#228 - Spotlight on Grocery Run Events with Amna Mettmann of Brause and Jocelyn Ramirez from Todo Verde

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0:58I remember meeting Christian from All Theenums, and technically they are a competitor at the first grocery run. And at that event took me under his wings. And he was like explaining to me all the different things that I didn't know about. And that is something very unique. And it's not something you see in other industries. And so I think just learning from these brands and being open-minded, it doesn't matter if you're a competitor or not on paper. Folks want to help each other out because it is in the end, it is incredibly hard. And you're in it together in a way. Hey, everybody, this is Caitlin Bricker, Managing Editor at Startup CPG.

1:33You're probably expecting our founder Daniel Scharf, but today I'm grabbing the mic and he'll be back next week. We've got a special episode all about Grocery Run ahead for you today. We're talking with Jocelyn Ramirez of Toto Verde and Amna Metman of Braza about their experiences at Startup CPG Grocery Run events. Jocelyn won the pitch slam at the Chicago Grocery Run with Fresh Time Market, and Amna has attended several Grocery Run events, closing deals with both retailers and distributors, some on the spot. If you're thinking about attending a grocery run, here's our advice. Even if you don't get accepted to have a sampling table, always, always, always buy a ticket and show up with samples in a backpack.

2:15You never know what connections you'll make or what doors will open. And who knows, you could be the next Browse or Toto Verde. Check out our upcoming events by visiting us on Eventbrite and staying tuned via our newsletter and announcements channel in Slack. Hope to see you soon.

2:35Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Caitlin, and today I'm here with Amna Metman, founder of Browse. Amna, welcome back to the show. Thanks for having me, Caitlin. It's fun having you back. I think this is now your third time on the podcast, but very, very good reason. No, I'm super excited. Always love chatting about all things CPG with you guys. We love it too. All right, today we have a very special episode because we're going to dive right into the world of Grocery Run. I know a lot of people are familiar with Grocery Run, but then there's a lot of people who maybe aren't so familiar with Grocery Run.

3:09So before we dive into that, for anybody who's not familiar with Browse, can you just give us a quick rundown on what Browse is? Yeah, absolutely. We are a premium take on German craft sodas. These are sodas that have been around in Germany and northern Europe for decades, centuries, for a very long time. And what we did is we took those recipes, we tailored them to the American palate, made them good for you, not just better for you, but actually good for you. And at the same time, they also serve as, you know, non-alcoholic options because we use things like wheat malt and roasted barley in the drinks as well.

3:43So think of them as adult sodas, basically. And they're delicious. Usually founders don't like to say that their products are delicious, but if somebody outside of the brand can say it, it works. And I hear it's a good day, so yeah, I agree. I know I've said this to you before, but I love a founder that gets high on their own supply. It's just the best. That's the biggest testimonial. You should see my fridge. I would love to. I actually had a stocked bar cart. I put that in quotes because I don't drink anymore. my husband barely drinks now but we had Browza we had Jubilees Ringa the Lucky Ox Uso hope I'm not forgetting anybody but we had a stocked bar cart for my daughter's birthday party and people were like oh what's this what's this where did you get all these I'm like let me hook you up with you sure honestly it's truly all right so I'm hooked up on Browza but it sounds like from your grocery run experiences, you've got retailers and distributors now hooked up with Razza.

4:45Can you just tell me what your grocery run experience has been like so far? I wish we had more time because there's so much to tell you about grocery run. The way that I would describe it, my experience with grocery run is that we kind of used the first grocery run back in April as our launch pad. We applied. We had just gone live on Shopify and Fair. That's it. just for about a week or so we applied and then we got accepted we went and it was almost like i don't know the super bowl because there were so many retailers we had dreamed of meeting including you'll know the likes of woodland markets luxe local buy right and then obviously also good stuff back in april good stuff is an incredible distributor in the bay area and just meeting all of them within one day within a few hours truly it was an incredible way to really start browser and the entire experience, I think we've gone to now four or five grocery runs.

