JanesHaus

0:00Jane Miller:Welcome 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.

0:42Jane Miller:And the best part is you could shop all the brands featured on the show. This podcast is brought to you by Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds is the go-to platform built for creator-powered retail activations. They're connecting everyday creators with CPG brands to generate shelf-level awareness, drive in-store momentum, and generate authentic content in markets that matter the most. Go to hummingbirds.com for all the details and let them know I sent you. 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.

1:35Jane Miller: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 a strategic partner for CPG, food and beverage brands, who is an incredible designer. We actually have a shared client now officially. We've been wanting to do a client project together. Jane Miller, she is the founder of Jane's House. And Jane, I'm so happy to officially have you on the podcast. Yeah, I'm so excited to be here. It's been a long time coming.

2:24Jane Miller:Absolutely. First, for anyone who's listening who's not familiar yet, But can you walk us through first what is Jane's House? Yes. So we're a creative agency in Los Angeles. We're kind of a full stop shop. We do everything from branding to packaging, websites. We do SEO. And a big differentiator for us is we do CGI campaigns, which are great for announcements and retail partnerships. and we will also do ad hoc stuff like marketing campaigns, booth design, that kind of thing, merch design. So we kind of do a little bit of everything. Which is awesome and so helpful and one of the reasons why I was excited to have you on the podcast is that your design process really touches upon so many of the main touch points for a CPG brand.

3:21Jane Miller:And there's so many emerging brand founders who listen to this podcast. And I love bringing on the strategic partners that I want to have on their radar. And also starting to think about those next steps of once you have a delicious product, and you're testing it, and now you're maybe an R &D, but starting to think through of how to make this an actual brand, right? And visuals from your logo to your packaging, to your website, to merch, all of that is telling a story. So I would love to hear your background. How did you get into all of this? Yeah. So that's a fun, fun one. Um, I've actually only been officially doing this for one year.

4:07So we, congratulations. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Um, yeah, since in one year we worked with over 50 brands, so it's kind of been a ride.

4:17Jane Miller:Wow. So I, my background is I was in tech for 10 years and I started off in marketing and design. I was running hundreds of AB tasks for a fortune hundred companies. And this was before you got to work from home. And I was seeing the engineer in the office get to do that and the freedom that that allowed. So I was like, oh, I want to learn how to code. And I just really dove into teaching myself. And so after about maybe a quarter or so, I got promoted into a front end engineer role. And then I started learning more and became a full stack engineer. And I did that for about four years in large and small companies across all kinds of spaces.

5:02And after that, one thing led to another. I moved into product at the C-level. And then after that, I moved into community building at the C level.

5:13Jane Miller:Oh, cool. Yeah, yeah. And I was working in crypto and Web3 and there's not a lot of women in that. And just started connecting with other females in the space. And I had a female musician friend of mine who was like, hey, can you make some visuals for my music? And, you know, backtracking, I've always been a traditional artist. So oil painting since I was a kid. it morphed into graphic design and photography and I studied film in college that was my degree and um I decided like sure I'll learn like 3D design and started teaching myself in the same way that I did with engineering and picked it up and then I started showing my art all over the world so at Art Basel in Mexico Australia um yeah I had a showing in Japan and a year ago I was still in tech and I was just so sick of tech culture and the toxicness and was like I'm just gonna take a bet on myself and do this and yeah it worked out.

6:21Jane Miller:That is incredible I had no idea of your extent in the art world and showing around that's so cool. Thank you. You're welcome that's really unique also to hear from a designer just the combination of your background it when you said it would all make sense it totally makes sense of seeing your work now I I told you you have a distinct vibe and point of view and I wasn't exactly sure what were all those through lines but that all totally tracks yeah that's cool and I think it's cool also sharing about a career especially a service-based business of how you get there and all the many different rows.

