DTC POD is a podcast about all things direct to consumer. We cover everything for starting, growing, and optimizing eCommerce stores and DTC (or D2C) brands.
We talk with founders, marketers, platforms, creators and marketing & growth agencies to cover topics like brand building, social media, inf
Scott Dancy is the founder and CEO of Azuna, a fast-growing brand in the air freshener space that champions natural, tea tree oil-based products. His experience spans hands-on entrepreneurship, product development, and building a high-growth business rooted in Buffalo. In this episode of DTC Pod, Scott shares how Azuna scaled from DIY packaging to thriving in DTC, Amazon, and retail channels. He breaks down product strategy, funding decisions, and marketing partnerships—highlighting lessons learned from both successes and setbacks in growing a modern CPG brand.
Graham Rigby is the President and CEO of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), a 20-year veteran of the herbal supplements industry, and former Chief Innovation Officer at Care/of. He has also been involved with startups including Infinite Garden and Ingredient AI. In this episode of DTC Pod, Graham breaks down what founders need to know to build compliant, scalable supplement brands. He covers the regulatory landscape from FDA requirements and Good Manufacturing Practices to navigating claims and labeling, the difference between pharmaceutical and dietary supplement pathways, and…
Natalia Chappell is the founder and director of Natalia Chappell & Co, a UK-based consultancy helping luxury, fashion, and lifestyle brands scale sustainably through holistic digital marketing. In this episode of DTC Pod, Natalia shares her framework for building premium brands the right way. She covers everything from cracking the UK market as a US brand, optimizing your full funnel for profitable customer acquisition, and why authentic content and cultural relevance are key to winning younger consumers. She also opens up about her journey from THG's luxury division to launching her own…
Martin Forde is co-founder and partner at Highline Brands, a retail brokerage focused on helping modern, digitally native consumer brands make the leap into omnichannel retail. In this episode of DTC Pod, Martin shares actionable strategies for brands looking to enter retail. He covers everything from independent channels, online marketplaces, and supply chain setup to best practices for landing retail partnerships.
Oisin O’Connor is the CEO and co-founder of Recharge, a leading subscription management platform. Recharge now powers over 100 million subscribers and has reached $100 million in ARR, offering infrastructure for thousands of brands looking to build, optimize, and scale recurring revenue models. In this episode of DTC Pod, Oisin breaks down the evolution of subscriptions in e-commerce, critical product and acquisition strategies for founders, and actionable frameworks for increasing retention, customer lifetime value, and minimizing churn.
Zeke Bronfman is the co-founder and CEO of The Absorption Company, a health and wellness brand focused on creating the most bioavailable, highly absorbable supplements to help consumers actually get the nutrients they need. In this episode of DTC Pod, Zeke shares the origin story behind The Absorption Company, the science that sets their products apart, and the strategies used to carve out a unique space in the crowded wellness market.
Danielle Kidney-Beal is the founder of The Creative Pack. She brings over 20 years of experience in packaging design for CPG, DTC, and retail brands. Having worked on major accounts like Tesco and beloved emerging brands such as Nom Nom and Levain Bakery, Danielle shares the process and strategy of creating packaging that stands out, tells a compelling story, and supports rapid growth. In this episode of DTC Pod, Danielle breaks down the design process, regulations, production, material selection, print logistics, common mistakes, and how brands—both large and small—can use packaging as a…
Meenakshi Lala is the CEO of UrbanStems, a leading e-commerce floral gifting company that specializes in sourcing premium, carefully curated bouquets from global farms and ensuring their timely delivery across the United States through a highly efficient, temperature-controlled supply chain. In this episode of DTC Pod, Meenakshi shares her unique journey from fashion to flowers and breaks down the operational and supply chain challenges of running a top-tier floral e-commerce brand.
Natan Bershtel is the Director of Business Development at Pelagic, a specialized operations consultancy that helps commerce brands optimize their supply chains and logistics systems to unlock scalability and profitability. In this episode of DTC Pod, Natan shares actionable insights on building resilient supply chains for DTC and omnichannel brands, whether you’re just starting out or scaling nationally. He discusses common pitfalls, strategies for sourcing the right partners, the importance of in-person relationships throughout the supply chain, and more.
