Austin, Unfiltered. Hot Takes From CPG's OG City.

27:00And I think that's been probably one of my best things that has gotten me to where I am today is really building a strong, reliable team that is bought into our culture and giving them opportunities that they maybe didn't get somewhere else. Well, I can attest to the amazing team that you have because I've been working with your team for the past two months to put this event together. And everyone's been incredible. So shout out to the Torchy's Tacos team. Shout out to Mike Ripka for creating such an incredible business and for being here with us and hosting us here today. Thank you so much, Mike.

27:35You're welcome, my man. Appreciate it, buddy. Good to see you, everybody. Yeah. You can leave your microphone there. Thank you so much. And we'll bring up to the stage the one and only Mr. Stephen Santangelo, who is the founder and president of Matriarch Wealth Management. Stephen, round of applause for this fine gentleman right here. How are you? Great, man. Great to be here. Good to see you again. I like being in warm places with you. We first sat down in Miami, and now we're here in Austin, and maybe we can be, I don't know, LA next time or something? Yeah, that's why I didn't come to New York.

28:07It was so cold. It was pretty chilly when we did this in New York, yeah. But we did talk about in Miami, we talked about what matriarch wealth management is all about, your broader investment philosophy. But for folks who may have missed that, weren't at our Miami show, tell us about what you do. Yeah, so we are a wealth management firm, first and foremost, but we do a lot with consumer products companies. So my uncle's Mike Rapoli, who embedded vitamin water and body armor. So I've kind of grown up around CPG and the brands. And I've actually worked at Glaceau and then Energy Kitchen, which no one here probably knows because it went out of business.

28:39But, you know, it's kind of been part of our ethos. And I would say 65 % of our clients are in the CPG space in some capacity. Well, that's great to hear. And, you know, if you could tell us a bit about the companies in your portfolio, I mean, I think I know them, And they're incredible. But why did you choose them? Why did you think they were right for Matriarch? Yeah. So aside from the family companies right now, which is Noble and Junkless, we've made investments in Craft Mix and Hope. Craft Mix was an interesting one during the pandemic. Just kind of a powder that you would throw in at home with your vodka, your tequila.

29:14And it sounds pretty basic, but they're doing like six million in sales right now. They're number one on Amazon, QVC. And then Hope Hydration is a way to make free water kind of generate an ad spend. And they have all these coolers. They've done Ultra, F1, Coachella. And they're actually generating$2 million to$3 million in revenue by just making a water fountain that has ads on it. And these two brands, Hope actually just raised a Series A for$80 million. They're doing pretty well. A Series A for$80 million? Yeah,$80 million post-valuation. Pretty crazy for a water fountain company. A wise investment, I would say, for Matriarch then.

29:52For some of the clients, yes. I mean, we got in kind of early. Yeah. Well, talk a bit about how Matriarch supports CPG founders from the wealth management side of what you do. Yeah. So a lot of you guys might do corporate cash management with like a big bank, like a JP Morgan, a Citibank. We do that as well. We found that the rates are somewhat more competitive through Schwab. And we do lending as well for against your cash if you want to make investments. The real value add, I would say, is pre-transaction. So after you've done a series A or B, we're going to go in with you and kind of look at, hey, what does it mean to you if the company were to sell tomorrow for$50 million?

30:27You know, what does this mean for you and your family? We're going to do a lot of the pre-transaction liquidity planning work for you, set up some trust in the states, and really make sure that when you're signing a term sheet in five years for$200,$300 million, you know what it means for you and your family. So it's kind of a multifaceted approach between what we can do for you now and what we're going to hopefully plan for later in the future. Looking ahead, what really excites you most about what Matriarch is doing, specifically in terms of investment and support with founders? Yes, I think it's just that we're a boutique wealth management firm, right?

31:00We're not JP Morgan, where we have hundreds of thousands of employees, right? We have six employees, and you're going to know all six of us when we work with you. And it's a very customized and personalized approach. You know, we're going to know your family, your kids' names, right? We're going to be in the room because at the end of the day, we are structuring their trust and their future. So I think that's the most important thing, working with a firm like us, is it's much more personalized. And we're going to be friends, usually, at the end of the day. Usually. Usually. I mean, there's, you know, some people that we might rub the wrong way, but it's okay.

31:32No, I think that in my interactions with you, Stephen, I totally feel that because you're really approachable. You have a ton of experience doing what you do. And I feel like if I were a founder, my first phone call in your business would be to Matriarch. So thank you so much for what you do. And thanks for being so friendly and approachable because I think your company is what we need these days. No, always. We appreciate it. If anyone wants to reach out, we'll be here the rest of the day. And then you guys can email me at steven at matriarchwm.com. Thank you so much, Steve. And really appreciate your support as always.

