Cassie Maschhoff
We actually grew up on a 6th generation family pork farm and really our whole goal is to reintroduce pork and bring it back to the dinner and the conversation in a new and innovative but also more meaningful ways.
00:23
Chelsey Maschhoff
I think at the end of the day, it's a conversation like, it's not educating our customers with what we're doing, it's a conversation of what we can be doing and what they can look for at stores and what they can start researching themselves. And it's just having these conversations with our family members and our friends and just trying to get the word out.
00:48
Grace Kennedy
Hi everyone. Welcome back to the startup CPG podcast. This is Grace and I am here with another founder feature. This week I talked to the founders of Lottie's Meats, a sister owned all natural pork sausage brand. In this episode, Cassie and Chelsea talk about what it looks like to be women in agriculture, how they're dispelling some of the common misconceptions about pork and why they're focusing regionally before scaling too quickly. I hope you enjoy the episode and as always, let me know what you think. Hello everyone. Grace here. And I am so excited to be joined by Cassie and Chelsea today, the sisters behind Lottie's, which is a new chef crafted all natural pork sausage brand. I have tried their sausages when they were sampling at our alley rally party this year and they are absolutely delicious.
01:41
Grace Kennedy
I think I went back to their table to get a sample like four to five times. But just to get us started, I'd love for you both to introduce yourself and share a little bit more about who Lottie's is. So, Chelsea, maybe let's start with you.
01:54
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah. I am Chelsea, sister one, as we like to say, not because I'm number one, but just the old. And yeah, I'll let Cassie introduce herself next.
02:04
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, I guess that means I'm sister number two. I always say Chelsea is the older but more talented sister of the two of us. And so we started Lottie's in Denver, Colorado just a few short months ago when we met you, Grace, we had just been in the market in March for like week. Right, Chelsea? It was like were definitely the newest brand, I think sampling. But as you said, Lottie's Meats is a sister founded pork sausage business. We actually grew up on a 6th generation family pork farm and really our whole goal is to reintroduce pork and bring it back to the dinner in the conversation in a new and innovative but also more meaningful way. So we have a diverse range of premium flavorful, really unique pork sausages and expertly seasoned ground pork blends.
02:48
Cassie Maschhoff
I should say expertly seasoned by Chelsea, not ruled. And as you said, made from all natural premium ingredients and sourced from the family farm we grew up on. Wow.
02:56
Grace Kennedy
I didn't know that it was a source from the family farm. And that's so sweet.
03:01
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, it's a fun, it's so great. And it's a really fun supply chain equation.
03:07
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, absolutely. It's like a very intimate supply chain. But so, obviously, this is a part of your long history growing up on a pork farm. But what made you guys decide it was time to go into this business? What was sort of the inciting incident, if you will?
03:24
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah, I think for both of us, were, after growing up on a hog farm, our parents were like, why don't you kind of do your own thing and set out in the world with your techniques and skills? And so I went into culinary and Cassie went into tech. Both of those jobs, especially after 2020, I guess, were just so demanding. And I think for myself, I just needed to take a step back. I wanted to start a family with my husband. And so I already kind of had the wheels turning of what is next. I knew I didn't want to leave culinary because I do love that creative outlet, but I also couldn't be in a kitchen for, like, twelve hour days and working late at night.
04:07
Chelsey Maschhoff
So I brought Cassie in and I was like, you know, this is kind of what I want to do, and Cassie can take over her story.
04:15
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, I feel like then we, the wheels just really started turning and we both were getting really excited because, as we've mentioned, we grew up eating a lot of pork and we saw so many women behind the scenes in agriculture and behind the scenes in culinary. With Chelsea's career really running the show and breaking down barriers, and we had learned so much, but when we had talked to our friends and family, like, pork just kind of got a bad rep. Like, not a lot of people were eating it. Chelsea actually started youth sourcing it and using it in the restaurant she was working in. And the more and more we talked about it, the more we're like, we're the ones to do this. And I think everything just kind of aligned.
04:53
Cassie Maschhoff
So we started working on the business plan and startup CPG treasure trove of reading through everything and kind of just figuring out, like, okay, what does this take? And then, yeah, in the 2024, we're like, you know what? Let's just try it and do it. And so kind of just hit the ground running.
