Building a Veteran-Owned Business | Andrew Arbogast | Arbo's Cheese Dip | Profits on Purpose
Oct 01, 2025
Episode Description
In this episode, Andrew Arbogast shares his journey from flying Apache helicopters to founding Arbo's Cheese Dip, a veteran-owned cheese dip company. He discusses the importance of family, food, and community in his life, and how these elements inspired him to create a business that supports veteran causes. Andrew reflects on the challenges he faced as a solo operator, the lessons learned from retail experiences, and the critical support he received during tough times. He emphasizes the importance of mentorship and surrounding oneself with the right people, as well as the need to stay true to one's purpose while navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship.
Key Takeaways
- Andrew's journey began with a family recipe that inspired his business.
- Food played a crucial role in Andrew's upbringing and connection to home.
- Transitioning from military to corporate life was challenging for Andrew.
- The leap into entrepreneurship was driven by a desire for purpose.
- Early challenges included managing all aspects of the business alone.
- Retail experiences taught Andrew valuable lessons about distribution and sales.
- Manufacturing issues posed significant threats to the business's survival.
- Support from mentors and the community was vital during tough times.
- Andrew learned the importance of maintaining profit margins in business.
- Future growth will require careful decision-making and focus on core products.
See More from Andrew and Arbo's Cheese Dip
Listen to the full episode to discover how Andrew's experiences can inspire and guide you on your entrepreneurial journey. Don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations!
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– Nate and the Profits on Purpose podcast team
Transcript
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00:00 Introduction to Andrew Arbogast and Arbo's Source
01:24 The Roots of Arbo's: Family, Food, and Purpose
03:53 Military Influence: Leadership and Culinary Aspirations
06:37 Transitioning from Military to Corporate America
09:05 The Spark of Entrepreneurship: Selling Cheese Dip
11:27 The Early Days: From One-Man Show to Business Owner
16:00 Scaling Challenges: The Reality of Rapid Growth
17:46 Lessons from Retail: The Hard Truths of Distribution
20:05 Manufacturing Woes: Quality Control and Business Risks
23:27 Expanding Too Quickly: The Consequences of Overreach
25:21 The Evolution of Seeking Guidance
28:45 Navigating Business Challenges and Setbacks
34:05 The Importance of Mentorship and Support
39:25 Strategic Decisions for Future Growth
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Nate (00:06)
Welcome to the Profits on Purpose podcast, where we explore the journeys of purpose-driven founders and the financial strategies that have helped them survive and thrive. I'm your host, Nate Littlewood. Our guest today is Andrew Arbogast, who's the founder of Arbo's Source. Andrew spent best part of a decade flying Apache helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan before transitioning to the corporate world.
But in 2021, he left a promising career in corporate America and using his father's decades old cheese dip recipe, launched Arbos with a mission to share a taste of home while supporting veteran causes. Since then, he's navigated explosive growth, supply chain chaos, cashflow crises, going from sole operator to now managing a full scale CPG business.
We're going to be digging deep into the lessons he's learned about resilience, knowing your numbers, and staying true to your purpose when the pressure mounts. Andrew, welcome to the show. It's great to have you here.
Andrew Arbogast (01:14)
Nate, thank you so much. I appreciate the intro. As soon as I hear it, it's like I start reflecting back to day one in 2021 and how things have changed since then. But excited to be able to talk with you and your audience today.
Nate (01:29)
Of course. And I guess that, that, that day in 2021 is probably a good place for us to, you know, start off the story here. I understand that Arbos was born out of your father's decades old recipe. Can you maybe, you know, take us back to some of those early memories with your dad and what did making and sharing this dip mean to your family?
I guess how has his influence kind of helped shape and mold the business that Arbos is today?
Andrew Arbogast (02:01)
man, it starts with home and community and what we did growing up and I didn't live, I'm, being from Memphis, I grew up here in Memphis, but I left for boarding school, you know, at the age of 14 and then college away military. So I was gone for all of 20 years. But what kept me like just inspired and and I guess kept me from being homesick was
Nate (02:15)
which was high school.
