Founder Feature: Val Emanuel of Rif Care

In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Grace Kennedy sits down with Val Emanuel, the inspiring co-founder of Rif Care, a two-year-old feminine care brand that prioritizes sustainability and wellness. Val shares the journey behind Rif Care's creation, from identifying gaps in the market for elevated, eco-friendly period products to overcoming challenges in manufacturing and scaling the business. She opens up about her diverse career path, the importance of sustainability in product innovation, and the invaluable lessons learned from working at iconic companies like GOOP.

Val delves into key entrepreneurial insights, including building a retail presence with brands like Erewhon, leveraging TikTok and social media for growth. She also highlights the realities of being a female founder of color, the role of grant funding, and the value of accelerators in driving business growth. Plus, Val shares practical advice on scaling a team, pursuing grants, and preparing for Riff Care’s 2025 goals, which include expanding retail partnerships and surpassing $1 million in sales.

Don’t miss these actionable insights on navigating the CPG industry and building a sustainable brand —tune in now!

Listen in as they share about:

• Origins of Riff Care
• Early Challenges and Launch
• Funding and Growth Strategies
• Marketing and Sales
• Identifying Market Gaps
• Marketing and Sales Strategies
• Challenges as a Founder
• Future Plans for 2025
• Advice for Founders
  
  

Episode Links:

Website: https://rifcare.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valemanuel/

Instagram: malibumama__

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

• Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
• Join the Startup CPG Slack community (20K+ members and growing!)
• Follow @startupcpg
• Visit host Daniel's Linkedin 
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [e-mail]
• Episode music by Super Fantastics
  
  

Creators & Guests

Host

Grace Kennedy

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Val Emanuel
I was reaching out to factories. When everyone said no, I just kind of closed the curtain on it. But this time I was like, let me think bigger. I had something to show. Like I had a pad. We had samples to one of the buyers, some samples to try, and it was like a pad in a plastic bag. And then I sent them the box separately. And this is a testament to how the product works and how you feel like you're just sitting on a cushion. It just feels so much more comfortable than like a plastic pad or a plastic tampon. But they actually loved it so much that before were even ready, before product had landed in the United States, they had approved us.

00:45
Grace Kennedy
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the startup CPG podcast. This is Grace and I'm here with another founder feature. Today I'm talking to Val Emanuel, the founder of Rif Care. Riff Care makes organic period care out of hemp fiber. In this episode, Val talks all about why organic period care is so important, the resources she relies on as a woman and bipoc owned business, and how Riff got into Erewhon before they even launched. I hope you enjoy this episode and as always, let me know what you think. Hello everyone, this is Grace and today I am joined by Val Emanuelle, the co founder of Rift Care. So welcome to the show, Val.

01:29
Val Emanuel
Thank you so much for having me.

01:31
Grace Kennedy
So I'd love to start by just having you introduce yourself and Rift Care to our listeners.

01:36
Val Emanuel
So my name is Bella. She said, I'm one of the co founders of Rift Care. We are a two founder team. My co founders, Rebecca Caputo. But yeah, Riff Care is now two years old. It's a feminine care company. They make period products. And our major differentiators that we make them out of, femme fiber. We make biodegradable products and then we also have reusable period underwear. So we really did found this brand because we thought that there was a niche in the market, I think, for an elevated period care brand. And also, I think, you know, as moms, as women who've had hormone imbalance, we just realized that there was still some needs of ours that weren't being addressed by other companies.

02:15
Val Emanuel
And I think, you know, now women are kind of catching on to all the things we should be avoiding and different toxins in the products that we're using. And it feels like it's just the perfect time to be talking about women's health and to be kind of moving everything forward in the direction of safer products.

02:31
Grace Kennedy
Absolutely, yeah. And it's not a thrill to Be hearing about the, like, scary things that are in traditional period products. But it is a great time for a brand like yours to exist. And it's great that we are getting more information about what we're putting in and on our bodies. So I'd love to hear a little bit about, you know, what were you doing before Rift Care and why did you decide you really wanted to dive into this business?

02:57
Val Emanuel
I had so many careers before cpg and none of them had to do. I mean, maybe a little bit with cpg, but I mean, I thought I wanted to be an archaeologist, and then I ended up working in art galleries and then I ended up modeling for a few years, which I've been doing since I was a kid. And then I ended up working as a talent agent for six years. And through being a talent agent, I worked with lots of CPG companies. I helped people with their affiliate programs, was a consultant for a lot of marketing campaigns, and everything that we wanted to do at Role Models Management was around sustainability. So I founded the agency with Anne Therese, the climate optimist. And it was crazy because at the same time, like, we're working in entertainment, but we're also working in sustainability.

