This week on Unpackaged Goods: why Oura walked away from an IPO with demand to spare, plus Kimmy Pace, founder of Afternoon Toast, on building a brand on nights and weekends.
In the news:
- Oura postpones its IPO despite orders reportedly 4x the shares on offer, and why profit buys you the right to wait
- Wella's debt and Shein's rough public debut
- Dose, Manucurist and Stride: selling from strength
- California's non-ultraprocessed seal and AB 2030 supplement rules
- Galleri's FDA panel and Neko Health's $499 body scan
- Rapid fire: tariff cuts, Boots, Something & Nothing, Confido, Cheez-It Protein, Lucali x Nonna's, Bizzy and The Outset
Then Kimmy Pace joins the show. She still works full time in consulting. Afternoon Toast is her nights-and-weekends build: a ready-to-drink roasted barley and ginger tea with no caffeine and no sugar, made for the 3 p.m. slump. The idea started while she was reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, roasting barley on her stove to sip alongside the book.
We talk about:
- Turning a kitchen recipe into a light-roast product, and finding a roasting partner who usually roasts barley for beer
- Why she's skipping traditional grocery for now and selling into Brooklyn cafes, sandwich shops, yoga and Pilates studios
- Calling ahead instead of dropping off samples, and why "politely persistent" got her on the shelf
- Running pop-ups near the stores that carry her, so attention turns into a sale
- Building the brand with strategy first and visual identity second
- Going solo without doing it alone: advisors, community and AI agents
- What's next: more New York, then California, plus roasted barley and buckwheat SKUs
Find Afternoon Toast at drinkafternoontoast.com and @drinkafternoontoast.
This episode is brought to you by DoughCC, an authorized Square reseller helping businesses get set up, trained, and supported locally, with no upfront cost on your first hardware unit for qualifying businesses. https://www.dough.cc/partner/pickle/
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