In short
Taste Radio Episode Summary: Were We All Wrong About Olipop & Poppi?
Episode Overview In this episode of Taste Radio, the team discusses the recent market movements in the prebiotic soda sector, focusing on the upcoming launches from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The episode features interviews with industry leaders Steffin Oghene and Tony Salles from El Tequileño, alongside Davide Segat from the NoMad Hotel, discussing a new limited-edition tequila, the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo.
Key Discussions
- Industry News and Trends
- Prebiotic Soda Launches: Coca-Cola plans to launch a juice-sweetened prebiotic soda under its Simply brand, while PepsiCo is resurrecting Soul Boost, a functional sparkling water.
- Coca-Cola's Simply soda will debut in 2025 in five flavors, aiming for a lower calorie count.
- PepsiCo's Soul Boost aims to target mood and wellness.
- Competitive Landscape: The timing of these launches raises questions about potential acquisitions of existing brands like Olipop and Poppi, which have seen success in the prebiotic space.
Key Takeaways
- Coca-Cola and Pepsi's strategic moves highlight a growing interest in health-oriented beverages.
- The hosts speculate on whether the giants will pursue acquisitions of Olipop or Poppi, which have built strong brand identities.
- Interview with Davide Segat, Steffin Oghene, and Tony Salles
- El Tequileño's New Tequila: The trio discusses the partnership between El Tequileño and Side Hustle, leading to the creation of the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo.
- This tequila is a blend of a Gran Reserva aged in different barrels and an 18-month Añejo.
- The unique production process emphasizes quality and craftsmanship.
Highlights from the Interview
- Tequila's Growing Popularity: Rising consumption in both the U.K. and U.S. reflects a broader acceptance of tequila as a premium spirit.
- Craftsmanship and Experience: The emphasis on the production process and tasting experiences is central to the marketing strategy, aiming to create a memorable offering for consumers.
- The Future of Beverage Innovation
- Acquisition and Brand Strategy:
- Discussion around Coca-Cola and Pepsi's potential acquisition strategies and whether their new product launches will compete effectively with established brands.
- Brand identity and consumer loyalty are seen as critical factors in the success of new products.
Key Insights
- The beverage landscape is shifting towards health-conscious options, but building brand loyalty remains a challenge for new entrants.
- The hosts highlight the need for Coca-Cola and Pepsi to differentiate their products from established brands like Olipop and Poppi.
- The Role of Community and Collaboration
- The interview illustrates how personal relationships and shared values in the industry contribute to successful collaborations.
- The Side Hustle project is viewed as a way to honor friendships in the industry while also providing unique offerings to consumers.
Conclusion This episode of Taste Radio highlights the dynamic changes in the beverage industry, particularly regarding health-focused products like prebiotic sodas and premium tequila. The discussions underscore the importance of brand identity, consumer experience, and the potential for innovative collaborations in driving growth and consumer engagement.
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Brands Mentioned
- El Tequileño
- Olipop
- Poppi
- Simply
- Soul Boost
- Culture Pop
- Coca-Cola
- PepsiCo
- Vitaminwater
- Powerade
Make sure to check out more episodes of Taste Radio for insights into the evolving food and beverage industry. For feedback or sponsorship inquiries, contact: ask@tasteradio.com.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.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 here with my co-hosts John Craven, Jackie Bruglira, and Mike Schneider. This episode features an interview with David Sagat, Stefan O 'Gheni, and Tony Sayas, who talk about the historic collaboration between Side Hustle, a London bar, and El Ticoleno, a famous tequila brand, to launch the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double N Yeho. Oh, yeah. John thought that was the front three for Athletic Bilbao. Yes, yes, indeed.
0:49I'm pretty thirsty now. Well, I mean, it sounds like a contingent of Spanish footballers, but no, they're indeed, dare I call them, drinks, celebrities and personalities that have come together for this really great collaboration. So just as good. Yeah. Yeah. I just need to get a bottle. I think they might be sold out. Sorry, John. It's OK. I'm I got to admit, I'm kind of a hot mess this morning. I forgot my backpack. I forgot my laptop. Is it on the backseat of a rental car in an in-and-out burger? Come on. Someone smashed your window? Yeah. No, I was flying out the door, and I wanted to make sure that I had my blazer and all kinds of other stuff that I need for an interview I'm doing later today.
1:29And, of course. You don't seem to have any of that. I don't have any of that. No, I have a blazer in the other room. Are you okay? Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just checking because we had some dark suppers. We didn't have dark suppers. You made me watch Donnie Darko. Okay. Are you talking about Scopa? Because it was legit dark in there. Scopa is a legit restaurant in Venice. But yeah, it's dark in there. We didn't have very dark conversations. I asked Mike to watch a movie called Donnie Darko, which features Jake Gyllenhaal and his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal. But Jake is the focus of the film. No, Maggie Gyllenhaal's brother, Jake, is in it.
2:04Okay. Great movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest you see it. I think it came out in 2003. Good flick. Very weird. I feel like he's in a lot of weird movies. Like what's the one where he's like the paparazzi, you know, and he's like Nightcrawler or something like that? Nightcrawler, yeah, yeah. Oh, Nightcrawler. That's a good movie. And then Enemy. You ever see that movie Enemy with Denis? It was directed by Denis Villeneuve. I think that's how you pronounce his name. Great movie. It's about basically he has either a doppelganger or another him living in the same city. Oh, cool. I got to see that now.
2:38I guess I just have to do his whole catalog at this point. Well, you should definitely watch any movie directed by Denis Villeneuve. Again, I think I'm pronouncing his name. He did both Dune movies. He did Sicario, the first one. He did Arrival. He's a really good director. I think you'd get a solid C plus for the pronunciation on that. I appreciate you. Usually you're like a D minus kind of guy. So that's pretty good. You know, it's too early to be getting it from all sides. So thank you. I also feel like you should start a podcast just about movies. Or pronunciation of last name. Either way, you can have one for all of you.
3:10The A Says People's Names podcast. That would be a hit. I think it would be a hit, actually. I have a whole bunch of treats for you guys to try. And I know you guys brought some nice libations as well. Jackie, I'm sure you have a few things to sample as well. And by the way, I'm a little bummed because Jackie's not in the same room as us. As she had been for the past couple of weeks. I'm kicked to the curb again. I'm over here on the West Coast. All the way on the West Coast. Darn, not that. At least you're not dealing with jet lag. because I think I'm finally over it, but I'm not sure. It was nice to have you in hugging distance, though.
