David's Decadent Bet, AI Discovery & Austin's Top Operators

31:56So the amazing brand build and the online community that was Bloom, we recognized a special talent within not only the founders and Greg and Mario, but the entire team. And it was that opportunity then to bring that into NutriBolt and leverage our strengths to be where we are today. But really, we think we're just at the beginning of what that is, right? You know, last week in Mulo Plus for the energy side of the portfolio, it had a 2.5 share in only 16 months. With PUP, you know, within less than a year to be able to achieve double-digit share within the Better For You Soda space, we really feel like we're leveraging that retail expertise in partnership with the marketing components of which Bloom has built.

32:44Then how do we continue to bring that to life holistically across all natural brands, what they are today and the future? And we're going to be talking about the brand and marketing strategy of Bloom with Erica Tam momentarily. She's right over there taking some fantastic video. Just get my good side, please. Energy and wellness, very competitive right now, intensely competitive. But where are you getting the most return on spend right now? And where are you becoming more disciplined between the two? I feel like if our CMO is somewhere, that's a question where they're like, don't answer, don't give the secrets out.

33:13I see someone pointing at them right over there. There you go. I think, yes, we look to our guts and our experiences, but we're very diligent with our marketing mix analysis and constantly through ruthless prioritization, looking at our investments, byproduct or portfolio, and understanding the TAM and the consumer opportunity within each, measuring those returns and not only considering it a byproduct, but those individual investments byproduct. And again, what they do for the entire portfolio, both fueling velocity and our household penetration, that's going to allow us not only to support today, but the next steps that we want to take.

33:47We have a lot of founders in the audience right now, and I'm so happy to see all of you because you are changing. There you go. You are changing the face of food and beverage as we speak. Resources are important for sure. I mean, NutriBolt has quite a bit of resources, but I'm assuming you do think like an entrepreneur. You have to think like an early stage founder and be nimble as often as some of these folks do as well. What's one piece of advice that you would have for them in terms of how to remain nimble with resources or without? I mean, it's interesting, as you say, we have a lot of resources.

34:17We do. But I would hope that our organization continually is the thing lean and scrappy, right? That we're always saying, geez, I wish I just had a little bit more. Because then if we're doing that, we're challenging ourselves to invest in a very responsible fashion. So I would challenge all founders and small business owners, how can you just wear many hats, find another scrappy way to do it, not lean on the luxuries of investment and over-investing in certain resources? At one time, C4 was not known for energy. At one point, Bloom was not really known for beverages. And look where the brands are right now.

34:52I think hard work, discipline, hustle, and a thoughtful strategy go a long way. Yeah, and all that ladders back to the consumer, right? Understanding your consumer and what they are going to be interested for your brand next, what need that might meet, and how you're positioning yourself to be able to deliver that product to them. Jason, I really can't thank you enough for joining me today. Thank you so much. Thanks for sharing and opening up your home to us. Really appreciate the time. Thank you. Thanks, Ray. Thanks, team. All right. That was Jason Cantelli. I'll take your microphone. Oh, right on brand, sipping the C4.

35:22Love it. Love to see it. All right. I want to bring up now one of the most special people in the food and beverage industry. She has been a friend for a long time, and she is someone you should definitely get to know and meet. Her name is Megan Kelleher. She is the founder and CEO of Corner Market Communications. How are you? I'm so good. What is Corner Market Communications? Corner Market Communications is a marketing agency just exclusively for CPG food and beverage. We have grown up with the industry over the last nine years, and we do everything related to storytelling. So traditional PR influencer events.

35:55We even shot our own commercials last year for clients. So we've taken storytelling to a different level. So I got to tell you, you know, PR is one of the most overlooked parts of this industry. And I feel like it's changed so dramatically over the years. Modern PR is not your dad's PR. And a lot of people still think that way. But you've got to keep up with changing times and changing trends. I wonder in your eyes, what does modern PR look like? And, you know, how should founders rethink the role of PR when they are growing their businesses? Yeah, I think the interesting thing is, is that if you've been in the industry, it's always been ever changing.

