DTC POD: How Mila Nailed Success: The 20 Million Dumplings Club

 In this episode of DTC Pod, we’re joined by Jennifer Liao, Co-Founder & President of MìLà.

They’re the brand bringing frozen soup dumplings to every house in the US. Last year, they sold over 20 million units, which keeps climbing.

Join us as we talk about a CPG’s product/market fit, how a content officer relieved a lot of the weight of the growth process, and Jen’s advice for people going full-time on your CPG brand.

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3 Big Lessons from Jennifer

Lesson #1: How to know you have product/market fit with a CPG.

It’s easy to lie to yourself by saying things like “Our CACs are low, this is product/market fit.” A tangible way of seeing if there is product market fit; is by word-of-mouth.

In MìLà’s case, they kept getting requests to expand further and further out. And not because they were maxed out in the market, but because people were asking for it.

From people requesting 30 bags to take to Alaska, or servicing about 10% of Seattle’s Bainbridge Island, they couldn’t keep up with the cycle of word-of-mouth referrals they were getting.

What made them better was that they were more convenient, especially for busy people, or people in the suburbs by making it easy to order directly to their house.

Lesson #2: Hiring a content officer to make scaling easier.

Sometimes you get lucky, like Jennifer was able to. Her old friend was a graphic designer who for a very long time took over everything branding-related.

But as they were scaling, it became harder and harder to keep up with the amount of ads they were making and testing. And that’s when they decided to hire a creative director that was able to become the brand’s voice; as well as the different aspects of marketing.

They started producing educational content, answering customers' most common questions, and making it easy for them to follow along.

And before they started rolling out into retail shelves, they hired another storyteller that could market another aspect of the brand that isn’t just direct response and is far more organic.

Lesson #3: Advice for people looking to go full-time with their CPG brand.

The choice is very qualitative. There’s no real threshold where you can say “When I reach X amount of revenue, I can go full-time.”

Jennifer mentions that incorporating testing, from surveys to pricing, gave them the confidence to know there was a clear path for growth, which made them confident in their product/market fit, and that helped derisk most of the jump to full-time.

So if you’re on the fence about going full time and you see that market fit, you can run tests on potential capacity and/or your addressable market, then you have a good sign that it’s a sustainable product you can (and should) focus on.

DTC Job Positions!

Intimate Apparel Sourcing Manager at Pepper

• Description: Lead raw material sourcing & development for Pepper's intimate product line, ensuring quality, design, and cost standards.

• Responsibilities: Source materials, manage suppliers, develop fabric libraries, and support product development across all intimate apparel categories.

• Benefits: Competitive 401K, fully covered medical/dental/vision insurance, flexible remote work, generous vacation, parental leave, and health & wellness stipend.

Production & Fulfillment Associate at Appointed

• Description: Join Appointed's production team assembling, packaging, and ensuring quality control for everyday desktop paper products.

• Responsibilities: Assist with production, inventory, light machinery operation, order picking/packaging, and general warehouse support.

• Benefits: Full-time: Health, vision, dental insurance, PTO. All: Generous employee discount on Appointed products.

Supply Chain Analyst at Cometeer

• Description: Drive effective cost management and operational efficiency across Cometeer's supply chain.

• Responsibilities: Manage inventory, strategic sourcing, supplier relationships, purchasing processes, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Benefits: Hybrid work flexibility, competitive compensation, opportunity for growth, and inclusive work environment.

That wraps up this week’s newsletter!

As always, reply any time with thoughts, questions, reactions, or ideas for future issues. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to unlock new episodes of DTC Pod each week!