698 Meghan Luck: Founder & CEO of Fable Fish Co.
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Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Kara Golden Show. So excited to have my next guest with us here today. Megan Luck is the founder and CEO of a brand new company called Fable Fish Co. And you're going to be so excited to learn about

everything that this brand is doing, reimagining what seafood snacks can be. She was born and raised on her family's fishing boats in Alaska, and Megan grew up with a reverence for nature that most of us only glimpse at.

on vacation. After a successful career consulting, she returned to her roots to build something that blends tradition, sustainability, and serious flavor using wild sockeye salmon jerky sourced straight from Bristol Bay. And Fable Fish Co. isn't just about snacks. It's about reconnecting people to the wild and creating products that honor both the source and the story. I

I absolutely love this product. Like I said, it's a brand new company. I was not aware of it, but I love everything, not just the product, but also the backstory. And I cannot wait to hear more about how Megan is flipping the script on a category that's long overdue. So welcome, Megan. Very excited to finally meet you and also to have you here.

Thank you so much, Kara. It's great to be here. You did such a good job of like describing us and kind of laying out, you know, why we do what we do. So I'm really excited for this conversation. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Range Rover Sport.

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Then start using your Apple Card with Apple Pay right away. No hassle, no waiting, just simple and fast. What I love most about my Apple Card, I get up to 3% daily cash back on the things I'm already buying. No points to keep track of. So if you're looking for a credit card that fits your lifestyle, Apple Card is it. Give it a try. Apply now in the Wallet app on your iPhone.

Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch, terms and more at applecard.com. That's awesome. Well, thank you. So very, very cool. I love the packaging. I love the product. But how would you describe it to someone who says, hey, Megan, what are you up to now? Well,

Well, I would be like, you know how I grew up in Alaska on fishing boats, you know, eating wild food. And when I was a kid in the cafeteria in elementary school, how I would have smoked salmon from our home smoker instead of, you know, a ham sandwich. Well, that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to make the way that I ate and the way that I grew up, you know, in connection and symbiosis with the natural world and wild seafood specifically more available to people.

So I love this idea that, you know, not everybody knows how to cook a piece of fish. Every single person knows how to open a bag of jerky. So that's what we're doing, you know, taking wild food and really upcycling something that's traditionally sold as a commodity in our supply chain to this kind of beautiful snack that makes, you know, salmon from Alaska, from Bristol Bay available to more people. I

I love it. So when you left Alaska for a while and went into your starting your career and you were in consulting for some major working with some major brands, what was the moment when you said, I need to really go back to my roots and go and do this? Hey, everyone. Kara here. You

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I made the switch and let me tell you, Mint's wireless quality is just as strong, if not stronger, than my old provider, minus the outrageous monthly bill. I'm saving a ton and I didn't lose a thing when it comes to coverage or speed. Mint Mobile offers premium wireless plans starting at just $15,000.

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Hey everyone, Kara here. I've had an Apple Card for a few years now and honestly it's one of the best kept secrets out there. It's made managing my spending feel effortless because I can see what I spend when and where at a glance. And here's the best part, applying is so easy. You just go to the wallet on your iPhone to apply and see your credit limit offer in minutes.

Then start using your Apple Card with Apple Pay right away. No hassle, no waiting, just simple and fast. What I love most about my Apple Card, I get up to 3% daily cash back on the things I'm already buying. No points to keep track of. So if you're looking for a credit card that fits your lifestyle, Apple Card is it. Give it a try. Apply now in the Wallet app on your iPhone.

Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch. Terms and more at applecard.com.

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Because Americans lose when politicians choose. Learn more at GuardYourCard.com. There was an exact moment. So I love that you asked that question. I had been in New York for about eight years, working with some really incredible brands. And then, you know, also working with brands that paid the bills.

And that you're creating a story behind and it's not necessarily connected to something that you personally believe in. And I will say the moment that I was like, what am I doing was when I was working for a fast, casual fried seafood company.

in the South. And, you know, it's amazing. Everybody should eat more seafood. But at that time, I had a little bit of a peek into where their fish came from. And that in contrast to, you know, the fish that I'd eaten growing up my whole life, it

It didn't feel right to me to be putting my effort into encouraging people to eat that versus eat something from Alaska, which is wild harvested by like generational family fisheries and harvesters. So, you know, that kind of made me recognize how special my, you know, providence really is and want to return to that.

