Case Study: Hooray Foods | Scaling From a Home Kitchen to National Retail
Collaborated with a videographer on this video, providing the storyboard and all editing direction.
Overview
As the first marketing hire at Hooray Foods, I built and led all brand and marketing efforts that transformed the plant-based bacon startup from one local foodservice restaurant into a national retail brand stocked in Whole Foods, Sobey’s Canada, and dozens of other grocery and online retailers.
Challenge
Hooray Foods was an early-stage startup with a small team (just the founder, chef, food science intern, and myself) and limited budget. The task was to turn a niche product into a scalable brand that could succeed in the competitive plant-based CPG space, while building awareness, consumer demand, and retail relationships from scratch.
Seeding product samples from my apartment because early-stage marketing needs hustle.
Approach
1. Brand Building & Creative Direction
Worked with an agency to refresh the original Hooray Foods brand identity.
Applied my own graphic design skills to produce all marketing collateral in-house during the first year due to budget constraints, with the exception of select vendor support.
Designed retail packaging for the bacon box, balancing shelf appeal with functional design.
In the second year, hired and managed an in-house graphic designer to further evolve the brand to the vision we wanted.
The original Hooray Foods logo, our starting point before the refresh.
Agency-informed brand refresh brought to life with my in-house design.
Draft packaging sketch at the prototype stage for our bacon box concept.
Worked with a box manufacturer and graphic designer to bring it to life.
From sketch to shelf, final packaging hitting Whole Foods displays.
2. Press & PR Strategy
Managed press relationships, sourced PR agencies, and secured coverage in outlets like Forbes, VegNews, CNET and Food & Wine.
Produced a virtual press event during the pandemic with branded brunch boxes shipped to top press and influencers.
3. Digital Marketing & Paid Media
Grew social channels from 300 → 22K+ followers with 2–6% engagement through storytelling, UGC, and branded content.
Managed paid ads directly, later scaling efforts with an agency for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Expanded the website from a single landing page into a full site with store locator and educational content.
Ideated a playful social clip with influencers to bring the brand personality online.
4. Influencer & Partnership Marketing
Seeded to influencers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, generating frequent organic posts and strong brand advocacy.
Built partnerships with like-minded brands, executing themed giveaways and collaborative campaigns.
Organic Hooray Foods product reviews on YouTube
One content piece of many from our collaborations with Plant-Based On a Budget
Summer BBQ giveaway with Boochcraft, Actual Veggies, and Core & Rind for cross-brand fun.
5. Retail & Trade Marketing
Supported national retail launches with Whole Foods, Sobey’s Canada, Wegmans, Gelson’s, and others.
Managed all retail marketing needs including demos, coupons, and field marketing.
Partnered with online retailers like Purple Carrot, Imperfect Foods, and GTFO It’s Vegan to drive DTC distribution.
Hooray Foods expanded nationwide with Whole Foods in year two.
Alongside many other retailers such as Wegmans
And foodservice partnerships such as Veggie Grill
6. Content Product & Asset Management
Sourced food photographers and videographers in LA, overseeing shoots and editing to deliver professional-quality assets.
Directed photo, video, and recipe content to support retail, social, and paid campaigns.
Behind the scenes at one of our LA photoshoots
The final image created from the above behind-the-scenes photoshoot
7. Team Leadership
Grew the marketing team from a one-woman operation to a team of six, including designers, marketers, and interns.
Results
Scaled Hooray Foods from one local restaurant to national distribution in Whole Foods and hundreds of stores in Canada and the U.S.
Built brand awareness with social growth from 300 → 22K followers.
Secured consistent press coverage and influencer buzz on a lean budget.
Elevated creative, packaging, and brand identity to meet consumer and retail standards.
Successfully managed cross-channel marketing while building the infrastructure of a startup marketing team.
Highlights
🌱 First marketing hire, building brand from scratch.
📦 Designed bacon box packaging for retail shelves.
📲 Social growth from 300 → 22K+ followers with high engagement.
📰 Press features in Forbes, VegNews, CNET, and Food & Wine.
🥓 Expanded distribution from local foodservice → Whole Foods, Sobey’s, Wegmans, and more.
🎥 Directed professional food shoots for retail, digital, and paid campaigns.
👩🏻💻 Built marketing team from 1 → 6.
