Victoria Foster - Accelerating R&D with AI and Selling Rivalz Snacks Into School Districts

On this episode, we’re joined by Victoria Foster, the Senior Director of Marketing at Rivalz™, a plant-based snack brand pioneering a new era of better-for-you salty snacks.

Before joining Rivalz as the second employee, Victoria led growth and innovation at Hometown Foods and ConAgra for iconic brands like PF Chang’s, Bertolli, and Frontera. Now at Rivalz, she’s helping build a brand around a one-of-a-kind “stuffed snack” format that combines a crunchy shell with a savory filling, offering the joy of traditional snacking with 8g of protein, 4g of fiber, and a low glycemic index.

In this episode, Victoria unpacks how Rivalz is using AI to transform the manufacturing process, why the team chose to launch DTC first before expanding into retail, and how they’ve carved out space in competitive channels like grocery and K-12 schools.

We dive into smart go-to-market strategy, lessons from launching into Sprouts and Wegmans, and the brand’s mission to deliver truly satisfying nutrition in a fun, craveable format.

Episode Highlights:
🥨 Why Rivalz launched with a “stuffed snack” form factor
🤖 Using AI to simulate 100,000+ R&D experiments + save $4M
📦 Rivalz’ omni-channel packaging strategy
🏫 Cracking the K-12 school channel (LAUSD and beyond)
🚀 Retail launch strategy: from 14 Sprouts stores to 100+
💡 Velocity > Distribution: how to grow without overextending
🌱 Why Rivalz resonates with GLP-1 users—even without trying

⏱️ Table of Contents
00:00 – Intro & Victoria’s Background
01:00 – Rivalz Origin & Mission
04:00 – AI-Powered Manufacturing 
07:00 – DTC vs Retail Launch Strategy
10:00 – Building Velocity Before Expanding Distribution
14:00 – Breaking into K-12 School Systems
18:00 – Packaging Strategy for Omni-Channel Success
21:00 – Lessons from Frozen & Emerging CPG Trends
23:00 – GLP-1, Satiating Snacks & Purposeful Nutrition
24:45 – Where to Follow Victoria & Rivalz

Links:
Victoria on LinkedIn – Victoria Foster
Rivalz – https://rivalzsnacks.com
Follow Rivalz on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/eat.rivalz/

Follow Adam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg

Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.

Transcript

Adam Steinberg (00:01)

All right, welcome to Shelf Help. Today we're speaking with Victoria Foster who's joining us from Cleveland, Ohio. Victoria's

Senior Director of Marketing at Rivalz a plant-based, better-for-you brand that makes a family of really one-of-a-kind snacks that tastes like your traditional salty snack, but really pack a pretty powerful punch of nutrient-dense ingredients.

Before jumping on board with Rivalz as the second employee, believe Victoria spent time at Hometown Foods, which I know well, as well as ConAgra  in the breakfast and frozen aisles leading growth and innovation for a variety of household names that I'm pretty sure you're familiar with, like PF Chang's, Frontera, Bertolli, et cetera. So yeah, with that, let's get into it. So think, Victoria, just to kick it off, first off, just for the listeners that aren't as familiar with Rivalz, I'd love to just have you give us a quick lay of the land in terms of

Victoria Foster (00:49)

Mm-hmm.

Adam Steinberg (00:52)

the origin story and the why behind the brand, the products you guys offer and where consumers can get their hands on them these days.

Victoria Foster (01:00)

Yeah, of course. So Rivalz was started by a couple of CPG veterans and food scientists, and they were working at large CPG companies and really saw a gap in the market when it came to snacks. There truly weren't any snacks that were nutritious. You had two options. One, the classic salty snacks that everyone knows, but also the better for you salty snack category was still not that much better.

sure they were touting important attributes like vegan, gluten-free, couple more grams of protein or fiber, but at the end of the day, you could finish an entire bag of those brands and you'd still be hungry 20 minutes later. And that's really where Rivalz was born, is they wanted to provide a holistically delicious snack and that's how we're different. So we are different with our form as well. So we are a stuffed snack.

