Shelf Talks
Shelf Talks is the podcast for female founders, CPG entrepreneurs, and product-based business owners who want to get their products into retail stores and build brands that thrive once they're on the shelf.
Hosted by Roberta Townes, a retail buyer with more than 15 years of experience discovering and launching products at national retailers, each weekly episode features honest conversations with female founders who have successfully landed on retail shelves. Together, they pull back the curtain on how they pitched buyers, built wholesale partnerships, scaled distribution, increased brand awareness, and overcame the challenges of growing a product-based business.
Whether you're preparing for your first retail pitch or looking to expand into more stores, you'll gain practical strategies for retail readiness, wholesale growth, buyer expectations, merchandising, and increasing sell-through once your product hits the shelf.
If you're ready to turn your product into a retail success story, you're in the right place.
New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to Shelf Talks and learn what it really takes to get your brand retail-ready and winning in stores.
Looking for even more retail guidance? Roberta's book, Shelf Talk: A Step by Step Guide to Getting Your Product in Retail Stores, is available on Amazon.
Shelf Talks
Latest Episodes
Retail Readiness Round: Cory Varona, Co-Founder of OCOA Beauty
What does it really take to be ready for a national retail opportunity?In this Retail Readiness Round, Cory Varona, co-founder of OCOA Beauty, shares three important lessons every product-based founder should know before pitching a natio...
Cory Varona, Co-Founder of OCOA Beauty: From Kitchen Formulation to 461 Ulta Stores
What does it really take to go from an idea in your kitchen to getting your product on the shelves of 461 Ulta Beauty stores?In this episode of Shelf Talks, Roberta sits down with Cory Varona, co-founder of OCOA Beauty, the sister-founde...
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Why Sampling Could Be Your Secret Weapon in Retail
Getting your product onto a retail shelf is not the finish line. It’s the beginning.In this solo episode of Shelf Talks, host Roberta breaks down one of the most powerful ways product-based brands can turn their retail presence into real...
10 Questions Every Founder Should Ask a Retail Buyer Before Saying Yes
Getting your product onto a retail shelf is exciting, but getting the yes is only the beginning.In this episode of Shelf Talks, Roberta Townes shares 10 smart questions every product-based founder should ask a retail buyer when discussin...
Your Product Is Great. So Why Isn’t It Selling? 5 Retail Mistakes Founders Make
Getting your product onto a retail shelf is a huge milestone, but what happens when the product isn't selling once it gets there?In this solo episode of Shelf Talks, Roberta Townes, retail buyer and host of Shelf Talks Podcast, breaks do...