3:43Yeah, yeah. There you go. And it was nice that I could just drive home. Yeah, jealous of that. That's a big plus when you're out on the West Coast. Before we go any further, we definitely got to talk about a scoop that BevNet covered. I would say that BevNet had the exclusive on this. Seemed that way. Seemed that way. Not earth-shattering news, but very, very surprising news to the industry. I was shocked by this as well. And I think John Craven, for obvious reasons, we'll get into that, was pretty surprised by this news. But Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are preparing prebiotic soda launches for 2025.
4:22Our very own Marty Caballero, the managing editor for Bebnet, broke this news, noting in his story that Coca-Cola is set to release a juice-sweetened prebiotic soda in 12-ounce Slim cans under its Simply banner. We know simply for its orange juice. And spiked. And spiked. It's going to come in five flavors, strawberry fruit punch, pineapple mango, lime, and citrus punch, each ranging from 50 to 60 calories per can, due to enter select regions in spring of 2025, and uses the tagline, flavor that pops. How about that? I like that. Yeah, there you go. Yes. As for PepsiCo, it's resurrecting soul boost.
5:02Originally launched in 2021 in limited markets as a functional sparkling water focused on mood and wellness. Is that the brand from Coming to America? No, that's Soul Glow. Soul Glow, yeah. Yes. So this revamp is going to be called Soul Boost Soda, featuring prebiotics from soluble corn fiber and sweetened with both juice and stevia. Number of skews is unconfirmed, but one flavor seen by BevNet. Berry Berry contains 20 calories and two grams of added sugar per 12 ounce can. We got to get this in our bellies. This definitely caused a lot of or got a lot of attention on LinkedIn. The story has been reposted and commented on by hundreds, if I dare say thousands, of people that are very interested in why these companies are doing this, why they're launching at this point, especially when you have the two big players in that space, Olipop and Poppy, seemingly available to be purchased.
6:02Seemingly ripe for acquisition, Ray. And, and I got to go back. I got to put John Craven on the spot here. I believe it was in April of this year of 2024 when I asked you, Brass Tax, are we going to see an acquisition of Poppy or Olipop this year? And I think your answer was, I believe so. at least within the next 18 months. Now, what, John Craven, would compel Coke or Pepsi to buy either of these brands when they're coming out with their own? G-Ray. I have so many thoughts on this one. Okay, yes, go ahead. Because I feel like we've seen this movie before, so to speak. Okay. You know, look, I think...
6:43Donnie Darko. I think it's not Donnie Darko. The only thing that kind of surprised me with all of this is the timing of it. Because I think in some cases, I guess maybe I would have thought one of these to get acquired and then the other big strategics who didn't make an acquisition to go launch their own to try to compete. But here we are, Coke and Pepsi are going to launch their own. And also, I think what's pretty unique about this is that when we've seen this in the past, it's often been like one brand that's the breakout, you know, like vitamin water or body armor, stuff like that. And here we've got two brands breaking out kind of in the same category.
7:21So this is that part is kind of uncharted territory. But where does this take us looking at some of these past, you know, I don't know, Pepsi under Sobe launched Lifewater in 2006, when vitamin water was sort of really starting to pop. And I guess it maybe made Coke pay more money for vitamin water in the end. And I feel like we also kind of saw a little of this of, you know, Coke pushing on Powerade and then eventually buying body armor. There's probably other energy drink references that could be made too. But, you know, I think this is something where God bless them for trying. But I think, you know, what it fails to sort of understand.
8:00And, you know, this is very in line with what I've said before about not thinking that the prebiotics are actually what make Poppy and Ollipop sing. Is that the actual thing of value in those brands is ultimately the brand itself. And it's modern sort of like, you know, the demographic it appeals to. And no offense to Simply, but I think trying to repurpose a juice brand into being a competitor, you've got apples and oranges. I feel like this has the risk of cannibalizing other Coke products and certainly could be wrong. But I feel like this doesn't really change the outcome in the end. It just maybe modifies sort of the players and the timeline.
8:40Maybe Coke and Pepsi will do this. it'll work out for a little bit and a KDP becomes a new, you know, potential suitor, or maybe they just give up or maybe they still just plug along with this, but also acquire. Or it could also make other brands like a culture pop seem like an interesting target, even though it's, you know, a lot smaller, but you know, it is a brand that I think, you know, does have some traction, but yeah, I think again, the timing of it was a surprise. And I guess the brands under which they're doing it with are a bit of a surprise. I don't know for Pepsi, I total, you know, just guessing here, but like a brand like Bubbly maybe would be better than bringing back Soul Boost that didn't work the first time, but we'll see.
9:26And there are analogs for this in other industries. Let's look at, okay, technology. So you've got a big strategic Facebook, for instance, that tries to do something similar to one of their competitors, Instagram. So Facebook eventually realizes that they can't do photos as well as Instagram and they don't have the same kind of traction with the audience that Instagram does. So they buy Instagram. Yeah, but why launch your own app or version of Instagram in the first place when in the back of your mind, you know you're gonna buy the other brand? Well, because you don't, maybe the deal isn't where you want it to be yet.
10:06And so you try, you try your best to do something that will, you know, deep six that competitor of yours or bring the value of that down overall. And then you get it for a better price. I mean, those are all strategies that could be in play now. Also, I would say that to give another thought on what you just asked, like going in to a negotiation with, Hey, we've got simply that we just launched and is doing well. Cause obviously it's going from zero. So whatever growth is like, you know, pretty good. 300 % growth. We don't really need you as bad. But you know, I think the other thing I would just add for our audience here too, is that for me, this is also just a bit of a positive sign for 2025 in the beverage industry.
10:48And that obviously Coke and Pepsi, who at least for some period of time will probably be focused on one another, are gonna have to spend some money to create awareness for this as a thing. And I think it is something that is pretty interesting in that they really haven't spent any money or meaningful money promoting soft drinks that have a better for you kick to them. And I think that is something that, you know, will have a bit of a trickle down of, you know, benefit to other better for you functional beverages. You know, certainly the more they spend, the better I think it'll be. And again, I, it's hard to really see either of these paths as being like billion dollar brands, but you know, whatever, obviously the consumer sometimes is a fickle beast, but you know, I do think short-term it should be good for the industry to have these things roll out.
11:43And the Facebook, Instagram example, just one last word on that was largely Facebook buying their own audience. It was also an Instagram and then giving them this other product. So that could be the play here as well, which because as we know, Instagram just ended up being a more, I don't know, friendly user experience. The thing that brands are using more to communicate and that just a lot of people prefer to use to communicate. And so they were able to just get like this kind of stranglehold on that whole market, which is what Coke or Pepsi could be trying to do if they build up either Soul Boost or Simply and then go ahead and acquire either Olipop or Poppy.
