When I first spotted Sad Girl on shelf, I knew immediately it would cause a stir.

A matcha dessert spread with a horror-movie esque label and a brand name that grabs attention. It was the most beautiful juxtaposition - right on trend but completely off-script (the kind of stuff we LIVE for).

When I first posted about it, the comments split fast. “Love this” vs. “This is insane.” That’s when I knew I had to dig in.

The founder is Yukako Sunaba, a digital designer with no food background, no strategy deck and a no bullshit approach to building her brand.

I caught up with Yukako to understand how the hell she went from idea to shelf in just 8 weeks. Here’s the story. I’m calling it…

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Skip the strategy. Make the jar.

Yukako’s background is in product and UX design. But she’s always had the entrepreneurial itch. She spent years bouncing between ideas: a gelato shop in Bangkok, an immigrant therapy platform, and a half-developed ice cream brand called Sad Girl.

“I kind of went through weird stints,” she said. “But never really believed in the product enough.”

That changed at the end of 2024, when the idea for a matcha spread hit her. She mentioned it to her partner. He said it was a great idea. She already had matcha in the pantry. A friend let her use the kitchen at the back of their pizza shop.

“I just didn’t want to waste any time… I didn’t think about the website. I didn’t think about the regulation.”

She designed a label, made the first batch and cold-pitched Melbourne indie stores with stock in her car. By the end of her first day, she had it ranged in multiple grocers.

Moving this fast is rare. Yukako wanted to be first to market, but she also acknowledges the low level of risk in the product. It’s a spread, not the world’s most technical recipe and pretty easy to make.

The pastry chef who pulled the pin

A day after one of her first stockists brought Sad Girl in, another maker dropped by the store to sample it. A chef with a high-end Japanese chocolate brand. He tried the matcha spread. Then reportedly gave up on launching his own version.

He’d been working on it for months. She’d launched hers in weeks.

It’s the perfect parable for how brands are won in FMCG: not by waiting, not by perfecting but by showing up, fast, with something people want to try.

There’s something interesting about being an outsider to the industry - you aren’t weighed down by experience or expectations.

Taste first. Everything else second.

The first recipe for Sad Girl was health-conscious. Tahini-based, less sugar, less oil. But it didn’t last.

“The more I did it, I was like, it just has to taste good,” she said. “I really lent into the whole emotional eating thing… like, fuck all the things of, ‘you should be health conscious.’”

The brand that cried matcha

I was super curious what the inspiration was behind the branding. Was it a Liquid Death inspired master plan, or just an idea. Sad Girl wasn’t a strategic name. It was a leftover idea from a past concept. But it worked.

“She’s absolutely unhinged, distraught, and just like, desperately needs to eat some sweets,” Yukako said of the main character. The branding leans into ugly crying - not to be edgy, but because it’s funny to her.

“I definitely had my doubts,” she said. “People have become so politically correct… but it was definitely more authentic to myself.”

That authenticity matters. Sad Girl doesn’t look like a design agency job. It looks like a fully formed personality. That’s what makes it work - you’ve gotta be fully committed.

Breaking the “one category” rule

Every food founder gets told to pick a lane. Focus on your core product, build that out and don’t expand your range too quickly. Sad Girl ignores category convention.

“I could’ve done another spread,” she said. “But I just don’t think we need another spread.”

The pretzels are now selling just as well as the original spread.

Controlled chaos

This isn’t a meticulously planned brand rollout. It’s rapid iteration with tight feedback loops.

She tracks performance based on reorders. She runs tastings in-store. She’s learning how to balance margins, minimum orders and stock levels as she goes. She admits it’s “completely figuring it out on my own.”

That’s what makes the brand exciting and fragile. There’s no moat yet. No moat except the brand itself.

This is just the beginning.

Sad Girl hasn’t “won” yet, it’s still early days and a lot to prove. But she’s moving fast, building something distinct, and gathering proof that emotional branding + great taste + fast execution can punch above its weight.

Here’s what marketers and founders should take from this:

• Don’t spend 6 months perfecting your first product. Get something out.

• Don’t follow category conventions if you don’t need to.

• Don’t assume edgy branding is risky. The bigger risk is being forgettable.

• Don’t fake authenticity. Build from your own voice.

I’m excited to see where this goes.

Want to stock it, eat it, or just see what the chaos tastes like?
Shop Sad Girl here
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