The Grodega Podcast

Welcome to Grovara – The Leading Global B2B Wholesale Marketplace!How do you build a candy brand that refuses to fit the traditional mold?In this episode of GroDega, Peter sits down with the founder of Blobs to talk about the product, science, manufacturing, retail growth, and wholesale strategy behind one of the more unconventional better-for-you candy brands entering the market.Blobs started in an apartment in New York City, where the original formulas were developed with friends and family serving as early taste testers. Turning those recipes into a scalable product was much harder.Because Blobs does not follow the traditional gummy formula, the team had to develop new tooling, manufacturing processes, and production methods to bring the product to market.The result is a lineup built around unexpected flavor combinations, including watermelon lychee, strawberry yuzu, passionfruit pineapple, pomegranate apple, orange peach, and spicy mango guava.The episode also explores what makes Blobs different from conventional gummies, including its emphasis on lower sugar, fiber, vegan formulation, allergen considerations, and a sensory experience where sour actually tastes sour and spicy actually delivers heat.But building the product was only half the challenge.The Blobs team spent roughly two and a half years focusing on product quality, repeat purchase, and regional product-market fit before aggressively scaling. That patience helped the brand grow into approximately 3,500 grocery stores, with Sprouts serving as a major national account alongside retailers including Giant and Wegmans.Blobs is also expanding into convenience, with the episode discussing a launch into 7-Eleven in Dallas and ambitions for broader distribution.That growth is where Grovara comes in.Blobs works with Grovara to expand its wholesale reach, including international opportunities. Through Grovara’s Trusted Global Wholesale Network, vetted buyers can discover brands like Blobs, explore wholesale opportunities, and bring differentiated products into new markets.The founder says it directly in the episode: the team has faith in Peter and Grovara to help scale Blobs domestically and internationally.For brands, this episode is also a lesson in patience. Product-market fit does not happen everywhere at once. Different cities, retailers, channels, and regions behave differently, and successful CPG brands have to prove demand before trying to scale everything at the same time.Watch the full episode to hear how Blobs went from an apartment experiment to thousands of retail doors, and why Grovara could be part of its next stage of growth.Chapters: 00:00 Meet the Blobs01:33 What Makes Blobs Different02:25 The Science Behind the Candy03:27 Inside the Blobs Flavor Lineup05:09 When the First Flavor Failed06:33 Better-for-You Candy Without the Boring Part07:25 From an Apartment to Manufacturing09:27 The Product-Market Fit Masterclass12:41 From Sprouts to 7-Eleven14:20 Scaling Blobs Globally With GrovaraJoin the Future of B2B Commerce!Sign up today: www.grovara.comContact us: [email protected] Us on Social Media:Website: https://www.grovara.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/grovaraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grovaraFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/grovaraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/grovaraYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@grovaraincSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kaW2tvRgxa4WlINuaaMgE?si=2036f25c8eb54468Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/4eYAkirSubscribe & Stay Updated!We post expert insights, success stories, and industry trends to help brands and buyers scale globally.#Grovara #Blobs #BetterForYou #CPG #GroDega

Welcome to Grovara – The Leading Global B2B Wholesale Marketplace! What does it actually take to move millions of dollars worth of Pokémon cards from a warehouse into supermarkets? In this episode, we go behind the scenes of the Pokémon card business to see how Pokémon TCG products are distributed, allocated, shipped, merchandised, and protected from retail theft. From entire containers filled with Pokémon cards to unpredictable inventory allocations and high-demand releases like Destined Rivals, there’s a massive supply chain operating behind every pack you see on a store shelf. We also rip open Pokémon packs, chase cards like Team Rocket’s Mewtwo and Greninja, and learn why Pokémon cards present some unique challenges for retailers. Their small size, high demand, and resale value can create unusually high levels of retail “shrink,” forcing supermarkets to rethink where and how Pokémon products are sold. The episode also explores Pokémon’s unusual distribution model. Even distributors may not know exactly which products or series they’re receiving until inventory arrives, creating scarcity and uncertainty throughout the supply chain. From Pokémon collecting and pack openings to logistics, retail strategy, inventory allocation, and million-dollar transactions, this is a look at the business behind one of the biggest collectible brands in the world. Subscribe for more conversations and behind-the-scenes looks at retail, distribution, products, and the businesses operating behind the shelves. Grovara is revolutionizing the way better-for-you (BFY) brands, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs), and international buyers connect, transact, and scale. Our AI-powered platform streamlines global trade, making it easier than ever to expand into new markets. Chapters: 00:00 – Inside the Pokémon Card Business 01:24 – Why Pokémon Cards Have a Shrink Problem 03:24 – How Pokémon Distribution Actually Works 04:32 – Distributors Don't Know What They're Getting 05:00 – How Stores Prevent Pokémon Card Theft 05:58 – Chasing Greninja in Chaos Rising 07:13 – Millions of Dollars in Pokémon Inventory 07:57 – Moving Millions of Pokémon Packs 08:53 – Inside the Pokémon Supply Chain 10:09 – How You Move a Million-Dollar Deal For Brands: Expand internationally with seamless logistics, compliance, and marketing support. For Buyers: Discover & source premium health, wellness, and organic products from trusted suppliers. For Service Providers: Partner with us to power global commerce with technology-driven solutions. What We Offer: Cross-border wholesale made easy SaaS-driven marketplace with powerful data insights Simplified compliance & global fulfillment Digital payments & trade automation Join the Future of B2B Commerce! Sign up today: www.grovara.com Contact us: [email protected] Follow Us on Social Media: Website: https://www.grovara.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grovara LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grovara Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grovara Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/grovara YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@grovarainc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kaW2tvRgxa4WlINuaaMgE?si=2036f25c8eb54468 Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/4eYAkir Subscribe & Stay Updated! We post expert insights, success stories, and industry trends to help brands and buyers scale globally.

