He Lost $120,000 to a Recall. Here's What Saved the Company
About this episode
Aamir Malkani shares his journey of overcoming a significant recall and building his plant-based brand, PlantUp, into major Canadian retailers.
One dairy trace cost this Canadian plant based brand $120,000, three months of unpaid shipments, and a public recall. PlantUp founder Aamir Malkani on getting into Sobeys, UNFI, and 1,200 retail stores across Canada. Aamir came to Canada from a textile manufacturing family in India, knew nothing about food, and cold messaged plant based protein suppliers on LinkedIn until one took a bet on him. Three years later PlantUp is in the frozen aisle and the snack aisle at Sobeys, Metro, Longo's, Fortinos, Whole Foods, Save On Foods and IGA. This conversation is the unglamorous version of CPG distribution. How he booked a trade show booth directly opposite UNFI, served dumplings like a food fest, and turned a lukewarm distributor conversation into a national buyer referral in one afternoon. Why he and his co-founder personally walked into 54 Sobeys and Foodland stores in five days and converted 42 of them before a single category review. Why he thinks a Toronto brand chasing national listings in year one is making a mistake, and the 7 million person math behind that. He also breaks down what a broker actually does versus a distributor, why trade spend is the line item most founders…
People in this episode
Host: Devesh Tilokani
Guest: Aamir Malkani
Topics covered
- CPG distribution
- plant-based protein
- retail strategy
- food industry challenges
- entrepreneurship
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: PlantUp, Sobeys, UNFI, Metro, Longo's, Fortinos, Whole Foods, Save On Foods, IGA
Places: Canada, Toronto
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- How to Build in Public and Launch a Food Brand | Cotto
- Self-Manufacturing a CPG Food Brand: Why oomé Built Its Own Smokehouse
- How to Choose a 3PL That Won't Lose Your Inventory | Rahim, Get Set Prep
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