Erewhon Delivers The Heat. Landmark Lawsuits & 7-Eleven Sandos.

0:10Hello, dear friends, and thanks for tuning in to Taste Radio, the number one podcast for anyone building a business in food or beverage. I'm Ray Lateef, the editor and producer of Taste Radio. And with my co-host for this episode, John Craven, Jackie Brugliera, and Mike Schneider. Marina Del Rey, MDR, here we are. You're all riled up now. I love it. You're in full events excitement mode. Hello, dear friends. That's every day. I don't know. I wasn't sure if it was more intense because I was in person. We get a 10 every day. and then somehow you're like spinal tap. You just turn it up to 11. I think it was because he had a nice helicopter ride into the roof.

0:50Oh, yeah, right, right, right. He took the Bev chopper. Yes. I feel like a VIP. Well, luckily my chopper didn't slide off the runway like I did this morning. Oh, my God, you guys. Don't bring it up. That's three bad flights in a row. The one from London caught on fire. I had that really rickety landing coming back. And then, yeah, and then my plane this morning had an aborted takeoff, skidded off the runway because the engine failed. That's no good. But we're here in California. You made it. In Southern California. We're here in L.A. More specifically, as I mentioned, Marina Del Rey. And we're recording this right before Nosh Live begins.

1:26But when you're listening to this, Nosh Live will be in full swing. And I know the question that everyone has to ask the four of us is, did Mikey get that selfie with Khloe Kardashian? And I called you Mikey. I don't know why I called you Mikey. I don't know. Yeah, Mikey. Who's Mikey? Aunt Sue, is that you? Aunt Sue. No, I assume you're going to try to get one, no? Oh, yeah. Of course. Security's been briefed. Really? How many bodyguards is she supposed to have with her? At least 12. No, I have no idea. Dozen? Okay, that sounds about right. I mean, whatever an appropriate amount of security is.

2:00Say 20. For someone to first touch her. Is she using the helipad? That's my question. I'm going to get a selfie with Jing. That's who I want to get a selfie with. Yes, okay. Jing Gao, the founder and CEO of FlyPyJing. Khloe Kardashian, the founder of a brand called Cloud. K-L-O-U-D. K-H. I'm sorry, K-H. I forgot there's a K-H there. Like Khloe. Like Khloe, yes. Which is a brand of protein popcorn we've talked about on the podcast. And she's going to be up on stage with the CEO of the company. That's Jeff Rubenstein. Or maybe she's already been on stage considering everyone's listening to this.

2:30Oh, my God. We're talking about timelines. Yes. Timelines and travel and whatnot. The multiverse. Okay. Fake mic, running mic. Well, if you're listening to this and you're at Nosh Live, it was great to see you. Thanks so much for coming out. If you're thinking about coming out to BrewBound or BevNet Live, BevNet Live is beginning on Sunday. Sunday the 7th. BrewBound Live happening on the 10th and 11th. To be more specific, BevNet's happening the 7th through the 9th of December. So if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, we've been screaming at you for weeks on end. Now is the time to do it, especially if you're based in California.

3:03It's just a short drive away. and it is the most action-packed BevNet Live of all time and the biggest BrewBound Live of all time. So, and all these people that are going, you're going to be like, I should have gone. I should have been there. Just sign up. Just register. You don't have to worry about that. It's a short drive away. If you live in California. For me. I mean, we should ask Joe. Who's our audio engineer. How his drive was down from Sacramento. Did you drive from Sacramento? It was just a short drive. It was a$10. I mean, how was your drive? It was a$10 Uber. Alex Wright, Joe Ben, just drive on over from London.

3:38You know what I'm talking about. I mean, it's an easier trip for most folks if you're living anywhere between Central and Southern California than it is for, to say, come from Boston. Right? No. All right. Well, then just don't come to DevNet Live or BrewBound Live. There is a chance that you live 10 miles away and it takes you two hours to get here. That's true. What if I live in Eureka, Ray? Eureka? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know where that is. I remember there was a show called Just the Ten of Us. Do you remember that show? It was like late 80s. It was about this guy. It was on what channel?

4:11Unfortunately, ABC or CBS? No, no, what channel number? I don't know. Just trying to show your age. Anyway, what channel number? Because the old guy on the podcast. Please. It's on Netflix. It's a brand new show. Anywho, one of our speakers at BevNet Live is going to be Bill Creelman, who's the founder, former CEO, because he sold the company, of Spindrift. Everyone loves Spindrift. The brand of sparkling waters made with real fruit, real fruit purees. Real yuzu's? Yes. This is their yuzu mandarin variety that I have in my hand. I may or may not have stolen this from the sample room. And my goodness, it's so good.