05:08
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I love that. And I love what you were saying, too, about pork getting a bad rap. And I think also the meat industry at large gets a bad rap, especially with, like, all the different documentaries that are out there that show all these horrifying images of farms that are polluting the earth and et cetera, et cetera. So I'd love to hear a little bit more from you guys about some of those misconceptions about pork and the way that you're bringing pork to the market in a different way than we might expect in the more stereotypical, like sausage. Who knows what's in that sausage? Yeah, don't ask questions. Why?
05:48
Cassie Maschhoff
I. Yeah, I'm happy to start. Chelsea, feel free to chime in. I think there's a lot to be said here with pork especially. It's actually an excellent source of vitamins and nutrients. It's just, as you mentioned, grace, a lot of times overly processed, and there's a lot of mass scale and only a few different players. And so with us, we're really trying to use only the best cuts. We use pork loin and pork shoulder to really get a higher protein, and we pair it with high quality spices and unique recipes. And that is like a nice way to really reintroduce and have a more nutrient dense sausage with pigs. And what we're trying to do differently than a lot of the rest of the meat industry, I should say pigs are more efficient with them, you leave less behind.
06:30
Cassie Maschhoff
There's a lot of ample opportunity to use the entire animal. And there's also not. There's more lower. Right. There's lower emissions, I think, than beef or lamb. And so there's a lot of upcycling and a lot of processes that we're employing. We're also 1% perennial the planet members. And we just are trying to be as responsible and offset our impact as much as possible. But it's tough, I would say, like, it's been an interesting learning curve and talking to more consumers and there's just a lot of mis education. And I think we're just trying to constantly educate ourselves from what we've learned growing up on the farms, like where agriculture has gone today and what we all know and what we can just do to be make the best choices possible.
07:09
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, absolutely. And that actually was exactly the question I was going to ask you about, which is, how do you work to sort offset some of that miseducation, some of those bad rap stories that are out there that Lottie's is working to undo. How do you communicate to consumers that this is a different product, this is not the pork you're used to?
07:29
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah, I think for us, no change in the big meat industry is going to happen overnight. So Cassie and I are trying to do as much as possible to, like, move the needle slightly. And I think that's what our generation and the next generations to come, that's our job, is to nothing drastically say, like, here's the line in the sand. We need these things to happen. But, okay, you're not going to change. What are the small steps we can do? So I think that's why we are sourcing our pigs from only a certain number of farms that we know are open pen gestation. And, like, Cassie does an excellent job whenever we're shipping across the country, of sourcing, like, the best eco friendly bags and, like, fucces and things like that.
08:14
Chelsey Maschhoff
So it's like, what are the small little steps we can do that in the long run are going to make a big impact. And so I think that's the number one thing. And then. Yeah, Cass, if there's anything else on the pork side you want to add.
08:26
Cassie Maschhoff
No, you're exactly right. We're just focused on slowly moving the needle and improving the economics of the family farms that we work within our network and try to encourage the best practices. So I super well said.
08:38
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah, I think at the end of the day, it's a conversation. Like, it's not educating our customers with what we're doing. It's a conversation of what we can be doing and what they can look for at stores and what they can start researching themselves. And it's just having these conversations with our family members and our friends and just trying to get the word out.
09:00
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, absolutely. And something else that you mentioned maybe a few sentences ago, but was this other misconception beyond just the pork industry, but about the women who are behind a lot of these products, as you two are a women founded brand yourself. What has it been like to work within this larger industry that, at least from, like, an outsider's perspective, feels very male dominated, like agriculture. Historically, in my mind, I see the man running the farm. I'm probably wrong, but what is it like for you to sort of navigating all of these big industry aspects as women in agriculture?
09:40
Cassie Maschhoff
It's been a journey, but not to generalize. I think when we are working up and down our entire value chain, it is often a male dominated industry. And as you alluded to. And so I think the biggest challenge we've come up with is maybe not necessarily folks not seeing, hey, two women trying to do this. It's more of an, like, this is how we do it. Why are you trying to do it like this? You know, as I mentioned, we use only premium cuts and, like, certain spices. And Chelsea is such a talented chef and has such a high standard. Trust me, I'm always trying to, like, push her to take shortcuts, but she never does. And that's why the product is so good. And I think that initially was a really big friction point.
