CHUZA

0:00Welcome to the Emerging Brands podcast. Sharing the stories behind brands you'll want to shop next. I'm your host, Kelly Bennett. I am a New York City-based brand strategist for CPG Food and Beverage Brands. In each episode, I'll take you behind the scenes of founders that are building better-for-you products and bringing them to market. it. Also, I talk to brand builders, retailers, industry experts, and tastemakers who help bring those cool products to your shopping cart. You will hear stories of real-life founders, their launch strategies, and practical advice you could use to grow your own brand or simply discover what's next on shelf.

0:42And the best part is you could shop all the brands featured on the show. This podcast is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered deduction management tool that disputes and recovers invalid deductions, winning brands, thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours back to founders so that they can focus on what really matters most. If you're a brand selling in retail, go to tryglimpse.com backslash trial for 30 days free and let them know I sent you. Now let's dive into the new episode. Hi everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Emerging Brands Podcast with Kelly Bennett. Today I have Danny Schwartz.

1:29He is the founder and CEO of Chusa, which is a very cool brand that is bringing bold flavors to the snack aisle, rooted in Mexican culture and culinary. And I love featuring brands that really bring in culture and roots into what they are creating in the snack aisles of today. So Danny, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

1:57Daniel Schwarz:Thanks for having me, Kelly. You're so welcome. I want to first start off with what did you see missing in the snack aisle? And what was the moment where you're like, you know what? I think I need to do this myself, right? Because for every entrepreneur, that looks different and especially in CPG. But I would love to hear like the ethos of how this all got started. Sure. I was a typical I've been in the U.S. for over 15 years but I was a typical immigrant that every time he will go home or someone will come visit someone will be bringing snacks and homemade food and all of the above to to us I was working in the a little bit of background I was working in the tequila industry at that time so was getting a lot of passion for sharing Mexican products to the market because I was managing some tequila brands right and in that craving I started to think what can I do what can I bring and selfishly something that I can enjoy look at different angles but then I I was always craving the snacking the sharing sharing those shareable moments of opening a bag of your favorite snack and sharing with with your friends with your family and that's how everything started by by us thinking what can we bring to the market in a way that will represent Mexico in a good way with very authentic flavors because all of our spices are 100 % from Mexico.

3:42That's cool.

3:43Daniel Schwarz:Also with very clear and cleaner ingredients versus what we were seeing. Right. And I love how you also source from Mexico to create your products. That's super cool. Yeah. Yeah. It's been a process. Originally, we went back and forth, back and forth to create our seasoning and we continue to perfect it because when we first launched, it might have been a little bit too spicy and like trying to find that balance. At the same time, you are working with natural ingredients that a harvest can bring the pepper a little bit darker than a different time, spicier than a different time. Finding those balances has been a great fun.

4:36A great fun challenge that you put on your plate. So you were saying that you were working with representing tequila brands here in the U.S. What was your role in that industry?

4:50Daniel Schwarz:I was working for Proximo Spirits. That is the parent company or the name of the company in the U.S. that Jose Cuervo has.

5:06Daniel Schwarz:Got it. but also has many other tequila brands, whiskey, vodka, rum, you name it. So when I was working there, I was mostly working on the site. So you went from very well-known brands to then starting your own. And I would love to hear how that started to happen because I know this was during also COVID when you started conceptualizing the product and R &D, but could you take us through those initial early steps of, okay, I have this experience in CPG beverage, totally different beast than snacks, but how you started putting those pieces together to now have a product that's sold at Whole Foods?

5:58Daniel Schwarz:Sure. Before Proximo, in Mexico, I had a startup. Then I went to the US and worked at Coach Handbags. So I went from something out of college, super entrepreneur, to a big corporate in the US. Then went to Proximo. And I was itching to get back into the entrepreneur world, look at different, many different options as to like what we wanted to bring. I knew it was something that will represent Mexico and that will bring a lot of joy to myself also to be able to consume. Right. When we first started, it was you have to do a hundred different things at the same time right yes you we started thinking about from the name to the formula to the packaging to sourcing and it is really a puzzle that you start putting together at the beginning where you you bring a piece of formula that might also change a little of what you're thinking on the packaging that will also inspire you for the name and then things happen along the way that can make it a full circle for us there's been a lot of those elements that you can find in the package as well choosa the name choosa means when you hit a strike in bowling so that's a choosa but you say it also when you do something amazing that's right like oh my god it was like a great success that was a choose i was a home run but let choose uh it's an owl and when covet started we moved we were in la for almost 10 years moved to in new york for almost 10 years moved to la when we were pregnant with our second kid and then covet started well she was born covet started we moved to san diego because my wife's Parents are here.

8:11Daniel Schwarz:So we came here. But while we had the name of Chusa already in the word for the trademark, Al came up to the house. So we were like, oh, like we want to bring an Al to the packaging. Which is cool. I was reading that on your website. I'm like, oh, I love a behind the scenes message. or just like that next layer that makes it feel just more human and authentic. And it's the little things that maybe not everyone catches attention of, but it's the things that you also know are kind of like baked into the branding and packaging too. But those are the little, like you then have Chusa and then you bring the owl and then you have inspiration on the Mayan pyramids.