So you grew up used to being on fishing boats and very entrepreneurial, it sounds like. Yes, for sure. I think the story of my family is the story of two entrepreneurs. My mom and my dad both ran away from their city lives in Seattle and Boston, respectively, and met in Cordova, Alaska, actually building a dock for the harvesters there.

Fell in love. And it's like this very romantic story of, you know, them seeking out something different from the way that they had been raised and choosing to build boats and businesses and kind of a legacy around harvesting the waters of Alaska.

What do you think is the key thing that so many people don't know about salmon in particular that maybe just growing up around that, that not only the taste, I guess, when you're used to...

having access to what you've had, but also just, I think as the world has changed over time, you know, also the quality of so much fish has also changed too. But what would you say to people who just don't know the difference?

Yeah. I mean, I think the biggest misconception is that we're overfishing and that eating fish is bad for the ocean. And what I would say to them is that if you are careful about and thoughtful about the fish that you are eating, it can actually help an ecosystem regenerate.

So what that means, if you think about it, like humans have been in symbiosis with these wild ecosystems for centuries. So we've been a part of that natural world. And if we are thoughtful about the way that we harvest these ecosystems and we only take what's called a harvestable surplus.

then that means that fish are returning to their natal river streams and continuing to regenerate successfully. So I think this idea that I want to get across is like, we can live in symbiosis with the earth and still sustain ourselves. Like that is possible. And it's something that is like as possible as it is delicious. It turns out because mother nature has, you know, done for us what, you know,

protein bars, what I like to say, like grown in labs have been trying to do forever. They're just like providing us these beautiful nutrients, you know, as is. So we do as little as possible to it on purpose to, you know, maintain all of that.

So you spent years in New York City consulting and working on various brands. You just mentioned that a minute ago. What do you think you learned just from watching other brands do what they do? And maybe how did that give you the confidence to go and start your own? Yeah. Yeah.

I think what I learned the most, especially from smaller brands who are starting up, is that nothing is ever going to be perfect.

And so many founders and me included like are perfectionists. So we move forward wanting, you know, a product to be perfect, messaging to be perfect, a pitch deck to be perfect. And in reality, if you wait for that to happen, you will never do anything. So moving forward, despite that and learning as I go has been, I think the most important thing that I've learned and also takes like

of trust in yourself that even though it's not exactly how you want it to be, you're able to push an idea forward or push a conversation forward. And you kind of have to trust yourself along the way. I think that's been the biggest thing, like watching founders and

And questioning like, how do they know how to do that? And the reality is they don't. They just do it and they learn as they go. So I think that's been the biggest piece that I've taken away. And I'm kind of continuing to remind myself to implement every day in Fablefish. So true. What's been the hardest part of bringing Fablefish to market and how have you pushed through?

I mean, I think it's also what I just said is I've never started a CPG company before. And I think the hardest part is trying to figure out what you don't know. Like I still wake up every day and I'm going to think to myself, like, what do I not know about what's going to happen today that I'm going to have to learn as quickly as possible? And I think for me, the solution to that is just surrounding yourself with really, really

good people who have skills and knowledge and expertise that I don't have yet or never will, and being able to trust them to help you execute a vision. That's awesome. So you're trying to change the narrative around seafood snacks, but also you've really researched but seen a lot in regenerative and really talking about

kind of changing the industry, even though there's not a whole lot of competition in doing what you're doing right now, there's other dried variations of snacks that people are doing, maybe not in fish. But what have you been able to do with fable fish that is pretty unique and also hard because not everyone is doing it? So I'm sure you've had to have conversations with

different manufacturing that helps, you know, that is new and different, but new and different isn't always easy. Yeah, exactly. Um,

I think the thing that I'm most proud of is the, and it's not a very exciting answer, but it's the raw material that we use. All of our raw material, if it were not made into fable fish, would otherwise be sold as a commodity, like put on a barge and shipped over to Europe or ground up and put into a burger product with a bunch of additives, etc.

So I'm really proud of the fact that we're essentially upcycling and adding value to something that people otherwise wouldn't have access to. And to me, that just kind of goes back to our mission of like,

letting people eat the way that I've always had the privilege of eating. So, you know, this is kind of boring answer about I'm really proud of the raw material we use is actually kind of directly connected back to, to the larger mission we have, which is, you know, using something in a better way.

Yeah, definitely. So you talk about traceability and nutrient density a lot. How do you educate and inspire consumers without overwhelming them?