Welcome to Grovara – The Leading Global B2B Wholesale Marketplace! Peter and Vic are back for part two of their Sweets & Snacks Expo taste test, and this round gets even more unpredictable. They try calming chocolate, Dubai-inspired candy, Swedish sweets, international gummies, sweet corn crackers, Kate’s Real Food bars, Pez, strange powders, coffee that definitely was not candy, and several products that immediately required the spittoon. Along the way, they break down what trade shows are really for, how serious buyers and brands use conventions to build deals, and why flavor is only one part of a successful CPG product. Packaging, texture, nostalgia, branding, buyer relationships, and follow-up all matter. The episode also includes Peter’s Pez collection, Vic’s turn inside a pickle mascot costume, an awkward Uncrustables encounter, and a surprise face-off with a professional wrestler. Grovara is the Trusted Global Wholesale Network where vetted brands, buyers, and Deal Makers can discover products, build direct relationships, order samples, and transact globally. Watch the full episode, then tell us which product you would try first. Chapters: 00:00 Back for Round Two 01:18 What Trade Shows Are Really For 02:51 Calming Chocolate Taste Test 04:33 Dubai Candy and International Surprises 06:02 The Big Cone Upset 08:08 Swedish Candy and Gummy Expertise 10:43 The Mystery Powder Disaster 14:55 Better-for-You Snacks and Pez History 18:07 Swedish Sweets and Mascot Stories 22:26 Grovara, the 24/7 Virtual Trade Show Grovara is revolutionizing the way better-for-you (BFY) brands, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs), and international buyers connect, transact, and scale. Our AI-powered platform streamlines global trade, making it easier than ever to expand into new markets. For Brands: Expand internationally with seamless logistics, compliance, and marketing support. For Buyers: Discover & source premium health, wellness, and organic products from trusted suppliers. For Service Providers: Partner with us to power global commerce with technology-driven solutions. What We Offer: Cross-border wholesale made easy SaaS-driven marketplace with powerful data insights Simplified compliance & global fulfillment Digital payments & trade automation Join the Future of B2B Commerce! Sign up today: www.grovara.com Contact us: [email protected] Follow Us on Social Media: Website: https://www.grovara.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grovara LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grovara Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grovara Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/grovara YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@grovarainc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kaW2tvRgxa4WlINuaaMgE?si=2036f25c8eb54468 Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/4eYAkir Subscribe & Stay Updated! We post expert insights, success stories, and industry trends to help brands and buyers scale globally. #GroDega #SweetsandSnacks #candy #snacks