Brent Vartan is Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Bullish, a hybrid branding agency and early-stage venture fund that backs some of the DTC’s most recognizable names, including Peloton, Warby Parker, Casper, Harry’s, Hu, Nom Nom, Bubble, and more. In this episode of DTC Pod, Brent discusses the DNA of world-class DTC brands, why foundational brand strategy matters more than ever, and how Bullish works alongside founders to create lasting, acquisition-worthy brands.
Apoorva Govind is the founder and CEO of Bestever, a platform that helps brands analyze and generate ad creatives using AI. With a deep technical background from her previous roles at Uber, Apple, and Nvidia, Apoorva brings a data-driven approach to creative strategy and performance marketing. In this episode of DTC Pod, Apoorva discusses how AI is reshaping the creative process for e-commerce brands. She explains the importance of strategy and data in generating ads that convert, offers advice for early-stage brands on scaling creative, and shares her vision for the future of AI-powered…
Chris Koch is the founder and CEO of VO/D, a venture studio that partners with major talent to build CPG brands in DTC, e-commerce, and retail. In this episode of DTC Pod, Chris shares how VO/D identifies product opportunities, vets creator partners, and structures deals for long-term growth, using the success of 1Up Candy as a case study.
Aaron Nosbisch is the founder and CEO of BRĒZ, one of the fastest-scaling CPG cannabis beverage brands, generating over $50 million in annual revenue—80% of that through DTC. In this episode of DTC Pod, Aaron unpacks everything from finding product-market fit, to assembling the right team, creative launch strategies, understanding unit economics for food and beverage DTC, leveraging organic and paid media, and building a durable flywheel by combining DTC and retail.
Marin Ištvanić, a partner at Inspire Agency, has extensive experience scaling brands through paid social advertising, having personally spent over $150 million on Facebook ads. In this episode, Marin shares his insights on growing brands through paid social advertising. He discusses the importance of product-market fit, compelling offers, optimized landing pages, and data-driven creative strategies that resonate with target audiences.
Justin Sherlock is the co-founder and CEO of Caspian, an AI-native duty drawback platform designed to help brands navigate complex global trade and tariff environments. Prior to Caspian, Justin led Flexport Capital. In this episode, Justin breaks down the rapidly changing landscape of tariffs, duties, and global supply chains—especially relevant amid recent policy moves and volatile trade relations.
Peter Czepiga is the founder of Flighted, an agency that scales advertising for DTC brands. He also runs his own brand, Ando. In this episode, Peter shares his tactics for profitable Meta ad campaigns, including testing product-market fit, winning creative strategies, audience targeting, the impact of AI on ad production, and how DTC ad tactics apply to SaaS.
Irene Chen and Matthew Grenby are the married co-founders of the luxury handbag and accessories brand Parker Thatch. In this episode of DTC Pod, Irene and Matt share their 20+ year entrepreneurial journey of bootstrapping their business to 8 figures in revenue. They discuss the ups and downs, key decisions, and lessons learned along the way that helped them achieve sustainable growth and longevity.
Caleb Alvarez is the founder of Shadow Light Studios, a content creation agency that specializes in short-form content for top-tier creators, entrepreneurs, and brands. In this episode, Caleb shares his insights on creating high-converting founder-led content that drives attention and revenue for DTC brands. He breaks down his tried-and-true content strategy framework that has helped scale brands from idea stage to millions in revenue.
Ben Matthews is a general partner at Night Ventures, a seed fund focused on consumer, creator, and culture sectors. In this episode of DTC Pod, Ben shares his approach to incubating successful creator-led brands. He discusses key considerations when selecting talent, identifying market opportunities, and executing effectively. Ben also shares insights on the future of TikTok, the potential of "dark data" for creators, and the evolving landscape of the creator economy.
