And you will find that. It can take long, but someone who believed in it so much that they were willing to kind of put their all into it as well, which is so like makes me feel so secure, obviously. So we ended up it was two engineers. I found a co-packer that has two engineers that work on site and they built helped me build the custom line themselves. That's incredible.

15:34Taylor Blue:And I know that you've been, you launched G2C, very quickly got filled with inbox requests from independent retailers. And that has been a way of you really then now, again, scaling. I would love to hear your advice on that approach with independent retailers. Because again, a lot of founders listening, they are maybe just getting ready to go the independent retail route. or that will be their first step in bringing their product to market. And I would love to hear from your learnings, what advice you would share with them with working with independent retailers? Yeah, originally my strategy was to just focus on D2C.

16:20I think that's the best way to build a community. But I also kind of switched the way I viewed that because us popping up into these smaller independent grocers or maybe some a little bit bigger of a chain, that actually really helped build the community as well, but also gave me the confidence. So there was a lot of large steps I took. And if you're hesitant, the best way to test that and just make you feel more secure is to see how you're moving at these stores, especially the smaller ones. You can argue that's not super relevant to some velocity that you're trying to capture, But I think it's really important to gather feedback from not only the people buying, the customer buying at the store, but the store itself.

17:09Taylor Blue:Absolutely. How did that shift look like for you in your career? Because going from the logistics, starting a CPG brand essentially, but in between going to culinary school, I know so many entrepreneurs also listening, founders are making that transition from say corporate to CPG founder. And I would love to hear what that looked like for you. Yeah, the highs are high and the lows are low. But as far as for me, I really invested a lot of time. It took probably about like eight months to bring Little Locker to life from the branding and the first version of the formula. And I just would say, talk to anyone that you can.

17:52I know like we, a lot of us founders say that, but it is so true. you connect with anyone, whether it's a service provider, another founder, you know, everyone's busy, but people, I promise are so willing to give you their time and give back.

18:06Taylor Blue:Because the industry is very friendly. It's a very welcoming, friendly industry. And I can confidently say that that played a huge role. But I, to answer your question, I am learning day by day, quite literally every week. I feel like I'm 10 times smarter than I was before. and I'm almost three years in at this point. So it's incredible everything I've learned. But yeah, I did. I entered this industry really knowing nothing. And sometimes that's, I think, been a beautiful thing. I think taking someone's strategy and hearing how the pros and cons of how that worked for them, I, you know, all brands, I think that doesn't all apply.

18:45You can't just copy and paste. No. So I think just learning as much as you can from anyone else and applying that in your own way is really important. So I think like there's a beauty in being a little bit clueless and blind. Yes.

18:57Taylor Blue:And you're curious and you're asking questions and I think, and you're solving problems constantly. And those are great skills to be sharpening as a founder, right? And those aren't necessarily skills that corporate to my understanding really focuses on, right? Like you have to shift into founder mindset where it's good to ask questions and it's good to say, I don't know what I'm doing. Who's the best person that I can outsource this to, right? So I'm really glad that you touched upon that of starting, even if you don't have experience in being a founder or CPG Food and Bev and just taking those steps to find your own path and what works for you and your brand.

19:45Right. And I think timing's everything. Sometimes there's never, again, I say that, but there's never always the most perfect timing. But for me, like when you're entering this space specifically in CPG, you really have to be ready to give it your absolute all. I can say that if I would have started Little Laka maybe four years before I did, maybe that wouldn't have been the case. I wasn't ready. I had some things to learn, you know, in my professional career and grow in that way. And so it really, it set me up for success, the timing, I think.

20:16Taylor Blue:That's a great point too. What are you most excited about in Little Laka world that you're building? I mean, you've done such incredible work getting to this point, but I would love to hear what you're excited about for the future. Yeah. I'm of course excited to expand our flavors beyond the two new ones that we just launched, which is garlic parm and spicy honey Dijon. We chose those because it really caters to how well we do like in the deli. But yeah, I'm excited to expand the flavors and see how people respond to them, but also kind of dive into honestly like different partnerships, like how we could fit in as that crunchy snack.

20:57I think that single serves are such a huge thing right now. They have been obviously, but like, it's like really such a big moment right now for that, whether it's at the airport, you know, like the, the hummus and the pretzels, whatever. I think I'm really excited to explore that for little Laka. Um, I think it would open a lot of different doors. So that's something definitely. Okay.

21:20Taylor Blue:I am manifesting that too, for you and for myself and my girlfriend, when we travel, cause you just need like a good, salty, delicious, crispy snack when you're traveling and like something light and delicious, like your product would be so good. Yeah. And anything on the go structure is just, it's so important right now. I think for sure. I agree. Last question. Where can people shop little black? Yeah, we, uh, you can find us on our website. I encourage you if you haven't tried the new flavors, the variety pack is definitely the best way to go. So you can get a little taste of everything, but yeah, you can find us on our website.

21:58We also have a store locator on our website. So yeah, I appreciate to see if we're in a store near you.

22:04Taylor Blue:Amazing. Well, Taylor, I'm so happy we got this conversation recorded and I am so excited to try the new formulation. I know the products are on the way. I'm sure they are incredibly delicious. I've already been obsessed with your product and thank you again for coming on the show and sharing all the behind the scenes. Yeah. No, thank you so much. You're so welcome. Thank you everyone for listening and I'll see you on the next episode. Bye. This episode was brought to you by Glimpse. As we know, building a brand is not as sexy and glamorous as it looks on social media at times. A lot of those unsexy problems come into play when brands start to scale in retail distribution.

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