The Good Food CFO podcast

What if the secret to a profitable food business isn't scaling bigger, but growing smarter? Sarah challenges the "grow fast or fail" mentality that's crushing food entrepreneurs, revealing why 75% of VC funded businesses fail and sharing a proven approach to sustainable growth.You’ll meet two food founders who made the counterintuitive decision to right-size their businesses - one contracting from national to regional distribution, another strategically eliminating sales channels. The result? Better cash flow, higher profit margins, and businesses they actually love running again.Discover the three warning signs that your business needs right-sizing, why gross profit margins below 50% slowly drain your cash flow, and the specific financial tools Sarah uses to help founders evaluate whether contracting could transform their bottom line. You'll hear practical strategies for building a financially sustainable food business that works for you, not against you. Plus: inspiring updates on where these founders are today- including one successful business exit and a beautiful rebrand that's thriving.Financial Strategy Software is coming soon! Get on the waitlist now at thegoodfoodcfo.com/waitlistJoin The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

The Good Food CFO is launching first-of-its-kind financial strategy software built exclusively for food founders! After seven years of perfecting her approach with hundreds of clients, Sarah's taking everything she knows about building profitable food businesses and turning it into powerful software that doesn't exist anywhere else.This isn't another generic financial tool trying to serve everyone. In this episode Sarah is sharing the three core features launching in the initial version of the software, including a growth simulator that lets you test scenarios for growing your food business before making moves. Adding a new sales channel? Considering a new product? Run the numbers and see when you'll break even, when you’ll become profitable and how much capital you'll need to get there.Sarah shares why she swore she'd never be a tech founder (and what finally changed her mind), how winning June's $10,000 Amber Grant is accelerating development, and her bigger vision to use the software to prove local food businesses deserve serious investment. The software is launching soon! The waitlist is now open - hop on to be the first to know when the Beta version is available. Get on the waitlist today at thegoodfoodcfo.com/waitlistJoin The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

Poppi's $1.95B exit is being hailed as the new "North Star" for food entrepreneurs – but Sarah isn't buying the headlines.When she dug into the reported investor returns, the math literally doesn't work. Forbes reported returns that would individually equal the entire acquisition price – a mathematical impossibility. But if major publications can't do basic math on these deals, what else are we getting wrong?With $39 million invested over seven years to fuel Poppi's rapid growth from Shark Tank to nationwide distribution, this wasn't a bootstrap success story. Sarah traces the money trail and questions who actually won in this deal. Was it the founders who built the company, or the investors who funded the journey?As more independent food brands get absorbed by giants like PepsiCo, entrepreneurs need to know the real financial playbook – not the fairy tale version making headlines.All findings discussed in this episode are opinions based on publicly available reporting. We've compiled every article, press release, and data source we referenced so you can do your own research and draw your own conclusions.Food Republic: Mother Beverage/Poppi, here’s what happened after Shark TankThe Wall Street Journal: Small Investor Group Scores 88-Fold Return in Poppi SaleSpace Funding: How $105,000 Invested in Poppi Turned Into $9.5 Million: The Power of Early-Stage InvestingFood Navigator: Poppi closes $13.5m funding round led by CAVU Ventures and backed by celebrity investors: 'Poppi is the modern soda for the next generation'Forbes: Viral TikTok Prebiotic Soda Brand Poppi Raises $25 Million Series B To Expand Nationwide Through DSDTaste Radio: How A Four-Letter Word Sparked Poppi’s Billion-Dollar TrajectoryBevNet: Best of 2023Forbes: Poppi Investors Russell Westbrook, 24KGoldn Cash In On $2B PepsiCo DealPress Release from Pepsi Co.Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

Your inventory numbers are telling a story - but do you know how to read it? In this episode, Sarah answers listener questions about inventory turnover ratio - the metric that reveals whether your products are converting to cash or quietly draining your resources. She shows how to turn a confusing ratio like "2.75" into clear insights - that inventory turnover ratio means it takes your business 146 days to sell through the product on your shelves. The eye-opener: Sarah shares how a rapidly growing meat company with impressive revenue was hemorrhaging cash because they had eight months of chicken inventory collecting freezer rent. Listen in to learn: Step-by-step calculations for both accrual and cash-based businesses Why industry benchmarks miss the point And how to interpret your number based on lead times, growth plans, and cash runway. Essential listening for food entrepreneurs ready to make data-driven inventory decisions that protect cash flow. BABOYOT Member Spotlight: Amber Stevenson of Rosebud's Real Food Learn more at www.rosebudsrealfood.com Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

