# Starday Foods

> Starday Foods is a Scottsdale-based food innovation company that combines AI-driven consumer, product, retail, and trend intelligence with hands-on CPG operating expertise. After using its system to create four brands and 16 products, it opened the playbook to retailers and food companies through strategy, product brief, development, and innovation services designed to reduce indecision and shorten the trip from insight to shelf.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** Scottsdale, United States
- **Founders:** Chaz Flexman (Co-founder and CEO), Lily Burtis (Co-founder and COO), Lena Kwak (Co-founder, Product and R&D), Caroline McCarthy (Co-founder and former VP of Growth)
- **Team size:** Approximately 13 employees; LinkedIn lists a company-size range of 11-50.
- **Products:** Gooey, All Day, Cozumi, Habeya, Innovation Strategy
- **Notable:** Built four brands and launched 16 products in roughly four years., Secured distribution across Kroger, Hannaford, Sprouts, Target, The Fresh Market, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Amazon and Instacart., Took Gooey from direct-to-consumer launch to nearly 2,000 Kroger-owned locations in about seven months.

## Products & services

- **Gooey** — A low-sugar, dairy-free chocolate hazelnut spread made without palm oil; Starday's first consumer brand and early test of its data-led launch process.
- **All Day** — Chickpea protein toppers positioned as crunchy, plant-based, soy-free and gluten-free crouton alternatives.
- **Cozumi** — Gut-friendly, low-FODMAP seasoned rice blends made without common trigger ingredients such as onion and garlic.
- **Habeya** — Baked sweet-potato crackers produced in a dedicated allergen-free facility and free of the top nine allergens.
- **Innovation Strategy** — Data-backed consumer, trend, and market roadmaps that help cross-functional F&B teams decide where to play.
- **Product Strategy and Product Briefs** — Prioritized concepts and formulation-ready requirements that translate consumer and commercial evidence into a buildable R&D brief.
- **Product Development** — Expert support, rapid iteration, trade-off management, and alignment from prototype through launch.
- **Starday Decision Intelligence** — A platform and expert-service model connecting consumer, product, commercial, retail, competitive, and internal evidence for enterprise CPG decisions.

## Achievements

- Built four brands and launched 16 products in roughly four years.
- Secured distribution across Kroger, Hannaford, Sprouts, Target, The Fresh Market, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Amazon and Instacart.
- Took Gooey from direct-to-consumer launch to nearly 2,000 Kroger-owned locations in about seven months.
- Reported Habeya distribution in 1,300 stores within six months, with its original SKU in the top third of category velocity.
- Reported All Day as fourth in category velocity and 72% above category average in its first six months.
- Raised at least $15 million across a disclosed seed round and Series A financing package.
- Opened the internal product-development system to retailers and external CPG companies through Starday Innovation in 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — Raised an $11 million Series A package and announced expanded retail and bespoke product partnerships.
- **2025-09** — Launched Starday Innovation for outside food and beverage teams at Groceryshop, formally expanding the company toward services.
- **2026-01** — Entered a California Proposition 65 settlement covering certain Cozumi seasoned rice blends. Starday denied the allegations and agreed to reformulation or warnings, a $2,000 civil penalty, and $18,000 in fees and costs.
- **2026-02** — The COZUMI trademark was registered in the United States for seasoned rice blends and prepared rice meals.
- **2026-08** — Current website messaging centers on decision intelligence for enterprise CPG teams, connecting fragmented evidence with experienced commercial judgment.

## Links

- Website: https://www.stardayfoods.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/starday
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/stardayfoods

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/starday-foods
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-22