On this episode, we’re joined by Kate Harvey, the co-founder and CEO of Bare Bones, a category-defining brand on a mission to make nourishment more accessible, flavorful, and functional.
What started out in a small kitchen has evolved into a national brand with innovative products like shelf-stable broths, instant protein sticks, and collagen-fueled hydration powders.
Kate joined Shelf Help where we dove into how Bare Bones went from frozen bone broth to an omnichannel platform brand. Kate breaks down the co-packer horror story that nearly derailed their Costco launch, the multiple iterations of their visual identity, and how she thinks about shelf placement, demos (or lack thereof), ExpoWest, and driving velocity.
We also get into on-the-ground tactics that are working right now and what trends Kate is tracking.
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Episode Highlights:
🥣 From journalism to bone broth founder
🧪 Early R&D and finding product-market fit
🧃 Why form factor changes everything
🚫 The co-packer horror story that almost derailed a Costco launch
🎨 Packaging design change that unlocked +40% velocity
🏬 How Bare Bones thinks about demos, displays & shelf location
🛒 What Costco taught them about scale
📈 Sampling strategies that actually work
📊 Tactics that are driving trial right now
🌿 Trends Kate is tracking across the store
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Table of Contents:
00:00 – Intro
00:38 – Bare Bones intro and origin story
02:36 – How Kate’s journalism background set her up for success in CPG
04:01 – Building Bare Bones with her husband
06:03 – Formulation and R&D - the first form factor (frozen bone broth)
07:43 – Expanding into the powder-stick format
11:48 – Learning lessons from a co-packer nightmare
14:44 – Visual identity and packaging design
22:01 – Rebrand learning lessons
25:08 – ExpoWest, what it’s actually good for
27:40 – Where bone broth sits in the store
29:29 – Costco
34:26 – Demos and sampling
36:48 – On the ground tactics that are working well as of late
38:14 – Brands and trends Kate has been tracking lately
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Links:
Bare Bones – https://www.barebonesbroth.com
Follow Kate on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinepoythress/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.
