Gooder - SoundSage

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Julie Gordon White is the founder and CEO MenoWell. She is a solution-driven individual who understands the struggles that come with food cravings and hormonal imbalances. Her personal experience inspired her to become an advocate for others facing similar challenges. Her company was recently recognized as one of Oprah's best menopause products, and she is an advocate for women in all stages of menopause. She also discusses the hidden world of menopause, the impact it has on women's lives and careers, and the importance of nutrition during this stage. Get ready for an episode filled with insights on women's health, entrepreneurship, and the power of embracing new opportunities. Stay tuned!

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS
* Taking a Chance and Overcoming Perfectionism * Menopause and Aging Education and Business Perspectives * Menopause, Nutrition, and Cognitive Health * Building the Brand and Representing Menopause * Menopause as a Challenging Experience

ABOUT THE GUEST
Julie Gordon White
CEO, Menowell
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliegordonwhite/

CHAPTERS
00:00 | Introduction
05:22 | Weight Gain: Hormones and the Pandemic Connection
07:59 | Embracing Confidence, Wealth, Aging, and Menopause
10:20 | Breaking the Silence in Corporate Culture
11:30 | Menopause Awareness: Bridging the Gender Gap
15:01 | Early Approval for Plant-Based Solutions to Menopausal Symptoms
17:32 | Elegantly Sized Fiber Bars with Low Calories
21:49 | Media Spotlight: Your Trendy and Attractive Product
22:52 | Embracing Change: How to Love Your Body at Any Age
23:35 | Empowering Women through Real Images on Bossavares.com
26:41 | Transformative Education in Business Ethics
28:22 | MBA in Your Fifties: A Journey of Empowerment
31:16 | Conclusion

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit Contact - Retail Voodoo to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com

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Join Diana Fryc on the latest episode of Gooder as she engages in a fascinating conversation with Beatrice Dixon, the remarkable CEO, co-founder, and chief innovation officer of The Honeypot Company. Beatrice's profound insights and personal experiences shed light on the significance of investing in one's work, cultivating meaningful relationships, and leveraging one's strengths. She delves into the rich African traditions of self-care, discusses the pervasive issue of medical racism, and passionately champions the core values of The Honeypot Company.

The discussion covers a wide array of topics, ranging from menstrual conditions to the creation of safe spaces for open dialogues, ultimately highlighting the urgent need for change within the medical industry. Prepare to be inspired by Beatrice's extraordinary journey in establishing a highly successful wellness brand.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES:

"Our strengths and burdens don't have to consume us. Take a break, honor traditions, and have important conversations.”- Beatrice Dixon

"Success isn't defined by numbers. It's about having the right people in the room and learning from each other, regardless of the crowd size”- Beatrice Dixon

"Teamwork and the contributions of every individual are the foundation of our success. From co-founders to team members, each person plays a crucial role in propelling us forward.”- Beatrice Dixon

KEY TAKEAWAYS:* Importance of Investment and Belief from Others * Recognizing and Utilizing Strengths * Importance of Self-Care and Breaks * African Tradition of Natural Element Self-Care * Addressing Medical Racism in African Communities * Finding Better Care through Black Doctors * Importance of Listening and Proper Care from Doctors * Honeypot's Approach to Body Positivity and Healthier Products * Leading the Reclaiming Wellness Campaign * Creating a Platform for Self-Care and Education * Combating Medical Racism through Self-Care * Vaginal Health Education and Conversation

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Beatrice Dixon
Co-Founder & CEO of The Honey Pot Company
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beatrice-dixon/
Website: Honeypot Co

CHAPTERS:

00:00 | Introduction
06:52 | Influencing Wellness: Beatrice Dixon's Journey
11:20 | Vaginal Health and Human Wellness
16:19 | The Honeypot Brand's Health-focused Approach
19:25 | Reclaiming Wellness: Combating Medical Racism through Self-Care
24:13 | Navigating Strengths, Burdens, and Self-Care in the Face of Medical Racism
29:10 | Challenges with Uncaring Medical Providers and Seeking Change
31:43 | Doctors Dismissing Menstrual Conditions: Frustration Arises
36:53 | Friend Discovers Precancerous Tumors with Black Doctor's Help
42:10 | Exploring Functional Medicine, Resources, and Options
44:58 | Taking Care: Doctor Visits and Hydration
48:47 | Emphasizing Body Wellness: The Vagina Wellness Brand
53:02 | Celebrating Beautiful Relationships Across Identities
56:35 | Seizing Opportunities in Small Crowds
59:18 | Discover Honeypot Co. Products On-Site or Online
01:00:09 | Outro

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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In this episode of Gooder, host Diana Fryc talks to Jennifer Ross, co-founder and co-CEO of Swoon, a line of zero sugar lemonades and teas. Jennifer shares how their company pivoted during the pandemic to create a new product line and the challenges and successes they faced while expanding distribution. She discusses the importance of providing healthier drink options and the impact it can have on people's health. The episode also delves into their collaboration with the iconic brand Barbie and the lessons they learned. Jennifer offers tactical advice on listening to customers and being open to feedback, which led to the creation of Swoon Syrup, a monk fruit-based simple syrup that is 200 times sweeter than sugar but without any glycemic impact. This conversation explores the complex process of creating a health-focused business and the importance of adapting to different ways of working.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES:

"Our aim was to craft a beverage that wasn't just for diets or diabetics, but rather a delightful, natural, and sugar-free option that everyone could enjoy. -”Jennifer Ross

"Prioritize listening to your customers and fearlessly make adjustments to exceed their expectations-”Jennifer Ross

“We overcame challenges and reaped the rewards. Looking back, those obstacles were the catalyst for our successful product line."- Jennifer Ross

KEY TAKEAWAYS:* Pandemic Pivot: Swoon's Drink Adaptation * Crafting Healthier Beverage Options * Enhancing Lives through Healthier Drinks * Empowering Partnership: Swoon x Barbie Collaboration * Swoon's Customer-Driven Growth * Swoon Syrup and the Power of Monk Fruit * Lessons from Corporate Collaborations * Crafting the Iconic Barbie Brand

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Jennifer Ross
Co-Founder of Swoon
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferfross/
Website: https://www.tasteswoon.com/

CHAPTERS:

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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Join host Diana Fryc on the latest episode of Gooder as she interviews Ariel Kaye, the innovative mind behind Parachute, a socially responsible home lifestyle brand based in Los Angeles. Discover Ariel's passion for sustainability and learn how it has been woven into every aspect of Parachute, since it was founded in 2014.

Gain valuable insights into the challenges and rewards of running a direct-to-consumer startup, and explore the keys to building a resilient company culture. Plus, hear about a must-read book that offers practical tips for transforming your living space during COVID. Tune in for an inspiring journey about how Ariel turned her passion for home design into a thriving business with a remarkable social mission.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES:

"Giving back is a commitment for brands in the world of consumerism. -” Ariel Kaye

"Unlock the potential of your living space by repurposing and maximizing its functionality, ensuring every corner serves a purpose."- Ariel Kaye

“A mistake can be an opportunity for growth if you choose to learn from it." - Ariel Kaye

KEY TAKEAWAYS:* Parachute's origins and evolution * Commitment to social responsibility and sustainability * Ariel's passion for home design and starting Parachute * Overcoming challenges in D2C business * Adapting to external factors and remote work * Intentional living and space efficiency tips * Mission to promote safe sleep and reduce carbon emissions * Lessons from marketing and product development * Embracing growth and learning in business

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Ariel Kaye
Founder of Parachute
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielkaye/
Website: https://www.parachutehome.com/

CHAPTERS:

00:00 | Introduction
03:11 | Parachute: Quality and Comfort for Modern Homes
05:35 | Where Design Passion Meets Advertising Expertise
08:11 | Empowered to Start a Business with the Support of Friends
11:31 | Resilience and Success in Early Entrepreneurship
15:59 | Prioritizing Sustainability: Planet and People in Business
17:22 | Parachute's Mission: Making Sleep Safe and Sustainable
20:04 | Maximizing Space for Intentional Living: Book Recommendations
23:12 | Transforming Spaces: The Power of Small Changes
24:35 | From Mistakes to Success: Lessons Learned
27:17 | Navigating Unexpected Challenges and Proudly Leading the Team
30:39 | Founders as Allies: The Power of Support and Inspiration
33:00 | Conclusion

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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In this episode of Gooder, host Diana Fryc is joined by Haley Weidenbaum, CEO and co-founder of Everhem, Haley's passion for interior design started as a childhood hobby, and has since blossomed into a full-fledged mission to create homes that make people happy. With a keen eye for impeccable design, a bootstrapping mentality, and a charming positivity, Haley effortlessly infuses California cool with worldly accents.

She values modern functionality while appreciating the styles of the past. Join us as Haley shares her approach to making clients happy, one exquisite design project at a time. Let's dive in!

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES:

"Research and development before launch is crucial. It can make a significant difference in your journey." - Haley Weidenbaum

Our goal is to blend functionality and design, creating window treatments that embody both aspects." - Haley Weidenbaum

"Stay away from trends, especially when making significant investments. Opt for choices that will stand the test of time- Haley Weidenbaum

KEY TAKEAWAYS:* Revolutionizing Window Treatments: Functionality and Design Focus * Adapting and Thriving in Business Despite Adversity. * Seamless Installations and Personalized Design Tips * Everhem's Holistic Design Approach * Work-Life Balance and Celebration * Entrepreneurship Lessons: Trials, Errors, and Positive Feedback * Expanding Reach, Enhancing User Experience * Marketing Goals and Enhancing Customer Engagement. * Timeless Approach to Designing Window Treatments.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Haley Whedenbaum
CEO & CO Founder of Everhem
Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/haley-weidenbaum-85974b12/
Website: https://www.everhem.com/

CHAPTERS:

00:27 | Introduction
03:56 | Revolutionizing Window Treatments: Bridging Design and Tradition
08:22 | Building a Design Business: The Power of Collaboration
10:26 | Passion to Bliss: A Couple's Journey of Discovery
13:02 | Crafting a Vision: From Branding to Building Everhem
14:24 | Navigating with Adaptation and Communication
17:11 | Embracing Parenthood and Entrepreneurship
19:19 | Confidence & Perfection: Elevating Window Treatments Aesthetics
23:02 | Everhem's Hospitality-Inspired Customer Experience
28:35 | Streamlining Fabric Choices for Window Treatments
33:15 | Maximizing Individual Talents in a Partnership
37:28 | From Research to Resilience: Lessons in Entrepreneurship
41:35 | Expanding the Brand: Enhancing Websites and Growing Reach
43:21 | Empowering Women in Design: Elevating Sisters and Industry Peers
46:13 | Outro

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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In this episode of Gooder, host Diana Fryc is joined by Michelle Mokone and Mo Mokone, co-founders of Mo's Crib, a sustainable home decor company in South Africa. They discuss how businesses can make a difference in sustainability beyond just recycling. Mo's Crib prides themselves on creating sustainable jobs and taking care of their employees with a wellness initiative and Mindful Fridays. They also share their journey of using recycled PVC pipes for origami decorations, including the challenges of sourcing the material and adhering to industry specifications.

They also talk about their expansion to the US market and their commitment to making all their products environmentally friendly. Tune in to hear more about their inspiring story and sustainable practices.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES:

"We take pride in creating sustainable jobs and providing a 50% transportation subsidy for our employees. Our goal is to empower our workforce and uplift the community, leading to positive transformations and economic growth." - Mo Mokone

"The advocacy for environmental awareness by companies is increasingly spreading a message of hope and inspiration. People are now finding solace in businesses that actively contribute towards tackling these pressing issues, fostering a sense of goodwill and positivity."- Michelle Mokone“

Recognizing the trials and tribulations of each other's journeys, we come to appreciate the tremendous efforts and obstacles overcome in attaining our current successes” - Michelle Mokone

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* Sustainable Business Practices * Prioritizing employee well-being and creating sustainable * How Mo’s Crib overcame adversity in the waste management industry in Africa * Successful expansion into the US market led to the growth of their business * Fostering a healthy work environment for their employees. * Navigating marketing challenges in a highly competitive market * Why Mo's Crib's products prioritize environmental sustainability. * The complex components of PVC pipes present challenges in the recycling process. * Michelle's contributions to the community exemplify the success of black women * Rejection of a sustainable basket in South Africa did not deter their determination to explore opportunities in the US market.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Michelle Mokone & Mo Mokone
CEO/Founder of Mo’s Crib
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thealicegroup/
Website:https://moscrib.com/

CHAPTERS:

00:00 | Introduction
05:19 | Gratitude Overflowing: Appreciating the Thoughtful Gift Basket
07:46 | How Origami Swan Art Took Off as a Thriving Business Venture
11:00 | Reshaping Sustainability: Crafting Origami from Recycled PVC Pipes
15:06 | Weaving Nature's Gifts: Sustainable Baskets from Natural Materials
17:46 | From Rejection to Triumph: Pitching Baskets, Conquering the US Market
21:34 | The Marketplace Game: South Africa's Challenges, America's Opportunities
20:02 | Mo's Crib's Journey from Product Showcase to US Market Infiltration
32:01 | Fulfillment Beyond Profits: Nurturing a Healthy Work Environment
36:52 | Michelle's Inspirational Influence on Entrepreneurship
40:19 | Seeking Inspiration: Explore Creighton Barrel or Target for Unleashing Creativity
41:50 | Outro

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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In this episode of Gooder, our host Diana Fryc engages in a captivating conversation with Holly Snyder, an accomplished senior culinary product developer at Amazon, renowned for her extensive expertise leading consumer research and development teams. Holly shares her remarkable journey, starting from her hands-on experience working on the line and in pastry at the prestigious Stars restaurant. She takes us through her entrepreneurial venture of creating a line of frozen meals for two, showcasing her innovation and culinary prowess.

The discussion delves into the challenges faced by women in the male-dominated food manufacturing industry, emphasizing the importance of asserting oneself and asking insightful questions. She also reflects on the profound impact of the 2008 financial crisis on her and her colleagues. Tune in for illuminating insights on the food business, branding, and leadership.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES:

"The exhilaration, the rush of energy, it's truly incredible. You form this unique, sometimes dysfunctional, but tightly-knit family. Through thick and thin, you're united, and that feeling is simply unparalleled."- Holly Synder

"It's remarkable to see that even now, there's nothing in the market that truly compares to the revolutionary nature you’ve created in the freezer aisle." - Diana Fryc

“Our journey led us in creating frozen meals that became a nationwide sensation, exceeding all expectations."" - Holly Snyder

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* Epiphany after bankruptcy and desire for stability * Acknowledgement of Food Insecurity Issues * The Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis * Overcoming USDA inspection requirements and regulations * Empowering Women in the Food Manufacturing Industry * Embracing Curiosity and New Experiences * Importance of Loving What You Do * Passion and Purpose: Navigating Career Paths with Fulfillment * The Power of Love and Fulfillment in Professional Journeys * Lessons Learned: Insights and Personal Growth from Holly's Journey * Resilience: Overcoming Obstacles on the Path to Success * Thriving in the Culinary World: Determination and Hard Work Unveiled

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Holly Snyder
Senior Culinary Product Developer at Amazon
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyce-snyder-8a85b05/

CHAPTERS:

00:00 | Introduction
00:26 | Unveiling Culinary Brilliance with Holly Snyder
05:49 | From Artistry to Culinary Passion
13:01 | Lessons from Prominent Restaurants
16:25 | Behind the Scenes: The Hidden Complexity of Pastry Chefs
19:40 | Navigating the Housing Crisis and Startup Life
20:59 | Discovering Stability in the Midst of Financial Crisis
25:51 | Nurturing Compassion: Supporting Children Through Food Insecurity
31:49 | Entrepreneurial Strategies: Mastering the USDA with Private Label Meals
36:04 | Empowering Women in Food Manufacturing: Securing a Seat at the Table
38:52 | Making a Difference: Honoring Leaders in Food Insecurity Relief
41:52 | Outro

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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In this episode of Gooder, we hear from Margaret Wishingrad, the CEO and Co-Founder of Three Wishes Cereal, a company that created a truly healthy cereal alternative made with nutritious and protein-dense ingredients like chickpeas and pea protein. Margaret shares her journey of starting this emerging brand and overcoming technical barriers to create a product that resonates with retailers and consumers alike. We also learn about her unique relationship with her business partner, who is also her life partner and best friend, and how they maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Join us to learn from Margaret's experiences about securing facings and slots in retailers, building brand loyalty, and surrounding yourself with great people who share your values.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES:

"We often reflect on the countless pounds of cereal we experimented with before finding the product that made it to market. That's the essence of the process — a journey of trial and error." - Margaret Wishingrad

"When your message resonates consistently with customers, consumers, buyers, distributors, and beyond, you know you've truly mastered it." — Diana Fryc

"The freedom to work from home grants me the joy of being there for my kids as they come home from school. Welcoming them into the dining room while I continue to work is a priceless experience." — Margaret Wishingrad

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* The Success Story of an Emerging Brand * Crafting a Compelling Narrative to Secure Retail Space * Navigating the Competitive Landscape for Retail Facings * Overcoming Technical Challenges in Developing a Healthy Cereal Alternative * Collaboration with a Food Scientist: Breaking Barriers * Testing the Final Product: A Toddler's Approval * Launch Strategy and Considerations for Success * Identifying the Gap: Lack of Healthy Cereal Options * Leveraging Data to Win Over Retailers * Balancing Marriage and Partnership Outside of Business * Surrounding Oneself with Positivity and Like-Minded Individuals * Synergies in Business Relationships

ABOUT THE GUEST:
Margaret Wishingrad
CEO/Co-Founder of Three Wishes
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/three-wishes-cereal/
Website: https://threewishescereal.com/

CHAPTERS:
00:00 | Introduction
04:35 | Food as Medicine: A Journey to Mindful Parenting
09:04 | Journey to Creating Innovative Cereal
12:57 | Building a CPG brand through retail strategy
16:50 | Strategic Innovations: Balancing Growth and Consumer Satisfaction
18:10 | Entrepreneurship in Pajamas: A Flexible Journey to Success
21:16 | Thriving in the Mess: Embracing Chaos and Growth
23:17 | Married Entrepreneurs: Fighting Fast and Succeeding Together
27:22 | Love, Entrepreneurship, and Never-ending Celebration
32:16 | Building Trust and Excitement: Creating a Fun Household Brand
33:25 | Female Founders Revolutionizing Industries with Purpose
34:55 | Outro

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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In this episode of Gooder, host Diana Fryc welcomes guests Tori Thain Gioia and Alex Taylor, the co-founders and co-CEOs of Peralel, a company specializing in doctor-approved nutritional supplements for women in their reproductive stage. Tori was inspired to initiate Peralel following her daughter's birth with a cleft lip, an event which led her to understand the link between this condition and nutrition. Driven by the absence of trustworthy nutritional guidance for expectant mothers, Tori, along with her team, strives to provide reliable information and quality products to enhance women's health. Diana engages in a conversation with Tori about the complexities of the supplement industry and the critical role of earning customer trust.

QUOTES:

Embracing a holistic perspective, we shape our products and content based on insights from diverse experts – maternal fetal medicine specialists, naturopaths, reproductive psychiatrists, and nutritionists – to meet the diverse needs of women - Alex Taylor

What truly inspires us each day is the mission to foster a world where women are healthier, well-supported, and where moms and babies thrive with happiness and wellness" - Tori Thain Gioia

"Taking a sophisticated approach to supplementation can help fill the gaps and bring balance where it is needed." - Diana Fryc

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* Addressing challenges for women balancing career and reproduction * Urgent need for better research, advocacy, and doctor-approved products * Dissatisfaction with current products for millennial moms * Discovering link between pregnancy nutrition and cleft lip * Lack of reliable information on nutrition during pregnancy * Importance of doctor-developed vitamin routines * Focus on quality and dosage in supplements * Validation from Top OB and maternal fetal medicine experts * The Essence of Trust: Peralel's Core Mission

ABOUT THE GUEST:
Alex Taylor & Tori Thain Gioia
CEO/Founder of Perelel
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/perelel/
Website:https://perelelhealth.com/

CHAPTERS:
00:00 | Introduction
02:28 | Unveiling the Inspiration behind Peralel
05:25 | Frustration to Inspiration: Building a Better Path for Millennial Moms
09:41 | OB validates need for new maternal product line
13:36 | Empowering Women through Skill and Purpose
15:43 | Entrepreneurs Face Challenges in Supplement Industry Expansion
19:35 | Reshaping Medical Knowledge for Equality
20:08 | Supporting women's health during peak years
25:56 | The Impact of Built-in Brand Credibility at Peralel
29:18 | Emphasizing Brand Reliability Over Celebrity Influence
33:11 | Mission-Driven Brands Advocating for Women Leaders
34:04 | Conclusion

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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In this episode of Gooder, host Diana Fryc engages in a conversation with Sarah Wallace, the founder and CEO of The Good Bean and CEO of Beanitos. They delve into the inception of The Good Bean and the unique challenges faced in introducing a new category of legume-based snacks. Sarah shares her valuable insights from her extensive experience in the natural and specialty foods industry, offering guidance to emerging brands, emphasizing the significance of cultivating customer loyalty and adopting a deliberate approach to growth. They explore the significance of multiculturalism in the realm of food and cooking, and the rising demand for authentic and diverse brands.

QUOTES:

When you're launching a new brand, you have to be willing to take risks and carve out a new space in the market. It's not always easy, but it can be incredibly rewarding to be a trailblazer and create a category that didn't exist before." - Sarah

Traditional cooking is a way to learn about and appreciate culture and history. By offering authentic ingredients to immigrant communities, multicultural brands are innovating in the food industry and helping to advance diversity and access to more authentic cuisine." - Sarah

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* Cost Reduction and Advancements in Technology in Podcasting * Cultural Differences in Food Preferences and Pride in India and Central Europe * Sustainable Strategies for Business Growth * Authenticity and Sustainability in Food Brands * The Good Bean's Plant-Based Mission * Challenges in Branding and Market Placement * Multiculturalism in Food Products * Empowering BIPOC Founders and CEOs in the Natural Products Industry * Spices and Ingredient Diversity * Branding and Celebrating Asian Heritage

ABOUT THE GUEST:
Sarah Wallace
CEO/Founder of The Good Bean & Beanitos
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahwallace/
The Good Bean: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-good-bean/

CHAPTERS:
00:00 | Introduction
03:38 | Revolutionizing the Snack Industry: The Good Bean Founder's Story
08:27 | The Future of Multicultural Cuisine in America's Kitchen
14:06 | Creating a New Snack Category: The Journey of Roasted Chickpeas
18:56 | The Podcasting Revolution: From Expense to Accessibility
21:57 | Exploring India's Culinary Fusion: Embracing Curiosity and Spice
24:23 | Merging for Sustainability: Transforming the Snack Industry One Bean at a Time
31:05 | Included: Amplifying BIPOC Founders in the Natural Products Industry
39:25 | Unveiling the Exciting Japanese Bean Snack
44:05 | Exploring the Enchanting World of Spice Merchants
46:54 | Conclusion

Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com/

This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5671635/advertisement

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Melissa Conner is a partner and director at Jennifer Bett Communications. She has won awards for her communication skills and has over 15 years of experience in the industry. She joined Jennifer Bett Communications in 2014 and focuses on helping fast-growing consumer brands in an inclusive and sustainable way. She has worked with famous brands like Tom's, Sotheby's, and Jack Spade. In 2017, she received the PRSA's 15 under 35 award.

QUOTES

Being unafraid to speak up about what's important to you and your customers is key. While not all brands need to be activists, supporting causes that matter to you and your audience can build confidence and loyalty. - Melissa

The myth that working with celebrities always guarantees success is false. However, working with them can be beneficial if there is a genuine connection between the celebrity and the brand, and if the partnership is thoughtfully planned and executed. - Melissa

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Melissa’ career and how she became a part of the PR industry

About Jennifer Bett Communications and how they built relationships with their partners

Tricks and Myth about leveraging Celebrity endorsementsImportance of speaking up your ideas and saying no in certain situations

JBC's Focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in branding and communications

ABOUT THE GUEST
Melissa Conner
Partner & Managing Director at Jennifer Bett Communications
Linkedin:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-duren-conner-0418414/
Links: https://www.jenniferbett.com

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Audarshia Townsend is the Content Director for Informa Market and a veteran food and beverage journalist covering the latest trends and innovations across the food industry. As Content Director for Informa Markets, she oversees the development of quality content in various forms, from written articles to visual media. Her keen eye for industry trends and her passion for innovation propels her to keep an informed and insightful pulse on the ever-changing landscape of the food and beverage industries. In addition, you can often find her delving into initiatives that support everyone from food companies to founders to small business owners.Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/KEY

TAKEAWAYS:
-How Audarshia became a food and beverage insider.
-The affect that the pandemic had on recent food trends across the country.
-Innovation continues to push both the plant-based and big CPG industries toward product betterment.
-Impactful women leaders across the food and beverage industry and community.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Audarshia TownsendContent Director, Food & Beverage Insider, Informa Markets
https://www.linkedin.com/in/audarshia/
https://www.informamarkets.com

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Produced by Heartcast Media
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QUOTES:

"Transparency in the plant-based narrative is crucial for improved taste and product quality. Companies are actively improving their innovations in plant-based products." - Audarshia

“African cuisine is now available in mainstream grocery aisles, allowing people to easily enjoy African dishes at home. It's incredible that it took so long for this to happen, it's truly remarkable.” - Audarshia

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Betsy Frost is the CEO of Hoplark Brands, a company brewing tea like beer, with the hops, but without sugars, additives or any fermentation; each with the sophisticated flavor of hops, without the alcohol or calories. Betsy’s marketing background creating and growing businesses and brands makes her the perfect fit for the company. She has experience across various industries, from startups to large companies, and has a real talent for managing complex projects and partnerships. Betsy is known for being innovative, leading the brands she works with to new ideas that lead to exceptional growth. Additionally, she is passionate about developing people and creating an inclusive workplace culture.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Evolution of Hoplark Brands
The Sober Curious Space
Background Working at General Mills
Networking & Mentoring in Business

ABOUT THE GUEST

Betsy Frost
CEO of Hoplark Brands
https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsy-frosthttps://hoplark.com

QUOTES

"You don't have to stay someplace if you're not happy. There are a lot of options and not every place is the right fit, and that's okay.” - Betsy

"Keep your eye open for new doors...be open. Say yes to things. Just say yes and see where it takes you." - Betsy

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This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
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Diana Fryc, Chief Growth Officer, Podcast Host and Partner at Retail Voodoo is an expert marketer in the food, beverage and wellness industries. With 20 years of experience, she has helped both established companies and start-up brands build and grow their presence in their respective categories and overcome business challenges as they arise. She leverages her extensive knowledge in branding, innovation, consumer markets and packaging systems to drive meaningful and sustainable growth for her clients. Diana's passion for the food, beverage, and wellness industry has earned her a reputation for building strong client relationships and bringing together the right people and resources to achieve impressive results.

Today's episode is hosted by Mercedes Evenson of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercedesevenson/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Expo West and Expo East
Innovative products at the show
Expo West Networking Events

ABOUT THE GUEST

Diana Fryc
Partner & Chief Growth Officer, Retail Voodoo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafrycRetail Voodoo

QUOTES

The Naturally Network is really working to build the community of minority-owned business owners and brand owners within the community of naturals, simply because there's a lot of under-representation in general. - Diana

"It looks like this year we're going to have a pretty nice mix of brands, I really would encourage you all to come to Expo East." - Diana

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This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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Melissa Price, the Customer Vice President at Campbell’s Soup Company, joins us to discuss her 16-year career as a seasoned marketing and sales leader. Her experience in the CPG industry has made her an expert in demand creation, P&L Management and leading teams across food and household products. Melissa shares her journey at Campbell’s, where she has grown from an Associate Brand Manager to Customer Vice President. Throughout the course of her career, her passion for achieving outstanding results and leading winning teams has provided valuable insight for her and her teammates, and she continues to inspire other industry leaders at Campbell’s and beyond.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Campbell’s Soup Company Brand Portfolio
Melissa's Role as Customer Vice President
Managing Large Company Transitions
What’s Upcoming for Campbell’s

ABOUT THE GUEST
Melissa Price
Customer Vice President, Campbell Soup Company
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-price-7879146/
https://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/

QUOTES

"Passion guides my career, fueled by knowing where my strengths and energy lie, and how I can add value to my teams and organization." - Melissa

"I embrace opportunities by seeking guidance from mentors, advocates, and sponsors. By taking calculated risks, I maximize each chance that comes my way, which often leads to new and exciting paths." - Melissa

"Effective leadership involves more than just management. It requires authenticity and adaptability. To improve, leaders must stay self-aware, open to feedback, and willing to learn from others. Being humble and vulnerable are important qualities for successful leadership." -Melissa

CHAPTERS

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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Get ready to hear from Olivia Chen, the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Twrl Milk Tea. She's a creative entrepreneur who loves bringing people together, telling stories, and marketing. Olivia knows how to use unconventional marketing tactics to make a brand stand out and get more sales.

Join us on this podcast as Olivia shares how she started TWRL Milk Tea with her business partner Pauline, and how they've grown the business together. You'll learn the secrets of their success and hear about the challenges they've faced along the way.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS
-About TWRL Milk tea, its product, suppliers, and history
-The inspiration behind TWRL, its foundation and the people behind it
-The work dynamics of the two business partners, Olivia and Pauline
-Creating a successful brand through differentiation and embracing identity

ABOUT THE GUEST
Olivia Chen
Co-Founder & CMO, TWRL Milk Tea
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olichen/https://twrlmilktea.com/

https://twrlmilktea.com/

QUOTES

"We incorporated the concept of nature and fusion into our Milk Tea or drinks, which is now a common trend in coffee, but at the time we were the pioneers in this approach.”- Olivia

"Alignment on important values is crucial, and not many people think about it. As individuals with a strong marketing background, Pauline and I prioritize this aspect." - Olivia

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Fiona Lee is the Co-Founder and COO of Pod Foods, a logistics and technology enablement company. Connecting B2B brands directly with retailers, Pod Foods is a marketplace built for the new era of grocery.

Prior to starting Pod Foods, Fiona was the Community Manager at Block 71 in San Francisco, a launchpad for Singaporean tech start-ups coming to the United States, and the gateway for Silicon Valley companies to enter the Southeast Asia market. She also founded Green Pea Cookie, an endeavor that helped her realize the need for a company like Pod Foods.

Fiona discusses how she built the business in a highly competitive market and shares the value Pod Foods provides, solving problems with food distribution worldwide. Highlighting the importance of leveraging innovation, she talks about growing the company and remaining competitive in a fast and ever-changing environment.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Pod Foods growth trajectory
The greatest challenges with food distribution
Leveraging innovation and technology in order to grow the business
Advice for aspiring women entrepreneurs

ABOUT THE GUEST

Fiona Lee
Cofounder at Pod Foods Co
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionalee92https://podfoods.co

QUOTES

"In the first year, we were not thinking of our profitability. What we were talking about was finding product market fit." - Fiona

Our team is passionate about using technology and data to drive innovation and create impact." - Fiona

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
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Lucinda Wright is a seasoned CPG executive with extensive expertise creating new businesses, building retail empires and creating meaningful marketing. As the CEO and Co-Founder of Cask & Kettle, she is the leader of the thriving spirit-making company based in Temperance, Michigan. Lucinda talks about creating a crossover between categories big and small and how this approach has impacted Cask & Kettle's business. From the beverage industry at large to alcohol and coffee combinations, Lucinda shares her knowledge and valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Additionally, she gives us a sneak peek into what's next for Cask & Kettle and shares insights into the products they create.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-How Cask & Kettle StartedCreating new market opportunities in the coffee and alcohol industries
-The importance of a iron-clad mindset and facing entrepreneurial challenges

ABOUT THE GUEST

Lucinda Wright,
CEO of Cask & Kettle USA
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucinda-wright-ba7a495
LINKS: https://caskandkettleusa.com/
‌
CHAPTERS

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visithttp://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com

QUOTES

"When you're a disruptive innovator like us, bringing a hot beverage into booze, something that has never existed before, the vast majority of the industry is very suspicious." -Lucinda

"I encourage anybody out there who's in innovation to probe around in the hybrid area." -Lucinda

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Jennifer Wiese is the Founder and CEO of BeeFree Gluten Free Bakery. Her passion for creating delicious gluten-free food coupled with her drive to create and provide job opportunities for individuals with autism is what drove her to start the company. Her mission in doing so is grounded in her belief that any one person can make a difference in the world, and through their business.

Jennifer shares her journey as a mompreneur, shedding light on the struggles she experienced in the early days of starting the company paired with the valuable lessons she has learned along the way. Additionally, she offer advice that is inspirational for aspiring entrepreneurs and shares the exciting future plans for BeeFree Gluten Free Bakery.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The history and motivation behind the BeeFree Gluten Free Bakery
The company’s mission and advocacy of the company
Milestone achievements and establishing a strong network
‌
ABOUT THE GUEST

Jennifer Wiese, Founder & CEO of BeeFree Gluten Free Bakery
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-wiese-7b98392a
LINKS: https://www.beefreegf.com
‌
CHAPTERS

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com

QUOTES

"We were looking for support for our son with autism. We wondered what we could do to give him the best shot at life, and that introduced us to a gluten-free diet." -Jennifer

"We're really passionate about being a source of employment for individuals with autism and providing jobs for people who are often overlooked." -Jennifer

"Believe in yourself and believe in your product and don't let other people knock you off your horse." -Jennifer

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Sara Gelenberg-Field is the Chief Marketing Officer of Mommy's Bliss, and has 25 years of experience as a marketing executive. She has spent her career leading brand marketing campaigns and companies for a number of consumer products. In her current role as CMO, she is responsible for a fast-growing, nationally distributed line of products focused on family health and wellness.

