About this episode

The episode discusses the development of a new functional cookie brand and the integration of health-focused ingredients.

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Ashley Fields and Kim Anderson, co-founders of Fields Good, and Katie Emerson of Kyowa Hakko USA (the makers of Cognizin) to unpack how a new functional cookie brand is trying to prove that healthy and heavenly don't have to be a trade-off. Ashley Fields grew up as a self-described "nepo baker," the daughter of the founders behind the classic Fields cookie brand. She met co-founder Kim Anderson as roommates at Stanford, and together they spent 18 months developing Fields Good's line of functional cookies, including a protein peanut butter cookie, an oatmeal raisin sleep cookie, and a mocha dark chocolate focus cookie featuring Cognizin Citicoline. Katie Emerson, senior manager of scientific and regulatory affairs at Kyowa Hakko USA and a registered dietitian, brings the ingredient supplier's perspective on why branded functional ingredients are becoming mainstream. Daniel, Ashley, Kim, and Katie dig into why functional foods and brain health ingredients are having a moment, how Fields Good flipped the usual "function first" formulation model to prioritize taste, and what actually goes into a brand's…

People in this episode

Host: Daniel Scharff

Guests: Ashley Fields, Kim Anderson, Katie Emerson

Topics covered

• functional foods
• brain health
• cookies
• entrepreneurship
• food innovation

Keywords

• functional cookies
• brain health ingredients
• Cognizin
• Fields Good
• food innovation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fields Good, Kyowa Hakko USA

Products: Cognizin, Cognizin Citicoline, protein peanut butter cookie, oatmeal raisin sleep cookie, mocha dark chocolate focus cookie

More episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast

• #265: Marion Nestle on Food Politics and the Cereal Aisle · September 8, 2026 · 42 min
• Turning Customers Into Investors: A Popcorn Brand's Crowdfunding Playbook · September 5, 2026 · 38 min
• She Couldn't Find a Clean Electrolyte Brand, So She Created One · September 4, 2026 · 31 min
• #264 How Foundation Foods Became One of SoCal's Most Trusted Grocery Distributors · September 1, 2026 · 35 min
• R&D RADIO: Building a Reliable Formula Brand with Casey Bauer, COO, Bobbie · August 31, 2026 · 25 min
• From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year · August 29, 2026 · 51 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Startup CPG Podcast podcast page.