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
How Sarela Herrada Built SIMPLi Into a Fast-Growing Retail Brand Through Regenerative Farming
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In this episode of Shelf Talks, Roberta sits down with Sarela Herrada, co-founder and CEO of SIMPLi, to unpack the journey of building a mission-driven food brand from the ground up and transforming regenerative agriculture into a fast-growing retail success story.
Sarela shares how she turned a passion for nutrient-dense foods and sustainable sourcing into a brand now found on retail shelves nationwide. From investing her life savings into building international supply chains to landing accounts with food service partners and eventually scaling into major retailers, this conversation is packed with actionable insights for founders building consumer brands.
You’ll hear how SIMPLi pivoted during COVID, why they launched in food service before retail, the scrappy LinkedIn outreach strategy that helped open doors, and what buyers really look for when evaluating emerging brands. Sarela also reveals lessons around retail growth strategy, packaging innovation, category disruption, inventory planning, velocity, and scaling operations without breaking your business.
If you're a founder trying to get into retail stores, improve your retail pitch, understand category growth, or build a product consumers truly connect with, this episode is filled with practical takeaways.
In this episode we cover:
• How SIMPLi built global supply chains from Peru and Greece
• Why regenerative organic products are changing the future of food
• Landing early partnerships and scaling through food service
• The strategy that helped SIMPLi get into retail stores
• How to pitch retail buyers and stand out in declining categories
• Packaging mistakes, customer feedback, and early retail lessons
• Why founders need to understand retail velocity and inventory planning
• Building a retail growth strategy that lasts
Whether you're launching your first product, preparing for Whole Foods, or scaling your CPG brand, this episode delivers real lessons from the front lines of retail.
SIMPLi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatsimpli/
SIMPLi Website: https://eatsimpli.com/
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Contact us via email: Hello@shelftalks.com
Reach out if you know of a female founder with an impactful brand and retail story and leave a review if you found value in this episode! Hello@shelftalks.com
Purchase the book Shelf Talk: A step by step guide to launching your product in Retail Stores by Roberta Townes Buy Book