Sara sheds light on Mommy's Bliss, the company's history and how she came to work for the company. In addition, she talks about her marketing experience throughout her tenured career and the contributions she has made to many different businesses. Much of her experience and knowledge has helped to pave the way for her successes as a marketing executive and she continually applies what she has learned to grow Mommy's Bliss and succeed in the parenting industry. Finally, she offers advice and discusses what's next for Mommy's Bliss.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Mommy's Bliss brand
Transitioning from big CPG to small startup
Applying knowledge and experience in order to connect with the parent consumer
Analyzing and grabbing opportunities in the parenting space

ABOUT THE GUEST

Sara Gelenberg-Field Chief Marketing Officer, Mommy’s Bliss
INSTAGRAM: [https://www.instagram.com/mommysbliss]
LINKEDIN: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-gelenberg-field]
LINK:https://mommysbliss.com
‌
CHAPTERS

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com

QUOTES

Leadership means being resourceful, creative and agile in utilizing available resources while maintaining a close connection to the consumer and staying nimble in strategy development. - Sara

The pandemic really helps us to open our eyes to proactive solutions in order to address some problems in the parenting space and make our kids healthier and safer. - Sara

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On today’s show, Laura Shenkar, CEO & Founder of This PKN shares what the product is and how the company got its start. PKN is the most indulgent, nutritious, eco-friendly, plant-based milk on the market today. She goes on to discuss the different factors that can affect distribution at the State level, along with consumer preferences and diet restrictions. Throughout her career journey, she has experienced many magic moments and learned secrets to continually improve along the way. Everything she has learned has led her to becoming an excellent advisor to those with similar career paths and interests. Her expertise in building high-performing senior leadership teams, launching and expanding businesses, and adopting revolutionary business strategies is what makes her so business savvy.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

The origin story of the PKN brand
Factors that affect the food marketplace
Key moments that propelled Laura's career forward
What's next for the PKN brand

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Laura Shenkar CEO & Founder, This PKN
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurashenkar
Links: https://thispkn.com

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This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com

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Oat Haus' CEO & Chief Vibes Officer, Ali Bonar joins us today to talk about the companies focus on nutrition and the world's first-ever oat-based spread, Granola Butter. Ali shares her industry experience and the story of how Oat Haus was founded. Additionally, she discusses the importance of smart marketing practices, placing emphasis on a healthy diet and consuming natural foods.

To round out the episode, Ali talks about the milestones she has achieved and the contributing factors that have given rise to the success of the company. These successes have led her to become an expert at giving advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and reflect what's to come for Oat Haus and the future of the brand.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorder Association Helpline. More information can be found at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-The "why" behind creating the first-ever oat-based spread, Granola Butter
-Company experience, meaningful milestones and achievements
-Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Ali Bonar
Chief Vibes Officer, Oat Haus
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alibonar
Links: https://oat.haus

CHAPTERS:

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com

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Caitlyn Vanderhaeghe is the President, CEO & Co-Founder of KidStar Nutrients, a clean and natural supplement brand formulated just for kids. Outside of running a company, she is a well-known mommy blogger, published children's author, certified teacher and health advocate. Her love of all things natural health was the motivation that propelled her to develop nutritional supplements that only contain essential nutrients.

On this episode, Caitlyn explains the philosophy and inspiration behind KidStar Nutrients', Along with concerns about the industry at large. On-going issues like lack of product development and lack of product enhancement are reasons she felt compelled to build her own brand. Additionally, she offers up insightful advice to women on a similar journey and shares her thoughts on how best to develop leadership skills.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

The Philosophy behind the KidStar Nutrients brand and product
On-going issues and problems in the supplement industry and community at large
The importance of supplementing kids diets
Entrepreneurial Advice

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Caitlyn Vanderhaeghe
President & CEO, KidStar Nutrients
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/caitlyn-vanderhaeghe-134486101
Links: https://kidstarnutrients.com

CHAPTERS:

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com

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Jamie Hunt is the Founder and CEO of Fast Penny Spirits, an Italian Amaro liqueur company based in Seattle, WA. European adventures and a rich family history of wine and liqueur making sparked her dive into the world of Amaro. On today's show, Jamie shares her inspiration for starting her own company and why she left her tech career behind. Additionally, she discusses women empowerment, meaningful opportunities, and career mentorship for a growth trajectory.

Furthermore, she gives some wonderful advice, speaking to the lessons and challenges she has faced in her career as a leader and a woman in a male-dominated industry. Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Fast Penny Spirits is the American version of Italian Amaro liqueur
-Switching career paths from the tech industry to the liquor and beverage industry
-Impactful opportunities, lessons, and proud moments in life and work

ABOUT THE GUEST:
Jamie Hunt Co-founder & CEO, Fast Penny Spirits
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieahunt
Links: https://www.fastpennyspirits.com

CHAPTERS:

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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Jessica Akers is a leader in commerce innovation at General Mills, the parent brand to some of the most well-known food and CPG brands on the planet. The continued growth of e-commerce and the changing expectations of consumers in the digital age has kept her at the forefront of change in the food sector. By applying agile marketing techniques and technology to learn at the pace and scale of global business, she is on a quest to provide connected consumer experiences.
In this episode, Jess shares about her role at General Mills, as well as her career journey to becoming a leader in commerce innovation. She discusses the importance of continued innovation and how she takes advantage of every opportunity to make sure the brands she works with will be competitive in the market.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

TAKEAWAYS

Roles and responsibilities as a leader of commerce innovation
The importance of innovation and technology and how these things provide a competitive edge
The milestones and lessons learned throughout her career journey

ABOUT THE GUEST

Jess Akers Global Commerce Innovation Manager, General Mills
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jessica-akers-85b31085
Website: https://www.generalmills.com

CHAPTERS

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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Vanessa Pham is the Co-Founder and CEO of Omsom, a company built for and committed to bringing loud and proud Asian flavors to American households. In this episode, Vanessa discusses the humble beginnings of the Asian cuisine inspired brand, along with its mission and principles. She shares the lessons she learned from friends and mentors along her journey and what continues to inspire her. Additionally, she talks about the impact the brand made in the food industry and how its business model is different than most.

Vanessa shares her experience being a venture-backed CPG brand and how working with investors such as Sidekick shaped her entrepreneurial senses. She goes on to share the importance of community and finding joy in cooking all things fermented, caramelized, and braised. Last year she was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Adweek’s Young Influentials.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Building a brand rooted in passion and driven by its mission
Upholding brand values and principles throughout every interaction
How Omsom's business model impacts and improves the Asian-American community

ABOUT THE GUEST

Vanessa Pham, Co-Founder & CEO of Omsom
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessatpham
Website: https://omsom.com

CHAPTERS

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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Join us for our conversation with Patti Doyle, the CEO of Rumi Spice. Founded by military veterans who served in Afghanistan, the spice company's mission is to bring flavorful, ethically sourced and socially responsible spices from Afghanistan to share with customers worldwide. In her own right, Patti is an accomplished and innovative B2C and B2B marketing executive with profit and loss responsibility, extensive experience in marketing strategy, business development, digital marketing, advertising, brand management, CRM and eCommerce. She Utilizes her outstanding interpersonal skills to lead cross-functional teams and to ensure that goals and objectives are achieved. In talking with Patti, we learn about Rumi Spice and her personal connection to the brand. In addition, she shares some of the challenges she has encountered throughout her career, as well as the pivotal and proud moments that pushed her to grow.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

QUOTES

"I'm a big believer in the power of the network. Those networks and the people you meet are the ones that are going to help chart that path for you." - Patti

"I'm so proud that we've grown our network of farmers and we've grown our network of women that are a part of harvesting and processing." - Patti

ABOUT THE GUEST

Patti Doyle
Chief Executive Officer at Rumi Spice
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pkdoyle
Website: https://www.rumispice.com

CHAPTERS

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing, and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health, and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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As a food-tech leader, author of The Future of Food is Female, and the founder of the Vegan Women Summit, Jennifer Stojkovic is an amazing woman who continues to push boundaries. She began her career working with renowned Silicon Valley investor and founder of SV Angel, Ron Conway. Following her time there, she entered the food-tech market. Throughout her career she has worked alongside some of tech's most well-known CEOs holding positions at Google, Microsoft and Facebook. In addition, she has also partnered with a number of fast-growing startups such as WeWork, Cruise and Postmates. Jennifer shares her career journey, what she has learned and the experiences she's had along the way, all of which have shaped her into the food industry leader she is today.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Jennifer Stojkovic
Author, Advisor, Founder of Vegan Women Summit
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferstojkovic
Website: https://www.jenniferstojkovic.com

QUOTES

"My views changed when I learned how Americans manage to put food on the table. Knowing the situation and wanting to change it motivated me." - Jennifer

"Every single community deserves culturally specific food products that are healthier and natural and plant-based and better for them." - Jennifer

"We must ensure that more people with more products and ideas that address more issues in more places are financially supported." - Jennifer

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This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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As an expert brand management and marketing leader, Kimberly Lam joins me to talk about her extensive experience developing both lifestyle and consumer packaged goods brands on a global scale. She has spent her career leading iconic brands, including Coca-Cola, Marriott, Delta and American Express. At all different intervals of her career, she has experienced changing business landscapes and accelerated growth for brands such as Chobani, which set out to create a new CPG category. Kim is currently the Marketing Director at Sanzo, where she is elevating the company's mission of bridging cultures through authentic Asian flavors. On today's Gooder podcast, Kim shares her career journey, including the lessons she learned and the impactful moments that shaped her life's work.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Overview of the Sanzo brand story and what makes them unique in the beverage space.
Impactful moments and decisions that shaped a different career path.
Courage to follow your intuition and do things differently.
Advice on non-linear careers and creating meaningful moments throughout the journey.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Kimberly Lam
Marketing Director, Sanzo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-lam-33229510
Links: https://drinksanzo.com

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This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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Join us as I sit with Cassie Burr, a Talent Partner at VMG Partners and the Executive director of the Women On Boards Projects which she co-founded in February 2020. From analyst to powerhouse talent developer, Cassie Burr talks about her her unforgettable and favorite life moments, and how she became the Executive Director of Women on Board Project. As women in leadership is on the rise, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

About the guest
Cassie Burr
Executive Director, Women On Board Project
Talent Partner at VMG Partners
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassieburr
Websites: https://www.vmgpartners.com / https://www.wobproject.com

Chapters
00:00 | Introduction
03:49 | What is the Women On Board Project and why does it exist?
08:09 | How does an analyst become a powerhouse talent developer and leader?
15:55 | Pivotal moments that changed Cassie’s life.
20:50 | The moment that working with Women On Board was the right decision
23:24 | Why do women want to be on boards and why are women not accepting the offer?
36:16 | How can someone become impactful in a business?
39:51 | What’s next for Cassie and her career?
42:07 | Conclusion

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand consultancy focused on building, growing and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit http://retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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Today Maya French, the founder of Koia and Joydays joins us to talk about her growth journey as an entrepreneur and startup founder. Both Koia and Joydays are mission-driven brands that are working to get healthy food and beverage products into the hands of underserved populations. Maya works hard to ensure that her products are filled with vital nutrients and wholesome ingredients to counteract unhealthy eating habits across America, ones that she’s all too familiar with. Maya and I also discuss burnout and how she approaches taking breaks by finding a creative space to thrive in and coming out better on the other side. Maya also shares which key relationships have shaped her career and her outlook on what’s next for her.

Today's episode is hosted by Diana Fryc of Retail Voodoo, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianafryc/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Brands Koia and Joydays, who are they and how do the products help consumers seeking healthy food options.
The important mission behind Maya’s work and how it shapes her leadership.
Maya’s journey to becoming an entrepreneur and mentor in the better-for-you food business.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Maya French
CPG Entrepreneur, Cofounder Koia and founder of Joydays
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-french-b706a036
Links: https://getjoydays.com / https://drinkkoia.com

CHAPTERS:

This episode is brought to you by Retail Voodoo. A brand, marketing and design consultancy focused on building, growing and revitalizing brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. If you are ready to find a partner that will help your business create a high-impact strategy that gives your brand an advantage, please visit retail-voodoo.com/contact to set up a discovery call today.

Produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

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In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Junea Rocha, the Co-founder and CMO of Brazi Bites, to discuss how she’s helping entrepreneurs succeed through the Latino Entrepreneur Accelerator Program. Junea talks about the program, the industry gap she’s trying to reduce, how the program will help startup leaders achieve success, and the criteria for joining the program.

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Zahira Marmar is the Founder and Chief Tea Brewer at Hrbvor, a line of organic herbal teas formulated for function. She is a wife and a mom of three who’s on a mission to share the protective health benefits of herbal tea with families everywhere. Zahira was also the Co-founder of St. Maarten Garden Artists, where she designed and maintained organic vegetable and herb gardens for private clients, schools, and resorts. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master's in community regeneration.

In this episode… How can you have work-life harmony even when you’re running a business?

Growing up, drinking herbal tea was a way of life for Zahira Marmar. After moving from St. Martin to New Jersey with her family, she could not find herbal tea in any store. That's when she started to brew tea for her family, which later caught other people's attention. Discovering that it could be a great business opportunity, she took the risk with a mission to empower families nationwide to get healthy with herbal teas. Now, Zahira shares how she overcame the challenges of running a beverage brand and gained the work-life harmony she needed.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Zahira Marmar, the Founder and Chief Tea Brewer at Hrbvor, to discuss work-life harmony while running a beverage brand. Zahira talks about her herbal tea company, Hrbvor, tips for having work-life harmony, and the mistakes and lessons she learned in her entrepreneurial journey.

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Katrina Tolentino is the Executive Director at Naturally Network, a national community for natural, organic, and better-for-you consumer packaged goods. Katrina creates opportunities and experiences that foster connections between diverse groups to build a stronger ecosystem. She has over 17 years of experience in launching and scaling organizations and programs through partnerships, program and experience strategy, and community engagement. Prior to Naturally Network, Katrina was the Executive Director at Naturally Austin, where she launched the M/O Fellowship, a six-month program that supports CPG founders of color.

In this episode… Where can diverse CPG founders gain the resources and connections needed to succeed?

Diverse — and often underrepresented — groups have the power to take the industry to another level. In order to do so, there needs to be communities and networks that can support, coach, point them in the right direction, and help them access the resources they need to thrive. Through the incredible stories of brands that have already succeeded despite the barriers, Katrina Tolentino is sharing how networks in the CPG industry are working to support marginalized voices and leaders.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Katrina Tolentino, the Executive Director at Naturally Network, to discuss how they help underrepresented CPG founders succeed. Katrina explains what Naturally Network does for the CPG industry, how the M/O Fellowship helps CPG brands prosper, and the partners and people she’s looking up to as advisors in the program.

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Becca Schepps is the Founder and CEO of Mortal Ventures, a brand that produces beverages that fight death. Becca founded Mortal Ventures after she was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic, on a mission to make kombucha that was low in sugar and high in bubbles. Prior to founding Mortal Ventures, Becca worked as a Freelance Creative Director across many industries, working with clients such as The Feed, Yasso, One Bar, Stages Cycling, Carrots, and more. Becca has extensive ad agency experience across all types of media.

In this episode… What does it take to run a successful beverage brand?

The beverage industry is a male-dominated industry, so, how did the Founder of Mortal Ventures, Becca Schepps succeed? She decided to be completely unconventional and turn kombucha on its head. Now, Becca’s here to share her journey as an entrepreneur in the beverage industry, the challenges, and the lessons she learned running her business.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Becca Schepps, the Founder and CEO of Mortal Ventures, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey and tips to succeed in the beverage industry. Becca explains the importance of natural brand accessibility, how she balances her personal and professional life, how her history as a creative director influences her leadership style, and her advice to other entrepreneurs.

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Brooke Lucy is the Co-owner and Founder of Bluebird Grain Farms, a vertically integrated farm business that produces, processes, and sells ancient and heritage wheat and grains. Brooke is a visionary, educator, people person, and networker. She believes that people deserve access to pure, clean food, and she believes that producers have an obligation and social responsibility to the planet and humankind to grow and deliver sustainable food with minimal water use and a low carbon footprint. Brooke is honored to be an entrepreneurial environmentalist where she can work with the land and integrate her infinite wisdom while driving good food to the people.

In this episode… How do nutritious, ancient grains and wheat positively impact the environment?

For quite some time, people have been unaware of ancient grains’ and wheats’ importance. In 2005, Brooke Lucy and her husband, Sam Lucy, started their vertically integrated farm business to raise awareness, grow, process, and sell organic ancient grains and heritage wheat varieties. Now, she’s here to share the challenges and lessons they’ve learned while growing and selling heirloom grains.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Brooke Lucy, the Co-owner and Founder of Bluebird Grain Farms, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey in growing, processing, and selling organic ancient grains and wheat. Brooke explains the fundamental shift in people's demand for ancient grains and wheat, product development and the farming practices they use to grow their grains, challenges they’ve faced, and her advice to new farmers and entrepreneurs.

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Angela Zeng is the Founder and CEO of Karviva, a wellness beverage brand. Angela has over 17 years of experience within the functional beverage and juice industry. Her passion for natural healing is rooted in her strong belief in traditional Chinese medicine and herbal sciences. Angela's heritage and passion for Eastern medicine, combined with her education and experience in modern medical research, motivated her to create something new for consumers.

In this episode… How do you provide wellness through healthy drinks — and run a successful brand?

More people want to consume healthier foods and beverages — and it’s up to entrepreneurs to leverage this. Angela Zeng believes that earth has provided us with an abundance of simple, natural, and nutritious plant-based ingredients — not just to sustain life, but to help it flourish. With this in mind, Angela started her beverage brand to take care of people in a natural way. Now, she’s sharing the challenges and lessons she has learned while running her company.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Angela Zeng, Founder and CEO of Karviva, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey running a successful, healthy beverage brand. Angela explains where the idea for Karviva came from, how to manage food waste, the challenges and lessons she learned maneuvering a young, growing brand in the beverage industry, and the impacts of veganism and plant-based foods on the American diet.

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Leigh Keith is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Perfects Snacks, which makes fresh-from-the-fridge protein snacks out of love for optimal health, fitness, and nutrition. Leigh has remained steadfast in building healthy communities from the inside out. In July of 2019, Perfect Snacks gained a majority interest acquisition from Mondelēz International, the global snacking leader. Leigh and Perfect Snacks have been awarded the NEXTY Award from New Hope media, and San Diego Magazine also named Leigh a Woman of the Year finalist.

In this episode… Do you have what it takes to succeed in the refrigerated snacks sector? At age 19, Leigh Keith started Perfect Snacks with her family. Now, they’ve revolutionized the billion-dollar protein category. How did they do it?

Leigh shares the journey of how Perfect Snacks managed to be successful in creating fresh, grab-and-go snacking options. She says that to succeed in this space, you have to be passionate and expect challenges but have a mindset that every misstep is taking you somewhere.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Leigh Keith, the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Perfect Snacks, to discuss the entrepreneurial journey as a successful refrigerated snacks brand. Leigh talks about Perfect Snacks and some of the challenges of running a business as a young person, their acquisition by Mondelēz International, leadership strategies, and her advice to other entrepreneurs.

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Suzan (Suz) Hernandez is the Founder and CEO at MamaP, a CPG brand that strives to make Mama Earth proud by offering affordable, eco-friendly alternatives to everyday products in beauty, health, and home goods. Coupled with an MBA from Indiana University and work experience at leading companies like Nike and P&G, Suz has a passion and drive for blending consumer products with purpose, sustainability, and design. Suz is leading the vision, product innovation, and go-to-market for MamaP. MamaP is a triple bottom-line company — focusing on people, planet, and then profits.

In this episode… If we take care of Mother Earth, in turn, she’ll take care of us. So, how do you promote affordable and eco-friendly products?

After becoming aware of the lack of options in the eco-friendly product space, Suz Hernandez founded MamaP. She shares their journey, challenges, and the lessons they’ve learned running MamaP to encourage other brands that it is possible to have a for-good, for-profit brand that’s eco-friendly. Suz believes that together, people have the power to make a difference and put Mother Earth first.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Suz Hernandez, the Founder and CEO of MamaP, to discuss ways to successfully run an eco-friendly brand. Suz explains the reasons why MamaP exists as a for-good, for-profit brand, the challenges and lessons they’ve learned, and how they’re growing and creating change.

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Tara Staten is the Marketing Director at Bulletproof, where they believe that the right nutrients can help you tap into your potential. By creating products that fuel a path to greatness, Bulletproof helps you feel your best every day. Tara's passion for delighting customers with better-for-you products motivated her to lead microbiology lab work to develop and market new products in the fast-paced CPG world.

In this episode… Want to provide healthy food and beverage options? Do you have what it takes to push the boundaries in this field?

Marketing Director at Bulletproof, Tara Staten, shares her entrepreneurial journey of how they challenge the nutrition norms to create healthy products that help people live their best lives. She shares her leadership style, challenges, and lessons she has learned in leading a successful CPG brand. Don’t miss out!

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Tara Staten, the Marketing Director at Bulletproof, to discuss ways to run a healthy, successful food and beverage brand. Tara explains the lessons she has learned that have contributed to her success, the leadership style she uses and how it has evolved with time, the importance of having mentors, and advice to leaders.

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Katrina Borisjuk is the Senior Director of SnackFutures and Intrapreneurial Founder and Lead of Dirt Kitchen Snacks Brands, the first business launched under Mondelēz International's Innovation and Venture hub. Dirt Kitchen Snacks is on a mission to make real veggies irresistibly snackable and help consumers get more veggies into their lives.

Katrina has been with Mondelēz International and its precursor Kraft Foods for over 15 years. Through several roles in the global growth organization, Katrina has had the privilege to travel the world, gaining consumer insights and international experience through project work across both developed and emerging markets, including Western Europe, Russia, China, and Mexico. Katrina’s current role as an intrapreneur has her growing a startup across both e-commerce and brick and mortar retail from the ground up. Prior to joining the food industry, Katrina worked in investment banking for Bear, Stearns, & Co. and Barnett & Partners LLC in New York.

In this episode… Want to maintain a healthy lifestyle by snacking on veggies? Here’s how one intrapreneur is helping you do so.

With her love for veggies and passion to provide people with healthy options, Katrina Borisjuk founded Dirt Kitchen Snacks. She shares tips on how they came up with a healthy snacking brand of veggies within a multinational established big brand and how they overcame most of their challenges during the process. So, tune in and learn about intrapreneurship and how you can leverage the advantages you have as a startup in a big company.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Katrina Borisjuk, the Senior Director of SnackFutures and Intrapreneurial Founder and Lead of Dirt Kitchen Snacks, to discuss her intrapreneurial journey in the healthy foods industry. Katrina explains the value of intrapreneurship and lessons she has learned, the process and challenges they faced launching a startup during the pandemic, and her advice to other entrepreneurs.

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Nina Tickaradze is the Founder and CEO of NADI, a certified women-owned enterprise and social venture with a mission to create jobs for displaced refugees. NADI produces organic juices and healthy snacks that are sold in organic grocery stores and supermarkets across the US. NADI’s products are inspired by ancient Georgian health traditions and old family recipes.

Nina is a native of the country of Georgia and was educated primarily in the United States. Nina is the Founder of the Georgia to Georgia Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes relationships between the state of Georgia and the country of Georgia. Nina is also the Co-chair of the Atlanta Tbilisi Sister City Committee and builds stronger business and cultural ties between Atlanta and its sister city of Tbilisi, which is the capital of Georgia. Nina is passionate about the ancient culture of the country of her birth and is an advocate for educating others about Georgia’s history, hospitality, and vibrant food and wine scene. Nina is a Certified Sommelier through the International Sommelier Guild.

In this episode… Do you have what it takes to run a social entity and achieve its goals? Social ventures come with their challenges, but the benefits of helping communities far outweigh the difficulties.

Nina Tickaradze runs a social entity with a mission to create job opportunities for refugees, and at the same time, serve people with healthy product options. Through running this company, she has learned that all businesses need to be unique in terms of their products, have funds, and have a purpose if they want to be successful. Business leaders also need to be in entrepreneurial networks to learn and have the support they require.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Nina Tickaradze, the Founder and CEO of NADI, to discuss tips on how to successfully run a healthy social venture. Nina explains the challenges of running a social venture and lessons she has learned as a leader, the importance of being in an entrepreneurial group outside of your organization, and her advice to other women leaders.

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Catherine Jaxon is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Mission MightyMe, a revolutionary food company on a mission to end the food allergy epidemic by making it easy for parents to include peanuts and other common food allergens in their babies’ diets early. Catherine is a mom of three, and her oldest daughter is allergic to most nuts. As a mom who knows what a burden food allergies can be, Catherine is passionate about helping other parents get proactive about preventing them. Prior to founding Mission MightyMe, Catherine was an award-winning journalist with CNN and is still an avid researcher and a journalist at heart.

In this episode… Are your kids struggling with food allergies? Would you like to learn proven tips on how to prevent food allergies from infancy?

Food allergies are on a rise, especially in the United States. Studies show that about 50% of kids in the US have food allergies. As parents, how do you prevent these allergies? First, you need to know the types of allergen foods. Next, you have to figure out which food your child is allergic to. And finally, you need a solution. There are products being created to help you as a parent prevent food allergies from kids before it gets worse.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Catherine Jaxon, the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Mission MightyMe, to discuss ways parents can prevent food allergies in their children. Catherine explains the importance of introducing microdoses of the allergen foods into babies’ diets early, the types of allergen foods we have, and the products Mission MightyMe creates to help prevent food allergies.

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Sophia Maroon is the Founder and CEO of Dress It Up Dressing, a company that offers olive oil-based dressings with gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan, paleo, keto and Whole-30-friendly varieties. Since Sophia couldn't find a salad dressing on the market that resembled homemade — and because her brother challenged her — she decided to create Dress It Up Dressing using her mother’s recipe. Sophia is also a filmmaker with three kids.

In this episode… Dressings should be as healthy as your salad. So, where can you get clean, high-quality, classic-flavored dressings to whip up a delicious and healthy dish?

People need to understand what they are eating — if it’s healthy or not — and that includes the dressing they use on their salad. Sophia Maroon shares her entrepreneurial journey of how she started her dressing and marinades company to provide tips to entrepreneurs on how to run a successful business — and educate people about healthy eating.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Sophia Maroon, the Founder and CEO of Dress It Up Dressing, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey in making healthy dressings and marinades for salads. Sophia explains her 10-year journey of scaling Dress It Up Dressing and the mistakes she avoided, the kind of networks an entrepreneur should have to succeed, and her advice to entrepreneurs.

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Donna Katz is the CEO and Founder of G's Hard Ginger Beer, a company that crafts vibrantly flavorful, absurdly aromatic, refreshing, and memorable dry hard ginger beers that are ready to drink and ready to mix. Donna is an Australian native who moved to Napa Valley, California in 2013. In 2014, Donna began dry-farming a small block of grapevines by hand and making restrained-style wines. Donna started fermenting ginger for her own digestive health, often incorporating foraged and seasonal ingredients. She quickly came to realize she was making beverages she couldn’t buy — ones that had no added sugar or sweeteners and were crafted with only real ingredients.

In this episode… Are you struggling to find healthy beverages that you can enjoy as a consumer? How can you have a great business catering to these needs as an entrepreneur? What tips can help you achieve these goals on both the consumer and producer side?

Many people nowadays are seeking transparency and cleaner alcohol options to support their active and healthier lifestyles. As an entrepreneur, you should view this as an opportunity to come up with a solution for them. That’s why Donna Katz shares her entrepreneurial journey, tips, and lessons she learned as an entrepreneur — and how people can stay healthy.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Donna Katz, the CEO and Founder of G's Hard Ginger Beer, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey in beverages, specifically in the alcohol category. Donna talks about what inspired her to found G’s Hard Ginger Beer, the lessons she has learned developing the company, and the importance of growing through mentorship and industry networks.

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Snehdeep Brar is the Head of Technical Services and R&D at Lenny & Larry’s, a company with a strong purpose of sustaining people's energy throughout the day with clean nutrition — without depriving you of your favorite snacks (like cookies). Snehdeep is a CPG leader with an aim to help businesses achieve targets sustainably, through enabling innovation, commercialization, processes, best practices, and capability building. She has worked with developed and emerging brands like PepsiCo, Century Snacks, and Mars.

In this episode… What are consumer trends leaning toward in the food and beverage space? How can you gain insight, innovate, and cater to the consumer’s needs?

Life is so precious, and that’s why consumers are turning toward healthier options. The good thing is that a lot of companies are advocates for healthy living, like Lenny & Larry’s, and are exemplary, innovative brands. These successful brands learn from challenges, bring that consumer feedback into the innovation process early on, have conceptual thinking, and are quick to come up with ideas.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Snehdeep Brar, the Head of Technical Services and R&D at Lenny & Larry’s, to discuss design thinking in innovation within the world of BFY food and beverage. Snehdeep explains strategies to successfully work in different markets, the tools and tactics she uses to be successful, and advice to people working with different brands.

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Richa Gupta is the President and Founder of Good Food For Good, a Toronto-based, purpose-driven brand on a mission to make it easy for people to eat well and do good. Richa was driven to start this brand by her growing desire to make a difference in the world through food. Richa’s fierce belief in the power of real, whole food and her love for cooking empowered her to create food products that were both nutritious and delicious. Richa is a passionate consumer marketer with over 15 years of experience in Canada, USA, and India spanning consumer packaged goods, retail, and fashion industries.

In this episode… How do you bridge the gap between convenience, quality, giving, and consumption? How do you provide food that people feel good about where healthy meets delicious?

Richa Gupta says that brand owners should learn as much as they can about their consumers' needs in order to make a product that is tailored to them, thus increasing sales and reducing waste. Additionally, brands need to align their values with those of the community to do good beyond the business.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Richa Gupta, the President and Founder of Good Food For Good, to discuss ways you can provide healthy food to consumers and run a successful business all at the same time. Richa shares her entrepreneurial journey and lessons she has learned, the details of mindful consumption, waste, and recycling, and her advice to other entrepreneurs wanting to make an impact.

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Rebecca Hamilton is the second-generation Owner and Co-CEO at Badger, a natural and organic personal care manufacturer, known for its unique company philosophy, pioneering family-friendly benefits, and B Corp community engagement. In addition to her role as Co-CEO, Rebecca leads marketing and sustainability initiatives. She's an advocate for issues concerning the environment, ingredient transparency, and societal change. Rebecca has spoken at the White House, addressed the UN Convention on biological diversity in support of organic and regenerative agriculture, and testified before Congress on behalf of safer cosmetics. Rebecca has also attended the Senate and House briefings on Capitol Hill in support of family-friendly workplace practices and chemical reform.

In this episode… How can you run a profitable business and have a positive impact on the world at the same time?

Almost everyone dreams of running a business that positively impacts the environment and community and has good returns. As a business owner and advocate for environmental issues, ingredient transparency, and societal change, Rebecca Hamilton knows exactly what it takes to bring about positive change. From mission-aligned partnerships to leadership activism, Rebecca shares her journey to success to inspire other entrepreneurs out there.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Rebecca Hamilton, second-generation Owner and Co-CEO at Badger, to discuss ways to impact the world positively with your brand and have good returns. Rebecca explains how she uses Badger as a platform to enact positive change, impacts the National Women's Business Council has on women in business, and she gives advice to people who want to be advocates and good business owners, brand stewards, and leaders within their organization.

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Maria Covarrubias is the Co-founder and Culinary Expert at Cien Chiles, a company that creates sustainable, healthy, and delicious hot sauces that make meals better while making the world a better place to cook them. Maria is an experienced culinary developer with a demonstrated history in the food and beverage industry. She also works at Chosen Foods as a Corporate Culinary Specialist. Previously, Maria worked as a professionally trained chef under Thomas Keller's Restaurant Group, both in Napa Valley and New York City.

Maria has been inspired by the flavors, taste, and power of food from a very young age. She finds joy in cooking for her daughter, friends, and family and showcasing fresh ingredients in every meal. For Maria, sourcing fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients is a priority for everything.

In this episode… Is your mission to offer the world sustainable, healthy, and delicious meals — and run a successful business at the same time?

Maria Covarrubias, “the sauce queen,” has learned many lessons throughout her career as a successful entrepreneur. Now, she is sharing her insights to help others achieve their goals, eat better, and live a healthy life. To be successful, Maria says entrepreneurs need to have mentors, stop chasing too many opportunities at once, know the ins and outs of the business they want to create, and much more. Achieving success is easier if you learn from entrepreneurs that have already made it.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Maria Covarrubias, the Co-founder and Culinary Expert at Cien Chiles, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey as “the sauce queen.” Maria shares the inspirations behind her sauce ideas, the importance of having mentors in any venture of your life, and her advice to entrepreneurs, innovators, and creators.

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Erika Cottrell is the Vice President of Marketing for Harbor Wholesale. Erika has extensive experience building beloved brands with inspired marketing and innovation that consumers, customers, and employees love. She is a consumer-centered leader leveraging entrepreneurial, mid-size, and Fortune 500 experience to lead the strategic planning, development, and execution of a company’s business objectives.

Previously, Erika was the General Manager of the Coffee Solutions Group for The Middleby Corporation and the Vice President of Marketing in the Consumer Foods Division for The J.M. Smucker Company.

In this episode… Running a national CPG brand and a distribution company seems like two different playing fields — but they might not be as different as you think.

Managing both types of companies requires strong leadership skills, authenticity and genuine concern for employees, and knowledge about the ins and outs of a business. What other skills are necessary to run two different types of companies? Erika Cottrell is here to tell you.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Erika Cottrell, Vice President of Marketing for Harbor Wholesale, to discuss her path in the world of CPG and distribution. Erika shares how her experiences at Smucker’s helped her grow Harbor Wholesale, how she helped Smucker’s smoothly integrate two companies after an acquisition, and why she loves working at Harbor Wholesale.

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Mae Steigler is the CEO at Organifi, a brand that uses the healing powers of superfoods to make healthy living easy, fun, and delicious. Mae is a maker of premium, great-tasting adaptogenic blends. Responsible for the brand's overall alignment, Mae is driven by her passion and responsibility for the development of Organifi’s people and processes.

Organifi has been named one of Inc.’s 5000 fastest-growing companies four times and was on Forbes’ “great places to work” list for the last three years.

In this episode… Are you struggling to make healthy living the new norm for you and your family?

Mae Steigler says that choosing delicious, healthy options doesn’t have to be complicated. As she talks about some of the healing powers that superfoods have, she also shares how her company is empowering others to take action and live healthier lives. Mae believes healthy eating should be for everyone, and that’s why she’s creating content to educate people on its importance.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Mae Steigler, the CEO at Organifi, to discuss how Mae successfully runs an organic brand. Mae explains the impacts of eating organically-produced foods, ways to empower your team to be sustainable, and the importance of educating people on eating healthy. Plus, Mae talks about some of the leadership skills she’s learned and how she helped the company pivot during the start of the pandemic.

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Suzie Yorke is a Board Member and Founder of Love Good Fats. Additionally, Suzie is a triathlete, 11-time Ironman finisher, yogi, marketing executive, mom of four, and a proud supporter of the LGBT community. Love Good Fats was born out of the pursuit to empower others to embrace a totally new way of eating. Suzie spent years cutting fat out of her diet, only to find that she felt worse than before. After a little research, she learned that sugar and carbs might actually be the culprit. She immediately shifted to a high-fat, low-carb diet and never felt better. Now, she's on a fierce mission to spread the word that fat is back and sugar is out.

Starting in 2017, Suzie led the launch and expansion of Love Good Fats to exceed $100 million in gross revenue in just over three years. She has received multiple awards, including the 2019 Mompreneur® Startup Award, 2019 WXN Top 100 BMO Entrepreneur Award, The Women of Inspiration 2021 Special Recognition Entrepreneur Award, and 2021 RevolutionHER Entrepreneur Role Model Award.

