Is Messi's Mas+ Is Primed For Success? And, How A Retailer's Comeback Got Messy.

0:10Hello and thanks for tuning into 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. Our studio director is now our producer as well, though, right? Amanda Wong? Yeah, Amanda Wong. Yeah, she's taking over for Nate Brescia, who's away. This is July 2nd. The day of our recording is July 2nd, and we're just a couple days away from Independence Day. Is that your fireworks or anything, right? It's illegal in Massachusetts.

0:44You can't have it. Yeah. You can see some really nice fireworks on the Charles River every year. The Boston Pops and the city of Boston get together to produce an amazing fireworks display. The fireworks and the classical music that you're hearing are all working in tandem. It's a nice thing to see. I prefer to stay away from large crowds. What is that called if you're afraid of large crowds? Agoraphobia or something like that? Yeah, we'll go with that. Okay. It's not arachnophobia. It's not arachnophobia. One of the phobias. That's one of the fears. The fighters. Yeah. You guys did well last week.

1:15I wasn't here. I was in Spain. I was in San Sebastian, Spain. It was no radio, according to one listener. Yes. I see what they did there. I did see that. Yeah, it was very nice. No, I had a nice time. Thanks for holding it down. It was a good episode. I totally botched the end and then we left it in. No, it was the best. I specifically in the script, I specifically said we've pre-recorded the ending. I know. I'm just going to read it anyway. I'm just going to go for it anyway, you know, just in case we needed it. He was at a role. You never know. It would make sense, though, because you're the one who was the primary host.

1:48And so your voice should be heard. It would be kind of weird to have my voice at the end. I was just like, take it away, Ray. Yeah. And then you did. I did. He reappeared. So pro, Ray. Yes, I did. I think we've all been to Europe at some point. You haven't been this year. Thanks for rubbing it in. Sorry. John was there and you were in the Londons and the Dublins. Jackie, you were in the Londons and Dublins. Damn it. I'm going to go to London before the end of the year now. No, it's going to happen. You have to plan it. Yeah. So you're not left out anymore. Exactly. So sad. We need a taste radio passport stamp on everyone's passport.

2:24Yeah, on your arm. On your arm. Yeah. The thing about London is I might not come back. Ah, well. You guys will all be happy.

2:33Melissa has filled in well for those who have been away. But the things you miss, the things you miss when you're gone for a week, I saw an interesting press release on Business Wire that was titled Fashion Meets Flavor Heinz, as in Heinz, the ketchup and condiment company, and Kate Spade, which is a fashion company, debut Red Hot Capsule Collection. So they have joined forces to create something that they are describing as condiment couture. and they've created a capsule collection, which I'm going to read from the press release here. Draws inspiration from each brand's signature DNA. Heinz's beloved iconography, an unmistakable ketchup red color, and Kate Spade New York's colorful, iconic, and joyful styles.

3:24Featuring totes, pouches, small leather goods, ready-to-wear tees, footwear, etc., etc., etc. This new line will elevate all of summer's special moments. Now I know what to get my favorite people for their birthdays and holidays later this year. I mean, you missed like a more important bit of Heinz news. What's that? The limited release of what they're calling every sauce. Have you seen that? I have seen that, yes. Yeah, we need to get that. We do need to get that. I don't know. What is it? A dozen sauces in one bottle? Yeah, it's mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup. How does it work? It's just one bottle.

3:55No, it's a bottle. It's like they just mixed a bunch of sauces to make a new sauce. It's like the sauce bottle of requirement. You just, whatever you need, it just pours it right out. I'm hoping for sambal. Come on. We need to get this. Yeah, it actually does not look very appetizing. It looks like a ball of mayo. It probably tastes good. I'm going to stick to Homaya and Oreos for my sambal then. Yeah, there you go. It actually kind of looks like, this is going to sound even more gross, a ball of pink mayo. It's got pinkish hue. So it's Pepto-Bismol also is involved in the collaboration. Yeah.

4:27It looks like Russian dressing, Thousand Island dressing, depending on where you're from. But it's not that orangey. it's more pinkish yeah yeah gross so anyway i'll just call it dressing i'll probably buy a heinz tomato ketchup t-shirt before i buy that i'm just gonna say because this this t-shirt looks pretty legit actually i bet those are expensive though like kate spade is it cheap no i mean i wouldn't know but it does say this is a good point jackie the limited edition collection ranging from 45 to$398 will be available for purchase at select Kate Spade New York stores, department stores, wholesale locations, and online at katespade.com.

