From a Private Label Business to a National Fruit Snack Brand | Jonathan Cornish, Froot Thief

From Shelf Help: The Tactical CPG Podcast · 30:22

Show by Adam Steinberg

On this episode, we're joined by Jonathan Cornish, Co-Founder and Head Bandit of The Froot Thief - the better-for-you fruit snack brand making real fruit whips with no added sugar that kids eat like candy. Jonathan spent 25 years building a private label business that supplies some of the biggest retailers in the world before launching his own brand.We dig into the Costco pitch that kicked it all off: a Zoom call in the middle of the pandemic with a buyer who had been looking for exactly this product for a long time. Jonathan breaks down what came next: scaling through natural first, then club, then conventional, planning raw fruit supply for a factory in South Africa, and the rule that kept the brand out of trouble - nothing gets produced without confirmed orders. He also walks through how 25 years of private label sourcing let them skip the usual learning curve on logistics, food safety, and on-time delivery.We get into formulation (engineering a gummy, candy-like texture from what is essentially a fruit smoothie), pricing at a premium when sugar makes up most of the competition, and why in-store demos get the majority of the marketing budget. Jonathan is candid about distributors and deductions, including why the brand now has someone dedicated to managing them, plus the work of simplifying Amazon down to fewer SKUs. ---------------Episode Highlights:🛒 Pitching Costco over Zoom mid-pandemic and getting an immediate yes📈 Scaling nationally (natural first, then club, then conventional)🚢 Planning raw fruit supply for a factory in South Africa✅ Only producing against confirmed orders🏭 How 25 years of private label sourcing gave the brand a head start🧪 Turning a fruit smoothie into a gummy, candy-like whip🎭 Building a mischievous, Robin Hood-style brand world🏷️ Pricing at a premium when sugar is the competition's main ingredient👅 Why in-store demos get most of the marketing budget🚚 Distributors, deductions, and a dedicated hire to manage them📦 Simplifying Amazon to fewer, focused SKUs💸 Self-funding today and when outside capital comes in👀 Brands he's watching (Midday Squares, Blue Stripes)---------------Table of Contents:00:00 – Intro00:51 – Why Froot Thief exists02:02 – The Costco pitch that started it all04:03 – Scaling nationally and channel sequencing05:57 – Production capacity and raw fruit supply07:44 – Funding production and producing against orders08:37 – Leveraging 25 years of private label11:16 – Why he finally built his own brand11:58 – Formulation and R&D with a trusted factory13:55 – Engineering a candy-like texture14:24 – Innovation pipeline and earning parent trust16:00 – Building the bandit brand world17:22 – Pricing a premium fruit snack19:42 – Why demos get the marketing budget20:19 – Distributors and the deductions problem22:54 – Amazon and simplifying the SKU lineup26:05 – Brands he's watching28:07 – Self-funding and the next phase---------------Links:The Froot Thief – https://frootthief.com/The Froot Thief on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-froot-thiefFollow Jonathan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-cornish-a3b2ab/Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/Looking to dominate the cognitive health space? Upgrade your formula with Cognizin. It’s the branded, clinically backed citicoline trusted by top innovators in supplements, foods, and beverages. Differentiate your brand today at Cognizin.com.

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