Unstoppable CPG: How Ashley Rogers Built and Sold 4 Brands (And What Most Founders Get Wrong)
From protein cookies to a mentorship empire, Ashley Rogers proves that grit, strategy, and purpose are the secret ingredients to building a lasting brand.
If you think building a consumer brand is all about flashy packaging and viral TikToks, you're missing the full picture. The CPG world is no joke, it’s one of the toughest spaces to break into. It will test your grit, strategy, and sanity.
That's exactly why I invited Ashley Rogers onto the Think Millions Podcast.
Ashley didn’t just build one successful food brand, she built and sold four. From Buff Bake to Spudsy to her latest role as CEO of Sprinkle CPG, she’s driven over $40 million in sales, landed in over 20,000 stores, and now mentors founders through her platform, Shelf-Made, so they can skip the painful (and expensive) mistakes she made along the way.
This episode is a goldmine for anyone launching, scaling, or dreaming of building a product brand the right way.
if you're serious about building unstoppable wealth through product, purpose, and persistence.
She Didn’t Just Bake Cookies—She Built an Empire
Ashley started her first brand, Buff Bake, in her kitchen. Literally. She had a craving for protein cookies, couldn’t find any good ones, so she made them. The hustle? Real. The scaling? Insane.
That first idea turned into a full-blown business with national retail placement.
Subscribe now to learn the real story behind every overnight success.
From Ugly Potatoes to Beautiful Margins
Next came Spudsy, a snack brand built around sweet potatoes that were considered too ugly for shelves. Ashley didn’t just create another snack , she created a mission. The brand was Upcycled Certified, and it made noise in the market for all the right reasons.
But the real win? She learned the power of pricing for profit. It took her three companies to realize: if you don’t build in margin, you don’t build a business.
Subscribe now so you don’t waste years learning what Ashley teaches in minutes.
Why Most Founders Fail in Retail (and How to Avoid It)
Here’s where most first-time product founders go wrong:
They try to scale too fast.
They underestimate logistics, shelf life, and marketing costs.
They chase retail before proving their product works.
Ashley breaks it down: Get into one store. Prove it. Then scale.
That’s why she built Shelf-Made, a mentorship platform and community of founders who share what’s working (and what’s not) in real time.
The Founder is the New Influencer
Ashley’s not chasing celebrity endorsements—she is the face of her brand. She believes (and proves) that the founder story matters more than ever. Consumers want to buy from real people, not faceless corporations.
Whether you’re selling protein cookies or software, your story is your superpower.
Subscribe now to learn how to turn your mess into your message—and your brand.
Mistakes = Mastery
One of my favorite moments from the episode?
Ashley said:
“I never fail—I just practice until I get it right.”
She doesn’t shy away from her failures. In fact, she teaches from them. Mighty Yum, my CPG brand, had funding, retail deals, and a killer product. But we scaled too fast and struggled with shelf-life. Ashley’s story mirrored mine—and made me wish I met her two years earlier.
Want to Help the Next Generation of Founders?
Ashley’s not just building brands. She’s building communities. Through Shelf-Made, she mentors new founders, connects them to real experts (not theory-peddlers), and helps them access real distribution, not empty hype.
She also runs Sprinkle CPG—yes, that Sprinkles, with vending machines in airports and cupcakes everywhere.
Ashley is proof that when you lead with purpose, wealth follows.
Subscribe now to lead with heart, scale with strategy, and build unstoppable wealth.
Final Words: Don’t Build Alone
If you're a parent, a founder, or a dreamer with a product idea, take this seriously:
Start small.
Price for profit.
Find a mentor.
Build community.
And whatever you do—don’t build alone.
Ashley didn’t. I didn’t. And neither should you.
This is your time. Your idea. Your empire.
Let’s build it the right way.
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