Tallow, Trust, and Testing: Inside My Neighbor's Rapid Growth

In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Harri Magaldi, founder of My Neighbor's, a regenerative tallow and vegan skincare brand manufactured in-house in the Hudson Valley. Harri left nine years on Wall Street after her daughter developed eczema as a baby. Unable to find anything that worked, she started making beef tallow balm at home in a crock pot using suet from a local farm, initially just to help her own daughter and as gifts for friends. After encouragement from other moms, she launched at the Hudson Farmer's Market in May 2024, selling $4,000 worth of product on day one. Four months later, she was picked up by Anthropology and Terrain, catapulting the brand into wholesale. My Neighbor's is now in over 500 retailers, on track for 1,500 doors by March 2027, and manufactures everything in-house just steps from the same farmer's market where it all began. Caitlin and Harri dig into the real difference between grass-fed and grass-finished, why sourcing and rendering suet locally matters so much for both quality and community impact, the $30,000 the brand invested unprompted in microbial, stability, and heavy metal testing, and how a chance encounter while pumping breast milk at Expo West led to a major new retail partnership. Listen in as they discuss: How Harri started making beef tallow balm at home to treat her daughter's eczemaSelling $4,000 in product on day one at the Hudson Farmer's MarketHow being picked up by Anthropologie and Terrain four months in changed everythingThe real difference between grass-fed and grass-finished, and why it matters for both meat and skincareWhy suet sourcing, local rendering, and naming the actual farm matters more than most tallow brands admitThe 12 Hudson Valley farms My Neighbor's partners with, and how the relationship benefits both sidesWhy the brand invested $30,000 unprompted in microbial, stability, and heavy metal testingHow partnering with QVC pushed the brand to raise its own safety and testing standardsMeeting a major buyer while pumping breast milk at her booth at Expo WestWhy Harri cares more about "regenerative" than "organic," and what that means for sourcing claims Episode Links: Harri Magaldi LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/harrimagaldiMy Neighbor's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/my-neighborsMy Neighbor's Website: www.myneighbors.coMy Neighbor'sInstagram: @myneighbors.co Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com. Show Links: Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to "Transcript" at the top)Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Caitlin's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinbrickerQuestions or comments about the episode? Email podcast@startupcpg.com Episode music by Super Fantastics