Andrew Arbogast (02:30)
food and food was always a part of our lives. My dad cooked a lot. He taught me how to cook. then, you know, when I'd come home from high school or college, like he would always have his cheese dip in the fridge. And it's so good when it's cold, like we would just take it out and destroy a bag of chips within, you know, it felt like 10 minutes. this recipe was handed down from actually my
my grandmother, his mother-in-law, right? And so every time we had a community function or friends and family function, I remember Sunday suppers being a big thing. It's like we always had a requirement or delegated dish to bring, but the cheese dip was always expected no matter what, right? So it was just like this dip to me back then that brought everyone together. And then little did I know, you know, one year in Afghanistan of
of serving fancy meats and cheeses that this inspiration would come back to life and take over basically my mission, my purpose, and my fulfillment.
Nate (03:35)
Interesting. I get the sense from you that food and gathering around food was a really kind of important part of the environment in which you grew up in. And that you're also a bit of an amateur chef. But from what I understand, it was around the time of 9-11 that you decided to take a somewhat different career and go work in the Air Force. How have those very two
you know, two very, very different worlds kind of integrated into being, you know, the business owner and the leader that you are today.
Andrew Arbogast (04:13)
man, it's so interesting. So I was Army Aviation and when I was going through college, which was Army ROTC at the time, basically training as a cadet to go and to active duty, my college major was food service management.
Okay. And, uh, but I was also inspired by the events of nine 11. And so I said, well, I'd like to serve my country. Plus there's some added bonus of knowing I'm going to have a guaranteed job right out of college, at least for four years. And so I thought, well, let me do both. Uh, well, the army kind of had their own way of directing things and said, maybe you should not do food service and you should focus on something like political science or, you know, even business. And so I felt.
Like I was persuaded and I could have really stood my ground and kept it, but therein lies like one of the things throughout my life that I just became victim to it's doing what other people tell me or expect of me. And I carried that. That whole, vision or expectation for the rest of my life until I started this business, especially when I started this business, cause people were like, don't do it. Don't quit your day job.
You know, this isn't as easy as you think it is, but so I finally made a decision. I'm like, I'm done. I'm done towing the line and, you know, living the way others expect me to live. But the whole leadership aspect of the military and, know, how I incorporated food into that, I never thought that I would end up being a chef, even though that was like my, my youngest childhood dream was like, I want to be a chef. I want to go to culinary school and.
restaurants and all these things. But Army was it. And I ended up doing this aviation piece. So was like, all right, not only are you going to Army, now you're going to flight school. You're going learn how to fly helicopters, but you're also going to be a leader. You're going to be a commander and be responsible for the health and welfare of 40 soldiers while deployed in combat. And so it was a significant weight that I carried with that. And one of the things that I use to improve
the morale of my soldiers and pilots was food. I mean, I was always like buying all this food or having my family ship me food so that we could break bread on, know, sitting down briefing before mission with the other pilots and just, that was my one way of giving and it felt so good. And it was like, it brought people together. And that's where I didn't know it at that time in 2014 when we were in Afghanistan that this would actually, you know, be my life, but.
That's where it all kind of started. The ideas for it, so to say.
Nate (07:02)
Interesting. And post the army, you spent a few years in, let's say, corporate America. But why were you not happy there? Why didn't you settle down there? What was the pull that kind of drew you from that into the world of entrepreneurship?
Andrew Arbogast (07:20)
I think in my mind, my thought was I want someone to tell me what to do because I'm leaving the army. I don't necessarily want to go fly helicopters anymore, but I do need to provide for my family. had young twins in 2017 when it was time for me to transition out of the military. We're in Savannah, Georgia. Our home is back in Memphis. We're just isolated. But my thought was, well, let me just put myself out there.