03:34
Val Emanuel
And one of the most amazing things I got to do with the agency was really build community around sustainability. So now I meet all these groups of people and all these creators, and I realized that they were kind of connected through Role models. And I'm so happy that I was a catalyst to this movement. Ran that for six years. I think we did all the work we could do. And then of course, the panini kind of shut everything down and made me be like, you know what? I don't want to work in an industry where like, people have to physically be there and I have to physically. Like, as much as my job was service based, there was still a physical product, which was the people. And also having a physical product of people.

04:08
Val Emanuel
Whether you're a boss and you rely on people to run your business or, you know, a talent agent, it is very difficult. So it's not like I have to deal with people any less, but I was dealing with like a hundred people and waking up at 2am and booking hotel rooms and blah, blah. But getting to work with some of the early stage CPG companies was amazing. Like, I mean, working with Seed when they first launched and other really big companies. And then I got to work with Nike and Timberland and all these really big companies that had these huge budgets, so getting to see behind the lens. And I always tell Young founders and like, I want to quit my job and start my business.

04:40
Val Emanuel
And I'm like, if I was you, the first thing I would do is, if you want to quit your job, go get another job at a business that's in the industry you want to work in. Like, I went and got a job at GOOP before starting Riff, and I knew I wanted to start Riff, but I was like, I just want Riff to be Goopish, so let me go to goop.

04:57
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, that's great advice. And really, like, not something I necessarily would think of. Cause I'm like, oh, just go after it. But to get your feet wet if you're going to be changing industries in this way. So what did you. When you were at GOOP and you had this idea that you wanted to start Rift Care, how long did you kind of sit on the idea before you felt ready to go out on your own?

05:18
Val Emanuel
So the idea came to me, actually. I think in 2019, I was having a lot of problems with hormone imbalance. And at the time, I was living in Portugal. My ex was, like, doing all this textile manufacturing, and he's like, a lover of hemp. And I became a lover of hemp, and I was like, oh, my God, I want to make reusable pads out of hemp. But I don't have that many followers. But I had enough followers to at least put up polls and start to gauge what people wanted. So I started to talk about it. I was like, would you wear reusable pads? And like, 90% of people were like, no. And I was like, would you wear pads? And then it was like, 60% of people like, Y. I'm like, would you wear tampon made out of hand?

05:50
Val Emanuel
So I just started polling my friends, and I'd be like, texting them, ask them these questions. So then once I was like, okay, I want to make disposable products. I started to go to factories. I got a lot of no's because, like, the product didn't exist. And I know sometimes as founders, we experience this where you're like, I need my packaging to be a certain way, or I need X, Y and Z ingredients in the product. And they go, that's not possible for whatever reason. So I kind of just sat on the idea. And then when it came about again, I was like, look, maybe it's not this because it's not possible, but I know I want to do something in cpg. I think I want to make a physical product. I'm super into wellness. Wellness people follow me for wellness.

06:22
Val Emanuel
Like, I think, you know, I could be a face to a brand, whatever. And I also had the idea that I wanted it to be a celebrity and talent led brand, which was just because I was working in talent. So I was actually at the country market and I'm like walking around. It was so funny at the time. I was like, had my little Hermes bag and I go into the store and I was like, are you guys hiring? And they're like, you want to work here? And I was like, yes. And then I did an interview and like got hired on the spot. And it was for like personal shopper and working in store and also doing events. So like, I didn't want to work corporate because I had the full time talent agency thing. But I was like, boots on the ground.

06:56
Val Emanuel
And all my friends thought it was so stupid. They were like, you're running this million dollar talent agency and you're like working in a retail store. And I was like, no, you don't get it. And I got to meet all the founders of all the brands. I remember when the this candle smells like vagina came out and like the founder was in the store and were watching the numbers go up and like, I got to talk to her about branding and ingredients and like I was so boots on the ground. I got to talk to Gwyneth Paltrow about events and all this other stuff. So I was like, dude, I just want to be here. And I kind of just wanted to be out the house. Like, yeah, I'm a mom, some mothers can understand.