12:23It feels like they're almost like testing into the space in an easier way for them where they already have distribution channels. They have sports venues. They have widespread access to these consumers. And they're just going to kind of ride the wave of better for you and see if their consumers, you know, if that's like the key value prop. And then maybe down the road they do acquire something and add it to their portfolio and maybe something dies off. I mean, already Soul Boost died and is coming back. So they kind of seem to like recycle some things just to test within their own ecosystem. You're making a beautiful point though, which is that you start the process and then you go and replace it with the thing that the people want.
13:05So you test it. They're like, oh yeah, this is doing okay. And then you replace it with Olipop or Poppy. Maybe it goes off from there. So I think Jackie's got a really good point there. It's also funny the timing. I feel like Coke and Pepsi just like shook hands and were like, let's see who wins this well yeah that's kind of what i was getting at too it's like the timing of both of them having plans for this yeah like just seems sort of odd paul mike tyson fight uh times two i guess but it's like let's the best man win let's see not to pile on but you know the most memorable time that they tried this strategy repeatedly was in the early days of the energy drink category where you had two super brand focused brands red bull and monster and i guess to some extent rockstar and you know they rolled out a host of these like you know coke had things like kmx and pepsi had a bunch of like mountain dew energy drinks and none of the stuff ever really stuck and again those are places where and i think much like ollie pop and poppy the brand is such an important part of this it's just hard to imagine that like you're going to lure a consumer away from one of those to get a Simply or a Soul Boost.
14:20People are expecting KMX to drop an album or something. Well, I think - That's a weird brand name. It seemed like the runway for energy drinks was more impressive than I think the runway currently is for these probiotic or prebiotic sodas. I think the jury's still out on them. And I've talked to folks, including our very own, well, maybe not our very own, but our dear friend, Kenny Sadowski, who in our interview that we featured on Taste Radio a few months back expressed that he wasn't so high on this space and that there was much to be learned and much more to be understood about these types of drinks.
14:59And I think maybe Coke or Pepsi, as to Jackie's point, are just trying to figure out, is this something we want to get into? Is this worth the acquisition? And clearly, clearly it's not for them yet like the acquisition isn't worth spending or overspending at this point well but it might be it might be next year after but right now it feels like the price is either too high or they just don't know enough about the category well for the record brands like kmx that were launched they were launched at a time when the energy drink category was a fraction of what it is today and no one was bullish about it becoming a multi-billion dollar no one was They were bullish about energy drinks?
15:40They were bullish, but it was, I think... No pun intended. It was very much at the time seen as this thing that was like, you know, the weird stepchild of, you know, the beverage industry. And then it became something that was really key, I think, to the CSD category as a whole, like actually being somewhat kind of relevant, even though it's tracked differently. But it was ultimately like a threat to soda. And I think in that same light, like what Olipop and Poppy are building is for sure a threat to like the zero calorie soda business that is so vital to Coke and Pepsi. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this is something where like, I feel like they're trying to slow down the threat, but to some extent, it really risks the threat becoming bigger and ultimately them perhaps paying a lot more for Olipop and or Poppy than they would have without going down this path.
16:36Well, the other thing I would say about this is our mainstream consumers, mainstream consumers going to trade their Diet Cokes and their Diet Pepsis and their Coke Zeros and their Pepsi Zeros for Olipop and Poppy? That's the big question, right? I mean, that is the million dollar, billion dollar question. I mean, the answer is some of them. Some of them, right? But is it enough of their customers? I think it's a very different strategy, which is why this is like such a big threat to their core CSD business, which is that rather than trying to convert Diet Coke drinkers as the starting point, they're getting the drinker who never drank Diet Coke, right?
17:11So like kids, Right. So kids who are like obviously sugar conscious want, you know, fun branding or just never even entertaining a product like that. They're just going straight to these newer brands. So instead of starting with a Coke or Pepsi product, they're going, they're starting with Poly Pop and Pop. Because they don't have years and years of conditioning that on Diet Coke or Diet Flavor. For the Diet Products. I see what you're saying. I mean, I think those are sort of like, you know, they're like staple goods. You know, have these kids had Coke Zeros and stuff? Probably. but you know it's not like a brand that they identify with whereas i think these are brands that the consumer who's into poppy and ollie pop actually care about and identify with which is very different than how coke's brand has existed for like 100 years you know i also feel like this is kind of coke's strategy when it comes to mna and has been since they bought body armor which is that they are more willing to invest in their established brands their legacy brands and they are to buy new ones.
18:10I mean, just look at what they've done in the beverage alcohol space. Everything they're doing has already been established and proven out in terms of brand, as opposed to buying a beverage alcohol brand or creating a brand new one, like Simply, Fresca, Coke. I mean, all those have brand equity that they're saying, hey, let's just continue to invest in this. And James Quincy, who's the chairman and CEO, has been like, look, billion-dollar brands are our bread and butter. So why mess around with anything else? And that's why I think he might just kind of be bearish on Ollipop or Poppy. So we'll see.
18:45At the end of the day, he's the one that pulls the trigger. Just to be clear, we have a ton of respect for and think highly of Ollipop and Poppy, myself very much included in that conversation. They were our co-brands of the year for 2024. Just a remarkable job that each of those founders are doing to create basically a whole new segment of soda. Really remarkable for the full list of award winners, just head to bevnet.com and look in the menu for the best of 2024 award winners. You will find a group of some of the most outstanding products that we've seen over the past year. And you can do the same at Nosh, nosh.com.
19:22Follow the exact same process because I'm not going to repeat it. You can also do it at BrewBound.com. Oh yeah, BrewBound, you can do it at BrewBound as well. By the way, last episode we didn't get to talk about BrewBound because we were in the midst of BrewBound. What a tremendous, great event. Congratulations to Hooray's Girl Beer and its founder, Ray Bebuck, who came out swinging with a fantastic presentation, bested 10 other brands in that Brewband Pitch Lamb competition. And that was just one part of a really fantastic beer. Including Beer Girl. Including another brand called Beer Girl. Yeah, which was phenomenal as well.
19:59Yes. Hooray's Girl Beer, ultimately the winner. and congrats and plaudits and applause to Justin, Jess, and Zoe for putting together a tremendous event. The content was once again, fabulous. And you can watch all that content now. Yes. If you're an insider in particular, you can watch and revisit all of the content from BevNetNosh and BrewBoundLives by going to the respective.coms. But you got to be an insider. You got to be an insider to watch that content. Jackie, how easy is it to become an insider? You literally just go to our website and click the button. You click a button, you enter about two minutes of information and you're done.
