Strip Jerky

0:00Nicole Schlesinger: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.

0:42Nicole Schlesinger:And 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 Nicole Slethinger.

1:29Nicole Schlesinger:She is the founder of Strip Jerky. She's also a very cool client of mine. She is making beef jerky for the girls. And Nicole, I'm so happy to have you on the podcast. Thank you. This is so amazing. Thank you for having me. And I'm so happy that we can work together. And also, I can come on here and share my story. Absolutely. And that's what I wanted to jump right into because I love how you took something that you were working on in culinary school and is now turning it into a CPG product. So can you walk us back a little bit of you starting your culinary journey, why you wanted to dive into the world of food?

2:14Nicole Schlesinger:I would love to hear more of your backstory. Of course. Yeah. So I've always been a huge cook all throughout high school and college. And in college, I started a little cooking channel on Instagram and TikTok, and it kind of took off. But I put a pause on that because I was like, I need to find a real career and something to do. So I graduated from college. I moved to New York. I became a receptionist. And while I was being a receptionist, I realized I wanted to do something that was actually going to make a difference and something that I was actually passionate about. So I quit my job. I decided to go to culinary school here in New York City at the Institute of Culinary Education.

2:58And I had the most amazing experience. Within my experience and within the butchering and meat unit, I fell in love with different kinds of meats and cuts and smoking meats. And I really fell in love with making beef jerky. I've always been a very big beef jerky eater. Even at my nine to five, I would get huge bags of Jack Links and I'd go to CVS and I'd come back and I'd eat that for lunch until I realized what I was actually eating. And when I looked into the bag, the smell, the taste, it was like overly candy-like. And I realized I could never recreate their product, especially in culinary school.

3:38So I went to my chefs and I told them, I love making beef jerky. The beef jerky unit was coming up. And so I really took advantage of that and started making my own homemade jerky. And it really just took off from there. I would make it once a week. I bought two huge dehydrators in my small New York city apartment. Really? Yeah. I made like, I have, they're like under my couch and like in my closet bedroom. Like I have like, they're huge and I would just make different recipes and I'd give them to friends and family. And I, I, I made a cute little logo on Etsy for like 50 bucks. And I was like, okay, this is, this is my strip jerky logo.

4:21And it was just super fun. And I was posting on social media and people really wanted to try and buy it. So I decided this is kind of like, this is my gig. This is what I'm really into. And I felt that I could create the next big beef jerky in the industry. So. And that's what you are doing.

4:44Nicole Schlesinger:So I love the background. What did you go to school for? What was your education before? I was a marketing and advertising major. Okay, that makes sense. Because you have a natural instinct for marketing and telling a story. So I love how you're taking that background and then applying it into culinary. Also, fun fact, my partner, she graduated from the same culinary school as you. And she's like always still raves about it. I highly recommend it, especially for people who don't want to go to CIA, which is like the more serious one, upstate New York, and you live in the dorms. The Institute of Culinary Education in New York is so, so amazing.

5:25The chefs are so great. And it's just a really awesome place. And I learned so much and I highly recommend it for anyone listening.

5:35Nicole Schlesinger:Well, I love it because sometimes it feels like the culinary world and the CPG food and beverage world are two separate spaces, but really when you could blend them together and I got into CPG being a partner of a restaurant. So I love when CPG products are chef driven and created because it brings, it just brings something different and cool and new into the space. Definitely. Yeah. And you have all of these techniques from school and it really brings it all together. And I worked in a bakery for a bit and I, and I tried that out and I worked in a kitchen and I tried some, I was on the frying station and I, and I did all that, but I realized starting my own company and doing something that you really, really love.

6:23It just, it, it doesn't stop from there. So it's a game changer when you can find your thing.

6:29Nicole Schlesinger:And I'm so proud of you because you're young and you, you know, going from college to culinary school and now becoming a founder to have already found your thing at 24. I mean, I'm going to be 41 next month and or two months. And I just feel like I'm finding my thing. So yeah, it's okay. I admire that you found your thing and you're going all in. That's it's cool. And to do that now. Yeah, I love it. I think especially now, you know, living in New York City has really helped me and opened so many doors for me and becoming a founder. And it's such a great community. And even when I started, I went on Instagram.