07:27
Val Emanuel
But I think that was a catalyst in me seeing also the branding of Riff. Like, I'll quickly just hold up our box. And a lot of times people are like, is that tea or like beauty or what is it? I'm like, it's beauty products. And like, why can't you have something that feels luxury at the time of the month where you feel like a bum? So that was like how I wanted the brand to look and feel. So I had to be around that.

07:49
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, that makes so much sense. And what a great, like point of exposure to just meet all those brands and see what they're doing. And your packaging is so just for the people who are listening. It's so sleek. And you know, this beautiful box, it's like mint green. And I know you have a variety of colors of them, but it is like you can really like see it fitting in on those like the chic shelves that goop. So that makes a lot of sense that you spent time there as well. So as you were starting to ideate this, what were some of your first steps when you decided, like, okay, maybe I do actually want to take the plunge into creating these more sustainable period products?

08:27
Val Emanuel
Yeah. A lot of people don't know this about Rift, but we actually originally launched in June of 2021. So I say we launched in June of 2022, but we had a completely different launch. And some founders might also have this experience or. I don't know, maybe this is something that you'll have to do. But when we first started, I had this CBD sex oil, and it was something that I personally love. Like, after childbirth, I had just a lot of issues down there. Like, my vagina was all out of whack. So then I was like, let me make this CBD sex oil. Everyone loved it, and I started selling it on ebay under no brand or anything. And I would sell like, 10 a week, which is like. I was like, okay, this. People are obviously looking for this and they obviously want it.

09:05
Val Emanuel
So Riff originally launched just with the play oil, and I was like, fear to play oil. I'm gonna make enough money to fund the company. And I think in, like, four months, I made, like, eight grand, which is, like, not terrible. I didn't have any marketing experience. I have, like, 10,000 followers on Instagram. And then I ended up meeting an investor, and were talking, and I was like, I have this little thing I want to do, or maybe I was doing it for, like, three months or something. And I told him about the idea. He was like, what do you need to get that started? And I was like, money. And he was like, I'll write you a check. And I was like, this is not real. And I got the check.

09:38
Val Emanuel
I was super scared because anybody who knows once you receive investment from someone, you actually have to do the thing you say you're going to do. People think investment is, like, the most exciting thing. It's actually super scary because now you have money in your hand and you have to do. You have to 10x it. You have to try to 10x it, at least if you're thinking the right way. I know a lot of people who just throw it in the drain, but not me. Women are supposedly more capital efficient, and I do believe that. So, yeah, that happened. And I immediately was able to at least get the branding together. So I got the branding and I hired someone to do packaging. I was like, I'm going to do all this. And then I did a Kickstarter.

10:14
Val Emanuel
So that Hermes bag I Told you about that. I walked in a group with, I sold it and I made like a few grand from that. And then I put that behind, like what I wanted to do for samples in the first order. So now I'm like, okay, I've got like $20,000, right? Because I got 10 grand. Sold my bag, I sold two bags. And then I just started looking for manufacturers. I still got no's again. The first time when I said I was polling my friends and everything, I was reaching out to factories. When everyone said no, I just kind of closed the curtain on it. But this time I was like, let me think bigger. If you don't know this, there's no feminine care manufacturing in the United States for private label.

10:49
Val Emanuel
I think it's all owned by like Kimberly Clark and maybe one by like Procter and Gamble and they don't make organic products at these factories. So I was like, okay, I'm going to have to go overseas because the United States is not invested in manufacturing. Fine. And went to the factories, they were like, this is something that we want to do if you have a partner and if you have like a non wovens partner. And I'm like, what is a non woven? It's the top sheet on a pad. So I found a paper manufacturer, they could work with the factory and within like two months of me being like, I want to do this, which was September by November, and this was also when the Kickstarter was ending, I had something to show. Like I had a pad, we had samples.

11:25
Val Emanuel
And there have been people who were trying to work on hemp fiber menstrual care for like five, 10 years. I mean even some of the bigger conglomerates. So I was shocked that with 20 grand, like we had samples in our hands and we had enough to also have our friends try. So that was how it worked. But a lot of times it's like, look for search engines outside of the United States if you have to look for partners outside the United States. I wish we could do everything here, especially with what's going to happen with tariffs, but sometimes it just doesn't exist here. And I can't wait until we start investing in manufacturing or getting grants for manufacturing because that's going to look so beautiful and we're going to be able to be so much more innovative in every industry.