36:27When I started 20 years ago, MomBlogs had just come out on the network and everybody wanted to build their own networks of MomBlogs. And now that's Influencer. Now that's Substacks. For modern PR, I think it's no longer the platinum chip publications. Like, yes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, they really do matter. But it's really about... That's our come. Yes. But what I was going to say is that being able to tell the story in the right channel to the right audience for the right goal, I think that's the pivotal moment for PR these days is that sometimes telling it in a sub stack is the way to reach the right consumer.

37:00For us, I can say this because I've worked with you for years, is that putting our founders onto Taste Radio usually gives a byproduct of a retailer call or a partnership call. It actually has a really good byproduct result. And so it's not about the spray and pray that everybody talks about in PR. It's what channel is actually going to complete the goal you're looking for and being very, very specific in the goal that you're trying to accomplish. Because without that, you're just going to hit open funnels and not know exactly what you're looking for. You know, there's communication within communication.

37:30Yes. And I think a lot of folks who are starting out say, well, I'm going to hire a PR company and it's just very much a transactional service. But how do you build an effective relationship with your PR team? How do you build a relationship that really yields the results that you want to see out of your strategy? I think one of the best things that you can do is really form a partnership. At the end of the day, it's about being partners in the business. Invite them to the table. Explain the goals. Explain the challenges. Don't let the PR be in a funnel where you hand them something that you want them to do.

38:01Let them weigh in. They're strategists that know the world. They execute it on a daily basis. They're going to come with a perspective that you hired them for. So make sure that you're actually listening to it and you invite them to the table One of the best examples i've had in my career You just had him on this week is mike messersmith who came from oatly and is now at lasso I was brought in as employee number seven as a consultant and they treated me as a full-time teammate And so I was well aware of oatly's strategy when they were in coffee shops and where they were trying to go Saw them all the way through their ipo But that's been our partnership at the end of the day And it was because we knew we could give and take and we both deeply cared about the business I think a lot of the time it's treated as transactional, but I deeply care about the brands I work with.

38:43I want them to succeed and thrive. So invite me to the table, invite my team to the table. We'll bring you the best thinking we can, and then we can work against the goal you're actually looking to achieve. You said a lot there, and I think I want to dive a little bit deeper if I can. If we talk about inviting people in, making people feel like they're part of the team, making people feel like they're part of the family, let's talk about some very practical things. What are, say, three practical things that a founder can do to enhance the relationship with their PR company such that they are telling a better story to the end consumer?

39:12In the beginning days, we do a five-day runway. That's really a part of our model. Sit down and give the insight into the business. Tell us what's actually keeping you up at night. Have that one-to-one relationship with us where you can be honest and transparent about what you're trying to accomplish, what you're struggling with. A lot of the time, we just get handed brand awareness. You want to see brand awareness or we need retail, but it's what retail? Why do you need it? What are you looking for? And so it's not a vague question of what you think we want to hear. It's really getting down to your bottom line business goals and talk to us about those.

39:45And then let's do communication. Let's check in. Let's have regular comms. What I do see a lot in founder led businesses is that you have a million priorities. PR, if you're going to invest in it, you have to be an equal partner. You have to be available. You have to be able to support it and treat it as the priority that we're treating it as. will always work within schedules. But at the end of the day, you want to make sure that there is a level of transparency of, hey, we're all chasing this goal together. We're in it with you. And that makes you feel like an extension of the team. And the best PR agencies and best PR teams you'll ever see are the ones that feel like they're a part of the brand.

40:21And that is a mutual relationship. The founders and the teams, they have to lean in in the transparency and be in it with you. The PR teams need to come back at the same token and be honest about what's going on And hey, this didn't work. Let's pivot. I have some amazing teammates in the back of the room. And one of our big things is that they're on every single call. They're not floating in the background. I'm still on those calls as well. But Annabelle leads all of our calls with all of our teams. And she keeps everybody on track. Grace is our creative gal. And she works her tail off to make sure that every trend that's right for them is put in front of them.

40:56We're extra eyes. But because we know what the goals of the brand are, we can bring those things to them. if they didn't tell me, we would be falling on deaf ears and bringing incorrect recommendations. And the proof is in the pudding. If you're part of the team, you're part of the team that helped sell Lester Evil to Hershey for six, was it 650 million? 750. 750. What's the$100 million? Whatever. So no, but I mean, you're a big part of that. Thank you. For Lester Evil, and they have some samples on the table to go from where they were to where they are now. It's you guys. It's you guys are a big part of that.