And if corporate America is the right fit, I'll go that route. Well, if FBI is the right fit, I'll go that route. I did everything, all the preparing planning for what is next. And thankfully, I get the attention of International Paper here in Memphis. And that was great because it's like, okay, now I'm going to have a six figure salary. I'm going to make a bunch of money. I'm going to be so happy. We're going to be able to move back home.
close to friends and family. And it was that until it wasn't. One day, I blend COVID, right? Like that was the isolation that I didn't realize like how bad I was and how bad of shape I was in mentally. And I had this beautiful family. You my wife's pregnant with our third child. And it's like, have everything that people would want.
and I'm not happy. And I think it was, it was that identity loss of leaving the military and, know, becoming just another cog in the wheel in a corporate cubicle. And it drove me freaking insane. And so that's when I just start talking about it. I'm like, man, I'm not happy. I need to figure this out. And I'm sitting around a campfire with some friends when it was real snowy and cold.
campfire was in my backyard. We were all talking about it. And one of them said, man, you should try selling your dad's cheese dip. And it was it was instant Nate. It was instant. I, I went to sleep that night thinking about it. I woke up the next morning thinking about it. I told one other person they're like, go listen to this podcast. Guy Young, how I built this and it was like the chicken salad chick story and what she went through. And that's all I needed.
I needed hope. needed a glimpse of hope and believing in myself and hearing what she went through and what she endured to create a multimillion dollar business. Again, it wasn't about the money. It was about purpose and what I was trying to achieve in my life and demonstrate to my kids at the same time, like, hey, I can't sit here and tell you, you can be whatever you want to be as long as you try. If I'm not living that same
Lifestyle that same model so it so many things that was proving to myself that I could do it It was proving to others that I could do this. But then of course as soon as like you start inching forward Mm-hmm. There's the wall of like hey, we didn't think you were serious or I thought you were joking Don't quit your day job This this doesn't happen this way. I would run the other way is what a lot of people told me and thankfully thankfully
If I knew now what I didn't know then, I probably wouldn't have started this company. But because I was naive and young in this, thought, man, if I can go do all these crazy things in my life that I've done before, how could this be so hard? so that day, that night, that morning, that's where it all began. That was November of 2020. And then I'd started the LLC December 31st.
2020 because I wanted it to look like I'd been in business for a full year when 21 comes around. So. All right. Yeah.
Nate (11:15)
Nice. Wow. Well, it sounds like a brilliant insight and I'm glad that whatever it was you listened to. Maybe we'll include a link to that in the show notes that episode. Can you just say it again?
Andrew Arbogast (11:29)
It was Guy Young, how I built this. That's his podcast. I'm sorry. Guy Raz.
Nate (11:34)
guy right?
Yeah,
how I this and the specific episode was it or?
Andrew Arbogast (11:42)
was the chicken salad chick. she's got chains all over the South and she has an incredible story. It's worth listening to.
Nate (11:53)
Right.
All right. Okay. So you launched this business not too far into COVID. And I understand that you were initially basically, you know, a one man show, handling everything from sales, production, logistics, and accounting. I'd love to understand what that experience was like for you, particularly in light of the comments you mentioned earlier, where, you know, in the army, you're used to people telling you what to do all the time.
suddenly, you know, in the seat as an entrepreneur and founder and probably far less people telling you what to do. Talk me through that transition. What were some of the challenges that you encountered at the time? Did you look for help? If so, what were some of the most helpful sources of support and guidance that you found? I'd love to learn a little bit more about that transition for you.
Andrew Arbogast (12:48)
Man, that is such a great question, Nate. And it's so loaded that I'm going to try to pick apart what are the most critical things that throughout this process went through that were make or break. So the idea is like, the first thing I have to do is bring it up to my wife. And I did. I brought it up kind of in like a, hey, thinking about doing this side hustle thing of selling dad's cheese dip.