7:04Jane Miller:I know my story too. It's like so many different paths, but they all make sense now. And it's just like such a satisfying feeling when you are like, okay, I get it now. This is why it was a lot of twists and turns, but this is where we've landed. Exactly. And I remember like just being so judged for it too of like why can't you hold down a job or like why do you keep switching things and I was always like I just one I don't feel like the status quo should be that way like what is shouldn't be and what's wrong with that and then also that like I have other skills I want to explore and learn and lean into and I just grew up in an environment where like work was that's it there's no fun in work you just do it to get paid and there's if you get enjoyment that's a bonus but that's not a requirement and I was always like the opposite like enjoyment and is a requirement if I'm not getting that then I'm out and it's great to finally be in a place and be like okay everyone like this is this is how it was supposed to be the entire time I feel that so much for the biggest time or the longest standing joke with my family was like, what the hell do you do?

8:23Jane Miller:Because I would try different things and twists and turns and different titles. Like I was always freelance, but how I was saying what I did or different projects, it never really made sense until now. Like my business all makes sense now. So that very much resonates with me. How did you know that you wanted to start your own agency? Like what was the, just the push of just saying like, okay, I'm going to do this. I'm going to focus on branding, website, packaging, because you could do so many different things. I'm sure that was hard also honing that in. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I was freelancing that entire time.

9:03So freelancing for a decade and doing these one-off projects, but they weren't necessarily focused on the CPG space. And then I had this opportunity for one of my first CGI projects was for Florence by Mills for a Millie Bobby Brown's company. And it was for a perfume bottle and they were launching it. And I was like starting to dive into this space and decided like as I was getting some clients that were like tech focus or whatever, I was just my heart wasn't in it. and so that first perfume um campaign led me to another campaign with I think it was like a beverage brand and I was like wait I'm like really liking this space so I started diving in more to that and even over the course of a year we would accept ad hoc projects with you know like realtors or life coaches and things like that but the more that I do this the more it's like food and beverage is the priority than anything else.

10:10CPG is great, but then anything outside the bucket, like it's starting to feel outside of my niche. And it was just really discovering that along the way.

10:20Jane Miller:I knew I resonated with you and, and now it's like, Oh, for sure. Cause I was also working on consumer brands and within different verticals, it was like food, beverage, wellness, hospitality, but food and beverage and CPG. Once I found that space, I was like, oh, this is the space I'm doubling down in. So I very much resonate with what you said. There's something, just something so cool about people creating a product literally in their own imagination and then bringing that to life and creating a whole brand around it. I just think it's a cool process yeah I think it's also the space itself it's not like your you know lucky charms or cheerios of the world they are like your good girl snacks and postachios of the world there's just a whole movement going on where totally art is being brought into this where it's like more authenticity connection that just wasn't there like food is becoming this like an energy, if you will.

11:27I'm very woo woo. So I'll probably throw that in a lot here. But and I think like, that's why maybe if you resonate with that, like that's why you and I are more connected to this space now more than ever.

11:41Jane Miller:That's a great point. And also your background in community also really plays very well in this space. Yeah, exactly. Because the only way that you can succeed, in my opinion, as a small time founder or first time founder, maybe you don't have a lot of marketing budget, maybe you're limited on resources and things like that, is to build community, is to turn customers into fans. That's like the leg up. Other brands who maybe have more resources don't do very well. And your story, right? These bigger brands don't have the story like these emerging brand founders. They can't compete with them in that space.

12:29Jane Miller:And that's why I always love founder-led brands that tell their story because that's such a unique advantage. yeah standing out always yeah I always say that the difference between a person who's watching you build in public versus actually doing it themselves is that you as the founder are doing it so that the way the reason they're connecting with you is because you're sharing such a part that's just like themselves but the only difference between you guys is you're building it. They're not. They're watching it and experiencing it as if they were building it. And so that's where the connection is.

13:09It's like I see you or I see myself in you.

13:13Jane Miller:Totally. And they want to be a part of it. And it sounds delicious and fun and exciting. It's like, I don't know exactly what this is going to be, but like I want to be a part of it, which is such a cool, cool place. So when you meet with someone who could be a potential client, I would love if you could walk people through what you look for or how you start working with brands, what they need to have done. I love that you're such an advocate for brand strategy. I appreciate you so much. But just walking people through to help them understand what it's like going into the visuals. Because sometimes people think, oh, I need a logo right when they're in formulation or they kind of jump to the case, jump to one part of it without building a good foundation.