4:43You guys should have had one. You look like you're very thirsty, the three of you. Oh, you should see what I've been drinking. I'll share it shortly. Yes, you should. Prebiotic Pepsi? No, I believe it's a very special beverage sold at the world-famous, now world famous, Erewhon. Yeah, it's bone broth based hot chocolate. Yes. We should mention what brand it is. Yes, of course. I'm going to mention what brand it is. You've been to Erewhon already? Yeah. You know, I've been to Erewhon like five times. Maybe Juiceta. Straight from the airport. Straight from the airport, yeah. Oh my gosh. No, I went to Erewhon.

5:18It was a surgical sort of mission. Not to get this. This got delivered. I'm sliding off runways and I haven't even had my germ warfare shot yet. I was going to buy you one. They did not have it. Oh man. Did they have it? Are they out? What are we going to do? Jackie, we got it. We got to go get the German warfare. The shot selection looked a little small. Maybe they're paramount. I'm not going to survive. I'm going to have to go to Santa Monica. But I did get some good stuff. Well, I'm excited to jump into that stuff, or at least dive into the stuff. Not really jump into your gross. Dive into the bone broth?

5:44You want some bone broth now? Yeah, I do. And the brand of bone broth, since you mentioned it, John, it's a good thing you mentioned it. It's called Fond Regenerative. So, oh, look at that. It's like brown bags. Why isn't it cold sack? It's in a cold sack. It's literally brown bags. The bag says, made especially for carrying frozen foods and cold products. I assume that also extends to hot products. Hold on. So you order it like a coffee. Okay. Just to be clear, a PR company for said bone broth company. Fond regenerative? Yes, thanks. Arranged for this delivery. I would not be one to... I can smell the aromas.

6:25Door dash air one to my hotel. especially when I'd just been to Erwan like an hour before. But tomorrow I'll probably door dash from Erwan. Well, shout out to Holly Corrales who is the wonderful public relations executive who made this all happen. Yeah, this is the first time I've had anything from Erwan delivered. And oh, oh, oh, the laptop. No, I'm just kidding. Right over the laptop. There he goes. It smells better than I was expecting. Yeah, I mean, I already had a cup of this a little earlier and I'm going back for more. All right, Jackie. Oh, that's a good sign. I forgot. I always forget, Jackie.

6:56The bones. I don't do the bones. No bones. No bones. I got Jackie a vegan product that we can have next. So I never would have expected that I would ever be drinking a hot chocolate made with a bone broth base. But somehow it works. I think chocolate and the sort of gaminess of bone broth work really well together. It's more cacao than it is chocolate. Yeah, it's like a savory. I was thinking before, it almost feels like I'm drinking a drink that was made with a mole sauce. Yes, that is a great shout. It almost tastes like that Mexican chocolate. It does taste like Mexican hot chocolate. It's good quality.

7:36It's not like Swiss Miss. I have a Mexican hot chocolate bar in front of me here. Why don't you have that? You can be in our team here. My first taste of this, I was expecting something different, and now it's growing on me. If you have one of these, wait for your third sip, I think, to judge it. Yeah. Is it spicy? No, it's spiced. No, it's got spiced. Like mole sauce. There's some zest to it. Like that? Like that? It's that level of spice. Well, what Jackie's munching on is from a brand called Unite. And Unite is a maker of protein bars that feature global flavors. The one that you have is your Mexican hot chocolate variety.

8:16And I always loved Unite Foods because I met the founder, Clara Pay, just as the pandemic was hitting in 2020. And she joined us, I believe it was the first episode of Elevator Talk that we did, at least in that format. And it's so great to see how well that brand is doing. We are going to see her. We already saw her timeline at Nosh Live. I mean, she's one of those people you want nice people to win. And if you like nice people, you'll like Clara. Yes. Unite Foods is the name of the brand. It's great stuff. Yeah. Very tasty. I would describe it as better for you, right? Yeah, for sure. I wouldn't describe it as, you know, it's a processed food, as all protein bars are.

9:00But it's a better for you protein bar. It tastes delicious. It tastes delicious. It has, like, good nutrition on the front of the pack. Like, under 200 calories and 10 grams of protein. It says it's made with real almond butter with hints of cinnamon and warm chili. There's baklava and churro. Yeah, I love all the flavors that they have, like global flavors. I don't think the folks who run this government of San Francisco are going to have a problem with that. But they do have a problem with over-processed foods that are produced by, quote-unquote, big food and big beverage companies. They have such a problem that the city attorney filed the first government lawsuit ever.