32:02Thank you so much. All right. Let's keep things going with the one and only Bella Hughes, who is the co-founder of a candy brand that might be on your table. It's definitely on this table over here. That candy brand is called Better Sour. And there's Bella right there hugging the one and only Andrea Hernandez from the Snack Shot. I said the Snack Shot, but it's really just Snack Shot. Round of applause for Bella.

32:31Hello. Hello. You and I first met. It's getting a little awkward on here. No, you're good. But holding the candy, because from beverage, I used to be in beverage, how we first met. And you're always sipping your beverage. Seth Goldman told me that now that I'm in candy, I can't like start eating it. So I'm just going to hold it. You could. It might make it difficult to do this conversation though. Good to see you. Yeah, we first met in, I think, was it 2014? It was, I think, 2016 or 17. 2016 or 17. At the time, you were launching a company called Chaka Tea, a better for you tea brand that you have since exited successfully.

33:09Congratulations on that. Thank you. About a year after you exited, you started Better Sour. Talk about your vision for the brand and why candy? Well, I am really lucky. I'm in business with my lifelong best friend. It is my third time as a CPG founder. I actually had a failed ice cream company first that I usually don't talk about. But this is the most fun yet. And for Samira and I, we're daughters of Middle Eastern immigrants. We were born and raised in Hawaii. And to be really honest, we did not like any of the candy in the market. We grew up totally obsessed with sour. And for us, you know, we really wanted the flavors of our heritage, which is everything from the Asia Pacific, like a guava or a calamansi lime.

33:49And then from the Middle East, like a pomegranate or apricot. So really candy for foodies for adventurous eaters. I've always wondered, what is it like to start a candy brand? Because I've seen those little molds that you can make candy at home and maybe you started there. But to launch and scale a candy brand, it doesn't necessarily seem as intuitive as just making it at home and selling it from the kitchen. Well, we definitely tried that and it was an utter failure. You 100 % if you're going to get into confectionery need a food scientist and we wish we had studied food science, not art history, me and law, her.

34:24But we came with the vision. Our candy is really special because it's actually all compound custom flavors. Worked with a CIA, Culinary Institute of America trained chef and a food scientist to get our gummies. How do you come up with new flavors? And you and I and Samira sat down for an interview for Taste Radio a few months back talking about a really special flavor that you created for a really special movie. But where does inspiration come from? And if you could talk about that latest flavor that I mentioned. Yeah. So for us, it really goes back to just, I think, those really evocative personal memories of childhood.

34:57We are totally obsessed with food. We are home chefs. Our favorite thing is to back home in Hawaii, we both have small family farms spending time there. And it's all from memory. So very much nostalgia, but in a form factor that is posting double digit growth and then specific to gummy candy, actually sours are driving 69 % of all the growth. So it's really nice when something that's deeply personal and really, really important, like finally at age 38, we can say we love candy actually matches up with like a total white space and a fast growing category. Yeah. And I mean, I love candy probably more than I should.

35:37And my dentist loves me for all the candy I eat. But Better Sour is really well known for being a better for you candy brand as well. When I think about who the brand is for, though, it's not necessarily for kids. Kids can eat it for sure. But who is your ideal consumer? Oh, it's totally, you know, first and foremost for, I know it sounds a little cringy saying foodies, but it's for people that love to eat, you know, that like raise your hand if you take an hour and a half to go grocery shopping and you know the restaurant that's going to get the James Beard nomination before it does, because that's who this candy is for.

36:09And then I am a mom, Samira's a mom. It is really nice that our kids enjoy it too. I think like probably millennial and Gen Z's, they're over indexing when it comes to gummy candy consumption, a lot of those folks are having children. So it is very rewarding that the kids like it too. And our special flavor that came out last fall is a passion fruit flavor to get back to Ray's OG question. And we were lucky enough to collaborate with Disney on Moana 2, which being born and raised in Hawaii and a woman owned business just had a lot of resonance for us. And it's my daughter's favorite movie. So I was a cool mom.

36:41I was going to say, well, tell us all about that collaboration with Disney, but we already did that. We already did that interview. So I would highly recommend folks listening, go to tasteradio.com, look up Better Sour, and you'll find that interview, which is really revealing and a really awesome opportunity to be behind the scenes on brand collaborations with Disney. Thank you. I mean, went to about 20 % more sour this year. So if you're lucky enough to see the little bag without the zipper, because we're reducing our plastic consumption, shameless sales lady here. So I brought a handful of these.