In this episode… Many people spend their grocery trips searching for the little green “fat-free” label. In an effort to live healthy, is cutting out fats really the best answer?

Suzie Yorke spent years avoiding butter, hamburgers, and eggs because of the high fat content. She spent her free time running Ironman races and triathlons, so it seemed natural to seek the best possible diet. But amid rising blood pressure and IBS flare-ups, her body gave her a clear warning sign — this is not working. Suzie discovered The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz and flipped to a high-fat, low-carb diet. When she realized the rest of the world needed this same diet, she decided, “Well, we don’t need another book. We need a product.” Thus, Love Good Fats was born.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Suzie Yorke, Founder and Board Member of Love Good Fats, to discuss her journey to produce convenient snacks with healthy fats. Suzie talks about the early days of pitching the idea, finding investors, and how her previous experience with Frito Lay and Weight Watchers gave her the right knowledge to start Love Good Fats. Plus, Suzie opens up about why life on the autism spectrum doesn’t have to limit you.

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Jean Joyce Thompson is many things: mother, entrepreneur, world traveler, and chocolate lover. A native New Englander, Jean graduated from Bates College before embarking on a career in high tech. Between software and chocolate, Jean was raising two children in Bellevue, Washington, and devoting her free time to nonprofit work. After the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake left the Seattle Chocolate manufacturing facility in ruins, Jean took on the job of owner and CEO, relocating the factory and running the daily operations of the company.

Jean’s determination, willingness to learn and adapt, and curiosity fueled her as she led the company into a new era. In the process, she grew from marketer to business visionary, and from chocolate eater to chocolate maven with a sense of purpose.

In this episode… Chocolate comes in all sizes, shapes, and qualities. It’s thrown around on holidays and binged on a bad day. But does it really have a purpose beyond a sugary treat?

Jean Joyce Thompson and her Seattle Chocolate Company are using their creamy and delicious truffles to make a difference. Within the company, Jean is cherishing and empowering diversity among staff members. The new jcoco line of chocolate has donated over four million servings of food to food banks across the US. And of course, the simple gift of chocolate can brighten anyone’s day.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Jean Joyce Thompson, Owner and CEO of Seattle Chocolate Company, to discuss the adventures of the chocolate business. Jean talks about why she bought the company, lessons she learned during the early days, and how the business is building up communities.

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Seleyn DeYarus is the Founder and Executive Director of Regenerative Rising. She is recognized for helping galvanize the global regenerative movement. She brings together thought leaders from business, civic, academia, and agriculture networks for shared solutions to extractive models in the food, fashion, and beauty industries. Seleyn designs experiences to accelerate commitments to social and environmental justice, climate action, and building a regenerative economy.

From 2009 to 2016, Seleyn served as CEO of Best Organics Inc, a certified B Corp and a leading online organic gift box and brand promotion company. Best Organics worked with social-mission-guided organic brands from across the USA to grow consumer awareness about healthy lifestyle brands one gift at a time. It was sold in June 2016 to Dave Noel, founder of Organic Bliss Baking Company.

In this episode… The three biggest impacts on the planet are transportation, clothing, and agriculture. Is it possible for all three industries to work together to make the world a greener place?

Absolutely. All life is interconnected and interdependent. Especially food and fashion, since both have major agricultural inputs. Fashion uses flax, linen, cotton, and leathers, and then of course most of our food is raised from the ground up. By leaving the monoculture paradigm behind, we can start having companion crops, like garbanzo and cotton. If these large industries start to collaborate with these types of plot experiments, it raises the bar of experimentation and exploration. What else is possible with an alliance between industry players?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Seleyn DeYarus, Founder and Executive Director of Regenerative Rising, to discuss the benefits of regenerative agriculture. Seleyn talks about why industry leaders need to come together to promote regenerative ideas, common concerns from businesses considering the change, and what she hopes for the future.

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Natasha Case is the Co-founder of Coolhaus, the leading women and LGBTQ-founded and led ice cream brand in the country, and President of Brand Experience at The Urgent Company. Natasha has been listed on Forbes’ “30 under 30 Food & Beverage,” Zagat’s “30 Under 30,” LinkedIn’s “10 under 35 for Food & Leisure,” “10 Most Successful Women in Business” by Leaders Globe, and was recently named UCLA “LGBTQ+ 2019 Alum of the Year.” She has been featured in many national publications like Entrepreneur, LA Times, and Bon Appetit. She also co-hosted her own podcast, Start to Sale through Eater/Vox Media.

Natasha is devoted to leading Coolhaus' social mission of inspiring the next generation of women and LGBTQ founders, entrepreneurs, and creators of diverse backgrounds. Natasha has partnered with Black Girl Ventures to create ice cream to raise funds for entrepreneurial grants. She is also committed to teaching courses and attends frequent public speaking engagements to push the envelope for the next generation.

In this episode… Most people have dreams that they are too afraid to follow. Daunted by risks and an unpredictable path, they let their passions fall to the wayside. But what happens when you decide to step up and make those dreams happen?

Natasha Case had a stable job as an architect with Disney Imagineering. However, she had a dream to make a bigger impact than just amusement parks. She started by making ice cream sandwiches to comfort people during the recession of 2009. Encouraged by her partner and the success of an ice cream truck at Coachella, Natasha decided to pursue an entrepreneurial path. Now her passion for food and architecture works together to create amazing ice cream novelties and empower fellow women to follow their dreams.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc sits down with Natasha Case, Co-founder and President of Brand Experience at Coolhaus, to discuss how her brand is making a difference. Natasha talks about the mission of Coolhaus, how her architecture background helps the company, and the recent acquisition by Perfect Day.

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Alexi Cashen is the Co-founder and CEO of Elenteny Imports, a wine distribution and logistics business. She was instrumental in growing the business to over eight figures in revenue. She is also the Host of the Alexi Cashen Podcast, where she features leaders from the wine and spirits industries, many of which she has helped launch and manage. In her spare time, Alexi became Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of St. Hildie’s Spiked Tincture Tonics, which launched in 2021.

Alexi is celebrating 20 years of experience in the food and wine industry. Her career is marked by a wealth of roles in hospitality, retail, wholesale, and supplier positions. She started out in the restaurant industry in her home state of Colorado before moving to New York City to season her career.

In this episode… The better-for-you alcohol industry is booming. But just how good-for-you are these products?

Some products boast low calories. Others boast “all-natural” ingredients. But they usually have added sugar, and most of them have low-quality ingredients and artificial flavoring. Where is the drink with great taste and great quality? Where can you find a drink with ingredient integrity?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Alexi Cashen, Co-founder and CEO of Elenteny Imports and Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of St. Hildie’s Spiked Tincture Tonics, to discuss what sets her drinks apart. Alexi talks about the mission of St. Hildie’s, how she is helping other companies handle distribution and logistics with Elenteny Imports, and why she is passionate about changing the alcohol industry.

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Erin Baker is the President and Founder of Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods. Erin has turned her love of wholesome ingredients into a thriving business that hand bakes and distributes breakfast goods and snacks all around the country. Erin Baker’s® most famous offering and the genesis for the company is The Original Breakfast Cookie, created in 1994. A full meal in itself, Erin created the innovative concoction as a spin on the healthy oatmeal cakes her mother baked and sent her to school with every day.

In addition to baking with integrity, Erin and her team give back to the community. For over 10 years, they have donated 10,000 breakfast cookies a month to 18 Boys & Girls Clubs in Western Washington. So far, they have donated 975,000 — and they're just getting started!

In this episode… When you have a packed schedule, breakfast is usually one of the first things to get thrown off your agenda. If anything, people just grab a quick muffin or Pop-Tart on their way out the door. They have natural flavoring, so they’re healthy… right?

Unfortunately, most “natural flavorings'' aren't as natural as they seem. Companies only have to meet a few basic requirements to be able to write “natural flavoring” on their labels. Most of the time, that natural flavoring is just oil and sugar — a combination that the average American palette has been conditioned to expect. While this may create tastier foods, it certainly makes them less nutritious. That’s why Erin Baker is busy creating wholesome baked goods like the Breakfast Cookie, so you can have a healthy start to your day — on the go.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Erin Baker, President and Founder of Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods, to discuss how she is offering a better-for-you breakfast for everybody. Erin tells the story of starting the company, how she is helping struggling youth in the Boys & Girls Clubs, and why she is passionate about ingredient integrity.

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Andrea Heuston is the CEO and Founder of Artitudes Design. Artitudes Design is a full-service graphic design firm that develops award-winning design solutions for individuals, small businesses, corporations, and enterprise clients. They create compelling, executive-level presentation design for nonprofits, consumers, corporations, retail, finance, press, analysts, and internal staff.

Andrea is also a TEDx speaker coach, Host of the Lead Like a Woman Show, and the #1 Best-Selling Author of Stronger on the Other Side: The Power to Choose. She is currently a Board Member for Entrepreneurs’ Organization and was previously on the board of Encompass and Olive Crest.

In this episode… Speakers need help — even when they don’t know it. What are the keys to a successful presentation?

There’s a number of factors that come into play — but a flawless design sure doesn’t hurt. Andrea Heuston started Artitudes Design to help speakers create impactful presentations that say exactly what they need to. Plus, she coaches speakers on how to connect with their audience and leave a powerful impression. Now that most events are virtual, it takes considerable effort to claim someone’s attention above the sound of kids running around, dogs barking, telephones ringing, and notifications buzzing. How does she do it?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Andrea Heuston, CEO and Founder of Artitudes Design, to discuss how she is empowering speakers — especially women speakers. Andrea talks about the beginning of Artitudes, tips to create a stellar presentation, and how she is empowering women through the Lead Like a Woman Show.

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Amy Friedlander Hoffman is the Chief Business Officer for Liquid Death Mountain Water. Liquid Death is a quickly-growing beverage brand that packages water in infinitely recyclable tallboy cans. Amy oversees sales, marketing, merchandising, development for commercial strategies, and business development for all brand partnerships.

Before joining the Liquid Death team, Amy was the Head of Business for Uber. She oversaw more than 150 partnerships across entertainment, music, sports, venues, community, and brand. Her work earned a spot on Billboard’s “Top Branding Power Players.” Prior to Uber, Amy ran Priority Digital Media, a strategic consulting practice focused on content, media, and distribution.

In this episode… There’s good marketing. There’s great marketing. And then there’s Liquid Death’s marketing.

Liquid Death took a healthy habit and made it 50 times more fun — by turning traditional marketing on its head. Instead of trying to send a weighty message about the benefits of drinking water, they use comedy to promote their product. They’re not making fun of others — just of themselves. By using humor, they're connecting with more consumers, promoting good habits, and helping the environment.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Amy Friedlander Hoffman, Chief Business Officer for Liquid Death, to discuss their innovative marketing strategies. Amy talks about how the company is helping the environment, the company’s structure for success, and why humor is the perfect marketing tool.

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Diana Fryc is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Retail Voodoo. Diana has over 20 years of experience in marketing, research, copywriting, relationship building, and business development. Before her time with Retail Voodoo, Diana was a freelance consultant for marketing and project management services, the Director for New Business Development and Client Services at Lemley Design, and the President of AAF Seattle.

In this episode… It’s been a busy year for the Gooder Podcast. Listeners like you have tuned in for conversations from stellar female leaders from every corner of the food, beverage, and wellness industries. What are some of the highlights?

Host Diana Fryc shares insights from standout interviews. A chat with Maisie Antoniello, Senior Marketing Executive for Jones Soda, reveals the secret to growing a brand while evolving with the times. Diana’s discussion with Danielle Laubenstein, Director of Global Marketing for Mauna Loa, teaches us the importance of respecting legacy and culture while developing a brand strategy. What else is there for us to learn from the past year?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, host Diana Fryc is joined by Rise25 Co-founder Dr. Jeremy Weisz to review the best interviews from the past year. Diana shares what she learned from talking with powerhouse women leaders, innovative new ideas in the food, beverage, and wellness space, and her experience attending NOSH Live.

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Amanda Sains is the Director of Marketing at Joolies California Superfruit. Joolies offers California-grown, organic Medjool dates as a delicious and healthy snack. As Director of Marketing, Amanda bridges the gap between branded food and commoditized produce. She is a passionate brand builder by nature and comes from multiple functional CPG companies.

Previously, Amanda was the Director of Marketing and Business Development at B’more Organic and the Director of Marketing at Vive Organic. She is currently the Marketing Director for Desert Valley Date. Amanda holds both a BS and MS from West Virginia University.

In this episode… Dates. Are we talking about going out to dinner or the fruit that grandmas eat?

Neither. We’re talking about the sweet, nutritious fruit that is for everyone. Grown in southern California under the year-round sunshine, Medjool dates are naturally sweet and a great source of dietary fiber, magnesium, and copper. While they may have previously held a reputation as an old-people snack, Amanda Sains is on a mission to change that — and she’s succeeding. Thanks to her branding and marketing expertise, Joolies California Superfruit is offering dates as a better-for-you snack that millennials are snatching up. So, how did Amanda turn around the reputation of a brown, wrinkly fruit?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Amanda Sains, Director of Marketing at Joolies California Superfruit, to discuss how she is bridging the gap between branded food and commoditized produce. Amanda shares how Joolies got started, why she is passionate about the better-for-you industry, and how she is reaching new audiences with strategic marketing. She also opens up about maintaining a healthy work-life balance while working towards big goals.

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Holly Lyman is the Founder of Wild Tonic, a brand of Good Omen Bottling. She is an encaustic artist from Alaska who has mastered the ancient art of Jun kombucha, among other ferments, and grows many of the ingredients on her ranch in Sedona. Holly’s interest in fermentation stems from her days as an artist, using beeswax as her main medium. This transformed into working with honey, which later transitioned into a fascination with a rare ferment known as Jun. After years of brewing experiments with this live culture, Wild Tonic was born.

Holly’s company is recognized by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council as a certified women-owned business. She also prioritizes the promotion of women into management positions and considers it a foundation of her company.

In this episode… Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a drink that tasted great and gave you a boost — without the unhealthy ingredients?

Holly Lyman thought so too. That’s why she started experimenting with beverages using the Jun culture. It’s a rare cousin of kombucha, an ancient ferment known as an elixir of life and enlightenment. While kombucha uses cane sugar, the Jun culture is made from honey. There’s plenty of folklore surrounding its origins — some say the monks used it for energy. The Jun culture has been passed on for generations but never commercialized… until now.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Holly Lyman, Founder and Queen Bee of Wild Tonic, to discuss her journey to create a revolutionary, healthy beverage. Holly talks about how she discovered the amazing qualities of honey, her transition from art to beverages, and the challenges she overcame while building up Wild Tonic.

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Maria Littlefield is the Co-founder and COO of Owl’s Brew. Owl’s Brew makes boozy beverages with 100% real ingredients. Their fresh-brewed tea, fruit, and botanicals have no artificial flavors, sugar substitutes, or parabens. Maria has been chosen by Forbes as “30 Under 30” among food and beverage entrepreneurs and has been selected as “35 Under 35 Food Entrepreneurs” by the Specialty Food Association.

Maria is also the Co-author of Wise Cocktails, a book about tea cocktails. She graduated from Skidmore College and lives in New York City. Previously, she was a Partner at Brew Lab Tea and the Director of Integrated Marketing at Talent Resources.

In this episode… Unfortunately, when a food label says “natural flavoring,” their origins are still a little hazy. To earn the “natural” label, the FDA only requires that the original base is something from the earth. That means your raspberry flavoring could be made from animal by-products or other unclean ingredients.

Unless you’re talking about Owl’s Brew. When they say your drink is raspberry flavored — it was made from real, red, and ripe raspberries. No chemicals, no sugar substitutes, and no funny business. Just amazingly delicious and totally clean boozy teas.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Maria Littlefield, Co-founder and COO of Owl’s Brew, to discuss her journey to revolutionize the brewing business. Maria talks about why she started making boozy teas, how she upheld the standard of real, fresh ingredients, and the importance of empowering young women in the beverage industry.

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Kristin Schroeder is the Co-founder and CEO of Moonlight Beverage Company. The company recently launched two patented first-to-market beverages that harness the power of nitric oxide, known as the miracle molecule. Wingman Smart Energy is a performance beverage made with amino acids and natural ingredients, and Love Life is an enhanced intimacy beverage.

Kristin has a strong technical background in manufacturing, tech service, product development, and intellectual property as a chemical engineer and co-inventor of three US patents. After gaining business experience at a Fortune 100 company, Kristin switched gears. She earned an AASD in Interior Design and ran her own residential design company until joining forces with her husband to launch Moonlight Beverage Company.

In this episode… What ingredients do you think of when someone says “energy drink?” Caffeine, amino acids, and sugar? What about nitric oxide?

If you’ve got a blank stare — that’s OK. The knowledge of nitric oxides' amazing health benefits is just beginning to emerge. Scientists have coined it the “miracle molecule.” The Moonlight Beverage Company has a mission to make nitric oxide more accessible by blending it with amino acids, ribose, caffeine, and vitamin B for an incredible energy drink that benefits your brain, heart, and body. But how did this journey begin?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Kristin Schroeder, Co-founder and CEO of Moonlight Beverage Company, to discuss how they have reinvigorated energy drinks with nitric oxide. Kristin talks about the health benefits of nitric oxide, the inspiration behind Moonlight Beverage Company, and how she works with her husband to bring their mission to life.

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Fumi James (Watanabe) is the Senior Director of Global Foods and Breakthrough Innovations Brand Design for PepsiCo. Fumi is a passionate, creative thinker experienced in leading teams to deliver beautiful and purpose-driven brand design. She’s helped lead the design for campaigns like the “Pepsi Generation” and Pure Leaf’s “No is Beautiful.” Fumi is also a champion of creative diversity and maximizing individual strengths in a team.

Fumi began her 15+ years of branding and retail expertise at Starbucks Coffee Company before joining PepsiCo in 2016. As the Creative Manager at Starbucks, she built a top-performing in-house design team, managed multiple re-brandings and promotions, and led packaging redesigns.

In this episode… In a large organization like PepsiCo, it’s easy to feel intimidated by the world-class leaders surrounding you. How can you overcome your fears in order to contribute?

Remember that you’re in the room for a reason. It doesn’t matter if you have a PhD from a prestigious university or a degree from a community college. You’ve honed your skills over years of success and failure through the hard knocks of life. Your unique perspective and experiences are a strength to any organization. What makes you different from everyone else is exactly what makes you valuable — no one can replace you.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Fumi James, the Senior Director of Global Foods and Breakthrough Innovations Brand Design for PepsiCo, to discuss why experience outweighs advanced degrees. Fumi shares the story of her humble beginnings, how she developed a strategic design mindset, and why she values portfolios over educational background. She also talks about how to cultivate a work environment that values diversity and inclusion.

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Jenny Costa is the Founder and CEO of Rubies in the Rubble, the UK’s leading anti-food-waste brand. Rubies in the Rubble make great-tasting condiments using ingredients that would otherwise go to waste. Jenny made her first batch of relishes from surplus vegetables and fruits in 2011 in her small kitchen. Now, she works with farmers and producers across the country to put surplus fruits and vegetables to good use.

Jenny received an MA in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Edinburgh. She worked in Institutional Sales at Odey Asset Management for a year and a half before starting Rubies in the Rubble. Since then, she’s won numerous awards including Investec Food and Drink Award Entrepreneur (2014), Marie Claire’s Women at the Top Award (2014), and Good Housekeeping’s Food Hero Award (2013).

In this episode… Nearly one-third of all food produced globally goes to waste. That staggering statistic begs the question: is there a better way to utilize the food on our planet?

How about delicious fruit and vegetable chutneys? Rubies in the Rubble gathers produce that’s rejected from traditional markets for a funny shape, under or over-ripeness, or other minor defects. Instead of throwing them in the bin, they’re blended into tasty spreads like Apple & Cranberry Chutney, Pear & Fig Relish, and Banana Ketchup. Due to their efforts, Rubies in the Rubble have saved 351,600 kilograms of fruits and vegetables.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Jenny Costa, Founder and CEO of Rubies in the Rubble, to discuss her creative solution for eliminating food waste. Jenny shares how growing up on a farm taught her life-long lessons about sustainability, the journey to scale her dream from startup to major operation, and how both people and the planet benefit from eliminating food waste.

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Sydney Chasin the Founder of Chasin' Dreams Farm, a new snack brand made from tiny, popped sorghum. The US-grown sorghum is a drought-resistant, regeneratively farmed crop that is naturally gluten-free — meaning it's as good for you as it is for the planet. Chasin’ Dreams Farm is now the home for better-for-you, more FUN for you, clean-label snacks.

Sydney received a BA in Financial Services with Entrepreneurship from Edinburgh Napier University. During school, she was the President of Napier University European Language Society and the Financial Services Student Programme Leader. Upon graduating, she began laying the foundation for her first company, Chasin' Dreams Farm, named after the family farm where she grew up.

In this episode… Tasty snacks often come with an unfavorable ingredient list, and healthy snacks have a rap for bland flavors. Is there any way to find the best of both worlds?

Chasin’ Dreams Farm has the snack for you. What looks like tiny popcorn actually has no corn at all — it’s popped sorghum. It’s got all the flavor without any genetically modified ingredients. Gluten-free from the age of seven, Sydney Chasin grew up experimenting with alternative ingredients to make delicious snacks. Now, she shares her creations with healthy snack eaters across the globe.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Sydney Chasin, Founder of Chasin’ Dreams Farm, to discuss her journey to create a fun, healthy snack company. Sydney talks about her decision to start a company straight out of college, lessons she learned the hard way, and her advice for young, fellow entrepreneurs.

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Robyn O’Brien is the Co-founder and Managing Director of rePlant Capital, a financial services firm dedicated to assisting US farmers’ transition to regenerative and organic agriculture. rePlant Capital aims to accomplish this by deploying a series of proprietary funds, with the ultimate goal of reversing climate change.

Robyn is a globally recognized voice in the food industry and has been called “food’s Erin Brockovich” by The New York Times. Her TEDx talk (based on her book, The Unhealthy Truth) exposes the shortcomings of our food system and has been viewed millions of times — it’s even influenced policy, legislation, and product formulation. Additionally, Robyn has advised CEOs and executives at multinational CPG companies, startups, and farm organizations for the last 15 years.

In this episode… Many people assume that in order to create healthier food, all you have to do is find the right ingredients. But is that really all it takes?

Robyn O’Brien understands that to provide nutritious foods, you have to go back to the roots — actually, the dirt around the roots. Food is only as healthy as the soil it grows in. For decades, farmers have dumped chemicals into the soil of our produce and planted genetically modified seeds. Only 1% of currently-owned farmlands are organic. In order to change the status quo, farmers will have to overcome old traditions and financial roadblocks. What’s being done to help farmers transition to a more planet-friendly approach?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Robyn O’Brien, Co-founder and Managing Director of rePlant Capital, to discuss how her team is investing in a more organic future. Robyn talks about how rePlant is empowering farmers to produce organic foods, why soil health is essential to restoring nutrition, and the inequality embedded in the US agricultural system.

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Erika Lepczyk is the CEO and Co-founder of Memore, an innovative brand dedicated to sustaining long-term cognitive health. Memore offers functional blends that provide convenient and versatile ways to fill nutritional gaps with whole food nutrition. Memore’s blends have shown to be effective in slowing decline and reducing Alzheimer’s risk by as much as 53%.

Erika aims to help break the common misconception that Alzheimer’s is hereditary — only 2% of cases are. By introducing the world to Memore’s functional blends, she hopes to educate consumers on preventive health and the positive impact that high-quality, whole food ingredients have on brain activity. Erika is a graduate of Michigan State University and has over 15 years of experience working with DTC brands.

In this episode… Some people believe that fighting Alzheimer’s is a lost cause. If it’s in your genes, there’s nothing you can do about it, right?

Erika Lepczyk dug into the causes of Alzheimer’s and found out that only 2% of cases are hereditary — meaning that there is a chance to prevent and slow the disease. She’s dedicated her career to educating people about cognitive health and creating functional blends that fill the gaps in whole food nutrition. Her goal is to create a prevention-based solution, rather than just another treatment option or quick-fix.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Erika Lepczyk, Co-founder and CEO of Memore, to discuss her journey to prevent cognitive diseases through whole food nutrition. Erika talks about why she started Memore, her past DTC experience that aided the start of a new company, and lessons she’s learned during her entrepreneurial journey.

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Regina Anderson is the Executive Director of Food Recovery Network, the largest student-led movement fighting food waste and working to end hunger in America. Regina joined the team in 2015 and is responsible for setting the vision, strategy, and fundraising efforts for Food Recovery Network. She works with stakeholders, partners, and the team at national headquarters to make food recovery the norm and not the exception.

Regina has worked in the nonprofit sector for over a decade. At the Coro Center for Civic Leadership in Pittsburgh, she worked with employers in all sectors to establish internship programs and to match talented individuals with those opportunities. At Independent Sector and LIFT in Washington, DC, Regina worked to raise awareness of the nonprofit sector's abilities to solve society's most complex issues.

In this episode… Some folks think that people are homeless and hungry as a result of poor decisions. But with 42 million people going hungry across the US, there are obviously much bigger factors at play. What are people doing to find a solution?

Food Recovery Network is partnering with universities in 46 states to bring perfectly good cafeteria food — that would normally get thrown away — to hungry communities. It was started by four university students who saw food that could be purchased at 4:59 getting tossed into the garbage at 5:01. Why not use it to feed people? Since then, it’s grown into a nationwide effort to reduce food waste and help struggling communities.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Regina Anderson, Executive Director of the Food Recovery Network, to discuss how they’re stopping hunger across the country. Regina talks about the reality of food deserts, why we should refrain from judging the poor, and how she found a passion for nonprofits.

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Liz Myslik is a Partner at Loft Growth Partners. Loft Growth Partners invest in consumer brands that promote happier, healthier living to build great businesses that have a lasting impact. Clients include brands like The Seaweed Bath Co., Blue Dog Bakery, and Fat Snax.

Liz has spent nearly 20 years leading emerging consumer brands across the food, beverage, and fitness industries. She has been named a “Kingmaker in Consumer & Retail” by Forbes, one of the “Most Influential Women in Food & Drink” by Fortune, and a “Wonder Woman in the Natural Products Industry” by New Hope Media. Liz is also a Board Member for No Cow, The Seaweed Bath Co., Fat Snax, and Flock.

In this episode… Building a business is exceptionally difficult. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Often, it’s one of the greatest joys and challenges that people face in their lives — second only to raising children.

Liz Myslik understands the personal and professional journey of building a business. As an entrepreneur with years of experience growing brands in the health food industry, Liz understands the operational, financial, marketing, and sales sides, as well as the most important part — the people. She knows there are people out there like her: folks who are following their passion to make the world a better place. As Liz says, do what’s right for the world and business will follow.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Liz Myslik, Partner at Loft Growth Partners, to discuss why staying true to your passion to help the world will reap better long-term results. Liz talks about her father’s advice that changed her career outlook, the difference between mission-driven and money-hungry companies, and resources for new business owners looking for investors.

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Cherie Jackson is the Co-founder and CEO of Frooze Balls, a nutritious snack company. Frooze Balls are made with whole food and packaged with 100% recyclable material. You can find them in every major supermarket in New Zealand, and select stores throughout Australia, the UK, Europe, and the US.

Cherie has over 20 years of successful global business development experience for B2B, B2C, and nonprofits. She is an expert at intuitively applying market data from primary and secondary sources to develop effective growth strategies. Cherie is also a Marketing Consultant for Moonlight Beverage Company. Previously, she was the Chief Marketing Officer for Jindilli and the Communications Director for Hinsdale Adventist Academy.

In this episode… The health food industry is growing at an expedited rate. It used to be that nourishing food meant granola. Now there are vegan, gluten-free, and plant-based foods in every shape, size, and color. How are companies creating food that is both nourishing and delicious?

Cherie Jackson, Co-founder of Frooze Balls, offers a great product that answers both of those needs. Frooze Balls are made from a combination of dates and nuts, rolled in coconut, and filled with two delicious flavors. Cherie believes that every human should have access to nutritious food. That means the food should be inexpensive, widely available, and most importantly — tasty. How is Cherie expanding the plant-based food industry with Frooze Balls?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Cherie Jackson, Co-founder and CEO of Frooze Balls, to discuss continuing trends in the nutritious food CPG industry. Cherie talks about her core beliefs for running a business, how she got involved with Frooze Balls, and lessons she learned while growing the business.

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Debbie Wei Mullin is the Founder and CEO of Copper Cow Coffee, the first premium Vietnamese coffee company in the US. Copper Cow Coffee connects sustainable farms with the American specialty coffee market, which is the largest in the world. Their signature Pour Over Latte kits come with delicious, sweet creamers and single-serve filters that fit over any cup, so customers can brew a perfect latte anywhere.

Debbie’s first entrepreneurial venture was founding Wei Pantry, a nationally distributed Vietnamese all-natural heritage food line. Before that, Debbie worked as a Consultant for World Bank, managing their supply chain development.

In this episode… Maybe you’ve got an enviable position with a top-dollar company. Maybe you’ve got a steady job with health benefits and pension — but something doesn’t feel right. What can you do when the entrepreneurial bug has bitten?

Debbie Wei Mullin found herself in a similar position. Though she held a cushy position in supply chain development at World Bank, she felt stuck. Her innovative ideas were constantly pushed to the wayside, and she dreamed of a company where she could change the status quo and create great new products. So instead of finding that business, she built it. Now Debbie has created a household-name coffee brand with distribution in major retailers like Walmart, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Whole Foods. What does it take to make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Debbie Wei Mullin, Founder and CEO of Copper Cow Coffee, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey. Debbie talks about why she left her steady corporate job to start her own business, the impact of her sister and brother-in-law’s support, and the unique aspects of Copper Cow Coffee. Debbie also shares tips for venturing out on your own entrepreneurial journey!

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Angela Marturano is the Founder and President of Orchid Holistic Search, an executive search firm that goes beyond the simple matching of a job description to a curriculum vitae. Orchid Holistic Search connects brands in the natural products industry with the right talent to create healthy, long-term employment.

Previously, Angela was the Sales and Recruitment Executive for Venteon Finance and the Territory Sales Manager for Arcadia Brewing Company in Michigan. She founded Orchid Holistic Search with her husband in 2010 after realizing there was a lack of recruiting specialists in the natural products industry. Angela’s experience in HR and her husband's experience as a naturopathic doctor proved to be the perfect combination for their new company. Together, they work to deeply understand each clients’ mission, culture, and vision to deliver exceptional results quickly.

In this episode… You have a wonderful company in the natural products industry. You have a beautiful vision of better-for-you foods, beverages, and wellness practices. Now all you need is a stellar team. How do you get started?

Angela Marturano is the woman to call. She’s dedicated herself to finding quality executive candidates for companies in the natural products industry through her agency, Orchid Holistic Search. It’s not your average recruiting agency — Angela dives into each clients’ mission, culture, and vision to fully understand which candidates would be the best match. Due to her efforts, 100% of Orchid Holistic executive searches last year resulted in an offer to a qualified candidate.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Angela Marturano, Founder and President of Orchid Holistic Search, to discuss executive recruiting in the natural products industry. Angela talks about why she started Orchid Holistic Search, how the business has changed over the years and her advice for candidates and companies looking to hire.

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Jessica Tonani is the Co-founder and CEO of Verda Bio, a cannabis research company. Verda Bio performs genomic, analytical, and agricultural research on cannabis and cannabinoid-based therapeutics.

Jessica Tonani is a biotechnology professional with over two decades of experience in life sciences at firms. Jessica has been named one of the “most interesting people in cannabis” by The Seattle Times and a “cannabis leading lady” by Cannabis Now. Additionally, she has been widely quoted as an expert in publications such as Nature, Science, Popular Science, Bloomberg, High Times, Genome Technologies, and Entrepreneur.

In this episode… Today, the topic of cannabis is widely growing. People love it, hate it, or just misunderstand it. What are companies doing today to magnify the benefits of cannabis and diminish the stigma?

The teams at Verda Bio and Basic Jane are busy researching the medicinal utility of cannabis and working to make wellness products readily available. One of their earliest hemp products was created to relieve knee pain. It started when a co-founder’s mother asked for a solution to her terrible knee arthritis since she couldn’t use NSAIDs anymore. After two years of research and development, they finally created a product the mother loved — as did all her friends. It was so beneficial that they decided to commercialize the product, and the rest is history.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Jessica Tonani, the Co-founder and CEO of Verda Bio, to discuss the future of the hemp industry and CPG. Jessica talks about the hurdles the hemp industry currently faces, their goals for the future, and why she left a career in biotech to research hemp. Plus, Jessica shares how Verda Bio’s research and plant-based topicals are positively impacting the community.

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Karen Frame is the CEO and Founder of Makeena, a company dedicated to connecting consumers with brands that are healthy for people and the planet. Makeena offers cash and rewards for purchasing eco-friendly and nutritional products. Their app provides a one-stop-shop for consumers looking to save and brands trying to get discovered.

Karen Frame is a repeat founder in the tech space, an attorney, and a former CPA. She also has over 25 years of experience as an executive in the software and data industries for companies including Accenture, CipherCloud, and Frontier Communications.

In this episode… Imagine an app that could help you find discounts on healthy foods, recipes, and products that fit your dietary requirements — a virtual one-stop-shop for all your natural food needs. Does it sound too good to be true?

Good news — it already exists! Makeena is a free app so consumers can discover, find, and earn rewards with brands whose products meet their dietary needs and lifestyle preferences. Once they buy a product, all they have to do is scan a barcode, take a snapshot of the receipt, and then start earning cash and rewards. And it’s also an excellent way for brands to get discovered. Brands get to engage with the consumer throughout the app’s dashboard and learn more about the shopper to become more efficient with their marketing budget.

On this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Karen Frame, Founder and CEO of Makeena, to discuss how Makeena benefits both consumers and retailers in the natural food industry. Karen talks about how she became passionate about natural foods, how Makeena built its one-stop-shop app, and her goals for the company’s future.

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Jess Windell is the Founder of Maven Consulting, a strategic communications and public relations consultancy. Jess launched Maven Consulting in 2020 to help consumer brands get their PR strategy on the right track using the necessary tools for growth.

Jess Windell has spent 12 years working in public relations. Her previous roles include the Vice President of BAM, a PR agency, and the PR Consultant for Perfect Snacks, a fresh snack brand leader. Jess is also the current Vice President of Naturally San Diego, a nonprofit organization and business network that fosters sustainability and develops leadership in the San Diego natural products community.

In this episode… Many companies face a disconnect between their marketing and PR departments. But what kind of growth could your company experience if you bridged the gap?