12:01
Grace Kennedy
Absolutely. It's funny too, like it's such a common story when you are innovating. You go to all these manufacturers and they're like, no, no. And then you come out with it. And it's amazing. And everyone's like, oh, wait, yeah, we really want that. Like, we've been trying to make that, but they just didn't feel like they could do it yet. And so once you had these, like original samples and you were, you know, giving them to some friends and you've done this Kickstarter, what were your next steps to kind the brand? It kind of like officially launched as I guess it would have been like later in that year. And that riff, how riff now stands today.

12:37
Val Emanuel
Yeah, I think the best advice I got from a friend was to get on TikTok. And I'm not going to say that we're one of those brands that does like a million dollars a year in TikTok shop. Like, we're not even at a million dollars a year in revenue. But with TikTok, I somehow like really grew my following and it was not related to period care at all. But I remember it was like March, February and March of 2022, and it was a few months before we launched. And I didn't know anything about digital marketing. I mean, I just learned more about digital marketing in the past year and a half. Just to be totally clear with everyone, like, I didn't come in with enough money to even know what to do.

13:12
Val Emanuel
So we raised a little bit more money, I think total from friends and family. We raised 50,000. And then I took out a personal loan because my credit was so great and my income was so high for $80,000, which I'm still paying by the way, for our first order, which is scary and like maxed out my credit cards. Our first order was a hundred grand. We had tariffs, we had all these things. But I started to post on TikTok. I did not want to launch to a dead audience. I knew that for sure. I did. I didn't know anything about email capture. So even though I had people who were coming to the website anticipating we had pre orders. I think we had like maybe 300 pre orders when we launched, which, I mean, you know, it was like a couple grand.

13:48
Val Emanuel
There was some people who did like hundreds of dollars in pre orders. We did Kickstarter and then also we opened it up on our website, but there were strangers I didn't know doing $2,000 of pre orders. And I was like, this is insane and incredible. I don't know how these people found us, mostly like ex teachers and things like that, but I think we got our social media in order. What I would have done differently is getting an email capture Immediately. And also having the email capture go into a workflow. That's something I learned last year. And I was like, were just getting. I remember in the first six months I checked our abandoned cart. We had $17,000 of abandoned carts. And I was like, oh my God, that's because we didn't have an abandoned cart workflow.

14:24
Val Emanuel
We didn't have an email capture that was properly getting these people like a discount code after. So they're coming to our website. We didn't run ads. We've barely run ads since we started. And their emails, which are the most valuable first party data you can have, were just dead. So as soon as we moved over to our new website, took those emails, put them into a workflow, and started working with someone to help us to monetize all this data that we had on customers from like the Squarespace website and then switching over to Shopify.

14:51
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, there's so much you don't know when you start out and then you realize like, oh God, like I could have made X amount of money. But you know, you don't know what you don't know. And you even saying this on a podcast right now, I'm sure someone out there might be like kicking themselves being like, wait, do I have that set up with a workflow right now? I don't know if I have those emails set up with the workflow right now. So it's all just sharing knowledge and learning as. As you go, really. But another thing I wanted to ask about was your approach to sales more in the terms of approaching DTC VERs in person retail. Obviously you had, you saw the in person retail at goop.

15:27
Grace Kennedy
But I'm curious where you've been trying to get Riff care if you've been focusing more on those online sales or if you've been, you know, seeking out some in person spaces as well.

15:37
Val Emanuel
Yeah, most of our sales have actually been in store. So we launched first with Erewhon. That was like an exclusive retailer for us. And to me that was a really huge deal. We went to Expo West, I believe in March, and were launching in June, so we didn't have anything. All we had was empty boxes. And I just happened to run into the woman who was the wife of the CEO of Erewhon. And my friend knew who she was because she, you know, does merchandising and stuff. And I went up to her and I'm like, a Malibu girl, right? So I walk up to her. Malibu girl's a Malibu girl. I'm just like, look, we're doing this thing. It's gonna be super goopy. It's gonna be like luxury period. Care gave me out of hem. She's like, do you have products?