10:19
Cassie Maschhoff
Would you say Chelsea is one of the bigger challenges? So maybe it's kind of gender, but I think it's also just newer generation way of operating.
10:27
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I think that's such a common thing with so many younger brands, is coming up against the sort of bigger titans who are like, no, that's not how you do it. And you're trying to do it a new way and you're like, that's the point. We're trying to do it in a different way.
10:41
Cassie Maschhoff
Totally. We're open to showing people how the sausage is made. I think historically that expression existed for a reason, because no one wants to tell.
10:51
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, absolutely. It's a very sort of the opposite, though, of what consumers are wanting these days, to not know how the sausage gets made. We all consumers these days, I feel like across different sectors, are wanting to know what's inside the ingredient or what's inside the product. So speaking to what's inside the product, I'd love to hear a little bit from you, Chelsea, just about the development process of these products and how you chose which types of pork products to go with and then how you set about developing them.
11:22
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah, some of the idea originated, as Cassie mentioned. I was getting certain pork cuts to the restaurant I was currently at and using that excess trim, which is how all sausage kind of comes about, is you're just using the excess trim and you're trying to figure out a new way to utilize it and give it to a person. So I was using a lot of pork loin and, like, the shoulder cut there. And I think that's where I really got familiar with those cuts. And I said, you know, the marbling is perfect. I know exactly my fat to meat ratio when I'm breaking these specific cuts down and went out on my own to start actually making sausage. So many people told me, if you use this cut, it would better. We can cut costs if you just, like, get already ground season stuff.
12:17
Chelsey Maschhoff
And I think the quality that I was producing had enough merit that I was like, no, I can't. I have to use this pork loin, this pork shoulder. This is making a superior product. So we just went with it, and Cassie, luckily, backed me up.
12:33
Cassie Maschhoff
And then we had to go on the really fun journey about working with the co packer, because we have to work with a USDA certified inspected facility, and surprise, there's not thousands of them. So that was a really fun learning experience as well. So working with a co packer, I imagine, is just like any other co packing situation, except, obviously, it's with me, and you only have so many facilities. And so Chelsea really led the way with her recipes. We did a lot of R and D. We wanted to stay local to Denver, Colorado. And the reason we launched in Denver, Colorado, is because, like I said earlier, Tulsi's a very talented chef.
13:10
Cassie Maschhoff
And we actually started with food service channel because she knew a lot of other chefs and had started doing some just providing for different restaurants and breweries and bakeries around town. And so currently, we're working with two different co packers in Colorado. Wow.
13:26
Grace Kennedy
And how did you find these USDA certified co packers? What was that process like?
13:32
Chelsey Maschhoff
Pull up a online list of places, all of across the US. And so I think we just started going down cold calling, asking places. Yeah, I think it has been over a year of just, like, searching for the right person, because, I mean, he knew you're starting off small, so a lot of bigger guys won't you on. And. But we knew we wanted to grow. And with Cassie's expertise and marketing abilities, we have been able to scale quite quickly. So now we're at that awkward point where we're just right in the middle, where we're too big for the small guys now, and we're too small for the big guys. And so it's constantly evolving, and we're constantly going back to the drawing board saying, okay, what's next? Who is the next person we reach out to? We are constantly doing the same.
14:23
Chelsey Maschhoff
When I make it at home on a little five pound machine to the next small co packer who's making it to the next big co Packer. And so we're constantly just going back to the drawing board.
14:35
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I'm sure that any other CPG founder would probably resonate with that statement of just always having to tinker with everything and always having to find new products. And I was just talking to somebody who wanted to. They're like, we want to expand. We have people asking to buy more of our product, but we don't have enough product made at the moment and we need more money to make more product. So I think that's a constant balance for sure. And one thing you mentioned was moving into or starting, I guess, with food service, which definitely makes sense given your background, Chelsea.
15:08
Grace Kennedy
And then also, I know you've said you've done like a lot of pop up events and things like that, so could you speak a little bit about the different channels you guys are taking to get Lottie's out there and into consumers kitchens?