5:08They're not paying me. I'm just reading from this. Okay. I mean, I kind of, I get that these big companies are trying to stay relevant and hip and doing the things that the kids love, like the Kate Spade bags. The kids love Kate Spade's bags. I think Kate Spade was the company you were talking about trying to stay relevant. Ooh. Yeah. Actually, interestingly enough, I think that it is kind of weird. Yeah. And that they're both these big, well-known brand names that are kind of on their own stale. No? Yeah, they're trying to be cool again. I mean, I guess a lot of people are wearing branded clothing, you know, or they're wearing like, like I have my oat milk t-shirt.

5:48They're identifying with, with a condiment and ketchup is tried and true. I want a shirt that just says ketchup, just ketchup and block letters. Yeah. And you can make it for like$3, you know? God, am I making, what kind of statement would I be making? I don't want one that says catsup though. Anyway. No, I think. Catsup is for losers. Yeah, catsup is for losers. That's what I want. I would choose mustard. That's like my go-to condiment. Mustard? Yeah. That's pretty good. Do I have to say I would choose mayo? If that's your favorite condiment. Chili crisp. Chili crisp for sambal or chili crunch.

6:23I'll take any of those. Well, here's what I would say about these. Or chai bus. ketchup, Kate Spade combo things. I think it would be better if they paid people to wear a Heinz tomato ketchup t-shirt. I mean, like, why would you be an advertisement for them? It's the new version of like those vehicle wrap scams that are going around. Oh, where do they pay you to wrap your cars? Yeah, but they don't really pay you. They just rip you off. I see. I will say, however, the t-shirt that Heinz and Kate Spade have created Also, it's supposed to be one of those single-serve packets. So it has a tear here perforation on the shoulder.

7:05So you're going to need a new t-shirt every time. Perhaps. Perhaps. Moving along. Moving right along. Another interesting press release that I saw was titled, and I had to click on this, Sausage Company Attempts to Fix the Internet. This is ridiculous. I read through this. Yes. So Johnsonville, which according to this release, is the number one national sausage brand. It's a hell of a moniker, isn't it? I mean, you sell your stuff at like Walmart and Costco. Is attempting to fix the internet. They have a new national campaign called Keep It Juicy. A new effort. There's just so many things wrong with this.

7:42Yes. That will attempt to tilt social media algorithms toward amplifying human kindness and inspiring stories on the internet. Oh my goodness. Hashtag Keep the Internet Juicy officially launched in 2022. Oh no. Oh God. When I think of juicy, I think of like drama. Like what's the tea? I think of booty. Not something that's positive. That's what's going to happen. No. You're going to get a lot of juicy booty. That's what's going to happen. But apparently, I didn't realize this. It officially launched on June 22nd, which is National Positive Media Day. I didn't know that. No one likes that day, obviously.

8:15That's why we have TikTok. And Twitter. Or excuse me, X. Yeah, X, whatever. And we'll run through World Kindness Day, which is on November 13th. there's a new video you guys can watch too it features global basketball superstar janice at the compo did i get that right yeah is he like can i get out of here please soon yeah pretty much oh no i mean he seems to what did he say he loves america because like america just has like just amazing food and things he wouldn't necessarily get in greece because all the food in greece is yeah he's just funny dude yeah anywho i gotta say i probably would not have read this except for the headline.

8:54Headlines are great. Really good headlines. Sausage Company Attempts to Fix the Internet. I mean, that whole press release is just it's like, I don't know, corporate PR gibberish. It is. But the title. The title, sure. Well, the title is good clickbait, I mean, but it's not what you... You guys, Ray is the master of this. Yeah, it sounds like something you would write, Ray. Yeah. Folks, I am being wrongly accused of a clickbaiter. Oh my gosh, Ray, I think your headlines are phenomenal. I do like some of my headlines sometimes. Now, when companies have news, typically they alert the media one way or the other.

9:31Sometimes they'll just send us a note and say, hey, this is going on. Sometimes they write a press release and post that. Sometimes they turn to social media. But sometimes none of those things work very well, especially if you have some unfinished business, some unsettled debts, perhaps, like a certain retailer. That retailer is Boisson. Yeah, they posted the other day that they're, well, they said, I think, allow us to reintroduce ourselves and sort of restated their mission minus the retail stores part of it. To be clear, Boisson, a retailer of non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails. Can you sing that, John?