5:41Every time it pops up, we're like the first ones to apply, I feel like, just because it's the most, the highest ROI kind of opportunity. And throughout the experience, we've had several touch points, not only just really high quality touch points, but also we were able to close deals. We were able to get into the retailers that we had six months ago dreamed of getting into. And so it's been just phenomenal. And I still can't believe like we just apply, we get in and you get Tuesdays, really talk about your brand in front of all these phenomenal buyers, but also other brands that are trying to make this place a better world.

6:17Can you tell us a little bit about the experience that you've had being on, we'll say, the show floor at the grocery runs and maybe some feedback that you got from buyers, retailers, distributors on the show floor that maybe you weren't expecting that you've now incorporated into your brand? Yeah, absolutely. I think that's the great thing. I think people really go there. They know these are emerging brands, so they also want to help. And these are oftentimes industry veterans when it comes to the retailers that we meet. They're also the distributors. So I think what was really, really exciting for me on the positive note was we kind of went to our first grocery run with very little.

6:55We just had our drinks. We just had a banner and we had like a black table. That's it. We had nothing, really no, you know, merchandise whatsoever. And the feedback actually from retailers, also including I think yourself and Daniel, was like, you know, the sleek look really works. Like you don't need to do anything else. This is it. This is about the drinks. They are as clean as the look that you're bringing out. And we've stuck to that. We've had several times where we thought, hey, you know what, maybe we spruce it up because we see other beverage brands like doing amazing marketing, amazing merchandising.

7:27But we just stuck to it because it was the continuous feedback from various retailers and just industry veterans. On the flip side, what was interesting is that some of the retailers have told us that our drinks and our cans are almost too minimalistic. And it is something that we're actually tackling right now. There's going to be an interesting update, which we will announce very soon. But that was also a continuous threat of the same feedback. They said they love the minimalistic design. It is slightly too minimalistic because you don't even have the brand name at the front. So this has been amazing.

8:01This has been an incredible learning. We've seen amazing velocity with the drinks, even the way they are. But now that we've changed it up and we've A-B tested it in the market, we've seen an uptick in velocity. And I think that's the kind of feedback you can't even buy. You can't even pay money for it. That's the beauty of the Grocery Run series. It's been really actually life-changing for us. Life-changing. We love to hear that. Can you show us your can? I see it peeking out right there. I know what the can looks like for any viewers who are curious. Yeah, absolutely. This is the old can. We wanted to keep it clean, industrial, almost like an Audi design, you know, like a German industrial design, which we wanted to just say, hey, this is an apple soda.

8:41It has no added sugar. That's it. What we thought what we were going to do, actually, is we're going to keep it very similar, but we do want to add a little bit more to it. The other thing is also the terms malt soda and malt beer are terms that really Americans don't know. These are drinks, as I said, that have been around in Germany and Denmark and Sweden for a very long time. But nobody really knows them here. So we're slightly changing up the way that we are naming our SKUs to make sure that the education is up front, that people know what's in there. So stay tuned, but you'll be the first one to get the first cans.

9:16I love getting your messages when you're like, hey, we just got this retailer. We just got this distributor. I'm like, oh, I feel so special, but it's also just such a special thing that you're landing these placements. I can't believe how much you've accomplished in such a short period of time. When did you launch? March. As I thought, we used the grocery run as our launch pad for B2B, quote unquote. And I was absolutely green. I had no idea. But I went in and I just remember meeting you for the first time, meeting Alex for the first time, meeting Daniel for the first time. And everybody was so warm and welcoming and so curious and wanted to know more.