She's like, my gosh, that'd be so cool. That'd be so cool. And I think she thought maybe it was just going to be another fad for me because that would start and stop things all the time. The brand new, you know, thousand dollar mountain bike that was outside had only been ridden twice. Right. Another one of those things. and so when I continue to bring it up and actually started doing like R &D and what I mean by that is, OK, well, I know how to make this recipe based on these store bought ingredients.
know it like the back of my hand. But what happens when you double it or when you triple it? And before you know it, like, I'm buying all of these large pots and pans from Target and Walmart. And I basically have I'm like cooking this stuff in my kitchen. And then I have all this product. I'm like, okay, I think it's time to actually start getting people to try this and Sam test it. Give me feedback. I had everyone from like the house cleaners coming in.
you know, they didn't speak English and I'm like giving them a blind taste test. Two other, two other competitor products next to mine. And I'm like, will you try them and tell me which one you like the most? And all four of them like, you know, did this hand signal to, to my dad's. I was like, boom, next one was the FedEx guy. Next one was my buddy who's an entrepreneur, successful entrepreneur living in Missouri. told him he has like seven kids.
They did it. Every single one of them picked dads. And so at that point, I'm like, I know this is good. This isn't a matter of, do I think this product's good? Should I start it? It's like, no, this is good. Figure out how to get it in a container, figure out how to get a barcode and ingredient declaration, the nutrition facts, make it look, I wanted to make it look like it was not first sold at farmers market. Right. Wanted people to take me seriously.
That was the underground piece. Only a few people knew I was doing this. so eventually I get a logo, my buddy, like I said, the entrepreneur, his graphic designer creates me a logo and it's really Memphis themed. out of nowhere, I create this Instagram page called Arbo's Dip and I start selling it off my doorstep, like cranking it out. It spreads like wildfires. The Memphis community is small in perspective and it's like,
People kept hearing about it, hearing about it, before you know it, like I buy this thousand dollar branded tent and I'm doing these pop-ups at local breweries and festivals and like, I am hustling and they, I'm cooking until one or two in the morning, still in my house and I'm getting this stuff out there. And then all of a sudden it's like, well, what about my real job? I can't give everything to both.
And that's where the serious conversations really started taking place of like, Hey, was this, was this just a fun little pop-up thing and you're not quitting your job? And I'm like, no, I'm quitting it. I'm ready to quit it right now. Thankfully I didn't.
Nate (16:29)
So how did you know when was the right time to quit?
Andrew Arbogast (16:34)
It wasn't a financial decision, Nate. I was self-funding all of this. And of course, the profits I made from selling the cheese dip was going right back into buying containers and labels and those sorts of things. But I think that decision was really like, if I'm going to do this, I have to stay relevant. I have to be consistent. I can't lose my job. You know, my wife works, but
it's a double income. We've got kids in private school. And so was like, all right, now I'm going to have to figure out how to expand and how to scale. yeah, entertaining this friends and family investment. have, you know, friends and family that all invest basically to say, Hey, we can cover your salary for two years. Then should that, will that give you enough time? And I'm like, that is, that is a miracle in my mind.
I wanted to quit right away and go all in, but obviously, so it was like by August of 2021, eight months into doing this, I quit and I'm in distribution and we go from selling it at a couple of local grocery stores to 250. And I thought I had won, nightmare.
You know how I said I wasn't listening to anybody because I needed to believe in myself. Well, there was a period where I should have started listening to people. And what I did was, was scale so rapidly that, I mean, not only this isn't the first time I almost lost my business. This is one of several times, right? But my thought was, well, just because it sells so well locally sells out. couldn't restock it quick enough. Right.
I just assumed it would work the same in rural Tennessee, in Nashville. You know, I just assumed if I got it on the shelf, it would fly off. Not only did it not, I only had a 40 day shelf life because I didn't spend the time to really think through the logistics, the distribution. So the co I found a co packer, someone to make it for me, right out of Mississippi. So I give them the order.
They make it, well, it's going to sit there for a week until it gets picked up. Now I'm left with 33 days. Then it goes to the warehouse and then the stores have to order it. And by the time it reaches the stores, it's got 10 days. the first big financial hit was like, Hey, we're throwing away a pallet of cheese dip. We're not going to pay you for the $4,000 order that we received. And I'm like,
What world is this ethical? That was my thought. I'm like, what do you mean you don't pay for it? You agreed, you bought it from me. It's like me ordering, I thought it's like me ordering from Chick-fil-A, getting a full meal and taking a bite and then going back and saying, hey, I don't need this anymore because it's room temp. They're not going to take it back. So why does it work that way here? And that was one of the biggest lessons I learned early on.