people are having a hard time understanding what that means. Think like a pretzel nugget, so a crunchy exterior with a soft, savory center. And like I said, from a holistically delicious and nutritious standpoint, so eight grams of protein, four grams of fiber, seven essential vitamins and minerals. We're lower carb, so nine net carbs per serving. We're vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher, and we're even certified low-glycemic index, so that means our snack is

satiating versus the other snacks out there so you can have a serving or two and then you're gonna be like okay I'm good I I'm full I sat aside my cravings so to speak. The products so like I said we have three flavors right now we have a six ounce and a one ounce and they come in three really fun flavors.

Late night pizza extra cheddar mac and spicy street taco love the flavor names We just wanted something to be super fun and exciting because we thought that's what the healthy snack category was lacking And where you can find them today, so we are an on you channel brand. So obviously our website Amazon But also depending on where you live in the US. We're in the lot of

regional California based retailers because that's our home base is out of California. So things like nugget, Bristol farms, sprouts, also larger regional retailers as well like Meyer, Wegmans, Giant just to name a few.

Adam Steinberg (03:07)

In terms of the stuffed snack form factor, was that the vision from the beginning, right? Like we're going to start this brand, we're going to go to the stuffed stack or did it kind of lead to that based on what you wanted to be able to include from a nutrient standpoint and or formulation standpoint

Victoria Foster (03:25)

that's

a great question. We felt the stuff snack we had to do first because it's truly differentiating from the consumer standpoint. It's very, very hard to explain to consumer like we are the best nutritionally front of package. So we wanted to lead with a differentiating form. So that's kind of what would set us up and be differentiated in the marketplace. And then the fact that we have all these amazing nutritional benefits.

is something that continues to bring the consumer in. But if we had a puff or a stick or something like that, retailers would be like, yeah, but you might just have a couple more grams of protein or a couple more grams of fiber. We needed something that was really differentiating to kind of bring everyone in.

Adam Steinberg (04:07)

you know, AI is obviously the talk of the town right now. So you probably getting bored with this question, but it seems like. Especially in the consumer, the big focus seems to be around, you know, copywriting image generation, ad generation, that kind of stuff. Um, but that being said,

I've personally been excited about how AI could play a part in things like manufacturing and formulas, formulation optimization. And it sounds like from my

understanding that Peter and the founding team, leveraged AI and continue to do so, I believe, to optimize the extruder and then the manufacturing process, which sounds very interesting. So I'm curious without giving away the secret sauce, what can you tell me about this and what's the story behind that?

Victoria Foster (04:47)

Yeah. So Rivalz, we proudly say is the first brand that uses AI in the manufacturing process, specifically the extruder. So if people aren't familiar with the extruder, it's been around for a long time since the 1930s. And what you probably don't know is that over 50 % of grocery store products are made from an extruder. And what it does is it takes high starch, high fat, high sodium, high sugar ingredients.

and gives them that desired crunchy, light texture that you get when you find the classic snack texture that you desire. So when you take nutrient-dense ingredients and try and put them in the extruder like what Rivalz has, high protein, high fiber, the extruder doesn't behave the same way, and it can actually become a little bit unpredictable. And that's really where AI comes in.

So instead of using years of trial and error, we use AI to help stimulate thousands, hundreds of thousands of experiments to understand how these nutritious ingredients will interact with each other in the extruder and give us that highly desired texture that everyone wants from a snack. So the basic way of saying it is it's helping us get that satisfying texture from your

mainstream snack but with much much better ingredients.

Adam Steinberg (06:10)

Did this help with minimizing startup costs or have an impact on margins as an example?

Or is it more just really making the extruder work with this unique form factor?

Victoria Foster (06:22)

Yeah, I mean, because it's definitely expedited our timeline, our R &D timeline, our R &D resources. If we had done this the traditional way, we would have spent another three to five years from an R &D timeline and probably another four plus million dollars to get to where we're at today. So it's helped expedite timeline, help resources, and then helped us give us a quality and consistent product very early in our brand life cycle.

