CPG Week Podcast

On this week’s episode of the NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Lukas Southard and Adrianne DeLuca talk about Thanksgiving traditions and what to expect at NOSH Live. Then the trio dives into influencer disclosures on social media (or the lack thereof) after the FTC warned a group of registered dietitians who were paid to post by industry lobbying groups. Show Highlights: 1:00 – Thanksgiving is here so the NOSH team talks about holiday traditions at the table, the hierarchy of dish delegation and how to keep it interesting when menu planning. 8:45 – With NOSH Live around the corner, the group runs down all of the great event speakers coming to Marina Del Rey on November 30 and the on-stage discussions that are in store. 13:30 – The team talks about how the FTC’s crackdown on influencers promoting the safety of aspartame is representative of the larger problem with influencer marketing and social media-derived medical advice. 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 the founder and CEO of Zack’s Mighty, Zack Gazzaniga, dive right into a corny discussion on the origins of the brand, and the special corn variety behind its unique taste and texture. The duo grind through the brand’s supply chain journey and how different audiences respond to the details of that sourcing story. Show Highlights: 02:03: Building a tortilla chip that doesn’t break in guac starts with good corn. For Zack’s Mighty, that pursuit of the perfect corn had its founder venturing to different continents and through the 10,000 year history of the iconic cobs. 14:12: Growing a brand with a complex supply chain sometimes requires compromises. Zack talks through the choices he had to make and why these decisions have ultimately allowed the brand to scale. 15:49: How did consumers respond to the brand’s corn history lesson? Zack explains how the brand narrowed in on its best selling feature and dialed in its marketing messaging. 22:46: Profitability remains key and Zack explains why different steps along the company’s supply chain appealed to investors. “If something is easy to make, then it’s probably not that special. When something is hard, it just means that there’s not an existing supply chain for that and I think that can help you be unique.” -Zack Gazzaniga 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 this episode: On this week’s episode of the NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Brad Avery chat about Orchard Valley Harvest’s “No Nut November” ad campaign, including the importance of knowing your target audience when taking a risk with marketing. Then the two muse over Getir’s acquisition of FreshDirect and what the future holds for grocery delivery. In the featured interview, Brazi Bites cofounder and CMO Junea Rocha shares how and why the brand expanded into the frozen waffle set and why building a successful food company involves more than just having a good product. Show Highlights: 2:10 – Brad and Carol discuss Orchard Valley Harvest’s new provocative ad campaign and talk about the tenuous line brands must walk with risque marketing campaigns. 9:00 – What does the acquisition of FreshDirect by Getir mean for quick service delivery in the Northeast? Why was Ahold Delhaize willing to part ways with FreshDirect after purchasing it in 2021? These are the questions that Brad and Carol ponder while chatting about the grocery delivery deal. 12:50 – Brazi Bites co-founder Junea Rocha joins the podcast to explain how TikTok posts of consumers “waffling” the company’s Brazilian cheese bread ultimately led it to enter the breakfast category. 21:00 – Building a brand and launching a new SKU comes down to more than just having a good product. Rocha discusses how finding the right retailer who can put the product in the baskets of the target consumer is just as important to growth. 27:15 – Rocha talks about one of its less successful products and why sometimes a discontinued product can be just as helpful in moving a company forward as a home run. “Our industry is very impatient…You can have a great product and get shelf space, but if it doesn’t get discovered in time for you to drive the velocity that you need, then it’s going to fall off the shelf the next year.” – Junea Rocha, Brazi Bites cofounder and CMO 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 sits down with the Eat The Change team to discuss how the company has evolved its identity by rethinking its product lines. Seth Goldman, co-founder and CEO, and Sarah Shah, Head of Marketing, talk through how the company evaluated its product mix, ultimately making a measured decision to discontinue one slow turner and revamp and reposition another. Show Highlights: 01:56: Mushrooms were… so last year? Seth and Sarah shared how declining consumer interest in fungi, and the polarizing popularity of mushrooms, coupled with a product positioned for kids, made the animal-free jerky a tough sell. 11:33: Just because a product isn’t performing well, doesn’t mean it should be discarded. The duo talked through upcoming changes to their Carrot Chews line that aims to broaden its positioning and better explain the concept of a vegetable snack to consumers. 22:25: Deciding on whether to discontinue, reposition or keep pushing for a product can be complex and often, not a clear cut choice to make. Seth and Sarah talk through the key metrics they considered and how Seth’s Honest Tea days informed how they assessed the total addressable market. “We know what direction we want to go, but we’re going to follow whatever path the market leads us to get us there. We’re not going to change our direction, but we’re not going to follow a preset course – we’re going to have to let the course evolve as we grow” -Seth Goldman, co-founder and CEO of Eat The Change 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 the NOSH Podcast this week, editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Brad Avery discuss the U.S. government’s suit against Amazon, how CPG brands’ differing approaches to selling on the retail platform and dive into recent shake ups in meal kit delivery space. Carol then goes completely nuts – during a chat with Nuts.com’s new CEO PJ Oleksak and chairman Jeffrey Braverman. The trio discusses how the nut empire was built, the ever-changing landscape for an ecommerce, DTC-based company and where the brand has grown since its original offerings in B2B. In this episode: 2:00 – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon leads the team to discuss the tightrope CPG companies must walk when utilizing the platform. 