9:01Daniel Schwarz:So you have, like if you see our packaging, if you put it sideways, you'll see a pyramid and you start bringing all those elements together while you're developing so we used to do during the the COVID uh hangout I'll bring samples of all the different formulas and spices and fruits to to to any gathering and I'll have a scorecard and people will sit and and And B, that was my market research while COVID was happening. I mean, it's not a bad way to do some market research. Yeah. And in the meantime, we are working also on the design and perfecting the design. And this puzzle never ends, right?

9:51Daniel Schwarz:Right. We changed packaging in 2025. We're making now adjustments again that just came out of the printer in December. So come next month, you'll start seeing them now in the market. Small changes, but that you're like, OK, consumers are resonating with this or our messaging is not that clear here. So that puzzle is it's a never ending puzzle, I feel like. Totally. And I can share from my side of the street. I'm a brand strategist for pre-launch food and beverage founders. So this puzzle that you're referring to, that's literally my day-to-day of helping them put that puzzle together. And I think that's a really good analogy because it genuinely is this puzzle.

10:41And everyone's looks different, right? Like no two brands have the same exact story. And that's what I love capturing also on this podcast. I ask every founder the same questions. and I've done over 250 episodes now, everyone has a different answer. So I'm really glad that you're touching upon that because for so many people who are just early on and starting out, they think, oh, I do this and this, this, check it off and I'm done. But to your point, you're always iterating and adjusting and refining, especially when you're doing something new to a new flavor profile or a relatively new flavor profile to the U.S.

11:24market. And you have to also be willing to listen

11:29Daniel Schwarz:to what feedback you're getting and what consumers are into. For example, like our products don't have, like our fruit site doesn't have seed oils. We made a change to not have seed oils, but it's becoming such an important thing that now we put it front and center in our packaging so consumers can be like, okay, it's relevant to me. Now it's a clear message. And those things you have to be willing to evolve in this. That's a really good point too, because even when you started during COVID now six years ago, seed oils weren't as much in the conversation as they are in 2025, 2026. And so I think that's also a good point of things change and evolve.

12:20food trends, what's in the cultural zeitgeist, and also staying up with the time so that your products can really land with where consumers are now and also going. Yeah. But what we did in this, when we were setting up everything and we were, okay, what are our non-negotiables?

12:41Daniel Schwarz:It's like, yes, we want to have our spices are 100 % for Mexico because that's what will bring the bowl flavors to the market. what would represent chusa but also we're not a better for you health like if it's better for you that's great like we don't put colors we don't put artificial flavors but what we care first and foremost is that you enjoy the product that you like the taste that you share that you're that you're having fun with it and then if in that journey of your personal uh your personal needs it works as like oh this is better than eating a x product great right that's that's great for you that but we don't want to i feel that keeps changing so much that we wanted to make sure what we bring is a good yeah and also i think that's a good point too there are so many ebbs and flows and iterations but also at the end of the day you have to be clear on what is your brand how is it positioned what's your brand story and to your point those non-negotiables I do hear that a lot from founders of this is what I needed to make sure was in the product but these are the things that I was willing to adjust and I think seed oils for you all and maybe some packaging was that list was there anything else that surprised you of maybe what really resonated with consumers that you weren't necessarily thinking that they would understand and maybe some also challenges of helping them connect the dots?

14:20Daniel Schwarz:Originally, like an example is our pineapple. We want people to share, but we put a huge pineapple, like a full ring into the bag. And consumers were like, we cannot share this. It's too big. Like I take the ring out. And And basically, I took the whole back for myself. So we went then to tiny, tiny pieces. And it was like way too small because we went from one side to the other one. And again, it was like, hey, this is too small. So we ended up somewhere in the middle. And we've seen how that feedback and how those adjustments have made the product better. Our consumers are enjoying it more and our feedback is better.

15:05So when you say sharing, because you and I know this podcast is audio only, but the background of your screen while we're recording, it's all bowls with your products in. So is that also the use case in an ideal scenario that people are now serving this at parties and gatherings as that go to snack and nosh while having drinks and socializing?

15:30Daniel Schwarz:the the beauty of of so we have right now two lines one is the dry fruit one is the trail mix the trail mix yes it's easier to put in balls or you can put it also you can use it on on top as a topper for for your salads or those things are are working and on the fruit side you can eat it on on its own you can put it on on a drink you can put it like I love cutting some vegetables putting the trail mixes and some of the fruit in a bowl and that's that's a snack for me you can make it I mean my mom-in-law a year ago two years ago she was making we were doing some testing some videos and some recipes and we were making all sort of like from popsicles to a cake with with some spicy dry fruit that sounds delicious yeah it was it's it's been fun so we hear a little bit of everything but you can take it like if you were hiking right that's something that you do take take a pouch it's resealable so you can open it close it it's it's very easy to take with you and if you're new you're hosting a game for the super bowl open some bags put it on the balls and let people enjoy it with their drinks on its own right like my kids take it to school and and my parents eat it too right like every time we see them there or they come from mexico or whatever they are they're consuming it so it's the spectrum is pretty wide and how you use it it's also very open that is very cool And I know that you're at Fresh Market, Whole Foods, also Amazon.

