Startup Stories

Inside the Six-Month Sprint That Brought Japan’s Rice Cream to America

Elena Rosenblum — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:09:00 GMT

It started with a phone call from Tokyo one late Wednesday night. Hiroya Hashizume (Zume), the founder of the Japanese food tech startup Kinish, was pitching his idea for a rice-based ice cream to the team at Union Kitchen in Washington, D.C.

Irish Roots, Regional Reach: Green Island Bakery Joins Giant Shelves

Elena Rosenblum — Mon, 12 May 2025 12:44:35 GMT

Green Island Bakery's shortbread cookies are now available in Giant Eagle supermarkets across the Mid-Atlantic, expanding a retail footprint that already includes Whole Foods Market, MOM’s Organic Market, and more than 200 specialty and natural grocery stores.

Scaling Hydration: Susosu’s Path to 500+ Doors and GoPuff

Elena Rosenblum — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:24:16 GMT

Susosu Water continues to build momentum in the Mid-Atlantic with its recent rollout on GoPuff, the instant delivery platform. This new partnership adds to a growing list of retailers that includes Giant Foods and Whole Foods Market, and marks another step in the company’s region-by-region strategy for sustainable growth. Now sold in over 500 retail locations across the Mid-Atlantic, Susosu is laying the groundwork for long-term brand presence through disciplined expansion and targeted retail execution.

The Snacklins Playbook: Scaling a Snack Brand to $1M+ and Beyond

Elena Rosenblum — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:31:05 GMT

When Snacklins first sold at a local D.C. brewery and farmers markets in 2016, few would have imagined what was about to come—from securing investment from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank to landing national distribution and major retailers like Whole Foods Market, Shop-Rite, Sprouts, and Market Basket. For the founder, Samy Kobrosly, the journey from side hustle to scaled CPG business has always been rooted in listening to the consumer, refining relentlessly, and controlling the means of production.

Built to Deliver: How Vegetable + Butcher Quadrupled Production To Meet Demand

Elena Rosenblum — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 14:32:49 GMT

In a milestone moment for one of D.C.'s favorite meal delivery services, Vegetable + Butcher has opened a 32,000-square-foot production facility in Upper Marlboro, Maryland—more than quadrupling its previous footprint. The expansion highlights the increasing demand for their meals and the success of their model, which has been built on owning manufacturing and a strategy of growing one neighborhood at a time.

How Berg Bites Grew from Dorm Room Snack to a Scalable Functional Food Brand

Elena Rosenblum — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:48:25 GMT

What began as a homemade family dessert has now evolved into a nationally distributed brand. Berg Bites, founded by Daniel Berg, is redefining functional snacking with its line of clean-label, on-the-go energy bites—now sold in major retailers like Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, Giant, and used by professional athletes alike. The brand’s rise is the result of deliberate product development, deep manufacturing know-how, and a strategic go-to-market playbook developed in partnership with Union Kitchen.

The Scaling Strategy Behind Pop’s Bakery’s Production and Sales Boom

Elena Rosenblum — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 15:18:37 GMT

Pop’s Bakery, a Washington, D.C.-based bread and bagel manufacturer, has opened a new production facility to accommodate its expansion. Founded by Grant Sarvis in 2016, the company has doubled sales annually since 2021. The upgraded facility, which includes a retail bagel shop at the front, enables Pop’s to scale production to more than 150,000 units per week across its bread and bagel lines.

From Small Batch to Scale: How Maspanadas Tripled Production + Sales

Elena Rosenblum — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 19:21:42 GMT

Maspanadas, a frozen empanadas manufacturer, is tripling its production capacity with their new 12,000-square foot manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland. With this new facility, Maspanadas is able to produce over 20,000 empanadas a day. A timely launch, this will support their rollout with Fresh Direct, Costco in the Northeast, Whole Foods Market (Global), and expanded food service contracts across the United States.

From Early Days to 25+ Cafes: the story of how Compass Coffee is brewing up success

Elena Rosenblum — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 17:15:55 GMT

Compass Coffee, DC's favorite coffee chain, has opened their 23rd location and first in Maryland in College Park, home of the University of Maryland Terrapins. Compass Coffee has grown significantly since opening their first cafe and roastary in DC's Shaw neighborhood in 2014. Today, Compass Coffee continues to manufacture all of their own coffee and syrups in their 50,000 sq ft facility. Meanwhile, their coffee beans can be found in notable retailers like Whole Foods Market and Giant Food.

How Caribe Juice Scaled Nationally by Turning Authenticity into a Strategic Advantage

Elena Rosenblum — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 18:31:32 GMT

How do you go from one store in Charlottesville, Virginia, to 12,000+ nationwide with investments from notable names like Kevin Durant and Beyoncé? Just ask Luis Solis, founder of Caribe Juice, a juice company that has taken the bold, vibrant flavors of the Caribbean and brought them to grocery aisles across the U.S.