August Vega is a “go big or go home” kind of entrepreneur. The founder and CEO of MALK, a super-premium brand of organic nut milks, Vega cut her teeth in the beverage business selling her wares at farmers markets in Houston. From the outset, Vega had lofty ambitions: she wanted to develop MALK into a billion-dollar brand. “I believe that we are in control of our own destiny, and why shoot for a low bar?” she said in an interview included in this episode. “It is a high bar… but we’re seeing a pre...
Apr 19, 2019•32 min
According to Joe Heron, ignorance is underrated. A serial beverage entrepreneur on his third startup, Heron joined us for an interview included in this episode, in which he expressed his belief that “the number one characteristic of an entrepreneur is stupidity... because you manage the opportunity, you don’t manage the risk.” Having founded and successfully sold functional drink brand Nutrisoda and Crispin, a brand of premium hard ciders, Heron is now at the helm of Copper & Kings, a brandy...
Apr 16, 2019•34 min
As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words." When evaluating investment opportunities, Chris Hollod, a venture capitalist focused on early-stage consumer brands, takes the adage to heart. “I tell every brand: ‘I judge you within the first two seconds of looking at your Instagram page,’” he said in an interview included in this episode. “I think it’s the most important piece of the puzzle aside from the actual packaging itself.” That perspective has helped shape Hollod’s portfolio, ...
Apr 12, 2019•33 min
A serial entrepreneur who started working for himself at age 12, Mark Sisson, has launched dozens of businesses over the course of his career. Last year, he finally hit the jackpot. Sisson is the founder of Primal Kitchen, a Paleo-centric brand of condiments and dressings that he founded in 2015. Primal Kitchen has been his biggest success as an entrepreneur; last year Kraft Heinz acquired the brand for $200 million. Although Primal Kitchen was on the market for just over three years when it was...
Apr 09, 2019•36 min
In this episode, we examine brand-building and retail strategies for center store grocery in interviews with the founders of two category-leading brands: Katlin Smith, the founder and CEO of fast-growing baking mix brand Simple Mills, and David Eben, the founder of Carrington Farms, a leading brand of organic seeds, grains and oils. Smith is the founder and CEO of Simple Mills, a brand of natural baking mixes, crackers and cookies, that she launched in 2013. Over the past six years, Simple Mills...
Apr 05, 2019•47 min
David Bronner, the Cosmic Engagement Officer of Dr. Bronner’s, wants to save the world. How, one might ask, does he plan on doing that? Simple. A lot of soap and a dash of psychedelics. Since Bronner took the reins of his family’s business in 1998, Dr. Bronner’s has become the top-selling brand of natural soaps in North America. The company, which also markets natural toothpaste, lip balm, shaving cream and coconut oil, generated $122 million in sales in 2018, over 30 times its revenue when Bron...
Apr 02, 2019•39 min
Bend, the small, yet fast-growing city in Central Oregon, has become a haven for entrepreneurship. Although the local economy had been driven by the lumber industry for over a century, Bend has in recent years seen an influx of innovative companies -- from tech to food and beverage -- launched within its borders. According the office of Oregon’s Secretary of State, Bend registers more new businesses each year than any other city in the state. Entrepreneurs often point to the Bend lifestyle, whic...
Mar 29, 2019•38 min
As the saying goes: if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But what if life gave you 800 million pounds of ugly, but perfectly edible watermelons? If you’re Jody Levy, you make WTRMLN WTR, a brand of cold-pressed watermelon juice beverages. A serial entrepreneur and design expert, Levy has overseen the evolution of WTRMLN WTR from a single product to a platform brand whose products are available at over 25,000 locations nationwide. Leading with a mission of sustainability and natural hydration...
Mar 26, 2019•43 min
This episode features interviews with two entrepreneurs that are advancing the conversation for cannabis-infused food and beverage brands: Jonathan Eppers, founder and CEO of Vybes, and Kristy Knoblick Palmer,co-founder and COO of Kiva Confections. A tech executive-turned-beverage entrepreneur, Eppers joined us for a discussion about the launch and development of Vybes, a CBD-infused water brand that leads with the tagline “Mind + Body Function.” Eppers discussed why he’s embraced CBD, why “borr...
Mar 22, 2019•47 min
Kodiak Cakes CEO Joel Clark will be the first to admit that entrepreneurship isn’t a part-time job. For years, he tried to run the pancake mix brand, which launched in 1995 and is based on a family recipe, as a side-business while pursuing a graduate degree and consulting career. There were struggles, late nights and more than a few headaches, mistakes and missed opportunities. Despite the challenges, Kodiak Cakes earned a loyal consumer following and a steady streak of retail wins. Clark, howev...