20:46And then you're done. You have access to everything. Fabulous. Now, earlier this week, we published our interview with Trey Kennedy, the well-known comedian, particularly on Instagram. He's got 3 million followers. He's also the founder of Basic Cellars, which is a brand of, guess it, wine that's pretty uncomplicated and easy to understand. They have two varieties, a California Pinot Noir and an Italian white wine. Both come in 187 milliliter glass bottles. I think we talked about this a couple episodes ago, and I've been waiting to get these samples, and we finally have them. Not going to try them now, but just immediate thoughts on this.
21:23I kind I kind of feel like this is perfect, right? And that you don't want too much wine all at once. This is - That is like the world's smallest wine bottle. It is. Super cute. It says it's one serving, but you can definitely get two servings out of this. Yeah, that's probably two glasses, 187 milliliters. Where's your punt, Ray? Where's your punt? There's no punt on that. It's kind of like a cooler version of the ones you get on like airplanes, you know? Yes, yes, exactly. This is a quarter bottle of wine, 187 milliliters. So I'm excited. I'm gonna try these later on and report back on the flavor.
21:53But apparently these are high quality premium wines just in a much more accessible and portable format. So well done, Trey and team. Pun free. And their partner in good taste, which is a producer of premium wines in particular, packaged in these smaller bottles. Ray. Yo. As usual. What's up? I'm mad jealous of the UK because the Superfoodio, all peanut butter cups, they finally launched. Oh yeah? Do you have any? We ate them all. What do you mean we ate them all? We got them pre-launch. You got to try them. I don't... Oh, I did get to try them. Yeah, the smaller, tiny peanut butter cups. Well, there's the little buttons, but then they've got the all peanut butter cups.
22:37Ooh, I love the buttons, so I'm going to love these. Yeah, they have peanut butter and jam flavor. They've got an original. They've got a no sugar added. The no sugar added for me was just mind-boggling stuff. I mean, they're all just excellent. So jealous. I guess you can get them at Tesco now. Your jelly of the peanut butter and jam? Jelly. Wob, wob. Hopefully we'll get to meet up with Jag and Norale again at some point soon. But congratulations on your launch. And I just hope those are going like gangbusters. That is such a good product. It is. I had some in the car and luckily they didn't melt in the car because I think it was like a couple months ago.
23:17I wanted to talk about a brand that I posted on Instagram a couple days ago. This brand is called Tokyo Banana. So apparently Tokyo Banana has gone viral. It's a pretty common site in Japan. Apparently it's the official souvenir snack of Japan. But these kids, I don't know how they do it. When they get a hold of something, they put it on the TikToks, on the Instagrams. All of a sudden it becomes really, really popular. I purchased this at H Mart. It is a beautifully packaged yellow box, and it costs$14.99. And at the time, I didn't know how many of these bananas were in here. Now, to be clear, this is a sponge cake filled with banana-flavored custard cream.
24:06So imagine a better-for-you Twinkie. When I say better-for-you, I'm not sure how better-for-you. It just doesn't have any artificial ingredients in there. Better-for-you style Twinkie with banana cream. and it needs to be refrigerated. So this was refrigerated. I'm going to open this box here. It does sound delicious. Yeah, they are good. Now, so inside this wrapping, it looks like it's wrapped like a gift, like a Christmas present. You got this white box. You open up the white box and there's eight individually wrapped Tokyo bananas. John Craven, would you like one? Sure, why not? There you go.
24:36Mike Schneider, would you like one? Yes, please. Jackie, as usual, I wish. I wish, I wish, I wish. Just pretend. I thought it was actual just one banana in the box. That'd be legit. I had no idea. So I actually saw someone on Instagram opening up one of these and it looked like the banana was much bigger. It's actually pretty small. It's probably like, I don't know, three quarters the size of like a regular Twinkie, maybe even smaller than that. Yeah. And it's shaped like a banana. Yeah. It's shaped like a banana. It comes in a lot of wrapping. So there's a plastic wrap around the banana and the banana comes in this little tray, this little plastic tray as well.
25:13And there's actually a preservative. What do they call those things? Like you have shoes. Yeah, there's like a little preservative packet, I guess, so it doesn't go dry. Keep the moisture out. Yeah. Do not eat. Do not microwave. Why would you do either? I don't know. This looks like a dessert you'd get in like a weird airplane meal. It's actually sold. A good airplane meal though. Yeah. I had a feeling that Mike would really appreciate this. Probably more than John, but I don't know. How do you feel? It's all right. It's all right. The packaging is cool. Yeah, packaging is really cool. I was expecting something a little fancier.
25:44Not a Twinkie? It's kind of like biting into a banana cloud. Yeah, the question for me is... The outside's really fluffy, and it's a lot fluffier than a Twinkie, and a lot tastier, too. How much banana flavor do you get out of it? A lot. A lot? It tastes like you're biting a banana. Because the cloud is also banana flavored. Okay. Yeah. So it's like banana in different form. Yeah, it's quite good. And you get these cool glasses for afterwards. Oh, my goodness. Mike just put the Tokyo banana tray across his forehead or across his eyes. It all makes sense. I guess the question I have is why is the box$15?
26:23It's eight of these. So it's roughly$2 per Tokyo banana. Each of you owe me$2, by the way. Good luck collecting that. You know what? I spent good, hard money on this. Cold, hard cash. Okay, cold, hard cash. So, yeah, I mean, it's good. is it worth about two bucks per Tokyo banana? Perhaps, I'm not sure. There are dumber snacks you could buy for two bucks. But the kids today, how are they affording this? That ain't cheap. I'm doing Google Translate. Maybe someone's like reselling them. They're buying them and then selling them at school lunches for$3. So when I was at H-Mart... They're drop shipping them on their Amazon store?
26:55The translation on the front is Tokyo banana. I found it. So at H-Mart, you could tell that there were a lot of people buying because they had enough of these. They had enough boxes, but it looked like they were down or they were going to be out by the end of the day. And yeah, once again, I guess I'm not really sure what makes a product viral, what makes a product more interesting to younger consumers than others. But for some reason, the kids love this. I don't know how long they're going to love this. So maybe it's just a little kind of mini trend or mini fad right now. Has this taken over for like Dubai chocolate?
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27:34Dubai chocolate. Well, that's another one. I mean, that's another thing. I mean, that's kind of cool for like now, but will it be cool in two months? Probably not. I don't know, but my daughter is home from college and she went and got some Dubai chocolate and brought it home. She did not share any with me. And Dubai style chocolate is just chocolate made with pistachios and I'm not exactly sure. I still don't know what it tastes like. I've seen it. I've been within a tasting distance, but we need some Dubai chocolate. It's cool to see though. I mean, like, I think the kids love just international snacks and treats that, you know, maybe they couldn't usually get in the packaging.
