The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Remembering Casey Bard
Apr 9, 2026
Casey Bard, founder of Tacticalories and entrepreneur who built a niche seasoning brand from a $500 bathtub batch. He recounts launching from a blog, naming and shaping the brand, one-product drops, supply chain chaos in 2020, design choices with tattoo artists, hiring lessons, and why he refused dropshipping, coupons, and outside funding.
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Build A Brand From Your Personal Venn Diagram
- Casey used a Venn diagram of his real interests (guns, knives, nutrition) to find a brand idea that fit him personally- That overlap produced the name Tacticalories which combined 'tactical' and 'calories' and set the brand's authentic direction.
First Batch Made In A Bathtub
- Casey started Tacticalories with a $500 initial investment and mixed his first batch in his bathtub- His first batch had compliance mistakes (underfilled jars) and friends helped draw labels, print, fill, and warehouse the product, creating the first customer 'cha-ching'.
Leaving Corporate To Run The Brand
- Casey got two calls that led him to quit his corporate job and go full-time after losing his paycheck- He chose to pursue Tacticalories rather than a higher-paying consultancy to be home for young kids and build his own company.