How To Give Modern Consumers Something 'Better'

0:10Hello 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 I'm with my co-host for this episode, John Craven, Jackie Brugliera, and Mike Schneider, here at the WCB, the West Coast branch of BevNet.com Incorporated. Jackie, thanks for having us. Welcome to my hood. Yes. It's lunchtime here. Is it? It's 1121. This is pretty much lunchtime. Your jet lag, right? For you, it's lunchtime, because you're in here like, what, 6 a.m. every morning? Yeah. So by this time, I'm getting a little munchy.

0:47Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how you do it. I say this. I've said it before. Eight o 'clock for me, I was just like brushing my teeth with coffee this morning just to get myself going. And Jackie, every time we record one of these, she's bright. She's excited. She's engaged. And I'd be like, you should see me five minutes before me in the mirror, giving myself a pep talk. Yeah. I really have to talk to Ray and Mike and John. Oh, here I go. Oh, geez. You got this, Jackie. You got this, Jackie. You got this, Jackie. I have post-it notes on the mirror, you know, with like positive affirmations. I'm good enough.

1:23Smart enough. What's your favorite positive affirmation? Oh, my favorite one is, I would say... I can put my elbow through the teeth of that striker. I know. It's usually something like, you're a great athlete. No, I think that's fair. I think just sometimes the simple is the most effective, right? Yeah. For this, though, I would say, you know, like, you know things sometimes. There you go. Sometimes. I can just see the post-it notes. You know some things sometimes. It's almost like a haiku. Yeah, right? Yeah. The reality is that everyone talks about Jackie in BevNet as a superhero. And that's why Ray's so impressed.

2:06Like, you're, you know, you're really good at doing so many different things. And we just, you know, we love you so much. Thanks.

2:16I'm just impressed that we have all these bowls on the table of instant matzo ball soup and noodles. And somehow Mike has a stain on his hoodie before we even have anything to eat. How'd that happen? You know, I was in the kitchen, Ray. Like I said, we wear a lot of hats around here. Jack and I were in the kitchen preparing the noodles. Noodles were flying. Do you want a Tide pan? This is unprofessional. I'm going to deal with it. It's a podcast. There's video, John. I got so excited by these noodles because we're talking about Fly by Jing, Chili Crips noodles, and Fly by Jing noodles with jong sauce.

2:58So we have them in front of us to try. We're like among the first ever people to try these noodles. I got a little excited. I was just, what, Jackie? And Chili Crisp was flying everywhere. These are brand new. Fly by Jing. has introduced some new instant noodles. They launched on Wednesday, September 25th. According to the company, the brand took Jing's favorite sun-dried, small-batch, bouncy Sichuan noodles, mixed it with Fly-By Jing's spicy, tingly, tangy, spicy sauces, and finished them with a fragrant shallot jam and chives to create an electric flavor combination unlike anything you've ever tasted.

3:39I'm getting the tingles right now on the tongue. Are you electrified? So I think it's pretty accurate. Yeah. Yeah? Is it electrified? We're having the, what are the ones with the jjong sauce called? The ones with the jjong sauce are called jjong sauce noodles. We're having the jjong. Great. Excellent. That's what we're having. We're having the jjong sauce noodles, which are supposed to be the less spicy of the two. And they're. They've got some cake. They've got some cake. Yeah, they do. And they're phenomenal. They've got, I don't know, they've got texture. They have a bite to them. And you can make them in six minutes.

4:09Although, as you know, there might be a sweatshirt casualty. Yeah, I guess I misspoke because they're not really instant noodles. It takes about six minutes. You got to boil some water, cook them for six minutes, then drain. Then you add the seasoning and packets. But that is sort of like instant, right? I mean, the word instant you can use for things that are going to take under 10 minutes. I would say also it comes down to quality. If you're making a quality product in six minutes, I would say that's pretty instant. Yes. Okay, John, while he's chewing, he's going to look at these packets here.