I really like to tie it back to things are familiar with. Like collagen is such a good example. Everybody knows what it is. Everybody wants it. Your skin is glowing. I like to think mine is too, probably because we eat a lot of collagen. So there's all of these nutrients that, you know, our product has that people are taking in supplements every day or people are taking vitamins every day. We're trying to get in powders. So,

Tying it back to this idea that, you know, in this two ounce bag of jerky are essentially most of the vitamins that you're taking in pill form. So what if you could eat it with a delicious snack that goes with you anywhere you go? Yeah.

So I think for me, that's the biggest thing, like tying it back to a conversation they're already having, making it familiar and just giving them an opportunity to see it in their daily lives and have it fit into their lives in a new way. So when you had this idea and you decided, I'm going to go start a company around it, how long did it take you from...

I guess the moment that you said, okay, I need to start researching this, figuring out sourcing, packaging, how am I going to get this produced? How long did that take you until you actually got it out for sale? Oh my gosh, four years.

Wow. Wow.

Official recipe development, I would say four years. And the reason for that, I mean, there's a few associated with it. One, like you said, it's really hard to find a partner and a manufacturer who will hold themselves to the same standards we hold ourselves to.

We now have an incredible partner who I can't say enough good things about, and they have really just been an essential part of our growth. But a big part of why it took so long is also because of the fish that we use. So we use sockeye salmon. There are five different species of salmon and a lot of...

fish jerky that you'll see on the market, whether it's like epics kind of like ground up and then extruded, pressed together salmon bites or other fish jerky on the market, they're used with either mixed species or like a hatchery king salmon that's really oily. So when you smoke it, all of that oil comes out. And as a result, it leaves this kind of like

fishy, oily film in your mouth after that is more reminiscent of like a fish oil pill than it is a snack you would want to eat. So we wanted to use sockeye because that is what we've been smoking in our home smoker. And we knew that the raw material had the capacity to perform incredibly well and create this like tender, flavorful, umami, you know, end result. But it's also one of the leanest

um, salmon species and it has kind of the, I would say, um, like thickest muscle structure of any salmon. So the first like eight recipes were rock hard. You could not chew them. Um, and I think just getting, you know, dialed in on being, you know, with a product that

I'm really proud of, plus a manufacturer that will work with us and partner with us to scale.

That took a really long time. And like I said, I'm a perfectionist. So I didn't want anyone to taste the product until about three and a half years in. And that was really the first recipe where I was like, okay, I feel good enough about this. And I'm really proud of this product to the extent to which I can take it out into the world and let people taste it and hear feedback that is going to be relevant to what a final product would look like.

Do you think being a founder is tougher than you thought it was going to be? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. Every day there's something. Someone told me at the beginning of starting it that like,

Every day, it's going to feel like you are hit in the face with a two by four. And it's just going to be a different two by four every day. And when I was told that, I didn't believe it. And now I absolutely do. Yeah, it's challenging. I remember when we were starting the company, I started Hint 20 years ago, actually this month.

I had a friend who had been in a totally different industry in the flower, organic flower industry. And I was asking him, how do I get into Whole Foods? And I wanted to get the product into Whole Foods. And

And he said, look, you'll get into whole foods, but the biggest thing that you need to know is that this is pick and shovel work. And I'm like writing down pick and shovel work. I'm like, what do you mean by pick and shovel work? And he said, you know, you will get in to, if you focus long enough and you stay alive long enough, you'll get into all

of these places that you want to get into. And then you'll be working really hard to

stay in those places and continue to satisfy the consumer. And that extends, we didn't do direct to consumer at the time, but I would say that it's so true. Even every single channel, you have to just keep checking in on every channel and keep figuring out how to continue really

like moving the bar up for yourself. Because I think that that's the thing. It just never stops. You're just constantly, you know, creating that line. As soon as you meet the line, you just keep moving it up. So anyway, I think that that's so true. I think about...

His name is Josh Dorf. I think about his words all the time because it's so, so true. So you've said food is a way to reconnect people with the natural world. Do you think that...

Like, how do you get that message out there? I think taste is obviously something that is so key. You mentioned it, that it took you, you know, really three years to get it right. And it's, but also, you know, getting that message out to people, sampling, you know, not just being in the right location in the stores, maybe, you

you know, in the ads on social, whatever it is, how do you do that? Yeah. I mean, we were talking a little bit about Patagonia earlier and I think, you know, one thing that I have so much respect for that brand and have kind of tried to model Fable Fish around is I see ourselves, you know, just as much of an outdoors brand as we are a food brand.