7:10I had like barely any followers and I just DMed everyone I knew. And I was like, hey, like, can we get on a call? Can you help me? And everyone is so nice and there's so many great events. And it's a really great space, especially in the city.

7:24Nicole Schlesinger:I agree. So let's talk about building Strip Jerky. Yeah. What has been some of those early steps? You mentioned, I mean, now your logo is beautiful, but you started with like an Etsy logo. Like walk us through some of those early steps that you've taken to now build a brand that by the time this podcast goes out, the website is live that you could shop the first drop. So walk us through a little bit of those early steps that you started taking. Yeah. So I initially went on Etsy and reached out to literally just, I typed in logo designer and I found like the first person and paid$50 and I wanted something to go with the name strip jerky.

8:11So in my head, I thought it was going to be like a girl kind of who looks like me, like on the beach, like stripping her clothes off, like something with that like playful and like sexy kind of vibe. and that worked for a little bit but then I had a lot of people tell me that retailers won't take this kind of logo they want something more serious and you know PG-13 so I had another girl do like a little illustration for me which was so amazing and I used that for a little bit but then I also had people come to tell me although it is for the girls I don't want females to only feel that they can buy this.

8:53I want this to be for everyone. I want this to feel a nostalgic, a playful kids, you know, anyone to, you know, look in the grocery store and be like, oh, wow, that's like a really cute logo. So I met this girl who her name is Gretchen and she is my illustrator and she's apt. She's so, so talented. She's really, really good. And yeah, she's, she's just insane. And she knew exactly what I wanted and how I wanted to create this like playful, fun world of strip jerky and my character and how, although it is, you know, just one logo for now, I really want people to feel that like you can hop into this world of like magical, like jerky land.

9:40And that's what I feel like I'm doing. And so it's come out, you know, I really love my original bag. I had someone else create my bag design. She's out in California and she's also really amazing. She's done another beef jerky bag before. Her name is Lisa. And it's been really, really great. I think it's coming together. I really love it. So I'm really happy. It's coming together.

10:06Nicole Schlesinger:I'm super proud of you. And I usually work with founders a few steps, sorry, behind of where you came to work with me. And I already was saying to you, I was like, you've done a great job just taking initiative, figuring it out. And I admire how you've gone about it too of just, okay, this is the world I want to build. And I could see you actively working on building that world and just how you started putting the pieces together. So what other steps did you take as far as the product that you are now launching with? Because I know it started as a culinary project. How did you land on strips of jerky, the flavor profile?

10:54Nicole Schlesinger:I'd love to hear more of that. Yeah, definitely. So I knew that I couldn't make this in my apartment. Making me, especially in your small New York City apartment, it's not even allowed. And so then I realized, should I get a test kitchen? Should I explore that? And I realized, you know what, I think that by the time I get in the test kitchen, you know, make it produce it, I'm like, I'm just going to go with the co packer, I'm going to, you know, research and find somebody else to make it for me. So I'm working with this really, really amazing smokehouse, and they create my jerky. And we have a really, really great partnership going on.

11:33I have someone making my bags out in California. And I found I found all of this online. And they shipped the bags from California to my factory. And so that's kind of where they take care of that. Regarding the recipe, I tested this recipe for seven months. Although it is a simple like recipe and we only have a few ingredients, I really wanted to make sure that when you taste it, it tastes, you know, all the things that I thought in my mind, healthy, gourmet. It's not, you know candy like it's not too sugary um and my big thing is that I did not want to use any kind of sugar but I I still wanted my jerky to taste sweet so I decided to switch that out with honey um which I there's no beef jerky out there that uses honey instead of you know sugar um and people really really love it it has a really great flavor I also decided to use gluten-free soy sauce because I want to be accommodating to everyone out there.

12:39And, and yeah, I think that I, we tested the recipe. He sent back the bags to me, you know, it went back and forth for like six months. And so it's a long process.