4:34If you're making a product that your grandmother would be proud of in six minutes, you know, So good on you. Full disclosure, we cheated a little bit, at least Mike and Jackie did, in that we didn't have the proper equipment or cookware to make this. So these were made using a microwave. They came out the same way. So we did make them in the microwave with the steaming method where you put a little paper towel over the bowl and try to steam it in the bowl. And we started with hot water. So that works really well. It's not the recommended preparation, but I did use the recommended preparation with the Chili Crisp noodles over the weekend and spot on.

5:12It tastes, you know, just as good that way. I'm not accusing you of anything. They taste good. They're great. Don't worry about it. Why do you got to go BTS and expose us like that? Because that's what people want to hear. People want to hear. He saw the stain and he had to explain. Exactly. Oh, look at this. Jackie with all the puns and isles. Don't usually get to high five, Jackie, on the show. Yes, well done. Try to bring back something useful here. I mean, here we are. Oh, I mean, instant or not, what's nice about these is they've got everything you need, like minus the water, microwave, whatever you're cooking these in.

5:43So not everything. You know, minus the cooking apparatus, a bowl and a spoon and a table and a chair to sit on. Okay, keep going. Yeah. But no, I think this is like a super clever line extension for them. Not that they seem to have any problem moving their chili crisp or, you know, sauces, but But this kind of takes the brand into being a food company. I know they have frozen stuff, but like, you know, with the shelf stable product, which I think is really cool. This seems like something that people will buy a lot of like, it's just super convenient. I mean, geez, I'd much rather eat this than not a huge ramen fan.

6:22So I'm going to say ramen. But I mean, this is like, this is pretty awesome stuff, like super well done. Yeah, you also eat one of them. And it's pretty filling and hearty for, you know, just noodles. I feel like sometimes I eat just instant noodles and I'm like, oh, I could eat another one. Ingredients are good too. There's also, these are pretty high protein content for noodles too. I mean, they're pretty close to the protein content in EMI, which are my favorite ramen noodles right now. Yeah. Well, I think people are going to be reaching for these as well as an EMI, as well as the almsalm noodles.

6:52And it sounds like or feels like there's a growing segment for better for you yet traditional noodles out there and ones that have even a functional component like ME with high protein. So yeah, this is exciting. You know, I just feel like the, you know, the category of modern yet traditional Asian cuisine is just on fire right now. And this just continues, this Fly by Jing Chili Crisp Meadule and its counterpart are just keeping that train going. And in case you have any questions, there's a cool picture of Jing on the back explaining to you, like, these are my favorites. Sun-dried, small-batch, bouncy Sichuan noodles mixed with sweet tangy sauce and finished with dry chives.

7:35Like, there's a really, you know, nice little message on the back that in case there was a question about what's in it, which there isn't. Because if you look at the front, there's a really great picture of the sauce, of the noodles, and you get exactly what's on the package, which you don't always get that. Yeah. According to the company, these are going to be available direct to consumer from flybyjing.com. Interested to see if these actually end up in retailers. Well, these aren't packaged for individual sale. If you look really close, you can see the fine print. It's pretty clear just because the cooking instructions aren't...

8:08Yeah, well, there's no UPC. Right. There's no UPC. The cooking instructors aren't on here. Easy things to fix. Come on. Yeah, well, that's what I'm sure they will. Yeah, but I guess my only critique would be that the brand name is pretty high up on the package. And it would be kind of like if you shrunk it, if you're watching the video right now, you wouldn't know perhaps that it was flat budging, even though it does have a picture of the jar of chili crisp. Now, these are clearly Rev1. They're testing to see what people think. And they're going to make, you know, they're fast when they make changes.

8:36Minor things to fix. I mean, you're also holding that up. And I'm like, damn, I want to eat that. You know? So, I mean, that's a harder thing to fix than just with the logo. Yeah, and FlyBuyJing has such, like, quality fans and a super fan base that they're going to see this launch and they're going to buy so much of it online. Totally. Totally. Build up your tribe. That's how they started. Yeah. Yeah. Create craveable food. It's a win-win strategy for sure. All right, we've got some more instant things on the table. This next one being an instant matzo ball soup. This is the first of its kind.

