69 Breaking Up the Meat Monopoly with Chris Carter and James Peisker, co-founders of Porter Road

02/13/19 • 45 min

While shipping meat isn’t a new concept, the guys at Porter Road are the first to bring the art of whole animal butchery to home cooks. Chris Carter and James Peisker are the co-founders of VC-backed online butcher shop, Porter Road. In 2010, after years at the back of the house, Chris and James began Porter Road as a catering business in Nashville. After realizing how difficult it was to get fresh, traceable meats, they decided to run and own their entire supply chain. While boxed and bulk meats are the industry standard, the team at Porter Road is looking to change that. They partner with regional farms and hand cut their meats and poultry in their Kentucky facility. Now, Chris and James are recreating that same local experience online.

On this episode, Chris and James talk about the decade-in-the-making evolution of Porter Road, first as a brick-and-mortar butchery and then as a vertically integrated ecommerce shop (5:33). James shares their desire for sourcing ethical foods (9:49) and hand-selecting farm partners (12:48). For Porter Road, education around whole animal butchery pushes them creatively as a business (15:08). They explain why they advocate for eating less meat and breakdown the importance of moving the meat industry in a new direction (21:31). Lastly, they talk about the logistics of shipping meat (25:57) and the challenges of packaging in the cold chain (28:45).

Also mentioned on the show:

Links and images can be found on the Lumi blog.

Also mentioned on the show:

Links and images can be found on the Lumi blog.

Previous Episode

68 Setting the New Standard for Sex with Eva Goicochea, CEO and co-founder of Maude

Maude is a sex essentials company founded by brand strategist, Eva Goicochea. The brand is muted and the products are pared-down. It's is a far departure from the loud, hypermasculine messaging you see in drugstore aisles, and that's the point. From the beginning, Eva focused on creating inclusive sex products that were simply designed and intuitive to use.

When we last spoke to Eva, Maude was still pre-launch. Together, with industrial designer Dina Epstein as her co-founder, they launched the company in April 2018. By simplifying sex essentials, Maude is subtly and authentically changing an industry that has for so long looked the same.

On this episode, Eva explains the two-year long process it took to launch Maude (5:45). Eva spent 18 months fundraising over two million dollars, she shares her do’s and don’ts for finding a right partner and cold emailing investors (12:19). In the last year, Maude was featured in everything from Vogue to Fast Company, Eva spills their strategic press strategy (21:40), and how running their own survey helped them narrow in on their customers’ pain points (24:49). Stephan and Eva talk about finding your first 1,000 true fans through consistency (27:50) and empathy (36:45). Eva talks about opening their Winter Studio retail space (40:16), their future physical and digital advertising plans (42:40), and how they’re standing out on social media with educational content (43:39). Finally, Eva shares how Maude revised their packaging to fit new products variations (48:55).

Also mentioned on the show:

Link and images can be found on the Lumi blog.

Next Episode

70 Building on Greenfields with Paul Munford, Editor-in-Chief of LeanLuxe

If you're of the modern luxury business set, chances are you're reading LeanLuxe. Launched in July 2016, LeanLuxe is an online newsletter of noteworthy developments and big picture happenings in retail.

On this episode, Editor-in-Chief, Paul Munford and Stephan Ango roundup the latest news and trends driving modern commerce. VCs poured a record $138 billion into U.S. startups last year, but were unicorn valuations and expectations realistic to begin with? Now that the dust has settled, Paul discusses the adjustments VCs are making (3:20). Stephan and Paul question if it’s getting harder to become a global brand despite greenfield opportunities in consumer products (9:07). They chew on the consumer-centric shift in commerce, arguing a more fragmented marketplace will emerge (24:14). He talks about the new problem with shopping (27:40) and the return of physical retail (37:55). They discuss brands’ challenges of creating a physical gathering place (39:01) and community-building as a distribution tool. Finally, Paul talks about the future of connecting online (45:52) and the big opportunity around niche platforms (51:44).

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