In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Alan Chen and Conner Mennig, co-founders of Frozen One - a protein ice cream brand built to prove that "better for you" doesn't have to mean sacrificing taste. Frozen One delivers 40 grams of protein and under 400 calories per pint, a fraction of what a traditional pint of ice cream contains, and has grown into one of the fastest-rising frozen brands in the country.
Alan and Conner met at UW Madison in 2020 and reconnected in Austin while both stuck in unfulfilling sales jobs. A single gym conversation in January 2025 about the lack of good high-protein options turned into a Ninja Creami machine that same night - and a trademark filed two days later. Together they run a scrappy, relationship-driven operation: Conner focused on operations and finance, Alan on product and marketing, both present at every investor and buyer meeting.
Hannah and the co-founders dig into the three fundraising milestones that took Frozen One from a Ninja Creami in an apartment to over 2,300 doors nationwide, including Target, Wegmans, and Central Market.
Listen in as they discuss:
- How a single gym complaint in January 2025 turned into a trademark filing two days later
- Landing a $250K first check on a SAFE from a local Austin investor Conner met at a house party
- The scramble to close an oversubscribed $2M round after Target asked for 1,500 doors in three months
- Splitting founder responsibilities: Alan on product and ice cream R&D, Conner on operations and finance
- Landing Central Market by cold-calling the buyer - and how that velocity data fueled investor conversations
- Building the team: a creative director roommate, a "head of ice cream," an ad-ops hire, and a new COO from Van Leeuwen
- Why the current $5.5M round with Brand Foundry is primarily focused on closing the team and bandwidth gap
- Turning investor "no's" into direct, honest feedback conversations instead of walking away quietly
- What surprised them most about CPG: just how genuinely difficult and slow retail execution is, even after landing the deal
Episode Links:
- Alan Chen – Co-Founder, Frozen One Email: alan@frozen-one.com (domain inferred from Conner's confirmed email - please verify)
- Conner Mennig – Co-Founder, Frozen One Email: connor@frozen-one.com
- Frozen One Instagram: @frozenoneprotein
- Website: frozen-one.com
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Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to "Transcript" at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Hannah's LinkedIn
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
