Retail and Social: Exploring The Connection · 2026-04-13 · 46 min
George Milton and Erin Link, co-founders (and real-life couple) of Yellowbird Foods, joined us to share the story behind one of the most recognizable hot sauce brands on shelves today. What started as a kitchen passion project turned into a brand now sitting in nearly 18,000 retail doors across the US. In this episode: How George and Erin built Yellowbird from the ground up as a couple, and what actually makes it work Why Austin was the right place at the right time The "business moves at the speed of trust" philosophy and why George hired his best friend of 30 years as his first sales guy When and why George stepped back from the CEO role How Yellowbird thinks about food service as a brand marketing channel, not just a revenue stream George's ongoing experiment with cutting out alcohol - and why he thinks it doesn't have to be a big deal Find Yellowbird at yellowbirdfoods.com and follow George on LinkedIn and his Substack, Gross to Net.
Brent Sisco - Upscale CPG Advisors77 / 100John Waller - Lunr CapitalRifle Hughes - Integral CPGPeter Gianlantzis - Pod FoodsEdward Starr - BMF Media Group