Jess Windell created Maven Consulting to link the PR and marketing departments. While most people think of PR as media relations, Jess thinks of it as any relationship you have with a stakeholder that matters to your business. She knows how to answer questions including, “How do I build better relationships with my investors?” and “How do I clarify my message and get it in front of the audience?”

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by the Founder of Maven Consulting, Jess Windell, to discuss connecting your PR and marketing strategies. Jess clarifies some misconceptions about PR, explains why she wanted to create her own agency, and gives tips about how to develop better business relationships.

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David Lemley is the Founder, CEO and Chief Strategist for Retail Voodoo. Retail Voodoo helps build, grow, and evolve brands in food, beverage, wellness, and fitness spaces. David founded the company on the belief that brands should inspire meaningful connections with real people. Through insight, visioning diagnostics, research analysis, and consensus building, they’ve helped companies like REI, Starbucks, Sur La Table and Nike become the beloved and dominant brands they are today.

Diana Fryc is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Retail Voodoo. Diana has over 20 years of experience in marketing, research, and business development. Before her time with Retail Voodoo, Diana was a freelance consultant for marketing and project management services, the Director for New Business Development and Client Services at Lemley Design, and the President of AAF Seattle.

In this episode… Sometimes brands think a new design is the answer to all their problems. Diana Fryc and David Lemley would argue that’s not true.

They founded Retail Voodoo to help brands grow by getting straight to the heart of the problem. As the “data whisperers,” they know how to sift through truckloads of information and find the details that really matter. But how do you take that information and turn it into a strategy for growth?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc and David Lemley of Retail Voodoo join Dr. Jeremy Weisz to discuss Retail Voodoo’s strategy for helping brands grow. They talk about their process of analyzing each brand’s data, how they develop team alignment, and how they grow a brand’s audience without losing the loyal customers.

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Mary Berry is the Founder and CEO of Cosmos Vita. Cosmos Vita produces gummy vitamins that are vegan, non-GMO, and free from dyes. The company is dedicated to accessibility, inclusivity, and empowerment — as well as reminding people to love and take care of themselves.

Mary has been sharing her expertise in the wellness space for over a decade. Before creating Cosmos Vita, she founded Texas Beauty Labs, now known as Goodkind Co. It was the leading product and services partner to Clean Beauty brands and creators, which produced the world’s best-selling natural deodorant.

In this episode… Sometimes we are our own worst critic. We say things to ourselves that we would never say to a friend — and maybe not even an enemy. We take so much time for others, we forget to take time for ourselves.

That’s why Mary Berry started Cosmos Vita, a company that creates gummy supplements that are vegan, non-GMO, and free from dyes. The company is dedicated to helping people take care of themselves and remember what it feels like to love yourself. But how did Mary learn how to start her own company?

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Mary Berry, Founder and CEO of Cosmos Vita, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey. They talk about Mary’s previous experience founding Texas Beauty Labs, the biggest turning point in Mary’s life, and her advice for other people trying to follow their dreams.

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Brie Doyle is an author, teacher and retreat guide. Brie hosts transformational wellness retreats throughout the US and across the globe, and is the Founder of She Glows Retreats. She specializes in curating mental and emotional wellness curriculum for groups, conscious companies, schools and individuals. A yoga and meditation teacher for over 20 years, Brie is a leader in the health and wellness space who helps people heal their past and reclaim their power. Her book, You Should Leave Now: Going on a Retreat to Find Your Way Back to Yourself was just released.

In this episode… Burnout is spreading the nation like another pandemic. We push ourselves to the brink of exhaustion by expecting ourselves to do everything and somehow be happy about it at the same time.

Brie Doyle has another solution. She offers She Glows Retreats to help women reconnect with themselves and reclaim their power, confidence, and clarity. Brie believes that by taking a step back, we can learn to hear our own voice again and put the joy back into our everyday living.

In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by author, teacher, and meditation guide, Brie Doyle. They discuss Brie’s own burnout that inspired She Glows Retreats, how meditation has been both integrated and diluted in American culture, and why you should stop trying to do everything on your own.

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“You can get a real clean without bringing in toxic cleaning products to your home.” – Jenna Arkin

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Jenna Arkin, the Vice President of Innovation at ECOS®. We discuss all things ECOS: the natural cleaning trends, innovation, leadership, and science. We also learn about some myths behind bleaching when it comes to cleaning and creating a healthy living environment. Along the way, we get to hear the amazing story of a dedicated and creative leader who continuously spreads the awareness of environmental protection and chemical safety legislation.

In this episode we learn:

The history, the story of ECOS and what differentiates ECOS from other competitors in the cleaning category
Jenna’s path in her career and her journey to ECOS
About green cleaning product innovation and it’s evolution
How the pandemic impacted the disinfecting, cleaning products industry and customers’ increasing adoption of green products
Lessons that Jenna has learned professionally and personally during the pandemic and opportunities that came along with it
Trends in the green products industry and the potential of this industry in the next 5 years

About Jenna Arkin:

Jenna Arkin is Vice President of Innovation at ECOS®, the maker of environmentally friendly cleaning products. Jenna uses her unique background in both chemistry and design to innovate safer, more effective formulations and compelling packaging designs for the ECOS®, Baby ECOS®, ECOS® Pets, and ECOS® Pro product lines.

Jenna leads the ECOS® partnership with the U.S. EPA’s Safer Choice program, a third-party certification that helps consumers choose products made with safer chemical ingredients without sacrificing quality or performance.

She also directs the company’s educational outreach program, including ECOScience, in which she partners with local museums to bring hands-on green science education to thousands of elementary school children each year. Jenna brings a novel combination of passionate scientist and creative professional to solve modern green chemistry problems. Her sharp eye for trends has inspired out-of-the-box thinking, connecting seemingly disparate concepts to move the cleaning industry toward a more sustainable future.

Jenna joined ECOS® in 2010 as the Northwest Division’s senior chemist, overseeing both R&D and quality control. She most recently served as Director of Product Development at ECOS®. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and she earned a graduate degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Technology. Before joining ECOS®, she designed and directed a contemporary fashion line.

Jenna holds six U.S. patents for innovations in green chemistry and packaging design. She received the GenNext Award by Progressive Grocer in 2018 for industry standouts under the age of 40. Jenna is a member of the American Chemical Society and has served as an advocate for ingredient transparency and toxic substance reform with the American Sustainable Business Council. She actively supports environmental protection and chemical safety legislation at both the state and federal levels.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-arkin-30202514/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeaccordingtojenna/?hl=en Website: https://www.ecos.com/

Show Resources:

National Public Radio, NPR, full name National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797 public radio stations in the United States of America.

The University of California, Berkeley is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant university and the first campus of the University of California system.

Biochemistry or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and metabolism.

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising is a private for-profit college with multiple campuses in California. It offers degree programs in a majors including fashion, entertainment, beauty, interior design, and graphic design.

Green brands are those brands that consumers associate with environmental conservation and sustainable business practices. Such brands appeal to consumers who are becoming more aware of the need to protect the environment. A green brand can add a unique selling point to a product and can boost corporate image.

Family owned and operated since 1967, Earth Friendly Products® is the maker of ECOS™ Laundry Detergent and over 200 other environmentally friendly products that are safer for people, pets and the planet. Made with plant-powered ingredients, ECOS™ cleaners are thoughtfully sourced, pH balanced, readily biodegradable, easily recyclable, and never tested on animals.

The LA Derby Dolls is Los Angeles' original women's quad-skate banked track roller derby league. It was founded in October 2003 by Rebecca Ninburg and Wendy Templeton. The league is composed of more than 120 women divided into five teams who skate on a banked track.

The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces.

Adam Ruins Everything is an American educational comedy television series starring Adam Conover that debuted on September 29, 2015, with a 12-episode. The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

A creative marketing firm specializing in growing, fixing and reinventing brands in the food, beverage, wellness and fitness industry. If your natural brand is in need of positioning, package design or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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“As a brand and as a business, you got to evolve with the times and really think about what you really stand for and how it manifests nowadays.” – Maisie Antoniello

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Maisie Antoniello, the Senior Marketing Executive Jones Soda Inc., a Seattle-based premium craft soda brand. We chat about Maisie’s big shift from big CPG brands (Kellogg’s, PepsiCo, and Starbucks) to the beloved regional Jones Soda brand - and how that move changed her life. We also learn about why Jones Soda implemented one of the most cutting-edge augmented reality technologies into their packaging – and discuss some of the marketing trends her brand is leveraging. We tackle everything from innovation, supply chain, and women leadership – to interesting facts about the trends/companies in the food and beverage world.

In this episode we learn:

The history and the story of Jones Soda and what the “secret sauce” is that differentiates Jones Soda from other beverage brands
How the pandemic impacted Jones Soda and the challenges and opportunities that came along with it
About utilizing augmented reality in packaging and marketing, and the inspiration behind Jones Soda’s exciting project using AR
How Masie leverages her big CPG experience to fuel the growth of a smaller “fighter” brand
Why the shift from large to small brand is instrumental in her career growth
Why Maisie heavily invests in research and data as a leader
The advice Maisie gives to other leaders who desire to transition to smaller brands
Trends in the food and beverage industry

About Maisie Antoniello:

Maisie Antoniello is a passionate brand marketer with over 14 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. Currently, she serves as the VP of Marketing at Jones Soda, where she is helping to lead the turnaround of a 25-year-old craft soda business. Prior to Jones, Maisie had various roles at Starbucks supporting both retail and packaged goods business units. Prior to Starbucks, she worked at Frito Lay where she had roles in brand, innovation, shopper, and multicultural marketing including building Frito-Lay’s Hispanic Portfolio.

Having had the good fortune of working on megabrands like Cheetos and Frappuccino, Maisie loves to take the “secret sauce” of brands and help them scale for growth by making them relevant to today’s consumer.

When she’s not working on “the People’s Craft Soda”, you can often find Maisie having a craft beer with her husband or chasing around her two young boys.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maisiechanantoniello/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/meishichan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonessodaco/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonessodaco/ Email: mantoniello@jonessoda.com Website: https://www.jonessoda.com/ and https://drinklemoncocco.com/

Show Resources:

Frito-Lay is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods.

Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. As the world's largest coffeehouse chain, Starbucks is seen to be the main representation of the United States' third wave of coffee culture.

Cheetos is a brand of cheese puff snack made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the U.S. The initial success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger between The Frito Company and H.W.

Frappuccino is a trademarked brand of the Starbucks Corporation for a line of highly-sweetened iced, blended coffee drinks. It consists of coffee or crème base, blended with ice and other various ingredients like flavored syrups, usually topped with whipped cream and or spices.

Forbes is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics.

TikTok, known in China as Douyin, is a Chinese video-sharing focused social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The social media platform is used to make a variety of short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education, that have a duration from 15 seconds to one minute.

A liquid ode to bad guys everywhere. Inspired by British criminals who, beginning in 1788, were transported to Australia. Pioneers in a harsh frontier colony, they proved that good things can come from a checkered past. 19 Crimes celebrates the rules they broke and the culture they built. From a bad seed comes a truly great wine.

PepsiCo, Inc. is an American based multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of its products.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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“Supplements are regulated heavily, more so than food, and more so than like meat.” – Zelda Beckford

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Zelda Beckford, the Vice President of Quality of New Chapter, Inc., a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble Personal Health Care. We chat about Zelda’s journey from Herbalife to Beachbody, to Goop - and now - New Chapter! She sees herself as an influencer in education, leadership and company culture. Along the way, we discuss how being a child of immigrants influences her perspective on opportunity and commitment. We tackle everything from innovation, sustainability and quality control - to women leadership.

In this episode we learn:

About the history and story of New Chapter.
Zelda’s story growing up a first-generation American and how that influences her leadership.
The changing landscape of quality control, regulation, and compliance within the supplement category.
Zelda’s transition from the Director of Quality & Compliance role with Goop to VP of New Chapter and how her leadership experiences have helped to her nurture the work environment in both companies.
How the pandemic has impacted the supplements category and the challenges and opportunities that came along with it.
Why internal cross-functional team education is the key to her success.
Trends in dietary supplements and the supplement industry.

About Zelda Beckford:

Zelda Beckford is the Vice President of Quality at New Chapter, Inc., a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble Personal Health Care, located in Brattleboro, Vermont. Zelda received her B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, and her M.B.A. from Webster University, Saint Louis, MO. She has almost 20 years of experience in Operations, Supply Chain, Process Improvement, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Manufacturing, Product Lifecycle Management, Business Intelligence, Warehousing, Technical Support, and IT Systems Design.

Zelda spent the first 10 years of her career progressively gaining vast QA, QC and Regulatory Compliance knowledge on a global scale for the health & wellness conglomerate, Herbalife Nutrition™. Zelda then moved on to Beachbody®, the creator of household home fitness & nutrition brands, such as Shakeology®, P90X®, 21Day Fix® and Insanity®. During her 6 years with Beachbody®, Zelda held several Quality positions and was ultimately promoted to Operations Manager, focusing on Process Improvement.

Zelda’s next endeavor led her to take on the Director of Quality & Compliance role with Goop, Inc in Santa Monica, California. During her almost 3 years with Goop, Zelda managed a robust team to provide regulatory oversight of global activities for 8 business verticals; Beauty & Wellness, Fashion, Merchandising, Home, Brand Partnerships & Advertising, E-Commerce, Edit & Content. Zelda established Goop’s Quality Department from the ground up; she created the groundwork and executed Total Quality Management principles, approved development and release of new products, standardized processes, facilitated training and development of new quality & compliance applications.

In November 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Zelda relocated from California to accept the Vice President of Quality role with New Chapter, Inc. Safeguarding quality standards is of the utmost importance when handling consumer packaged goods, and Zelda ensures compliance and standards are met at the highest levels. For almost 20 years, Zelda has applied her deep passion for Quality, broad understanding of the manufacturing process and collaborative management style to the growth and prosperity of each organization with which she has been employed. She has a strong track record implementing systems and process improvements in each of her prior companies.

Among her various professional positions, Zelda is also a published author; sharing her take on Artificial Intelligence Technology. You can find the article here: https://securitytoday.com/articles/2017/07/24/safe-and-secure-a-look-into-artificial-intelligence-technology.aspx. Zelda is dedicated to continuous learning and welcomes new challenges in her personal and professional life. Zelda values diversity & inclusion, steaming from her own background growing up a first generation American, born to parents from Honduras, Central America. She encourages clear communication and diverse points of view, as a path to building healthy culture, enlightened values, ideas, and opinions. Zelda currently resides in Amherst, MA. She can be contacted at zbeckford310@gmail.com.

Guests Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeldab310/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/zweezie310 Email: zbeckford310@gmail.com Website: https://www.newchapter.com/

Show Resources:

The Procter & Gamble Company is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble.

Goop is a wellness and lifestyle brand and company founded by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Launched in September 2008, Goop started out as a weekly e-mail newsletter providing new age advice, such as "police your thoughts" and "eliminate white foods", and the slogan "Nourish the Inner Aspect."

LMU Founded in 1911, LMU is a top-ranked university rooted in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions. We are committed to fostering a diverse academic community rich in opportunity for intellectual engagement and real-world experience.

Herbalife Nutrition is a global multi-level marketing corporation that develops and sells dietary supplements. The company was founded by Mark Hughes in 1980, and it employs an estimated 8,900 people worldwide.

The Beachbody Company is a privately-held American fitness and media company based in Santa Monica, California. It operates the brands Beachbody On Demand, Team Beachbody and Open fit.

Zoom is a video telephony proprietary software program developed by Zoom Video Communications. The free plan provides a video chatting service that allows up to 100 concurrent participants, with a 40-minute time restriction. Users have the option to upgrade by subscribing to a paid plan.

The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, security of human and veterinary drugs and biological products.

Blueland creates everyday eco-friendly cleaning products to save you money and space, without any plastic waste.

Gucci is a luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, and accessories, makeup, fragrances, and home decoration. Gucci was founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Tuscany..

The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, in Yosemite National Park.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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“All ice cream pints in the US and worldwide are not recyclable.” – Kailey Donewald

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Kailey Donewald, the founder and CEO of Sacred Serve – a plant-powered functional gelato and pioneer in 100% compostable ice cream packaging. We discuss her personal health history’s impact on the creation of Sacred Serve and the exciting future for the brand and category. We also learn about Kailey’s influence in spreading awareness of diet and disease and how a trip to Indonesia became the awakening for a healthier life. Along the way, we hear the amazing journey of a passionate leader who promotes the mission of changing the landscape of functional foods. We tackle everything from nutrition to sustainability - to Kailey’s personal commitment to food education in public schools.

In this episode we learn:

About the history and inspiration of Sacred Serve.
How and when Kailey identified the connection between diet and disease and the trip that literally changed her life.
How she used her healing journey through nutrition and healthy lifestyle to create her brand.
Trends in functional foods. (Especially frozen treats!)
Sacred Serve’s transition from non-compostable packaging to becoming the first ice-cream brand that uses 100% plastic free and compostable ice cream cartons.
The technology behind compostable packaging in the frozen aisle.
Why Kailey believes brands are resistant and hesitant to use compostable packaging.
Why Kailey makes a priority to participate in food and meal-prep education programs in one of Chicago’s public schools.

About Kailey Donewald:

I’ve spent the last 10 years traveling the world over in search of Mother Nature’s most potent cures to modern-day ailments. Living in places like India and Indonesia, studying under leading practitioners in the fields of yoga, meditation, Eastern medicine, and alternative therapies has taught me a lot. I discovered firsthand the power connection between diet and disease, having healed myself of several chronic conditions through a nutrient-dense, plant-based diet alone. With this profound understand of the body and its innate ability to heal itself, I now want to share and serve the power of Mother Nature’s most sacred elements with you.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaileydonewald/ Instagram: @sacredserve Facebook: @sacredserve Email: kailey@sacredserve.com Website: https://www.sacredserve.com/

Show Resources:

Fast-moving consumer goods, also known as consumer packaged goods, are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, candies, cosmetics, over-the-counter drugs, dry goods, and other consumables.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. is an American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA Certified Organic grocer in the United States, the chain is popularly known for its organic selections.

The Clean Label Project award program is based on food and consumer product safety issues that consumers are increasingly caring about-heavy metals, pesticide residues, and plasticizers, other chemicals of concern, and truth in labeling. All programs require unannounced retail product sampling and testing.

PCC Community Markets is a Seattle's community-owned food market since 1953 with 15 certified organic stores.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese is an artisan cheese maker and retail shop with locations in the Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington and New York City's Flatiron District.

Moon Juice: “Plant sourced alchemy to nourish and elevate body, beauty and consciousness.”

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016.

Natural Products Expo, the world's largest natural, organic and healthy products event, brings together an inspired community of industry members and exhibiting companies.

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“If you can understand how to learn and you have a learning mindset all the time, you can pretty much do anything.” – Pam Montgomery

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Pam Montgomery, the founder and CEO of Chukar Cherries – a pioneer in boutique food processing, that turned Pacific Northwest cherries into a global gifting brand. We discuss the history of Chukar Cherries and the a-ha moment of Pam’s product idea, including the acquisition of chocolate making “tools” from a famous chocolatier. We also learn about Pam’s leadership for driving an inclusive workplace. Along the way, we hear the amazing journey of a dedicated woman who lead the way in clean food processing, environmental stewardship, equity and has a deep passion for the agricultural community of Central Washington State.

In this episode we learn:

About the history and inspiration of Chukar Cherries.
The stories of hunting for and finding THE right ingredients and tools to make a premium delicious gifting chocolate. (pre-internet!)
How she uses her real-estate back-experience to grow her brand.
Pam’s emphasis on inclusivity, team fulfillment and leadership in Chukar’s workplace culture.
How “box-checking” isn’t the path to growth.
How the pandemic has impacted the business and the opportunities that came along with it.
The drivers behind the trend of biodegradable and compostable packaging in her business.

About Pam Montgomery:

Pam Montgomery started multiple businesses in her 20’s, but it was in Northwest cherries, chocolate & wine in the late 80’s that she found her calling.

Early childhood tragedy accelerated Pam’s self-reliance, independence, and problem-solving. She was just shy of 5 years old when her mother died of polio. Her older sisters and newborn brother were sent to live with relatives in California, but Pam stayed with her father—a forester for Weyerhaeuser stationed in a tiny logging community outside of Olympia, WA. On weekdays, Pam and her dad would climb into the work truck and drive into the mountains, walking for hours inspecting new tree plantings. The family was eventually re-united, and Pam’s French-Canadian grandmother cared for Pam and her siblings for several years, during which homemade soup, fruit pie, and suet pudding were the heart of the home.

Fast forward to 1988: Pam and her young family escaped the bustle of Seattle to purchase the largest family-owned cherry orchard in Washington State. 8000 trees and three daughters (under the age of four) later, she had an idea. On her daily walk around the orchard, Pam noticed that cherries left on the tree after harvest increased in natural sugar while slowly dehydrating. Their flavor was incomparable! A question nagged her, why couldn’t cherries be dried without adding sugar for a healthy year ‘round snack?

At the time, no one was drying cherries without preservatives, sulfites, or added sugars. Pam reached out to UC Davis—the research center for California’s raisin and prune industries. They told her it could not be done. Undeterred, Pam started experimenting on her own and found that the natural sugars in a cherry that was allowed to fully ripen on the tree were sufficient. Pam began dehydrating Bing & Rainier cherries with no added ingredients whatsoever.

Later, on a trip to London, Pam visited the famous Harrods department store and their huge art deco confectionery hall filled with European fruits—preserved and chocolate covered. Visually, it was stunning, and the naturally dried dark sweet cherries covered in chocolate astonished her. She purchased a jar to take home as inspiration to create a Pacific Northwest chocolate-covered cherry.

Over the next three decades Chukar’s product line blossomed from naturally dried & chocolate covered cherries to cherry & nut energy snacks, fruitful preserves & sauces, baked goods & granola, and now regional wine & chocolate pairings—all made with clean ingredients and local cherries. When the pandemic stopped many businesses in their tracks, Chukar continued in their capacity as a food processor, selling their goods at CHUKAR.COM

Since 1988 Pam has remained the creative force in Chukar Cherries—creating a team culture committed to excellence in product development, customer retention, and sustainability.

Perhaps Pam’s greatest contribution has been mentorship within her company. Notably, she’s willing to “take a chance” and hire young people in whom she sees potential, regardless of their level of experience.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-montgomery-0b666715/ Email: Pam@Chukar.com Website: http://www.chukar.com/

Show Resources:

The University of California, Davis is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system.

Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.

The Guittard Chocolate Company is an American-based chocolate maker which produces couverture chocolate, using original formulas and traditional French methods. The company is headquartered in Burlingame, California.

AT&T Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company, Delaware-registered but it is headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world’s largest telecommunications company, and the second largest provider of mobile telephone services.

Battelle Memorial Institute (or Battelle) is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

Food & Wine Classic in Aspen is a culinary event that consists of three incredible days of cooking demonstrations, wine tastings and panel discussions by world-class chefs and wine experts.

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“You're not going to build an audience with three podcasts.” – Molly Ruland

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Molly Ruland, the founder, and CEO of Heartcast Media. We discuss podcasts, and how the platform has provided a powerful listening revolution for brands and professionals. We learn about ways that brands can utilize podcasts to humanize themselves and authentically connect with consumers. Along the way, we get to meet one of the hardworking business leaders whose passion extends past the microphone and office space into cultural revolution and human rights.

In this episode we learn: - A background of Heartcast Media and the reason it exists - Molly’s journey of transitioning from One Love Massive (a multi-sensory creative platform founded in D.C.) to Heartcast Media which focuses supporting brands, NGO’s, and businesses in podcast/content creation and distribution. - The rise of audio storytelling and how podcasting has evolved in the last several years. - Podcasts ability to humanize a brand and develop relationships with consumers and business partners. - How podcasts can be an effective advertising tool for consumer brands. - The importance of being intentional when starting a podcast by using your mission and business goals to drive content creation. - Podcasting 101: for companies, organizations and humans.

About Molly Ruland:

Molly Ruland has spent the last 20 years elevating and amplifying voices through community, art, music and culture. Heartcast Media was formed in 2018 to create a sustainable podcast production offering for business, brands, think tanks, and organizations with a message. She currently produces content for NATO, The Dept of Health, DC Gov, several podcasts for The Atlantic Council and many more. Molly believes that "listening is the revolution" and she aspires to make the world a better place with intentional content.

Guests Social Media Links:

Website: https://www.heartcastmedia.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heartcastmedia/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartcastmediadc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeartcastMedia

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartcastmedia/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcCfuiqNu9ZqWMGjMEV8ySA Email: info@heartcastmedia.com

Show Resources:

Ad Sales in the Packaged Goods Industry on The Rise

One Love Massive is a multimedia platform and cultural hub for all things creative in the DMV. We are a booking agency, marketing firm, production company and talent collective all housed in a 3 story building across the street from the Historic Howard Theatre where we have a podcast studio, recording studio and a live music stage.

Go-go is a popular music subgenre associated with funk originating in the Washington, D.C., area during the mid-60s to late-70s which remains popular in the Washington metropolitan area as a uniquely regional music style. It became the official music of the city in 2020.

The Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937.

Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially when the signals cross a national boundary.

Frito-Lay is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods.

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) are items used daily by average consumers that require routine replacement or replenishment, such as food, beverages, clothes, tobacco, makeup, and household products.

TikTok, known in China as Douyin, is a video-sharing social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The social media platform is used to make a variety of short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education that have duration from 15 seconds to one minute.

Black Lives Matter is a decentralized political and social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people.

FreshBooks is accounting software operated by 2ndSite Inc. primarily for small and medium-sized businesses. It is web-based software as a service model that can be accessed through a desktop or mobile device. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Mason Dixie Biscuit Co. was created in 2014 to provide fresh, fast, and affordable Southern comfort food to the masses. Our solution was perfecting the biscuit – making them with hormone-free dairy, real butter, and no preservatives. Through grassroots support, smart growth and investment, and growing demand, we also launched a CPG line of frozen biscuits in 2015 available nationwide and growing.

Black Girl Ventures’ mission is to provide Black/Brown woman-identifying founders with access to community, capital, and capacity building in order to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship.

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A creative marketing firm specializing in building, growing and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness and fitness industry. If your natural brand is in need of positioning, package design or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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“Meeting the needs of the consumer and meeting the needs of the environment sometimes is tricky.” – Kate Flynn

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Kate Flynn, the founder and CEO of Sun & Swell Foods. We discuss the history of Sun & Swell Foods – one of the first food and snacking brands leading the way in the use of composable packaging. We also learn about the evolvement of sustainable packaging and Kate’s leadership in driving this hot topic. Along the way, we learn the amazing journey of a passionate leader in creating a more inclusive, accessible and affordable real food products for all consumers.

Fast becoming the leader and go to source for

In this episode we learn:

About the history and inspiration of Sun & Swell Foods. Sun & Swell’s brand transition from a traditional CPG brand to a direct-to-consumer brand.

Kate’s journey from being a consultant in a firm focused on retail and consumer products to having a CPG brand herself.

The evolvement of compostable packaging technology.

How to create accessibility, affordability for mainstream consumers in the healthy food category.

The advice she finds herself consistently giving entrepreneurs who have family members or loved ones as their business partners.

About Kate Flynn:

In 2017, Kate Flynn, and her husband and co-founder, Bryan Flynn, launched their natural food company, Sun & Swell Foods. Their mission is to make healthy and sustainable eating more accessible with their collection of sustainably-packaged, organic, plant-based pantry staples and snacks. Sun & Swell is the first food company in the US to offer a wide array of healthy foods in compostable, plastic-free packaging.

With a background in business economics and nutrition and a penchant for creating her own healthy snacks, Kate brings a unique set of skills to Sun & Swell Foods. Early on, she pursued her academic career at UC Santa Barbara and graduated with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. Kate’s professional career included a consulting role as a brand strategist in the retail and consumer products space, where she focused on brand and growth strategy for various leading CPG brands. After spending nearly ten years in the consumer products world, she was looking to do something more purposeful and fulfilling that would positively impact the world. In 2017, Kate took a leap of faith to follow her real passion for health and wellness to start Sun & Swell Foods with Bryan.

Leading up to this, Kate had switched to a more natural lifestyle, including eating only ‘whole foods.’ She realized that eating a whole food diet made her feel better, both physically and mentally, and realized that she wanted to keep eating this way. However, when she looked around for packaged foods to accommodate this new way of eating, she realized there were no options available. Most packaged foods are made with artificial ingredients and loaded with added sugars, preservatives, and flavors. This realization sparked an idea, and Sun & Swell Foods was born.

When sourcing ingredients, Kate and her team buy organic ingredients as close to the source and farm as possible, seeking out small family farms. Sun & Swell is a Certified B-Corporation and a member of 1% for the Planet, donating 1% of the revenue to environmental non-profits addressing two areas the founders are deeply passionate about: regenerative farming and ocean health.

When not running the company’s day-to-day, Kate loves frequenting Santa Barbara’s local farmers’ markets and beaches and spending time with her husband and newborn daughter, Leila. Kate is also a Certified Culinary Nutrition Expert.

Guests Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-flynn-15187726/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateflynn1/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunandswellfoods/ Website: https://sunandswellfoods.com/

Show Resources:

Certified B Corporations are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good.

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. Kurt Salmon was a global management and strategy consulting firm formed by the merger of Ineum Consulting and Kurt Salmon Associates in January 2011.

Accenture plc is an Irish-domiciled multinational company that provides consulting and processing services. A Fortune Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $44.33 billion in 2020 and had 537,000 employees. In 2015, the company had about 150,000 employees in India, 48,000 in the US, and 50,000 in the Philippines.

Clif Bar & Company is an American company that produces energy foods and drinks. The company's flagship product, CLIF Bar, was created by Gary Erickson and Lisa Thomas. The company is based in Emeryville, California, and is privately held.

Trader Joe's is a German-owned chain of grocery stores in the United States headquartered in Monrovia, California. By 2015, it was a competitor in "fresh format" grocery stores in the United States. By November 2019, Trader Joe's had over 503 stores nationwide in 42 states and Washington, D.C.

For over 50 years, ECOS’ mission has been to protect the health & wellness of people, pets, & the planet with sustainable & affordable cleaning products.

Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the United States' largest supermarket by revenue, and the second-largest general retailer. The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2009, Tory Burch launched the Tory Burch Foundation to advance women's empowerment and entrepreneurship in the United States by providing access to capital, education and digital resources, as well as a Fellowship program.

Tea Drops are organic whole leaf tea shaped into fun drops that melt into finely ground plant fibre.

Peloton Interactive, Inc. is an American exercise equipment and media company based in New York City. It was founded in 2012 by John Foley and launched with help from a Kickstarter funding campaign in 2013.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo: A creative marketing firm specializing in growing, fixing and reinventing brands in the food, beverage, wellness and fitness industry. If your natural brand is in need of positioning, package design or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

Key Takeaways: 0:00 Intro 3:47 Kate shares a little bit of history about her brand Sun and Swell Foods, what’s it’s all about and why it exists 6:00 Kate talks about her experience in transitioning from being a consultant in a firm focused on retail and consumer products to having a CPG brand herself 10:50 Kate talks about the process f how her brand is evolving from a traditional CPG brand to a DTC type of thing and the impact this has 14:10 Kate also talks about where she is in the process to have a Whole Foods kind of standard of product ingredients which is accessible and affordable 18:07 Kate also talks about the process that they use so that they can be able to lower their prices for their products so as to make them accessible to all people 20:00 Kate talks about the importance of understanding what the goal of your business is before making any huge decisions on what you want to lead with 21:54 Kate also advices other businesses owners the importance of picking the niche that they want to be known for and being really good at it 24:31Kate talks about why as a brand you need to know what you are leading with and how you are messaging that to your consumers 26:49 Kate talks about her leadership in the waste reduction, compostable packaging alternatives, how it starting to show up in the market and the impact it has and how she’s advising others 32:05 Kate talks about compostable packaging and if it would work on products that have a long shelf life of even up to four years 35:09 Kate talks about her experience in having her husband as a business partner and how they are managing their business and personal lives 38:01Kate shares her advice to entrepreneurs who have family members as their business partners on how they can manage everything and be successful 39:57 Kate talks about the importance of finding a reason to have a break from work for a few hours so as to avoid burnouts 41:07 Kate talks about the importance of having a mentor and also mentoring others behind you and why you should be in a network full of all kind of entrepreneurs 43:33 Kate shares what she feels is an amazing fact about their industry that most people didn’t know and would be amazed to know 44:55 Kate talks about other women leaders that she admires and would love to elevate in this podcast 46:11 Kate talks about the brands and trends that she has her eyes on and why 47:02 Kate shares some tips that she uses to keep herself sane and centered these days

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“Luck is hard work and opportunity meeting.” – Sashee Chandran

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Sashee Chandran, the founder and CEO of Tea Drops. We discuss the historical colonial influence in American tea culture and how her diverse background has encouraged her to create something new: Tea Drops. We also learn about the tea category shaking innovation of Tea Drops' products and some of the trends her brand is leveraging. Along the way, we get to hear the inspirational story of a diligent and humble entrepreneur who transforms the traditional way of enjoying tea.

In this episode we learn:

About the history and inspiration of Tea Drops.
The surprising A-ha moment of her product idea.
About her go-to-market alternate channel strategy, and why it worked.
Where Sashee’s passion and drive for risk-taking come from.
What Tea Drop's give-back program has been doing to tackle the global water crisis.
Diana and Sashee's personal stories about their love for tea and how tea has helped them connect to their loved ones.

About Sashee Chandran:

Sashee Chandran is the founder and CEO of Tea Drops, which creates bagless whole leaf teas using a patented process — shedding about 15% less waste than traditional tea bag packaging. Tea Drops has become a favorite among new and experienced tea drinkers alike, launching innovative tea experiences that merge flavorful blends, food art and edgy design. Tea Drops an omnichannel brand, selling D2C and also available in 1,500 retailers — loved by Oprah Magazine, Chrissy Teigen, and former first lady Michelle Obama. Sashee is a 1st Place $20K Women Founders Network pitch winner, 1st Place $100K Tory Burch Fellow Grant winner, and the 1st place $50K PepsiCo WomanMade Challenge winner. She has also raised over $3.5M in VC funding for Tea Drops.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasheechandran/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasheechandran/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sasheec Email: sashee@myteadrop.com Website: https://www.myteadrop.com/

Show Resources:

Loose leaf tea is tea that does not come pre-packaged in tea bags. Because the leaves are not crammed into a tea bag, the tea maintains a higher quality and aroma while offering the best possible health benefits.

eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce corporation based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995, and became a notable success story of the dot-com bubble.

Bubble tea is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. It most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls, but it can be made with other toppings as well.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.

Tory Burch Foundation competition Designed to provide women entrepreneurs with the tools and platform necessary to grow their business.

8Greens is an effervescent dietary supplement tablet, packed with enough superfoods to give your healthy diet a green boost.

