How Little Sesame Hummus Went From a D.C. Basement to 4,000 Stores
How do you turn a 500-square-foot basement pop-up into a brand sold in roughly 4,000 stores? On The Foodfluencers series of The Hospitality Hangout, Nick Wiseman, co-founder of Little Sesame, breaks down the journey of Little Sesame hummus—from a tiny Washington, D.C. counter to national retail.
Who is Nick Wiseman?
Nick Wiseman is the co-founder of Little Sesame, a hummus brand that started as a 500-square-foot D.C. basement pop-up and grew into a consumer-packaged-goods company on shelves at retailers like Whole Foods and Sprouts, with ties to fast-casual leader Sweetgreen.
How did Little Sesame hummus scale into retail?
The episode digs into the mechanics of CPG growth: landing Whole Foods and Sprouts, building a product people seek out, and navigating the jump from a single location to thousands of store doors. Nick talks food science, flavor innovation (yes, including truffle hummus), and what it takes to stand out in a crowded grocery aisle alongside brands like Yellowbird and Fly By Jing.
What role does regenerative farming play?
Little Sesame isn't just about flavor—Nick gets into regenerative farming and sourcing, and why building a supply chain you believe in is part of the brand's identity. For operators and founders, it's a case study in how values and sourcing can become a competitive advantage rather than a cost.
Why should operators and founders listen?
Whether you run a restaurant eyeing a retail product or you're building a CPG brand from scratch, Nick's story maps the real path from pop-up to packaged goods: product obsession, the right retail partners, and a supply-chain story worth telling.
Listen to the full conversation with Nick Wiseman on The Hospitality Hangout, then subscribe for more founder stories. New here? Give The Hospitality Hangout a listen.
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