15:20
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah, I think Cassie and I were just reflecting last week how it actually has been such a big blessing to go with the co packing route because it has forced us to get product out there onto shelves very quickly. But it also has freed up some of our time. So we can do these hot pop ups, we can do wine tastings, we can do samplings at grocery stores every week if we wanted to. We're able to, I think, put our hands in a lot of cookie jars because the product is already made. And I'm not working away in a kitchen to get it all done for a weekend of events. So that's been very helpful. And then, Cass, like, I mean, we've been kind of doing it. Whatever comes to our way, we just.
16:04
Cassie Maschhoff
Say, yeah, it's so true. We don't know if it's the best strategy, but I will say we're very focused in other parts of the business. Like, we know our product. Me, no pork, we're not going to do chicken sausage. We're not doing bacon. Like, this is what we're doing. And we're super focused on our four skus and that is it. That being said, we grew up on a farm, so we're farm raised and professionally trained. And it's Chelsea said, we do probably say yes to more things than we should. We've done, I think, like 30 events since May 1 and today's being recorded in June. So we're definitely out there doing a lot of would say, like, on site things.
16:42
Cassie Maschhoff
Because as you mentioned at the top of the interview, Grace, it's really a product that we need to drive trials so people can really understand and taste the texture and taste the snap and say, wow, this is different. So we're trying to get out there as much as possible. I will wrap it up by saying our channels are probably split pretty evenly across retail food service and some direct to consumer, the direct to consumer being online and some of the in person events. We're doing a farmers market we're doing a lot of collabs and things like that.
17:11
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, that's super cool. What sort of collabs? Or how are you approaching collaborations?
17:16
Chelsey Maschhoff
Collaborations are fun just because it's a people in the community, whether that's in Denver or New York City, that are friends of ours and we really appreciate their products and love what they're doing. And so we've done, let's see, what was the wine tasting where we also did a hot pop up and I got to pair whatever wines record with sausage and then we mix up the flavors that are going on top. So whether it's a cornish, an aioli with a charred cabbage, pickled asparagus slaw, that's going to go with like a crisp white.
17:49
Grace Kennedy
Amazing. Can you come over right now and make that for me? Can you just fly from Denver really quick?
17:55
Cassie Maschhoff
I was just telling someone, they're like, aren't you tired of eating sausage? And I was like, no, because Chelsea always makes it so fun. And as you mentioned, Chelsea, it's really fun to stand with other brands, wine shops, like pizzerias or other folks that really value food and community and connecting, and I don't know how it will ever get old. It's been such a joy.
18:19
Grace Kennedy
Yeah. One can only hope it will never get old. I mean, I love sausage and if I could eat it more, but it is one of those things I don't buy it that frequently. I buy it from. There's one farmer at the farmer's market that sells the sausage from the pigs they raise, and so I'll buy it from him, but it's kind of expensive, so I don't buy it that often, but I do really enjoy it. And which actually brings me to a question, which is pricing, obviously, you're using higher quality cuts of meat, which tend to be more expensive. How have you guys balanced accessible pricing with obviously, margins that will move your business forward?
18:56
Cassie Maschhoff
I think that has been another one of our top challenges because as Tulsi mentioned earlier, in a lot of brands listening to this, who are an active brand or trying to start a brand, it's so hard when you're so small because you have no leverage whatsoever. And we've really wanted to bring a high quality protein in an accessible way forward. And so I think I've heard conflicting advice on this, where a lot of people are like, start out with the margins you want, like protect the margin, but as you were kind of alluding to grace, then it gets really high and inaccessible. So we tried to kind of find something in the middle where we're, I think, still priced a little bit higher than we would like to be.
19:31
Cassie Maschhoff
But we're kind of doing the field of dreams pricing because as Chelsea mentioned, we're starting to get some of those efficiencies and economies of scale where we can bring it down and already have of dropped our price a little bit on our online things and we've gotten better rates and breaks on shipping materials. And so we kind of took that advice, but also just had to kind of price a little higher. So something we're actively working on, but it's super tough.
19:56
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, absolutely.
19:57
Chelsey Maschhoff
For us as well, because this is like our first time in field. Both of us came from very different backgrounds. I mean, it works together for lotties, but in a retail space and our first time ever seeing how markups happen in grocery stores and what margin you.