United Natural Foods, Inc. is a Providence, R.I.-based natural and organic food company. It is the largest publicly traded wholesale distributor of health and specialty food in the United States and Canada. UNFI is Whole Foods Market's main supplier, with their traffic making up over a third of its revenue in 2018.

Nordstrom, Inc. is an American luxury department store chain. Founded in 1901 by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin, it originated as a shoe store and evolved into a full-line retailer with departments for clothing, footwear, handbags, jewelry, accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances.

Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., originally Neiman-Marcus, is an American chain of luxury department stores owned by the Neiman Marcus Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

The Thirst Project is a non-profit organization whose aim is to bring safe drinking water to communities around the world where it is not immediately available. The Thirst Project collects money and builds wells all across the continent of Africa where villages do not have immediate drinking water.

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“It’s important to be able to leave a footprint and get to know an impact.” – Jessica Lyons

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Jessica Lyons, the Director of Promotions and E-Commerce of PCC Community Markets. We discuss the history of PCC Community Markets - the nation's largest community-owned food market. We also learn more about PCC's initiatives in building relationships with potential brands and what they do to drive organic as a standard. Along the way, we get to hear the amazing story of an inquisitive and resourceful relationship builder who continuously creates a thriving community around her.

In this episode we learn:

About PCC Community Market and their involvement in the monumental changes within the food industry at a national level. About the vendor partner program that Jess is managing and some common misconceptions about this program. Customers' high demand for product's transparency in the food and naturals industry. How the vendor partner program has helped underserved and underrepresented communities in the food/naturals industry. About Jessica’s emphasis on creating a community, and following passions. Diana and Jessica's personal stories about imposter syndrome and how to transform that into positive energy which creates growth and self-awareness.

About Jessica Lyons:

Jessica (Jess) Lyons has built her career following her passions. She’s been successful in a wide range of experiences throughout her nearly two-decade-long career, making her a valuable Swiss army knife in any workplace. Jess currently serves as Director of Promotions and E-Commerce for PCC Community Markets, the nation’s largest community-owned food market. In this role, she lives out her foodie fantasies with a company centered around community and scratch-made organic food with a sustainable twist. Her greatest achievements at PCC include project managing an overnight co-op-wide rebrand, overhauling the in-store sign program, and developing a strategic, revenue-generating vendor partnership program. Prior to PCC, Jess’s enthusiasm for running was the starting line for 15 years in the outdoor industry. She gained retail and sales expertise during her 10 years with Finish Line and Fleet Feet Sports before joining Brooks Running Company to lead the retail marketing team. Her time with Brooks Running also included sales and customer acquisition, event marketing, and community partnerships. A native Texan, she proudly builds upon her hands-on experiences and is a self-starter by nature. When she’s not working or running, she can be found leading community fitness, hanging out with her husband and son, or cooking up something plant-based in the kitchen.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaelyons/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyonsqueen117/?hl=en Email: jesslyons117@gmail.com Website: https://www.pccmarkets.com/

Show Resources:

Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports Equipment Company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks’ products are available in 60 countries worldwide.

Ventures: they're a nonprofit group in Seattle and they work with entrepreneurs. A lot of them are low income or people of color or immigrants or women that are basically incubated to launch their products. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) are items used daily by average consumers that require routine replacement or replenishment, such as food, beverages, clothes, tobacco, makeup, and household products. UDaB's mission as an alternative breaks program is to create a variety of issue-based, service-learning experiences. Our programs are available to undergraduate students of all backgrounds and incomes during spring and winter breaks.

Hint Water is an American beverage company based in San Francisco, California, as an alternative to soda and sugar beverages. It was started by former AOL employee Kara Goldin.

The November Project is a free, open-to-the-public exercise group founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2011. The name "November Project" comes from the Google Doc that the founders shared to track their progress in November 2011. While sessions occur year-round, the name stuck.

Recovery Café Network (RCN) is comprised of Member organizations committed to serving people suffering from homelessness, addiction and other mental health challenges using the Recovery Café Model.

Lily's Sweets is a line of delicious chocolate bars, baking bits and baking bars that have less than 1 gram of sugar per serving.

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“Better-for-you Foods was here to stay, and more consumers wanted it, but that required education.” – Cynthia Tice

This week on the Gooder Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Cynthia Tice, the Founder of Lily’s Sweets. We discuss the history of Lily’s Sweets - a leader in the no added sugar movement. We also learn about the history of the naturals industry and some trends that have come up in the natural products industry and Better-For-You brands. Along the way, we learn the extraordinary journey of a passionate leader in finding and building a creative naturals community through Lily’s Sweets.

In this episode we learn:

The legacy and history of Lily’s Sweets.
Cynthia’s journey of dispelling myths around using naturals products throughout her career.
How the pandemic has given consumers a reset moment to reevaluate health and consumption habits.
The evolvement of the natural products industry and accessibility to naturals/Better-For-You products.
About Cynthia’s emphasis on leadership, mentorship, and the importance of creating a collaborative culture.
How a do-it-yourself mentality is a strength and (sometimes) a challenge for entrepreneurs.
The advice she finds herself consistently giving entrepreneurs who have been approaching a professional transition.

About Cynthia Tice:

Cynthia Tice got her start in the natural foods industry before green juice was cool. She opened a natural foods grocery store, Center Foods, in Philadelphia in 1978, and owned and operated that store for 20 years. As supermarkets realized the staying power of natural and organic foods, Tice began consulting retailers on how to launch or build out their natural and organic offerings. She also began advising brands looking to launch natural and organic products. While working with a client who wanted to launch a natural soda, Tice became aware of the opportunity for naturally sweetened, no added sugar foods. This trend was emerging because of growing consumer sentiments to limit sugar, along with all time high levels of distrust of non-nutritive artificial sweeteners.

As a long-time user of stevia, when the ingredient was granted GRAS status in 2008, Tice began experimenting with making chocolate with stevia to satisfy her own need for a no added sugar chocolate (her favorite food) that she could eat daily. In 2011, the recipe was perfected using not only stevia, but also the finest Fair Trade, additive-free, and Non-GMO other ingredients in order to benefit both people and planet. By 2012, Lily's Sweets was on shelves in Whole Foods stores nationwide. Today, Lily's Sweets remains a leader in the no added sugar movement through continued innovation, and the company's chocolates and confections can be found in more than 24,000 stores nationwide. Lily's Sweets has been recognized by Forbes as a, "mission-driven company reinventing the packaged food industry.”

Cynthia stepped away from the daily running of Lily’s in 2018, and spends her time working with Non-Profits, and mentoring young entrepreneurs. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Dennis, of 30+ years, near her parents, her children, and their spouses/partners, and four family dogs!

Guest Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-tice-4a87a648/ FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/LilysSweets/?ref=page_internal Website: https://lilys.com/

Show Resources:

Stevia is a natural sweetener and sugar substitute derived from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana, native to Brazil and Paraguay. The active compounds are steviol glycosides, which have 30 to 150 times the sweetness of sugar, are heat-stable, pH-stable, and not fermentable.

Alar Scare - In early 1989, the NRDC released a report on Alar, a chemical used to harvest apples. The report estimated that Alar caused cancer and children were at greater risk.

Mothers & Others, a campaign that rallied concerned citizens who supported NRDC in the fight for tougher pesticide residue standards, standards that—thanks to a law passed 10 years later—would protect particularly vulnerable subpopulations such as infants and young children.

FMI Corporation For over 65 years, FMI has been the leading management consulting and investment banking* firm dedicated exclusively to engineering and construction, infrastructure, and the built environment.

Campaign to label GMOs: Using the hashtag #ConcealOrReveal, the campaign reached over 28 million people through social media. In addition to mobilizing American consumers around GMO labeling, Just Label It! won support from many food companies it targeted.

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., is a privately held American supermarket chain; it is headquartered in Gates, New York. As of March 2021, Wegmans has 105 stores in the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions.

Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 163 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presence in the Northeast.

VMG is an organization comprised of diverse people and points of view, and we are aligned in our mission to challenge the status quo. We encourage everyone in our ecosystem to cultivate a safe space in your communities and to operate with compassion and empathy.

Maxlove Project is an innovative, parent-driven, volunteer-powered, grassroots nonprofit organization founded to help SuperKids thrive against cancer and related life-threatening illnesses with integrative medicine and “Fierce Foods” anticancer nutrition.

The Family Thrive delivers strategies, tools and experts that help families create joyful, meaningful, thriving lives.

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"The pandemic was everybody's chief digital officer accelerant.”

This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with April Siler, the CEO at 8Greens. We discuss the history about 8Greens and how their product first entered into consumer’s visibility. We also learn about the trends that have come up in the supplements industry, accelerated due to the pandemic. Along the way we learn the story of an experienced brand builder who incorporates the lessons that she learned as a professional athlete into the corporate world and running a business.

In this episode we learn:

The legacy of 8Greens and the taste innovation of their first product.
How the supplements industry has shifted and been impacted by the pandemic.
How, as a supplement brand, 8Greens leveraged an alt-channel strategy on the front end of the beauty supplement trend to become a dominant player in this growing consumer category.
About April’s emphasis on diversity, inclusion and the importance of creating a collaborative culture.
How marketing and creative experience in a CEO role produces a different organization growth mindset than that of a traditional MBA approach.
The advice she finds herself consistently giving Gen Z mentees.

About April Siler:

April Siler, the CEO of 8Greens, is a globally experienced brand builder specializing in driving health and wellness innovation. 8Greens, a digitally native brand, is experiencing triple digit growth by delivering exactly what consumers are seeking in this moment, an easy and convenient way to build immunity and boost overall health.

Prior to joining 8Greens April was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Global Development for Califia Farms. During Califia’s most intensive 3- year growth period April spearheaded all USA marketing in addition to executing all operational aspects of the brand’s internationalization. April previously led marketing and sales at The Chia Co. From the brand’s creative inception through to development of a world first innovation-Chia Pod, where April partnered with world champion surfer Kelly Slater for brand communications.

April also led marketing initiatives for Australia’s largest food and beverage packaging manufacturer, Visy, a $6.7bn privately held company. At Visy, she developed packaging innovation for the top ten accounts—including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Fosters, Diageo—and developed the company’s consumer insights platform. April has a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Economics, from Monash University in Melbourne. April played professional basketball in Australia and Europe, rowed for Melbourne University Boat Club and has a passion for nutritious foods.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-siler-b8790711/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/april_siler/?hl=en

Website: https://8greens.com/;https://thechiaco.com/au/

Show Resources:

At Califia Farms, we're all about creating delicious, plant-powered foods with natural ingredients. Because we believe the world needs a healthier food system.

8Greens is an effervescent dietary supplement tablet, packed with enough superfoods to give your healthy diet a green boost.

The Chia Co are the largest producers of Chia seed in the world. Founder and CEO John Foss, discovered the benefits of Chia while researching natural solutions to modern diet related diseases such as obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle,Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com, is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website on the World Wide Web that uses the popular top-level domain ".com".

Bluemercury.com is a leading luxury beauty retailer offering the best cosmetics, skin care, makeup, perfume, hair, and bath and body.

Target Corporation is an American retail corporation. The eighth-largest retailer in the United States, it is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Its largest competitors, Walmart and Amazon.com, are the first and second largest retailers, respectively.

Slack is a proprietary business communication platform developed by American software company Slack Technologies. Slack offers many IRC-style features, including persistent chat rooms organized by topic, private groups, and direct messaging

Bluestone Lane is an Australian cafe lifestyle in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, D.C., Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Toronto.

Rosé Water is a refreshing combination of pure, sparkling water blended with dry rosé wine, produced in the heart of Bordeaux, France. Based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Produced by Boutique Beverage Company, LLC.

SodaStream International Ltd. is an Israel-based manufacturing company best known as the maker of the consumer home carbonation product of the same name. The soda machine, like a soda syphon, carbonates water by adding carbon dioxide from a pressurized cylinder to create soda water to drink.

Key Takeaways:

0:00 Intro

2:21 April talks about how the pandemic has impacted people in the one year period in New York where she is

3:10 April shares a little bit of history about her brand 8Greens, what it is about and why it exists

5:45 April talks about entry and how their product first entered into consumer’s visibility or market and how they leveraged that

8:00 April talks about the makeup category versus the skin care category and their presence in the market and what the consumer is preferring more

9:27 April shares her journey of becoming a CEO of their company especially during the pandemic and how it has been

12:48 April talks about how the supplements industries are communicating with each other now that the supplements industry has shifted and increased the sales due to the pandemic

15:15 April also talks about the benefits of people being more tapped into supply chains and understanding how brands do their sourcing

16:45 April also explains how she is using the lessons that she learned while doing her sports in the corporate world and running a business

20:32 April talks about how the society used to view women back in the days like 20 years ago and how they were not allowed to be in the C-suite level as compared to now

22:38 April also talks about how her entering into the CEO role from a marketing background, creative and the strategic side helped her run the business perfectly

27:00 April explains why marketers know how to drive growth and create growth opportunities with the consumer that translates that into product offering more

30:16 April also shares some tips to people who want to be in the natural industry to do better than those that are conventional

33:00 April talks about equity and diversity in a company and why people especially the ones in the C-suite level know that all lives matter

34:20 April talks about retailers that are really doing a good job in regards to diversity, inclusion and equality

35:46 April shares the guidance and advice that she always finds herself giving to the Gen Z in regards to business

39:40 April talks about feedback and communication and why CEOs and leaders need to use the tools that younger people are more comfortable with such as Slack

43:18 April talks about Slack and how it has changed the business world and why businesses need to adapt to this platform as compared to emails

46:04 April talks about working remotely and how this change due to the pandemic is positively impacting the business world

47:39 April shares what she feels is a very interesting tidbit in her industry that people would be amazed when they hear it

48:36 April talks about other women that she would like to elevate in this podcast and that she admires for the work that they are doing

50:59 April talks about the brands and trends that she has her eyes on and why

52:29 April also shares the tips that are helping her to be sane and centered especially during the pandemic

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“Everyone has the right to a healthy home.” – Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks

This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, the President and CEO at ECOS. We discuss the innovations in ECOS and how they ensure sustainability in the company. We also learn about the trends that have come up in the natural cleaning industry, accelerated due to the pandemic. Along the way we learn the story of the transformation of a family legacy into a category champion and hear about an innovative leader who advocates for corporate social responsibility and sustainable manufacturing.

In this episode we learn:

About the family history and legacy of ECOS.
How far green science has evolved and its impact on product efficacy in home cleaning and personal care.
Reasons why consumers resist switching from traditional industrial cleaners to more people/planet/pet friendly cleaning products.
About product innovation and trends in the natural cleaning industry.
The behind-the-scenes efforts of developing one of the most disruptive environmentally friendly supply chains and its net-positive impact for consumers pocketbooks.
How Kelly’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and love inspires a brand that continues to break all the rules on its way to saving the planet.

About Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks:

As President and CEO, Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, leads the strategy and production environmentally friendly cleaning products at ECOS. She oversees four geographically diverse facilities across the U.S. as well as a European Manufacturing platform. She has been widely recognized for her highly effective movement, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable manufacturing.

Vlahakis-Hanks has led ECOS to become a Climate Positive company and the first company in the world to achieve the sustainability trifecta of carbon neutrality, water neutrality, and TRUE Platinum Zero Waste certification. Her sustainable business practice has made ECOS a model for green business in the U.S. ECOS is a primary manufacture that has received many awards for its innovations in safer green chemistry, including the U.S. EPA’s Safer Choice Partner of the Year four times.

As an African American woman and the daughter of a Greek immigrant, Vlahakis-Hanks has made environmental and social justice a cornerstone of ECOS’s mission. She actively promotes a corporate culture of diversity and empowerment, ensuring that over 50% of her C-Suite and top executives are women. She supports a green economy by creating sustainable manufacturing jobs across the U.S. and offering strong employee benefits and a living minimum wage of $17 per hour, one of the highest in the industry. She also offers financial incentives to employees who make sustainable living choices such as purchasing a low-emissions vehicle or solar panels.

Vlahakis-Hanks received her undergraduate degree at UCLA and an MBA at Chapman University Argyros School of Business and Economics. She has been featured on CNN, CBS News, FOX News, NBC News, Bloomberg and Marketwatch and in publications such as Fortune, Entrepreneur and the Los Angeles Times. She has received many awards for her sustainable leadership, including Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Powerful Women in 2020 and Conscious Company’s World-Changing Women in Conscious Business Award.

She is an active member of several boards, including the Environmental Media Association and the Chapman University Board of Governors, where she serves on the Diversity Task Force. She is active in industry councils and public policy advocacy, including the American Sustainable Business Council and the Companies for Safer Chemicals coalition, working to promote higher standards for consumer products to protect human health and the environment. She is also a member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) and Abundance 360, Peter Diamandis’ select community of executives and entrepreneurs using exponential technologies to transform their businesses.

Vlahakis-Hanks resides in southern California with her husband, teenage daughter and rescue dog Mina.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyvlahakishanks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kvlahakis?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyfromecos/?hl=en Website: https://www.ecos.com Show Resources:

ECOS’ One-Step Disinfectant - Fragrance Free.

ECOSNEXT™ Liquidless Laundry Detergent - Free & Clear.

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA traces its early origins back to 1882 as the southern branch of the California State Normal School.

Brown + Dutch was founded in 1996 when Alyson Dutch and her chocolate Labrador Rocky Brown found themselves starting a PR agency, quite by accident.

Sam's West, Inc. is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton.

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world, and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016.

TerraCycle is a private U.S. recycling business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. It primarily runs a volunteer-based recycling platform to collect non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste on behalf of corporate donors or municipalities to turn it into raw material to be used in new products.

Safer Choice helps consumers, businesses, and purchasers find products that perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment.

Green For All is an organization whose stated goal is to build a green economy while simultaneously lifting citizens out of poverty. It is a DC-based group that brings unions and environmentalists together to push for anti-poverty measures and a clean-energy economy.

The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message.

YPO is a global leadership community of chief executives with approximately 29,000 members in more than 130 countries, according to the organization's 2019 YPO international fact sheet.

Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Daniel Pink’s Master Class: Teaches Sales and Persuasion.

Kellogg Garden has operated as a family-owned and operated company. Established in 1925, they have remained a stable, steadfast family business guided by the core values of their founder, H. Clay Kellogg: integrity, innovation, loyalty, experience, commitment, and generosity.

Beyond Green is a Certified B Corp making positive change easier by inspiring everyone to create a sustainable world.

Rivian is an American automaker and automotive technology company founded in 2009. The company develops vehicles, products and services related to sustainable transportation.

Publix was founded in 1930 in Winter Haven, Florida, by George W. Jenkins. Their mission is to be the premier quality food retailer in the world.

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“For the longest time we used the term vegan and vegetarian, and that really only describes about three to five percent of our population.” – Maggie Sadowsky

This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Maggie Sadowsky, the President of 8 Track Foods. We discuss how the term plant-based has replaced the word vegan, at least from marketing and consumer facing format. We learn about beans – one of 8 Track Foods’ main products, and the benefits that it has to the consumers and the planet. And we get to meet one of the people responsible for some of the most significant innovations in Better-For-You food tech.

In this episode we learn: - A little background about 8 Track Foods and the reason it exists. - Beans relationship with the American diet, affordability, accessibility and its inclusion in every type of cultural diet. - How vegan turned into plant-based and the related impact of food tech. - About responsibility in the naturals industry to make sure that people do the right thing when it comes to producing BFY products. - The importance of utilizing your pantry to help control food waste.

About Maggie Sadowsky:

Maggie Seng Sadowsky, the President of 8 Track Foods, is considered a thought leader in Natural Foods and a subject matter expert in plant-based proteins. Maggie graduated from The Ohio State University with a BS in Food Science. She is a Certified Food Scientist (CFS) from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and holds advisory positions with the Good Food Institute (GFI) and US Dry Bean Council (USDBC)Innovation Group. Before launching 8 Track Foods, Maggie owned the consulting firm The Culinary Architects, with clients including Conagra, Kellogg and Beyond Meat.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggiesadowsky/ Email: maggie@8trackfoods.com

Company Website: http://www.theculinaryarchitects.com/ Website: https://8trackfoods.com/

Shows Mentioned:

Conagra Brands, Inc. is an American packaged foods company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, and food service establishments.

The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Beyond Meat is a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. The company has products designed to emulate beef, meatballs, ground meat, and pork sausage links and patties.

The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character who appears in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum.

The United States Department of Agriculture, also known as the Agriculture Department, is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food.

"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807.

The Good Food Institute is an international 501 nonprofit that promotes plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs as well as cultivated meat, as alternatives to the products of conventional animal agriculture.

PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo has interests in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products.

TerraCycle is a private U.S. recycling business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. It primarily runs a volunteer-based recycling platform to collect non-recyclable pre- consumer and post-consumer waste on behalf of corporate donors or municipalities to turn it into raw material to be used in new products.

https://hilaryseatwell.com/ https://www.facebook.com/nytcooking/ https://rebellyous.com/

https://www.detroitdirt.org/

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“When you eat the foods that are good for your health, it's also good for the planet.” – Paula Reichel

This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Paula Reichel, the Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Senior Advisor at Partnership for a Healthier America. We discuss the importance of improving food equity, cultural relevancy and cultural competency in our society. We also learn about the positive impacts and changes the food industry has had on the average American diet, especially through the pandemic. Along the way we hear the story of an innovative leader who helps set the flame on entrepreneurism in the food space.

In this episode we learn:

A little background about Partnership for a Healthier America.
How the CPG or consumer packaged goods relationships fit into the conversation in Partnership for a Healthier America.
About health washing, what it is and its implications on the food that people are eating and the food that people are also producing.
How the lack of diet and cultural representation in the manufactured goods exacerbate the health divide.
Opportunities in the naturals food industry that investors need to know about.

About Paula Reichel:

Paula Reichel serves as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Senior Advisor to the CEO at Partnership for a Healthier America. Partnership for a Healthier America is a national nonprofit founded alongside Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Initiative to transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity so that all children grow up healthy and free from obesity, heart disease, and other chronic conditions.

Paula grew up in the Midwest and experienced the effects of the toxic food environment on her, her family, and her community’s health and quality of life. Her passion propelled her to identify new ways to create access to good, nutritious food for economically disadvantaged communities through innovative programs, partnerships, and entrepreneurial ventures and systems, policy, and practice change. She has deep experience working with the private sector, the charitable food sector, and public schools and consults on organizational strategy and business development. Paula is a frequent guest lecturer and holds a Master’s degree from Cornell University where she studied education and inequality and a Bachelor’s degree in marketing from Butler University.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-reichel/ Email: preichel@ahealthieramerica.org Website: https://www.ahealthieramerica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulaereichel?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preichel/?hl=en Show Mentioned:

Let's Move Initiative - was a public health campaign in the United States, led by then-First Lady, Michelle Obama. The campaign aimed to reduce childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle in children.

Through Veggies Early & Often, PHA is convening leaders in industry, health professionals and early childhood education to consolidate evidence and outline an action agenda with the goal to raise a generation of veggie lovers.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. - is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Orlando.

Mars, Incorporated - is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$33 billion in annual sales in 2015. It was ranked as the 6th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. PepsiCo, Inc. - is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo has interests in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products.

Frito-Lay - is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods.

Mondelez International, Inc. - often stylized as Mondelez, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company based in Chicago, Illinois. Mondelez has annual revenue of about $26 billion and operates in approximately 160 countries.

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“You have to be so progressive to be able to go against the norm.” – Tanu Grewal

This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Tanu Grewal, the Vice President of Marketing, Innovation and Ecommerce for AIEn, USA. We discuss how and why a company that has traditionally targeted a conventional consumer decided to tackle green cleaning by developing the new Art of Green brand. We also learn how the brand's innovation and marketing will target some trial and conversion issues of many of the most hesitant conventional consumers. Along the way we learn the story of a feisty and inquisitive leader who brings a contrarian view of leadership, innovation and life to every opportunity and conversation.

In this episode we learn: - A little background about the newest green cleaning brand called Art of Green. - About assumptions and missed opportunities that the green cleaning industry should be tapping into related to consumer adoption. - How the years of working in a parallel industry allows her to approach the category and production innovation in a new way. - Why aroma is a big driver of category success. - How to extend the life of your job title beyond the magic 18-month timeframe.

About Tanu Grewal:

Tanu is a global brand builder and strategic marketer with over 15 years of experience working in mature and emerging markets like US, EMEA and India with companies in the CPG, durables, luxury and hospitality industries. She is passionate about using brand purpose to help drive innovation and marketing that creates real value and emotional engagement with consumers.

Reporting into the CEO, Tanu is currently the Vice President of Marketing & Innovation at AlEn USA, a growth stage division of the global ALEN Group. One of her top achievements in this role has been the launch of a natural, green cleaning brand called ‘Art of Green’ that just won the prestigious Product of the Year award. Prior to this, Tanu has worked on iconic brands like Kohler, Maytag and Whirlpool where she elevated commodity categories to lifestyle brands through a combination of award-winning product design, disruptive innovation and experiential marketing.

Starting her career with Whirlpool North America, Tanu held a variety of marketing and product development positions over 8 years including an ex-pat stint in Italy. Tanu holds an MBA degree from Rice University in Houston.

Outside of work, Tanu is passionate about creating communities that enable people to thrive. Currently, she serves on the International Student Advisory Board at Rice University and as a board member for the South Asian Women's Professional Network.

As a public speaker, Tanu’s topics include launching and scaling a challenger brand and standing out in a crowded market through creative marketing. As an Indian woman, living in the US and working for a Mexican company (AlEn), she also speaks on navigating multicultural work and market landscapes. Tanu has been interviewed by Forbes and delivered the keynote address for Coke FEMSA's Annual D&I conference in Mexico City, Women’s Masters Network’s Annual Meetup 2020 and the Houston AMA's Quarterly Luncheon.

An avid traveler and consummate foodie, Tanu lives in Houston with her husband and son.

Guests Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanugrewal/ Website: http://www.alenusa.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tanu_Grewal Personal Website: http://tanugrewal.com/ Books Mentioned:

Unfinished: A Memoir by Priyanka Chopra - From her dual-continent twenty-year-long career as an actor and producer to her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, from losing her beloved father to cancer to marrying Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s story will inspire a generation around the world to gather their courage, embrace their ambition, and commit to the hard work of following their dreams.

Show Resources: The Art of Green - product line offers consumers an affordable and high-performing natural cleaning alternative that is priced for everyday use.

Kohler Co. - founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, is an American manufacturing company based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and generators.

The Maytag Corporation - is an American home and commercial appliance brand owned by Whirlpool Corporation after the April 2006 acquisition of Maytag.

The Whirlpool Corporation- is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States.

South Asian Women’s Professional Network (SAWPN) - SAWPN was created to bring together and engage women across various industries, nationally. Our goal is to build a strong networking base to support, mentor and celebrate successful, strong, and vibrant women across the country and within our communities.

HINT - an American beverage company based in San Francisco, California, as an alternative to soda and sugar beverages. It was started by former AOL employee Kara Goldin.

Amazon.com, Inc. - an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

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This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Perteet Spencer, the co-founder of AYO Foods. Using her spidey SPINS senses and her desire to create a brand that celebrates the ingredients, flavors, and culture of the West African diaspora, Perteet takes us on her journey of transition and joy. Along the way we learn how her Liberian upbringing and heritage inspires her new venture and how this cultural view naturally embraces a more inclusive food production system.

In this episode we learn: - A little background about her brand AYO Foods. - Why Perteet thinks North American consumers are ready for African flavors, textures, and ingredients - What food trends shape AYO Foods innovation. - Why she thinks Chicago has become THE place to watch for food innovation. - How to use data as an indicator, and not simply validation, to uncover new innovation platforms and opportunities. - Pereet’s thoughts on how to shrink pre-production food waste through product and manufacturing innovation.

About Pereet Spencer: Perteet is thrilled to be able to bring all of her passions into her role as co-founder of AYO Foods. Seeking to build a more inclusive food system that reflected her experience growing up in a Liberian family, Perteet launched AYO with her husband Fred last summer with the vision of creating a platform brand that celebrated the ingredients, flavors, and culture of the West African diaspora.

Prior launching AYO, Perteet held brand, sales, and consulting leadership roles at LEGO, General Mills, and SPINS.

When she’s not actively working on AYO, you can usually find Perteet spending time in the kitchen with her two girls or advancing the issues of food equity through her involvement in the Food Recovery Network, a non-profit focused on eliminating food insecurity through food waste recovery.

Guests Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/perteet-spencer-18b3146/

Email: perteet@ayo-foods.com

Website: https://ayo-foods.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pmcspence/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/perteets?lang=en

Show Resources: Moonboi Project - In Kpelle, “Moonboi” means prosperity. At AYO Foods, we believe that we have a personal responsibility to enrich the communities that inspired our products.

General Mills, Inc. - is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. It is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.

SPINS - transforms trillions of retailer data into performance solutions to accelerate growth, and deepen loyalty with shoppers.

Food Recovery Network - a nonprofit focused on eliminating food insecurity through food waste recovery.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. - is an American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA Certified Organic grocer in the United States, the chain is popularly known for its organic selections.

Girl Power Africa - an organization that was founded a few years back, really in service of women who were victims of civil war and are trying to get back on their feet in Liberia.

Imperfect Foods - Shop affordable groceries and exclusive items that went from unwanted to wish for. Reducing food and retail product waste, one household at a time.

PepsiCo - is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo has interests in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products.

Betty Crocker - is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was originally created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 following a contest in the Saturday Evening Post.

Lego - is a Danish toy production company based in Billund. It is best known for the manufacture of Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland, and operates numerous retail stores.

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This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Emel Shaikh, a PR and communications strategist with more than 10 years of experience leading publicity efforts, both in-house at the renowned Sundance Institute and as well as boutique agencies across multiple disciplines. Join us as we discuss how growing up as an immigrant and a woman of color, Emel is particularly interested in amplifying the untold stories of fellow BIPAC and other minority groups.

In this episode we learn:

How the pandemic has affected PR, what brands are doing differently that they weren’t doing before and how they are planning for the change.
About what it means to be an outsider and especially in the lines of her work and if it has benefits.
What made Emel decide to start her own firm on her own and work with minority owned brands rather than bigger ones and the challenges that these brands are facing.
About cancel culture and explains why she is not a fan and why she thinks it doesn’t hold people accountable.
Which women leaders she has her eyes on that she’d like to elevate or want people to see.

About Emel Shaikh: Prior to starting her freelance journey, Emel worked in various PR roles, developing campaigns for Better-for-You food and beverage, wellness and lifestyle startups and CPG brands. The experience gave her a firsthand look into what it takes to launch and grow an innovative product and ignited a passion for mission driven brands. Emel did four years in-house, where she led the charge on publicity efforts around the annual Sundance Film Festival in Utah, built awareness of Sundance NEXT FEST, a new film and music festival in Los Angeles to reach a new demographic, and introduce tastemakers to the Sundance brand and pitched stories surrounding the institute's year round artists support labs and programs.

Guests Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emelshaikh/ Website: http://www.sundance.org/ Personal website: http://littlecakeshop.tumblr.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emelshaikh/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/emelshaikh

Show Resources: Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers from all over the world. BIPAC is a bi-partisan, membership-supported, mission-driven, organization working to improve the political climate in America for the business community and help employers and employees play a more active role in public policy and the political process.

Fast-moving consumer goods, also known as consumer packaged goods, are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost.

Clubhouse is an invitation-only audio-chat social networking app launched in April 2020 by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth of Alpha Exploration Co. In May 2020, it was valued at nearly $100 million. On January 21, 2021, the valuation reached $1 billion.

Tik Tok, known in China as Douyin, is a video-sharing social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The social media platform is used to make a variety of short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education, that have a duration from fifteen seconds to one minute.

One Stripe Chai: Hand-crafted chai that actually tastes like chai. Black tea brewed with organic spices and made with love in Portland.

Wayne Enterprises, Inc., also known as WayneCorp, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman.

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

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This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Vivi Mullen, the co-founder and Co-CEO of GO BIG, a natural energy and wellness shot. In this episode we talk about how Vivi’s career as a female executive in male-dominated corporate cultures stoked and shaped her ambition to make a difference in the lives of women. Join us as we discuss how Vivi has staked a claim in the energy drink industry and used her self-described outsider title to prove there is more than one way to do things.

In this episode we learn:

A little background about her company GO BIG and why it exists especially outside of the idea of the business.
The intricacies of the energy drink industry from a personal perspective as well as who the major players in this industry are.
That gender inclusivity and branding are an integral part of understanding how the energy drink industry markets their products.
The way culture affects how she does her business now, how she builds relationships today, and her leadership.
Vivi’s advice to women who focus on what others say and lowers their self-esteem leading to wasted mental space. How to refocus self-esteem draining inputs and stop spending time in wasted mental space.
What Vivi is doing through her leadership and brand to be a champion for women and women of color.

About Vivi Mullen:

Vivi Mullen is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of GO BIG, and the only female CEO in the energy drink industry. Born and raised in Brazil, Mullen’s career as a female executive in the largely male-dominated corporate culture, both stoked, and shaped her ambition to make a difference. Mullen started GO BIG as a brand based on the values of empowerment and inclusivity and holds to her commitment to showcase women and minorities in an industry that would prefer to leave them out.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivi-araripe-mullen-555a0623/ Website: https://gobigenergy.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivimullen/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vivi.araripe

Show Resources:

Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Red Bull GmbH, an Austrian company created in 1987. Red Bull has the highest market share of any energy drink in the world, with 7.5 billion cans sold in a year.
Monster Energy is an energy drink that was introduced by Hansen Natural Company in April of 2002. Monster Energy has a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull.
Rockstar is an energy drink created in 2001, which, as of 2009, had 14% of the US energy drink market. Rockstar is based in Las Vegas. As of January 2013, Rockstar Energy Drink was available in more than 20 flavors and in more than 30 countries.
Bang is an American brand of energy drinks. It is made by Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a corporation located in Florida. 5-hour Energy is an American-made "energy shot" manufactured by Living Essentials LLC. The company was founded by CEO Manoj Bhargava and launched in 2004.
Guarana is a Brazilian plant native to the Amazon basin. Also known as Paullinia cupana, it's a climbing plant prized for its fruit. A mature guarana fruit is about the size of a coffee berry. It resembles the human eye, with a red shell encasing a black seed covered by a white aril.