28:12The packaging plus like international flavors. They're like, let me have that. I want to try that. Yeah. Okay. So I've seen this. So basically it's a chocolate bar that is filled with pistachios and catifa. And catifa is a Middle Eastern treat that's made with shredded phyllo dough, I believe. I'm sorry, Kanafa. Kanafa. It's this crispy shredded phyllo dough pastry. That sounds awesome. It was an exclusive Dubai treat until the nuts factory started importing it a few weeks ago. The bars are$20 each? Damn. Okay. Now I know I shouldn't share it. Yeah. Made me curse on the podcast. I don't like that.
28:50I don't like that. Okay. Mike's got some maza. Mazza. Mazza. I mean. I know Mike's talked about maza a lot on this podcast, but we got to talk about it again because this is a tremendous brand here. I mean, I love this brand. The founders are phenomenal. We've gotten to meet them so many times. And this is their new, this is the first time we've gotten a chance to see their new packaging up close. Of course, we've gotten to see it, you know, on Instagram and such. And I missed their party at Expo West too. So this is just us getting to see it up close. You mean at the Summer Fancy Food Show? At the Summer Fancy Food Show.
29:26You're right. You're right. It's really clear what this is now. You know, it's magic. I love the magic sauce. Yeah. The branding is just sensational. Two things I love about this branding. One, it looks very ethnic. It looks very specific to a certain part of the world, that being the Middle East. Afghanistan. Well, Afghanistan's part of the Middle East, is it not? Yeah, no, I'm just asking. That's where they're from. It's also described as magic sauce, which I love because that's, I mean, it just feels like something that, I don't know, It's magical? So from other sauces, I don't know what, yeah.
30:01And then there's a call at the bottom of the label that says, put it on everything. So if you're confused about how to use it or what to put it on, you don't have to be, just put it on everything, I like that. I mean, I can't wait to try this on some of the other everythings I've been putting things on. What the hell does that mean? I mean, so, ooh, mazza lattes, I don't know about that. We could try it. A savory latte, I don't know if anyone's ready for that yet, But, you know, Fly by Jing Chili Crisp is something that I've been trying to put on everything. And of course, Glorious Chateau, trying to put that on everything.
30:37What is that? Glorious Chateau. You haven't had that yet? I've got some for you. Glorious Chateau? Yeah, Glorious Chateau. Oh, oh. Don't mess it up. I know. Or you can say, I mean, just put that Chateau on everything. It's awesome, Ray. That's me falling into the microphone. You've got to try this new, it's a new chili oil. It's Ghana style and it has tomato in it. And it is amazing. And Gloria taught me how to make savory oatmeal with Gloria Chateau. And so then I tried it with Chutney Punch too. And it's just really good. Savory oatmeal is really good, but so are both those products. And maybe we can put Mazda on oatmeal too.
31:16Maybe. Maybe. But I've got some, I'll give it to you after the show. And then I'd love to get your thoughts on it. Jackie has by her side, a bottle of spirits. I do. The founder attended BevNet Live last week. She did. Yeah. So Effie was at BevNet Live and she got me to sample this at like 8.30 in the morning. And the name of the brand is? Kleos. K-L-E-O-S. Yes. And it's a liqueur, but it's made out of Mestiha. And Mastia is actually a sap from Greece and they create this liqueur out of it. And she was having me try these like mixed basil cocktails, this like cold brew cocktail with it. It's pretty tasty and it kind of just goes with any flavor that you put with it.
32:07But I found it like interesting. The packaging is pretty unique and eye catching. It's pretty obvious that I would say it's Greek with like the evil eye. And like we were just saying, like people are really gravitating towards things that are unique, almost like giftable and something that they haven't seen before. And I've never seen Mestiha before. I had a great conversation with Effie too. I think she also is a pretty unique, powerful person. I think the brand and her go really well together. It was a great conversation. I unfortunately wasn't trying it. Jackie, how's it taste? It tastes good.
32:40Yeah, yeah. I liked it actually with cold brew because it gave it a little bit of sweetness. And it was, yeah, really tasty, but she said it can really go with anything. Yeah, that bottle is very unique. It's hexagonally sided, I believe. Is that right? And then it's got that diamond cap or it's sort of an oversized diamond looking cap. Our very own Melissa Travers sat down with Effie for an interview as part of the Taste Radio studio at the event. You should definitely watch it. I believe, actually, listeners, dear listeners, that our Taste Radio studio interviews are actually gratis to view.
33:16So if you want to check that out. They are now. Yes. They are now. At least that one. Ray just sanctioned it. Yes, I just sanctioned it. So if you want to check that one out, please do. And you can check out about 20 or so other interviews. There they all are for you now. That we recorded at the show. Last episode, you may remember that we talked about... You may remember that we talked about... Yes, RMBR, the brand. Anyway, so RMBR, kombucha, they sent us product. And it's so tasty. We've got turmeric, coconut, vanilla, hemp and blue spirulina, hibiscus and ginger. I mean, they've got so many good flavors here.
33:52My favorite is definitely the orange peel and vanilla bean. And then there's also a lavender as well. And these aren't even all of them. So thanks, Remember, for remembering us. 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. Visit tasteradio.com slash insider to learn more. All right, let's get to our featured interview for this episode. During our visit to London in October, I met up with Stefano Geni and Tony Sias, the vice president and third-generation master distiller, respectively, of awarded tequila brand El Tecaleno, along with David Sagat, the bar's manager at the city's Nomad Hotel, for a conversation about the creation of a new limited-edition tequila.
34:42the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo. Side Hustle, which is a Latin American-inspired bar at The Nomad, partnered with El Tecaleno to develop the spirit, which was born out of a longtime friendship between Stefan and David. Tony oversaw production of the tequila, which is made with the base of El Tecaleno's Reposado Gran Reserva that was aged in a variety of barrels and blended with an 18-month Añejo. As part of our conversation, the trio discusses the rise in tequila consumption and popularity in the United States and United Kingdom, the origins of the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo, and how much planning and experimentation went into the final product, and how limited-time offerings fit into the marketing strategies for both Side Hustle and Il Tecaleno.
35:36Hey folks, it's Ray with Taste Radio. Right now I'm honored to be sitting down with three fine gentlemen and they are Davida from Side Hustle, Stefan from El Ticoleno and Tony from El Ticoleno. Guys, great to see you. Davida, how are you? Yeah, very good. Thank you. Pleasure to be here. Thank you for doing this to us. Thank you so much for having me. Stefan, how are you? I'm great, thanks. Yeah, it's great to be here back in London. Yes, always good to talk to a fellow Manchester United fan and share some tequila over our tears. We're happy before the weekend. I don't know if I am, actually. It's always one of those things where, am I really looking forward to this weekend or not?