20:17
Cassie Maschhoff
Hit, it's totally like we had no idea to build in a distributor price. I think someone from the start of CPG group shared that. And we're like, okay, yeah, of course. And then we're like googling, what is that? What is it? We actually just started with our first distributor a few weeks ago. So if anyone's ever at that stage where you don't know whether or not to take the leap or when to do it, because we're happy to talk about that, we still sometimes are like, is it the right decision? Because it helped us open some doors. And I also was getting really tired of driving around Colorado and like, throwing sausage out my window like a newspaper route.
20:47
Cassie Maschhoff
But then it was also just tough, you know, because you're like, okay, if we're going to try to take this, cut this much margin out or lose this much, how do we make that up in business? And it's just a tough. There's so many unknowns that you don't know when you're starting.
20:59
Grace Kennedy
Oh, my God. Absolutely. And my other question was, are you guys bootstrapping? Have you done any sort of fundraising? Obviously, you're still so early on, but I know that the bootstrapping element can add a whole nother level of stress and balance to the equation.
21:13
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, we are bootstrapping. We both invested an equal smallish amount, I would say to us, at the beginning of this year in January. And, yeah, it's what you mentioned earlier, Grace, about the production in doing more runs. Like, all of our money is going straight back into production. And we are having that conversation now about, okay, now that it's been a few months, what's next. And what is the funding strategy do? Chelsea and I want to invest a little bit more for the short term and then look into other routes or doing. We're just trying to look at different models right now of this one from being a. Let's give it 2024 and see what we can do to all of a sudden, oh, my gosh, 2024 is halfway over and we're both learning so much and loving it.
21:55
Cassie Maschhoff
We really want to continue it. And so then that's a hard truth, you know, of. Okay, well, then we're going to probably need some sort of heavy capital. So we're figuring that out this week and next week, hopefully, and trying to go about it. It's been the top priority, I would say, in the last. Yeah. Few weeks.
22:10
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, absolutely.
22:11
Cassie Maschhoff
So can you help us?
22:14
Grace Kennedy
You know, I honestly.
22:15
Cassie Maschhoff
Do you want to invest right on this call?
22:18
Grace Kennedy
This is actually a shark tank call that's happening right now. And I'm going to.
22:22
Cassie Maschhoff
You're angel investor? No, just eat.
22:24
Grace Kennedy
I would if I could, but it's funny because I interview so many brands about how to do CBG, but I've never founded a brand, so I feel like I just take in all the knowledge from everybody else. But if anybody's listening who has funding tips for Chelsea and Cassie, reach out to them on slack. I'm sure they would be all ears. But it is, I will say, just one of the most common pain points for any small brand is funding and where to get the resources and how to get the resources. And I do think it's really important to talk about, you know, especially as women owned brands and all of these things.
22:58
Grace Kennedy
I feel like just really important that we talk about it openly and are afraid to talk about how hard it is to have enough money to keep your business going even when you are ostensibly growing and doing really well and getting all these things that you want to get. Often it's still too expensive.
23:16
Cassie Maschhoff
Totally. And feel free to cut this or not. And Chelsea, tell me what you think as well. But in the spirit of transparency, one thing we've talked a lot about both to brands that came before us, younger brands that are starting after us, which they're not that many, but we are starting to set a point where we're both in our early thirties of a spirit of transparency. So we've both had decade long careers and for us it was very much a now or never, but we had enough capital ourselves to take this year to do that. I had just left a tech job where I had some equity and I dependence. Chelsea has worked in so many renowned pitch ins. And so anyway, were both in a place where, like, we will have Runway. We had budgeted for a year.
23:54
Cassie Maschhoff
That being said, when I'm saying we're having these conversations, we're like, okay, well, in our year two, we would want to take a salary, so what would that look like? And we're kind of just building this list now that we know all of what our capital needs are, I think often myself included, when were working on the business plan, you have no idea what your co packer is going to cost, and you have no idea about all the hidden fees. You have no idea about taxes and occupational privilege checks. And there's just so much. And so my advice there, and our thinking there was, like, after you have. We had, like, we now have, like, three or four months of data. It's much easier to go about the financing route rather than up front do it.