Key Takeaways:

0:00 Intro 2:48 Vivi share a little background about her company Go Big and why it exists especially outside of the idea of the business 4:24 Vivi talks about the energy drinks industry from a personal perspective and also who the major players in this industry are 6:07 Vivi also talks about the energy drinks industry from a branding perspective and the inclusivity part of both genders 7:45 Vivi talks about the difference in culture between Brazil and USA on the whole concept of professional women and women in business 9:49 Vivi also talks about how culture affects how she does her business now, how she builds relationships today and her leadership 14:32 Vivi talks about being an outsider person and not fitting in both the Brazilian and the USA culture and how that has become her superpower in doing business 16:15 Vivi talks about what she has learned and is learning running a business as a mum and especially in this time of the pandemic 18:33 Vivi shares her thoughts on the concept of wasted mental space, what it means and also shares some examples regarding it 24:43 Vivi shares advice to women who focus on what other people will say about her which lowers their self-esteem leading to wasted mental space and how to avoid that 28:34 Vivi talks about what she’s doing with herself right now and through her brand to be the champion for women and women of color 30:00 Vivi talks about Female Founder Collective, what it is and what it does to help women and women of color 33:49 Vivi shares her thoughts and perspective on how she thought about developing her product and how it's evolving considering a wider audience 39:03 Vivi talks about the type of market that her company Go Big is here to serve and why they decided to go that route 41:09 Vivi talks about other women leaders that she admires and have her eyes on and why and who she’d want to elevate 44:01 Vivi shares what she thinks is an interesting tidbit or fun fact about her industry 44:52 Vivi also talks about other brands and products that she has her eyes on and why 45:35 Vivi shares some of the things that she does that helps her keep herself sane and centered

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This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Christie Lagally, the founder and CEO of Rebellyous Foods, a food production technology company working to make plant based meat price competitive with traditional chicken products. In this episode we discuss how Christie’s development of “Meatless Mondays” while working as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry at Boeing, helped her understand the barriers to plant based meat in offices and institutions. Join us as we discuss how Christie has parlayed this information into building her own company to bypass those barriers by catapulting meat alternative production toward price parity and convenience with animal-based meat.

In this episode we learn: - The history of Christie’s brand Rebellyous, how it was started, and reasons for its existence. - How Christie is using the pricing method to make her products accessible to everyone and why that’s important. - How Covid impacted their company, the opportunities that came up, and how it affected their market, and how they responded. - The importance of why brand owners should understand the purpose of their brand’s existence before they focus on the income. - About the process of enrolling investors and partners - Christie’s vision she has for Rebellyous and what people should expect in the near future.

About Christie Legally: Christie is the founder and CEO of Rebellyous Foods and a mechanical engineer who holds multiple patents in manufacturing technology. She spent much of her career in the aerospace industry working at Boeing. Previously Christie served as senior scientist for the Good Food Institute and covering the technical barriers in the development of plant-based meat and clean meat.

Guests Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christie-lagally-875b9a4/ Email: info@rebellyous.com Personal website: http://christie.lagallyconsulting.com/cv.html Website: https://rebellyous.com/about-rebellyous-foods/christie-lagally-founder-ceo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lagallyc?lang=en Blog: http://christielagally.wordpress.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BqLQI4MjHif/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading

Show Resources: The Good Food Institute is an international 501 nonprofit that promotes plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs as well as cultivated meat.

Rebellyous Foods is a food manufacturing technology and production company defined solely to catapult meat alternative production toward price parity with animal-based meat.

Humane Society is a movement leader when it comes to farm animal advocacy in The United States.

Food Equality Initiative in Kansas City Improves health and end hunger in individuals diagnosed with food allergies and celiac disease through access, education, and advocacy.

Seattle Food Tech is a food manufacturing technology and production company on a mission to “catapult meat alternative production toward price parity with animal-based meat.”

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This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Danielle Laubenstein, The Director of Global Marketing for Mauna Loa. Danielle is overseeing the future and legacy of the company's direction into becoming Hawaii's wellness brand. She believes product development and holistic marketing looks at beauty as a combination of qualities of paradise, creating brand culture and products that empower the mind, nourishes the body, spirit, and evokes emotional health. Join us as we take a deep dive into the health and wellness industry and explore how brands should strive to serve their customers with healthy products.

“If you're Hawaii brand, then you're a brand from Hawaii.” -Danielle Laubenstein

In this episode we learn: - About creating a brand community and how to make it be authentic. - The difference between a Hawaiian brand and a Hawaii brand or Hawaii owned brand. - How Mauna Loa is leading the naturals industry in staying true to its purpose of caring for everyone's needs. - The concept of giving back and social responsibility or reciprocal responsibilities, where that comes from, and how it affects Danielle’s leadership style. - About how Danielle is mentoring women, especially women of color, and why it’s important for her. - What the word Kuleana means and the importance it has within the Hawaiian culture.

About Danielle Laubenstein: Danielle has worked in CPG Health and Wellness, as well as in the global travel luxury confectionery space for over a decade for companies such as Chocolove, Godiva and DFS.

Guests Social Media Links: LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellelaubenstein/ Website: https://www.maunaloa.com/

Show Resources: Chocolove is a chocolate manufacturer with headquarters and a manufacturing facility in Boulder, Colorado, founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Timothy Moley. The company produces all- natural and organic chocolate bars. Chocolove imports chocolate and cocoa butter from Belgium to produce its chocolate.

Godiva Chocolatier is a Turkish-owned chocolate maker that is jointly owned by Turkish conglomerate Yıldız Holding and MBK Partners. Founded in 1926, it was purchased by the Turkish Yıldız Holding in November 2007; then MBK Partners bought a stake in 2019.

DFS Group is part of the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), and a pioneer in luxury travel retail.

Hawaiian Host is the original chocolate-covered macadamia. Hawaiian Host is also the largest manufacturer of chocolate-covered macadamias in the world, as millions of boxes of our treats are shared all over the globe.

The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world.

Project Potluck is a professional community founded by People of Color with a singular mission: to help people of color build successful companies and careers.

Lei Day is a state-wide celebration in Hawaii. The celebration begins in the morning of May first every year and continues into the next day. Lei day was established as a holiday in 1929. Each Hawaiian island has a different type of lei for its people to wear in the celebration.

Siete is a Mexican-American food brand, rooted in family that makes delicious grain-free products.

Books Mentioned: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf

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This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Ayeshah Abuelhiga, The CEO and founding partner of Mason Dixie Foods, the fastest-growing frozen baked goods company in the US. Ayeshah has thrown out the rule book, to excel in a male-dominated industry. Through sheer grit and tenacity, Ayeshah is pursuing her vision of flipping the comfort food industry on its head. In this episode, we talk about how growing up in a multi-culture family influenced Ayeshah’s view on the importance of healthy food and inspired her to start her own company. She also discusses the history of Mason Dixie Foods, why she built the company, and how she’s grown it into a wildly successful brand.

“When you’re an emerging brand, you’re a startup and you’re creating an identity for yourself, it’s important to really think functionally about who you’re trying to be.” - Ayeshah Abuelhiga

In this episode we learn: - The origin story of Ayeshah and Mason Dixie Foods and how she landed on the name. - Why immigrants have the fire to achieve their purpose, and how immigrant culture gives them strength. - How powerful it can be when men and women work together, rather than being set against each other. - The importance of choosing the right partnerships, customers, and agencies for her business. - About the hurdles that women, people of color, and other minorities often face in business and how to overcome them. - Some fun facts about bread, and advice for the customers.

About Ayeshah Abuelhiga:

She is the CEO and founding partner of Mason Dixie Foods, the fastest-growing frozen baked goods company in the US. She was voted one of Entrepreneurs Magazine's 100 powerful women in 2020, as well as one of the top 100 women in grocery 2020 by Progressive Grocer and a top 10 D.C. innovator in 2017. She has worked front of the house positions for major fine dining restaurants and hotels, while also consulting and managing, marketing and business development projects for Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Toshiba, and Audi. One of her biggest professional accomplishments is hiring an incredibly diverse team of 15, each of whom shares her commitment to providing the best frozen baked goods in the world.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajabuelhiga/ Website: http://www.masondixiebiscuits.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayeshahabuelhiga/?hl=en

Show Resources: Mason Dixie Foods: makes the most buttery, crumbly, gooey baked goods by taking the highest quality natural ingredients out there and mixing them with ice-cold butter and fresh-from-the-cow buttermilk. There’s nothing artificial in the biscuits, scones, or sweet roles and zero prep.

Project Potluck: is a nonprofit leadership and mentoring program founded by people of color with a mission to help people of color build successful companies and careers in the CPG Industry.

Progressive Grocer: is the voice of the retail food industry for nearly 100 years by providing the latest news, consumer trends, data and insight. Better For You Foods: is the creator or award-winning natural food products for retail and private label consumers.

Partake Foods: creates delicious, real and healthy snacks, free of the 8 most common allergens.

Females in Food: helps foodpreneurs experience exceptional business and financial growth.

Key Takeaways:

0:00 Intro

2:24 Ayeshah share a little history of Mason Dixie Foods, why she build the brand and why it exists outside of the product

7:12 Ayeshah explains that there is a bigger, broader issue than just what everyone's labeling innovation especially in the food industry

9:58 Ayeshah talks about where she gets the fire and the strength to keep on doing what she does and how that helps in her decision making

11:21 Ayeshah talks about the importance of making major decisions based on facts but not the gut feel in business

12:56 Ayeshah shares her point of view on why the society sees women as if they will fail in what they do but see men as victorious even if they fail and if that is changing

16:10 Ayeshah also explains the amount of power there could be when men and women work together than being against each other

17:53 Ayeshah talks about why immigrants have that fire to achieve their purpose at all cost and how they get the strength by being in the immigrant’s culture

22:08 Ayeshah talks about partnership and shares tips on how to find a customer that is right for you, and also how she came up with the name of her company

27:50 Ayeshah also talks about the importance of choosing the right agencies that are transparent and honest and can tell your story

30:27 Ayeshah talks about Project Potluck, what it is, its mission and how it’s progressing since it was formed and the challenges they are facing

36:12 Ayeshah encourages people that it is not hard to start your own company especially in the natural industries

37:45 Ayeshah talks about the most common hurdles or things that most women, people of color and the minority in business keeps crushing on and how to overcome them

41:06 Ayeshah talks about the woman that she admires due to how she conducts herself and the business

42:52 Ayeshah talks about the Biscuits Jam and what happened to it and the anniversary they had

45:24 Ayeshah shares what she feels is a fun fact around breads and the advice she gives the consumers

47:15 Ayeshah shares some of the trends that she is focusing on at the moment

49:53 Ayeshah shares some tips on what she does to keep herself sane nowadays

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In this episode I had the privilege of chatting with Karuna Rawal, Chief Marketing Officer for Nature’s Fynd, a food tech startup where she’s commercializing a new-to-the-world, sustainable alternative protein that can help feed the world. We discuss the incredible origin story of Nature’s Fynd, how the food tech industry has widened the funnel of food accessibility, as well as the importance of mentorship in empowering women leaders.

“To me mentoring is about being more open, vulnerable and sharing, and being able to offer perspective or insights.” - Karuna Rawal

In this episode we learn:

The origin story of Nature’s Fynd, what it does and what the company is up to now.
How the pandemic has positively and negatively affected the business.
How the food tech industry has contributed to the accessibility of food to many people around the world.
Karuna’s thoughts about consumer adoption and how consumers in the market are responding to their products.
The importance of two-way mentoring and Karuna’s advice for being a good mentor.
Karuna’s thoughts on how she wants Nature’s Fynd to define food tech’s role in the world.

About Karuna Rawal:

Karuna Rawal is the Chief Marketing Officer for Nature’s Fynd, a food tech startup where she's commercializing a new-to-the-world sustainable alternative protein that can help feed the world.

Karuna brings over twenty-five years of experience in brand management and shopper marketing across CPG, retail, and healthcare industries. She also serves on a number of nonprofits and is dedicated to supporting and mentoring women leaders.

Guest Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karunarawal/ Website: https://www.naturesfynd.com/press-release/cmo Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarunaRawal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekarunarawal Blog: https://medium.com/@KarunaRawal

Show Resources:

Mentions

Miyoko’s Creamery - Miyoko’s Creamery is the leading organic plant dairy creamery that’s reinventing the dairy industry.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.

Yellowstone National Park is a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs, and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old Faithful.

The Good Food Institute’s (GFI) conference is the world’s leading event focused on accelerating the marketplace for plant-based and cell-based meat.

Farmers Fridge is a service that makes meals from scratch, packed with care, and delivered overnight by our dedicated team of drivers.

Leo Burnett Company, Inc., is an American advertising company, founded on August 5, 1935, in Chicago by Leo Burnett.

Articles

https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2019/09/11/Sustainable-Bioproducts-gears-up-for-2020-launch-of-consumer-brand-built-around-new-to-the-world-protein-source

Key Takeaways:

0:00 Intro

2:15 Karuna share the origin story of Nature’s Fynd, what it does and what the company is up to nowadays

5:27 Karuna talks about how the pandemic positively and negatively affected their business and how they dealt with the negative impacts

8:39 Karuna talks about what accelerated them to moving to the market that they are in and how

10:49 Karuna also talks about how being a foodtech company has contributed to accessibility of food to many people around the world

12:45 Karuna also talks about what has catapulted the naturals to the mainstream consumer and how foodtech has helped in that too

16:15 Karuna explains how foodtech is bridging the gap between people who are uneducated and maybe unwilling to try something because of its foreignness to the naturals

17:52 Karuna shares her thoughts on how she’d want Nature’s Fynd to define Foodtech’s role and what it should be about

19:11 Karuna talks about consumer adoption and how consumers in the market are responding to their products that are in the market

24:19 Karuna talks about the shift that is happening of people shifting to the natural foods and being a vegetarian or a vegan and what’s caused that shift

27:35 Karuna also talks about leadership and mentorship and why it is important to her that that she leans mostly in mentoring women

31:25 Karuna talks about two way mentoring and why it’s important for a mentor to understand the situation and mentor based on the situation and not on the fact that he or she knows something

34:21 Karuna shares where she gets the interest to mentor people from and also her life experiences that grows her desire to mentor even more

38:50 Karuna also shares the common blind spot or weakness that she has noticed through all the women that she has mentored that holds them back

42:14 Karuna shares the kind of women that she admires in terms of their leadership

44:35 Karuna shares what she thinks are fun facts about Nature’s Fynd that she feels are really compelling

45:52 Karuna talks about the brands and trends outside of Nature’s Fynd that she has her eyes on

47:26 Karuna shares tips on how she’s keeping herself sane and strong to do what it is that she does

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Meet the Tesla of the natural foods industry, the queen of vegan cheese, epicurean activist, and mentor of entrepreneurial rock stars .

In this episode I had the privilege of chatting with Miyoko Shinner, Founder and CEO of Miyoko’s Creamery, the leading organic plant dairy creamery that’s reinventing the dairy industry. She’s on a mission to empower aspiring and established food and beverage entrepreneurs alike to manifest their dreams, think outside of the box and simple - get out of their own way on their road to success. We discuss her own personal journey of exploration, changes she’d like to see in the naturals industry, and the overall need for mentoring and professional support communities for all levels of entrepreneurs.

“ The biggest obstacle to success can be ourselves.” - Miyoko Schinner

In this episode we learn :

Why it is important for entrepreneurs to understand corporate leadership behavior.
How the lack of diversity of leadership in the Naturals Industry impacts our ability to deliver on the needs of consumers.
The importance of balance in diversifying leadership.
Tips on how to create company cultures that allow women to openly express ideas.
Common missteps women make while climbing the corporate ladder.
Miyoko’s wish for women leaders as they embrace their professional journey.

About Miyoko Schinner:

Miyoko Schinner is founder and CEO of Miyoko’s Creamery, the leading organic plant dairy creamery that’s reinventing the dairy industry. An epicurean activist and leading voice in the future of food, Schinner is known as “the Tesla of the natural foods industry”. Guided by her principles of compassion and justice for all living beings, Schinner pioneered the plant-based dairy revolution by leveraging her vast experience as a chef, former restauranteur, best-selling cookbook author, and a founding board member of the Plant-Based Foods Association. An animal rights advocate, Schinner co-founded Rancho Compasión, a nonprofit animal sanctuary in California that provides home to over 70 rescued farm animals.

Guests Social Media Links:

Website: https://miyokos.com/pages/story

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miyoko-schinner-6a47204

Twitter: https://twitter.com/miyokoschinner?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miyokoschinner/?hl=en

Show Resources:

Miyoko’s Creamery - Miyoko’s Creamery is the leading organic plant dairy creamery that’s reinventing the dairy industry. Led by epicurean activist Miyoko Schinner, Miyoko’s has cracked the code to plant dairy by combining old-world cheesemaking artistry and traditions with whole food technology to craft world-changing cheese and butter from plant milk, not cows. Today, Miyoko’s products can be found in more than 15,000 retailers nationwide and in Canada, including Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, Kroger and Safeway.

The Plant Based Foods Association: is the single most important trade organization representing the interests of plant-based food companies. We are proud to partner with PBFA in creating a more level playing field for plant-based food companies.

SWEET EARTH Foods: it's their mission to inspire a modern culinary movement powered by food that's good in every sense of the word.

Rancho Compasión: they provide a home to previously neglected, exploited, and abused farm animals.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

A brand development firm that builds, grows and evolves brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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In this episode I had the privilege of chatting with RaeJean Wilson, Director of HR/Communications of GloryBee - a supplier of natural and organic ingredients to manufacturers, bakeries and consumers for decades. We discuss the how the naturals industry has changed (and stayed the same) since the company’s founding in the 1970’s as well as how the brand has evolved from a simple expression of love to one of stewardship for the greater good. Along the way we discuss the efforts GloryBee is making to ensure the future of honeybees, and to make sure the brand continues to stand as a leader and information source for farming practices as they relate to pollination, general food production and the overall health of our planet.

“It isn't about one business or one company; it's about all of us doing things together to make this world better.” - RaeJean Wilson

In this episode we learn:

The challenges and joys of leading a brand through the evolving naturals industry.
How farming practices have evolved and how the introduction of food science has affected the honey and sweetness industry.
How RaeJean and her family have managed transitional leadership change.
Why food is considered a love language.
How bee propagation is instrumental in the success of and industry that is leaning more and more heavily into plant based diets and products.
Why leadership doesn’t need to be heavy handed to be effective.

About RaeJean Wilson:

RaeJean Wilson is the daughter of GloryBee Founders Dick and Pat Turanski. RaeJean has served in the family business in several capacities for 25+ years. After earning a BA in Public Health at the University of Oregon, her focus was on sales and building GloryBee’s customer base. RaeJean now serves as GloryBee’s Director of HR and Communications, overseeing marketing, human resources, safety, sustainability, and community outreach.

RaeJean is married with two adult sons and a daughter. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, wine, and travel.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raejean-wilson-9154221ab/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GloryBeeFoods

Instagram: https://instagram.com/glorybeefoods/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GloryBeeFoods/

Show Resources:

GloryBee - With over 45 years of experience in the natural foods industry, we have been supplying natural and organic ingredients to Pacific Northwest natural food manufacturers, bakeries, and shops for decades. It’s likely that you’ve enjoyed our ingredients in your favorite natural and organic prepared foods and restaurant meals! You may even have a jar of our honey, coconut oil or natural sweetener in your pantry at home.

SAVE the BEE: Led by GloryBee, the SAVE the BEE Initiative is a partnership of researchers, beekeepers, businesses and consumers committed to protecting honey bees.

B-Corp - Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Seattle Pacific University: is a premier Christian university that equips people to engage the culture and change the world.

The University of Oregon: is a public flagship research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the institution's 295-acre campus is along the Willamette River.

Franz Bakery: is a source for the highest quality breads, bagels, buns, English muffins, cookies and more.

Eugene Mission: We are not a homeless shelter in the traditional sense. While we certainly provide our guests with food and shelter – and do so with an abundance of God's love.

Oakshire Brewing: is a community-inspired, small-batch brewing company founded in 2006. We are locally owned, employ 24 people, and produce a wide variety of fresh, quality beers through our three distinct brewing programs.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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Finding an investment partner, at any time, is no easy task. It’s not unlike soccer or football. The greater the number of shots on goal, the more likely to score a goal. But for young entrepreneurial brands, many entering business ownership for the first time, a capital raise can be a complicated and grueling task that can make or break a business owner's dreams.

In this episode, I had the privilege of chatting with Ashley Hartman, Senior Principal at Bluestein Ventures, a family-backed venture capital fund that invests in the future of food. Ready to provide insights into a new way of seeing the capital raise. Ashely shares how investment and venture capital firms have taken the opportunity of the 2020 events to re-evaluate how, where, and with who they do business with. She shares how this year has become an opportunity to get better and stronger, meeting not only business but personal goals. Along the way we learn the importance of being a good community partner and how investing beyond a financial commitment has become a cornerstone in her firms’ success.

“People need to be utilizing their network a little bit more and asking a little bit more." - Ashley Hartman

In this episode we learn:

The reason why Ashley and Bluestein Venture focuses on helping brands in Seed to Series A stage funding.
The ways investment firms are finding and supporting brands during this time.
The criteria and evaluation tools that Bluestein uses when courting brand opportunities.
The key differences in communicating with serial entrepreneur’s vs the home-grown "Hatchery" style entrepreneur.
About diversity initiatives in business and how Bluestein is able to outreach to those communities that traditionally haven’t had accessibility to capital investment.
Where Ashley derives her energy to keep on pushing hard to meet her goals and those of Bluestein’s brands.

About Ashley Hartman:

Ashley is Senior Principal at Bluestein Ventures, a family-backed venture capital fund that invests in the future of food. Bluestein looks for game-changing, early-stage ventures across the food industry that redefine how consumers achieve their health and wellness. Our investments span the entire value chain – both B2C and B2B – with a focus on four areas: high-growth consumer brands, proprietary foodtech, next-gen commerce, and value-add digital technology. At Bluestein, we’re active investors, going beyond capital to help its portfolio companies develop, iterate, and implement their go-to-market strategy to achieve product-market fit and set the foundation for scale.

Ashley is involved in all areas of Bluestein, including screening, due diligence, portfolio company support, as well as firm development and strategy. She has extensive experience leading growth strategy and establishing scalable infrastructure necessary to build sustainable ventures, honing these skills throughout her time running and scaling her family’s business, working on new ventures at Coinstar, and her experience in financial consulting. Active in the Chicago food community, Ashley serves on the Selection Committee and Associate’s Board of the Good Food Accelerator and is a mentor at Food Foundry and The Hatchery. Ashley received an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School and a BA in Political Economy, summa cum laude, from Williams College.

Outside of Bluestein, you’ll find Ashley on her yoga mat, exploring Chicago on foot, hiking up a storm when she can escape to the mountains, or at a contemporary art museum. A health & wellness nut, she’s been vegan for nearly eight years, but doesn’t preach!

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyhartman2/

Email: ashley@bluesteinventures.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/a_hartman1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyhartmanrobin/

Show Resources:

Bluestein Ventures - We invest in the future of food. We’re looking for game-chaigne, early-stage ventures across the food industry that redefine how consumers achieve their health and wellness. Our investments span the entire value chain - both B2C and B2B - with a focus on four areas.

Chicago Food Community - A united community effort working to bring food, dignity and hope to Cook County neighbors. They act as the hub for a network of more than 700 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other programs which provide food where it’s most needed.

Good Food Accelerator - The Good Food Accelerator gets emerging Good Food CPG brands ready for prime time, giving them the skills to scale up

Food Foundry - A Chicago-based growth accelerator program by Relish Works built in partnership with Gordon Food Service and 1871. It supports, connects, and propels innovative startups who are reimagining the food industry.

The Hatchery - A non-profit and beverage incubator dedicated to helping local entrepreneurs build and grow successful businesses.

Yerbae - A line of zero calorie sparkling waters that are enhanced with a blend of yerba mate, white tea extract, and guarana seed extract.

Coinstar - An American company operating coin-cashing machines

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

Key Takeaways: - 0:00 Intro

2:18 Ashley shares a little background of Bluestein Ventures, who they are and what they do
5:17 Ashley gives reasons why their company focuses on companies between Seed to Series A stage to fund and the importance of helping them at this stage
7:58 Ashley explains the three things Bluestein Venture thinks about when they think about strategy and getting their portfolio companies to product market fit
11:34 Ashley talks about ways in which their firm is finding brands that they can support especially in this time of the pandemic
13:57 Ashley shares the advantages that has come up due to companies doing their businesses virtually and the importance of a good network
16:55 Ashley also talks about the impact COVID has made to the opportunities that their firm gets and if they are different from earlier opportunities before the pandemic
19:26 Ashley speaks about partnership and the process their firm use to partner with their portfolio companies
20:29 Ashley talks of how their firm know that a particular portfolio company is a good fit for them and the different criteria they look at to evaluate those companies
24:40 Ashley also talks about coachability and if they use it as a criteria to choose who they want to work with or support
26:30 Ashley shares a set of questions or concerns that they normally get from their portfolio companies and if they are consistent
28:15 Ashley also explains that it’s not a must for a business to have everything for them to invest in them, but what is their go to market strategy and how unique is it
32:56 Ashley also talks about the confusion that comes with brands copying other brands and why brands should focus on their own success
34:23 Ashley gives key differences in communicating with serial entrepreneurs and the home-grown Hatchery style entrepreneur, and how they choose between them who to work with
39:08 Ashley talks of diversity in businesses and how Bluestein is able to outreach to these communities that traditionally haven't had visibility
43:37 Ashley elaborates o where she derives her energy to keep on pushing harder to achieve her goals
44:58 Ashley and Diana talk about things that really excites them the most in the industries that they both work in

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In this episode I had the privilege of chatting with Denise Woodard, CEO and Founder of Partake Foods: a brand of allergy-friendly snacks inspired by her daughter’s experience with food allergies.

Denise takes us on a journey of discovery as she tells us the story of tackling her daughters’ dietary restrictions while meeting her sweet tooth “demands”. With a little tough love from her daughter’s childcare provider “Your daughters’ diet is boring.”- Denise embarked on a journey of discovery and perseverance learning to bake, develop product, start-up and run a company and developing it into a beloved industry darling. Along the way we hear about the 86 investment rejections, road trips selling product out of her car, to becoming the first black woman to raise a million dollars in seed capital for a packaged food brand.

In this episode we learn:

The genesis and inspiration of Partake.
What is driving the demand for allergen-free foods.
How Denise plans to support the growing needs of the allergen-free consumer.
How food and beverage brands can improve their listening of consumer needs - beyond product development.
How Denise is supporting other BIOPIC women in the industry.
The ways Denise stayed inspired during the early days of fundraising and growing Partake.
The advice that Denise gives new food and beverage entrepreneurs.

“Successful people are just regular people who want to solve a problem and are very passionate about it.” - Denise Woodard

About Denise Woodard:

Denise Woodard is the Founder/CEO of Partake, a line of allergy-friendly snacks inspired by her daughter’s experience with food allergies. Since launching in July 2017, Partakes first product - delicious, nutritious, allergy-friendly cookies - can be found in over 2,500 retailers including Target, Sprouts, and Whole Foods Market. The company has been featured by People, Black Enterprise and Entrepreneur and, in June 2019 closed a seed round of funding led by JAY-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners.

Prior to launching Partake, Denise spent a decade in consumer-packaged-goods at various Fortune 100 companies. Most recently, she held the title of Director, National Sales in Coca-Cola’s Venturing & Emerging Brands division. Denise holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an MBA from Arizona State University. She lives in Jersey City, NJ with her husband, Jeremy, and their 5-year-old daughter, Vivienne.

Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisegwoodard/

Website: https://partakefoods.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PartakeFoods/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partakefoods/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/partakefoods

Show Resources:

Parktake: Our products give delicious peace of mind to those with dietary restrictions... and "how is this so good?" enjoyment to everyone else.

Marcy Venture Partners: Co-Founded by Shawn Carter (JAY-Z), Jay Brown and Larry Marcus. The firm has a passion for building game-changing consumer businesses and mass-market brands that resonate with culture across products and services, media and technology. We combine unique access, instincts, deep networks, operating and venture capital expertise to be long term partners in growth.

Whole Foods Market : An American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA Certified Organic grocer in the United States, the chain is popularly known for its organic selections.

Honest Tea: A bottled organic tea company based in Bethesda, Maryland. It was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. The name is a pun on the word "honesty".

Food Equality Initiative: Improving the health and ending hunger in individuals diagnosed with food allergies and celiac disease through access, education and advocacy.

Frito-Lay: An American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato ships and other snack foods.

Stacy’s Rise Project: Created to help bridge the funding gap for female founders, Stacy’s Rise Project™ has been connecting and empowering women business owners for years.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

Key Takeaways:

0:00 Intro

2:01 Denise gives a brief overview of what Partake Foods is all about

3:03 Denise share a little bit of her journey and some of her big moments after she left Coca Cola

4:13 Denise talks about why she choose baked goods and not other shelf stable product

5:17 Denise shares how her nanny was instrumental and how she helped to the development and growth of her company

6:23 Denise gives the reasons why she decided to start her company from scratch

7:34 Denise talks about what she does for her to capture the attention of very high profile investors to come and invest with her

9:31 Denise also shares some of operational struggles that she goes through while growing her company

11:23 Denise shares some tips on what she did to get her initial seed investment even after going through 86 rejections

13:03 Denise talks about how she is the first black woman to have raised a million dollars for a package food company

14:25 Denise talks about how they connected with Emily Brown for the first time

15:14 Denise discuss where the demand for allergen free foods is coming from, why it has increased and if it is a global thing

17:49 Denise speaks of what other CPG companies are not doing in terms of their production that is not considerate of the consumer

19:20 Denise talks about her vision for the company in the next couple of years so as to grow her business

20:46 Denise also shares the advice that she always finds herself sharing with young entrepreneurs who approach her for advice

24:32 Denise talks about moments or points where young entrepreneurs get stuck or what hinders them from achieving their mission

25:44 Denise encourages people to keep pushing harder and keep grinding and one day they will get the kind of results that they want

27:00 Denise talks about the trends that are in her industry and why she is excited about them

28:34 Denise talks about the incubators and why she thinks that they are important

30:07 Denise also shares some of the things that she’s doing nowadays to keep herself sane especially in the lockdown period

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In this episode, I had the privilege of interviewing Thereasa Black, CEO and Founder of Amore Congelato, a start-up gelato brand taking a different approach to treats, community and the definition of success. Thereasa takes us on a journey of being a professionally driven single mom finding a way to develop a dessert that her daughter fell in love with, while Tereasa was deployed overseas, to create a new opportunity for her family and her community. Along the way we explore the hurdles of starting a new food brand with no experience in food or frozen desserts, CPG, or retail.

In this episode we learn:

The genesis and inspiration of Amore Congelato.
How Thereasa's military experience influences her decision making and level-headedness.
How to stay focused on the mission of a company regardless of challenge.
To always have a real plan B, ( and C).
How leaning into other people and resources can help at every level of business.
How to stay inspired when working through unfamiliar situations.
That the real key to success is balancing work life with personal life.

She leaves us with a word of advice: “Your drive should be the want to achieve your goals."

About Thereasa Black, esq.:

Thereasa Black is an attorney, Naval Officer, and the CEO and founder of Amore Congelato, a company that makes all-natural, nutritious gelato and sorbet that contains zero cane sugar.

In March 2018, a month after she was sworn into the Maryland Bar and a week before her daughter’s 2nd birthday, Thereasa was deployed to Djibouti for a 13-month deployment. This was Thereasa’s 4th deployment, but her first as a mom. Every day away from her daughter was s struggle because her toddler, who believed that Thereasa had dropped her off and moved to a new home, was suffering greatly.

Thereasa knew immediately that she couldn’t deploy again and that returning home and practicing law working 8o hour weeks was also not an option, so she decided to start her own business. She chose gelato in honor of the last food that she and her daughter shared before their long journey apart. Thereasa had made an ice cream cookie cake to celebrate her daughter’s birthday the night before she deployed. It was the first time that her daughter had ice cream and she fell in love with it.

Thereasa decided to make an ice cream that was nutritious so that she would be happy to allow her daughter to eat it. She removed all of the cane sugar and replaced it with a tasty combination of date syrup, agave nectar, and coconut sugar. It has up to 16 essential vitamins and minerals and 24 grams of protein. Now her daughter can enjoy gelato that has more nutrients than kale and Thereasa will never have to leave her side.

Guests Social Media Links:

Email: CEO@amorecongelato.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thereasa-m-black/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amorecongelatofrozenlove/

Instagram: @amore_congelato

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Amore+Congelato&sp=EiG4AQHCARtDaElKT19UdkVqMVB0b2tSLTJXTkdvWjBlU1E%253D

Show Resources:

Amore Congelato: Gelato sweetened with dates, coconut sugar, and agave nectar. Zero cane sugar.

Stacy’s Rise Project: Created to help bridge the funding gap for female founders, Stacy’s Rise Project™ has been connecting and empowering women business owners for years. That’s why Stacy’s is sharing our resources with other female-founded businesses like those founded by these 30 women. Support them by adding their products and services to your cart.

HelloAlice: Step-by-step guides, expert resources, and collaborative communities of fellow entrepreneurs - all for free.

MassChallenge: MassChallenge was founded in 2009 with a singular purpose – to make it as easy as possible for entrepreneurs to launch and grow new ventures.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

A branding firm building, growing and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

Key Takeaways: 0:00 Intro 2:21 Thereasa shares a little background of her brand and why she started it 5:54 Thereasa explains the meaning of her company’s name ‘Amore Congelato’ and how she came up with it 6:49 Thereasa talks about location, how to identify that particular spot to set up your business for it to thrive 9:53 Thereasa also talks about inspiration, somewhere you get your strength from that makes you do what you do 11:50 Thereasa advices young entrepreneurs why they should consider doing both the scoop shop component and the CPG in their businesses 14:11 Thereasa also gives the importance of comparing your brand with other brands that are bigger than yours 16:07 Thereasa talks about the importance of focusing on the mission of a company and making sure you accomplish it regardless of the challenges 16:20 Thereasa also speaks of the importance of following the rules and regulations stated by law as a company for you to stay on the safer side 17:15 Thereasa recommends or calls for a change in the society for everyone to be treated fairly for it to grow 20:54 Thereasa shares some tips on how to identify where you get the strength to keep on pushing harder such as giving the people you love a better life 24:30 Thereasa shares her military life story and how it helped her grow and succeed as an entrepreneur 26:35 Thereasa talks about having the right mentality when entering in to the business word of pivoting every time your plan A fails 29:00 Thereasa shares the importance of caring for the other business person because you get to hold each other’s hands 31:55 Thereasa talks about balancing your work life and personal life and why that is important if you want to succeed 35:18 Thereasa talks about Stacy’s Rise, what it is and how she is involved in it 37:41 Thereasa speaks of the importance of having a mentor as an entrepreneur if you want to become successful 40:03 Thereasa also talks in details of some of the trends in her industry 42:28 Thereasa also shares the comparison between Gelato and Kale 45:40 Thereasa talks of how she keeps herself sane especially in this time of the pandemic

Books Mentioned: Business and investment books Shows Mentioned: https://www.stacyssnacks.com/ Created to help bridge the funding gap for female founders https://helloalice.com/ https://masschallenge.org/ Better-for-you, these are foods low in salt and sugar, high in fiber or with added vitamins.

