The Retail X Series Podcast
Are you an early stage founder revolutionizing the future of retail? Then you’re in the right place. My name is Sapna Shah and I’m an angel investor investing at the preseed stage in retail tech, ecommerce, marketplaces and consumer. I’m also the founder of Retail X Series, an ecosystem to help early-stage founders in the retail sector. Retail X Series includes events, a YouTube channel, a Slack community, resources for founders, and this podcast. In this podcast, I interview founders, investors and experts in the retail space, and we dig deep into the tactics around key topics that early-stage founders want to hear about. Welcome to the Retail X podcast.
The Retail X Series Podcast
How to Sell a Consumer Product into Costco, Featuring Michelle Razavi of Elavi
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Sapna Shah
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Episode 40
How can a startup with only two full-time employees sell their food product into Costco? This episode features Michelle Razavi, Founder & CEO of Elavi, a startup that specializes in gut-friendly, low-sugar dessert spreads. Michelle will tell us all about her journey getting her product into Costco.
Topics:
- When in Elavi’s growth did Costco appear on their radar
- Why Costco was a fit for Elavi, and how they got in the front door
- How Elavi managed diligence and leaned on advisors for help
- What steps Elavi had to take to be ready to sell into Costco
- What is a Costco roadshow and how Elavi managed it
- Key metrics that Michelle and her co-founder tracked during roadshow days
- How Elavi turned the roadshow into a purchase order
- What launching in stores required – including more financing
- Why doing the research and being prepared is so critical when considering wholesale sales
Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com
Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.
To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.