24:31
Cassie Maschhoff
But again, we're saying that from a place of privilege and where were in our careers to do this.
24:35
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's wonderful to talk about and great for people to hear because I think sometimes people see brands and they're just like, how did they start that? Like, where did you get that? Like, and I think it's important to know, like, yeah, we put our own money in and we, you know, felt confident making that investment. But also, yeah, it only takes you about a year, and then you're kind of like, okay.
24:57
Chelsey Maschhoff
No, it's just crazy, too, because as we keep talking about it, we're like, what avenues are right for the next step? Like, do friends and family first? Do you know, go straight to a bank and get a loan? There's just so many things you ask for bigger investors and for me, and I think the number one thing is the quality of our product. And so as you're talking about what the next round of funding would look like if it's just us, we still have very much control over how that our products are being produced, whereas if we, you know, so we're at that weird kind of cusp of, let's make all these different lists and play out all these scenarios and just see what happens. But it is a scary thing to do.
25:41
Chelsey Maschhoff
And I think a lot of our generation never really talked about money, and so it's a whole new realm of like, oh, this is real life now.
25:51
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, that's such a good point. And it's interesting to see when Chelsea and I are out there at all those events that I was mentioning earlier. For your point, Chelsea, again, not to generalize, but an older generation, I think there's some people that are, I don't know, no matter what, some people are so frank, like, how are you doing this? And then some people, you know, will never talk about it, but we're, I think, always as open as possible just because as you mentioned, Grace, you always do kind of wonder like, oh, how are they doing it? But nobody really knows what's going on behind the scenes. As you answer, Chelsea, there's no right or wrong way and there's downfalls in upsides to all of it, but we're always open to chatting about it.
26:25
Cassie Maschhoff
And as you mentioned, if anyone has any money, yes, here's our venmo.
26:30
Grace Kennedy
Right? Or just buy like $300 worth of sausage and have like a honestly relaxed freezer. Better idea just for your sausage, which have a hurricane chest for your sausage. So on a more sort of personal level, as founders, as two sisters who have founded it, and as we're talking about some of these stresses of figuring out how you're going to finance a business, pouring your own investment into it, how have you guys balanced some of those stresses of being a human? Obviously, Chelsea, I know you've started a family and you're both people with full lives and you're also running this very intense business. How are you balancing that? And balance is a terrible word, right? Because obviously balance is elusive and do we ever really achieve it? But what are some of the ways that you are managing?
27:19
Grace Kennedy
I guess the many places you are being pulled at any given time, I.
27:24
Cassie Maschhoff
Will say I was laughing to myself, Chelsea, earlier, when you were like, I left the restaurant industry, I wanted a little bit more space. And then he was like, wait, what? Why are we always working? Why? So it's definitely, yeah, it's been way more than we anticipated. But I think it's also a blessing, like I said earlier, because it's been really fun. Not to say every day is always fun because there's countless challenges, especially when it comes to production, as were alluding to earlier, I don't think now done. I think four production runs, she'll still, and not one has probably gone on without a hitch. So I think my answer, and then you please chime in and tell me to stop talking, Chelsea. But I think I find a lot of it doesn't feel like the traditional work that I'm used to.
28:10
Cassie Maschhoff
It's really fun. And you're wearing so many different hats that it's like a puzzle, and it's been a lot of fun. There are long days when we're doing all these events and some of that, and so I think that is tough. I think recently we've tried to better about, will you please take these two days to yourself or spend time with Auggie, who's my nephew. Chelsea, son, our manager. So we like to joke, and I think we're trying to both, like, Chelsea, you do such a good job of that with me. Like, text me, like, okay, can we just take the day or we're trying to keep each other at bay so that we're not going to burn.
28:40
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah.
28:40
Cassie Maschhoff
No.
28:40
Chelsey Maschhoff
I think a lot of it is setting boundaries, but it's hard because I'm sure other business owners can attest to this, even though it's the hardest job you've ever done. It's very much like parenting, where it's the most rewarding job I've ever done. Like, I've never felt, like, more proud or, like, had this recognition that, I don't know, you just, like, thrive on. And so it's been fun not just, like, putting ourselves out there and, like, a product that we both can stand behind and say, this is from our family and this is from us. But it's also just so cool to do it with my sister, who I am lucky enough where we had other businesses in the past that have failed.