Quotes Mentioned: “Don’t just stop at where the status quo was.” “Your drive should be the want to achieve your goals.” “Don’t just sit there and always talk about your goals, you take action.” “Being able to pivot is the key to being a business person.” “We all need to succeed in order to hold each other up.” “The brain needs a break too.”

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In this episode of Gooder I had the privilege of interviewing Natalie Shmulik, CEO of The Hatchery, a food incubator just outside downtown Chicago. The Hatchery is a powerful initiative that brings a community of innovators along the entrepreneurial path and launches the dreams of owning and running a business to communities that have not traditionally had this access. We learn about the resources The Hatchery provides and how we as a community can provide our expertise, in big and small ways. And why Natalie believes in the power of community.

“Whenever speaking with an entrepreneur, you should always make sure that if you are going to provide feedback or input or a suggestion, that you coach them to believe that the idea was their own.”

In this episode we learn:

The genesis of The Hatchery and why it is fast becoming a beloved innovation partner to the food and beverage industry.
The common challenges of budding and small entrepreneurial food and beverage brands.
Why exciting innovation comes from under-represented entrepreneurial brands.
About the symbiotic co-learning traditional CPG's and entrepreneurial brands share in their journey with The Hatchery.
How coach-ability is a make-or-break trait for leaders and how to vet for coach-ability in your recruiting process.
How to become a Hatchery brand or partner.
About Natalie’s trend forecasting super-powers and how it supports The Hatchery’s entrepreneurs.

About Natalie Shmulik: Natalie Shmulik is The Hatchery’s CEO, and go-to resource for everything food business related. Along with an M.L.A. in Gastronomy from Boston University, she has a wide range of experience working with supermarkets, culinary publications, consumer packaged goods companies, and food service establishments. After successfully operating her own restaurant, Natalie was hired as a specialty consultant for one of Ontario’s largest supermarket chains where she enhanced consumer experiences through educational initiatives. Discovering her passion for innovation, Natalie was brought on as a brand strategist for the first cold brew tea company and later moved to Chicago to run The Hatchery Chicago.

With over six years of food incubation experience, Natalie has gained a unique perspective on the industry and what it takes to launch and grow a successful business. Natalie is a regular contributor to Food Business News, was recently featured in the Chicago Tribune's 10 Business People to Watch in 2020 and received the Specialty Food Association's award for leadership in vision. She continues to play a valuable role in branding and marketing for food businesses around the country, with her specialty in trend forecasting.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-shmulik-1432313b/

Email: info@thehatcherychicago.org

Show Notes:

The Hatchery: A non-profit food and beverage incubator dedicated to helping local entrepreneurs build & grow successful businesses.

ICNC: Industria Council of Nearwest Chicago offers entrepreneurs an innovative community to grow small businesses through incubation, workforce development, neighborhood planning, and business advising.

ACCION: A nonprofit microlender providing small businesses with loans at an early stage, particularly to support those that aren't bankable yet.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

Key Takeaways: 0:00 Intro 2:46 Natalie talks about the origin of The Hatchery, what it’s about and why it exist 4:37 Natalie talks about some of the major challenges that budding, small entrepreneurs face 7:00 Natalie talks about what made her join The Hatchery and taking care of yourself as an entrepreneur to have good relationships with other entrepreneurs 9:11 Natalie talks about diversity and giving opportunity to people and communities that typically don't have access to resources 12:39 Natalie gives reasons why it’s important for consumers to know the origin story of where a lot of the products they consume come from 13:25 Natalie talks about what it takes to develop a safe and successful food and beverage company to produce nutritionally dense products that meets the consumer needs 14:53 Natalie talks about the program they’ve developed that allows entrepreneurs to connect with one another and to get the information they need 15:45 Natalie talks about incubators and accelerators, what they are and what they do to help small businesses 17:05 Natalie talks about the importance of helping small business operators to grow their businesses 19:45 Natalie talks about the importance of bringing the young startup brands and the old and steady brands together 21:01 Natalie talks about how brands coming from The Hatchery have a distinctive or unique POV 22:49 Natalie talks about the importance of being coachable as a brand and always being open to feedback and suggestions 25:02 Natalie talks about vetting your clients and the impact that has on your business 27:30 Natalie talks about their success story in terms of brands they have helped become a success 29:46 Natalie talks about the type of partners The Hatchery is looking for and the importance of having partners 31:27 Natalie talks about the culinary impact program The Hatchery partnered with Rick Bayless 34:29 Natalie talks about trend forecasting through researching a lot and why it’s an important trait that entrepreneurs should have 38:03 Natalie talks about transitioning from traditional brick and mortar business to a virtual business and the benefits that comes with being virtual

Quotes Mentioned:

“The more we come to the table together, the more change we'll be able to create.” “There’s so much that big brands can learn from startups and there's so much that the startups can learn from big brands.” “It’s important to always adopt lean startup methodologies and just get to market as quickly as possible.” “Whenever speaking with an entrepreneur, you should always make sure that if you are going to provide feedback or input or suggestion, that you coach them to believe that the idea was their own.” “It’s important to have a drastically innovative brand and a brand that has values consumers can connect with.” “We are not experts in everything.” “Be okay with not being okay.”

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In today’s episode I had the privilege of interviewing Kim Gibson Clark, CEO of Coconut Bliss, a fearless woman and a great leader. Kim takes us on the journey of growing up in a farming family and how those principles translate to her leadership style and apply to the direction she is taking her brand towards.

In this episode we learn:

The genesis of Coconut Bliss - and learn more about Luna & Larry.
How Kim’s upbringing impacts the operational and social initiatives of the brand.
How the HumanCo partnership allows Coconut Bliss to advance their sustainability and environmental initiatives while evolving and to meet the needs of the modern diverse consumer.
How having an open mind and leading with love - allows the brand to have powerful and productive conversations.
Why converting the family farm business, from conventional to organic, is a bigger initiative than simply making a better-for-you product.
How immigrants are key to the success of farming and ranching and advancing the organic movement.
The plans that Coconut Bliss has to expand social and business initiatives.
About a fun and new innovative product delivery and product offerings to engage with consumers in a new way.

About Kim Gibson Clark:

As a leader in local, national and global communities, Kim Gibson Clark has led Coconut Bliss as CEO since 2010. Throughout her time at Coconut Bliss, Kim has influenced real and impactful action in key areas, such as Coconut Bliss’ operations as an environmentally conscious company, creating transparency and insight into food production, and spotlighting the importance of supporting local and family-run businesses. As President and CEO, Kim is proud to have led Coconut Bliss’ transformation from a locally beloved ice cream company to one of the most acclaimed sustainable plant-based companies in the United States.

Kim is a board member of Oregon Tilth and Lane Food and Beverage Sector Strategies, working to make the state’s food and agriculture biologically sound and socially equitable through the initiatives of certification, education and advocacy. She is also a board member of Oregon Support Living Program (OSLP), which works to empower adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, bringing them into the fold of their communities. Prior to working with Coconut Bliss, Kim spent eight years as General Manager of Lochmead Dairy, where Coconut Bliss Pints and Cookie Sandwiches are manufactured. Throughout her career in the frozen dessert industry she has developed an unwavering standard for quality, and a commitment to organic and sustainable business and ingredient sourcing practices.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-gibson-clark-a570066b

Email: Kim@CoconutBliss.com

Show Resources:

Coconut Bliss - At Coconut Bliss, all of our products contain organic ingredients that are minimally processed, ethically sourced and divinely delicious. Every dairy-free, plant-based pint, ice cream bar, and cookie sandwich is crafted with our signature care and commitment. Even our packaging is plant-based and sustainable! With a belief in quality over quantity, community, organic ingredients, and doing good for the world we try to make everything we do blissful.

HumanCo - a mission-driven private holding company that invests in and builds brands focused on healthier living and sustainability.

WAND Water Agroforestry Nutrition Development Foundation - The WAND Foundation provides social development programs with an emphasis on biodiversity, the environmental and agricultural sectors, and rural entrepreneurship for local communities in the Philippines. In collaboration with Science for Humanity, WAND aims to explore the use of treated household waste as fertilizer for crops and vegetation.

Loop - Loop Industries, Inc. is a technology company whose mission is to accelerate the world’s shift toward sustainable PET plastic and fiber and away from our dependence on fossil fuels. Loop owns patented and proprietary technology that depolymerizes no and low value waste PET plastic and polyester fiber, including plastic bottles and packaging, carpets and textiles of any colour, transparency or condition and even ocean plastics that have been degraded by the sun and salt, to its base building blocks (monomers). The monomers are filtered, purified and polymerized to create virgin-quality Loop™ branded PET resin and polyester fiber suitable for use in food-grade packaging, thus enabling our customers to meet their sustainability objectives. Loop is contributing to the global movement toward a circular economy by raising awareness about the importance of preventing and recovering waste plastic from the environment to ensure plastic stays in the economy for a more sustainable future for all.

Project Drawdown (Paul Hawkens) - The World’s Leading Resource for Climate Solutions. Founded in 2014, Project Drawdown® is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach “Drawdown”— the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.

Monteez - Insanely delicious plant-based dairy staples you won’t want to live without.

Miyokos - Founded on the principle of compassion for all living beings, we’re on a mission to craft dairy products we all love, 100% from plants, making them kinder, greener and tastier than ever before.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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Imagine. You’ve recently lost your job and your infant (going on toddler) has a medical emergency that uncovers and undiagnosed condition. You child has a life-threatening allergy to several of the top known allergens. You have been relying on donations from the food services to bridge the unemployment gap. Most of the products you have access to at the food bank are filled with allergens you cannot have in your home. And your grocery bill, has just tripled from the new products you are putting in your cart. What do you do?

If you are Emily Brown, Founder and CEO of the Food Equality Initiative, you start a movement. The story of Emily and her family is a reality for many families around the world. These BFY allergen-free consumers that have (modest) incomes/budgets, are the least fickle and most loyal consumers in the market. And yet – brands are not paying attention to them. A missed opportunity by the naturals community that collectively identifies their target consumer as white, suburban, and middle- to upper-income families.

This episode exposes an opportunity for brands to see and fill the unmet needs of families most in need of their brands expertise.

In this episode, we learn:

What the Food Equality Initiative program is.
The practical and financial impacts on a family with a member living with a food allergy.
The percentage of families suffering from life-threatening food allergies across different races and ethnicities.
Why families in need, especially those with allergies, are the most loyal consumers in the marketplace.
Why families in need are afraid to ask for help.
How to understand the spending mindset of families with the leanest budgets.
How technology is changing the way they care for families in need.
How the Food Equality Initiative is partnering with brands and federal nutrition programs to educate and increase awareness about support programs.

About Emily Brown:

Emily Brown is an expert at turning adversity into opportunity. She is Founder and CEO of Food Equality Initiative, Inc.(FEI), a Kansas nonprofit founded in 2014 to address disparities in access to allergy friendly foods. Under her leadership, FEI established the nation’s first allergy friendly and gluten free food pantry. Since then, FEI has become a leader in the movement to increase access to healthy “free-from” foods and has distributed over $100,000 worth of foods to families in Kansas City.

Not wanting her efforts to simply be a “band aid” to an increasingly widespread health issue, Emily works to increase education, policy change and civic engagement to create real systemic change in the fight against access to safe and healthy food. Emily regularly shares her passion and experience as a national speaker under her platform Emily Brown Speaks. Promoting all forms of healthy food accesses including fresh fruits and vegetables, allergy friendly options and breastmilk; the first food.

Active in her community, Emily regularly participates in the Greater KC Food Policy Coalition, is Co-Chair of Children’s Mercy Hospital’s (CMH) Food Allergy Family Patient Advisory Council (FAFPAC),CMH Family Advisory Board(FAB), CMH Hunger-Free Hospital Taskforce, Secretary of the Eugene Ware Elementary PTA and member of the KU Medical School Admissions Task Force.

Emily resides in Kansas City, KS with her family where she enjoys gardening, cooking with love and a good book.

Website: https://foodequalityinitiative.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-brown-866092a7/

Show Resources

Food Equality Initiative - Founded in 2014 by Emily Brown, Food Equality Initiative (FEI) is the nation’s leading organization working to increase access to allergy friendly and gluten free foods to individuals who need them the most. FEI is a registered 501(c)(3) that collaborates with healthcare providers, local and national nonprofit organizations, government agencies, schools and food manufacturers to help clients.

Poor and minority children with food allergies are overlooked and in danger – Washington Post

Free-From Foods Have Become a Movement – Food Processing

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

A creative marketing firm specializing in building, growing, and reinventing brands in the food, beverage, wellness and fitness industry. If your natural brand is in need of positioning, package design or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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Brigette Wolf is the Global Head of SnackFutures, Mondelēz International’s innovation and venture hub. She is a solutions-oriented, forward-thinking disruptor in the snacking space committed to reorienting the way food and beverage brands talk about snacking by making it a more holistic and wellness-oriented experience. She is on - a - mission.

Brigette and I discuss how she successfully led the development of this new SnackFutures division inside of Mondelēz, bringing global resources, teams, thinking and a new way of talking about healthy food inside the world of snacking.

In this episode, we learn:

Why Mondelēz took the plunge into better-for-you with SnackFutures, and what they’re up to.
How great teamwork and great culture have aided the success SnackFutures.
About the impact of SnackFutures sustainability initiatives.
What’s driving innovation in mainstream better-for-you snacking.
How serving consumers and employees adds value to the business.
What’s driving big CPG to better embrace healthy snacking, healthy eating and healthy lifestyles.
About the impact that Gen Z has on plant-based snacking.
Why we need to make healthy living affordable to all consumers.

About Brigette Wolf:

Brigette Wolf is the Global Head of SnackFutures, Mondelēz International’s innovation and venture hub.

Since its creation in 2018, Brigette has led the creation of a cross-functional ecosystem of partners around the world, launched SnackFutures’ first market hub in Australia and created five completely new brands that are currently being piloted in the US and Europe.

Brigette has played a key role in advancing the company’s innovation agenda since its inception in 2012 serving as the senior director of Global Platform Innovation for Gum, Candy and Biscuits – leading the development and launch of Trident Vibes as well as brand manager for Belvita. Brigette’s history with the company also goes back to Kraft Foods with roles including the Global Innovation Manager for Oreo and working across several of the pizza and meal brands.

Prior to being part of the food industry, Brigette worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Brigette received her undergraduate degrees from The University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School and her MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigetterwolf/

Show Resources: Mondelēze - Mondelez International, Inc., often stylized as Mondelēz, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company consisting of former Kraft Foods Inc brands. Owners of some of the most iconic brands in the world, including Oreo, Tang Tobelerone, Halls, Mirla, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Cadbury and more. SnackFutures - SnackFutures is Mondelēz International's new innovation hub that is dedicated to unlocking emerging snacking opportunities around the world. SnackFutures will capitalize on new trends and mobilize entrepreneurial talent and technologies to build and grow small brands with large-scale potential, and leverage other growth opportunities across snacking.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo: A creative marketing firm specializing in building, growing and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness and fitness industry. If your brand is in need of positioning, package design or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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In today’s episode, we are joined by a highly accomplished retail executive with a proven track record in growing large scale businesses profitably and creating new business opportunities within brands, sharp business acumen with a keen ability to assess business conditions and manage towards opportunity with a relentless focus on the customer, Denielle Finkelstein, President and Co-Founder of TOP (the organic project). She is experienced in overseeing brand development and strategy, launching businesses, Omni-channel merchandising, marketing, international expansion and operations. She is also recognized as a passionate and strategic leader, known for relationship building.

Join us as we dive deep into healthy living, her organic business, plant-based organic period products and the challenges that come with being an entrepreneur and how to overcome them. We discuss the decisions that helped her leave the retail fashion world to focus on a passion and build a brand (from the ground up) to tackle the legacy taboo of period products, building a greener product and doubling down on the leadership and innovation that she’s been craving.

In this episode we learn:

The genesis of The Organic Movement (TOP) - organic/natural period products.
How Gen Z is changing the conversation around personal care and period products.
What plant-based innovation has been a game changer for the brand and the industry.
How the leadership experience of a large retail brand helps, and hinders the start-up business process.
The challenges legacy conventional brands may have converting natural shoppers.
What period poverty is and how pervasive it is in the United States.
Denielle’s call to arms to major period product brands.

About Denielle Finkelstein:

Denielle Finkelstein, Co-Founder and President of TOP (the organic project) was raised in Rhode Island and graduated from Union College in Schenectady, NY. Post graduation, she moved to NYC with her future husband and started her career in fashion retail at Ann Taylor. She went on to executive merchandising roles at Coach, Kate Spade and Talbots. She was always recognized for her strength in building businesses, finding the white space and managing high performing teams. At the height of her career, she began looking for more purpose in her work and how she could do things differently for future generations.

After spending 22 years in fashion retail and sitting in the C-suite, she took the best risk both professionally and personally and left the corporate world to join Thyme Sullivan, to launch TOP the organic project. As moms, they went searching for organic period products that were healthy and safe for their girls and the environment and came away empty-handed. They have set out to build TOP as a business to drive positive social and environmental change. TOP is bringing innovation to period products with Organic and Plant-based Tampons & Pads. What we put in and on our bodies matters more than ever!

Show Resources:

TOP (the organic project) - We are here to educate, enlighten, and embarrass ourselves so that every girl and woman on the planet has access to healthy, 100% organic, eco-loving tampons and pads. and every step of the way, we’ll inspire stigma-shattering conversations about periods.

Poo-Pourri - We’re Poo~Pourri. A poop-positive brand dumping the shame around the things we all do. We deliver quality products made with natural essential oils that leave the bathroom smelling amazing and liberate you from harmful ingredients and inhibiting worries.

Beautycounter - One by one, we are leading a movement to a future where all beauty is clean beauty. We are powered by people, and our collective mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone. Formulate, advocate, & educate—that’s our motto for creating products that truly perform while holding ourselves to unparalleled standards of safety. Why? It’s really this simple: beauty should be good for you.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo: A creative marketing firm specializing in building, growing and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness and fitness industry. If your natural brand is in need of positioning, package design or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at. www.retail-voodoo.com

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Food as medicine is not an out-of-the-box idea now. But back in 2011, it was not conventional thinking. After watching a friend struggle with food-related illness and attending the journey of wellness self-discovery, Christy went on a mission to change the diets of us all. The goal: refocus people away from diets fill with processed foods and bring back health empowerment through food choice . As she says - knowing what you’re eating may be the first step of and most powerful form of medicine.

Join Christy Goldsby, CEO and Founder of Honey Mama's and I, as we discuss how her love of baking, innovating and caring for people developed into a healthy indulgence brand with the express goal of spreading vitality and playfulness into everyone’s life.

Innovation and change doesn’t happen in one moment. - Christy Goldsby

In this episode we learn:

The genesis of the Honey Mama’s brand.
How Christy’s health experiences combined with her baking background turned into a passion for caring for people beyond her immediate community.
How slowing down and being present can be a powerful leadership tool.
The long-term vision and impacts Honey Mama’s wants to make in the world.
Why brands producing snacks should innovative and promote healthy snacking.
How indulgent treats can boost our immune systems to prevent illnesses in more than one way.
Fundraising during COVID and how Amberstone Ventures is poised to help spread Honey Mama’s vision.

About Christy Goldsby:

Christy Goldsby, CEO & Founder of Honey Mama’s, an award-winning premium melts in your mouth delicious, honey-sweetened cocoa bar in the refrigerated better for you indulgence category. Growing up in a family of cooks, bakers, farmers, and gardeners, the kitchen was always a place of celebration, creativity, nourishment and joy for Christy. She started Honey Mama’s as a way to share these celebrated family traditions, a passion for healthy living, and a love of the natural world. She was determined to create a treat that exudes vitality and playfulness, something you’d as likely take to a formal dinner party as enjoy on the hiking trail or share around a campfire. Made with pure honey as the only sweetener, Honey Mama's are full of everything delightful: bold, deep flavors, and decadent textures and are naturally free from gluten, soy, dairy, and grain, allowing your body to thrive.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-goldsby-30201866/

Show Resources:

Honey Mama’s - "We create opportunities that empower well-being for all people by making treats that are fun, nutritious and delicious. They are an invitation to be present, playful, open, and genuine. Our bars are full of bold, deep flavors, decadent textures, and are free from gluten, soy, dairy, and grain, allowing your body to thrive and your taste buds to celebrate. Made from five whole foods, Honey-Cocoa Bars are perfect to grab as a snack between meals, buy as a gift, or serve at your next dinner party." Amberstone Ventures - We started Amberstone to support entrepreneurs building breakthrough food and consumer product companies. We partner with brands at their earliest stages, providing the capital and insights necessary to scale efficiently into category leaders.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo: A branding firm building, growing and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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Those of us outside the walls of Frito-Lay have not necessarily considered the brand aligned with natural foods, environmental stewardship, or considered a small business advocate. But little did we all know, that this mammoth tanker of an organization has been quietly growing a passionate army of stewards ready to take on some of businesses biggest issues including healthy food innovation, food instability, small and women-owned business finance and mentoring, environmental stewardship and so much more. The number of business initiatives PepsiCo and Frito-Lay has been developing to make a positive impact in business and the lives of the most marginalized is staggering.

Join Ciara Dilley, VP of Marketing, Transform Brands and Portfolio Innovation for Frito-Lay North America and I, as we discuss how she is harnessing the resources of a multi-national to affect positive change in the food and beverage industries — starting with the Stacy’s Rise Project and venturing into other initiatives. It turns out that Frito-Lay may be becoming the largest Citizen brand in our category, and they’ve got just the right person to lead the way.

When we support women-owned business - the world will become a better place. - Ciara Dilley

In this episode we learn:

Ciara’s passion for Female Founders and woman-owned business.
How she uses Frito-Lay strengths of brand, product, and voice to empower and support female founder brands.
The power of Stacy’s Rise Project and WomenMade initiatives.
Why Stacy's Rise Project is bridging the funding gap for female-founded business.
How she uses stewardship initiatives to grow employee engagement, retention, and satisfaction.
How the impact of the Frito-Lay initiatives complement and supplement the work being done in the Naturals industry.

About Ciara Dilley:

Ciara Dilley - Vice President of Marketing, Transform Brands and Portfolio Innovation for Frito-Lay North America, leads the company’s ever-evolving and diverse portfolio of Transform Brands – including Stacy’s, SunChips, Smartfood, Popcorners, and Off the Eaten Path. Also overseeing Frito-Lay’s portfolio innovation, Ciara is making it easier than ever for consumers to discover new flavors, ingredients and brands powered by purpose. Ciara also leads our Sustainability agenda, championing our focus on more environmentally friendly packaging solutions.

A seasoned veteran with more than 20 years of industry experience, Ciara’s passion is supporting women, both inside and outside the walls of Frito-Lay. In addition to being personally involved in a number of initiatives that involve coaching and connecting businesswomen, Ciara recently led the launch of WomanMade, a PepsiCo initiative developed to advance female founders in the food and beverage industry through funding and exclusive mentoring opportunities.

Since joining Frito-Lay in February 2019, Ciara has led Stacy’s Rise Project – a flagship grant and mentorship program by the female-founded Stacy’s brand – to flourish as an industry best-in-class initiative, awarding up-and-coming female entrepreneurs with hundreds of thousands of dollars in business grants and providing them with unprecedented access to PepsiCo people and resources to achieve long-term success.

In addition, under Ciara’s leadership, Smartfood popcorn added Smart50 to its lineup – featuring 50 calories or less per cup – and underwent a full brand redesign that involved a complete swipe of its social channels and packaging updates across the entire portfolio.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, Dilley leveraged her experience in communications and innovation to grow major international consumer brands including Diageo, Campbell Soup Company and Kellogg Company.

LinkedIn: Ciara Dilley, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciara-dilley-305469b/

Media Contact - Frito-Lay Brand Communications: Jen Crichton, jen.crichton@pepsico.com

Show Resources: Pepsico - An American multinational food, snack and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo has interests in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products Frito-Lay - an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods Stacy’s - Stacy's Pita Chips is a brand of snack products based in Randolph, Massachusetts, specializing in various flavors of pita chips. Pita chips are slices of pita bread which are baked until crunchy. Stacy’s Rise - Created to help bridge the funding gap for female founders, Stacy’s Rise Project™ has been connecting and empowering women business owners for years. That’s why Stacy’s is sharing our resources with other female-founded businesses like those founded by these 30 women. Support them by adding their products and services to your cart. Pepsico Foundation - As we strive to become a Better company, we are helping nurture that potential all around the world by leading the way toward a more sustainable food system, from investing in sustained nutrition, to promoting safe water access, effective waste management, and women’s empowerment. Kelloggs - An American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. And the original plant-based well-being company. Greenhouse Accelerator - Support food and beverage entrepreneurs through a collaborative mentor-guided business acceleration program. Hello Alice - Step-by-step guides, expert resources, and collaborative communities of fellow entrepreneurs to find funding opportunities and experts for small business. The J.E.D.I Collaborative - The OSC² J.E.D.I Collaborative of industry peers and experts is leading this project for the natural products industry to frame the business case for embedding justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into our entire food ecosystem. Our intent is to take a positive, forward look vs. a “fix what’s broken” position. We seek to understand the deeper issues and to devise an outline for the best solutions. We will clarify the systemic issues that require courage and thought leadership and define immediately controllable issues we all can address as an industry and in our day-to-day operations. We will develop a step-by-step approach to serve as a model to facilitate and inspire the industry to commit and take action. We will develop a reporting tool to demonstrate the impact of the project on progress. We believe the benchmark reporting will result in an increase in productivity in an increasingly multicultural marketplace.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle - In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, the activist, speaker, bestselling author, and “patron saint of female empowerment” (People) explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet others’ expectations and start trusting the voice deep within us. Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get. The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the Worldby Melinda Gates -A debut from Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment. The Boss Network by Cameka Smith - Our mission is to promote and encourage the small business spirit and professional development of women of color. The BOSS Network is a community of career and entrepreneurial women, who support each other through content, online programs and event-based networking.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World

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Ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages is a category where consumers are continually demanding more from the brands they bring into their homes and lives — especially Gen Z. Features, benefits, and ingredients are table stakes, and as the natural products industry continues to become increasingly competitive, Brand has become more important. How a brand operates in relation to employees, environmental footprint, and business ethics that are paramount to this group.

Straight from the center of the naturals universe in Denver Colorado - join Linda Appel Lipsius (Co-Founder of Teatulia) and I as we cover everything people, planet, and profitability and how a B-Corp certification helps brands like Teatulia lean into their missions. Learn why Linda says “Gen Z will save the world."

In this episode we learn:

Linda’s journey and aha moment creating the Teatulia brand.
What Gen Z and Millennials expect from brands and employers right now.
That investment in company culture and employees can have a higher than expected ROI than other typical “benefit” investments.
What a B-Corp is: It’s importance to and impact on business.
How the tips and tools that B-Corp provides can help brands become better business leaders.
About trends in beverage, functional ingredients, and innovation in powdered/crystalized beverages.

About Linda Appel Lipsius:

Linda Appel Lipsius is the Co-Founder of Teatulia Organic Teas. Since 2006, she’s been working with her partners in Bangladesh to bring premium, 100% Organic, direct-sourced teas & herbs to the United States. Teatulia produces innovative, delicious & award-winning hot teas, foodservice iced teas & canned RTD teas that are sold throughout the U.S in grocery, foodservice, and online. Lipsius has built a universally-respected brand known for doing things better. From the 3,000-acre regenerative tea garden itself to Teatulia’s stunningly sustainable packaging to the long list of awards Teatulia has received for quality and using business as a force for good. Named one of Food & Wine/ Fortune’s 20 Most Innovative Women in Food & Wine, one of Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business, and a frequent public speaker, she is a leading voice on topics ranging from entrepreneurship to sustainable business practices to the food & beverage industry in general.

In 2012, Linda also started the mama 'hood,a resource for new & expecting moms & their families, and opened Teatulia Tea & Coffee Bar next door to Teatulia’s Denver Headquarters. Previously, Linda was VP International with Orange Glo International (OGI) - makers of OxiClean, Kaboom, Orange Glo and Orange Clean - and Account Manager for Young & Rubicam. A Denver Native, she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Columbia University in New York City and her MBA in Finance from New York University before moving to Washington, DC, London, Los Angeles then back to Denver.

She currently lives in downtown Denver with her filmmaker husband and her two children. In her spare time, Linda hangs with her kiddos, escapes to the mountains, devours movies & books, runs, cycles and practices yoga to keep her head & heart clear.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-appel-lipsius/

Email: Linda@teatulia.com

Show Resources: Teatulia - Organic hot and ready-to-drink (RTD) teas and beverages. Teatulia’s single-garden direct, sustainably grown teas hail from our very own tea garden in the Tetulia region of Northern Bangladesh. We created a new tea-growing region, nestled between Assam and Darjeeling at the base of the Himalayas, that has introduced the unique flavor profile of Bangladesh teas to the rest of the world. B-Corp - Certification for businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Athleta - Clothing that integrates performance and technical features for active women and girls. A division of the GAP. Jeni’s Ice Cream - An artisan ice cream company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Jeni's has over 40 branded 'scoop shops', and retail distributors nationally.Built from the ground up with superlative ingredients. Wisdom Supply Co - Environmental office and school supplies. “We curate + design products that prevent waste, for good. Waste is a design flaw." Patagonia - An American clothing company that markets and sells outdoor clothing. The company was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, and is based in Ventura, California. Kehe Distributors - With more than 5,500 employee-owners and a 16-distribution center network across North America, we’re one of the largest and most respected national fresh, natural & organic, and specialty food distributors. Kroger - an American retail company founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the United States' largest supermarket by revenue, and the second-largest general retailer, operating nearly 2,800 stores. Costco - An American multinational corporation that operates a chain of membership-only warehouse clubs. Everything you could want including a $1.50 hot dog! Rise Coffee - A New York-based nitro cold brew coffee company specializing in nitrogen-infused organic coffee and sourcing Fair Trade organic beans from Peru's Chanchamayo Valley Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo: A branding firm building, growing, and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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American’s obsession with health and wellness and grown exponentially over the last few years. And gone are the days of “hippy” organics. The influence of food culture shows and celebrities and San Francisco's technology industry has collided into a multi-billion-dollar world of better-for-you food and ingredient alternatives. As this part of the food industry grows and consumers continue to push manufacturers and retailers to mitigate impacts on the environment and better our health altogether, food technology is playing a huge role in meeting those needs.

In this episode, Karen Huh, CEO of Joywell Foods, and I cover the gamut of food tech. From fundraising during COVID to consumer adoption and leadership management style, Karen brings her start-up experience and dedication to servant leadership to this exciting (and exploding) category.

In this episode we learn:

The Joywell Foods genesis backstory, its mission and long-term plans to reduce refined sugar consumption.
Karen’s journey from Starbucks to Bulletproof to Joywell.
Who’s open to adopting alternative sweeteners in manufacturing.
The importance of developing a consistent brand experience.
The impact of food tech on natural and Better-For-Your products.
The impact COVID had on investment and capital raises.
How fundraising and investment has changed for the food tech and natural food industries in the last 18 months.
A little bit about Karen's personal obsession with RTD's and who she's watching.

About Karen Huh:

Karen Huh brings a deep background in consumer, brand, and products from 15 years in the food and beverage industry. Prior to Joywell Foods, Karen served as Vice President of Product and Brand Strategy at Bulletproof 360, a food and beverage brand, where she built the consumer strategy and product portfolio to support the Bulletproof lifestyle while scaling teams across R&D, brand, marketing and product development. Prior to Bulletproof, Karen was at Starbucks Coffee Company for nearly 11 years in a wide range of roles including coffee innovation, launch of RTD and packaged coffee in international markets, and the acquisition of Evolution Fresh. Before joining Starbucks, Karen was an investment professional at two tech-focused venture capital firms.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-huh-19b5/

Show Resources: Joywell Foods - A food tech company focused on building new a new and exciting class of foods around the best tasting and healthiest sweeteners in the world. Bulletproof - a lifestyle brand that takes a science-based approach to nutrition and wellness. The original butter coffee brand. Bulletproof makes beverage, snacks and other health brands to help high performers hack their own biology to operate at peak performance. Starbucks - More than just great coffee. Starbucks in an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roasters reserves headquartered in Seattle, WA. As the world’s largest coffeehouse chain, Starbucks is seen to be the main representation of the United States’ second wave of coffee culture. Whole Foods - an American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which exclusively sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA Certified Organic grocer in the United States, the chain is popularly known for its organic selections. Beyond Meat - a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. The company has products designed to emulate chicken, beef, and pork sausage. Impossible Foods - A company that develops plant-based substitutes for meat products. Founded in 2011, and headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company’s state aim is to give people the taste and nutritional benefits of meat without the negative health and environmental impacts associated with livestock products. Burger King - An American multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida and founding in 1953 as Insta-Burger King. Tech Crunch - [Article] Alternative protein raises $1.5 Billion in first 7 months of 2020 DRY - Welcome to DRY Botanical Bubbly! The non-alcoholic sparkling soda perfect for celebrating any occasion. Enjoyed on the rocks or in your favorite zero-proof cocktail. Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo: A branding firm building, growing and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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In our current culture, alcoholic beverages have traditionally been the center of all celebrations. It’s how we wind down our day, relax and give ourselves a moment to rest. That is until now. Generation Z and Millennials are bucking those habits and finding better and healthier ways to relax. Part of it is self-awareness, the ability to recognize when alcohol is a crutch - rather than a treat, and some of it is “I’m not doing what my parents did”. They are normalizing alcohol-free celebrations, getting real about mental health, and creating an inclusive environment for everyone. It’s time for the sober revolution.

Sharelle Klaus and I walk through her journey of self-discovery, and the ins and outs of finding her and her brands true north. We discuss her passion to create inclusive celebrations for all people. And that sometimes, you just have to start all over.

In this episode we learn:

Sharelle’s aha moment that turned into DRY.
The story of teaming up with Sans Bar.
How Millennials and Generation Z are changing our relationship with alcohol consumption.
How to educate, socialize, and enroll behavior change for consumers.
How “bad news” can be the path to opportunity.
To trust your gut, even when you're the only one in the room that believes it.

About Sharelle Klaus:

Sharelle Klaus is the Founder and CEO of DRY Soda Company As the visionary behind DRY Soda Company, Sharelle has always had a passion for the culinary world and celebrating each part of a meal – including the beverage. After having four children, she didn’t want to let a lack of wine or cocktails stop her from being a part of the party. Klaus recognized an absence of refreshing, clean, non-alcoholic options in the market, and became determined to create the first line of botanical bubbly that was worthy of meal pairing. She believed savory and sweet flavors more commonly used in cuisine could offer exciting compliments to her favorite meals. In 2005, Klaus crafted the first batches of DRY in her home kitchen and officially launched DRY Soda Co. a few months later.

