How Proper Good is Making the Soup Aisle Cool Again with Chris Jane

"We're going to make soup in a pouch. Hear me out."That's how Chris Jane pitched his sister Jennifer on what became Proper Good. They launched in April 2020, scaled DTC through the pandemic, got a Shark Tank deal with Mark Cuban, and then did something almost no emerging brand does: skipped the natural channel entirely and launched national in Walmart.In this episode, Chris breaks down why that decision made sense on the math, what it took to get a Walmart buyer to underwrite a five to seven year category rebuild, and why the health claims that drove sales online actively hurt them in the aisle. Plus the oatmeal test that killed one of their own brand pillars.Chapters0:00 Intro0:46 Launching a brand in April 20204:11 Montana Mex and building with his sister9:09 Where Proper Good came from15:08 Shark Tank19:32 Why Walmart was the first retail swing24:20 Competing with Campbell's on price26:24 When health claims hurt sales32:35 Raising from family offices38:12 The brand pillar we made up43:51 Taking the Walmart data everywhere else53:46 Biggest win, biggest mistake, and one piece of advice📬 Subscribe to Consumer VC for more conversations with the founders, investors, and operators shaping the future of consumer. 👉 https://www.theconsumervc.com/