EPISODE
17
How Kettle and Fire Scaled From 5 to 8 Figures Through Grocery and Amazon With Wilson Hung
with
Wilson Hung
In the last episode, we heard from Andreas Palm of CDLP who explained why they chose to get into department stores early, HOW they did it, and how they've built a brand that's emotionally charged.
Wilson Hung is director of growth at Kettle and Fire, the fastest growing bone broth brand. He was employee #2 at the company, and in only 2 years grew revenues from 5 to 8 figures. In this episode we talk about when’s the right time for a DTC Food & Beverage company to start selling in physical retail stores, Wilson's top tips and tricks for a successful product launch in Whole Foods and other grocery stores, and a few tips for selling on Amazon.
Wilson Hung is the Director of Growth at Kettle & Fire, the fastest-growing bone broth brand in the US. As employee #2, he helped scale the company from 5 to 8 figures in revenue in under two years. Wilson is also the co-founder of getARPU.com, a subscription analytics tool, giving him deep expertise in both DTC growth and retention mechanics.
Here's a glimpse of what you'll learn:
- When is the right time for a DTC food & beverage brand to expand into physical retail?
- Wilson's step-by-step approach to launching successfully in Whole Foods and other grocery chains
- How Kettle & Fire used grocery retail as a customer acquisition channel for their DTC business
- Tips for selling on Amazon without cannibalizing your direct channel
- How email marketing drove predictable recurring revenue at scale
- The subscription strategy that turned one-time buyers into long-term customers
In this episode…
Scaling a food and beverage brand presents a unique challenge: at some point, DTC alone isn't enough to reach mass-market customers — but moving into retail too early can drain cash and distract the team. Wilson Hung shares the framework Kettle & Fire used to time that transition perfectly.
He explains why physical retail, when approached strategically, becomes a customer acquisition channel rather than just a distribution play — and how their DTC business actually benefited from their Whole Foods presence. Wilson also digs into the email and subscription mechanics that drove repeat purchase and LTV, including the counterintuitive decision to make it easier for subscribers to skip orders.
This episode is essential listening for any DTC brand considering a move into grocery or multi-channel retail.