29:24
Cassie Maschhoff
But by businesses, she means, like, lemonade stands, by the way. Yeah. We were younger. Yeah.
29:33
Chelsey Maschhoff
And so I think, had many decades to, like, build in a communication style that works for us.
29:40
Cassie Maschhoff
And then I would, I'll still add to that and say, and she'll feel free to chime in. But when we had first kind officially started doing this in January, when were both, like, we'd done it kind of on the side last year and Chelsea had done some pop ups. I was working on the business plan and different things together at the end of 2023, but when we officially were, like, 2024 go time, it was definitely rocky because we hadn't both been, like, so full on and had worked together in this capacity as adults, and we operate so differently. We mentioned mostly covering from culinary and spending really long days in a kitchen versus me coming from. It's just totally different cultures, and I. Skill sets, and I would be bombarding Chelsea with emails and pings and all.
30:22
Grace Kennedy
These things, and she's like, what's a ping?
30:23
Cassie Maschhoff
Why are you. Who? What? And she's like, why are you? And then I was not empathetic enough to understand being like, oh, whoa. This is a whole other learning curve and culture for her. Even back to what I was saying earlier with, I don't know, me not understanding some of the quality things and just different side on the production. It was really tough at first, more than we had anticipated because, as Chelsea mentioned, we've always been best friends, really close, had talked to each other daily, but not in this setting. And so that, I think, required both of us to really sit down and have open conversations and really reset rather than throw in the towel and give our frustrations. I don't know if you want to say more about that, Chelsea, but I've talked to other. Yeah.
31:02
Cassie Maschhoff
Sounders about how hard it can be, and I just hadn't anticipated it. But I will say it only gets better and better if you kind of have that open reset conversation.
31:12
Chelsey Maschhoff
Yeah, I think that's key is Cassie and I both internalize and then we're very quick to either shut down but then start a conversation back up. I guess we both get over things kind of more quickly than other people do. So that's been a blessing, but also a curse because we can both be very quick to make decisions and then we'll reset and 20 minutes later, I know I'll get a call from my sister. Okay, let's talk about this. I didn't like the way that ended.
31:42
Cassie Maschhoff
Let's try to figure this out.
31:43
Chelsey Maschhoff
And so I think the fact that we're both very similar in that regard has been very helpful. Communication is the number one. Like, that's the number one production run is big hurdle. But then communication with your business partner and family member is number one priority. Like, if have an open dialogue constantly, then Lottie's isn't going to succeed.
32:07
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah. And one thing I just want to add as well, because I think it's so important. And one thing Chelsea and I talked about and learned in the last few months is open communication, but also no goalkeeping. Like, there should never be any. I think that helps us with the balance thing as well. Like, we're trying to be super open with what we're doing and what we're working on, but it's not a. I pulled an all nighter creating these labels, or I did this and I did this. It's very much like so much gratitude for the open person and support. And I think that is a trap that a lot of people can fall into if you're not actively talking about it.
32:39
Grace Kennedy
Right. Absolutely. And also being able to say, I just pulled an all nighter. Can I take a nap now while you handle these x things? And just being able to.
32:46
Cassie Maschhoff
And I'm like, no, Jesse, you can't. We need you. How? Yeah.
32:52
Grace Kennedy
And, you know, sometimes you do. Yeah.
32:53
Cassie Maschhoff
You're so right.
32:54
Grace Kennedy
But it's lovely to hear that you guys have that communication. I mean, I think if I tried to start a business with my brother, we would probably cut each other's heads off. So I have a lot of respect.
33:04
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We cut our brother's head off, too. No, no.
33:09
Grace Kennedy
Yeah. It would not go well. But my last question, and I always like to ask this of founders, is just thinking about somebody who was in your shoes in early January. They were about to start a brand, or even just thinking about starting a brand. What piece of advice would you give them if they came to you and said, hey, I want to start this thing? Any advice?