9:57And it just like immediately helped me with my pitch, which I wasn't prepared for. And then once the retailers came around, I was able to tell them about the drinks, which was incredible. You were the brand that I was the most excited to see because I had seen little snippets about the brand online. I'd seen you come across my Instagram feed before and I'm like, okay, I need to try it. And I never saw you before. I didn't know who the person was behind the brand. And then when I got to meet you, I was like, oh, this is even better. I do want to touch on something that you mentioned about your setup at the grocery run event, especially that first one, which you've seemed to keep consistent throughout these events, even trade shows that I've seen you at too.

10:39I do think that there is a lot of value in that minimalistic setup. Because at the end of the day, the reality of the situation is I'm buying your soda. I'm not buying your booth setup. That's what I'm walking away with. And I think your products deserve to be in the spotlight more than a backlit banner or this monstrous installation that you might see other brands with, which if you have the budget to throw around, why not? But again, the reality is for a lot of these brands, it's bootstrapping, it's self-funding. And the flashiness, that's not what we're buying. We're buying the product. It's funny because at the last Startup CPG Grocery Run in LA, there was a branded Cybertruck.

11:20And I remember looking at it and thinking, wow, that's burned BC dollars right there. Honestly, it's a practical reason. Also, we just don't wear bootstraps, as you said. If we want to spend dollars, we want to spend it on curating the next SKUs and doing more things for consumers versus buying something flashy. And I agree. It's been an interesting, positive learning for me to stick to it and just let the drinks speak for themselves. I agree with you. I think there's also something to be said for the brands who are going the flashy route because there's a market for everyone. I might just not be your target.

11:54No, I agree. To be honest, it works also, right? Like there's lots of flashy brands that have amazing traction, amazing velocity, and it just works with their brand. But it has to work with your brand. And for us, because we are German inspired American brand, we want to stick to the industrial clean look, clean drinks, and just focus on the products themselves. I love it. I am curious to hear more about landing these deals at the shows. So you show up, You go to the grocery runs. You've traveled quite a bit to these shows, not just driving, but flying too. You go there. You're meeting the buyers.

12:29You're meeting the retailers. You're meeting the distributors. What has that experience looked like for you from the point of meeting them to then closing the deal? Do you have any frame of reference for what that looks like from a grocery run event versus reaching out to a retailer on your own outside of a grocery run event? Yeah, I think the time to close is heavily accelerated if you do go to a grocery run. I think the first thing is that there's a filtering mechanism where I think you guys all are curating just the best brands to be in front of these retailers. So they go in with the perception there's going to be something there for them, which already does a lot of the heavy lifting, quite frankly.

13:09And now at this point, it's funny because when we go to Newtopia now or now we're heading to Expo West, we always see the same thing. It's like buyers are really seeking out the startup CPG section. They think it's an industry standard at this point, which is really exciting. But it also means they're going there expecting to find the best brand. And so I think that is why it's accelerating the close time for us as well. When I cold reach out to retailers, I would say it takes at least 20 to 25 touch points. Whereas when I go to the grocery run, it takes another few, maybe four or five touch points before we can then close.

13:44And in some cases, we were able to close on the spot, which is something that is incredible. And oftentimes, yeah, as I said, you need a lot of touch points to make things happen. So it's an accelerator. It is curated. Retailers go in with the expectation that they will find something cutting edge, something that their consumers are looking for. And so it really helps with just the closing timeline. And how do you feel from the brand side of things with the setup of the grocery run, being able to see who's going to be attending ahead of time? What's your strategy with that? Oh, I immediately reach out.

14:18I reach out a couple of times in advance, actually, just if I have something to update them on. If you're on the shelfies or something exciting that I can continue is to keep them up to date on. But that really also helps with, as I said, you need multiple touch points for every retailer. If you take advantage of the Startup CPG Grocery Run series, you need to do the prep work as well. So if you're doing the prep work, then they're meeting you at the grocery run. They remember, hey, you're the one that sent me all the updates around your brand. I was very curious to try it. Then they try it. And then you just accelerated your timeline with them, which is amazing.

