#321 - How Mila Nailed Success: The 20 Million Dumplings Club

Jennifer Liao’s journey with MìLà is nothing short of remarkable. From a grassroots project where they collected orders through Google Forms, it evolved into a successful venture that raised $21.5 million in its second round of funding.This episode doesn't just serve up the story behind MìLà’s signature frozen soup dumplings; it provides a feast of insights on the ingredients for business growth, fundraising, and the power of community-driven marketing.Episode brought to you by More StaffingJoin 15k founders and marketers & get our pod highlights delivered directly to your inbox with the DTC Pod Newsletter!On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. Fundraising Strategies and Investor Relationships2. Navigating Logistics for Frozen Food Distribution3. Product-Market Fit Testing4. Branding and Content Strategy Development5. Scaling Manufacturing 6. Leveraging E-commerce PlatformsTimestamps03:37 Experimenting with frozen soup dumplings06:17 How testing and running ad campaigns on Meta led to MìLà’s rapid growth14:59 Product-market fit testing, team expansion20:43 Establishing a team for content and branding28:00 Getting funded, setting realistic goals, and scaling for success35:52 The supply chain side of frozen, perishable goods37:22 Building infrastructure for proactive outreach38:46 Product innovation, retail expansionShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok  -----Jennifer Liao - Co-Founder of MìLàBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic