CPG Week Podcast

On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg sits down with President and CEO of Lesser Evil Snacks, Charles Coristine, to discuss how the brand approached raising funds as the fed lifted interest rates, what areas of the business he prioritizes during times of economic uncertainty and why he expects the current operating environment to begin looking a little less bleak. Show Highlights: 01:25: Charles breaks down the snack brand’s fundraising history while providing some insight on what areas of the business he focused on during its respective life stages and how he approaches raising primary and secondary capital for CapEx. 07:02: The conversation shifts as Carol and Charles discuss the operational changes he made to the business and how that impacted investor perspectives. 16:03: Charles shares his advice on assessing and determining your business’ valuation and how staying close to the mark can help the brand draw in return investment. 20:57: To close out the conversation, Carol and Charles chat about why you should root your budget in uncertainty rather than lofty aspirations and how he finds joy in the capital raise process once the dust has settled. “As we focus on operational excellence, the nature of the brand is changing. A lot of what made us super successful at the beginning, isn’t what investors want us to focus on [now].” – Charles Coristine, Lesser Evil President and CEO 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 of the NOSH Podcast, the NOSH team discusses the larger trend of chefs, restaurants and bakeries expanding into CPG, sharing recent funding and product examples. The team goes on to debate what the recent news in cell-cultured meat means for investment in the space and how it will dictate what companies survive and how quickly cultured proteins make it to market. Then, Jeff and Carol sit down with TIG Brands founder Elliot Begoun and Chomps president and COO Liz Carter as the duo discusses how the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank’s has emphasized how CPG brands prioritize how they view working capital. In this episode: 2:20 – Carol talks with the team about her dinner at New York City restaurant Per Se and the broader trend of chefs and bakeries launching CPG brands. 13:15 – The team discusses the juxtaposition of the news of the FDA’s approval of GOOD Meat and the announcement that cultured meat startup New Age Eats was officially ceasing operations. The team discussed what this means for the industry as a whole and how investment in the space will be key to the future of the industry. 22:20 – Jeff and Carol talk to Tig Brands founder Elliot Begoun and Chomps president and COO Liz Carter to discuss the role of working capital in light of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. “Your capital strategy is as important as your go-to-market strategy, as your marketing strategy, as your organizational design. If you don’t have a capital strategy – a plan for fueling your business – then you’re really always going to be reactive. That’s dangerous in the best of times and probably devastating in these current ones.” -Elliot Begoun, founder of Tig Brands 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 are joined by two CPG executives and mission-driven brand leaders – Seth Goldman, CEO of Eat the Change and Jane Miller, CEO of Rudi’s Bakery – to discuss the departure of Miyoko Schinner from her namesake alt-dairy brand, Miyoko’s Creamery. The group discusses the macro challenges of being an outspoken founder figure, personal beliefs on the function and value of a mission-aligned board of directors and shares advice on approaching venture capital investment. Show Highlights: 03:45: The discussion kicks off with a look into Seth’s own professional experiences taking venture capital, how these two CEOs have navigated complex working relationships within executive teams and why holding regular, open and honest conversations with those at the top becomes especially important as the brand grows into its own. 08:05: Seth and Jane share their advice for fellow brand leaders on navigating the power dynamics that emerge when investment comes into play and how to ensure your stakeholders hold your company’s mission at heart. 15:19: The duo gets honest about the challenges entrepreneurs may face when scaling brands with a strong mission, complexities female founders face in this industry and explained why they believe a company’s founder should always be active in core decisions, serving as the guiding force and the brand’s champion throughout its lifecycle 25:50 Jane and Seth share their philosophy toward the function of a board and why this group of individuals should act as a support system and sounding board for a company’s leadership team. “Everybody should be on the same side, which is assuming the best [and] trying to get the company to the same place. When you start to create that environment of ‘my board members’ versus ‘your board members,’ you’re not going to get anywhere good.” – Jane Miller, CEO of Rudi’s Bakehouse “It’s really valuable for [Miyoko’s] vision to come to its fruition, for [her] to still be part of this…this is the visionary who created this brand and there’s no more effective advocate [the board will] ever find…you’ve got to find a way to make her feel like she’s part of this business… you want her to still be your advocate and champion.” – Seth Goldman, 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 this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Lukas Southard dish out some hot takes on the condiment set and give an update on some recent divestments and sales resulting from supply chain struggles. Later, we hear from Adam Spriggs, founder of The Angel Group, to gain insight from the investor and brand expert on how companies should approach positioning and branding in order to grow and flex throughout their lifecycle. Show Highlights: 02:10: This week’s topics get a bit saucy as the NOSH team shells out some controversial commentary and criticisms as they make their way down the condiment aisle including some lofty accusations against ketchup – is it a universal solvent or one-dimensional sauce? 10:32: The team then discusses the motives behind some recent divestments from big CPG players and how those actions compare to the supply network challenges facing Northeast organic dairy farmers. 19:45: Adam explains the oversight he sees many CPG entrepreneurs fall victim to and why he believes founders need to approach brand positioning with the mainstream consumers always in the back of their mind. 26:51: Later, Adam delves into how he analyzes a brand’s positioning and messaging strategies when assessing potential new investments, explaining that while a brand’s approach may always be rooted where it began, a founder has to be flexible to let that messaging evolve as the brand grows. “Most CPG founders are innovating within echo chambers that are detached from the interests and comfort zones of the majority of shoppers…What we need more CPG entrepreneurs focusing on is just innovating within a sweet spot.” -Adam Spriggs, Founding Partner of The Angel Group 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

NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Lukas Southard discuss spending time and eating with family over the holidays. They then look back on the big stories of 2022 and how macro trends over the past year may provide insight as to what to expect in 2023. In this week’s interview, Carol talked to Coefficient Capital investor Natalie Borowski and Editor-in-Chief of The New Consumer Dan Frommer to discuss the most recent release of their ongoing Consumer Trends report. In this episode: 0:50 – Carol and Lukas talk about celebrating with family and their respective holiday eating traditions. 5:45 – Lukas makes some predictions about the future of plant-based meats in the year to come. 9:00 – Carol discusses how the investment landscape is expected to tighten this year but the opportunity it could provide for innovative brands. 14:40 – Carol talks with Coefficient Capital investor Natalie Borowski and Editor-in-Chief of The New Consumer Dan Frommer about their fourth quarter Consumer Trends report, which examined consumer spending, perspectives and media habits in 2022 and how brands can use this data to plan for 2023.   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, editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman and reporter Adrianne DeLuca discuss the state of online subscription businesses as well as some recent snack deals. The team is then joined by another NOSH editorial team member, Shauna Golden, to help highlight key themes from a recent seminar hosted by Natural Products Consulting. Later, we hear from Andy Whitman, Managing Partner of Loft Growth Partners about the current investment landscape and what to keep in mind when pitching investors for your next raise. Show Highlights: 01:34: The NOSH team discusses Blue Apron’s cash flow and funding issues, the state of Nestle’s Freshly business and why recent reports indicate the pandemic-induced subscription service boom may be declining. Carol and Jeff also discuss some recent notable deals in the snack space. 09:28 The discussion then turns to a recent seminar the team attended that took developing a sales strategy and financing your CPG business to a granular level. Shauna Golden joins to share some of her learnings from the three-day conference. 23:03: Andy runs through the current state of investing and why businesses should always be focussed on the fundamentals and balance growth with profitability rather than “growth at all costs.” 33:36: Later, Andy breaks down the five things any brand should keep in mind when pitching investors, including what you don’t need to tell them and how to approach the conversation from their perspective. “Most businesses don’t go out of business because they’re terrible ideas, they go out of business because they run out of cash… If you understand what your cash needs are, you can understand what you need to finance and that keeps you out of the penalty box.” -Andy Whitman

On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, BevNET Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman and reporter Adrianne DeLuca discuss the latest news surrounding the Kroger/Albertsons merger, explain the challenges Instacart keeps having with going public and dive deep into some sea-faring food trends. Reporter Lukas Southard then sits down with Food and Beverage Investor Database (FABID) founder, Ryan Williams, to discuss the current investment climate and what brands should focus on before and after raising capital. Show Highlights: 01:16: The NOSH team talks about this week’s top stories including the Senate Judiciary Committee’s thoughts on the Kroger/Albertsons merger and the broader implications of a recent funding round for tinned seafood brand Scout as well as highlighting upcoming trends in other sea-based food segments. 22:45: Why Ryan believes brands need to be extremely strategic with their first move after raising capital and how those actions will likely impact the company’s ability to raise funds with each subsequent raise. 28:36: What categories Ryan believes still have room for innovation, and why he believes operating with some intellectual property or in a category with greater barriers to entry will benefit a brand when approaching investors.