41:30So congratulations on that. Like I said, if you haven't had a chance to talk to the Corner Market Communications folks, they've got an incredible table back there. Obviously, Megan was singing the praises of her, I almost called them co-founders. They feel like co-founders. They feel like it to me, so it's okay. You can take that title today. Have a conversation with them. They're incredible people. They're very well-spoken people, as you can see. So I would highly recommend you have that conversation. Megan, thank you so much again for everything you do. I really, really appreciate it. Thank you.

41:54This is an honor, honestly. The honor is mine. Really appreciate it. Thank you you again. Up next, Mark Sagan. Where's Mark? There he is. Come on up. Mark Sagan is the CEO of Next Foods. How are you doing? Good. How are you? I'm doing fantastic. Good to see you. Mark is the CEO of Next Foods, which is a marketer of two incredible brands, Good Belly and Cherubundi. And we're here today to talk a little bit about Good Belly. What is Good Belly? Good Belly is a probiotic beverage. It started almost 20 years ago and really was one of the innovators in probiotic beverage in the juice space. So they've been around for quite a while.

42:30And we now sell in the dairy department. We sell performance shots as well. So we have three or four different ways that we bring basically probiotic beverage to consumers. Gut health is pretty popular these days. You guys were one of the forerunners, good belly that is, of probiotic beverages. And it feels like if you're in that space today, you're probably doing something right. But how do you go from being a legacy pioneering brand in that space to maintaining the level of communication and expectations that people have for probiotic beverages? That's a great question. And I was hoping I might get the answer here talking to some people today.

43:06It's definitely hard to, you know, keep a legacy brand relevant. I think the mistake that a lot of brands make is they confuse their brand with their product. So in the early days, we had a really interesting product that was actually pretty breakthrough. And our opportunity was to build a relationship between the brand and consumers. And what we didn't realize is the product became a little bit old. It wasn't how people were looking for probiotics. They could get it in a million different ways in a million different formats. And we sort of stayed the same. So it got stale, to be honest. And I think what we've realized it really in the last couple of years is that we could reinvent ourselves, lean on the heritage that we do have as a brand.

43:44People do know Good Belly as a great brand that speaks really to the benefit very clearly in a way that most brands don't have a luxury of doing. And so we reinvented the way we talk to consumers on the package, redid all of our packaging, really reengaged with social media and started to have conversations with consumers one-to-one in a way that was new for the brand. And then we looked for new formats. We launched Shots, which sells in the functional beverage set. We also have launched a protein product that brings a new angle, lets us really compete directly with kefir. So if you're looking for a non-dairy kefir alternative that gives you all of the protein, all the probiotics, and sort of that beverage breakfast consumption moment, it's right down the middle for that.

44:26So I think it's finding the right things, but understanding that one win as a product does not define a brand. You have to really cherish that consumer relationship and build it over time. And you have to make sure the consumer knows what you're selling. I mean, that's one of the biggest parts, too. Everyone here knows that you should have good gut health, right? I mean, raise your hand if you think and try to incorporate good gut health into your life, right? But why? Do we know why? And I think that's a big part of your new product line, the wellness shots. You're trying to really focus on the functional benefit and communicate very clearly what that benefit is.

44:59How do you do it effectively, again, and how do you do it with the consideration of where you were and where you are today? Yeah. So, I mean, I think the science on the gut-brain connection is really new since we even started with probiotics. I think in its early inception, Good Belly was thinking about gut health in terms of really digestion, right? But I think what's emerged over the last 20 years is there's this great connectivity to the way your brain processes if your gut is healthy. It drives everything. So it's kind of a scientific conversation you have to have, which is hard to do in simple terms.