And that's, think, what has really helped, has made AI truly differentiating for us.

Adam Steinberg (06:55)

Yeah, well, that's a huge value add for sure. For

Victoria Foster (06:57)

Mm-hmm.

Adam Steinberg (06:58)

the up and coming CPG operators, brand owners that are in the formulation or commercialization stages, how would you recommend they might be able to think about potentially leveraging AI in a similar fashion?

Victoria Foster (07:12)

Right, I would say you can definitely use AI as a tool to reduce complexity. It can help you shortcut years of trial and error, especially if you're trying to make a really complex product. You can understand how ingredients or processes interact with each other without spending any real dollars. So whether you're trying to optimize recipes, get the best texture.

or even adjusting for supply chain changes. It's really about using AI for acceleration rather than replacing craftsmanship or creativity.

Adam Steinberg (07:42)

shifting gears a little bit to more like go to market and distribution, I believe you guys decided to initially focus on D2C, think specifically via Amazon and your own site versus focusing on retail. I think that's often a question that up and coming brand owners have is what channel should I start with? So I'm curious, what was the thought process behind that strategy of starting with D2C and then focusing on retail after the fact?

Victoria Foster (08:06)

Yeah, of course. So D2C definitely helps with control, flexibility, and speed. It helps us. We wanted to test and learn because when you go to retail straight out of the gate, the stakes are much higher. There's a lot more to lose. So we wanted to understand is our pricing correct? Is their product market fit? Getting consumer testimonials in real time to adjust the formulation. Does our packaging speak to consumers? Does the branding work?

So using that, using the first six months to nine months, even a year on D2C to help really understand how is the product resonating with consumers and then going to retail and using all of your data from the past year as proof points to the retailers, hey, we're getting traction. We have real consumer testimonials, real data for them to give us a spot on shelf. But again,

If you go to retail straight away, it's a lot riskier. And if they do say no, you might not get a second chance. So you really want to go to retail, putting your best product forward. And that's really also what we wanted some time for AI to run its course to, to make sure that we are getting that best possible product out there.

Adam Steinberg (09:10)

it sounds like you definitely felt like this was looking back was definitely the right strategy. Would you say for like up and coming other brand owners that are getting ready to think about what channels to focus on? Would you recommend they go for a similar playbook?

Victoria Foster (09:24)

Yeah, I would say at least if you're a shelf stable salty snack for sure. But D2C definitely has its drawbacks. It's very competitive and it can be very costly. So you do have to be disciplined about it. And it's not an indefinite solution. Retail is definitely the long term play for growth. It's really about using D2C to get smarter, to get stronger, and then use all of your learnings to get into retail.

Adam Steinberg (09:53)

Sounds like it's probably a case by case basis. Like there may be certain instances where you say, yeah, you should just go straight for retail potentially. Or do you generally always say, even though DC has its challenges, it might be smart to start there first?

Victoria Foster (10:05)

I'm trying to think. I, might be depending on temperature state, or if you have, I don't know, like a founder who is a celebrity or something like that, like cloud that just launched, for example, they're going straight into target. So if you have a face of the brand that you know, is just going to drive velocities and drive brand recognition, and you have a pretty solid team, I would say, sure, go for it. But again, there are definitely risks as well.

Adam Steinberg (10:17)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yeah, totally. Yeah, that makes a lot sense.

talking about retail, you guys are now, you know, have a pretty broad retail distribution footprint, which seems to be growing. It seems like I often see a fair amount of more seasoned, experienced CPG operators saying something along the lines of, know, you should really focus on velocity versus distribution points and making sure that the product is moving off the shelf really fast versus trying to just get it, get into as many retail locations as possible. would you, would you generally agree with this?

Victoria Foster (11:00)

I say totally agree. It's really not about the number of stores, it's about how you're performing in those stores because if you chase too many stores too fast, you're overextending your resources, you're overextending your budget, and then if you don't perform...