12:50Nicole Schlesinger:It's actually quite short in the scheme of how I see behind the scenes. Oh no, it's, but the thing is, is that I am, because I have that like inner chef in me, I am so picky. And I'm like, no, I don't like this. I don't, there was, you know, we were testing, we were supposed to launch sweet and spicy along with the original, but I could not get the recipe to a hundred percent. And it was, it was very close, but I'm like, I am not going to launch something that I am not a hundred percent about. Um, so we're in the works of making that, but again, it's being a chef and being very picky with my flavoring.

13:30And I had so many, you know, my friends, my family, they're like, this is so amazing.

13:34Nicole Schlesinger:And I'm like, you might think that, but I'm like, I don't like it. So we had to keep going. And yeah, so you're putting, you're creating the standard, right? And that also takes time and iteration of what the final product will be. So with my own market research, I'll be honest, I was telling you, I haven't eaten meat in like 20 years. I just started eating chicken. I did try your beef jerky. My girlfriend was blown away that I even would try it. It tasted really good. I had a little piece. I'm like building up. But she tried it. Like I said, she went to culinary school, her youngest, who's nine and she'll be 10 next month.

14:16Nicole Schlesinger:She loved it. She was like, this is amazing. So they're like my two most critical taste testers and they were like, no, this is really good. And also when I started doing market research for your brand, I realized even in the quote unquote better for you beef jerky space, there's still so many ingredients on almost every single line of beef jerky and yours is like what? Five ingredients? Yeah. It's crazy. It's literally crazy to think, think about that. I, you know, I tested every beef jerky out there that I possibly could. And I never found something that was 100%, whether that was from when you open the bag to the really intense smell that you would get.

15:02And that's a big thing for me. I loved eating beef jerky, but I, you know, it was hard to eat, especially when you're walking on the street. Like my, my best friend is like, oh my God, like you're eating beef jerky again. Like I can smell it from all the way over here. Like it hits me with such an intense smell. So I wanted to really create a dry jerky. So the moisture and everything inside the bag doesn't hit you with the smell.

15:27Nicole Schlesinger:Wait, that makes so much sense because I'll be honest. I was, I even had my girlfriend open it because I didn't know what the smell was going to be after not having it for so long. And it didn't smell weird and it didn't, I didn't even put two and two together. So that's because it's dried or the way that you made it. Yeah, because it's dry, the wetter jerkies, which are typically cheaper to make, have more of a smell because of, you know, what's going on inside the bag when it's packaged. Stuff with brown sugar, you know, liquid smoke, all the other ingredients and like the nitrates and stuff that they put in the bag when you open it, it smells.

16:06And mine and everyone here will open up a bag and realize mine has a sweet kind of like soy smell to it. It's not, it smells good. It's not like a, you know. It's like a barbecue-y kind of smell. Yeah, it's not like a disgusting, like hits you in the face kind of smell, especially on the airplane and in small, you know, cars. And we've tested it. I've had my friends and family open up the bags and nobody's complained so far, which is really great. And the biggest thing is that I want the snack to be in, you know, offices and gyms and everywhere. But especially in offices, people, you know, people are embarrassed if they open up a bag of jerky and it smells and everyone at, you know, the desk over.

16:49Right. That smell. So we don't want to be that guy at work.

16:53Nicole Schlesinger:That's like speaking up the office. Exactly. So it's really great. And we got it to 30 grams of protein, only 195 calories, which is literally insane. And more than most protein bars out there. Yes. Absolutely crazy. so I had my retail consultant have eyes on it and she was like whoa we need to like talk about this protein this is amazing she was blown away yeah and you are like I when I made the bag I put 12 grams of protein per serving and then everyone's like oh my god like you need to change that you have to put 30 grams and I'm like and 4 ,000 bags I'll fix it yes yeah in time and that's real like Like while we're working on your brand strategy and making some tweaks and refinement, it's yeah, we'll go through the first 2000 bags and in the next one we'll make some iterations.