And I think about the way that I have eaten food my whole life is mostly outside. And I've been really lucky to do that. We cooked salmon on a driftwood board over a campfire. And that is, in my mind, the best way to eat fish. So I have this kind of insane belief that

Food actually does taste better outside, like at the top of a mountain on a hike or even, you know, walking around the block, you know, in the middle of the day, taking a break from a screen. And I want our brand to give people the motivation to do that.

And I think for us, that means, you know, sitting next to people from a conversational perspective who are like gear brands or, you know, fishing brands or just being in a conversation that is less to do just with, you know, nutrient density and protein. Those things are all amazing. But in my mind, the larger conversation that we should be having is, you know, what it means to eat wild food.

and what it means to do that in the natural world. So then we have a reverence for it and we have an appreciation for it and we know what it can give to us from like a soul level. So then, you know, that respect for our ecosystems just happens naturally at that point. Yeah, definitely. What's been your proudest moment since launching Fablefish?

I would say, I wish I could say seeing it on the shelves in Sprouts, but I haven't actually seen it because I don't live near a Sprouts. But my proudest moment would be driving around Denver for three hours going into all of the Sprouts.

knowing that it should be there, but it was like one week before the launch. So I think that that was it. And I'm actually going to Denver this weekend to go see it on shelves. But the idea that something a year ago was just a product that I had in Ziploc bags to now seeing it

on shelves and having people, you know, text me pictures of it on like a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon. A bunch of friends just took it there or someone else just took a bunch of packs on a bike trip in Moab. So like seeing the product out in the world used in the way that I have dreamed of for four years, that's definitely the proudest piece of it is like seeing it alive. Yeah.

Yeah, that's awesome. And so you just launched the product. What is your go to market strategy right now? Like what retailers are you in? I am available online as well. But how are you getting the product to into consumer hands?

So, we are in the Sprouts Innovation Set, and I think Hint is actually in the Sprouts Innovation Set right now. It's all on the same shelves. So, we're in that set for three months, and I think we've put a lot of focus into driving trial innovation.

and driving people into those doors nationwide. Because I think if we can do really well in that first wave in a place like Sprouts where we know our consumer is, it will only create more momentum. And I think similar to that kind of retailer, you know, being in spaces where we know people are valuing natural food is just going to be super important to us. So we're launching and thrive in

in late June and also Good Eggs in late June. So those are kind of like key retailers right now. And then along with that, we're launching direct to consumer and on Amazon, probably in early July. And, you know, we've had so many conversations with people are excited about it. This brand is self-funded. So in my mind, doing a few things really, really well

is more important at this point than trying to go and spread our net super wide and get ahead of our skis. Yeah, definitely. So last question. So Fablefish, if Fablefish is your mic drop moment, what do you want people to walk away remembering about the brand?

I think just that like wild food exists. The fact that you can still feed yourself from natural ecosystems, whether, you know, it's my brand or some other really amazing brands who are doing, you know, similar things in different categories. The fact that wild food exists on our planet still and that we can live in symbiosis with the natural world is the thing that I would want people to take away.

I love that. We just, by the way, my son, one of my kids who's in his 20s, so is home, and I had your product on the counter. And he loves salmon. And he also loves jerky. And he tore it open and he didn't really know what he was eating at first. And

he's like that is really really good and he was and he does not say that very often um so you've got a new fan in in fable fit with fable fish um in the uh i guess he's the the gen z-er um but yeah he was uh he was really really digging it so he was super happy so

Anyway, well, Megan, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your incredible story. Good luck with everything. Definitely, everybody check it out in Sprouts and go down the Grand Canyon with it and Moab and all kinds of great activities outside. And of course, Alaska, one of my favorite places. I mean, it's just, it's amazing what you're doing to not only

bring Alaska to everybody, but also support Alaska and the fishing and everything that is going on up there. The flavor and the mission, everything about Fablefish is terrific. So thank you again. And thank you everybody for listening.

Thank you so much, Kara. It's been a pleasure. Thanks again for listening to The Kara Golden Show. If you would, please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit. And of course, feel free to subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of our podcast.

Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Golden. I would love to hear from you too. So feel free to DM me. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building Hint.com.

We are here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thanks for listening and goodbye for now.