Mar 19, 2019•41 min
If you want to get the attention of Boulder Food Group (BFG), a venture capital firm that recently launched a new $100 million fund, having a memorable package design is a good way to start. Launched in 2014 by industry veterans Tom Spier and Dayton Miller, BFG has made early-stage investments in several innovative and socially conscious food and beverage brands, including Chameleon Cold-Brew, Caulipower, Birch Benders and MALK. In an interview included in this episode of Taste Radio, Spier expl...
Mar 15, 2019•37 min
Show of hands — if you sold your company for $286 million, would you go back to work for the new owner? We’re guessing there’s not many arms raised. For Justin Gold, however, leaving the company he founded in 2004 after it was acquired by Hormel Foods in 2016 was never an option. Justin’s, a pioneering brand of better-for-you nut butters and snacks, is not just his namesake — it’s his legacy and one that continues to grow. “The brand stands for something,” he said in an interview included in thi...
Mar 12, 2019•37 min
Just three and a half months since its debut, Recess, a sparkling water brand infused with CBD and adaptogens, has generated an incredible amount of buzz. Profiled in mainstream media outlets, including The New York Times, Forbes and CNBC, Recess has been dubbed the “LaCroix of CBD” and within days of its launch the products were backordered for weeks. So what’s behind the hype? In an interview included in this episode, Recess founder/CEO Benjamin Witte spoke about the brand’s creation and how h...
Mar 08, 2019•54 min
When it launched in 2013, Boxed, an online retailer of bulk goods, had all the hallmarks of a tech startup. Audacious idea? Check. Parents’ garage as the company office? Check. Low probability of success? Check. Unlike many startups, however, Boxed has thrived since its debut. The company, dubbed the “Costco for millennials,” reached $100 million in sales in 2016 and has attracted interest from a variety of investors, who’ve injected over $243 million into the business. Last year Kroger reported...
Mar 05, 2019•39 min
Over the course of his career, Ryan Lewendon, a partner with influential CPG law firm The Giannuzzi Group, has worked with hundreds of CPG brands, including Vitaminwater, Krave Jerky, Vita Coco and BodyArmor. His experience has provided him with a window into how successful entrepreneurs think and operate. In an interview included in this episode, Lewendon offered his perspective on the elements of a winning brand and what it takes to succeed. As part of our conversation, he discussed how to avo...
Mar 01, 2019•51 min
Fever-Tree North America CEO Charles Gibb describes himself as “globally mobile,” and, based on his resume, that’s an apt description. Although he’s lived and worked in New York for nearly a decade, his career in the spirits industry has included executive-level roles based in cities across Europe and Australia. In an interview included in this episode, Gibb said that the experience has helped shape his leadership of Fever-Tree North America, the U.S.-based subsidiary of the super-premium mixer ...
Feb 26, 2019•40 min
In this episode, we explored the evolving landscape for plant-based foods through conversations with Ben Mand, the CEO of coconut beverage brand Harmless Harvest and Michele Simon, the founder and executive director of industry trade group the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA). Mand, who joined Harmless Harvest last year, spoke about the company’s recent revamp of its dairy-free, coconut-based yogurt drink and how lessons from its initial launch have shaped the company’s innovation strategy. ...
Feb 22, 2019•52 min
Three decades ago, Marygrace Sexton launched Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Co. with an ambitious goal: give consumers across the country access to high-quality, fresh-squeezed juice. While the dream was big, Sexton launched the company in a production facility about the size of a one-bedroom apartment and the first bottles were shipped in a delivery truck borrowed from a local meat company. Natalie’s, named after Sexton’s first daughter, has since grown by leaps and bounds in the years since. It...
Feb 19, 2019•21 min
Blue Bottle Coffee CEO Bryan Meehan is well aware of the increasingly competitive landscape for coffee. Yet while some companies are racing to expand and innovate, Blue Bottle, one of the most admired coffee roasters and retailers in the world, is taking a patient and restrained approach. “Our way is not the right way if we want to be the most commercially successful company in the country. Meehan said in an interview included in this episode. “There are companies ahead of us that are doing more...
Feb 15, 2019•39 min
We live in a time when we don't have to make a trade-off between healthy and delicious food, but we used to. Pete Lescoe was one of a handful of pioneers who paved a path for better-for-you and tasty snacks with Food Should Taste Good, which he launched in 2006. The brand’s line of tortilla chips, made with healthy ingredients like flaxseed and quinoa, was an instant hit with retailers and consumers, and just six years after its market debut Food Should Taste Good was acquired by General Mills. ...
