The Good Food CFO podcast · The Good Food CFO

BABOYOT w/ Kelley Scanlin of Pure Simple Foods

·1 hr 4 min·4 clips

Kelly says a bad co-pack deal cost her about $50,000 and nearly took the company down.

1. The Good Food CFO Podcast episode centers on Kelly Scanlon and Pure Simple Foods, with Lark Ellen Farm and Purely Sprouted as the main brands. 2. Sarah Delavan hosts the conversation, Chelsea Steer produces the show, and Kelly Scanlon appears as founder and CEO of Pure Simple Foods. 3. The episode asks how a founder turns an organic farmers-market idea into a multi-brand, manufacturing business without losing its ethos. 4. Kelly says she came from telecommunications at AT&T, left work after having kids, and later started food after divorce and a return to her hometown. 5. She links her first product ideas to joint inflammation, a Whole30-style elimination diet, and a personal trainer’s suggestion to remove grains. 6. Kelly says she began making granolas from sprouted nuts and seeds and sold them at a Sunday farmers market in Ojai, California. 7. She says a Whole Foods forager named Monica helped her get into Whole Foods after the market start. 8. Kelly says Lark Ellen Farm launched in early 2015, making this her 10-year anniversary year. 9. She says the business later expanded into a manufacturing company, two national brands, and a private-label manufacturing line. 10. Kelly says she did not enter the business with a plan for two brands; she says she was driven by entrepreneurship and a desire to move ideas forward. 11. She says she did not understand grocery margins, P&Ls, talent sheets, or lean manufacturing when she started. 12. Kelly says Ojai, California, influenced her ambitions because the town has produced brands like Kavita and other women-founded food businesses. 13. She says innovation pushed her into a second brand because Lark Ellen Farm’s organic sprouted products became too expensive for many shoppers. 14. Kelly says Purely Sprouted was created as a snack line that tasted good, carried health benefits, and hit a lower price point. 15. She says she kept Lark Ellen Farm organic and separate because she did not want to place a non-organic product into that brand family. 16. Kelly says her business strategy is to get people to choose something better than Doritos or potato chips at least once a week. 17. She says scaling responsibly means balancing growth and profitability while ignoring ego and re-educating investors when needed. 18. Kelly says private label has kept her company alive by spreading overhead and labor, keeping employees working, and supporting the brands when sales dipped. 19. The conversation has an interview style with direct follow-up questions, and Kelly answers in a detailed, candid, numbers-driven way. 20. This episode will appeal to food founders, CPG operators, and finance-minded operators, and it may skip listeners who want light brand storytelling only.

As heard by us

A candid founder conversation about cash, manufacturing risk, and the price of early mistakes.

This episode sticks to the practical side of building a food brand: growth pressure, manufacturing trouble, cash needs, and the strain on investor relationships.

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Why you'd press play

If you want straight talk about financing a packaged food brand, start here.

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