37:17they're a little more sour. Outstanding. Can I ask you one more thing? Sure. We first met at a BevNet Live event in 2016, 2017. I did not win. I was just a mere finalist. Well, what Belle is talking about is a pitch slam competition that we hold called the New Beverage Showdown. But good things can happen to you if you don't win. That's what the message is here. And I think the message is go to BevNet Live because you can meet a lot of people there. And you can become friends with Ray. Like almost 10. Exactly. But our BevNet Live event in New York City is coming up June 11th and 12th. It is going to be our biggest New York City event yet.

37:52I'm really excited for it. And if you were still running a beverage company, I'd be like, yes. But we have other events coming up too. You have Nosh as well in December, right? It is coming up. All of our events, you can see on this little banner over here in the corner, coming up. If you are in any one of those industries, you should definitely attend one of those events. I learned about the industry. I'm a former contemporary art curator by reading publications like yours. And coming to events like WebNet Live. 100%. Did you see how I put those words in your mouth? You just did it. And now I obviously also read Snackshot because this did not exist.

38:25Andrea, shout out to you when I got started. Now she's hiding her face. She's coming up soon as well. Bella, you're the best. Thank you so much for everything. It's a friendly industry. Thanks for bringing all this candy. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Aloha. Bye. Aloha. Thanks. You can leave the microphone there because we're going to bring up our next guest. That's Andrea Hernandez, who is always busy. She's texting right now because people are texting her and saying, Andrea, can you try my product? Tell me what I'm doing right. Tell me what I'm doing wrong. The founder of Snackshot, Andrea Hernandez.

38:52A round of applause. How are you? I'm good. Yeah. This is our first time sitting down for a conversation since we were in the frozen tundra of New York City, speaking of cold places. Remember we were outside in that hotel lobby or whatever it was? Yeah, it was really weird. but also like I love the hot weather. In my past life, I was probably like an iguana or something. Well, you know, I think I might have been an iguana past life as well because I love it out here. People always ask, you know, what do you like more, the heat or the cold? Heat. Yes. Hands up, heat or cold? Yes. Hell yeah. Okay, cool.

39:29You see? My people. Andrea basically just took over the interview. That's why she's so awesome. And I love Snackshot. I mean, when Snackshot came out, it was the most original, groundbreaking, working, differentiated. I don't want to call it a media company, but you know what I'm talking about. How would you describe Snack Chat and what it is? I would say it's, yeah, it is a media publication, but we're also like a cult that worships sexy pantry items and sultry snacks. So you find yourself in those interests, then this newsletter is for you. And we're also kind of like anti-industry because I'm not going to lie and no hate, love John.

40:06John, I love you. You know this. John who? But sometimes John Craven. John Craven, our founder and CEO? Yeah, but you know, like, sometimes industry shit is so boring. You kind of want it to be like, what the fuck are you talking about? So that's where I came in. Well, you know, we used to be a family show until just now, but... Oh, shit. I'm okay. Well done. Oh, crap. No, it's okay. Sorry for the kids in the audience. No, but one of the things that's been so amazing about SnackShot is you've been ahead of the curve on so many levels. You know, trends that started out as really nascent and niche-y, you saw as having huge potential, or at least potential to be broad and generally accepted trends.

40:52How do you evaluate things that are new and exciting on the market? I think the difference between what I do and, like, most industry publications, like, I'd include the consumer. I think that's like one of the biggest things that's like outside of this equation that I'm always so baffled by. It's like, wait, you're not actually talking to the people who are buying this product to talk about it. And I think that's the difference between me and every other publication is that I do have kind of like an able to talk to just like regular people. I have a really young audience that I'm very I'm always having to come at as a millennial.

41:26They're like bestie. And I'm like, no, guys, I'm like in my 30s. but I do think that that's one thing that I want to always like bring about like you have to talk to the people you can't be saying like oh my god guys the future is protein whatever like let me see your kidney blood work you're trying to tell me that 50 grams per bar is good but like is it really healthy and I think kind of being a buffer of bullshit is what's really needed Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. And the number of food and beverage conglomerates that have asked you to comment on what they're doing and being able to call out on that BS.

42:06I'm not going to say the word because it's a family show, but call them out on their products that may not align with consumer trends and may are just made up in some R &D lab. No offense to R &D labs, but sometimes they get the product right and the marketing wrong or the other way around. Yeah, stop making products that people don't want, okay? Please. Like, you know what? Hot topic, hot take. Aluminium can tariffs are not high enough, okay? The moment that we have toilet water being promoted, let them be higher. I'm just saying. Like, there's some things that shouldn't be put out there. Okay.