36:11Tony, great to see you again. How are you? Thank you very much. It's my pleasure. I'm doing pretty good. Yeah. It's great to be once again here. Yeah. Tony and I sat down for an interview at the 2023 Tales of the Cocktail event. I think I survived without a three-day hangover. I had a two-day hangover, but it wasn't too, too bad. Yeah. So we're in a very big room here at the Nomad Hotel where Side Hustle is based. It's a little echoey in here, which is fine. But we have a lot of room to operate and a lot of room to drink tequila. So this is a good thing, I would say. Yes. It's quite an historic room.
36:46Just a couple of facts. So this is the magistrate court. Actually, where the judge was Oscar Wilde, Pinochet, the suffragettes, all being tried here. So I feel quite emotional and it's quite good to be in this room. Yeah, so this is where they were like... Yeah, this is the court. The judge sat right there. Okay. He was handing out some serious sentences. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. You know, I've read a bit about Stefan and Davida, your relationship and friendship. A lot of it has to do with tequila. Yeah. I have talked to a lot of folks about tequila and for years it's been kind of a divisive spirit because your first experience or a lot of people's first experience with the spirit it hasn't been so great and then eventually you get to a point where you're like oh actually this is really good this is really good but when did you both get into tequila and why has it been such an important part of your lives in my case i joined stefan stefan was the general manager of iconic east london east london bar called green and red and i joined as a bartender back then and I didn't know much about tequila.
37:56I was a bartender, but my interest was very little. And I found myself in this bar that had 300 labels, all 100 % agave tequila, and no other spirits. We had some hidden somewhere, but no display. Yeah, we just bonded over learning about the history, the tradition, the brands, and what makes tequila special, the agave plants and the region and the culture of Mexico. So this is how we met. Yeah, and for me, it's a little bit different. It was more, you know, I grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, so it's unusual for a Scottish person to suddenly be attracted to tequila, considering we're surrounded by Scotch.
38:44But I grew up in Edinburgh, and I used to go to a Mexican restaurant all the time. It was very kind of stereotypical. It's called Viva Mexico and had all the thrills and bells and whistles, basically, of stereotypical Mexico. But it was great. And I really loved it. I loved the energy. And I really remember that as part of my childhood, my mother taking me there. And we actually had a very small store in Edinburgh called Lupe Pintos, which is still there, which specialized in ingredients, you know, which were very hard to come across anywhere else. and they had a great selection of dried chilies or beans in cans and all sorts of things.
39:23So, you know, I would say more than anything what tequila came after, for me, it was something I got very interested in, but it was more I was attracted to the culture of Mexico. Like, I really loved the fun aspect of it. Everything was fun and it was so colourful, like, not just in physical colours, But the food, all of these things were just colourful and fun, and I loved that. And that kind of got me interested in tequila, and I started kind of pursuing little bits here and there to find out more about tequila because I was working in bars. And then I met two guys, Henry Besson and Dre Masso, who were really leading the tequila kind of education in the UK, and Tom Estes was just around the corner at Cafe Pacifico, another iconic place which is still going to this day and I just I met the right people at the right time and when I was super interested and had a lot of energy and I ended up running Green and Red which was at that time there was really kind of three four places in in the UK that were all in London that really were pushing Mexican Mexican culture and specifically tequila category and And that's how me and Davide met.
40:36And actually, Tony and I just came from another great restaurant in Soho, from one of the members of staff that used to work in Green and Red as well, a place called Rita's. So, you know, we all bonded over the same thing. We loved the culture of Mexico. We loved the tequila business. We liked drinking tequila, sometimes a little bit too much. But we had some great owners that really embraced the lifestyle of Mexico. So everything joined. It was all kind of led to the same thing. Yeah, I think you said something there. When I think about the premiumization of Mexican food, particularly in the United States, it's interesting to see that unfolding right now because for the longest time it was garbage food.
41:28It was thought of as cheap food with cheap ingredients. and it was really just one chain that was, well, there's a couple of chains, but the biggest one, I'll just call it what it is, Taco Bell in the United States and really did a disservice to Mexican food. And slowly but surely, we're starting to see people eating better and respecting ingredients and respecting the culture a bit more. I think we're seeing that in tequila as well. Tony, would you agree? Yes, I agree. I've seen that people are now taking tequila more serious and quality has become a thing. Before, people just wanted to have a shot, put some lime salt, and drink it.
42:06They didn't care what it tasted as long as they got drunk. So nowadays, people are looking for tequila they can enjoy, they can sip, and it's just not something to get drunk. It's a whole experience. It's having a great time and enjoying a product that is made with quality. And I learned from you that there's actually a tequila town. There's a town of tequila in Mexico, and that's where your hotel is. Yes, yes. We have a hotel and we have our distillery there. So it's quite the experience. That's why the name of our tequila, El Tequileño, means somebody that is from the town of Tequila. If you have an opportunity to visit Mexico anytime soon, you can actually go visit the hotel and really find out the true origins of tequila in that country.
42:49We're here today, in front of me, which is really exciting, is a collaboration between Side Hustle and El Tequileño, which is the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo. There's a lot there. I have a glass in front of me. If you don't mind, while I sip on this, if you could talk about sort of the origins of this partnership. Obviously, there's a personal relationship, but the origins of the partnership, the planning, the experimentation that went into this, and how you got to where you are with the product. Yeah, for me, it starts with Saidasu. As we say, I used to work with Stephanie at Tequila Bar, and then I moved into a hotel, and we opened.
43:28And I was just going to say, Davide, If you could describe Side Hustle in the context of the Nomad Hotel, because this is an iconic hotel here in London. Yeah, so the Nomad, everyone, especially people listening to this podcast, will remember what Nomad New York did in the city of New York. It was a huge success. It was one of my personal favorite hotel bars in the world. So when I heard they were opening in London, I really wanted to be involved. and even more because they wanted to launch a new concept that wasn't done in Nomad New York, which was a cocktail bar based on Mexican spirit and Mexican culture.
44:09You say something there that I think is very relevant, the story of Mexican food in America. I think in UK, here in London, we are back. It was very hard to find good Mexican ingredient, good Mexican food here in London before. So the idea of Saidasso was to bring that quality, bring those ingredients and elevate the Mexican culture, food and drinks in London, which was in their need. It got a lot better in the city, but that's the idea. So for me, it ticked a lot of boxes. I came from hotel bars. I come from tequila. So doing everything with the nomad was incredibly exciting. So I jumped at the opportunity.