17:20What has been some lessons, too, of growing to these larger retailers?

17:27Daniel Schwarz:Persistence. Okay. Please share more. And you have to keep on knocking on the door, right? You never know when that door will open. And sometimes you're lucky and it opens right away. And sometimes it takes three years for these to happen. We're just, I don't know when these podcasts will come out, but Fancy Food was this week. I saw a buyer that I've been in touch with him for, I guess, since 2021. Wow. And right now he was like, hey, we're ready. We're excited. And we're like, wow. I didn't know this was going to ever happen. That's cool. But I mean, we keep on reaching out and we keep on trying because we think we have something unique and special that consumers like.

18:21And eventually that persistence will pay off for sure. Do you have any advice for founders who are pitching something that may be relatively new in the U.S. market? or they have to explain maybe a little bit more of like what makes this, the flavors different and unique. Again, not like your basic flavors that you have for the last hundreds of years in the U.S. Do you have any advice there? Because this is a – and I am personally asking and selfishly asking because I have a few clients who are navigating this, and I just would love to hear your feedback.

19:04Daniel Schwarz:Let them taste it. Okay. Nothing will explain taste better than actually trying your product. Right. Right? Nothing. Sorry. I was at the X when someone was like, oh, I don't know why on the last round we said no. I'm like, hey, try it again. And meanwhile, we don't have a booth, right? So we're having all of these conversations out of a backpack. And they were like, oh, this is amazing. Please resend and resubmit. And I'm like, okay, sure. So taste is key, but also we, on our packaging, we try to reflect a little bit of the taste with the imagery. So we have a big window on the front to let people see what they're getting into.

19:53Daniel Schwarz:And then we put there that their spice are from Mexico. How spicy it is, we don't put it because what is not spicy at all for me could be super spicy for you or vice versa. Right. Spice, it's a very subjective way to describe something. Because if I put spice level at zero, but you don't tolerate spicy, you'll be like, well, you were lying. So we let everyone decide what that means. No, that's totally fair. And I feel like there has absolutely been a shift also in the U.S. market that people are more open to spice, which is so good to see. I think times have definitely changed. I think like Fly Bae Jing has done a great job of influencing more people to be open to spice.

20:48And I just see that as a growing trend and something that I don't think is going away anytime soon. And I personally am a spice lover. I lived in uh chungdu in the sichuan province of china where everything was super spicy and i went from like italian american irish upbringing where really there wasn't that much spice to then landing in china and i was like whoa this is amazing so now i've developed a palate that really loves spice there there is there is uh there were studies i don't have the exact number but there was like

21:29Daniel Schwarz:a study that 50 % like consumers can tolerate 50 % spicier than what they think they can like take and and also people are consumer much more uh spices than than before like it's definitely something that's trending I I mean I love a little kick and totally and and if you try it it's not a burn to be for you to run and grab some water like it has taste and after two pieces of mango that you try you're hooked and you don't you're you're not thinking about how spicy it is you're just enjoying it amazing well i know i have to let you go as you're building your very cool empire here but just so people can keep an eye out i know we mentioned whole foods fresh market amazon anywhere else that you would like to direct people to try and taste for themselves?

22:31Daniel Schwarz:To go to our website, choosa.com, visit our socials, choosaSnacks. And, I mean, we are Central Market in Texas. We are in Walmart in Texas. We're in Meyers also, Saveway, Raleigh's. we we and if you're if you don't see it near near you please email us and we can point you to the right direction and if not we'll do our best to to keep on growing to your to your closest retailer amazing well congratulations danny on your success and taking an idea and literally running with it and for sharing your story. I know many founders will find this really insightful. So I appreciate your time. Thank you.

23:25Daniel Schwarz:You're so welcome. You're so welcome. Thank you everyone for listening. Go check out Chooza and I'll see you on the next episode. Bye. This episode was brought to you by Glimpse. As we know, building a brand is not as sexy and glamorous as it looks on social media at times. A lot of those unsexy problems come into play when brands start to scale in retail distribution. Founders are always incredibly excited to see their products on shelves at major retail chains, but they don't realize all the hard work that starts to begin. Retailers and distributors are known for their processes of deducting amounts from invoices.

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25:03With a team of in-house deduction experts who come from some of the most successful and profitable CPG companies and custom built AI with 100 % accuracy and precision. You'll recover money that you never should have had leaked in the first place. If you're a brand selling in retail, go to tryglimpse.com backslash trial for 30 days free and let them know I sent you. Thank you again for listening to this episode of the Emerging Brands Podcast. It really means so much to me that you listen to this show, share it with your friends and support it. If you are a CPG food and beverage founder and you're ready to launch a brand, people want to shop, head to withkellybennett.com for the details.

25:56And as always, thank you so much for listening, shopping the brands featured on the show and following brands I'm working with. It means so much. See you on the next episode.