#249 - Expo Pitch Slam Recap with ChiChi Foods
About this episode
Chiara Munzi discusses her journey with ChiChi Foods and their success at the Expo West Pitch Slam.
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Chiara Munzi, co-founder of ChiChi Foods — the winner of Startup CPG's first-ever Expo West Pitch Slam, powered by Advantage FDM Sales. ChiChi makes the world's first chickpea hot cereal: a shelf-stable, high-protein, high-fiber breakfast that cooks just like instant oatmeal but delivers everything oatmeal doesn't — more protein, more fiber, and none of the sugar crash. Chiara shares the full story: how she and co-founder Izzy started mushing chickpeas in their college dorm room after realizing their morning oatmeal was leaving them hungry and crashing an hour later, how they applied to every pitch competition at Expo West instead of paying for a booth, and what it felt like to walk into a room of 200 people and a panel of top retail and distribution judges expecting eight. Daniel and Chiara walk through the entire Pitch Slam experience — from the application strategy to the five-minute pitch, the surprise questions from the judges, the tight deliberations, and the moment ChiChi was named the winner. A huge thank you to Advantage FDM Sales for making this possible by awarding ChiChi Foods their FDM…
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Advantage FDM Sales
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