45:33But I think where we're finding success is looking for influencers who speak to a lot of folks that can speak with authority. We're investing a great deal in our science so that we can work with really thought leaders in this space. I'm going to a conference next week, which is the ASPDA, but it is the Dietitians for Professional Sports Teams. It's actually a small group of people, but they put the products in the hands of every major athlete in the country. We sell our products, Cheerabundi and GoodBelly, to pretty much every D1 school in the country now directly because we've focused on the dieticians and we've built relationships with them so that they know that our products are effective and we provide them with the science behind that that allows them to be certain that if they're going to get an athlete, top-tier athlete, to consume something, they want to make sure that it drives performance.

46:23Now, GoodBelly is 20 years old. But as I asked Jason earlier, even if you're 20 years old, you want to think like an entrepreneur. You want to have an entrepreneurial mindset. You want to be efficient with your money. You want to focus on things that are going to get a return in the most efficient way. What are some ways that GoodBelly thinks like an early stage founder, thinks like an entrepreneur? Legacy companies can get into some bad habits, some bad routines. They think things are working that aren't working. and I had to really appeal that back for the team that I have and I have a brilliant small team, but really get them to understand that they not just think like owners, but they had to understand what an owner would bring.

47:01And in my experience, every founder, every good owner very quickly has an owner math. If I sell one case of this, I can spend 10 cents on this, 30 cents on that, 40 cents on that. And that simple owner math, like if you sell a dollar, what's left, every single one of my team members can tell you what that is for every one of our products. And so when they're thinking about what they're investing in, they know that if it creates an extra dollar of revenue, there's going to be something left after that investment. And just really making sure that your team is so acutely focused on the basic financials of your business and trained up.

47:36Because if every one of them think like an owner, you're not going to make a lot of mistakes. Yeah, I love that level of transparency. If everybody knows what it costs to get to a place where you're taking good belly to the next level, if everyone knows if we get to a place where we're spending less or where we're communicating more effectively or we're selling in a new retailer, if we just take that added step as a team together, we win as a team together. But I want to talk about exactly how you do it. And if you talk about, you know, everyone here has heard, oh, well, you've got to execute well, you're going to have the right product mix, you got to innovate correctly, you got to market correctly.

48:12But if there's one thing that really stands out, and you've been doing this for a long time, what is the most important thing that founders and anybody in this business needs to get right. Otherwise, they have no chance of success. Well, it took me a long time to figure out that you could have a great idea. And I focused on those and you could have really good financials and you could focus on those, but you had to have culture is everything. It unlocks innovation. It unlocks team efficiency. So I focus almost all of my time now on culture. And we're really trying to do something that is an entirely team-driven approach.

48:49What I've found when I've been a part of a lot of founder organizations in the past, founders are extraordinarily good at seeing the future that doesn't exist today. And that creates innovation, as you said earlier. But very often they don't see who's gonna be in the future with them. They see themselves in the future and there's a spot for them on the podium, but is there a spot for the people around them? And I think what they need to do is figure out how to bring those people and have them see that vision the way that they do, because if they can, it can really change the way your team taps into the motivation for the company, because founders are perpetual engines.

49:25They bring so much interesting energy to companies. But most places I've been, people are waiting to see what the founder is going to say about everything. And so if you can get them to think like that and bring them along so that they see the vision that the founder sees, I think you have a real chance to win. I wasn't expecting that answer, but that's a fantastic answer. Our motto for every new person coming in is that we want this to be the best job you've ever had and the job you measure everything else against. And that's not really lip service. We want to build what makes you special into the place.

49:57Your quirkiness, your funny jokes, your things. We want all that to come together in an interesting mosaic that builds something really special. And I'm sure you have those people in your company too. We have a few jokesters. So I think you want to bring that reality and that authenticity is something people say all the time. But I think if the team owns authenticity and they're like, what's important to the team is how they interact with each other. They know how they're supposed to operate. They got to think like owners and they got to be curious. Those things for sure. And we only sell products that we would use ourselves, but the team part in the middle is the part that usually gets lost.

50:31And that's where that culture lives. If you can get that right. I think it's an incredible unlock. And I'm really looking forward to what happens here at Next Foods because I think it's going to be something really special. I think you're already doing something really special. I'm so glad that you took the time to be with us today. Mark, thank you so much. Really appreciate the time. Finally, we have the incredible Erica Tam, who is the SVP of brand for Bloom. How's it going? It's going. Thank you so much for having me. Thanks so much for joining us on brand with the t-shirt and the Bloom pop.