You know, I was taking a pause, Nate, but I'm like, let's go. so now I'm one year into like co-packing and distributing, right? And we, we, I've been banging on the door, one of our major chains, and just like begging to get in and they're like, yes, we're ready to go. or we're, you know, we're finally going to talk to you. And it was like, all right.
Well, now I'm going from one flavor to three, the two more added a spicy and then like a queso blanco, a white version that I created in my kitchen while I'm doing all of this stuff myself. And we start manufacturing for this new launch and we get a hundred stores and then almost immediately the product is bad. And I don't mean like all of it.
It was one of these Tuesdays, but as I was getting, you know, these customer emails saying that their product tastes itself or, know, discovered that there may have been mold in it. Well, so much happens in the process of manufacturing distribution on the shelf. Once it gets home, did they forget to put it in the fridge? And, know, it's like, so
where do you investigate? But the consistency was it was the problem. The consistency of the feedback I was getting was the problem. like, I think we have a manufacturing issue. And so I go and like, we go through everything. We add new preservatives thinking, know, all right, that'll solve the problem. Well, it doesn't, right? And now like,
Like I said, to me at this point, I'm like, I'm going to lose my business because of lost control. I gave away the recipe and this was the risk I was willing to take. But now I'm dealing with the consequences of if I'm not there overseeing the operation, you know, it's one of those things that you you're taking a big risk. And I couldn't I couldn't go to Mississippi every day to watch a manufacturer. But
So that starts to happen. I leave that code packer immediately and we get a new one in Memphis. A new challenge begins because now it's the minimums went from like, you know, three cases to 200 cases.
Nate (22:31)
Wow, that's a big step up.
Andrew Arbogast (22:33)
major
step up. But I believed that I could reach that minimum and convince them to bring me on. so by this time, it's like 2023 and I land. So I'm in Kroger at this point. Things are going well. I land Publix, Harris Teeter, Walmart and Schnucks all within 60 days.
Nate (22:39)
Yeah.
Andrew Arbogast (23:00)
Wow. Everyone in this industry, the experts were like, you don't want to do that all at once. And I'm like, no, are you going to tell me that I don't want to do that? Like, because I have this opportunity in my mind. I'm like, Oh, why wouldn't it work? Even though the same mistake was already made. Right. So I grew from like three states to 20 overnight.
Nate (23:27)
Okay.
Andrew Arbogast (23:28)
And then I lost Sun States overnight. You know, our product gets in Delaware. I've never even been to Delaware. Why would anyone buy it? So we just, I spread myself out so far finally, just because I had the capacity to make it. thought, well, it should work this time because we've got new branding, new labeling, new messaging. I'm going to take another chance or another shot at this and it'll work this time. And then freaking didn't.
Nate (23:58)
Yeah.
Andrew Arbogast (23:59)
And so I almost lost my business again because every dollar I made, Nate, I blooded Instagram, Facebook, Hulu TV ads, YouTube, I spent it all to try to aggressively market this product. And it didn't work. It didn't.
Nate (24:18)
Yeah.
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Well, I guess on the positive side, they say, and I'm a big believer in the, I'm a big believer in the, what am I trying to say here? I'm a big believer in the idea that mistakes are incredibly powerful learning experiences. And it sounds like you had your share of them earlier on. And I gather that you're
probably a much better founder and operator today than you were back then. I think, as you know, I'm a fractional CFO and a lot of what I do is working with early stage founders and helping them build financial roadmaps for their companies. I'm curious how your perspective on seeking advice and support from professionals, coaches, mentors, consultants, whoever, like how was your attitude towards that?
changed over the last few years.
