S4. Ep. 298 From Debt to Multi-Millions: How Erica Groussman Rebuilt TRUBAR
Erica Groussman went from zero sales and deep debt to getting TRUBAR into Whole Foods, Target, and thousands of stores across North America, all by staying committed to a vision she wasn’t willing to give up on.
In this episode, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Erica about how a simple desire for a clean, delicious protein bar led to one of the fastest-growing plant-based snack brands on the shelf. Erica shares what those early days really looked like, driving around with samples in the backseat, asking salons and yoga studios to take a chance on her product, and putting marketing expenses on her personal credit card. She also opens up about the moment everything nearly fell apart after bringing in a partner who mismanaged the business, and what it took to take back control and keep going.
Where do you draw the line between persistence and letting go? How do you rebuild when trust is broken and the money has run out? Erica talks through those moments with honesty, alongside the decisions that helped her move forward, building supplier relationships, testing in-store demos, and staying close to the product every step of the way. Her story is a grounded look at what it really takes to grow something from nothing and keep it alive through the hard parts.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 Introduction
04:15 How TRUBAR Got Started
08:44 Recovering from Financial Failure
11:08 Breaking Into Whole Foods
14:51 TRUBAR’s Retail Expansion
19:05 From Three People to a National Team
20:40 Scrappy Marketing and Product Trial
24:18 Getting Acquired by a Public Company
27:31 The Long-Term Vision for TRUBAR
33:43 Advice for Aspiring Founders
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