From Ice Cream Cart to National Brand - The Hazel's Ice Cream Story

In this episode, hosts Kenny and Phil sit down with Sam Vermeulen, co-founder of Hazel's Ice Cream, to discuss the remarkable journey from a COVID-era ice cream cart idea to a growing national frozen novelty brand.

Sam shares how what started as a father-son dream of running an ice cream shop evolved into handcrafted premium ice cream bars. Born out of necessity during the pandemic, Hazel's pivoted from scooped ice cream to bars when traditional retail wasn't an option - a decision that accidentally filled a market gap in Victoria's frozen novelty scene.

Scaling CPG Brands with Roadmap CPG's Michelle Prychidny and Koreann Webster

In this episode of This Commerce Life, hosts Phil and Kenny welcome the dynamic duo behind Roadmap CPG - Michelle Prychidny and Koreann Webster. Together, these industry veterans share their combined decades of experience helping emerging CPG brands navigate the treacherous waters of retail scaling.

From their early days at Vega and their rocket ship journey with SmartSweets to launching their own consultancy, Michelle and Koreann break down the critical foundational pieces that make or break growing brands. They dive deep into the most common pitfalls they see repeatedly: cash flow nightmares, pricing disasters, and the fundamental disconnect between profit and loss versus actual cash in the bank.

check out Roadmap CPG here: https://www.roadmapcpg.com/

Find Koreann here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/koreann-webster-42b43160/

Find Michelle here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-mckay-prychidny-b6b0492/

Thank you to Field Agent Canada for sponsoring the podcast. https://www.fieldagentcanada.com/

We sit down with Sanaz Bahrami, founder of Melts Infusions, who shares her remarkable journey from aspiring surgeon to herbal wellness entrepreneur. After nerve damage derailed her medical career dreams, Sanaz discovered the power of adaptogenic herbs during a challenging period in graduate school studying biomedical engineering.

What started as brewing "peace tea" in her apartment to manage anxiety and depression has evolved into a thriving business with over 500,000 TikTok followers and a loyal customer base. Sanaz opens up about her early struggles with mental health, the limitations she found with traditional pharmaceutical approaches, and how a lab mate's suggestion to try herbal remedies changed her life.

Check out Melts Infusions here: https://meltsinfusion.com/

Find Sanaz here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanaz-bahrami-7a067014a/

Sanaz's Tiktok page is here: https://www.tiktok.com/@meltsinfusions

Thank you to Field Agent Canada for sponsoring the podcast: https://www.fieldagentcanada.com/