Andrew Arbogast (25:17)
You know, I've always relied on other people and I'm considering say, well, self-startled. Absolutely not. And the only employee still of Arbos G-Stab and we've been around for five years. However, I have taken so much knowledge from people that were willing to give it to me out of the kindness of their hearts because they believed in me, whether it was, you know, them giving back to a veteran.
I've received so much mentorship along the way and in many cases, paid for it because I believe in paying for a product you receive, a service you receive, especially when it provides value. And so I've always been very open to different ways of learning or not just different ways of learning, but different ways of
attacking these challenges and you know I think more if you looked at the first four years Nate margin was my problem it was on margin I was giving it away I was literally not just giving it away I was paying them to take my problem so the whole volume game like hey the more you sell more profit more money you make
Like not when you are giving it away, it's going to sink your ship faster. Yeah. So if I can think about hundreds of thousands of dollars I lost because, because I was off by like five cents. It is insane.
Nate (26:59)
Yeah, small mistakes can add up very quickly when you're talking about big, big volumes,
Andrew Arbogast (27:05)
Yes.
And I don't claim to be a math guy. Right. And so I tend to surround myself with people that keep me out of trouble now. It's like, just because you can doesn't mean you should. And what I mean by that is like, I stopped saying yes to big names just because it was my ego telling me that, you got to do that. That's going to be so great for Arbos and you're going to be so accomplished.
You've proven everyone wrong that you can get into these big names, big name stores. it's like, what does it matter when you don't have a business anymore? And so last year was the worst year of my life in terms of mental, physical, emotional, everything was so bad. then someone took a chance on me. Instead of me losing my business.
someone came in and said, we got you. So it gave me just a new opportunity to go and not only like learn from everything that I've done, but be successful. This doesn't come overnight. I thought it did, but reset my expectations. What an amazing, from 35 to 40, how much I've learned.
Nate (28:29)
Can you tell us a little bit more about the deal or transaction that happened last year? And what does that mean today in terms of the ownership of the business and how it's financed?
Andrew Arbogast (28:43)
So it starts with, it's two things. Like what was the devastating impact that got me to that point? And then where was the redemption? And so I'm not going to name retailer names by any means, but it's almost like I'm getting these orders that were like for truckloads, Nate. I went from like my
largest PO being 25 grand to $300,000.
Nate (29:16)
Wow, that's a big step up. It was
Andrew Arbogast (29:19)
It was huge and I literally thought I'd made it. I was like, don't need Shark Tank anymore. I've been constantly submitting my applications to Shark Tank and I'm like, we made it. Well, I've got a shelf life of 120 days and so all that money I received from that large PO I already spent, didn't set any aside for a rainy day fund.
I'm not buying a Ferrari or anything, but what I'm doing is marketing, advertising, all these ads, all the promos. I'm giving up so much money by doing bogos because that's what is expected of me. I'm like, okay, well, if I do the BOGO, but it'll all work out. And then that $300,000 order reaches its 120th day shelf life, right? And then there were more orders in between.
wasn't getting paid for those subsequent orders. And I started asking him like, we're past the, know, the, the net 30 payment terms. Well, we don't pay you when you owe us money and you owe us 75 grand.
They're like, yeah, we had to throw away that product. I'm like, well, why did you order that much? you know, what? I had so many questions like, surely someone's going to come in and be like, hey, we're going to cover it or we'll split it. We made a mistake or, know, no, no, there was no compromise. There was no.
Hey, you were only in so many stores, but we ordered enough for 1200. I'm not even half of that. It was so devastating to me that someone would treat another person that way. A big business, a big retailer would say, that's on you, Not only that, but they had no qualms with it. They weren't like, hey, we're sorry.
This is the message was this is the cost of doing business. I fell ill. I gave up like this. This happened from like March through July and then eventually, you know, I'm like, I can't even pay my own bills. I'm dead. I'm done. So I go. Lay down number laying down on the couch. It was a Thursday.
just was like, because my family's on the line, everything my entire life, it's like all this stuff that I've done has come to a crash. And because they didn't listen to other people and say, that said, hey, you you shouldn't do this or it doesn't work that way or maybe don't, you know, so all these things were coming back at me. Now, I'm like, okay, I'm just going to pray.
