CPG Week Podcast

On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, reporter Adrianne DeLuca and editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman waffle between the various ways gluten-free brands are cooking up new breakfast lines. They also discuss the impending auction of Cali’flour Foods and news that Perfect Day’s CPG arm has found a new home. Later, Carol sits down with Mia Medina, founder and CEO of Gather Brands, to discuss the current retail environment as well as opportunities and issues brands face as they scale distribution. Show Highlights: 01:54: Will it waffle? According to gluten-free frozen breakfast makers that answer is a definitive ‘Yes.’ The team discusses new innovation strategies Banza and Brazi Bites are testing in the breakfast set. 09:03: The frozen aisle is red hot… with deals that is. What led two entrepreneurial brands to seek new ownership? For one, it was not a matter of choice and for the other, revenue growth may have been a key reason. 18:56: How does a non-traditional broker assess potential emerging brand partners? Mia Medina shares the different levers she looks at to determine when it’s the right time to work with a startup food maker and what opportunities she sees ahead of them. 31:26: Deductions can be near-deadly to a young company and handling them in a timely fashion is an absolute necessity. Mia talks through the effective strategies she has seen in curbing chargebacks. “A lot of retailers want to be first to market with local brands, some don’t, and some actually really want to see a sales story that it’s going to move once they put it on shelf. Knowing who those ones are that want to be first to market – that’s the fun part.” – Mia Medina About The NOSH Podcast The staff of NOSH.com takes listeners inside the business of natural, organic, sustainable and healthy food during the NOSH Podcast. Using interviews and discussion, the team illuminates the news, brands, people, trends, and money affecting the world of packaged food. New episodes are released every week. Send us comments and suggestions anytime to [email protected]. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

  In a special dispatch from the World Business Chicago/Chicago Venture Summit, on this week’s NOSH Podcast Lukas talks to Midwest-based brands and investors about the advantages and challenges of being located in the middle of the country. Recorded in May, these executives share why Chicago’s proximity to manufacturing and distribution hubs can be a benefit in developing an inside-out nationwide growth strategy. In this episode: 1:20 – What unique opportunity does the Windy City offer to CPG brands? Bluestein Ventures managing partner Ashley Hartman and senior associate Amira Khatib break down the Chicago-based firm’s investment strategy and discuss where it looks for innovation. 6:00 – Then, Annie Slabotsky and Morgan Lerner, the co-founders of banana bread mix company GoNanas, dive into the benefits a certain incubator program had on the brand’s community building efforts. The pair also highlight how its network of Midwestern investors and founders helped the company to create a successful brand. 15:05 – Monique Hypes, co-founder of regenerative tomato soup brand Tomato Bliss, explained how the company’s mission to improve soil health in Michigan has been its biggest strength in growing the brand in both foodservice and retail. 21:32 – How can a little Midwestern kindness can be used as a strength in the food industry? Audre Kapacinskas, principal at S2G Ventures, shared why the VC firm is focused on funding sustainable companies and why Chicago’s centrality provides CPG brands with a manufacturing boost.   “If you’re building a CPG brand today and you’re thinking about how to differentiate, I think Chicago – and the Midwest in general – presents a lot of opportunity with which you could explore some of those different levers to differentiate yourself with.” “Generally in the Midwest, you have the typical Midwestern attitude of helpfulness and openness to collaborate than perhaps you would have in some of the more competitive markets.” -Audre Kapacinskas, principal at S2G Ventures   About the NOSH Podcast The staff of NOSH.com takes listeners inside the business of natural, organic, sustainable and healthy food during the NOSH Podcast. Using interviews and discussion, the team illuminates the news, brands, people, trends, and money affecting the world of packaged food. New episodes are released every week. Send us comments and suggestions anytime to [email protected]. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