9:39against makers of ultra-processed foods. They claim that companies like Kraft Heinz and Coca-Cola have knowingly marketed products that put consumers' health at risk. And this has caused a public health crisis, a, quote, public health crisis, that has caused a lot of problems with city residents and created a problem that has cost the city lots of money to treat these people who have many illnesses, debilitating illnesses, as a result of eating over-processed foods. I almost said bad foods, but I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to go there. You know, I think this is... He's going to go there.

10:23He went there. No, I didn't go there. I think this has been a long time coming, especially in this culture where, you know, talk about ultra-processed foods, over-processed foods has been, you know, top of mind in our industry for, I don't know, how many years now? At least two, three years. And there's, you know, two sides to that story. There are some folks who say we need ultra-processed foods to feed our population. There's overblown concern about over-processed foods or ultra-processed foods. Then on the other hand, you know, let's be honest, you can't have Twinkies every day. You know, you shouldn't be eating, call it what it is, hamburgers for lunch every single day.

11:00You You probably shouldn't be drinking every day. You know, I didn't say that. But, you know, I think it's, you know, I'm not surprised by this. I'm not surprised and I'm not endorsing it, but I'm not surprised by it. I'm surprised that a city is filing a lawsuit like that. Well, I think the city feels like they are spending a lot of money to treat people who are getting sick and ill from eating these foods. and they're trying to get some sort of compensation back from the makers of those. No, I mean, it just on the surface seems like using taxpayer money for maybe first of its kind civil litigation is sort of an interesting move right now.

11:42That's all. Perhaps. But I guess I'm, you know, just curious to see how it plays out. Yeah. Sounds like an inexpensive thing. Well, I think more than anything, it's going to be interesting to see if other cities follow suit, other states follow suit. I mean, we've seen state governments take aim at artificial colors and flavors and things like that. So it would make sense that, you know, other municipalities are going to get involved in lawsuits like this as well. How effective they are, that's the big question, especially when they're going up against conglomerates with billions of dollars in revenue every year.

12:16For example, like a Kraft Heinz probably has, what, 500 lawyers working for them, something like that. I mean, it's like the amount of lawyers they have. You might as well just call it a law firm that's inside their company. Also in the news, Costco. Everyone knows what Costco is, right? Should I tell people what Costco is, John? Probably. Probably. Okay. Costco, the warehouse retailer. I just want to be sorry. They have sued the federal government, more specifically the Trump administration, for a refund of the tariffs it has paid on imported goods should the Supreme Court rule them illegal. And this is based on an article in the New York Times.

12:53The complaint, which was filed on Friday, argues that the president misused a 1977 law in his move to implement tariffs on products to more than 100 countries. So this should be interesting to watch as well. I'd say I'm not surprised that Costco is pushing back on this as much as anyone else. I think, you know, we've heard some rumblings among some major retailers about these tariffs and sort of costs they're causing these retailers. And then, of course, the end consumers. But it's Costco who's taking the lead here. I, you know, I've heard day and night that groceries are really, really expensive and continuing to get more expensive.

13:32And so, you know, pushback was inevitable. And I, myself, I do a lot of shopping for my household. and I'm getting to the point right now where I'm like, I can't go to the grocery store and not spend a hundred bucks. And I'm not talking about a lot of stuff. And I'm not talking about stuff that's more than the essentials. No, but I mostly shop at Trader Joe's and I'll be honest, you know, I buy a lot of stuff that's on promotion. I don't really look for, I try not to buy stuff at, you know, regular prices. I really do price shop. I think also at Costco, like things multiply fast. So if like one unit is more expensive and people are buying in bulk, then you're going to see a lot bigger of a jump in prices for the consumer, which might be startling for people when they're used to, you know, other prices.

14:22Absolutely. And, you know, I think Costco is a retailer that a lot of people look to for savings. And if those savings aren't there anymore, then their reputation is probably going to take a hit as well. So continue to follow that story, of course, on Nosh. Remember when I asked you guys if Dubai chocolate has jumped a shark? Oh, yeah. Yes. And then John said famously or maybe infamously what? What do you say? Do you remember? You're absolutely insane and should be committed, right? Joe, was that correct? I don't know. There was a real giggle over there from our eye over there, Joe. That wasn't static.