17:47Nicole Schlesinger:But like that is the realness of also starting a brand and a business. Like you, you got to get started. You have things get out the door, but then making adjustments as you go. And I appreciate how you are open to taking all the steps to like do it right. yeah I get that sense from you and that for me it's like I just need people who are like open of like okay tell me what to do these are the steps done and so that's a really good mindset going into making this shift now to a founder yes it's huge is there any piece of advice that you would share with someone who's maybe where you were in culinary school or on that cusp of I mean And I can't even with you dehydrating beef in your apartment and like thinking about how you were probably in such a creative mode there and then turning it into a CPG brand.

18:44Nicole Schlesinger:Like, what advice would you tell that type of Nicole who's like, okay, I'm on to something. What should I do next? I would first say reach out to the right people. I think that's so helpful. And reaching out to you, I wish I did sooner. And having like a mentor and someone that can really guide you through the CPG world, especially when you don't have any prior knowledge. There's no one that sits you down and like teaches you this. And so I think that if I was to go back, I would really slow down, not just throw my card for anyone who's like, I can help you. I can do this. I can do that. I mean, the amount of money I've wasted is just insane.

19:26And I think now I've really learned to just like slow down, take a step back, really look at what's necessary and what isn't and like spending money because it gets so crazy starting a company. And especially at a young age living in New York City, I don't have a job. This is my full-time job right now. And so it's, I think just really knowing what's worth it and what isn't. Yes.

19:55Nicole Schlesinger:I know we have a lot of those conversations. It's crazy. It's literally insane because people reach out to me all day, every day on LinkedIn, Instagram, email, trying to sell me things, trying to, you know, take the load off for whatever it is. And the advice I have to give is to just like take a step back, do the research and see if you can do it first before you hire somebody and spend all this money. Because it, you know, it gets really crazy. You're going to have to, you have to spend a lot of money on starting a company. It's not, it's not a joke. It's not a cheap hobby and especially CPG.

20:33Nicole Schlesinger:Like it is an investment for sure. It's a huge, huge investment. And so I also think doing the marketing yourself, I, and I took this advice from you and I see so many successful founders now who they, they create their own organic content and it's so important to get in front of the camera. and you know even if you're not getting a ton of likes and in comments right now it's that you have to start somewhere so I think building the muscle building the muscle and I wish I went back in time when I was in culinary school and filmed more you know day in my life starting a business like the research I was doing because that would have been such great content and there was other other girls in my class doing that and I looked at them I'm like oh like what are you doing like you know but I never really I never really did it myself I have like two or three pictures of me in culinary school and I and I wish I had more and more content from that time so well I'm glad that you're saying that in a sense that I am that annoying person when like on calls or meetings I'm like wait hold on we have to take a video because I literally for all my clients and you have a folder now.

21:46Nicole Schlesinger:So all of like the behind the scenes that we're doing and market research and meeting up, I save in a folder and I get so excited about creating content. I love that. No, that's so good. That's so good. I'm a nerd. I'm like known for this because I've been obsessed with creating content for brands for like over a decade now. And so don't worry from here on out, we are documenting it all. So don't worry about that. Yeah, no, that's so good. I am genuinely so excited for you and proud of you. And thank you for bringing me on behind the scenes. I think that you're onto something really cool here.

22:25Nicole Schlesinger:And again, by the time people listen to it, they could go and shop your product. The first drop, there's not, it's a limited drop. So I If you're hearing this. So where can people now shop the product? Yeah. So, well, February 1st, we will be launching our website. We are in last minute market in Montclair, New Jersey. Which is so cute. Yeah, it is really, really cute. I'm obsessed. We are going to be in pop-up grocer from April to July, which is really exciting. And we have some retailers in gourmet markets that we are in contact with now that we are hoping they will carry our product. I've been going to every store and people are absolutely loving it.

23:15They're finishing the bag. They're like, this is absolutely amazing. So it's going to be really exciting. And it's happening.

23:22Nicole Schlesinger:We will be all over. Amazing. Well, I will link it here in the show notes and on my shop, my store. And just congratulations, Nicole. I'm so proud of you. I'm cheering you on each step of the way. Thank you so much. You're so welcome. Thank you everyone for listening. Go shop Strip Jerky and I'll see you on the next episode. 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.

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