42:41Do we already have toilet water in cans? Yeah, there's a brand that's calling Flusher Thirst. What? Toilet water. The moment that I start to see the... But I'm not making this up. You can Google it. John Craven, do you know about this? I have not heard about this yet. The moment that you start to see those brands out there, they're just like trying to be a liquid death of sorts. It's like, you know what? I agree. The tariffs are not high enough. All right. So you've often talked about vibe shifts. That's your term, vibe shifts. What is something that brands still don't get about building genuine connections with consumers?

43:11Yeah, I think, again, it's like when you're trying to build stuff that people don't really need or trying to force a narrative. so like your your brand you're three years old you're raising 50 million dollars at a hundred something million dollar valuation for what so that you can push your narrative on something that's like basically a vc subsidized brand and not necessarily something that has product market fit i feel like those stuff a lot of people don't want to like bring it about but i think that especially younger generations can kind of parse through and be like well this is kind of weird this kind of audit out of like when a lot of the prebiotic sodas came about a lot of people were like oh is this a psyop like why is this all of a sudden everywhere and I think there's people that can the new generations in particular can kind of sniff out the bs there are some stuff like obviously the crunchy teens and the maha stuff like that is kind of a vibe shift that I saw coming and I wrote about before even the election was won.

44:18And I think that these are things that you just kind of like social signalers. And one of the things that Snackshot does is that I do try to deep dive into the cultural convergences of what helps end up in the grocery aisle. So I have like a thousand more questions, but we only have a little bit of time. I'm going to ask this last one and we've got to be a little brief here. A brand that you think is quietly doing everything right i love fly by dings i love fly by dings i think that like another brand backends or badgins i'm not sure how you pronounce it but those brands that are like quietly like fucking crushing it and like they are trying to make they took something that was niche appealed to the mainstreams went into like alt grocer like i remember when i like learned about backends going into Ace Hardware.

45:04And they were like, oh, you know, we're complementary to barbecue stuff. I was like, well, that's fucking genius. Like, I'm assuming the margins are a lot more better than grocery stores. But stuff like that, I feel like those brands are doing really well. I think without adding all the fuzziness and the bullshit and like, oh, we're going to, you know, give you a fucking enlightenment experience with this$7 seltzer. Like, I think those kinds of brands I'm bullish on. Well, I feel like when I introduced you to the stage, we should have had, you know that when Stone Cold Steve Austin comes to the stage and like, it's like a sound of a brick going through a windshield.

45:41That's what we should have had you walk up to. Oh my God, I'm so sorry. No, why are you so sorry? I mean, like you're giving truth, authenticity, and I think love. I think honestly, I really do believe. I care. I care about this industry. I feel like food and beverage is like the cornerstone of the most human experience. and the fact that, you know, we either have to choose in between having either expensive ass, like yassified pantry shit or, you know, fucking skittle water. It's conversations to be had. There are conversations to be had and more to come. Obviously, if you haven't met Andrea, you should go and seek her out and talk to her because she's going to give it to you straight as she just did.

46:25Thank you so much, Andrea. Thank you. Snack Shot. If you're not already reading it, read Snack Shot. Thank you so much. I'll take this. No, you're the best. You don't have to apologize for anything. That's why I invited you. All right. Last but certainly not least, this is one of my favorite companies based here in Texas. That's SKU. And the CMO, Michelle Breyer, is going to be our next guest. Thank you so much for being here. I just told her she'd be a great keynote speaker for us. Yeah. Yeah, I would say so. And it's really hard to follow her because, like, what am I going to say? Well, look, SKU, as I mentioned, is one of the most impactful companies in this area.

47:05You've worked with some of the biggest and best-known brands to come out of Texas. Let's back up. What is SKU? What's the vision for the company? To take brands that have a lot of potential, that are market-validated, but really need the mentorship and the education to take them to the next level. So a company like Siete is a perfect example because they were about 100 ,000 in sales. They had a product that was really unique. And they basically needed some mentors who could tell them or help them figure out their positioning. They rebranded during SKU from Must Be Nutty to Siete. But the product was great and the founders were great.

47:50It's just like, how do we, you know, with the right people, hopefully they can get further along quicker. Yeah. And, you know, that's what an accelerator program is, is accelerating a brand to its next level. You have an application program. Talk about what that entails and how brands go from application to graduation through SKU. So right now we're accepting applications for fall. We'll get about 100 to 150. we go through them looking for a couple of things. Number one, do they have traction? And it doesn't have to be a lot of traction, but have they already proved their concept? Is the product unique?