Klaus brings over two decades of entrepreneurial, financial and technology industry experience to her role as CEO at DRY, and oversees all marketing, strategic planning, and innovation for the brand. With guidance from some of the Pacific Northwest’s best chefs and a savvy corporate team, Klaus pioneered a new category of sparkling beverages, fearlessly leading DRY’s aggressive growth in a male-dominated industry. Prior to founding DRY, Klaus worked as a consultant for Infrastructure Management Group and Price Waterhouse. She also served as president of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, where she drove strategic development of programs, events, and fundraising for the organization’s 250+ Seattle-area members. Klaus has been featured by Huffpost, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Imbibe, and others. Klaus has also won several honors including, Seattle Business Magazine’s CEO of the year, Puget Sound Business Journal Women of Influence, and PSBJ 40 under 40.

With a keen appreciation for humor and wit, Klaus is an avid supporter of entrepreneurship and frequently speaks at professional conferences, workshops, and the University of Washington Business School, where she also participates as a judge for the Michael G. Foster’s School’s well-known business plan competitions. She is also a board member of the Aliados Foundation that builds resilient community business based on biodiversity in the Andes and the Amazon—and connect them to markets across the globe. Klaus graduated from Seattle Pacific University with an undergraduate degree in political science and currently resides in Seattle, Wash.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharelle-klaus-1804078/

Show Resources

DRY - Welcome to DRY Botanical Bubbly! The non-alcoholic sparkling soda perfect for celebrating any occasion. Enjoyed on the rocks or in your favorite zero-proof cocktail.

Sans Bar - We are a growing group of average people who recognize that life can be fun without alcohol. We are sober, we are on the move, and we believe that real connection happens when people are sober. We want to create a space that is free of alcohol and welcoming to all. We believe that the best version of anyone’s life includes healthy socialization, helping others, and taking care of both mind and body. Sans Bar is composed of people who want to change themselves and the world around them. We believe positive change can happen in the smallest ways, and still yield a tremendous impact.

This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life (Book) - offers a new, positive solution. Here, Annie Grace clearly presents the psychological and neurological components of alcohol use based on the latest science, and reveals the cultural, social, and industry factors that support alcohol dependence in all of us. Packed with surprising insight into the reasons we drink, this book will open your eyes to the startling role of alcohol in our culture, and how the stigma of alcoholism and recovery keeps people from getting the help they need. With Annie’s own extraordinary and candid personal story at its heart, this book is a must-read for anyone who drinks.

BevMo - a privately held corporation based in Concord, California, selling mainly alcoholic beverages.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

A creative marketing firm specializing in growing, fixing, and reinventing brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your natural brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life (Volume 1)

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Running a family-owned business, no matter how big, is task enough alone. But guiding a family-owned business through cultural change for a better future can be a bit tricky. Keeping recipes and ingredients legitimate can be tough when you know that they're not always the best for your community’s health. So, how do you care for your culture and community while running a profitable business?

In this episode, join Susie Quesada and I as we walk through the history of her third-generation family-owned business and discuss the peaks and valleys of a changing business landscape and balancing the desires of die-hard consumers and family values as she steers the brand into new territory, leveraging and honoring the strength of the family leaders before her.

In this episode we learn:

The story of Susie’s path from teaching to running the family business. (Grandma’s are the best!)
That consensus building is a strong leadership tool.
How family and cultural values impact business decisions differently than traditional ones.
How to socialize and enroll behavior change for you most die-hard consumers.
That growth and learning come from mistakes.

About Susie Quesada:

Susie Quesada is a 3rd generation owner and President of Ramar Foods International. As the #1 Trusted Filipino Food Company, Ramar Foods manufactures authentic high-quality tropical ice cream, lumpia and sausages that brings the Flavor of the Philippines to supermarkets and restaurants. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Filipina Women’s Network supporting their mission for a Filipina leader in all industries.

Susie holds a BA in Multicultural Literature and Education from UC Berkeley and is a Harvard Business School alumni from the Owner/President Management Program (OPM51).

Susie spends her free time reading, hiking and traveling with her husband. They reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susie-quesada-72379b12/

Show Resources

Ramar Foods - #1 Filipino Food company in the United States. Founded in 1969, Ramar's goal is to bring the flavors of the Philippines to your household. Ramar foods is committed to manufacturing your favorite frozen Filipino food products. Ramar’s success for 50 years of experience in the industry is attributed to its people, its deep relationship with the Filipino diaspora and a commitment to understanding what brings satisfaction to Filipino families.

Ramar Scholarship Foundation - A charitable organization the provides financial assistance to hard working students.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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How can big CPGs capture the magic of smaller brands? Small to mid-size brands have a roll-up-your-sleeves, wear multiple hats, and run with a gut instinct ethic. They're scrappy, willing to fail, and passionate about their goals. There used to be a time when these small brands shed blood, sweat and tears and then felt bad when they needed to take on the operation superpowers of a multinational. In a desire to gain new consumers and innovations, these large companies used to swallow up these brands and cost engineered the heart out of them - well because operations efficiency is one of their superpowers. But they’ve learned, and are still learning.

In this episode, Janet and I dive deep into the intersection of the innovative entrepreneurial mindset and big CPG operational prowess. Janet shares her insights on what they both can learn from each other on the path to delivering healthy food, beverage, and wellness options to consumers. Listen, learn, and be inspired!

In this episode we learn:

That large companies and brands are effectively making a difference in the naturals food and beverage industry.
What gets in the way of a large organization’s ability to understand the consumer.
How larger brands and teams can mimic the entrepreneurial spirit.
How to redefine market opportunity and build different infrastructures to support it.
At the end of the day, your instincts are stronger than you think.

About Janet Lee:

Janet Lee is an experienced marketer & innovator who has worked at both big corporates as well as start-ups in the CPG industry. She has had a 13-yr post-MBA marketing career working for brands such as Gatorade and Starbucks.

Janet was the Head of Marketing at Sahale Snacks through its acquisition by the J.M. Smucker Company in 2014 and led its evolution from a specialty brand to a national grocery brand. For the past 4 years, Janet has worked as a Marketing Director for PepsiCo Europe, incubating small brands such as Off the Eaten Path and Kevita as Head of Marketing for the Future Brands business unit as well as mentoring external start-ups through the Nutrition Greenhouse program.

Janet’s passion is helping small brands scale while protecting what makes them special.

In her free time, she is a huge Peloton fan, obsesses about all things food, and is working through 19 seasons of American Ninja Warrior with her husband Charlie and their two sons.

Show Resources

The J.M. Smucker Company - Get to know the leading consumer packaged goods company behind the iconic food and beverage brands and new favorites that people and pets love. From our passion for crafting the tastes families love, to the values that have inspired us for more than 120 years—we are The J.M. Smucker Company.

Sahale - It was back in August 2003, and two best friends were mountain climbing. They had excellent weather, beautiful views and great company. But one thing was missing - wholesome great-tasting snacks. They had no formal experience in the food industry, but that didn't stop them. They went back to their kitchen the very next day and created combinations of nuts, dried fruits and exotic spices. Many were inspired by a personal memory. While others were influenced by a culinary tradition from somewhere around the world. And so Sahale Snacks® nut mixes sprang into being. Pure ground Madagascar vanilla beans and all.

PepsiCo an American multinational food, snack and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. See how we're working to use our global scale to help build a more sustainable food system.

Nutrition Greenhouse - a 6-month program where 10 selected companies will be paired with a lead PepsiCo mentor, and the team will be challenged to demonstrate collaboration and measurable progress.

Off The Eaten Path - Snacks for the curious. Made with real veggies.

Tesco - a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer with headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in the world measured by revenues.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo: A creative marketing firm specializing in growing, fixing, and reinventing brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your natural brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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We humans, especially in the naturals space, have desires to live strong clean, and healthy lives. My guest Jane is no different - however, her journey into the better-for-you space took a route many of ours don’t. A child born with food allergies added fuel to her entrepreneurial ways and inspired her to use her natural leadership ways to help move the free-from movement mainstream.

In this episode, Jane Pinto, founder of First Crop, Don’t Go Nuts, Sacred Sleep, and the Pinto Barn shares with me, her journey of developing brand ecosystems that are based on the foundations of reciprocal relationships. She challenges our thinking as brand owners and consumers to do one thing every day that holds our industry accountable for the claims we make and the passions and commitments we profess. And she reminds us that true leadership starts with the heart. Listen, learn, and get inspired!

In this episode we learn:

What sacred economics is how companies can embrace this philosophy
Why we should always believe that there is enough for everyone
How to create brands using the foundations of love, transparency, and authenticity
How being honest about your knowledge, abilities and your feelings can make you a better leader
How to have courageous conversations with your consumers, customers, business partner, community and employees
That it’s time to be bold, real, and fierce leaders

About Jane Pinto:

Jane Pinto is founder of First Crop, Don’t Go Nuts, and Pinto Barn. She is a lifelong visionary in the naturals and wellness space building cultures of love and care, companies with strong missions that are devoted to healing and elevating people and the planet, and spent her entire career helping corporations create workplaces that honor unconditional equality. Her companies create innovative products and services that help people improve their lives through engaging with consciously created, uniquely designed products.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-pinto-5977a814/

E-mail: jpinto@firstcrop.com

Show Resources

Pinto Barn - Founded in 2011, based in Salida, Colo., Pinto Barn is a collective of caring hearts who commit their energy, talents, and passion to consciously creating products that help people to live healthy, whole lives. Divisions include Don’t Go Nuts and Sacred Sleep.

Don't Go Nuts - makes safe nut-free foods using organic, non-GMO ingredients that are good for you and good for the planet.

First Crop – A hemp and CBD brand with the mission of “Healing People and Planet one seed…one soul… one regenerative act at a time.”

Sacred Sleep – a division of Pinto Barn Inc., is a company dedicated to Lifestyle Sleep Wellness and to creating Sleep Sanctuaries to help people set intention around sleep. In addition to the new organic cotton and fair-trade alpaca collections, Sacred Sleep’s product offering includes luxury eucalyptus blend sheets and mattress covers, medicinal herb loose-leaf teas in daytime and nighttime blends, and custom locally made pottery mugs and tea bowls. Sleep is sacred, so are you.

Hilary's Eat Well - is the creator of convenient and culinary foods that are made from real ingredients and are free from common allergens. We are helping to heal the American diet by bringing these foods to all people who seek tasty, nourishing cuisine. Our products forge innovative culinary paths and disrupt the status quo. We care about the health of our customers, employees and ecosystem.

EnjoyLife - Enjoy Life Foods is the leading brand in the growing Free-From category, featuring a robust portfolio of Certified Gluten Free and Non-GMO Project Verified products that are free-from 14 common allergens. Enjoy Life’s mission and brand promise is to deliver safe, better-for-you products free-from food allergens, but not free-from taste so everyone can Enjoy Life and Eat Freely!

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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Passion brand, founder brand, entrepreneurial brand, family brand. Yep - we love them. And we love working with and in them. And when comes a time for a brand to grow up to fulfill its mission - everyone wants to be part of it. But passion brands aren’t for everyone. While the brand owners have a strong vision of the future, sometimes the path isn’t clear, and their super-mission-driven-power gets in the way. It takes compassion, direction and a bit of pragmatism to guide this brand on it’s true journey

Darcey Howard, Director of Marketing for Coconut Bliss shares the journey of identifying the right brand for her expertise, the journey of coaching a “Humble Hippy” brand team to that new future and transitioning that team into the HumanCo family - all while maintaining her New York sense of style.

In this episode, we learn:

How to coach passion brand owners through brand and operational changes
How to leverage the humble beginnings of a brand and develop a national brand voice
How defining your brands ethos creates the foundation for a brand
The difference between a disruptor and a change agent
To revisit audience definitions and trends to truly leverage a passion brand opportunity

About Darcey Howard:

Darcey Howard is the Global Director of Marketing for Coconut Bliss; a brand leader in divinely creamy plant-based creations. She has a 20+ year success record in growing global brands such as Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, Kerry Foods/Da Vinci Gourmet and Starbucks. Darcey is an energetic leader that engages teams to create elegant solutions through strategic process development.

She joined Coconut Bliss in 2017 to lead a complete rebrand while also spearheading the launch of 2 new product lines, a new business sector and e-commerce. When she's not eating ice cream for a living she's exploring the world through food.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darceyhoward/

Show Resources

Coconut Bliss - At Coconut Bliss, all of our products contain organic ingredients that are minimally processed, ethically-sourced and divinely delicious. Every dairy-free, plant-based pint, ice cream bar, and cookie sandwich is crafted with our signature care and commitment. Even our packaging is plant-based and sustainable! With a belief in quality over quantity, community, organic ingredients, and doing good for the world we try to make everything we do blissful.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has caused businesses and people to again rethink their relationship with brands, businesses and retailers. As brands continue to grapple with the realization that systemic racism is a set of blinders and the uncertainty about how to make the operational, innovation and leadership changes that need to be made, consumers are pushing. If you are brand owner, particularly in the naturals and better-for-you space, this lack of visibility is hampering your growth.

Bumbershoot CEO Kimberly Minor, shares insights and guidance with us around organizational cultural transformation that will provide you with new visibility about the hurdles of black-owned brands as well as share renewed opportunities for growth in becoming better brand and consumer stewards. Black women and families have been naturals a long time, it’s time for our current better-for-you community to see and embrace new ways of being natural and start using our super-powers in bigger ways.

In this episode, we learn to:

Amplify and empower diversity and inclusion initiatives in ways that drive profit, not simply “check a box”
Create a business culture that is welcoming and supportive so that women and people of color can excel and accelerate their careers
Translate your company values and mission in a way that allocates for wider or different definitions of natural
Identify and support those brands and companies that reflect your vision, using mission and values as a filter

About Kimberly Lee Minor:

Kimberly Lee Minor is a business owner and creative executive who cares about people.

Kimberly is committed to bringing more joy and connection into people’s lives. To do this she relies on personal insights, losses and hard-won growth achieved in over 25 years of senior leadership in creative customer-centric brands, and even more experience just in my years of living.

Before starting her own business, Lee Minor rolled up her sleeves and got to work – from the executive training program with Macy’s to Express where she received the Key Contributor Award to Footlocker Global, where, again Kimberly was awarded the Key Contributor Award for business innovation and team transformation. From Brand President for London Fog, Joe Boxer & Bongo to SVP of Strategy, Merch Operations & Merchandising at BBW she strived to grow businesses and to help her teams find their passion.

Lee Minor believes that we are at our best when supported by authentic connections of diverse and positively passionate people to influence and empower us.

Using her transformational leadership skills, customer-centric point of view and focus on creating connections she helps business leaders strategically reposition their cultures for collaboration and inclusivity to provide a welcoming and empowering community for career acceleration of women and people of color. I start by listening to the VOC and VOE, evaluating core values and processes to prepare these organizations for a 21st-century workforce, increase the pipeline of diverse talent, improve the desirability of the organization to the candidates, and the retention of the hires.

Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, and has completed coursework towards her MBA at Drexel University. She holds an executive certificate in Leadership and Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She and her husband have 2 sons and live in New Albany, OH.

kimberly@bumbershoot.net

973-738-4020

Linkedin.com/kimberlyleeminor

IG – Kimberly.l.minor

Show Resources

Bumbershoot - Bumbershoot, LLC is a different kind of media company. We create digital niche communities to influence lifestyles through authentic connection, creative content, informative events, unique experiences, and meaningful philanthropy.

Our team draws on the diverse executive experience of creative and critical-thinking merchants, marketers, innovators, and data scientists in multi-media, fashion and personal care industries who have grown competitive brands and developed engaging product and content introduction strategies that make people smile.

Spiceteria - I’ve been Blessed with a full life – a sweet, salty, sour, hot, and tangy life. All of these flavors, experiences, people, and loves brought me here – to the creation of Spiceteria. A flavor-centric hub for women. Spiceteria’s mission is to bring together women of taste – in a warm, respectful, and welcoming community – bridging tech and humanity through the sharing of stories, themed products, experiences and technology that enhance your life and ensure that you will never be alone.

Authentically Us - A community for Millennial-aged professional women. They are new to the community and relatively new to their careers. The Authentically Us community provides a soft landing for authentic connections, professional development and mentoring, mental and physical well-being, personal development and fun.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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No one ever said starting a business was easy. Frequent rejection, industry learnings and long crazy hours. But for those of us that have started one - you know why we do it. We BELIEVE in the idea. Sparked from a need in the community to a beloved recipe from mom - food and beverage brands have seen an explosion in innovation that all started with a simple idea. But somehow women seem to struggle with the multiple demands of running a business and personal life. Perhaps we’re looking at it all wrong?

In this episode Junea Rocha, Co-Founder and CMO of Brazi Bites, and I talk about her brands spectacular “overnight” success. She shares tools she brings with her from her life in Brazil and working in the construction industry and how they have helped her grow her brand. And we discuss that running a business is hard enough – but together, we can all succeed.

In this episode we learn:

The history of Brazi Bites
That rejection creates the opportunity to perfect anything
How to plan for Shark Tank or any once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
The stronger your support network, the farther you can go
That focusing on the small wins, will get you through each day

About Junea Rocha:

Junea Rocha is the Co-founder and CMO of Brazi Bites. Junea founded Brazi Bites with her husband in 2010 in the hopes that Americans would love Brazilian Cheese Bread (pão de queijo) as much as they did. After appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2015, Brazi Bites grew a passionate, cult-like fanbase, and in the years since has expanded to thousands of freezer sections nationwide. In her time running Brazi Bites, Junea has gained experience in all areas of the business, while remaining deeply passionate about sharing their delicious creations with the world.

LinkedIn: Junea Rocha

Show Resources:

Brazi Bites - Latin-inspired, gluten-free and hand-held snacking. Cheese bread and empanadas created with Brazillian flavors.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

A creative marketing firm specializing in growing, fixing, and reinventing brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your naturals brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com

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It’s safe to say that the food, beverage and wellness industry has seen some explosive growth in innovation in the last 10-ish years. Naturals Industry passion for health, food tech, and big data have become a powerful combination of tools that have created some of the most amazing products that not only help people feel better but live longer too. But while we are also solving some unexpected consumer needs, there are some consumers being left behind. What can our industry do to better understand unmet consumer needs?

In this episode Carol Smith of Materne (you know their products here as GoGo squeeZ) and I talk about this growth and the missed opportunities that brands are making in their drive for growth.

In this episode we tackle:

How new definitions of KPI’s and scorecards can help uncover market needs
How a lack of diversity in leadership stymie’s product development for Families of Color and impacts a brands ability to grow
Why starting with your internal teams and business partners is an easy first step in being a good brand steward

About Carol Smith:

Carol Smith, Director of Innovation at Materne North America, a subsidiary of MOM Group. Most of you might know the brand she works for as Gogo squeeZ.

Carol is a seasoned marketing leader with over 13 years of experience in brand management and product innovation at global companies like Mars Wrigley, Ferrero and Colgate-Palmolive. In her current role, she drives growth of the GoGo squeeZ portfolio by setting the brand’s innovation strategy. Broadly, she is a champion for initiatives that promote health & wellness for families in underserved communities.

Carol earned her MBA from Indiana University (Kelley School of Business) and her BBA from Emory University (Goizueta Business School). She is dedicated to giving back to minority business leaders in the making. So, as a proud alumnus, she serves as a mentor with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (CGSM) and Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT).

In her free time, Carol is a stream queen that relishes in the storytelling of television, movies and music. Additionally, she loves experiencing new cultures whether it’s experimenting with recipes or learning dance techniques.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolwhite/

Show Resources:

GoGo squeeZ - GoGo squeeZ is delicious snacking on the go. Healthy, portable, yummy and family-friendly fruit for your busy life.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

Show notes Carol talks about herself and her journey of how she became who she is now [2:12] Carol talks about the trends that she feels excited about in product innovation [5:06] Carol talks about the trend of transparency in business products as the best trend [6:15] Carol talks about plant based alternatives as another trend that businesses should try to do [6:52] Carol talks about the rise of the cannabis industry and the acceptance and the education that is happening [7:55] Carol talks about the idea of education to the underrepresented people [9:45] Carol talks about brands and their importance in a business with regards to education [14:27] Carol talks about the importance of people having the right information [15:52] Carol talks about education process and its impact on brands and utilizing cultural preferences in terms of taste profile [18:42] Carol talks about the hurdles that create challenges to help communities become more innovative [22:47] Carol talks about the lack of diversity as hindrance to innovation [23:10] Carol talks about lack of accountability also as hindrance to innovation [25:20] Carol explains why all people’s voices from different backgrounds should be heard in an organization [28:41] Carol talks about what brands can do to support innovation [29:24] Carol talks about what’s missing in product innovation in underserved communities [33:52] Carol talks about bravery in providing food equity to underserved communities as what’s missing in product innovation [34:04] Carol talks about brands and doing good and not seeing profit as the priority first [35:00] Carol talks explains what people should do in order to deliver to these communities [37:01] Carol and Diana discusses the unemployment problem and what needs to be done [40:00] Carol talks about why it is important to solve internal business problems first before proceeding to external problems [42:00] Carol talks about what brands can do in terms of food deserts and food justice [44:50] Carol talks about ways to have an impact on local communities [49:12] Carol talks about her past and what maybe she could have changed and the advice she could have given herself [50:29] Carol talks about the thing she finds interesting in food production or innovation [53:30] Carol talks about the number of testing she does before she releases a new product to the market [55:00] Carol talks about what she does to keep herself positive and focused [57:33] “Your actions speak louder than your words.” “Start at home, and then grow from there.” “Take care of your family first, and then take care of your community.” Guests Social Media Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolwhite/ Website: https://gogosqueez.net/?noredirect=true Email: carol.smith@momgroup.com The Gooder Podcast: Subscribe and listen to the Gooder Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gooder/id1517307436

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The world of food and beverage is filled with darling passion brands. They’re fun, nimble and innovative. It’s no wonder that so many people want to work for them. Sometimes the expertise, working in a Big Brand, can cloud the objectivity of an incoming employee and overly-excite the leadership of these smaller brands. So, just how can you best avoid a bad fit and create powerful transitions?

In this episode Jane shares advice on how to best prepare for these changes and opportunities, leaning on her own experience of transitioning from running billion-dollar brand families to becoming CEO of beloved naturals brand.

If you’re a founder/owner/leader of a smaller brand - you will learn:

How to honestly assess your brand's leadership needs
Strategic hiring tips to help manage your and your new team members expectations during transition and growth
How hiring for key strategic roles for your company, is a lot like dating

If you’re considering taking on a leadership role at a smaller brand - you will learn:

How your experience can be a liability as much as an asset
That compassion and empathy are valuable tools for successful growth and transition
How to evaluate your own potential for learning and flexibility in order to become a powerful resource for your new business partner

About Jane Miller:

Jane Miller is the founder of a career advice website, Janeknows.com, and the author of Sleep Your Way to the Top (and other myths about business success). Jane is a food industry executive with experience ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Currently the CEO of Lily's Sweets, she has previously held several CEO positions in the natural products industry, including Charter Baking Company (Rudi's Organic Bakery)

Prior to Charter, Jane had twenty-five years of experience in large consumer product companies. She was part of an executive team that brought Hostess out of bankruptcy. She worked for HJHeinz as the Chief Growth Officer and then the President of the UK & Ireland Division. She ran the Western division of Bestfoods Baking (now Bimbo Bakeries). The first fourteen years of her career were at PepsiCo, where she rose to be the President of the Central division of Frito-Lay.

Jane serves as a board member at the University of Colorado's Leeds Business School, Watson Institute and Eldorado Springs Artesian Water. Jane is passionate about mentoring the next generation of leaders. She has a Russian Studies degree from Knox College in Galesburg (Pivotal to her landing her first job at Frito-Lay - I hope we have time to cover that...), IL and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She lives in Boulder, CO with her dog, Bella, and three horses (Gracie, Prince, and Lucky).

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/janeknowsbusiness Twitter: https://twitter.com/jane_knows Email: jane@janeknows.com

Show Resources:

Lily's Sweets - Lily's Sweets creates no sugar added chocolate for baking and snacking. Founded on the principles of better-for-you foods, and imagined by someone who wasn't willing to sacrifice her favorite treat that is non-GMO and gluten-free ingredients harvested through Fair Trade practices, and ensure every product is botanically sweetened—meaning no refined or processed sugars. - Yum!

Jane Knows - Jane Knows was born out of the idea that the business world can be difficult to navigate and the choices can seem insurmountable. To be blunter, it can really suck. Politics, unwritten rules, mean people—it is all out there. But that is just the external stuff. What happens when you do things to sabotage yourself? Self-sabotage happens a lot and many times you don’t even know you are doing it…until it is too late! So after thirty years in business, making lots of mistakes and then rebounding, I decided it was time to help the next generation of leaders avoid the School of Hard Knocks. Let’s face it: life throws obstacles at us all the time, shouldn’t there be a way to know how to deal with the obstacles based on someone else’s experience?

Sleep Your Way to the Top - Jane's story of a small-town Illinois girl who made it to the top is a sassy, substantial read, headlined with myths (Size Doesn't Matter/You Can Sleep Your Way to the Top); punctuated by devilish text boxes ("let's walk out now and get drunk on morning martinis"); and containing end of chapter Mirror Mirrors to help 20-somethings (ANYONE) on their way to their individual tops. Sleep Your Way to the Top is the go-to guide for grads, pre-grads and new execs, showing us where it's easy to get tripped up, who might trick us and how to make it past the pitfalls on our way to the corner office.

Who Moved My Cheese - A timeless business classic, Who Moved My Cheese? uses a simple parable to reveal profound truths about dealing with change so that you can enjoy less stress and more success in your work and in your life.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

Show notes Jane talks a little bit about herself and how she came to be where she is now [4:14] Jane talks of her journey of starting her own business Lily’s Sweets [6:10] Jane talks about why you should have ethics in relation to business [6:37] Jane talks about where her altruism and desire for contribution comes from [7:31] Jane talks about why you should have a mentor not only in your business life, but also in your personal life [8:15] Jane talks about horrible bosses and how they influence your mental wellness and your self esteem and how you view the company [8:47] Jane talks about how to deal with situation where you have a horrible boss [8:58] Diana encourages people that they are not in bad situations alone and that people should read Jane’s book [10:11] Jane talks about her book and how she came to write it [11:42] Jane explains why and how people transition from a big company to start their own businesses [16:07] Jane talks about why you as an entrepreneur should also have trained or skilled expertise in your business [18:00] Jane talks about the risk of quitting your job before your business starts to scale up [19:39] Jane talks about why you should not treat your small business the same as the big company that you came from because they are very different [20:02] Jane talks about the gaps that people don’t always see when transitioning for big company to small business [21:36] Jane talks about ego and why you should not have ego while running a business [22:34] Jane talks about the benefit of working together as a team in a business [22:50] Jane talks about the technical, the tactical, and the emotional component in a business and how they connect [23:10] Jane talks about how people should deal with this hard situation of COVID and what they should do [24:26] Jane talks about why it is important to work out your relationship problems with business partners for you to move forward [25:35] Diana and Jane agrees that when you are in a good relationship with business partners, you tend to move in the same direction and thus achieving your goals [26:13] Jane talks of how to identify that you are moving in different directions with your business partners and how it can be solved [26:45] Jane talks about why you should first develop your work relationships before even starting the business [27:32] Jane talks about people and why they are the problem to your business [29:55] Jane talks about how you get transitioned into a business in a way where you can really make an impact right away [31:55] Jane talks about the real specific goals that the board and the investors are looking for [33:37] Jane talks about different mentality with people that work in the smaller brands versus the bigger brands [36:36]

Jane talks about the indicators that shows a brand is ready to bring on board the expertise in different areas [40:09] Jane talks about surrounding yourself with people that can give you good advice [43:17] Diana and Jane agrees that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it [46:16] Jane talks about how COVID has affected their business and how it will affect people’s lives [47:15] Jane talks about how making organic products accessible is very important [49:50] Jane talks about fun fact about chocolate that people don’t know [51:35] Jane talks about how she as a Russian major with an MBA got a job at Frito Lay [54:13] Books Mentioned: Sleep Your Way to the Top by Jane Miller Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson Quotes Mentioned: “We make the best decisions we can with the information we have at the time.” by Jane Miller “Don't be afraid to chase whatever it is that you want to do in school or professionally because somewhere it's going to stick and people will remember you for that combination.” Guests Social Media Links: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/janeknowsbusiness Website: www.janeknows.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/jane_knows Email: jane@janeknows.com The Gooder Podcast: Subscribe and listen to the Gooder Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gooder/id1517307436

Sleep Your Way to the Top: and other myths about business success

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Over our "human" history, the ideal of beauty has changed. Changed with times, changed with technology and changed with culture. Jennifer Norman has worked with some of the most iconic beauty brands in the market. But her personal journey has led her to the realization that beauty has been defined by a small group of people who’s definition was only skin deep.

Listen to the life lessons and learnings Jennifer draws on, to develop a fully inclusive beauty movement that includes everyone. And how Ikigai (The Japanese secret to a long and happy life.) is helping steer her Human Beauty Movement mission and personal passion to a world that longs for a truer meaning of beauty.

About Jennifer Norman:

Jennifer is the Founder of The Human Beauty Movement and the award-winning author of The Adventures of SuperCaptainBraveMan children’s book series.

After receiving her MBA from Georgetown University, she went on to pursue a 20-year career in the beauty, fashion, and natural industries working for companies like L’Oreal, Victoria’s Secret, Neutrogena and Derma E.

As an adoptee and a special needs mom, Jennifer realizes that her life’s work is all about inspiring compassion. She has decided to make it her purpose to foster inclusivity and support others with wellness, kindness, inspiration and trust.

Show Resources:

The Adventures of SuperCaptianBraveMan - Children's Book Series: Get to know the first and only children's superhero book series about diversity appreciation, disability awareness, acceptance, and friendship.

The Human Beauty Movement - A new kind of company founded to support radical inclusion and wellness in the beauty industry and beyond. Our business is built to be a force for good.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

Show Notes Jennifer talks a little bit about herself what she did to be where she is right now [4:22] Jennifer talks about why it is important to be ethical in a business more than anything else [8:20] Jennifer talks of how to raise disabled children especially in this time of COVID [10:12] Jennifer talks about when and how she started her business, The Human Beauty Movement [10:54] Jennifer explains the reasons why she started the business [11:36] Jennifer talks about how the COVID situation has affected her business [12:46] Jennifer talks about Black Lives Matter and what that judgment does to people’s mental wellness and what one should do to overcome that [14:00] Jennifer talks about what she is trying to accomplish with her company [17:24] Jennifer and Diana discuss about the B Corp certification [18:46] Jennifer explains what Ikigai is [21:14] Jennifer talks about Ikigai, why she’s adopted that concept of Ikigai and how she’s coaching people through it [22:17] Jennifer talks about the four key elements of Ikigai [23:12] Jennifer tells the difference between passion and profession [24:20] Jennifer explains the benefit of doing what you love as a career or business [25:30] Jennifer points out the areas that one should be able to identify to know that they are close to their Ikigai [27:11] Jennifer talks about things you should avoid for you to achieve your Ikigai [28:00] Jennifer talks about why it is important to also have feelings while working [34:22] Jennifer talks about interesting concepts of improving yourself [37:09] Jennifer explains why organic nutrients are important at arriving at self improvement [37:40] Jennifer explains what impacts social media has on your wellness, health and how you feel about yourself [38:52] Jennifer talks about how The Ikigai Concept has changed the course of The Human Beauty Movement [41:30] Jennifer talks about her book, The Adventures of SuperCapitalBraveMan [43:17] Jennifer talks about how to have conversation with disabled person [48:50] Jennifer talks about the brand they are about to launch called the Humanist Beauty [50:00] Jennifer shares interesting fact about beauty that will shock you [54:50] Books Mentioned: The Adventures of SuperCapitalBraveMan by Jennifer Norman You are beautiful. The guide to happiness in life falls apart by Jennifer Norman Spectrum of love by Jennifer Norman Down on Safari by Jennifer Norman Guests Social Media Links: Email: Jennifer@the-hbm.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehumanbeautymovement/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehumanbeautymovement/ Website: https://the-hbm.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/The__HBM YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnSmKS7UdQIYiRPFv7iDYQ? The Gooder Podcast: Subscribe and listen to the Gooder Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gooder/id1517307436

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The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s true about everything - including leadership. The naturals industry (food/beverage/wellness/fitness) is being impacted by the most extensive set of disruptions the industry has seen in a long time -- maybe ever. And while you can hope your way though this time, leadership is what will guide your company and brand through the hurdles and hopefully catapult into a better place than you are in now.

In this episode listen to the life lessons and learnings of Kate Ruffing, and how her path to leadership coaching started, and is founded on the principles of rowing.

In this episode you will learn:

The difference in organizing your company between structural vs functional roles
How to create a culture that trusts leadership
How reaching though the “glass floor” strengthens your company in times of crisis
How making mistakes are the fastest path to growth

About Kate Ruffing:

For over twenty years, Kate Ruffing has grown brands across the food, beverage, agricultural, and health industries. Starting with her time at Kraft Foods where she worked on billion-dollar brands such as Oscar Mayer, Oreo, and DiGiorno Pizza to her roles at Starbucks where she brought retail brands to B2B markets and relaunched the Starbucks food program, she has a proven track record for successful brand and product launches. She was educated at University of Wisconsin – Madison in Meat & Animal Science and Food Chemistry and holds an MBA from University of Chicago- Booth School of Business. Her roles have been in Operations/Production, R&D/Product Development, Brand Management and Strategy. Now, with her consulting firm Flashpoint Strategy, she develops strategies and guides companies such as Starbucks, Nestlé, DRY Soda, High Key Snacks and Yakima Chief Hops to grow their top and bottom-line business and brands.

Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:

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Beth Corbett is a brand packaging leader who has merged her background in marketing and sales with her passion for cannabis and CBD products to become a leading packaging consultant to this exploding market.

Beth shares her insights on how COVID-19 and international policies are impacting long and short-term issues related to domestic and global sourcing and environmental packaging innovations. She also shares how new technologies not only make a greener supply chain but can enhance consumer, customer and retailer relations.

In this episode you will learn:

· How transparent communication and sharing of data can strengthen your relationships with retailers.

· How just-in-time inventory is being redefined.

· What new technologies in environmental packaging need to be explored further and championed by major brands.

· How Augmented Reality can build a bridge with consumers when other marketing tactics cannot be used.

· Why relationships and planning are worth more than money.

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After spending 20 years working in the food, beverage & wellness industry I've created this podcast to introduce you to the powerhouse women who have found success on every level. My goal is give you direct access to their insights and expertise in order to help you make your business "Gooder".

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