On this episode, we’re joined by Kyle Peters, the Senior Director of Emerging Brands at Jack Link’s, where he leads brand strategy, P&L, and innovation across a portfolio of growth-stage and incubation brands - including Golden Island, Jack Link’s Chili, and more.

Kyle brings a unique lens to scaling emerging brands within a legacy organization, drawing on his experience as a founder of a high-protein ice cream startup and as a former growth leader at Nestlé’s R&D Accelerator.

We dive into navigating the post-founder journey, how to be a good partner to a distributor, and what makes for a truly scalable product strategy. We dive deep into COGS, margin planning, and when (if ever) it makes sense to vertically integrate. Plus: emerging CPG trends from the guy leading the emerging trends at Jack Link’s.

Episode Highlights:

🥩 Inside Jack Link’s emerging brand strategy
🧊 The post-founder handoff playbook
🏭 Copacker sourcing tips + trusted directories
📉 Tradeoffs when moving from self-manufacturing
📦 Packaging design lessons + rebrand advice
🚚 How to work with your distributor, not against them
💸 What C-store buyers expect, and how to deliver
📊 Forecasting margin erosion the right way
🔥 Trends Kyle is watching in protein and beyond

Table of Contents:

01:00 – Jack Links’ emerging brands portfolio
08:54 – The post-founder journey
21:29 – Copackers
24:18 – Where to find copackers
27:23 – Moving from self-manufacturing, tradeoffs in scaling
31:37 – If/when to vertically integrate
33:36 – Product mix strategy
39:23 – Being a good partner to distributors
43:18 – A distributor’s expected hit to your margin
44:43 – Projecting COGS and margins
46:51 – The C-store channel
50:47 – Packaging design: what matters
53:48 – When to rebrand
56:40 – Emerging trends from the emerging trends guy
57:46 – Why protein is exploding right now

Links:

Jack Link’s – https://www.jacklinks.com
Follow Kyle on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylempeters/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.