14:54And then, of course, the follow up is just as important as every step in advance. That is great feedback, great advice for brands who are considering grocery run. Anything else that you would want to share with brands who are considering attending a grocery run? I think the first thing that I do is in the morning, I always check the Startup CPG Slack just to see what else is out there. What can I apply for? Quite frankly, I think there's not a single event I don't apply to just because I think it's just, as I said, highest ROI for us. I think the other thing is also when you go there, it's not just the retailers that you're meeting.

15:27Of course, it's the Startup CPG team, which obviously is incredible, but it's also the other brands. And I think the other brands, what I've noticed is this is an incredible community. Everybody's trying to help each other out. I remember meeting Christian from All Theenums, and technically they are a competitor at the first grocery run. And he really, like at that event, took me under his wings. And he was like explaining to me all the different things that I didn't know about. And that is something very unique. And it's not something you see in other industries. And so I think just learning from these brands and being open minded doesn't matter if you're a competitor or not on paper.

16:00Folks want to help each other out because it is in the end, it is incredibly hard and you're in it together in a way. I love hearing that, too. It's were you right next to Alfie Noms at that event? That's what I was thinking in my mind. Christian is a great guy, great brand. They're really nice people. I'm glad that you were able to be placed next to him because I love just picturing him taking you under your wing. That's just a very sweet visual. But I think it says a lot because from my perspective, I see everything that goes down in the slack at these events. I very, very rarely see this like unhealthy competition.

16:36It really is. The brands in this community really are standout to me because everyone does want to help each other. Everyone wants to see each other win, our team included, of course. But seeing the brands who might be competitors with each other, it really is just, I say this so often, but it's the truth. It's very refreshing. Yeah, I agree. And there is a saying that you don't not make it because of a competition. You won't make it because of something that's internal and you can't figure out. But you don't die because of competition. It hardly ever happens. And also in this industry, I would say.

17:10What a great note to end on. All right. It's been a pleasure talking to you about this. I feel like I'm probably going to see you in my inbox again very soon with another win. I would not be surprised whatsoever. Maybe you're surprised. I feel like you're shocked every time you get a win. And I'm like, hello, do you realize what you're building here? No, I know. It's funny because when you go through it, there are so many ups and downs every few hours, really. So every time there's a win, you're like, wait, is this real? We worked so hard, but yes, we got there. So yeah, it is always very surprising.

17:43Can confirm it is very real. So for anybody who's listening and is now interested in Browser and wants to know about the hype and get it for themselves, can you tell us where we can find you online? What's your handle? What's your website? Yeah, it is drinkbrowser.com. We're also on Amazon at this point. We're on Walmart. You can get us there as well. For any retailers, obviously you can get us through Fair. But we also have like vast distribution. We mentioned good stuff. We actually also just recently landed High Touch and SoCal through the grocery run, which is amazing. But yeah, so you can get us through those platforms.

18:16Wow. And so many more to come. I am sure of it. Well, up next, we are going to talk with Jocelyn Ramirez from Toto Verde, who won the Pitch Slam competition at our Chicago grocery run with Fresh Time Market. So Amna, thank you very much. It has been so great talking to you as always. Thank you so much, Caitlin. Always a pleasure. All right. Talk soon. Talk soon. We'll be right back. Are you going to crush it on Amazon this year? It's such an important channel, but it's so hard to do alone, and most agencies are a total ripoff. We can't afford$5 ,000 a month and a commission on our sales. They just don't get it.

18:54That's why I love our partners at Daybreak. They are full service, meaning they do the creative work, the listings, the logistics, and, of course, all the ads, all with the most reasonable retainer out there. I work with them personally. I'm so grateful we have such a good partner to recommend out to you, our community. They do evaluate your product first to see if it might be a fit, So if you want them to have a look, email them startupcpg at daybreak.agency and they'll do a free audit for you. Good luck, everyone.