15:01That wasn't crackle static. That was Joe cackling over there. No, I asked if it has jumped the shark, and you said, no, it's not going to jump the shark until you get some of these big confectionery companies to buy into this. And so, good news. To buy into this? To buy into this, yes. Good news. Hershey. That's my line. The Hershey Company, best known for what? Churros. Yes. No, it's best known for the Churros. Hershey said, a weird chocolate bar and a kind of blackish wrapper? There you go. They. Do they make the Mr. Good Bar? I think they do. Those are pretty tasty. Yeah. Those are made with peanuts, right?

15:37Yeah. Yeah. They are doing a limited run of 10 ,000 pistachio and Kitaya-filled bars through GoPuff as a way to reach Gen Z consumers. So they're getting into the Dubai chocolate thing, but on a very limited basis. Yeah. As a GoPuff consumer. I'm going to buy some. I'm going to have some by the end of the day. Their chief customer officer said it's a way to reach Gen Z consumers. I don't know if you qualify. Close enough. They're going to ask for your birthday. That's okay. Go Puff. They have a very specific thing. It says for millennials and Gen Zers only. You've never followed that edict? Sure.

16:15Okay. Well, you should try to get some of that and let us know how it is. I shall. Yes. Okay. At least it's not something that you can buy yet. Otherwise, it would really have been there and done that. That is the Dubai chocolate phase. Yeah. I went to the mall yesterday and they had a kiosk for Dubai chocolate. It's just too much. All right, we're going to move to goalposts. When we have Dubai chocolate toothpaste, then it's chocolate. Who's going to eat that? You eat toothpaste? You just had chocolate bone broth. When we have Dubai chocolate spindrift, it's over. Yes, I would say so, too. You guys, has anyone here been to Japan?

16:50Yes. You have? Okay. You like the convenience stores over there. I love the convenience stores. The 7-Elevens are top-notch. Okay, top-notch. But what are the convenience stores? They're best known for what? I had sushi. No, egg salad sandwich. Come on. I have TikTok too, bro. Come on. Okay. The egg salad sandwich. Yeah, those are delicious too. Okay. So the egg salad sandwich is having a viral moment right now on social media. And a lot of it has to do with the egg salad sandwiches that are sold in convenience stores. Wait, how did you know about this? I was going to say, you're finally saying that on MySpace, right?

17:23No. No, it's actually Friendster. I'm the last person on Friendster right now. I don't even know what Friendster is. Yeah, exactly. He gets his coverage of social media on the 6 o 'clock news. So lonely. No friends on friends. So I actually was introduced to the amazing egg salad sandwiches from Japan from Anthony Bourdain. I think it was an episode of Parts Unknown. He was visiting Tokyo. And as soon as he got off the plane, he went right to a convenience store. I think it was a 7-Eleven. And he went to a vending machine or maybe it was one of their coolers. And he got this sandwich. He opened it up and he showed it.

17:58It looked so delicious. It looked so fresh. But when Anthony Bourdain explains something, I'd almost rather hear it from him than eat it. He's the best. He, yes, he was the best. R.I.P. Still is. Yes, he is. But anyway, 7-Eleven announced that they are launching these Tamago Sandoz, as they're known, in 7-Eleven stores across the country. Across the United States, more specifically. And they're made with cupi. You know that cupi pie? Yeah, the mayonnaise. Yes. Is it pronounced cupi? or is it Q-Pie? Close enough. Let's go. I don't know. Q-Pie, you know, the mayonnaise. Yes, the squeezable mayonnaise.

18:35It's got the... Yeah. Anyway. It's so good. And the bread is fluffier. The bread's fluffier and I hope that it's a little bit more... Well, the eggs are a little bit more yolky. Yeah. That's the key to these egg salad sandwiches. They're so simple but so good. Absolutely. The best foods are. Yes. All right. I've said all I can say right now. I know you guys are... You want some more products? Yeah. Because I went to Erewhon. Did we say that already? Yes. You went to Air One. Yeah, I picked out some stuff. This seemed like something Mike was like. I love tempeh chips. Yeah, that does look like something I would love.

19:05And Jackie, too. Yeah. Hot chili tempeh chips. We recently featured Mama May in an episode of Elevator Talk, and they just underwent a really nice rebrand. I know. That's pretty sweet. I have not tried these. These are cool. There's a thrasher on the front. Looks like me. Interesting. Fermented black-eyed peas cooked in coconut water. All right. Less talk and more eating. What is tempeh? Tempeh is kind of like a weird tofu. Yeah, it's like fermented soybeans usually. Well, it says it right on the back, which is what I love. It's like a wheat product, wasn't it? This is another good example of great branding.

