Griffin Spolansky - Scaling Mezcla from Boston Bodegas to 9,000 Doors

On this episode, we're joined by Griffin Spolansky, Co-Founder & CEO of Mezcla - the plant-based puff crispy protein bar brand that's gone from Boston bodegas to 9,000+ doors and $17M raised. We dive into how Griffin started iterating in a co-founder's kitchen at 20 years old, how they landed on the puff crispy format, and the gut-driven flavor decisions behind their launch lineup. Griffin shares hard-earned advice on formulation, finding co-packers, and why keeping things simple beats trying to look sophisticated. We also get into the real mechanics of scaling from 50,000 bars in year one to a target of 20-30 million this year, why they stripped country qualifiers from flavor names to unlock supply chain flexibility, how their rebrand was driven by shelf clarity needs in mass conventional and club, and the door-to-door hustle that got them into their first 50 Boston bodegas before cracking Costco. Griffin also breaks down his profitability-first approach to growth, how he evaluates demos and secondary displays against trade spend budgets, and why he believes a founder's job is to create FOMO. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🍫 Origin story: creating a protein bar that's actually fun to eat 🧪 Formulation R&D and why they chose the puff crispy format 🏭 Finding co-packers and keeping your co-man honest 🚚 Supply chain shifts (removing country qualifiers to scale) 🎨 Packaging rebrand for shelf clarity in mass retail 🛒 Door-to-door in Boston bodegas and cracking the distributor code 💰 Growth with profitability: unit economics as the foundation 🎯 Getting into Costco through Expo West 🛍️ In-store demos, secondary displays, and trade spend math 💸 Raising $17M total and the Series B journey 🔥 Why a founder's job is to create FOMO 👀 Brands to watch: Coconut Cult and Fish Wife --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 00:37 – Origin story and the idea behind Mezcla 02:10 – Formulation, R&D, and choosing the puff crispy format 05:04 – Advice for up-and-coming CPG founders 06:44 – Finding and working with co-packers 09:07 – Supply chain and raw material sourcing at scale 10:36 – Packaging design and building brand identity 12:01 – The rebrand and designing for shelf clarity 15:09 – Go-to-market: door-to-door in Boston and New York 15:57 – Distributors, DSDs, and the chicken-and-egg problem 17:48 – Growth with profitability and unit economics 19:55 – Building out the board 20:51 – Pricing strategy on shelf 21:50 – Getting into Costco 23:41 – In-store demos, secondary displays, and trade spend 27:02 – Fundraising and the Series B 29:22 – Creating FOMO and the Boshon's model 32:40 – Brands and trends to watch --------------- Links: Mezcla – https://eatmezcla.com/ Follow Griffin on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/griffinspolansky/ 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/. Shout out to Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.