19:24All right. And now we're here with Jocelyn Ramirez, founder of Toto Verde. Jocelyn, it's great to have you here. Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here. I'm very excited because you were the winner of the pitch slam at our Chicago grocery run that we did with Fresh Time Market. So I cannot wait to talk to you about this. But first, tell us what Todo Verde is. Yeah, so Todo Verde right now has true-to-culture products that focus on regional delicious flavors of Mexico. So right now the products are taco seasoning and al pastor, carnitas, and tinga. So definitely differentiating ourselves from what we currently see on shelf a lot of the times in the taco seasoning space, which is like generic spicy mild.

20:09I'm just really trying to say like Latinos, Mexicans, like we actually eat flavors like this that are delicious and try to change up the taco seasoning space. I can only imagine that flair that you're bringing to everything here with your products is exactly why you won the pitch competition. So this was a little different for us. Typically, we do not do pitch competitions when we are at grocery runs, but we went pretty big with this one. We had over 200 applicants to pitch in front of the Fresh Time Market team. And you were one of five brands chosen. What did it feel like to be chosen as not only a participant in the Pitch Slam, but then to be chosen as the winner?

20:49I know that I feel was like such overwhelming joy. I started the brand back in 2022 initially, got into retail. My first retail account was in 2023 once I changed up the packaging. And I just feel like it's been such a process to get in front of people. It just takes so much longer than you think it would. in Kehi in that region. So I've tried pitching to Fresh Time and I just like couldn't get my foot in the door. And so to then be chosen for that, I felt like, okay, this is it. Like I'm not going out anywhere. I'm just like literally flying in. I'm going to go straight to Naperville. I'm not going to have do anything else.

21:24It's like this whole trip is about this win. So I was like super locked in. I saw the buyer at Nutopia and was like, hey, you see my apron right here? todo verde. Don't forget it. Try the product. I felt like I was like really pushing for it. And then to ultimately get the win was so awesome. I mean, all the other brands were amazing. They have amazing products. So to feel like I was already amongst them was already a win. But then to actually win my space and fresh time market felt really incredible. Like it's been a long time coming is what it felt like and just such a relief and such a joy.

21:59And then on top of that, It wasn't like I pitched and I got in the way a traditional conversation would go with the retailer. But there was just so much excitement and I got to meet so many people from the FreshTime team. So I met their marketing team. I met buyers from other categories, which is awesome. If I ever expand to other categories, I've already started to build something there. A different type of visibility than if I would have just done a virtual one-on-one call with the buyer. I really like that addition that you're putting in there about meeting the other category managers and buyers, because, yes, if you are planning to expand, you've already laid that groundwork.

22:36The foundation is there. So not something that popped into my mind for that, but it's great. Yeah, and it's great. And there were so many other people there. There's people who even vendors who I had been or service providers who I had been in conversation with via email who I got to meet with in person. And lots of great conversations were had. Like it just felt from beginning to end, there was a lot going on because it was just such a good amount of people there. So just generally, I felt like it was such an awesome event. And what was it like? You're talking about that aspect of getting in front of people, having those one-on-one conversations, getting that feedback.

23:11What did it feel like to have to do that live on stage in front of not only the people judging the pitch competition, but everyone else? and then getting that feedback live? Yeah. So I used to be a college professor and like back in undergrad, I used to be a student leader, like doing tours for all new students across campus. And I've done in my hospitality work, lots of different types of like presentations, cooking demonstrations. So I feel like I'm pretty used to being in front of an audience. It's a little bit second nature to me. So I didn't get that like nervousness. I was just like, just be yourself.

23:47Now that I'm like in my forties, that's my main thing is like, just be yourself even if you're like a weirdo which I know I am just do it and if people accept you amazing if they don't better look next time and so I just felt like yeah I'm gonna just share my passion behind the product as best as I know how to do and then as they're throwing me the questions I mean I know the product inside and out I know how it works I just can't get tripped up about it and if one thing I always used to tell myself is like back from being a student leader to now is like, if you don't know, just say, hey, I'm not sure.