33:29
Chelsey Maschhoff
I have told everyone that they need a Cassie. So I was just like, I couldn't do this without her. But, yeah, I think it's knowing your limits and, like, what you can physically and mentally put into something and knowing your capacity. Because I knew my capacity before we started Lottie's, and I knew I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. And so having just that self realization of, like, I believe in this. How far can I take it? And then do you need to pull in extra help, like, using resources? Like, I think Cassie introduced me to startup CPG, and listening to all of those podcasts was just, like, credible, because learning that it's okay to ask for help, it's okay to use other resources. Like, don't limit yourself because you're either scared to ask or. I don't know.
34:19
Chelsey Maschhoff
That was a really bad.
34:21
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, no, it was so good. It was so spot on. There's, like, so many things I would say, but touching on some of the things that you said, it's such a blessing. And I really mean this. I'm not saying this just because we're on started CBG podcast. I don't think we would have had the confidence if there weren't, like, the resources available. And I say resources in terms of knowledge, not capital. Like, there's such a great community and being in the Slack channel, for instance, or off of the Slack channel for a while, I was trying to talk to a founder at least once a week, like, kind of made it my own personal OKR, if you will, because it's just so helpful and you just don't know what.
34:56
Cassie Maschhoff
You don't know when you're starting a brand and I would say 99.9% of the time people are open and receptive, even though now being a few months and you're like, oh, you get that. You're so busy. And so it means even more that people would take the time and share resources and recommendations and referrals. I think the other thing I would say that we're still trying to figure out, too, so it's probably not the best advice, but we're actively working on it, is know what success means and what your goals are. Again, as I mentioned earlier, you don't know what you don't know. So you don't know if, hey, getting into 40 retail spots is a target for us or hitting this much in sales or being an online. There's just so much you don't know.
35:36
Cassie Maschhoff
And I think now that we have a few months, we're starting to be more aligned and we're more informed about how tough the industry can be. So, for instance, Chelsea and I have both had conversations of, neither of us at this point are really striving to be in national conventional retail. We love community building. We love what we, that's why we're hyper focused in Colorado and where we chosen to grow. But we're also now starting to think about second and third markets and like, how do we stay true to what we love but also be successful. And I wish we had done that earlier because I think it would have helped make decisions easier. But it's tough when you don't know industry at all because you don't know what necessarily what levers to pull.
36:18
Cassie Maschhoff
But I think now that we're more in line with a, B and C priorities, it's definitely made things more smooth.
36:24
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I think that's a great point. Just thinking about what does success look like to you and what does it look like next month? What does it look like in a year? What does it look like in five years? Because it is easy to just ride the wave and then somehow end up like, wait, is this even what we had wanted in the first place? And so having that sort of check in and gut check of like, is this what's the path we see for our brand?
36:45
Cassie Maschhoff
Totally. I think now we are even in the spot where Chelsea and I, at the end of every month, we kind of recap everything, sit down together, and then we're like, looking at the calendar ahead. We set a few fiscal goals, a few non, you know, like a few intangible goals, and we feel pretty good on a month to month basis. And now we're finally getting to the point where like, wow, okay, we'll have annual and we'll have 2025 and we'll look at like a three or four year plan. And it's helpful. But as I said, we definitely were not in a place to do that when we started. We're just now starting to put that practice in.
37:17
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I love that. And I mean, I'm excited to see where you guys end up next and, just where Lottie's goes in the future. And I'll. I'll see you guys. Well, this episode will probably come out after fancy foods, but I am excited to try more lotties at the fancy Foods party where they will be sampling and just in general to see where Lottie's goes. But final question is just where can people learn more about Lottie's and follow along?
37:44
Cassie Maschhoff
Yeah, you can learn more at our website, lottiesmeats.com or on Instagram. At we are constantly having some deprecating content. We have some things online. We have always a list of our stories. We're always trying to shout out some of our partners. So follow on our website, subscribe to our newsletter, or check us out on Instagram.
38:04
Grace Kennedy
Amazing. Well, it was so nice to talk to you, Chelsea and Cassie. And like we said, if anybody's listening with a couple million dollars, feel free to reach out to them. I know that money is just flying these days, but. And yes, and reach out to them about anything and learn more about Lottie's. And yeah, thanks for listening.
38:26
Cassie Maschhoff
Thank you, Gray.
38:30
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 partnershipsartupcpg.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. Dot.
