In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Yoga Charya, President and COO of Mezcla, and Sebastiaan Debrouwe from Doss, the operations cloud built for fast-growing CPG brands. Together, they trace the rise of Mezcla — one of the breakout brands in the crowded protein bar category — and unpack the operational philosophy that made it possible: simplicity scales.
Yoga shares how Mezcla has grown 2–3x annually for several years running, earned a cult following in specialty retail before breaking into Target, Publix, Costco, and Whole Foods (where they've expanded from 3 SKUs in 3 regions to 11–12 SKUs nationwide), and recently closed a Series B to fuel continued growth. The secret? Relentless focus on product quality, an ultra-lean team of tier-one operators, and a deliberate effort to keep the supply chain as simple as possible at every stage.
Sebastiaan adds the systems perspective — what Doss sees across the fast-growing brands they work with, why the real danger isn't complexity itself but the failure to design against it, and what separates brands that scale cleanly from those that get buried in operational debt.
Whether you're just figuring out your ops model or wondering what breaks when you hit hypergrowth, this episode is full of hard-won insight.
Listen in as they discuss:
- How Mezcla cracked the protein bar category with a product-led growth model and a "bar made by foodies for foodies" brand ethos
- Why showing the actual product on front-of-pack — not flavor cues — became a competitive advantage
- The "land and expand" playbook that took Mezcla from 3 Whole Foods regions to full national distribution
- Why Yoga consolidated from two 3PLs to one Midwest warehouse — and why emerging brands almost always should
- How a fully turnkey co-manufacturer relationship gives Mezcla cost visibility without operational overhead
- The Crunch Council: how Mezcla brings structure to product quality and ingredient decisions as they scale
- Why sample orders were eating 5–10 hours a week — and how Doss helped collapse that
- The Google Sheets → Airtable → Doss journey, and what you actually gain at each step
- Why traceability and a reliable system of record matter even when — especially when — things are going well
- Sebastiaan's advice for brands implementing new systems: peel the onion, build road before you drive on it, and never lower your standards
Episode Links:
Yoga Charya – President & COO, Mezcla
Sebastiaan Debrouwere – Doss
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Show Links:
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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