10:00 – What’s the state of meal delivery kits? Adrianne walks through the roughly $130 million sale of Blue Apron to the privately-held Wonder Group and Wellfull’s approach with its relaunch of Jenny Craig. 19:00 – Chief Nut, (a.k.a. newly appointed CEO) PJ Oleksak and Chairman (Chair Nut?) Jeffrey Braverman of Nuts.com joined Carol to talk about why paying $700k for a domain was worth it in the long run. 33:00 – The two executives dive into the impact of COVID on DTC companies and how to “keep it hungry” in ecommerce through diversification. 40:00 – Nuts.com has – at times – zagged when other ecommerce brands have zigged, opting to focus its strategy on in-house marketing and operations efforts rather than selling on Amazon or tapping TikTok. “Our customers are obsessed. They’re evangelical. It’s a ‘if you know, you know’ brand but the reality is we don’t want it to be an ‘if you know’ brand. We need to invest in building the brand. ” – Nuts.com CEO PJ Oleksak “The reality is now that about 67% of product searches start on Amazon. Maybe we should be more open-minded to that.” -Nuts.com founder Jeffrey Braverman 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, reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Lukas Southard and editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman continue their food emojis crusade, while also highlighting some meal news from Tattooed Chef and Kevin’s. Later, Carol and Immi co-founder Kevin Lee talk through the brand’s approach to funding announcements, the leg up celebrity-backing has given its retail and marketing efforts and how the brand “embraced the cringe” to build community. Show Highlights: 01:31: Jeff recounts his trip to Greece – which included many cephalopod meals and maybe a Pita Party upon return. The team then turns back to emojis with much debate over the origin and availability of these coveted digital creatures, and how the New York Times is trying to bring them on board. 10:28: The team talks through top headlines from the week spanning the sale of meal brand Kevin’s to the bankruptcy announcement from Tattooed Chef and how the different paths these brands took toward growth may have impacted their respective fates. 27:44: What is the value of publicly announcing a funding round? According to Lee, maybe not a lot. He shares insight on why he believes having to ride the media cycle wave doesn’t benefit early stage brands and why the team ultimately made the announcement post-seed stage. 48:17: Tweeting about a fundraise and your company’s valuation goes against Lee’s advice, but building the brand in a public way most definitely does not. Listen in to hear his argument for why every founder should “embrace the cringe,” and the benefit Immi has seen within its core community. “You generally don’t want to shine a spotlight on your fledgling startup when there are plenty of incumbents out there who would love to eat your lunch, and can probably build your product in a couple of months. There’s also obviously the risk of inviting new entrants into the industry… and the last thing is – it’s really just a distraction.” -Kevin Lee 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, Carol Ortenberg, Jeff Klineman, Adrianne DeLuca and Lukas Southard sit down to discuss celebrity branded coffee, a resolution to Miyoko Schinner’s battle with her former company and new (but veteran) leadership taking over Ben & Jerry’s. In the interview, Carol speaks with Jorge Gaviria, CEO and founder of Masienda, and its creative director Daniel Klein about how the company’s focus on video and storytelling has fueled new growth in customer acquisition and retail placements — and led to several James Beard award nominations this year. In this episode: 1:20 – The team starts the podcast with a conversation about celebrity-backed coffee brands in light of Millie Bobby Brown’s announcement that her cosmetics brand Florence By Mills had released branded coffee. 8:35 – Carol explains the recent update (and seemingly end) to the legal battle between Miyoko Schinner and her former vegan cheese brand. 10:50 – Lukas talks to the team about the leadership change at Ben & Jerry’s and what it says about the brand’s legacy and future in the premium ice cream category. 17:00 – In the interview this week, Carol spoke with CEO and founder of Masienda Jorge Gaviria, and the company’s creative director Daniel Klein about the company’s digital marketing strategy of focusing on film. 22:15 – Gaviria talks about how the brand’s change in content strategy to longer form videos helped build customer acquisition. 25:08 – Klein explains his journey with the company and how video became a big part of not only telling Masienda’s story but telling the story of scaling sustainability among farmers in Latin America. 34:00 – Gaviria discusses how the brand’s videos and D2C strategy has allowed Masienda to go nationwide in Whole Foods Market and establish its retail presence.   “This is a testament to how global of a culture we’re in right now. Bad Bunny is the highest grossing artists of all time — [and] he doesn’t do interviews in English, he literally just speaks Spanish…The times have changed, and have really embraced this deeper dive into cultures that maybe don’t reflect your own, but are fascinating and deserve representation.” -Jorge Gaviria, Masienda CEO and founder “Masienda has always been a brand with a lot of integrity and beauty in the work that they do. And we try to make that clear also in the video that we present.” – Daniel Klein, Masienda Creative Director of Film and Video   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