You asked, Sarah is answering! We love these listener Q&A episodes, and today's cost of goods sold questions are absolute gold. First up: When Google gives you two different definitions for the same term, which one should you trust? Sarah breaks it down and explains gross profit margin vs. net profit margin and which should be your starting point for healthy food business cash flow. Then, we hear from a food founder who thinks they're "double charging" themselves for labor. Spoiler alert – they're not, but Sarah's explanation about theoretical COGS versus actual P&L numbers will probably change how you think about your own spreadsheets. The episode wraps with insights from a recent live Q&A where tiered pricing sparked a fascinating conversation among members. One founder wants to simplify their pricing structure due to rising & fluctuating costs, while another realized tiered pricing may be a benefit. Hear Sarah’s recommendation on how they should determine their best pricing strategies. Keep those questions coming – we read every single email! You can reach us at hello@thegoodfoodcfo.com Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

In this eye-opening episode, Sarah breaks down the harsh food distributor chargeback reality that many founders don't discover until it's too late. Using a real-world example of a brand that invoiced KeHE for $68,267 but received only $13,345 (just 19.5%), she dissects exactly where that money went. From the surprising "initial PO" payment policy that can delay your first check for 3-6 months, to the specific chargebacks that consumed 80% of a brand's revenue, Sarah provides the financial transparency food entrepreneurs desperately need before signing distribution agreements. The episode explores several chargeback categories including intro allowances, free fills, spoilage allowances, and promotional fees – revealing how these can quickly transform an exciting distribution opportunity into a significant cash flow challenge. Sarah shares practical strategies for surviving the distribution onboarding process, emphasizing the importance of “velocity over doors” and suggesting regional distributors as potentially more transparent alternatives to national giants. Tune in for an essential financial reality check that could save your food business from a costly distribution mistake or help you prepare properly for sustainable growth through distribution channels. For content like this delivered straight to your inbox, join our mailing list! Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast, Sarah reveals the counterintuitive financial tracking system that successful food brands actually use to drive profitability. Responding to a listener's question about which financial reports matter most, Sarah challenges conventional wisdom by presenting a strategic hierarchy that puts cash flow management at the top of the priority list—not the P&L statement many founders obsess over. Sarah unpacks why most food entrepreneurs look at their financials in the wrong order and introduces a practical framework that helps spot problems before they become crises. Her systematic approach shows founders exactly which financial metrics to prioritize and how often to review them for maximum impact. This practical roadmap helps identify which levers to pull when adjustments are needed. Food founders will learn how to move beyond the overwhelming complexity of traditional financial statements and focus instead on the metrics that actually drive business decisions. Whether you're struggling with tight margins due to rising ingredient costs or trying to improve your cash position, this episode delivers the financial guidance needed for long-term success. Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

Despite rising costs and economic uncertainty, Sarah brings her characteristic straight talk to food business finances in this timely episode: "All is not lost." Drawing from both historical patterns and current market insights, she explains why specialty food brands can still thrive during economic downturns as consumers continue treating themselves to small luxuries like artisan chocolate and premium coffee. "This is not a shelter-in-place moment," Sarah emphasizes, but rather a time to be strategic about where you invest your resources. The episode unpacks three critical focus areas for food founders: Tracking sales data by channel to spot shifting customer behaviors Responding strategically to rising costs that may shrink profit margins Managing cash as the ultimate protection during uncertain times Sarah shares a revealing case study of a client who's pivoting away from distribution-heavy growth toward higher-margin channels, and offers affordable tools from The Good Food CFO designed to help founders make confident financial decisions no matter what economic challenges arise. Tools and Resources mentioned in this episode: Perfect Pricing CalculatorCash Flow ProjectorThe Profit Assessment Share your stories and send your questions to hello@thegoodfoodcfo.com Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com