Pitch Slam Volume 9 - Winner Announcement & Interview

Ray Latif [00:07] Hello and welcome back. It's time to announce the winner of Nosh Pitch Slam 9. I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of BevNET's Taste Radio podcast, the number 1 podcast for the food and beverage industry. Uh, a fantastic competition. I, I saw 12 really interesting disruptive concepts, uh, here, uh, on the stage, the virtual stage, that is, um, and, uh, it came down to one brand, uh, that is the winner of the competition. That's not to say that everyone isn't a winner, and, uh, once again, everyone, uh, brought some amazing things to the table. Really great presentations. Uh, the judges were all really impressed with, uh, the brands, the concepts, the products themselves, um, and encouraged all the semi-finalists and finalists to reach out to them, uh, with any questions, comments, uh, and for feedback, additional feedback on their pitches. So, uh, for the semi-finalists and finalists, uh, if you would just reach out to us, uh, and we will connect you with, uh, the judges. All right, uh, just before we make this announcement and, uh, interview the winner, just a couple of quick housekeeping notes. Uh, if you are interested, and I don't know why you wouldn't be, uh, you should and consider applying to, uh, applying and submitting your brand or product, uh, for a Nosh Best of 2020 award. The deadline for submissions is tomorrow, Friday, November 20th. So get those in ASAP. Head to nosh.com for more information. Also, a quick note, Nosh Live Winter 2020 is coming up fast. It'll happen next month, December 14th and 16th. Lots of networking, uh, advice, analysis, and it's going to be one of the, uh, great virtual events of 2020. You can't miss it. One of the best ways to attend is to become a subscriber. Subscribe to Bevnet and Nosh. The annual subscription is $375. It's a pittance, a pittance for all the things that you're going to get from the conference and from Nosh and BevNet, it's, uh, themselves. Lastly, uh, speed dating is happening on, uh, December 15th, from 4 to 6 p.m. You can meet one on one with world-class designers who have, uh, the industry experience in food and beverage to take your brand to the next level. You don't want to miss that either. Once again, exclusive to subscribers of Bevnet and Nosh. All right, I believe it's time to announce the winner of Nosh's Pitch Slam 9 competition. The winner is Elite Suites. Congratulations to Elite Suites, to Amin Bahari and his team, uh, very well deserved, and congratulations again. We now have with us from Austin, Texas, Amin Bahari, who's going to join me for a quick interview to chat about his big win. Amin, are you with us?

Speaker 2 [03:11] Hey, Ray, how's it going?

Ray Latif [03:12] It's going well. Congratulations.

Speaker 2 [03:14] I appreciate it, man. It's great to see you again.

Ray Latif [03:17] Great to see you as well. Uh, very well deserved, as I mentioned. Uh, this was a tough competition. Uh, you beat out 11 other brands. That is not an easy thing to do, especially ones that were, uh, as innovative and, uh, disruptive as the ones we saw. But, uh, you did, you did a great job with your presentation, and, uh, the brand itself is, is fantastic. Um, let's talk a bit about, you know, your preparation for this thing, you know, uh, how did you get yourself in the right mindset? You know, what things do you want to bring to the table to convince the judges that you were supposed to and you had to win this competition?

Speaker 2 [03:52] Yeah, no, definitely. I think, uh, for us being a first-time entrepreneur, it's always challenging trying to pitch our story and convince people. So I think um for us going into it, it's really about telling a compelling story and um showing that we're really, truly passionate about the brand and that, um, you know, we really Care about what we're doing and obviously the product has to speak for itself and that's something we spend a lot of time on is uh really perfecting our elite donuts. So, uh, we think what we're, what we're creating is game-changing and that, um, you know, we're gonna be one of the, the big brands in the future. So, uh, we're really excited about it and just glad, uh, to be able to put Elite Suites on this platform.

Ray Latif [04:28] Yeah, I mean, speaking about your story, uh, when I was speaking with the judges afterwards, uh, a lot of them were taken by your personal journey, uh, you know, coming from a place where you weren't healthy as a teenager, committing yourself to a healthier lifestyle, now sharing your passion with others in the form of your brand. Um, you know, Is that a story you tell often or is that a story that's really more for sort of the pitches that you're doing to retailers, investors, etc. or is that something that you're also, um, you know, sharing with your audience and your consumers?