That was the only thing I needed to do is just ask God for direction. And the next day, woke up, you I'm hiding all of this, Nate, like my kids don't see this. I'm happy, go lucky. I sold her it all. I bottle everything up. I go to a local food company and I lay everything out there.
And I've met had met with them before, and they always believed in me. I'm like, I'm to go where. think I'm value instead of. Fully within this negotiation and so I went and I said, hey. I have a lot of debt.
no steam left. I just need a job. I just need to provide for my family. And I'm what you know, you can have the best that you can have Argos cheese dip. I don't care if it's 100%. It's like if you can just employ me. That's all I need. It would be a blessing. And during that conversation, the owner who I was speaking to, he goes,
want you to stand up. I'm not here to take advantage of you. I believe in you. You have an incredible product, incredible story. This is not going to die here. You're going to keep your company. We'll buy out your investors. We'll help with the debt. We're going to set you free to go be you again. If you can promise us that you're going to recover,
and go and do what made you successful. They're like, we are all in. And so that happened in November last year. It has just changed. It changed everything. mean, like, debt, mean, you know, indebted gratitude, whatever. mean, how can I pay this person this thing back?
The way I do that is just go be incredibly successful. So, but what does that mean? It doesn't mean getting into every single retail store that I possibly can as fast as I can. It's margin. It's growing where I'm going to be profitable. And for the first time in almost five years, we are fully profitable. It was almost.
that ending to a great story. So the people I surround myself with, I think that was the only thing that that saved me. Wow.
Nate (35:23)
I'm curious how the systems that you use to evaluate these opportunities may have evolved over time. I get the sense that early on it was like, Hey, you're a big brand retailer. I would like to be on your shelf. Yes, let's go. Right. But if one of these retailers were rock to rock up on your doorstep today with the same pitch, given all that you now know about how this can go wrong.
How would you evaluate and look at that opportunity today? Like what is the analysis that you would do to decide if that's a good fit for you?
Andrew Arbogast (36:03)
I have something called a Charlie. have someone, Charlie. So Charlie is a mentor of mine. He always has been. He worked in corporate with me and he retired and
He wanted to help me. And he did. He helped me so much. He wouldn't let me pay him. Wow. So someone as simple as a Charlie, he's not a simple person by any means, but it was that simple. like, need someone and say, Charlie, this is what they wanted for. Can we do this? And Charlie goes, give me an hour.
So he's looking at freight rates averages. He's calling freight companies and saying, hey, what's this? And then he has this math skill. I mean, maybe it's Excel. I don't know. But he's punching in all these numbers and he's like, listen, unless they're ordering this much, this cost, you have to say no. If they're willing to compromise their margin, their markup,
Because they're saying they want it at a 599 if they're willing to go 699. This is how we can do this and this is if we do the promos and all the other things. So, it's not me, Nate. It's not me. That's like, hey, no, we can't do it with Charlie and Charlie. I don't know what I would do if I lost them, right? You have to figure out what to do next, but I just surround myself, like I said, with the people that.
care about me, care about the success of this because my thing is like, I want to repay or pay it forward one day. And that's my goal. That giving back is the most important thing. My wife jokes and she's like, you ought to like start charging people for consulting because you do it all the time. And I said, I get it, good, but.
You can give it so much. I can't take anyone's money for this. doesn't matter if they're veteran, veteran or not. It's like, I this passion and love for CPG, for food brands or any product that is so damn good because you're doing it with a passion of wanting to change or bring a solution and be successful. It's like you were met with doom.
Nate (38:16)
Yeah.
Andrew Arbogast (38:44)
You were met with doom from the very beginning. It's like you, have a very steep hill decline. Does it mean you're not capable? It, it takes a lot of
Vulnerability, it takes willingness to learn and not being so in your own, you know, they're about what's right, what's wrong. It just, takes surrounding yourself with a lot of good people.