9:12Here we go. The founder is Sarah Nathan, who is probably familiar to a lot of folks on the podcast. She's joined us as a host or a co-host for a few episodes of our Elevator Talk series. She is a former executive with the Chobani Incubator, the now defunct Chobani Incubator. And she's out on her own as an entrepreneur with Newish, N-O-O-I-S-H, which, as I mentioned, is an instant matzo ball soup. The packaging is great. It comes in this wide cup with a cover. I believe there's three matzo balls per cup. It's presented and positioned as an instant classic. Is it an instant classic, Jackie? It's delicious.

9:52I mean, I think for something that's made in two and a half minutes, I believe, in the microwave, you open it and it's like very fragrant, smells like fresh herbs. And the matzo ball is actually very like tender. What's the word for it? tender tender tender oh wait hold on hold on we say m word on this show hold on hold on tender and moist are two different things wow yes it's both it's both okay both is fine yes uh i don't know john what do you think about this i mean for someone who is a native new yorker you must have had your fair share of matzo ball soup does this hold water yeah i definitely had my share of matzo ball soup.

10:31Yeah, it's pretty solid. I mean, I think it has a kind of homemade taste to it, which is great. I mean, I think similar to what Jackie was saying before around noodles, you know, sometimes there's just like, I don't know, it's kind of like all salt, no substance. This is solid. Awesome. Yeah. I know Sarah's been working on this for a long time, and she's been very excited. There's been a lot of hype about this brand as well. So kudos and congratulations to Sarah for putting this together. Mike, Any last words on the flavor, the moistness, the tenderness? I was going to talk about the broth, which, you know, seems to be an afterthought and things like this.

11:05Clearly not here. I mean, as John uses the word homemade, and that's the word I would use for this too. It tastes really good. And yeah, congrats, Sarah. And thanks for sending along. Yeah. And you know what? I love the branding. I don't know who put this together, but there's a lot on here. There's a lot around this Instant Bowl. But I call it a cup. It's actually a bowl. But it seems like everything that is on here in terms of copy has a use and is useful, including the fill to this line in terms of the amount of water. The fact that there are two other brands that have partnered with Newish on this, including Real Salt, which is called out on the bottom and back of the bowl.

11:47And Burlap and Barrel, a spice maker that Sarah has partnered with for this brand. And yeah, really, really good job. Really great job. Sarah, you know we love you. And congratulations once again on this fantastic brand. Oh, I heard that. Yeah, what was that? Need something to wash it down here. What's that over there? That is. So this is the new Olipop Ridge Rush. Ridge Rush. This is their take on. Anybody? Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew. Ridge Rush. Mountain Dew. Where's Josh? Yeah, I know. I know. Josh needs to taste that. Sprint salt. Does it taste like the real deal? Take a shot of that? Better than the real deal?

12:29I mean, definitely nothing tastes like Mountain Dew. And I mean, to be honest, if it tasted like Mountain Dew, I would really question what Ollipop's doing. But this is pretty solid. I mean, you know, again, they've done a really good job just with their flavors over time. And I feel like each one gets a little better than the last. and this is a good solid like citrus you know with a little bit of bite punch to it right yeah i uh there's there's something in here that i can't put my finger on i'm not sure it's almost like a sage in here which is kind of surprising it's sweeter than i expected but i think that's probably what drinkers of mountain dew want 50 calories per can that's certainly less than Mountain Dew people want.

13:15Yeah. Just a little bit. Yeah. Much lighter body than Mountain Dew. So this is brand new from Olipop. If you haven't had an opportunity, it seems like a lot of people have had this opportunity to listen to our interview with Ben Goodwin and David Lester, the co-founders of Olipop. Do yourself a favor. Go to bevnet.com or tasteradio.com. You will find a link to that podcast interview. I'm going to pat myself on the back on this one. I really, really liked it. It was one of my favorite conversations of the year. And once again, we've gotten a ton of great feedback on it. The title of the podcast episode is From 1 Million to 500 Million in Five Years.

