Nosh Staff

BluePrint founders Zoë Sakoutis and Erica Huss discussed the brand’s origins, early wins and struggles, and how a voicemail left by former Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz factored into their decision to sell the company. They also spoke about their experience moving into the food space with Erzo, a brand of vitamin-infused biscuits, and explained how their new podcast has provided a way to address some unfinished business.

Jon Sebastiani, the founder of Krave Jerky, pulls back the curtain on the business strategy behind his incubator and private equity fund Sonoma Brands. The hosts discuss beverage-related news, trends and innovation in the convenience store channel as viewed at the 2018 NACS show.

Dawn Anderson, the founder and CEO of OHi Food Co., believes the taste, texture, and nutritional profile sets the brand apart from other refrigerated bars. The company’s line of plant-based bars combines whole ingredients such as pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts, and almonds, with functional ingredients like maca, reishi mushrooms, and mesquite powders.

This week we’re joined by Paddy Spence, the visionary founder of market research firm SPINS and CEO of beverage platform Zevia. Hear about the origins of his remarkable career, how marrying personal insights and passion with quantitative data has been central to the success of Zevia, why brands should focus on continuous improvement and his perspective on work-life balance.

Terry Thomsen, founder of Feel Good Dough, was inspired to develop a healthy dough alternative for her grandkids. The frozen pre-made organic dough utilizes premium, clean ingredients to create breads, pretzels, rolls, pizza and the like.

Health Warrior co-founder/CEO Shane Emmett explains how a DIY project defines the company and its success, how it has cultivated and enhanced its relationship with Amazon, and why trusting your gut over data can lead to better decisions.

In Episode 1 of Taste Radio Insider, a new podcast focused on news, trends and innovation in business of food and beverage, we’re joined by Eugene Kang, the co-founder and CEO of fast-growing meat snack brand Country Archer. In our interview, Kang explained how perseverance and thinking outside-the-box have paid huge dividends for the brand. We also discussed trends and innovation in notable beverage categories, including RTD coffee and alt-dairy, as seen at Natural Products Expo East 2018.

BevNET and NOSH present: The Cannabis Forum for Food and Beverage, a new half-day forum, hosted on Saturday, December 1st, the weekend between NOSH Live and BevNET Live. The forum will bring to entrepreneurs from across the CPG industry the opportunity to focus on the intersection of food and beverage companies with the fast-growing cannabis industry.

BuckWHAT! Foods founder Leeann Rybakov aims to be the “Buckwheat Queen” of the snacking industry. The ingredient is the star of her first product line, BuckWHAT! Noshes, which offers grab-and-go snacks that are gluten-free, plant-based and low glycemic.

Marci Zaroff, who over the past three decades has helped change the way we dress, eat and live, joins the podcast this week. Hear why she’s urging companies to incorporate ethical sourcing and sustainability into their brand strategies, discussed the “perpetual yo-yo” of entrepreneurship, and shared her take on the budding business of cannabis.