48:30Is it in a hot category? One of the most important things, do they have a good why? Does the founder have a good reason for why they came up with that product? And the founder is probably the most important thing. You know, like, is this somebody who has a passion? Are they dedicated? When you see those founders, you just know it. They are their brand. So right now we have gotten quite a few good applications. But if you have a brand and you think that SKU could benefit you, please, I encourage you to apply. SKU.IS. SKU.IS. People should write that down if they have pens and pencils. People use pencils anymore?

49:10No. Supposedly they shouldn't. Didn't Trump say that they used too many pencils? Oh, jeez. What is it, like 50 pencils? On to our next question. So SKU runs two cohorts a year. Now, you look for six to eight companies. You talked about the importance of the why. You talked about the importance of the founder. Where do trends fit into your selection process? They're huge. And sometimes a brand will apply where you didn't even know that was a trend. Like we have one in this current cohort, Paola. I don't know if anyone's familiar with it. It's an amazing pizza, frozen pizza company, and they have Asian Neapolitan pizza.

49:51Wow. But the product is just really amazing. But it also kind of taps into a trend of like, you know, international flavors for different things that you wouldn't think would necessarily have a different flavor. Yeah. Some of my favorite brands of today have graduated and gone through the SKU program. Wild Wonder. Oh, yeah. Daily Crunch, Leisure, all these brands are doing quite well. What helped them thrive during their program, during their part of the program, and then after as well? The founders, all of those founders were incredible. Very, very driven. They were coachable. You know, like they're very, very smart, but willing to listen, willing to kind of suck up all the knowledge that the mentors had, especially in areas that they didn't know about.

50:38I think Laurel from Daily Crunch talks about how she got so much help from the e-commerce mentor, and that was a game changer for her. So really being willing to know what you know, know what you don't know, doesn't mean you have to do what the mentors are suggesting, but hopefully you'll be open to listening. But all very, very smart, creative founders. I got to ask you, you mentioned Ciete, and you talked about nurturing that brand. And that brand has connected with consumers on so many different levels. And I think the hardest part is understanding who your customer is and speaking to them in a really clear, authentic way.

51:17And this is something Andrea was chatting about as well. How do you actually give them what they want? How does Q help people identify the right way to approach your target consumer? Again, I think it comes down to having amazing mentors who have done this for, whether they've done it for their own companies or they've done it for companies like General Mills or Coke, they can help them really identify. Many times, like we had a company that went through and they were convinced that their market was millennials. And the research said, no, it's actually moms of kids because this is a product that is really, you know, that's who's going to be buying it.

51:57So, you know, having people who understand how to really look at data and evaluate it and then, you know, be able to use that in a way and be authentic to your brand. I mean, don't try to be someone that you're not. I think Siete did a really, really good job of like staying true to the spirit of their brand. And then, you know, people flock to them. But, you know, even though what they're a billion dollar company now, they haven't lost that kind of special sauce. Amazing. An amazing brand that went through the SKU accelerator program. Siete at$100 ,000 sold to PepsiCo for a billion dollars. Remarkable success story.

52:39And again, it went through, the brand went through SKU. And I can't encourage people enough to reach out to Michelle, talk to her team, skew.is. One last shout out for BevNet Live, summer 2025, June 11th and 12th in New York City. It is going to be the event for the beverage industry. If you have any kind of connection to beverages, it is the place to be. I just want to thank, before we sign off, Michelle, everyone for being here today. This has been such an outstanding event. So great to see so many amazing people. Obviously, we went a little over time with the interviews, but please stick around.

53:15The wonderful folks at Torchy's said that we can stay here for a little bit later. So please continue to have those conversations. Share business cards. Meet us at the BevNet team. Meet all the folks who helped us put this together. Once again, Torchy's Tacos, Matriarch Wealth Management, Sovereign Flavors, Better Sour, Skew, and Golden Key Ingredients. Can't thank our amazing partners enough. Once again, really appreciate everyone being here. Thanks again, and we'll talk soon.

53:48That brings us to the end of this episode of Taste Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Taste Radio is a production of BevNet.com Incorporated. Our audio engineer for Taste Radio is Joe Cratchy. Our technical director is Joshua Pratt. And our video editor is Ryan Galang. Our social marketing manager is Amanda Smirlinski. And our designer is Amanda Huang. Just a reminder, if you like what you hear on Taste Radio, please share the podcast with friends and colleagues. and of course we would love it if you could review us on the apple podcast app or your listening platform of choice check us out on instagram our handle is bevnet taste radio as always for questions comments ideas for future podcasts please send us an email to ask at taste radio.com on behalf of the entire taste radio team thank you for listening and we'll talk to you next time

54:45Thank you.