10:13I don't think I can sing it, But they were getting some hate from vendors and various brands that I think had been or were claiming that they had been left kind of high and dry, no pun intended, by the closure of the retail stores and asking kind of what the company is going to do. And, you know, I feel like we saw a little of this with Foxtrot as well. And I don't know, in the case of Boisson, like, you kind of wonder if it's worth trying to continue forward with that brand name, given that it seems like it's pivoting into some other business of sorts. So, yeah, definitely some not so good social media buzz there.

10:55No. So on their Instagram page, which is boisson.sips, the post that John was referring to says, hey, we're Boisson, and we're here to redefine the way you drink, discover the best non-alcoholic drinks, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And the comment section is brutal. They did respond to some of the comments. Well, the social media person maybe responded. Yes, yes. I mean, there was a comment from a brand called Zero Proof Nation. And actually, I don't know if they're a brand as much as they are. More of a platform. Right, right. And Zero Proof Nation had said, Welcome back. Have you paid brands what they're owed yet?

11:36Have you offered your former shop employees severance compensation? Do you have an explanation for the total S show from earlier this year? Please don't try to take business away from the bottle shop owners who are the heart and soul of this community. Not very promising in terms of what they were hoping for, I guess. It's like people are angry. Yeah, people are angry. People, Boston did respond on social media and they said to expect a more formal update and information coming this week. If there's a specific issue you'd like to discuss in more detail, please send us an email. Maybe they should have done that before they posted this.

12:06Yeah, interesting that they were trying to reintroduce themselves and almost like brush it under the rug. Yeah, I mean, like I was saying, I think, you know, they're pivoting to like a different business model and no offense to Boisson, but I mean, it's not exactly like at this point it has necessarily positive brand equity, you know, might've just been better to start fresh with something new, obviously easier said than done, but still, you know, they'll have to work that out. Just don't say from the makers of Boisson. Yeah. Comes. This feels a lot like Foxtrot. I I mean, Foxtrot came back and then got a lot of hate.

12:44Like, hey, what's your plan? You know. Boisson did less than a year ago receive$5 million in a bridge investment led by Pernod Ricard's venture capital arm. So I wonder how much Pernod is trying to reignite the flames, so to speak, of Boisson versus, you know, just letting the company fold, which I think was the expectation was that Boston would just be no more. Well, the company is already up in flames, so I don't think you can reignite that. I mean, I think it's pouring gas on it, maybe. It's trying to be a distribution company ultimately, right? So like I said, they should have just left that brand equity behind perhaps and started fresh.

13:26Perhaps. But we'll see. Maybe next week we'll talk about their response if there is one. I hope there isn't a direct response to what we're saying. I mean, we only may have part of the story. And so, yeah, I'm sure we'll follow up on that as well. Now, one brand that we recently followed up on is Wet Hydration. Wet Hydration is a brand of, guess what, hydration drinks. They make wellness waters. The founder is Spencer Autschul. I think I met Spencer in 2020 during our Elevator Talk series when no one could meet each other in person or anywhere else. And I really love their brand, really fell in love with it.

14:03But Wet Hydration just announced a$1.5 million financing round and a redesign of their brand. They have a new 12-ounce can that will debut on July 15th. It looks beautiful. We'll include a photo of this in the show notes. But yeah, this to me definitely feels like a vitamin water type of play. Vitamin water vibes to that can design. For sure, for sure. Which is fun. Yes, yes. I mean, I can't recall the last time I saw someone drinking a bottle of vitamin water. Does it exist anymore? I don't know. I'm saying that sarcastically. Of course it exists. It does. But I really can't remember. But I can definitely see someone holding a can of wet hydration.

14:44It looks fantastic. Yeah. Nice, solid upgrade there. Absolutely. It even has the vertical logo, which is Mike's Bain. Turn it this way a little bit. Okay, there you go. Yeah, no, it's looking pretty good. It does have a vitamin water vibe to it. But they're a new CMO, and I were friends in a past life, and just wishing them the best. Hopefully, this has a stamp of approval on it. Is this your, like, Magic the Gathering days? No, not when I was 12, Ray. I don't even want to go there. But anyway, you have the Moss. What is that? This is John I'm referring to, by the way. Thanks, Ray. Thanks for clarifying.