16:12
Val Emanuel
I was like, no, but I have an empty box. And I just, like, quickly, I'll. I'll hold them up, but I have my boxes. And I was like, I have boxes. And I was like, it's going to beautiful. And then we're going to do all these different things. And a few weeks later, we got an approval without even, like, I had, like, a few samples that I had dropped off to different managers and stores. And then I think we got to one of the buyers some samples to try, and it was like a pad in a plastic bag. And then I sent them the box separately. And this is a testament to how the product works and how you feel like you're just sitting on a cushion. It just feels so much more comfortable than, like, a plastic pad or a plastic tampon.

16:47
Val Emanuel
But they actually loved it so much that before were even ready, before product had landed in the United States, they had approved us. And so I was like, look, I think this is a really good sign. And Erewhon's not everything. Erewhon's not going to make you rich. Like, I don't know, per month from all 10 stores, just going to be honest, like, of profit. You probably do, like, 1500-2000 dollars a month of profit between that many stores, right? But when you think about that and, like, per store, and that's with a 40% margin, like, that's actually quite good. And we want everybody to be ordering a case a month, so we're able to use that as a case study and be like, look, if we're on a chain with like, 2,000 stores with a similar customer, that's $200,000 a month. Like, this is proof.

17:28
Val Emanuel
And it may not even do that, but even if it did, 50% of that, it would still be good and it would still be worth it. So there's marketing that went into that, there's personal relationships that went into that. And I really urge founders to press and press. And this is something that me and my co founder are learning, because sometimes with retail sales, you'll email someone and they might not respond. But one of the first people we talked to as well was from another retailer, who all announced soon that we're going to be launching with. And it was two years of conversations to get into this retailer. Like, two years of us just being, like, showing up at every event he did, always saying hi to him, including him in our newsletter, bothering the shit out of him.

18:04
Val Emanuel
And then finally he was like, oh, okay. Like if it's not a no, it's just not right now. So if you don't get a response from a retailer, just email them every month until they say no or yes.

18:14
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I love that. That's great advice and a great story too. I mean, sometimes things work out where you run into the, you know, CEO of everyone's wife and you get right in and sometimes it takes two years to get on shelf and you just have to keep trying. And so the juxtaposition in both stories, you know, it just shows like it's never the same no matter where you go. So sounds like you're doing most of your sales in retail. You said. And then obviously people can buy online as well. Have you changed your approach at all to marketing? I know you said in the beginning, obviously you were like, I don't want to pay for marketing. I'm not doing anything. But have you guys changed your approach at all to marketing since you launched?

18:52
Val Emanuel
Yeah, so I'll quickly touch on retail marketing and then I'll go to D2 cuz DDC is newer. So when we launched with Erewhon, they have a marketing program and we realized their marketing program is like it's top tier. But now we're in a few other retailers. I think total, we're in about 180 doors and they're on fair.com so there was also smaller like mom and Pops or coffee shops or whatever that have our product. And every store has its own needs. Right. And so with stores we always try to go and visit. We can't always visit. We do have a sales team in the Pacific Northwest and we have promo calendars and before we got with the sales team a year ago, we'd never done a promo calendar. I still don't think we always do it the right way.

19:30
Val Emanuel
Like the first time we did a sale and then we also participated in like some health and beauty showcase for the month. We did not tell the retail managers that we had a sale with Unfi. So went into the stores and nothing was on sale. And we also were not included in the showcase for like organic feminine products, organic wellness products that month. And I was like, okay, so even if we do the marketing, we have to make sure that we're having someone go and check it, whether it's a friend that you pay 20 bucks to go to their local Grocery store or you know like your whole team. And even with the Pacific Northwest, when we first launched into those stores, I was like, we're just gonna take a trip.

20:06
Val Emanuel
I left my daughter at my ex mother in law's house and like drove up to Washington. I was like, I need to see every store and I need them to meet me because I know I'm a fantastic salesperson and if they like me, they will sell the shit out of my product. So I like talk to the girls who are working there, give them all our product, talk to the guys, give them samples for their wives and daughters and everything. And yeah, so that's for retail marketing. Get a promo calendar from every single buyer and try to see where you can plug in. And also if you have things like women owned business, minority owned business, certified small business, you might be able to get discounts on these programs. We are with Unify up next. So we get some discounted unfi programs.

20:42
Val Emanuel
And then in terms of marketing for Direct to consumer, completely different. Like we can do some marketing on social media for retailers and you should support your retailers with social media marketing. Whether you get UGC creators or founders to go in store. I love the way that, what's that brand that has, there's like they make bars, chocolate bars, they're all over LinkedIn. You know I'm talking about they're siblings. I think they're Middle Eastern. I don't even know what their name is.

