Founder Feature: Sean Knecht of Tantos!

About this episode

Sean Knecht discusses the creation of Tantos, the challenges of appearing on Shark Tank, and strategies for breaking into the snack market.

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Sean Knecht, co-founder of Tantos—the first and only puffed pasta chip. Tantos is built on a simple but revolutionary idea: a snack whose base ingredient is wheat and water, the true definition of pasta, bringing a brand new category to the salty snack aisle alongside business partner and celebrity chef Joe Sasto. Sean shares how a pasta lesson, a birthday gift, and a pop-up dinner led to a bromance-turned-business partnership, what it's really like to appear on Shark Tank not once but twice, and the reality of the Shark Tank effect—including the cash flow hit nobody talks about. He also walks through his strategy for convincing Whole Foods that the snack aisle is overloaded with tortilla chips and desperately needs something new. Together, they cover: How a DM about flour-to-egg ratios started a business partnership with celebrity chef Joe Sasto What "first and only" really means—and why Sean wouldn't have launched Tantos without it Appearing on Shark Tank twice: what changed, what didn't, and how to actually prepare The real Shark Tank effect: 3,000 orders in three days, a 3x sales floor increase…

People in this episode

Host: Caitlin Bricker

Guest: Sean Knecht

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• snack industry
• business partnerships
• Shark Tank experience
• product innovation
• retail strategy

Keywords

• pasta chip
• snack innovation
• Shark Tank effect
• Whole Foods pitch
• business strategy
• celebrity chef
• entrepreneurial journey

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tantos, Shark Tank, Whole Foods, Amazon

More episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast

• Investor Spotlight: Consumer Psychology, Channel Strategy, and What Actually Makes Brands Win — David Bell, Idea Farm Ventures · June 13, 2026 · 48 min
• Founder Feature: Bone Broth Tomato Sauce and a New Twist on a Family Recipe- Liana Krasnow, Noodo · June 12, 2026 · 28 min
• #252 - The Rise of Laurel's Coffee: Whole Foods, Wegmans & 1,800 Target Stores in Two Years · June 9, 2026 · 46 min
• R&D Radio: Food Microstructure, Ultra-Processed Foods, and the Contract Manufacturer Formula Trap with Abbey Thiel · June 8, 2026 · 31 min
• Investor Spotlight: Founder Investor Fit, Gross Margins, and the KPIs That Actually Drive Consumer Businesses - Rana Taghdisi Argenio, Palette Ventures · June 6, 2026 · 40 min
• Founder Feature: Single Origin Soy Sauce and Award Winning Branding with Christine Liu and Clarissa Wei of HEYDOH · June 5, 2026 · 31 min