15:23I have a bottle of the, I think it's called Moss Plus. Moss Plus, yes. by one uh messy case you might have heard of him ray right the the famous leonel messy yes the soccer player i'm trying to tee that up so you do one of yours when i say messy you go into a quick explainer of who he is i kind of did but it didn't work out the way i wanted i don't know i don't know if he needs an introduction uh anyway messy messy messy messy messy messy messy whenever someone says messy or sees him they have several flavors i'm holding the berry copa crush i've made it known many times, I don't like blue beverages.

15:58This is the only one I didn't drink so far, but the other couple of SKUs were quite tasty. I think the obvious comparison here will be with a bottle of a beverage we'll call Prime. And this stuff is, I mean, really nice job. It's got the backing of Mark Anthony Brands, which those of you familiar with the beverage alcohol side might know as the company behind White Claw, Mike's Hard Lemonade, and things like... So they're going to operate. They're ready to go. I mean, it's interesting. They haven't really pushed a non-alcoholic brand. So I think this is a well-timed product that maybe while certain other brands' sales have been struggling, swoop in with another superstar that's certainly, no offense to the folks attached to Prime, but a little more massive in his reach.

16:52Yeah, I mean, seriously, comparing Messi to anyone is difficult. It's kind of insane, right? It's kind of insane. He's a demigod on the earth, and you'll notice that his name, you don't usually see the celebrity's names on the bottle, but it's right there, and that's going to make it move. Yeah, I mean, certainly the difference, of course, I would say that Messi as a pitch man, no offense to Messi, but Logan Paul is a very vocal, shameless plugger of his brand. Messi's pitch can just be like this. And it works. He'd just show up and it's done. He's done everything he needs to do. What's the launch plan?

17:34Is that just launching in the U.S. or is it going to be launching like in South America too? I mean, they're definitely launching it in other places. I don't know the full reach. I know they're launching it in Canada too, since I know the person who's running it up there. But yeah, I'm really curious to see, you know, what they do with this. You know, it seems like, again, a pretty well put together product. So pretty bullish on it. Yeah, if wet hydration looks anything like vitamin water, moss plus messy looks like it could be a prime product. Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of brands that have been in this exact same package with a fully wrapped bottle.

18:15so it should fit in nicely. I would say so. Man, I just feel like taking a week and being on the road for a week and all those pinchos. Yeah, there was a load of wine involved. I just feel like my immune system took a hit. You know what? I really took a hit. You're looking and feeling great. Did you happen to have some amuse while you were on the road? I did. I knew it. I took a bunch of amuse. I knew it. But I need more. I need to jumpstart my system, just so that I can be fully amused out. Now more than ever, consumers are looking for ways to boost their immune systems and Amuse gives them that edge.

18:53Amuse is the presenting sponsor of this episode of Taste Radio. Amuse is a dietary and food ingredient clinically shown to stimulate immune function at the cellular level. Incorporate Amuse into your innovation strategy and help your consumers optimize their health throughout the year. Learn more at amusehealth.com. I-M-M-U-S-E health.com. Shouldn't their tagline just be get amused? Amuse bouche. Amuse bouche. I like that. There you go. Yeah, you can eat it. Take amuse before you eat dinner. Just like a little small helping of amuse. Did you, speaking of immunity things, did you take like 55 COVID tests when you got back?

19:33No, I did take one. You took one? Okay, well, that's one more than most people nowadays. Yeah. Did you get your green juice every day? No, I didn't. I drank some. Oh, gosh. The green juice options in Europe, maybe it's just Spain, are not great. Maybe some verju? No, because everything is made with manzana. You know me and manzana, we don't get along very well. It's organic manzana. It's an apple juice. Do they pronounce it manzana? I think you're correct, actually. Yes. I mean, technically wine's like fruit juice, right? So you're covered. Well, then I'm definitely covered. Maybe some olive oil?

20:06Some cold pressed? No, we... Just meat drippings? I don't know. What do you... Wow. Meat trippings. Let's drink something good here. We're just talking about non-alc. I've got a Little Saints Negroni Spritz. Oh, yeah, these are pretty solid. Chill brand. Racine terpenes. Let's go for it. Not too shabby. Yeah, that hits the spot. You were just talking about Boisson, Boisson, Boisson, non-alc, non-alc. All these brands just getting hosed. And I was like, oh, Little Saints. Let's have a Little Saints make this conversation a little more positive. Yeah, well, Megan Klein, who's the founder of Little Saints, what just happened?