44:53and part of it is to give this kind of experience to our guests and give them something special. We are a bit limited compared to America on the brands that we can find. Not every Mexican spirit, Mexican brand are available this side of the ocean, but the one that we wanted, we wanted to make something special and this is how basically in a big picture this come about. I wanted to reconnect with Steph, I wanted to reconnect with Tony, and do something special for the UK market. The experimentation, I imagine, took some time, getting to a place where you were really not just comfortable but thrilled to be able to share this with the guests of Side Hustle.
45:36What went into that process, Stefan? You know, the simple thing is it's pretty easy to make tequila. Yeah? Tony, would you agree? No, I mean that in simplifying, But we don't do that. What we want to do, what I see Tony doing on a daily basis, is it's an experience. So you see that phrase, you've got to walk before you run. When David said to me, let's do this, I'm like, yeah, let's do this. And Tony's the one that ultimately has the last word that says, hold on. This is what we're going to do. Let's think this out. I'm gonna select this and and and Tony oversaw the whole the whole part of the process of actually Doing the the blend and I just had the the joy of tasting it along the way and and and we had meals Over the space of a year year and a half Yeah, here and I have fun.
46:35I start trying Tasting yeah multiple samples sent to different bartenders or I'd bring them in my luggage when I came here so we could keep tasting it at the different stages of the process. And that's not an easy thing, by the way, because in tequila you have the governing body of tequila, the CRT, and you must seal your barrels. So every time you want to take a sample, you have to have permission. So Tony would raise his eyebrow and look at me like, are you sure? And then he said, I think it needs a bit longer. And then we'd try it, and of course he was right. So I think we went like three or four times.
47:15Three or four times. Three or four times. We tried it over a space of maybe two years total, over a year and a half especially, until we got to the point where we're like, this is ready. I'm not familiar with the double Añejo. I think this is the first time I've heard of one. I've heard of an extra Añejo. Yeah, double wood Añejo. Double wood Añejo, okay. Yeah. So what does that entail? What does that mean? Okay. It was basically aged two different types of woods, like both the American oak, but one at the beginning we aged it. We have a gran reserva, so we aged it with American oak in a pipon, and then we blend it with some añejo.
47:59But that's a normal one, but we're going to give it that extra filling to the tequila, something special, you know? It's going to be a single barrel. You want to give them something that nobody has. something that they feel it's unique and that it's full of quality. So it was eight, first like eight months in American oak pipon, blended with añejo, and then we put it in a barrel, in American oak barrel, and redid it for a year and a half more. So it's not any kind of tequila. We cannot say it was more than two years because the first part is in a pipon. Pipons are bigger, so they cannot become añejos.
48:39but it's something that it's unique that you won't be able to see and it's something special and like going back a little bit to what Stefan said tequila, making a tequila I say it's easy, why? Because I do it every day but I like it when you do something that you like it's not work, it's something you have fun with you do it with pride and it's every day I find a new thing and it's either it's good or bad, it's fun to deal with it and it's one of the best things I can do. I make tequila, I enjoy it, I like it and it's something that I can bring up to the world and say, okay, try it and I can be proud that people like it and drink it.
49:24That's the main thing I can... And I've learned from different people, say, so you drink your tequila? I say, yeah, that's the one I drink. It must be good because not everybody does that. So the tequila that I produce is the one that I drink, the same bottle that you drink from is the same one I'm going to drink and that's the most important part I'm sure of what I'm making and projects like this are very interesting we've been recently doing it and looking into it and we've been experimenting and we don't just let them go because we have to we let them go when we know that they're done there's something that people will like and sooner or later maybe they will want something new or another one obviously it's not going to be the same because each one has like a little baby, you know?
50:08You're not going to let them go until they're full grown and ready to go. So this was one of our babies, and we decided it was ready, and it was good enough for people to be proud of what they're going to buy and what they're going to be offering their clients. And that was very important. What David talked about, especially David, he said, hey like he can go to 100 suppliers and and and and do a similar concept so you know he wanted something that was that was going to be unique and and that they could talk about and the story behind what was the production side of it and and and the end the end point of what was actually in the bottle so you know and that's and we enjoyed that like we we enjoy that we enjoy the storytelling and and because everything's transparent at tequila anyway you know yeah i mean it goes a long way in the press release about this product i think one of the first things that was talked about was your relationship davida and stefan and your friendship and how you bonded over tequila for some time and that this is sort of a a way to honor that friendship and that relationship when i tasted this and actually oh stefan you're already done you need another pour it looks like Sorry, I got a bit carried away.
51:26Well, we have three glasses here. Davido, you're on the clock, I guess. You can't be drinking. Yeah, exactly. I actually would like to, well, if you taste it, I would like to actually compliment Tony because I remember a couple of years back to talk kind of the dream of what Agne or what kind of tequila we would like to do. and he was able to literally put into the liquid exactly what I imagined for me, like an agneo like this with such agave at the forefront, because I think in the category sometimes certain agneo tend to cover the main ingredients. You get a lot of root, and I think this is incredibly balanced.
52:13but also the herbaceous, the grassiness coming, and the long, peppery finish. It's exactly, I imagine so. I like a huge, huge compliment. And also, me and Steph were, I think in November, we were like, oh, it's ready, we're very happy, we're very happy, and Tony was like, no. No. No, two more months. That's why I say you have to walk before we can run. Yeah, and he was absolutely right. Because those two months were, yeah. I mean, what kind of tasting should folks be getting? Normally our tequilas are, well, yeah, we got our Blanco Mixto. And that will give you a bite. Like there's a saying in tequila, if it doesn't hurt your throat, it's not tequila.
52:59Yeah, we can offer you that, obviously. But we do, our tequilas are 100%. And people go try it and they have a drink on the side, like soda, just to chase it out with. they drink it and their face changes even though it's a blanco or a reposado they're expecting a bite. Tequila doesn't have to hurt, it doesn't have to be like burning. So with tequila you could do it with different qualities and make sure that people enjoy it. So this tequila is very characteristic, you can see that there's lots of wood obviously, a bit of a caramel in it, but also very I can feel the hints of citrus a little bit at the end.
53:42That's very particular of our agave. We bring agave from the highlands, and that will give us a little bit of frutal flavors. There's also lots of fruits in here. I know if you remember from Tales of Cocktail, we introduced the extrañejo. You can find several fruits that are similar in all tequilas, but then again, the barrels that we use also give it a unique profile to each one of these tequilas. Yeah, and I'd say if you take all the Tequileno tequilas, they all have these citrus notes, these kind of little herbal notes to it. And when I taste this, I see the DNA of Tequileno as a product that Tony makes.