51:02Fantastic. Well, it's kind of your job, right? It absolutely is. Got to rep the brand. Exactly. Exactly. Bloom is one of the most incredible brands that I can remember seeing in my 15 years at BevNet. Just the level of love that people have for Bloom, the use that they have for the brand in all aspects of their day. It's just really been incredible to see. And again, you're a big part of that as well. I mentioned to Jason that Bloom really started out as an influencer and digital led brand. But how do you translate products that you see online into something that consumers stick with rather than just try once?

51:40And as we know, if you're on Instagram, you might see an ad for something and you'll be like, I'll give it a shot. But then you never really touch it again. I think it's a couple of things. And first of all, thank you for all the kind words about Bloom. It's been an incredible brand to build. And I know you've seen a lot of great brands in your career, too. I've seen a few. It means a lot. I would say the first thing is to make sure you have a really good product. So when I say a good product, that means having a product that whether it tastes really good or is really efficacious, something that people genuinely like.

52:07Because if you don't have a good product, no matter how much marketing you do and how much you put into the world, people will try it and they won't come back to it. It doesn't matter how great your brand is. So number one, make sure to get that down. And there's a lot of steps to making a really good product. I would say that's the first thing. Number two is make sure you have a story around the brand because every hero needs to have a story around it. If you don't put a story around it, you have no hero. So that means create a great brand, create a design that resonates with your consumer, create something that people really gravitate towards and have a connection to.

52:39Otherwise, the next time a product comes in that looks like your product or tastes like your product, your product's gone. And so is your brand. So I would say number two is make sure you have a very good story. And then finally, making sure you have a really great campaign. And by a campaign, you can have a lot of influencers talk about it. But I would say depending on what your product is, either maybe there's a lot of education that needs to be done for your product. So you really need to make sure to get that out in your messaging. Or it is about showing up in real life and having activations.

53:07I think the best way to really get people to convert and come back is to make sure you have the entire 360 working for you. You have a great brand. You have great messaging. You talk about it online. You're able to taste and be an IRL and also to build a community around it who will really rally behind your product and brand. As I mentioned, you have a can of Bloom Pop in your hand. I feel like I've mentioned this before. Bloom Pop feels like that soda brand for the next generation. I see Gen Alpha kids drinking it all the time. You go into a Target. There's all these 10, 12, 13, 14-year-olds that are all drinking Bloom Pop.

53:41And it's a relatively new product. When did Bloom Pop launch again? About six to seven months ago. 67 months ago. So when you think about a new product, from a marketing perspective, what signals that that product will matter to consumers? How do you pressure test those signals before and after launch? There are a couple things. I would say, number one, do your homework about the product you're about to launch. And Jason Cantelli talked a little bit about this. Make sure you do your marketing analysis, you do your homework, you check the TAM. Is there a viable audience for this product? That would be number one.

54:12And then number two, when you're building it, if you decide, OK, let's go forward with this as you're building it, is your internal team excited about what you're building? At Bloom, we're really fortunate to have a lot of our team. They're actually our consumers, too. Like they really emulate who our audience is. And as we're building it, you know, like whether or not they're excited about it. Like, are they excited about the design, the storytelling, the product to get it out into the world and to really shout it from the rooftop? If they are, that's another checkpoint. And then number three, I would say pressure test it with your community.

54:42There's a lot of things you can do to really understand whether or not your community will like it. So whether that's serving your community, talking to them in real life. So if it's a new flavor, for example, you can ask them what flavors they're looking for. It's very easy. At Bloom, we've built a really big community. We have about 1.5 million followers across our social channels. We have a huge community in different markets who will show up and line up around the door in our activations. But there's an opportunity to have a two-way dialogue. You can ask them about flavors or if it's a new product, do they want it?

55:12Okay, yes, they want it. What do you want in this product? Like, what do you not already have? And you build something that they really love. And then finally, we've also had the opportunity to create some really great activations where we can actually sample unreleased flavors and get their opinions. We did this last year at our, we had a tree shop activation in New York, and it was like a line around the door. There are thousands of consumers who really wanted to be there. And in our activation, there was a lot of things you could do there. It was about bringing wellness into these really delicious treats.