13:57Olipop's explosive growth is no accident. They just tell you how to do it, how to repeat it, right? Yes, they actually give you, and if you listen to it, they will mail you the blueprint. And a check? And a check for$25. That's how they get started. No, they didn't get started with$25. But yeah, it was such a remarkable company. I mean, like everything that they've done, pioneering this low calorie, better for you soda space, this throwback branding, which wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today. The fact that they've taken something that is easy for people to understand and just made it easier for people to enjoy.

14:33Pretty cut and dry. I mean, this is something that John Craven talks about a lot, which is like, what's the big opportunity? You know, what does it take to make a big success and do it without a ton of education? And in fact, in this conversation, Ben said in the interview, if the foundation of your ability to sell your product is tied to educating the consumer, you're pushing a rock uphill. Yep. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's the thing. You know, education is tough. It's expensive. It's hard to change people's perspective on why they should be drinking something or why they shouldn't be drinking something.

15:10It's funny how it seems like it should be easy based on how you just explained, oh, better freeze soda. Everyone should want that. But, you know, in the Olipop interview, they talk about why it's not so easy. No, I mean, it's a super fine line between, you know, education that's just going to go right over somebody's head and telling a story that makes a product seem appealing. And I think sometimes those things get confused or conflated. And that's where, you know, a lot of brands get into that tough sort of spot where, you know, they need to literally get everyone's like focused attention for a couple minutes to explain, I don't know, some ingredient or whatever it might be.

15:47And it's just, yeah. And where do they sit between the really great tasting 30, 40 grams of sugar and everyone's used to zero sugar diet, whatever? And I think, you know, Ben and David talked a lot about the importance of the functional benefit, that of their prebiotic fiber, and why they won't walk away from that, even though there's been a lot of criticism about its efficacious nature or the efficacious nature of the brand. and whether or not, you know, it's something that people are going to associate with the brand going forward, if they're going to reach for the brand because of that fiber benefit or not.

16:31But as they mentioned in the interview, their company's mission and economic outcome will forever be entwined. Yeah, it feels like that's always been a cornerstone of Olipop, just something that they've always leaned forward into and been behind since the beginning. True, true. Is Olipop available in London yet? Are they international? London. Let's find out. How do we find out? We could go to a store in London. We'll have to figure it out. We could go to a store. I feel like this should be a theme song that pops in right now. It's just like raindrops, roses, you know, while we go shopping at a Tesco.

17:07We have to do a reel. Exactly. All right. Raindrops, roses, Tesco. It's happening. There you go. We talked about this and we're still doing it. We're heading to London next month, October 14th to the 18th. The crew will be there. On the 15th, we will be attending Bread and Jam's Cheers Festival, which focuses on the business of beverage, particularly in the UK. Everything from trends, innovation to new products. There's going to be talks at the event. There's going to be sampling. There's going to be a competition. There's going to be all kinds of things. And we're going to be there mixing it up, rubbing elbows, drinking some stuff.

17:41So it's going to be fun. What? I can't wait. I'm excited. I can't wait to rub elbows. I can't wait to rub elbows. Is that what we're doing there? That's what we're doing. I think we're doing more than just that. I'm going to wear a tuxedo today. That's what people wear in London. I hope it means the same thing over there. I hope it's not like fanny pack where there's a definite different meaning. No. Or numpty. Can I rub elbows and just see what happens? No, numpty has the same meaning here as there. Yeah, exactly. Right. So that's the 15th. On the 16th and 17th of October, stay tuned, the Taste Radio crew will be hosting some content in London, the details of which will be announced very shortly, We're just dotting our I's and crossing our T's before we make big announcements about all this.

18:23But we're going to be out in Piccadilly Circus, just, you know, out with the man. Eating, eating. Trying to do some interviews. Eating watermelon, drinking beer. Chip buddies. Just slug and dash in Piccadilly Square. No, we're telling you all this. Picking fights. Yeah, picking fights. Telling you all this because if you are in the London area, we'll be visiting the London area. Please keep those dates open, the 16th and 17th. Fully open. Don't do a damn thing. Plan nothing. Don't even go to work. Don't pick up your kids. Just come find us. Have you hung out with Jackie before? She climbs mountains.

