This episode is brought to you by Highbeam.
Highbeam is the all-in-one banking and cash management platform built for consumer brands – https://www.highbeam.co/capital?partnerId=consumervc
In this episode of The Consumer VC, Mike Gelb sits down with Chris Kirby, founder of Ithaca Hummus, to uncover how he turned a local farmer’s market stand into a $50M+ premium food brand — without traditional VC funding.
Chris shares:
Why he left fine dining to build a CPG brand
How Ithaca Hummus was born at a student farmer’s market
Selling without brokers & scaling through scrappy growth
Why they said NO to VCs and focused on unit economics & velocity
How packaging and taste-first branding drove national expansion
Strategic partnerships that led to explosive revenue jumps
🔥 If you're a CPG founder, emerging brand, or curious about bootstrapping a premium product, don’t miss this.
🕒 Timestamps
00:00 - Opening Quote: The Magic of Farmer’s Markets
03:24 - From Fine Dining to Culinary Burnout
06:36 - Discovering a Gap in Ithaca’s Food Scene
10:46 - Launching Ithaca Hummus from a Camp Kitchen
13:54 - The Addictive Energy of Farmer’s Markets
19:15 - No Brokers: Selling to Co-ops Door-to-Door
24:33 - Sampling, Promotions & Retailer Education
28:10 - $1M to $3.5M: Strategic Investment from Co-Man
33:50 - Saying No to VCs: Building Without External Pressure
37:17 - What Strategic Actually Means in CPG
41:50 - Branding, Packaging & the Power of “Owning Taste”
45:33 - Creating Viral Flavors (e.g. French Onion Hummus)
47:59 - Graza x Ithaca: Strategic Co-Branded Launch
50:00 - Long-Term Vision: Legacy, Not Liquidity
53:50 - Lightning Round: Books, Beliefs & Brands
#venturecapital #consumervc #vcfunding
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