This week on the NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman and reporters Lukas Southard and Adrianne Deluca discussed mayo preferences in dating, olive oil brand Graza’s squeeze bottle controversy and the news that Whole Foods Market has redrawn its regional maps. Then, Ithaca Hummus’ founder and president Chris Kirby and the brand’s natural channel sales manager Aaron Wallace share the strategies they utilized in growing the dip company’s distribution footprint. The two gave advice about how to make the move in a capital efficient manner as well as some cautionary tips about what a brand should or shouldn’t focus on when expanding its retail footprint. In this episode: 06:05: Carol and the group debate if a person’s love (or hate in the case of Adrianne) of mayo belongs on dating apps. 08:38: Then, the NOSH team discusses the conversation about “copycat” culture in CPG that has erupted after olive oil brand Graza’s founder posted some inflammatory accusations about a competitor on LinkedIn. 16:18: Finally, Carol explains Whole Foods’ new regional maps and how that might impact the CPG food space. 21:19: For the interview, Lukas sat down with Ithaca Hummus to learn how to build an efficient national distribution model and how attention to detail can make a huge difference in being profitable as a brand grows. “Buyers have a lot of brands on their desks and they don’t have the attention to spend on your business like you should and, ultimately, the key word in that is – it’s your business. It’s our business, we need to own it and not them.” -Aaron Wallace, Ithaca Hummus Sales Manager About The NOSH Podcast The staff of NOSH.com takes listeners inside the business of natural, organic, sustainable and healthy food during the NOSH Podcast. Using interviews and discussion, the team illuminates the news, brands, people, trends, and money affecting the world of packaged food. New episodes are released every week. Send us comments and suggestions anytime to [email protected]. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Lukas Southard chat about recent news from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding functional food claims. Later, Adrianne sits down with Cynthia Cabrera, chief strategy officer at Hometown Hero CBD, and Bethany Gomez, managing director of The Brightfield Group to talk about the impact of hemp-derived THC has had on the CPG industry and how this unregulated space has contributed to consumer awareness of cannabinoid products. Show Highlights: 07:17: The team breaks down recent news from the FTC, which saw nearly 700 businesses receive warning letters regarding their use of certain functional food claims, and the challenges functional brands could face in the future. 15:24: In the spirit of 4/20, the topic turns to hemp-derived THC compounds including Delta-8 and Delta-9. Cynthia and Bethany talk through the regulatory nuances that have allowed this subset of the hemp space to grow and how the rules vary from those governing marijuana businesses. 21:25: Cynthia and Bethany discuss the implications widespread distribution has had on these products and business and breakdown opportunities for growth – ranging from gas stations to grocery stores to e-commerce. 32:13: The duo then shares their expectations for the upcoming farm bill reauthorization and the conversation centers around ramifications of state level legislation, rather than federal law, that have impacted the overall market’s performance. “Marijuana companies are not sure what to think about the whole hemp-derived THC space. Many of them are up in arms about it and really looking to view it as a threat and are combating against it, and others are viewing it as an opportunity.” – Bethany Gomez “At the time [of the 2018 Farm Bill], nobody knew that a whole other industry could or would crop up — that’s the beauty of innovation. That’s the beauty of an entrepreneurial market. They see an opportunity and they take it. The worst thing that could happen would be anything that tamps that down.”  – Cynthia Cabrera About the NOSH Podcast The staff of NOSH.com takes listeners inside the business of natural, organic, sustainable and healthy food during the NOSH Podcast. Using interviews and discussion, the team illuminates the news, brands, people, trends, and money affecting the world of packaged food. New episodes are released every week. Send us comments and suggestions anytime to [email protected]. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Adrianne DeLuca run down NOSH Live Winter 2022, highlighting key themes and trends threaded through the discussions with industry experts. Later, we hear Carol’s NOSH Live discussion with Holly Adrien, Natural and Organic Innovation and Strategy Manager at Kroger, to learn how emerging natural product brands can strategize for success when pitching the grocery giant. Show Highlights: 01:28: The NOSH team breaks down discussions from the conference including the various approaches to brand building and community, the shifting demands of natural and organic shoppers, and what categories are seeing a spike in better-for-you innovation. 19:30: Adrien kicks off the discussion with a look into how grocery buyers work to understand consumers at every level, when they harness both internal and external data for new in-store activations, and how they view the space for natural, organic and sustainable food. 28:08: Be realistic about distribution and have a plan to drive consumers into the store. Those aspects are key for a founder to differentiate its brand from everyone else on the shelf, according to Adrien. She said that strategy starts with how it pitches the brand to buyers, “I’ve been having a lot more conversations with [brands saying] – ‘we don’t have to go everywhere.’ It is important to have someone that is that honest with themselves [and willing] to start small.” – Holly Adrien