21:07
Grace Kennedy
It's not coming to me in this moment.

21:08
Val Emanuel
Oh my Midday squares.

21:10
Grace Kennedy
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

21:12
Val Emanuel
I like every time I see their video inside of retailers, it really inspires me. But anyways, with Direct to consumer so we do have an affiliate program and you know, if you are someone who wants to talk about wellness, definitely go to our website, sign up for our affiliate program. And then we started working with UGC creators and even now I really realized there was a big hole in our marketing strategy which is like we had all these educational videos which people loved and saved and shared, but we didn't have it. And it was all about wellness and health and menstrual care and all these things. But we didn't have enough product centered videos and enough like review centered videos. Right.

21:45
Val Emanuel
And I think when you're talking about ROI on social media, when you're starting to work with creators and you're starting to invest in your social media channels and do video shoots specifically, it just doesn't feel like you're getting a return because it's like I spent I mean, we made like 15 grand this month, but I spent like 5,000 on creators and influencers and all this stuff. So like, oh, I wanted a 10 ROI, but you have to remember that these people might see someone talk about it and then they're at Galison's and they see your parts and they pick it up.

22:11
Val Emanuel
So like, even when I'm thinking about the marketing that we're doing online, I want it to be educational, I also want it to be product focused, I also want it to be funny so that people can know the tone of our brand. But then some of those things actually have to be good enough for us to run ads on. So that's something that we're now figuring out and we're testing currently. I mean, it's Black Friday week right now, it's holiday time right now and we're just testing out what ad creatives do better, what gets the most clicks. We tested out with Pinterest before, but at two and a half years in, we've probably spent 12, 000 on advertising since we started. And of course we've invested in like photo shoots and creators.

22:47
Val Emanuel
But I'd say with D2C also YouTubers, which we haven't even started to tap into. Like, we should. Like we did one YouTuber and I think we paid her 700 for like a 20 second insert. That video made us like five grand. And I was like, YouTube is where it's at. You know what I mean? Like, I mean now we have TikTok shop, we do Amazon Live and TikTok Live, but you just have to really put the numbers down on paper and seeing where the ROI is and just know that if you don't see the ROI immediately, you can slightly tweak it. You can delete videos and re edit them. You can be like, maybe the style doesn't work with this creator, maybe it might work with another creator. But it's like all feeding into the system.

23:21
Val Emanuel
So as long as it's working somehow, like it will eventually pick up steam and then be consistent on social media. Because I think when I see my friends and they only posting like once or twice a week, it's like, how do you see what works if you're not flooding the system? Like, you have to literally flood the system. I might post five videos today and then be online. I also have ADD and then be on live and then be on Amazon and then post eight stories. Post no more than four stories because the feed doesn't like that. But like you have to really, it's like when kids throw paint at the wall and then you like, see what sticks and what color you like more. It's like that with advertising, I feel.

23:55
Val Emanuel
And of course there's agencies who are like, oh, pass this, because we already know it works. Even when you give the agencies money, they still have to test it out, but they're testing it out in a way more expensive way than you would have done with your friends and your family.

24:07
Grace Kennedy
Absolutely. And it just goes back to that idea that, you know, just because something worked one way the first time, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work that way the second time. Or if it worked for that brand, it might not work for your brand. So you really just have to test and keep iterating. And I love your attitude about it. And just like, also, it sounds like you don't really take it that personally when a video or, you know, social media doesn't do that well because it's kind of like there's so much out there. Like, just put it out there and hope for the best.

24:34
Val Emanuel
I know. I mean, currently on social media, like on my TikTok, I've lost hundreds of followers in the past month. And I was just like, it's because, I don't know, I was like, I just want to focus on talking about women's health and like, I loved doing trends and all these different things and I'm like, I'm sorry if you found me that way. Like, I'm just not into that right now. Maybe it's just this point in my life and I'm not trying to make some like, luxury content. This is just very everyday content. Like, I'm a regular mom. I'm more like you than you think. And yes, I have some crazy cool things that I get to do because I'm a CPG founder and I've got amazing friends who some of them have $100 million a year companies now.

25:06
Val Emanuel
So there's going to be some of that. But like, I really want to talk to other founders. I want to talk to people who are interested in wellness and you know, like, it might not be that popular, but then you'll find your right people, like those niche people. You can't try to please everyone with social media. It's also what I learned.