A, the retailer might kick you out or B, it's just gonna leave a bad taste in the retailer's mouth and it's not gonna be a true partnership. You're gonna disappoint the retailer because at the same point in time, you're a smaller brand and so the retailer is kind of taking a risk on you for letting you in and so then if you don't perform, that also reflects poorly on them to some degree. So velocity does.

Prove consumer demand and staying power. And so you really do want to focus velocity. Like when Rivalz first started, our first retailer was Sprouts and they gave us 14 stores. And that's what we had for a long time. And we really had to prove ourselves through demos, through geo-targeted influencer campaigns and things like that to really show them, we're dedicated. We really want to make this work. And at the beginning of this year, they just gave us over 100 more stores.

It's proof point that just focus on what you have and kind of don't get too caught up in the fact that you're not getting traction right away and just be patient.

Adam Steinberg (12:15)

Yeah, in terms of focusing on maximizing that velocity and then showing retailers you deserve to be on the shelf, whether it's merchandising or demos or whatnot, what would you say are the key things that operators should focus on if they really want to focus on maximizing that velocity?

Victoria Foster (12:33)

Yeah, from my perspective, I'd say three things. One is really product excellence. So you have to have an incredible product pricing, packaging to stand out on shelf. If you don't have a great product, people aren't going to continue to purchase you. Not only do you need people to try you, but you also need that repeat rate to help drive velocities. So that's one. Two, would say is local marketing. So really get hyper local doing sampling at local events, retailers, helping drive people to shelf, doing experiential.

even doing guerrilla marketing, for example, and having brand ambassadors hand out products while people are waiting in line for community events even, you can get pretty scrappy with it. And then lastly, I would say is retailer partnerships. So a lot of retailers have their own shop or marketing programs and really understanding them and investing in the ones that you think are really going to help drive the needle.

Adam Steinberg (13:25)

So let's just say brands are doing all that type of stuff. Velocity is looking really good. When or how will they know when it is the right time? OK, now we can start focusing on some retail expansion at this point?

Victoria Foster (13:38)

Yeah, I would say when you have strong, consistent velocities in your existing accounts and you have the resources, team and supply chain to support expansion to go after more stores, you can continue building on that momentum. Expansion should really feel like you're throwing gas in the fire, not lighting 100 matches at once.

Adam Steinberg (13:58)

on the distribution side of things, I know part of your team's focus right now is getting into school districts. I'm curious, how's that been going so far and what have you found to be the pros and cons of this channel compared to others?

Victoria Foster (14:11)

Yeah, I would say it's been going well. Rivalz is in several major California school districts, one of them being LA USD, which is huge. The pros, I would say, is you're getting snacks into thousands of hands every single day and you're getting exposure to thousands of students every day. It's also a huge alignment with our mission, just getting nutritious snacks to kids early on before adulthood. proving, showing kids that they don't have

to snack on those traditional snacks that they're finding at the vending machine. They can snack on equally nutritious and delicious snacks. And then I would say the con is that the sale cycle is much slower, even than retail. Like retail, yes, you have your yearly category reviews, but depending on the school, they might not be looking at certain categories that year. So it's a very slow cycle and you really need to be patient.

Also, there are plenty of regulations that are very, very strict. And so if you do want to go into schools, you have to be pretty buttoned up with your formulation.

Adam Steinberg (15:15)

I was going to ask about that. Have you had to do anything in terms of formulation, certifications, or maybe even just positioning to put the brand in best position to win in this channel versus others?

Victoria Foster (15:26)

Yeah, so when we were going into schools, we were working with K through 12 consultants and found out about this regulation called USDA Smart Snack Compliance. And it basically says you have to have certain sugar levels, certain sodium levels, certain fat levels in order just to get into the door, not for you to be accepted, but just to even be considered. And so early on, we had to reformulate to be Smart Snack Compliant.

We also shifted positioning a little bit. You're focusing more on better for you trade-offs with parents and nutrition directors because those are the key decision makers.

Adam Steinberg (16:02)

Yeah. Does it seem like there are there any specific products or form factors or types of brands that it seemed like are really the best fit for this channel for more than others?