14:01Jane Miller:Could you walk people through just so they could better understand? Yeah, for sure. The first thing that I look for and maybe the thing that decides yes or no for me is the energy that someone brings. If I'm getting a vibe, like if it already feels difficult on the call and we're not vibing, I have already learned my lesson that the rest of the project is going to be that way. So I'm looking for founders that really believe in what they're building, that they're all in, in the sense of energetically, like they truly believe and have conviction of what they're building. um and then also believe in me as a partner because I can't do this if like there isn't a level of trust the reason that I'm being hired and this is why I was always like pissed off in tech was why why hire someone if you're not gonna trust in their abilities and capabilities and um so I'll look for a person and this is written on our website too as one of our big value values is we don't work for you.

15:11We work with you.

15:12Jane Miller:So if you're ready for a partner who's going to collaborate with you, that's us. If you're looking for someone who's going to just be, you know, like a to-do list and just do as you say, with no feedback process, then that's just not us. So those are like the main things. And then our process is really first figuring out what's the goal of everything. So everything we do has, you know, is strategy focused. Even every single design decision we do is strategy focused in some way. And how is this going to look on your website? How is this going to look on your shelf? How about on social media? How about when you're at a booth or a farmer's market?

15:55I think about every single vertical and medium that you're going to be at. And if you haven't really figured out what your strategy is, then we can't do any of the fun stuff, the aesthetic, it means nothing. Um, and so we'll talk about what the strategy is. And oftentimes founders are like strategy. Like I know what, what I'm doing. Like I know what this is for. And I'm like, okay, let's backtrack it. So I have like what I call the three second brand test. Can I see from just talking to you or looking at your packaging? What is it? Who is it for? And why should I care? And if I can't decide that in three seconds, and I really came up with that looking at stats of how long does it take for a buyer to decide if they're going to pull off, pull your product from a shelf?

16:49How long does it take for someone on a website to bounce and how long on social media does it for someone to scroll that's a great point yeah and one last data point was how long does it take for when you pitch to an investor for them to for you to get their attention or not so all of that averaged out to three seconds and that's why I ask and they'll you know it's always the oh I'm gonna wait can you say it

17:19Jane Miller:one more time. I'm literally writing this down and I know founders are writing this down. And also I'm going to put this in the show notes. So the three second rule test of say it one more time. Yeah. Three second brand test rule. It's what is it? Who's it for? And why should I care? Love it. Love it. And yeah, thank you. I think it, it, it's a good, easy way to just, just, if you could just even answer those three, three questions, you already have foundation. Now you can get to like your next steps. So yeah, when we start working with someone, I always ask, you know, do you have strategy and bring them to yourself?

18:03Jane Miller:Which I genuinely appreciate. Thank you. Yeah. It really helps us because I think people get confused with digital strategy and even branding strategy with the kind of strategy that you do. Like I use your stuff to layer on what I know about best practices across all these different mediums without knowing like who the competitors are and the voice and messaging. I can't even make your USPs on your packaging, which is your unique selling propositions, because I have no idea. I don't know what we're trying to grab. So that's the biggest thing. And I'll also even layer it on further and I'll ask, I have a very detailed questionnaire that asks all kinds of questions.

18:50But one of the biggest questions is what's the worst thing that people would say about you?

18:56Jane Miller:Oh, that's a good one. Yeah. Okay. So I try to predict, because they inevitably will predict what they might say, what they might be confused about and why they might pick another competitor over you. Like what is it in the market? And I take all of this data and this is like part of my background is like, how do we use data to make decisions? So that's all, you know, interweaved into the design process. And then we start with your brand guidelines. So I no longer do packaging without our, our, um, agency doing the brand guidelines. And the reason for that is your brand guidelines is your brand GPS.