Speaker 2 [05:03] So, uh, yeah, I think to your point, it's kind of been something we've always, uh, been a little bit more quiet about. And it's not anything that, you know, we, we don't want to tell the consumers. It's just been something more that's been on a personal level with, you know, meetings or investors or and pitch competitions like this, but, um, you know, I think the people close to me, uh, who, who have, uh, been with me growing up, they, they, they've seen. And so I think the people close to me really uh understand, you know, the journey that we've gone through and, and not just myself and my brother as well. And so, um, you know, it's not something we have been uh public about, but it's something we talked about and I, you know, I do think it is part of our brand and part of our DNA. So I think, you know, it could be something we incorporate, you know, into the brand or the packaging long term.

Ray Latif [05:47] You know, speaking of your audience and your community, I, I can't recall, but I don't remember hearing about the number of followers that you have on Instagram. I, I just saw this today, it's 16.8,000 followers. That's amazing, especially for an early-stage brand. How'd you do it? How'd you get that following?

Speaker 2 [06:02] Um, you know, we've always been, uh, you know, on the ground with things. Since the beginning, we've really been working on building a tight community. And I mean, it just started with friends and family. And it, I think when you really have, uh, a product that people are looking for or seeking or, you know, things that people are curious about, they really gravitate towards the brand. So it's really just been us engaging, creating great content, and, uh, continuing to just build a tight community, uh, within Elite Suite. So Uh, you know, we really appreciate every one of, uh, our followers, all of our supporters, and, um, you know, we just want to continue to make the brand more accessible to them.

Ray Latif [06:37] Well, as you continue to make the brand more accessible, I'm sure that you have some things in the pipeline in terms of innovation, retail expansion, etc. Uh, what's next for Elite Suites?

Speaker 2 [06:47] Yeah, we just want to continue to uh hit it hard going into 2021. Uh, we're still going to continue with our digital-first approach, uh, going through our site and on Amazon. And you know, as the, as the opportunities, um, open, open themselves up, we'd definitely love to hit retail. So I think for us, uh, we just want to continue to build a strong brand. Continue to stay ahead of product innovation and really lead with, you know, new flavors, new products down the line, and continue to just build a strong brand. So I think, uh, like I said in our pitch, our goal is to make this a household name. So we're just going to continue to keep improving the product and brand and, um, you know, hopefully it'll, it'll catch on quickly.

Ray Latif [07:25] Any hints on to what that next new product is gonna be your product line? Uh, I'm imagining, uh, perhaps, uh, something along the lines of a Better for you hostess type product.

Speaker 2 [07:35] Uh, no, uh, no hints here today, Ray. But, uh, I, I will tell you that, uh, you know, we always do want to continue to, uh, stay ahead of unique, uh, product categories. And, um, we really like the idea of being, like bringing, uh, a traditional product to market that, you know, there's a lot of demand for, but it hasn't necessarily seen the innovation. So, um, I can't let any of our secrets out of the bag today, but just know, uh, we're gonna continue to create great products and Uh, Elite Suites will be a name that you'll hear from, from a, for a long time.

Ray Latif [08:07] Excited to hear it and excited to be here to hear about the platform expanding. Uh, as I mentioned prior to us getting on the mics, uh, I, I wanna see you in a year, uh, and I wanna see where the product, the brand is, and We're gonna get you on Taste Radio Insider and talk about the progress that you've made. Uh, I see a lot of great things for Elite Suites and, uh, I mean, you did a great job. Your co-founders have done a great job with you. Congratulations again on winning Pitch Slam 9, fully deserved, uh, and, uh, let's talk again really soon.

Speaker 2 [08:35] I appreciate it, Ray. Thanks for everything and congrats to everyone else, uh, who competed as well.

Ray Latif [08:40] Indeed. Uh, all right, that wraps up Nosh's Pitch Slam 9 competition. Congratulations to everyone who participated. Uh, and thank you so much to our judges who were fantastic throughout. Signing off for our amazing team at Bevnet and Nosh, I'm Ray Latif. We'll see you soon.