Victoria Foster (16:14)

Yeah, mean, I'm biased, but I would say single serve shelf stable snacks that are nutrient dense and free from major allergens because allergens are obviously very much so a hot button always with schools. Also think portion control, grab and go that deliver protein fiber, less sugar. And then also schools are really big on certification. So gluten free, non GMO, and of course table stakes, isn't smart snack compliance.

Adam Steinberg (16:41)

I imagine allergen friendly stuff is probably popular too, because with how many kids in the school are inevitably someone has a peanut allergy or something along those lines.

Victoria Foster (16:50)

Right, and I think, honestly, most things have to be allergen friendly now, rather than when we were in elementary school.

Adam Steinberg (16:57)

Right.

For brands that are maybe thinking about approaching this channel and they feel like their product and brand makes a lot of sense, what should their strategy look like in terms of opening up and growing this channel based on what you've learned so far?

Victoria Foster (17:13)

Yeah, I would say first and foremost, if you are not Smart Snacks compliant, get your formula there because that is truly the most important thing. And then when it comes to K through 12, you need a broker that works in K through 12 in whatever school district or state you want to go in. And then I would focus on pilot districts, build relationships with those nutrition directors, provide marketing materials for the schools that can help them tell your story.

Adam Steinberg (17:41)

That makes total sense. mean, overall, feels like this channel can be a pretty powerful channel, because if you've got a bunch of kids eating something that they really like and they go home and tell their mom, hey, I ate this, can you go buy this at the store? That feels pretty powerful.

Victoria Foster (17:54)

It is, it's just very complex. Before arrivals, I had never done any work with K through 12 or anything like that. And so you really need a broker for every state you want to be in for part of the country. There's lots of testing that they do among students. So sure, you need to have

appeal to parents and nutrition directors, but they also are testing products with students and students do have a say in terms of what gets into the schools. it's a balancing act for sure.

Adam Steinberg (18:23)

Shifting gears a little bit talking about packaging design. when I think about brands that are in DTC versus retail, seems like from the DTC side of things, in a certain sense, brands have been used to having somewhat of a luxury and be able to tell that full story across their full website and probably some type of funnel by the time they get to the website. So by the time a customer hits that product detail page with all the images of the packaging,

the brand has already had that chance to tell the brand story to them. when thinking about retail, oftentimes it seems like they don't have this luxury for a lot of consumers when they see a brand on the shelf as they're walking down the aisle. might be, oftentimes it's probably the first time they've ever encountered that brand. need to be able to kind of get, consumers need to be able to get the brand story and what it stands for in like a matter of seconds. think people typically say it's three to five seconds or so if they want that sale. like.

Victoria Foster (19:06)

Mm-hmm.

Adam Steinberg (19:11)

Would you generally agree with this? And if so, did you guys implement or consider implementing any packaging updates leading up to expanding from D to C into retail at all?

Victoria Foster (19:22)

I do agree with the statement, but as a startup, I think if you're only designing from a DTC perspective first, you're doing yourself a disservice. So when you decide I want to start a brand, if ultimately the long-term goal is to get on shelf in a retailer, you need to be designing your brand from an omni-channel experience. So what is something that can stand out digitally and on shelf?

And when we started designing rivals, we basically thought of it as omni-channel experience. And we even tested on digital shelves, physical shelves, do we stand out versus our competitors? And I think because we did digital and physical tests and things like that, and

assessing ourselves versus competitors that are that we would be on shelf in a physical real world I think that's what has been one of our greatest assets is our packaging we get we made die lines like top five for new packaging a couple of years ago and We get a lot of compliments on it. So Yeah, I would say definitely

think about omni-channel experience before anything.

Adam Steinberg (20:33)

Yeah, so just plan ahead, do it for everything. That makes a lot more sense, to be honest. So you spent a fair amount of time working in the frozen aisle at ConAgra It seems like, for whatever reason, the frozen category is having a bit of a moment right now. it seems like it's getting a lot of attention. Again, I know this is not where Rivalz currently sits. Maybe you guys have some eventually future or some other product categories, but.

Victoria Foster (20:35)

Right.