25:22
Grace Kennedy
Absolutely.

25:22
Val Emanuel
Yeah.

25:23
Grace Kennedy
You simply won't please everyone. It's just not possible. And everybody has different needs and wants and it's just, it's never going to happen. So another thing I wanted to talk about is in your journey of this founding of Riff, you know, last two and a half years or so. You're a female founder. You're a founder of color. What resources have you pulled from or gone to in the CPG space that have supported Riff? And you think, you know, might be helpful for fellow founders to know about so many.

25:52
Val Emanuel
I mean, when I started to have conversations with investors, I realized, oh, it is as hard as everyone's saying that it is. Like, as a black founder and a Latina founder, I was like, I'm smart, I'm capable. I'm beautiful. I'm not gonna have any problems. And you get into these conversations with people, and, I mean, they'll go through due diligence with you and be like, I don't know. I just. I don't have a vagina, so I just can't see myself investing in this company. Even though you have everything that they would have wanted, or, like, we literally had someone tell us that. Or people being like, so, did your husband work on this with you? Or, like, how did you do this? Or, oh, you don't have a husband. Oh, okay. I'm like, I can't talk. Or like, people saying that they.

26:29
Val Emanuel
An investor tell me that they couldn't talk to me because their wife didn't want them to another investor try to sleep with me. Like, it's been a horrible experience. So I was like, I need to stay around the women. Yeah, it's not. I'm just spilling tea. And it is what it is. And. But I've also found, like, a lot of really supportive people. We just got with Jumpstart Foundry, which is an accelerator, so I suggest accelerators. We did tech stars before went on a reality TV show, or we ended up getting investment. So that was like, 300 grand right there just from the reality TV show, which was side Custers on Rogue who, Tech stars and Jumpstart Foundry. I was like, oh, there wasn't this, like, friction when I went to them. There wasn't like, they just got it immediately.

27:06
Val Emanuel
They didn't make me feel stupid. They didn't make me feel like I wasn't born into the right circle, because those conversations happen more than, you know, and it's so depressing. Luckily, I came from modeling, where I was called ugly every other day. No, seriously. Oh, you see my TikTok. People call me ugly every day, say I look like a Tim Burton character, but it's like a whole. It's like a joke. Now I'm just like, a Tim Burton type of Beauty is Beautiful. So Anyways, but you have to have a thick skin. And I can imagine people not having a thick skin for that. But most sounders we do. And also grants like grant funding is available out there.

27:38
Val Emanuel
And I was shocked when we first started applying for grants because we get fund for one for like 1,000 and then 3,000, then 5,000 and then 10,000. And then this year we got two for $25,000 each.

27:49
Grace Kennedy
Amazing.

27:50
Val Emanuel
We're finally able to invest in people, invest in growth. It's like we can make an order for inventory without like depleting our entire bank account. Because you know when you're a new founder, you're like $50,000. That's all the money I have to get through for the next year. But I'm out of inventory. Let me like ask my mom to mortgage your house. No, apply for grants. Get in those databases. I also hear that there are AI companies who are making grant finding easier. I have a friend who started this company called Good Agriculture. If you're doing anything in like the agriculture space where they help you find grants and apply for them. So I really think that there's so many people there who were in your corner.

28:25
Val Emanuel
And unfortunately, I don't know why VC attracts like some people who are quite negative, but yet think about it, they have to be like risk reverse, right? It's like part of their job. But yeah, I just had like not the best experiences there. And so it. Even when I was trying to go and fundraise the VC route, it made me really question my business. It questioned myself, questioned my upbringing. Like I felt like I just wasn't born, I don't know, into the right circles and immigrant parents and you already don't feel like you're enough. And then you have people who literally tell you that. So they're like, the company's great. I just don't think you're the person for this. And it's like you have a hundred conversations like that, but then you get that one person who says yes.

29:06
Val Emanuel
And then you realize from the beginning, they were saying yes from the beginning they were helping me. And not going to say, you need to only be around yes people, but you'll feel the vibe and like it doesn't feel the way that those horrible conversations have left you feeling it from the beginning. It just doesn't feel like that.