Welcome to Grovara – The Leading Global B2B Wholesale Marketplace! Peter and Vic are back from the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Las Vegas with a table full of new candy, nostalgic favorites, unusual snacks, and products that may never recover from their brutally honest taste test. In this GroDega episode, they try an Amos smart lollipop that plays music through your mouth, Warheads Atomic Fizz, Cosmic Dust popping candy, MrBeast sour fruit snacks, Hello Kitty freeze-dried candy, Swedish candy, bacon cheddar popcorn, oversized gummy bears, Tetris gummies, cashew butter, and more. Some products deliver on innovation, flavor, packaging, and shelf appeal. Others go directly to the spittoon. Beyond the reactions, Peter and Vic explore questions that matter to CPG brands and wholesale buyers: Does novelty create repeat demand? How much does packaging affect the experience? Can licensing and nostalgia rescue an average product? What separates a memorable concept from something consumers will actually buy again? Grovara is the Trusted Global Wholesale Network connecting vetted brands, buyers, and Deal Makers across food, beverage, beauty, home, and pet. Watch to the end, then tell us which product you would try first. Like the video, subscribe to GroDega, and share it with someone who takes candy very seriously. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to the Candy Taste Test 00:26 Inside Sweets & Snacks Expo Las Vegas 02:18 The Lollipop That Plays Music 04:38 Warheads and Sour Candy Showdown 06:04 Packaging, Pop Rocks and Product Failures 08:45 Is MrBeast’s Candy Worth the Hype? 11:27 Circus Peanuts, Hello Kitty and Swedish Candy 15:04 Bacon Popcorn and Oversized Gummies 17:51 Popcorn and Cashew Butter Chaos 20:38 Tetris Gummies and Final Takeaways - Grovara is revolutionizing the way better-for-you (BFY) brands, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs), and international buyers connect, transact, and scale. Our AI-powered platform streamlines global trade, making it easier than ever to expand into new markets. For Brands: Expand internationally with seamless logistics, compliance, and marketing support. For Buyers: Discover & source premium health, wellness, and organic products from trusted suppliers. For Service Providers: Partner with us to power global commerce with technology-driven solutions. What We Offer: Cross-border wholesale made easy SaaS-driven marketplace with powerful data insights Simplified compliance & global fulfillment Digital payments & trade automation Join the Future of B2B Commerce! Sign up today: www.grovara.com Contact us: [email protected] Follow Us on Social Media: Website: https://www.grovara.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grovara LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grovara Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grovara Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/grovara YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@grovarainc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kaW2tvRgxa4WlINuaaMgE?si=2036f25c8eb54468 Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/4eYAkir Subscribe & Stay Updated! We post expert insights, success stories, and industry trends to help brands and buyers scale globally.

Welcome to Grovara – The Leading Global B2B Wholesale Marketplace! In this episode of the GroDega Podcast, Peter sits down with Vidur Bhatnagar, Grovara’s CTO, to unpack the technology behind Grovara 3.0 and the launch of Scout AI, the platform’s integrated AI copilot for global trade. Vitor explains how Scout AI lets users chat directly with the Grovara platform to ask about orders, products, marketplace fit, compliance, landing costs, and product recommendations. Unlike a general chatbot, Scout AI understands the page you are on, the product you are viewing, the marketplace context, and the permissions tied to your account. The conversation also covers how Grovara uses OpenAI, Google Gemini, large language models, AI-native search, and platform data to make global trade faster, smarter, and more accessible. Vitor shares how a feature that once would have taken 6 to 8 weeks was built in just 3.5 hours, and how Grovara 3.0 moved from a 15 to 18 month build into a 5 month launch. You will also hear Vitor’s background as an Ivy League dropout, robotics student at Penn, former Amazon product leader, national-level basketball player in India, and builder of 14 full-stack SaaS products. To close it out, Peter asks the big question: what is vibe coding, and how should founders think about building with AI today? If you are interested in AI, global trade, B3B marketplaces, CPG technology, product search, or how Grovara is helping brands go global faster, this episode is for you. Chapters: 00:00 Scout AI reveal: Grovara’s AI-powered global trade copilot 01:10 How Scout AI works with orders, products, market fit, and secure platform data 05:31 AI-native search and how Grovara 3.0 was built faster with AI 10:48 What is vibe coding? Vitor explains AI-assisted development Grovara is revolutionizing the way better-for-you (BFY) brands, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs), and international buyers connect, transact, and scale. Our AI-powered platform streamlines global trade, making it easier than ever to expand into new markets. For Brands: Expand internationally with seamless logistics, compliance, and marketing support. For Buyers: Discover & source premium health, wellness, and organic products from trusted suppliers. For Service Providers: Partner with us to power global commerce with technology-driven solutions. What We Offer: Cross-border wholesale made easy SaaS-driven marketplace with powerful data insights Simplified compliance & global fulfillment Digital payments & trade automation Join the Future of B2B Commerce! Sign up today: www.grovara.com Contact us: [email protected] Follow Us on Social Media: Website: https://www.grovara.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grovara LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grovara Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grovara Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/grovara YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@grovarainc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kaW2tvRgxa4WlINuaaMgE?si=2036f25c8eb54468 Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/4eYAkir Subscribe & Stay Updated! We post expert insights, success stories, and industry trends to help brands and buyers scale globally. #ScoutAI #AIGlobalTrade #GroDegaPodcast