55:42But one of the activations we had within there was a flavor lab. And we had all of these amazing flavors that we created with NutriBoltz Partnership. And it was in the vault. And we brought out six different flavors. We had all these consumers rank them. They were so excited to be in with the brand, to be with, kind of like you're in the kitchen and they're behind the scenes and weighing in and ranking them. We took the number one ranking flavor and we brought it to life. It was our Strawberry Rose Valentine's Day limited edition SKU that sold out within, I think, 72 hours. It was amazing. But it was the perfect timing where we're like, OK, let's do something for Valentine's Day.

56:16We know the girlies love it. Oh, perfect. We have a Strawberry Rose that ranked number one. And there it went into the world. You mentioned Check the Tam. You should trademark that. I feel like it'd be appropriate for you. Yes. Yes. Well done. You do have a really big digital presence. You have a lot of awareness. But what's currently effective for converting that real world, converting real world trials and repetition, especially at retail where you build brands at retail? I mean, if that is, you know, I think a lot of people think modern commerce and modern business happens outside the store, but it really brands are built on shelf at the retail level.

56:51Yes, definitely. I would say it is the entire 360 and making sure that you've dialed all that in front to end, but really making sure you, if you can, have a really good store presence. That kind of starts with the relationship of the buyer, what you pitch. If you're going to put out a product, make sure it's either seasonally relevant or it's something the retailer would really want to carry on shelf at that time. I think there's nothing more powerful than to have something that's really foot stopping. And as you walk by, you see something. When we launched Bloom Pop, we were very fortunate to have secured a display nationwide at Walmart.

57:23And it was a massive pallet. So when you're in the Walmart, you can't help but see it. It was also launched right next to our energy drink that already had an audience. So if you're going to find energy drink, you saw Bloom Pop. But I would say make sure you have the retail presence and also utilize your retail presence, whether you're on shelf or you're on an end cap, you're on a pallet. Utilize your retail presence as your content studio. Send your team in there, create content, yell it through the rooftop, and then send creators in there too. We send our creators and our community into the store and it really helps get the word out.

57:56And we've pretty much created a content machine. I would say every time we launch a new product, we have a really massive community that will run into store and talk about like, oh my God, did Bloom just launch a new Shirley Temple and didn't talk about it? We actually deliberately will not talk about a product three weeks into when it's already rolled out in stores and we let our community find it. And they create all this buzz because who doesn't love a great treasure hunt? They'll find it, they'll create content, they'll talk about it, and then it just trickles all the way through. I love that because my next question, my final question was gonna be about cost-effective ways of marketing.

58:30And if you don't market, if you don't advertise, but you still generate buzz, that seems like a really useful way to not spend money. And I feel like if there are other cost-effective ways of marketing and ways that founders can utilize their resources most effectively without spending a lot of money, without breaking the bank, what would you say those things are? Content would be number one. You know, I think especially as like a new founder, if you're creating a product, people love to be in with the brand and to follow your journey and to cheer you on. So if you're creating a product, whether you're at the manufacturer, if you're in the kitchen, if you're sampling, if you're designing, like capture all that and put that out because that's free.

59:05I mean, you do need to have someone to create that, but generally that doesn't cost that much money. So put that out there too and you don't know who will share it. And the other is to really prioritize your community, show up at some events. There's a lot of local events that are very kind to new founders and new brands. And it's not either it's no fee to play or it's a very small fee, but I would get it out there. It's not just about sampling, but it's really about getting people to talk about it and to share it. So I would start there for sure. And then I would also say influencer, of course, like, you know, there's obviously influencers that cost a lot of money.

59:36But there's also a lot of people who are smaller creators and just want to get free things and talk about things that they love. And they're building their business, too. And if you gift them, you would be surprised at how many people will really share the love on your products. Can we get you to come to BevNet Live and speak for another 30 minutes? Because I feel like we're out of time and we need a lot more time with you, Erica. I would be honored. I would be honored as well. Erica Tam, thank you so much for joining us today. Really, really appreciate it. That brings us to the end of this episode of Taste Radio.

1:00:09Thank 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

1:01:03Thank you.