29:20
Grace Kennedy
Absolutely. And it's. I'm so glad you're sharing all this so candidly. And honestly, it's too common, unfortunately, that we hear stories like this and hear just, you know, terrible Interactions that would shock you. If they were like in a movie, you'd be like, I can't believe someone would act that way. And then people are genuinely acting that way all the time. But I'm so glad you found the people that do support Rift Care and also all of these grants and accelerators and things like that you mention. And I definitely think that's great advice for founders to seek out those grants. Cuz it can feel like, oh, another thing to add to my to do list. Like I have to write a grant application.

29:57
Grace Kennedy
But obviously as you're sharing it can be so incredibly useful to have that capital and have that a little bit of leeway in as you're growing your business.

30:07
Val Emanuel
Yeah, I would say do one grant application a week. Like if you do that for the year, that's 50 grant applications. I swear, if you don't get one, then maybe your business is shit. But you should get at least one. Like every year we have got at least one grant and it could be a thousand dollars. And also the grant could be free services. The grant could be free fulfillment for a year. The grant could be a startup CPG booth. Like I considered that a grant. This year we got a free booth at Expo west and I did consider that within our grant funding that was like a $10,000 free opportunity. So don't just see grants as cash, apply for free office spaces. Some people get free office spaces as grants. Somebody.

30:41
Val Emanuel
Oh, also there's PR companies who will do PR for you for free. I consider that a Grant. It's like $20,000 a month services. They're do it for three months. Look for those things. Google those things. They are there for everyone. No matter if you're a woman of color or you're a group of white guys starting another. Like there's grants for everyone and it's beautiful, but especially for women because we still are only 2% of total VC funding becoming more and more available.

31:06
Grace Kennedy
Absolutely. Yeah, that's great advice. And hopefully startup cpg, I mean we are, but we're continuing to offer opportunities like that. So definitely check out startup CPG if you're looking for any opportunities in terms of free services and grants and things like that. But I also wanted to ask. This episode will be airing at the very start of the new year 2025, which is crazy to consider, but I wanted to hear a little bit about, you know, what your plans are for 2025 for Rift Care and what you're hoping to achieve this year with the brand.

31:36
Val Emanuel
What we want to achieve this year over a million in sales. Like, that's definitely a goal and I feel like that's a low goal and like that's totally reachable. But I think what we want to achieve too is growing in people, which is really hard. I've had to hire people from multiple businesses and we really want to find people who are entrepreneurial, who can really grow with our team, who are just amazing at sales, amazing at marketing. I think there's so much opportunity for us to grow as a business and I see us being a team of 10 by the end of 2025. So also, if you're listening to this and you think that's you, please slide into my DMs. I'd love to talk to you. I think there's so much that we don't know.

32:12
Val Emanuel
So I'm looking forward to not only growing financially, you know, in 2025, but learning.

32:17
Grace Kennedy
Right.

32:18
Val Emanuel
As I'm someone who's the CEO of my. Not obsessed with the idea of being CEO, I'm like, it doesn't matter if it's like me or someone else or whatever, but I do want to learn how to run a multi million dollar business. So I'm looking forward to that. There's so many different fellowships also for women and organizations that help founders with that, so I'm also applying for those.

32:38
Grace Kennedy
That's amazing. Yeah. And I can't wait to see what rifkare does next year and where else you know, you guys launch into. I know there's some other retail excitement happening, but where can people, if they do want to follow along or DM you about working for Riff, where can they find you?

32:54
Val Emanuel
You can find us at RAF Care on TikTok and also on Instagram, on Facebook, we're at Riff Cares and also Pinterest and then you can find me at Malibu Mama. Underscore. Underscore on TikTok as well as Instagram.

33:08
Grace Kennedy
Amazing. Well, this was so much fun to chat with you Val, and learn all about Riff and you honestly provided so much great insight for founders who are trying to do this themselves and trying to figure it all out because it's hard out there. So thank you so much for coming on.

33:24
Val Emanuel
Thank you so much for having me.

33:27
Grace Kennedy
All right, everyone, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode of the podcast, it would help us out so much if you left a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I am Grace Kennedy, the editor for Startup CPG. So feel free to add me on LinkedIn or reach out to me on Slack. I'm always on the hunt for new and exciting brands to feature, and if you're a potential sponsor that would like to appear on the podcast, please email partnershipstartupcpg.com and finally, as a reminder for anyone listening, if you haven't already, we would love for you to join our community on Slack and you can sign up via our website, startupcpg.com.