NOSH Pitch Slam Volume 8 Semi-Finals - Z&Z

Speaker 1 [00:16] Let's move on to our next Daniel for the competition. That's Daniel Dubana, who's the co-founder of Z&Z. Daniel, you're with us. There he is. How are you?

Speaker 2 [00:25] Good, Ray. How are you doing?

Speaker 1 [00:26] Great, great to see you. Uh, you're ready to, uh, give your pitch?

Speaker 2 [00:30] Let's do it.

Speaker 1 [00:31] Let's do it. All right, your timer begins now.

Speaker 2 [00:33] All right, hello, everyone. I'm, uh, Danny Dubani, co-founder of Z&Z. Z&Z is a Middle Eastern food brand that's reinvigorating cultural favorites. We're starting with the Za'atar Man Ushe. Za'atar Man Ushe is a Middle Eastern flatbread. It's crispy on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside, topped with the most amazing savory, yet tangy blend of herbs called zaatar. It's often described as a Middle Eastern pizza, but for us, it's very much pizza, and we think there's a real white space in the category for this unique product and, uh, to really thrive. So we've been perfecting our top promotion at DC farmers markets since 2016 before expanding to reach Negro. Two groups to those who already know and love the newia as a cultural icon and a growing appetite for innovation and frozen aisle. And with Zaha's increasing popularity, we think we're uniquely positioned to be the first to bring the minutia to market. So Armanousha is ready in just 5 minutes. It's naturally vegan, and it's just made with simple, high quality ingredients and. By adding your favorite toppings. And Z&Z's creating a culture around the minutia, the really funny digital content, engaging experiences, so that we build a community who already wants the minutia before they ever step foot in a store. Earlier this year, we launched the frozen ready to heat version of the Minushe with our local DC partners, retailing at 8.99. First days we got messages from across the country and were even written about by a popular food blog in Lebanon. And the next step for us is getting the minutia to more homes and mouths through online shipping. So please join us today. Thank you.

Speaker 1 [02:26] All right. Well done, Danny. Thank you so much. All right, uh, Melissa, let's start with you. Uh, we emailed a bit, uh, about the shipment of this, and you got it, and we're very interested in the product. I'm curious as to, uh, your thoughts on, uh, what Danny was talking about in terms of that first to market, uh, kind of approach and how you think about that sort of advantage as an investor.

Speaker 3 [02:49] Yeah, so I loved the Middle Eastern play here. I think that, uh, you know, more ethnic cuisine is coming to market, and I think it's a real desire here for the consumer palate, uh, particularly in, uh, uh, educating people on a totally different palate concept than what. Maybe used to here in the United States. So first of all, awesome, uh, so excited about it and, and really appreciated that. Um, the, the one thing I would say that I got slightly confused about as a consumer was the frozen element and if it had to be frozen versus, uh, not, and so I would just think about that a little bit as you're looking to roll out.

Speaker 1 [03:30] You know, Danny talked about uh what the product is, it's clear what it's not. It's right on the front of the, right in the, right next to him, it says it's not pizza. Um, it's very much an an authentic ethnic product. Um, Ryan, I'm curious, you know, do you feel like consumers will grasp onto that kind of messaging, that kind of communication?

Speaker 4 [03:50] Yeah Danny appreciate the pitch here um I think given the product images um you know as a US consumer, you know, as you kind of go down the the grocery aisle, it's gonna scream kind of pizza maybe on first glance, um, and I think on the strong imaging here will pull the. Consumer in and you can really kind of play for the the Middle Eastern angle here uh so I thought that was really strong from that standpoint um I think there's you know benefits that can scream kind of fresh um if you kind of sell it in the the freezer case um from a frozen standpoint. Um, on the flip side there may be some benefits from just a distribution and kinda ease standpoint to go more kind of traditional, uh, shelf, uh, shelf ready, so that'll be something for you guys certainly to think through as you talk to your retail partners going, going forward, uh, but I think given the the quality of the product imaging it will really kind of jump off shelves, so congratulations on that front.

Speaker 1 [04:46] Porvi, what do you, what do you think that, uh, Zatar, what do you think of that Z&Z and Minutia needs to do? Well, what do you think Z&Z needs to do, uh, from a, uh, from a packaging standpoint to really grab that consumer more than they already have currently have? I think, you know, what's interesting is that you, uh, market or had marketed a product that was known as an ethnic food and have really, quote-unquote, Americanized it. Do you feel like the Z&Z needs to do a bit more on the Americanization front, or do you, do you like how the product is presented as it is?

Speaker 5 [05:16] I love the way that the product was presented. Um, I thought the team did an incredible job, um, really bringing, bringing the story of the brand and the family to life and bringing it all together in a really, um, quirky and playful way and really showcasing the personality of the food. Um, and Ray, but, but you're right, like my mind definitely did go there. I think that there are so many opportunities to potentially take this concept. And, um, you know, potentially even position it as a snack. Um, because I think that there are elements of that there. Anytime you get something that's a bread that can be eaten, you know, in lots of different, um, occasions and in different ways, I think you have that opportunity, um, you know, I, I, I do think that that would mean expanding potentially into other formats though, but I think that, that, that could be an exciting way to move the brand into a, a high velocity category.

Speaker 1 [06:13] Derek, we have a few seconds left on our podcast. We often talk about label hierarchy and the importance of having a clear message from top to bottom. What do you think of Z&Z's approach to minutia?

Speaker 6 [06:23] Uh, yeah, that's a great question cause that was kind of the notes I had. Um, the biggest thing to me was Z&Z is the brand is very, very secondary, tertiary, you kind of have to search it out, um, which first to market being a new product, I think it's great to promote what it is, but, you know, further down the line, you're gonna want to bring who we are to the forefront.

Speaker 1 [06:47] All right, great feedback. Well done, Danny.