54:32there and that's there that's the backbone of the tequila and then the woods just enhancing those flavors like getting those those caramel flavors the the kind of sweet spices and yeah it's a little bit rounder than like a like a nice balanced whiskey i think about this product and i'm wondering about sort of the value from a marketing perspective obviously side hustle has a marketing strategy, El Ticuleno has a marketing strategy, and how this collaboration and limited edition collaborations impact the brands as a whole. Is there a component of this in that marketing strategy, or is it just really to showcase the beauty of the friendship and the partnership?
55:21I think so. For me, it wasn't a marketing strategy. It was just more what I love doing and what Tony does on a daily basis. And what I love doing is just creating good experiences, right? Like, you know, when I personally go out to a bar or a restaurant, I'm looking for an experience, like something that I enjoy. It's not just I want a margarita. Boom. Like I want to enjoy that margarita and I want to enjoy the food. And so I kind of put myself into other people's shoes. And, you know, I think this project was great because we both have, I feel, the Nomad in terms of their standards and their identity, their uniqueness and the integrity of the brand as a whole really aligns with Teculeño.
56:15Teculeño, you know, Tony and his family have 65 years history and heritage and focus on the quality of the product. It's not just about creating a million cases, they want what's in that glass to be remembered. And I think that we both had a real focus, the same focus of creating experience and which came with quality and integrity. and that's like our friendship obviously helped that a lot it helped us kind of guide our vision of where we wanted to go with it but but yeah that's that's what i would say yeah same same for us it wasn't really a marketing strategy because we only done a barrel so it's a 250-ish bottle if it was like a this this big exercise we probably would have done more but it was just to when you come to Saidasso and you have all this huge selection of tequila we want to give something special to our guests and more and more people are coming to try different spirits and and and are interested in what we're doing and I saw this kind of exercise like a single barrel you is it's a it's a common name that you hear in the world of whiskey they do that quite a lot of selecting barrels and choosing the barrels and selling that single barrel.
57:40And I was wondering, like, why cannot we do it in tequila? You know, like, why can we not have a cider tequila that you can only have here? So our guests get something incredibly special and unique. Do you expect to do future collaborations? What are the, I guess, parameters of the next one, if there is one? Well, first of all, we got our line of tequilas, you know them. But in order to do a single barrel, first of all, there's got to be an important client. And what's more important than friendship? So that was one of the main things, the relationship we have with Side Hustle and Nomad. And two, they're great clients.
58:24And yes, we can do later on another one. But it's something unique, you know? something for just special people and that we feel that back up our brand and help us. So it's something that we want to give back to those important people and offer them something that it's unique that not everybody has because this will be a tequila that nobody will ever have. As many single bars we could do and everything, it's got to be something unique and it has to be directed to special people and people that will know how to take care of it and how to sell it. Tony, this is crazy. We're spending time in New Orleans and we're spending time in London.
59:08Where are we going to be? Tokyo next? Sure. When are you coming to tequila? Yeah, we've got to do tequila first. Yeah, exactly. We've got to do tequila. I've got to make a trip out. When's the best time of the year to go there? Every day. It's crazy. I had a feeling that you were going to say that. From now until April is not rain season but it's still, Tony's right, every day is great. Except for Christmas we closed down for two weeks, just maintenance and everything. But that's it, and we're working year long. And it's great, and you should come and see. And it's just not just for coming, it's just so you can learn and see the whole experience.
59:42We like to teach people how we make tequila. And I can tell you a whole lecture about making tequila, but if I go and show it to you, then you can have more questions, because maybe I'm not that good at explaining, but if you see it, I can explain it way better and you learn a whole lot more. There you go. So for listeners who are thinking about our trip to Mexico, tequila, a great option if you're coming to London. Certainly side hustle, an excellent option as well. Davida, Stefan, Tony, so great to see all three of you. Thank you so much again for taking the time to sit down with me. Thank you.
1:00:17Cheers. Salud. Cheers. Salud.
1:00:23That brings us to the end of this episode of Taste Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Taste Radio is a production of BevNet.com Incorporated. Our audio engineer for Taste Radio is Joe Cratchy. Our technical director is Joshua Pratt. And our video editor is Ryan Galang. Our social marketing manager is Amanda Smirlinski. And our designer is Amanda Huang. Just a reminder, if you like what you hear on Taste Radio, please share the podcast with friends and colleagues. and of course we would love it if you could review us on the Apple Podcast app or your listening platform of choice. Check us out on Instagram.
1:00:58Our handle is BevNetTasteRadio. As always, for questions, comments, ideas for future podcasts, please send us an email to ask at tasteradio.com. On behalf of the entire Taste Radio team, thank you for listening and we'll talk to you next time.
1:01:20Thank you.
From the publisher
We also speak with Steffin Oghene and Tony Salles, the vice president and third-generation master distiller, respectively, of awarded tequila brand El Tequileño along with Davide Segat, the bars manager at the city's NoMad Hotel, for a conversation about the creation of a limited-edition tequila, the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo.
Show notes:
0:25: So Dark. Timing & Negotiations. Best Of. Tokyo Twinkies. AM Greek Cocktails. – Ray is a hot mess, but it's fine because Donnie Darko and Denis Villeneuve films have entered the chat. John describes Coke and Pepsi's BFY soda plans as "a story we've seen before" and compares the prebiotic pop category to the early days of energy drinks in the U.S. Mike draws an analogy between tech and beverages, Jacqui wonders about the timing of Coke and Pepsi's plans and Ray notes the former's strategy of focusing on its legacy brands as opposed to buying new ones. The hosts also encourage listeners to revisit content from BevNET and NOSH's winter events before wolfing down on the latest viral food sensation and waxing on what makes Gen Z consumers excited about certain snacks and beverages. Mike gets amped about Maazah and Jacqui recalls slugging boozy Greek libations early in the morning.
34:02: Interview: Davide Segat, Side Hustle & Steffin Oghene/Tony Salles, El Tequileño – Davide, Steffin and Tony Salles discuss the rise in tequila consumption and popularity in the U.K. and U.S., the origins of the Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo and how much planning and experimentation went into the final product, and how limited-time offerings fit into the marketing strategies for both Side Hustle and El Tequileño.
Brands in this episode: El Tequileño, Simply, Soulboost, Olipop, Poppi, Culture Pop, Sobe, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Vitaminwater, Powerade, BodyArmor, Bubly, Red Bull, Monster Energy, Rockstar Energy, KMX, Mountain Dew, Fresca, Hurray's Girl Beer, Beer Girl, Basic Cellars, Superfoodio, Tokyo Banana, Maazah, Fly By Jing, Gloria's Shito, Kleos, RMBR