18:55Exactly, exactly. No, in all seriousness, from about 5 p.m. on, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on both days of 16th and 17th, we'll be hosting some content, interviews, networking meetups, drinking some bevs, etc. Eating some snacks. Yeah. So once again, keep those dates open if you can. And we'd love to see you in the U.K. I would also love to see you at NOSH Live winter 2024 in the wonderful city of Marina del Rey. That is happening on what day? December 5th and 6th. I was about to ask Jackie. I saw the cold sweat. I was like, ah! I saw the radiating heat. I know the dates. I know the dates. Yes, no. The 5th and 6th.

19:41And we just announced a new speaker at NOSH Live winter 2024. That's Brad Sharon, who is the CEO of Aloha. Aloha. Yes. Aloha, a maker of Better For You plant-based nutrition. They make bars, they make protein powders, they make smoothies or at least protein drinks. It's a fantastic company. Aloha was founded many years ago. It was a distressed company. When Brad came in, he turned it into a machine, a well-oiled one at that. and he's going to be talking about being a re-founder of the company of Aloha. It's going to be really exciting. But we've had Brad on the podcast before. Really, really smart guy.

20:22Went to Harvard Business School. Hockey player. Chill dude. Chill dude. Chill dude. Yeah. If you want to get tickets to NOSH Live Winter 2024, now's the time to do so. Why, Jackie? Because it's early registration. And you can? And you can save and you can sign up also for some additional opportunities at the event, including sampling. We have the discounted room block and we are about to open signups for our one-to-one retailer meetings. Look at that. You can save three digits of money. Does people say three digits? I don't know if they can. No. No, it doesn't sound cool. Three figures. Yeah. I don't say that either.

21:02Okay. Well, you can save money. Lots of money. You can definitely save money. Yeah. Money. That's what matters. It's at least two reasonably priced dinners that you will save. Yes. Or low price in your case. Yes.

21:16You can get early access, as Jackie mentioned, to a lot of stuff that you may not be able to access if you register later down the line. So do it now. Don't wait, especially if you are planning on commenting. Just do it now. Save the money. Get early access to all these wonderful benefits, and you will be happy you did. And Ray, you know what happens after you have a lot of food. What do you need after that? Negroni? Come on, man. A beverage. What? I said that's a beverage. The Grunin's a beverage. I'm trying to make a crappy segue for you. Well, I guess that's Spirit Sunday, right? Wait. All the other stuff.

21:49What's BevNet Live?

21:54Yes, John is correct. BevNet Live will be happening after Nosh Live on December. Who wants to take a crack at this one? Who remembers? 8th through 10th. Yes, Jackie. 8th through the 10th at Marina Del Rey. It is going to be the event that you can't miss. if you're in the beverage industry and perhaps even beyond. I mean, you can learn a lot about how to do good business and consumer brands by attending BevNet Live. There's going to be so many folks there. There's going to be investors, distributors, retailers, consultants. Everyone that you want to meet in this business is going to be at BevNet Live winter 2024.

22:29We'll also have the new beverage showdown as always. I'm very excited to get back on stage. I don't know why I was doing that. I was kind of like... You're always running around on stage. I was kind of like... That's you walking up stage. That's me getting on stage. Anyone ever speedwalk here? Ray's pumping his fist. He says, oh, I'm going on stage. You can picture it. You know what he's doing. We should not do that anymore. By the way, you can also picture your brand if you have an RTD Spirits brand. That is a canned cocktail brand for our cocktail showdown, which is also happening at BevNet Live on Sunday, December 8th.

22:57Very excited for that as well. And of course, we have one-to-ones. And Nautish Live will have one-to-ones at BevNet Live. You can meet with the leading retail buyers at the leading retailers in the United States, including one of the biggest ones that we know, Whole Foods. Yes. I mean, come on. That's pretty awesome. We also really stepped it up in terms of technical content over the past few years. We're going to have great workshops. I mean, if you have a question that needs to be answered, something that's keeping you up at night, bring three, bring four, bring five. You're going to be able to get all those questions answered.