#252 - The Rise of Laurel's Coffee: Whole Foods, Wegmans & 1,800 Target Stores in Two Years

About this episode

Isabel Washington shares her journey of launching Laurel's Coffee and securing major retail partnerships in a short time frame.

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Isabel Washington, founder of Laurel's Coffee — an A2 dairy canned latte brand bringing coffee shop flavors like Dirty Chai and Matcha to retail shelves. Isabel left McKinsey in February 2024, launched in August 2024, and has already landed Whole Foods, Erewhon, Wegmans, and a chain-wide 1,800-store Target launch coming this August. That's not a typo. Isabel shares the full origin story: how her public health background shaped her "better for you" philosophy, why she spent her first six weeks at 40 hours a week on calls with anyone who would talk to her, and how she cold-emailed the Whole Foods refrigerated beverage buyer three months after launching — and got a response almost immediately. She also breaks down what A2 dairy actually is, why so many self-described lactose intolerant people may actually be A1 sensitive, and why Dirty Chai became their best seller at Whole Foods by 1.5–2x. Daniel and Isabel also dig into the consulting-to-founder pipeline, the art of running parallel work streams instead of sequential ones, what it felt like to say yes to a national Whole Foods launch with $10,000 in the…

People in this episode

Host: Daniel Scharff

Guest: Isabel Washington

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• food and beverage industry
• retail strategy
• product launch
• consulting
• A2 dairy

Keywords

• Laurel's Coffee
• A2 dairy
• Whole Foods
• retail launch
• Isabel Washington
• Dirty Chai
• entrepreneurship
• consulting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Laurel's Coffee, Whole Foods, Erewhon, Wegmans, Target

Products: A2 dairy canned latte, Dirty Chai, Matcha

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