She Couldn't Find a Clean Electrolyte Brand, So She Created One

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Danielle Nuss, founder of Short Story, a clean electrolyte mix made with organic fruit powder and naturally sourced minerals - and notably, zero natural flavors.

Danielle is a mom of two boys working full-time in tech who started making her own electrolytes at home during her second pregnancy after struggling to find anything clean on shelf. What began as homemade batches for personal use turned into a farmer's market launch in Denver, where she sold through her first full production run and is now heading toward retail. Danielle is also a 2026 Shelfie Award winner, a detail she didn't even know about at the time of recording.

Caitlin and Danielle dig into why natural flavors lack real transparency, how the lack of regulation around the word "natural" is more unsettling than most consumers realize, why entering a crowded electrolyte category was actually a signal of strong product-market fit, and what it looks like to build a CPG brand in the seams of an already full life.

Listen in as they discuss:

• Why Danielle started making her own electrolytes during pregnancy after finding nothing clean on shelf
• Why entering a crowded category can actually be a sign of strong product-market fit
• The white space Danielle found for a clean, retail-ready electrolyte brand
• Why natural flavors lack the same transparency required of everything else on a nutrition label
• How Short Story's front-of-package approach lets the product speak for itself
• What brands legally can (and can't) say about organic certification before it's official
• Why "natural" isn't actually a regulated term, and why that should give consumers pause
• How retailers like Sprouts publicly weighing in on natural flavors could shift the category
• What it's really like building a brand as a mom of two working full-time in tech
• Where Danielle sees Short Story in five years, from new flavors to major natural retailers

Episode Links:

• Danielle Nuss LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/daniellenuss
• Short Story LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/drinkshortstory
• Short Story Website: www.drinkshortstory.com
• Short Story Instagram: @drinkshortstory
  
  

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Show Links:

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• Questions or comments about the episode? Email podcast@startupcpg.com
• Episode music by Super Fantastics