{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Startup CPG Podcast","title":"How Foundation Foods Became One of SoCal's Most Trusted Grocery Distributors","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2083,"description":"\nIn this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Louis D'Angelo, founder of Foundation Foods, a beloved natural products distributor serving Southern California's most quality-focused retailers, to talk about how the company was built, what it takes to get on their shelves, and why strict ingredient standards have always been non-negotiable.\n\nLouis got his start freelancing as a de facto sales rep for small organic brands before ever knowing what a broker was. His path to founding Foundation Foods took a dramatic turn when a rattlesnake bite left him hospitalized for two weeks, during which the distributor he'd been working for stopped paying him and every brand he represented. That crisis - paired with a sudden sense of clarity - led him to take out a $25,000 loan, get his own warehouse in 2018, and build Foundation Foods from the ground up.\n\nDaniel and Louis dig into the strict organic ingredient standards Foundation Foods holds brands to, why they never charge brands beyond their margin, how they've grown from a scrappy one-truck operation into a trusted distributor for retailers like Erewhon, Jimbo's, PCC, and now Whole Foods, and exactly what brands should have ready before their first meeting.\n\nListen in as they discuss:\n\nThe rattlesnake bite and near-death experience that led Louis to launch Foundation Foods\nWhy Foundation Foods only takes a margin and never charges brands hidden or additional fees\nThe strict organic ingredient standards that have led them to reject even great products\nWhy USDA certification isn't required, so smaller brands aren't priced out of working with them\nHow Foundation Foods differs from broadliners and other SoCal-focused distributors\nWhy inventory availability is the number one factor in getting - and staying - on the shelf\nHow Foundation Foods helps brands gain organic distribution through buyer relationships and catalog visits\nWhy communicating with your regional distributor before adding a...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/pMuUaMpWaAi3tfCEgC2OkLBVzokuLjLsIzwDIbGFqi4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hMTFl/MTgxNTNlZTAwZjU1/ZmNmNWM1ZjkwMDg5/NTU4MS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}