19:38These are delicious. That's tempeh? I don't think you're supposed to eat that back. You gave him the freshness wrapper. I think you gave him the freshness wrapper. Okay, so as described in the back here, a tempeh chip, when we think of peas, Plus a description. Small, smitey, protein-packed, nutritious. We think of chips. We think of crunchy, delicious, and indulgent. Combine the two and you have a magical snack that you've been waiting for with magnificent temp-age. There's no one who's ever going to read that because they're just going to be too busy eating. No. There's a lot of people who are going to need to read that because they're going to see the skater on the front and the 14 grams of protein, and they're going to be like, I'm in.

20:16Nice. That's just really good. I think that package is beautiful. In tons of fiber. Yes. Actually, they teased the new package in that episode of Elevator Talk almost unintentionally. The founder had it by her side. And I was like, are you breaking news here? And she goes, oh, yeah, yeah, this is happening. So glad to see it's out there and glad to see that they're carried at Error One. That's so good. It's actually 10 grams of protein, 14 of fiber. Wow, that's awesome. Quick break. If this episode has you thinking about what's next in food and beverage, explore BevNet and Nosh Insider, our subscription platform with deeper insights from the BevNet team.

20:51Visit tasteradio.com slash insider to learn more. All right, what else you got there? Great purchase. Well, here, first I got some doughy. This is like refrigerated. Cookie dough. Plant-based cookie dough that says you can either eat it raw or bake it. Get that in my belly. It's cashew-based. I like the idea of just eating raw cookie dough. Like, why waste time cooking? Exactly. It's better, honestly, raw. Doughy is spelled like you think it's spelled. It's how you can eat that. It looks like cookie dough. Just use one of these to look. Get a little hunk in there. I don't know. D-O-U-G-H-Y. It comes in a pint, like an ice cream pint.

21:28Yeah. How is it? Is it doughy? Tastes like cookie dough. It's great. I was like, do I have a little? It's dense. Mm-hmm. And it's packed. 60 calories per serving? What's a serving? That's pretty awesome. A serving, they say, is one cookie, which is 19 grams. There's 18 servings. Oh, okay. So there's quite a bit in there. Very, very simple ingredients. You can easily take down that hole. Oh, yeah. It's just cashews. You know what else is good? The doughy with a tempeh chip. That's a weird combo. The little spicy aftertastes. I'm loving it. You know what's interesting? You just called these tempeh chips tempeh chips.

22:04You didn't describe them by their brand name. Is that a problem? No, I don't think so. I mean, I think if you know spicy tempeh chips and... Yeah, maybe. I just said they're tempeh chips because that's what they are. But would you... Mamma Mae? Mamma Mae. Yeah, I would remember Mama May. You would. Sure. Just thought to ask. Then I got this kombucha here. Which is called? The brand is? Kombucha Culture. Kombucha Culture. You know, so in Erwan, I bought one beverage. I don't know why I only bought one beverage, but this said it was like the number one kombucha from Costa Rica. Okay. Interesting.

22:37It comes in a black can. Then that is significantly rebranded. Yeah, have you seen that in your travels? Yeah. I'm going to give this one a try. It's a golden hour flavor. This island roots variety is made with turmeric, ginger, lemon, and black pepper. Kombucha culture, the font is very groovy, very 60s inspired. USDA organic. It is. This Golden Hour one is pretty darn tasty. Yeah, 12 ounces. I like that you can rip the label off. They've got a little cut this label off so you can more easily recycle. I really like the font of this label, and I like it. It's kind of fun. The backwards E is cool.

23:09I like how the turmeric, ginger, lemon, black pepper pops out here, If you're going to call something Island Roots, you need to explain what it is. They made some good choices on this label. I like it. It's groovy. Last thing I bought. This was at the checkout. While I was in line, I was standing next to this. I'm like, I've got to buy it. It's a Sonoma Creamery Cheddar Cheese Crisps. That looks terrible. Not cheese. I'll try it. Get in there, Jackie. It's a pouch. It's a pouch filled with cheese crisps. It smells cheesy. As one might expect. It says real cheese. I mean, usually the only ingredient on these is like cheese, basically.

23:50So that's all it is. That's just the one ingredient. When you make mac and cheese, like if you bake it, it's like the crunchies. This one has brown rice and a little quinoa, too. So you pretty much can't make a food product anymore without highlighting the amount of protein that's in there, right? Because like you've got a tempeh chip, which I think most people would look at this and say. A mamame tempeh chip. Mamame tempeh chip, which most people would think. I'm going to eat this just for flavor and for fun, for crunch. But highlighted is the fact that they have 10 grams of protein. On these Sonoma Creamery crisps, another button right on the front, 10 grams of protein.