19:45And so, you know, you can, I like to put this analogy, you can in Google maps, you know, always get to a destination and, you know, you can make a wrong turn and you'll still get to your destination. it will recalculate for you. But what I'm here to help you with is how to get to the direct path to your destination in the least amount of time. You'll probably get there eventually. It could take 10 years. It could take 50 years. But how do I get you there in a short amount of time? So the brand guidelines is that brand GPS because everything will be based on what that is. And your colors and your photo inspiration and your voice and keep it really concise.

20:32And then we work on packaging.

20:33Jane Miller:That's a really good analogy. Thank you. Yeah. I like that one. I love your, the way that you drill things down and have really quick to the point, memorable ways for founders to think about their branding and the visuals and the why behind it and how data driven you are too, but also making that feel very human in the consumer experience. I think that's something very unique that you do. Yeah. Thank you. I really want to help brands get the clarity and the clarity and direction that they need so that they can do what they do best because I can't sell for you. And I can't build this for you, but I can give you the tools to do that so that you can focus on what you do best, which is lead and be the founder.

21:32And then that allows me to do what I do best, which is the strategy and the design and the technicality of how that mission and vision functions or how it looks like in the world.

21:47Jane Miller:Absolutely. And a shout out to Afternoon Toast, a shared client. We did brand strategy. Now you're doing all of her visuals and just starting to see the pieces connect and the shifts already being made. I always tell founders brand strategy is your foundation and it's a must have. But really, once you get into visuals, that's like the magic part of seeing it really start coming to life. And I got some sneak peeks and it's looking really good. Yeah. I'm excited for that one. I'm really excited for that one too. It's very different too because a lot of the styling right now is super colorful and playful and like big and loud text.

22:33And this is more like toning it down and minimalist and luxury and clear and like homey. And I'm really excited to like kind of change the pace because I think it's going to do so well.

22:47Jane Miller:Me too. Me too. And when we were building the brand strategy, that's what we kept coming back to of like candlelit tables and warm earthy tones, but like ambers and a little pop of like a sterling silver. And I'm just, yeah. Everyone stay tuned. Afternoon toast. Yes, absolutely. Follow. As far as advice that you would share with someone who is in those early days, again, the clients that we work with who are building from scratch, right? And I love working with people who are building from scratch because you could build it the right way the first time, right? And you're not like having to piecemeal it too far down the line.

23:32Jane Miller:What piece of advice would you share with people to get their visuals to tell their story? Because that's also a big piece of CPG. You're not going to be standing in front of your product in every grocery store when someone is evaluating which product to choose. How do you help founders understand what would make their brand pop or stand out? Um, yeah, I just would love to hear your point of view on that. I mean, the biggest part is it's an investment. You need to hire a professional. And I think there is very much sometimes like this DIY mentality. And I will say like maybe 30 % of my clients are coming because they skimped out on pricing or they DIY it and it's not working and they spent all this money or they hired someone for super cheap and now everything's breaking like on their website or things are just like not landing with investors and they're like okay now I need a professional but if they had done that from the beginning they would you know time is money like it's the oldest phrase in the books really are losing velocity on your product and getting it into the market.

24:58So the biggest thing is hire a professional and really invest in that because that's basically your marketing right there, like how you show up everywhere. And I think I would even just leave it at that because it's up to the professional and, and, and not just a professional, a partner. Like that's why we offer a lot of services because one, my background, sure we can do it, but also we want to build a relationship with these founders. And like one of our missions as a company is to be like the vessel and the, like the energy to bring a vision from the founder to the world. Like we want to work with family brands and young founders who have this like conviction and, and, and like, just this, like this energy, like I have to bring this and make that a reality.

25:54And so like, we bring our talents so that we can help you bring your talent to, you know, the rest of the world. And that's how we kind of, like I mentioned the woo, like really bring our energy, um, and be able to bring that to like outside customers that we would probably never talk to. It's through the founder. Um, so the thing is to find someone who can be along for the ride and so that you don't have to go on the agency hunt of, Oh shoot, now I need a website person and now I need an SEO person and I need someone for the packaging, but they didn't do my brand guidelines. And so there's this constant onboarding.

26:35Right.