Isabel Mendez is the founder and design director of the design studio Antara. In this episode of DTC Pod, Isabel discusses the importance of brand storytelling and cohesion amidst ever-changing design trends. She also shares her approach to creating a brand identity for clients, from research and ideation to design.
John Sampogna is the co-founder and CEO of the modern advertising agency Wondersauce. In this episode of DTC Pod, John shares strategic insights on impactful brand storytelling. He highlights the importance of audience understanding, the 3-3-3 rule of content, balancing brand-building with performance marketing, and the potential of undervalued channels like connected TV for modern ad campaigns.
Haley Weidenbaum is an interior designer and the co-founder and CEO of the window treatment company Everhem. In this episode of DTC Pod, Haley shares Everhem's journey from launch to growth, highlighting their focus on providing exceptional customer service and building authentic partnerships.
Ismail Salhi is the co-founder and CEO of Wildgrain, a DTC bread, pasta, and pastry subscription box company. In this episode of DTC Pod, Ismail shares how Wildgrain rapidly scaled to over 80,000 subscribers by focusing on product quality, customer experience, and efficient operations. He discusses key decisions like outsourcing to local bakeries, investing in logistics tech, and using education marketing strategies to acquire customers.
Christian Rivera is the founder of The Ecommerce Accountants, a niche accounting firm serving e-commerce businesses. In this episode of DTC Pod, Christian shares his best tips for e-commerce accounting, from tax filing and inventory financing to maximizing profits through proper tax planning and tax optimization strategies.
Zach Ranen is the co-founder of David, a protein bar brand with products containing the highest protein-to-calorie ratio in the market. In this episode of DTC Pod, Zach shares insights on David’s R&D process, the importance of product-led growth, their pre-launch and launch strategies, their plans for retail expansion, and more.
Ariana Farahani is the founder and CEO of the clean energy drink startup Plant Press. In this episode of DTC Pod, Ariana discusses the rapid growth of Plant Press, fueled by strategic retail partnerships, effective field marketing strategies, and a focus on product development based on consumer feedback. She shares insights on navigating the challenges of scaling production, securing seed funding, and adapting to evolving market preferences in the functional beverage space.
Shri Kanase is the founder of Yoru Marketing, a Google Ads e-commerce agency recognized by Clutch. In this episode of DTC Pod, Shri shares his insights on developing effective Google Ads strategies for e-commerce brands. He unpacks strategies for keyword targeting, budgeting, bidding, ad placement, creatives, and more.
Sam Lee is the Vice President of Amazon DSP at Trivium. His background spans Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Amazon PPC, and building successful Amazon DSP teams. In this episode of DTC Pod, Sam breaks down Amazon DSP advertising, discussing its functionality, suitability for brands at different stages, strategies for effective implementation, and the importance of a cohesive marketing approach across Amazon and other channels.
Aurelian Lis is the CEO of Dermalogica, a global skincare brand rooted in skin treatment expertise. Under his leadership, the business has more than doubled in size. In this episode of DTC Pod, Aurelian shares his experience driving innovation and growth at Dermalogica while maintaining the brand's core values. He discusses the company's organizational structure, emphasis on employee empowerment, and the integration of AI tech across various functions. Aurelian also highlights the importance of their tribe of skincare therapists and how AI enhances personalized consumer experiences.
Benjamin Witte is the founder and CEO of the wellness beverage brand Recess. Prior to Recess, Benjamin worked in startups in the tech and media space. In this episode of DTC Pod, Benjamin shares the story behind Recess, from launching with an initial $200K investment to becoming a Gen Z and Millennial favorite. He discusses the brand's omnichannel approach, strategy for expansion into new product lines and retail channels, and how they generate efficient brand impressions through earned media.
About DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built
DTC POD is a podcast about all things direct to consumer. We cover everything for starting, growing, and optimizing eCommerce stores and DTC (or D2C) brands.
We talk with founders, marketers, platforms, creators and marketing & growth agencies to cover topics like brand building, social media, inf
DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built is a English business podcast from Ramon Berrios, Blaine Bolus. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