Feb 12, 2019•54 min
Hint founder and CEO Kara Goldin knows a thing or two about building a brand around a successful e-commerce strategy. Approximately 40 percent of the flavored water company’s $100 million in annual revenue comes from online sales, a majority of which is from its website, drinkhint.com. When advising entrepreneurs on how to build a foundation for success online, Goldin encourages them to keep it simple. “Whether you’re a $500,000 brand or you’re a $1 billion brand, start small,” she said in an in...
Feb 08, 2019•55 min
When considering the breadth of her career as a chef and restaurateur, one might ask: what hasn’t Nancy Silverton accomplished? Having cut her teeth in the restaurant business nearly 40 years ago, Silverton has been consistently lauded as one of the greatest chefs of our time. Honored twice by the James Beard Foundation -- in 1991 as the Outstanding Pastry Chef in America and in 2014 as the recipient of its Outstanding Chef Award -- her contributions to American cuisine are legendary. Silverton’...
Feb 05, 2019•25 min
Two years after launching their loose leaf tea company, Tiesta Tea co-founders Patrick Tannous and Dan Klein arrived at a crossroads. Amid slumping sales, their advisors exhorted the young entrepreneurs to find new retail accounts. Tannous and Klein replied that they’d already visited hundreds of retailers throughout their home market of Chicago and other cities in the Midwest. “What do you want us to do?” Tannous recounted. “And they looked at us and said, ‘Did you guys go door-to-door in New Y...
Feb 01, 2019•49 min
There is some disagreement about the correct pronunciation of spelled kefir. Yet, whether you pronounce it KEE-fur or kuh-FEAR, there’s no question about how to say the name of the leading brand in the category: LIFEWAY. Founded in 1986 by the Smolyansky family, Lifeway helped pave a path for mainstream consumption of kefir, a fermented dairy milk beverage that originated in Eastern Europe and is prized for its probiotic benefits. Since taking the helm as CEO of Lifeway in 2002, Julie Smolyansky...
Jan 29, 2019•35 min
In an episode that covers retail strategies from Trader Joe’s to tap rooms, we feature interviews with entrepreneurs behind two innovative companies: Pete Maldonado, the co-founder of fast-growing meat stick brand Chomps, and the co-founders of upstart coffee brand Riff Cold Brewed, Paul Evers and Steve Barham. Launched in 2012, Chomps has gradually evolved from a small direct-to-consumer brand focused on consumers with specialized diets to one that reached over $20 million in sales in 2018. Cho...
Jan 25, 2019•56 min
Tofurky, which has been producing plant-based meat products since 1980, is the OG of animal protein alternatives. The brand always had a loyal following, but with consumer interest in plant-based meat surging in recent years, sales of Tofurky products, which are distributed on six continents, reached $40 million in 2018. Tofurky president and CEO Jamie Athos recently joined us for a wide-ranging interview included in this episode in which he discussed the origins of Tofurky and how the brand has...
Jan 22, 2019•42 min
From artisanal foods to craft spirits, this episode explores the evolving business landscape for specialty food and distilled beverages. Steven Rannekleiv, the global sector strategist for beverages at global financial services firm Rabobank, has covered the alcoholic beverage industry for over a decade and in our conversation, we explored the emerging market for craft spirits, including parallels to and differences in the development of the craft beer category. Rannekleiv also discussed how the...
Jan 18, 2019•46 min
At first glance, you might mistake Stillhouse Whiskey for a classic motor oil brand. And you wouldn’t be alone; the distillery’s signature cherry red steel can has turned more than a few heads in the spirits aisle — which is by design, according to Stillhouse founder and CEO Brad Beckerman. Describing the package as both disruptive and “unbreakable,” Beckerman said in the three years since the company introduced the can, Stillhouse has consistently won over consumers drawn to the unique look and...
Jan 15, 2019•35 min
Madeline Haydon, the founder and CEO of non-dairy creamer brand Nutpods, isn’t fazed by the occasional negative review of her products. On the contrary, she welcomes all customer feedback, good or bad. It’s the follow up that matters. “You have to know you’re not going to get everyone and you have to be open to hearing what your customers really think about your product,” she said in an interview included in this episode. “We have very strict protocols with customer service because what I’m buil...
Jan 11, 2019•46 min
For Steve Grasse, the founder of Philadelphia-based creative agency Quaker City Mercantile, inspiration often comes from the music business. In an interview included in this episode, Grasse, who created iconic spirit brands Sailor Jerry Rum and Hendrick’s Gin, explained that he’s “always approached brands like bands.” “Bands create passion and excitement; and they’re not always trying to sell you something,” he said. “The content is what you’re excited about… and you become part of their circle ...
Jan 08, 2019•42 min