Adam Steinberg (20:53)

In general, just thinking back to your experience, what's unique about this category in general if brands are thinking about going after this category?

Victoria Foster (21:02)

Yeah, I would say so the category used to be dominated by two massive players, Conagra and Nestle. But now we're seeing a lot of smaller emerging brands starting to carve out real space like Tattooed Artist and things like that. So the category is definitely shifted. Consumers are open to more premium, better for you options, which is great. However, if you are looking to go into Frozen, it is very complicated.

Yeah, sure. Frozen had the biggest benefit is the natural preservation method, but it's very operationally complex and very, very expensive. So if you are looking to get into frozen, you have to be very sharp on margins and unit economics.

Adam Steinberg (21:44)

Is it just expensive just because of the cold chain logistics? Every step is just a lot more expensive? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Are there any brands in this frozen category specifically that you just notice being in this space and being in CPG that you have particularly piqued your interest or ones that you're getting excited about?

Victoria Foster (21:49)

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I would say two. One, they're not, they're newer, but they're not totally new. One is Snow Days, which I'm sure everyone loves. I just love that they are basically doing a better for you spin on nostalgia, which is kind of what Rivalz is doing just in the salty snack category, bringing better premium ingredients to an item that a lot of people grew up on, including myself. And then also Holy Veggie.

Adam Steinberg (22:20)

Mm-hmm.

Victoria Foster (22:30)

I just love their packaging, love what they're bringing to appetizers, frozen appetizers. makes it look, they're making vegetables look like meat or cheese or whatever, and it's bringing people in.

Adam Steinberg (22:44)

Any trends across just the entire CPG category in general, not just Frozen that you're particularly excited about?

Victoria Foster (22:51)

I mean, protein is definitely having its moment. Like everything has protein in it. Like there's protein gum, protein coffee, name category in CPG that doesn't have a high protein version. The other one I'm liking though is just purposeful snacking with the rise of GLP-1 and Mergovia and Ozempic and all of that. There's a lot bigger of a push for purposeful nutrition, satiating snacks.

satiating ingredients, satiating foods. And I think that is something that excites me is that hopefully we're going to see more snacks that have a lot more nutrition that actually works harder for you. So not just a bunch of protein, but protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, lower carb, that these consumers can kind of get their hands on. And I'm hoping that it'll benefit rivals as well.

Adam Steinberg (23:46)

Speaking of the GLP-1 stuff, what do you hear in terms of whether it's what you guys are thinking about or who you consider like big food? Anything you hear about how they're strategizing around this trend that seems to only be growing and how it's going to potentially impact their companies?

Victoria Foster (23:48)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I mean, Big Food, I know that Lean Cuisine or Nestle just designed an entire new line of frozen meals focused towards GLP One users. So larger CPG brands that have a ton of money can basically start entirely new brands that can focus on this trend. For Rivalz, for example, it's just how we position ourselves and how we position marketing. So we are a satiating snack and that's what these types of consumers are looking for. They're looking for that protein.

fiber combo. We aren't necessarily going out of our way to target GLP-1 users, for example, but we are a GLP-1 friendly snack that I think would appeal to this type of consumer.

Adam Steinberg (24:44)

That feels like somewhat of more of the smarter strategy rather than designing a whole brand around it, because who knows what's going to happen with it. But if you're generally setting yourself up to be in line with it, it makes a of sense. Well, yeah, Victoria, this has been awesome. Really appreciate the time. Where can people find you? Follow along, whether it's LinkedIn or Twitter, Instagram, I don't know, anything else, Foursquare or something.

Victoria Foster (24:50)

Great.

Mm-hmm

Yeah, you can find me on LinkedIn, I'm Victoria Foster. You can follow Rivalz' journey at eat.rivals, mostly on Instagram, but we're on TikTok, Facebook as well. And yeah.

Adam Steinberg (25:20)

Awesome, well appreciate the time, Victoria. This has been great. I think people will be pretty excited to hear all that you got to say.

Thanks so much.

Victoria Foster (25:26)

Awesome, thanks so much, Adam.