Nate (39:18)
Yeah, you've had quite the journey here, haven't you?
Andrew Arbogast (39:22)
Hmm.
Nate (39:23)
Okay, I'm going to ask you one last question here. And by the way, we can edit the last 15, 20 seconds or so out. Sure. I'm going to ask you one last question. And then the final piece will just I'll be in, I'll invite you to let people know where they can go if they want to learn more about you. So feel free to spill off your website, your LinkedIn, you know, whatever, whatever it is. And all of the links will be in the show notes, but by the way,
Andrew Arbogast (39:51)
Thank
Nate (39:54)
Wow, it's certainly been quite the voyage for you, Andrew. I'm curious as you look ahead over the next year or two, what are some of the biggest decisions and pieces of the business strategy that you're kind of contemplating and dealing with at the moment? I'm wondering, what do you think will be the most difficult decision you have to make in the next 12 months?
Andrew Arbogast (40:22)
It sounds simple.
creating like new flavors and new products. And my fear lies that I don't want to lose focus where I started. Right. So I started with just this original yellow cheese dip. It's amazing. It's bold with spices and flavors and it's got tomatoes and chilies. It's all blended in together. It's so smooth. You can just eat it.
right out. I dip anything in it. I'm like, got a good product. Why not run with that? So I was told somewhere along the way you have to have three skews to get into big retail. So I created a spicier version. Created a white, eso blanco. I wanted it to taste like that Mexican restaurant, fresh sea stiff. And I did.
But constantly comparing your brand to others is a problem. Because I'm like, man, I look at some of these hot sauce sauces and it's like they've got 20 different flavors. Well, how many different flavors can you incorporate with cheese dip? So maybe I can add on another one, but I'm afraid that if I focus on that, I haven't figured out the other three yet.
You know, we're growing, we're in the Southeast primarily, but we just added manufacturing on the West Coast and that gave an opportunity to add a new flavor, whether it's hashed chili or something like that. But I think the biggest decision there is like, where am I going to focus my efforts and. Do I do I do I have a decision point or California where it's like, hey, if it doesn't.
You reach this amount of sales and this was not cut it back. So I think that's going to be a decision that I don't get to prepare for. Maybe not prepare for, but I don't get to plan for. It's just going to happen. Maybe it's successful and then that means we need to create a hatch chili version here in Memphis. But I think that's one of the. The biggest decisions I'm going to have to.
Going forward, and if you would have asked me yet last year, anyone that gave me an opportunity to code pack, I'd be like, let's go, let's do a Skittles flavor. Let's do this. You know, like, I would have just been so. Agreeable to anything, so I think the bottom line, it's know yourself, know your product, know your brand, what made you successful and don't sway from that. Yeah, I'm still working on my messaging. That's that.
I don't think that ever changes. see brands, they rebrand all the time.
Nate (43:19)
Yeah. Well, we all are. If it makes you feel any better, I'm still figuring that out too, for my, for my own business. And, I think it's, I think it's okay to keep evolving and growing like the more you learn and the, you know, your customers change the market changes and, I think it's important for brands to evolve and keep up with that. So, I don't think you should feel bad about that. And,
Listen, I am so grateful for you joining us today and coming on and sharing what has been, you a roller coaster of a ride for you. You have clearly learned a lot and certainly given me new perspective on how to approach growing a business like this, steps into retail. And I really do believe that our audience is going to find this extremely
valuable insights. Before I let you go here, Andrew, where should people go to learn more about you, either the company or you personally?
Andrew Arbogast (44:25)
Awesome. So you can find pretty much everything on our website. It's ArbosDip.com. You can actually order auto to your house on the website or find us in stores like Kroger and Walmart. And we're looking at some other retailers in the next three to six months.
Nate (44:49)
Well, thank you again for joining us. That brings our episode to a close and folks, we will see you next time. Take care.
Andrew Arbogast (44:57)
Thank you, Nate.
Nate (44:58)
Thanks, Andrew.
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