Description:

What does it look like to bring innovation to a static industry? A lifelong love for entrepreneurship and the food and beverage industry led Ben Lewis to take a massive risk to disrupt the baby food industry, and with $90 million raised to date, it certainly paid off! In this episode of Stairway to CEO, Ben shares the story of continuing his dad’s legacy in business, finding out-of-the-box solutions to the complex problem of manufacturing his product, and much more!

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In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

• [01:05] Ben Lewis’s first taste of entrepreneurship as a child and how he continued his father’s legacy, starting with a bottled water start-up.

• [12:00] His exposure to the food and beverage industry by developing a Greek yogurt brand.

• [15:50] Learning essential lessons through bootstrapping a food distribution company.

• [20:45] Ben's involvement in angel investment in the food and beverage space.

• [21:48] Founding Little Spoon with the motivation to disrupt a static industry, naming the product, and developing the product and packaging.

• [28:46] Product expansion and the philosophy of growing with the customer that underpins Little Spoon’s growth.

• [34:30] Surprises on the road to building a D2C business, including an unlikely partnership with a tamale company.

• [40:25] How Ben’s role has evolved with the company and Little Spoon’s approach to talent.

• [42:29] Fundraising in the baby food industry, finding a new approach to return on investment, and what’s next for Little Spoon.

To Find Out More:

Little Spoon

Ben Lewis on X

Ben Lewis on LinkedIn

The Equity Studio

Kairos HQ

Lee Greene on LinkedIn

Stairway to CEO

Stairway to CEO on Instagram

Awesome CX

Quotes:

“You could have the best product in the world, the best brand in the world, and even the right team and the right capital – but ultimately so much of it, especially in the traditional retail space, depends on the distribution and what happens at the point of sale.” [0:15:14]

“For the right brand and the right product, having a direct relationship with your customer is so critically important.” [0:19:17]

“Being detached from your ultimate customer is a real hindrance to building a brand.” [0:20:01]

“There’s a big opportunity for us, not just within that baby stage with the baby blends, but for Little Spoon as a brand to be the go-to as that kid is growing up and as the family is growing.” [0:31:32]

“[We’ve grown our business] largely through growing with our customers.” [0:31:48]

“That was how we started. We turned this manufacturing roadblock into a very unlikely partnership.” [0:39:29]

“One of the things I’m most proud of at Little Spoon is that we’ve had extremely low attrition, so our retention is literally best in class.” [0:40:58]

“Optics matter, but at the end of the day, you need to do what’s right.” [0:44:35]

“For us, it’s about listening to our customers and finding where those pockets of opportunity are.” [0:46:59]

“We’re building a brand for a new generation of parents.” [0:47:42]

“As an entrepreneur, you’re often having to choose between speed, quality, and cost.” [0:47:54]

“Don’t aim for perfection.” [0:48:46]