20:40Mike just died. I just got some. I was laughing at you. Oh, okay. I went down the wrong vibe. Well, while Mike is trying to catch his breath there, Megan Klein, who's the founder of Little Saints, was actually at BevNet Live. We sat down with her for an interview as part of the Taste Radio studio. Check it out, BevNet.com. All videos from BevNet Live are now available for viewing on BevNet.com. If you're an insider, you can watch all of them. If you're not an insider, you can watch some of them. But if you're an insider, you can watch every single one. How do you become an insider, Jackie? You just go to BevNet.com slash insider, and it walks you right through it.

21:17There you go. There you go. So Little Saints, the maker of non-alcoholic sparkling cocktails. This is their Negroni Spritz, which clearly Mike loves. I do. These are delicious. Little Saints has done a fantastic job of, you know, of making these non-alcoholic beverages that you want to drink. They used to be CBD beverages. They've pivoted into reishi with terpenes. I mean, the complexity's there, the tastes are there. I mean, it's what you want in a nine-ounce Bev. Yeah, it says it lifts your mood, and I'm looking forward to the mood being lifted. Now, speaking of things that you want, Ray. Yes.

21:50At the Summer Fancy Food Show, I got to catch up with Olivia Chen, who is the co-founder of Twirl Milk Tea, a line of Taiwanese-style milk teas. T-W-R-L. Co-founded by Olivia Chen and also Pauline Ang, who I didn't see. But Ray, in your Instagram, you claimed that you could eat a thousand of their new bobas. Yeah. And ask for more. So I brought 150 here for you. Okay. Go for it. I can't do that right now. I can do it after the show and you can film me for the Instagram. Okay, we'll do it. We can do it then. All right. Yeah, no, these are amazing. They make these little boba pearls and they're strawberry one.

22:29And typically I shy away from non-organic strawberry anything. but these were so freaking delicious. It's like a perfect candy slash beverage. It's a cross between food and beverage. It's a perfect pop. The pop of those is amazing. And what's inside tastes great. I mean, it just makes any beverage a little bit more fun. Yeah. I really enjoy that whole area. The sort of, what do they call it? Disrupt destination. What do they call that in Fancy Food Show? Included. No, no, you're talking about the incubator. CBG area. No, no, no, no. It's the area. Like incubator alley kind of thing? It used to be called that.

23:04It used to be called the Startup Village or something like that. They rebranded it and confused us all. Yes. We still don't know the name of it. Thank you, SFA. Three people who went still don't know. But anyway, yeah. Even better, more new product section. Yeah. I actually loved running into the founder of Oso, which is a new sparkling tea. It's spelled O-O-S-O. And the founder of the company is Oliver Spring. He goes by Ollie. And I met Ollie at Expo West. He was working with the Kokoda team, Kokoda, the maker of coconut spreads and coconut-based snacks, coconut spread snacks. Yes, they're dunks.

23:44And Ali is a former teammate of Jared Golestani, one of the co-founders of Kokoda. They both played soccer at Duke. And this brand, Oso Tea, he just launched in New York, O-O-S-O once again. They have two varieties. There's a green tea, mint, and lime variety. and there's a hibiscus, currant, and ginger variety, both come in these eight-ounce cans. They're both non-alcoholic. And they're intended to be a non-alcoholic cocktail replacement if that's what you want to use it as. In fact, the hibiscus is definitely more of that cocktail replacement kind of product, whereas the green tea, mint, and lime variety is, I think, sort of an everyday variety.

24:25I think the flavor of those pays off as perhaps a non-alcohol cocktail sort of thing. but it's a little confusing. Do you want to be a sparkling tea or do you want to be a non-al cocktail? I think for this, it's a cute can. It's delicious. I just lean into being a crusher. So you want to eliminate. So they have a little call out that says non-alc and this is 8-foot-ounce. I just jettison that. You can be high volume. This is seriously a DNS product here. Yeah, totally. Why pigeonhole the use occasion? You know, this ticks a lot of boxes in terms of taste profile, branding, calorie and sugar content.