Stay ConnectedBrand Builder brings you the people, stories, and lessons learned from the most innovative brands in the world. Presented by SnackNation. Hosted by Sean Kelly, Jordan Cohen, and Jeff Murphy.
Similar to How I Built This, The Dave Ramsey Show, and Seeking Wisdom by Drift.
Missed Fancy Food Show this year? Well we've got you covered. This week we talk to our resident brand partnership experts Allison Schmidt and Taylor Clute, who are fresh from the floor of the 2018 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.
In this episode, Allison and Taylor tell us their favorite products and brands from this year's show, explain how brands can cut through the noise on a crowded trade show floor, and share why attendees should treat trade shows like Coachella if they want to survive.
Here are some of the top brands we saw at this year's Fancy Food Show in San Francisco:
Top trends:
Want to get in touch with Taylor or Allison? Contact them directly - allisons@snacknation.com or taylorc@snacknation.com.
Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Want to be more confident in your decision making, build a better team, and realize your potential, both as a business leader and as a human being? Well, this episode makes a strong case that you should cancel that professional coaching session and head straight for the Amazon rainforest.
We're joined this week by Tyler Gage, the founder and CEO of RUNA and the author of Fully Alive: Using the Lessons of the Amazon to Live Your Mission in Business & Life.
RUNA is an Amazonian beverage company that creates livelihoods for indigenous farmers in Ecuador. Their brand of tea bags and bottled beverages are made from guayusa tea, a native Amazonian tree leaf with more caffeine and double the antioxidants of any tea.
One of the most fascinating things about Tyler is that he's been able to connect two worlds that, on the surface, appear to have nothing in common - Shamanic principles from the indigenous peoples of the Amazon region and our modern world of high growth startup brands.
Tyler's story is a fascinating one, and in this conversation he demonstrates how the lessons of the Amazon have helped him build an incredible brand and become a more fully realized version of himself.
Takeaways:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
The Consumer Packaged Goods space is 3.5 times the size of Tech, but you'd never know it based on how much attention Tech companies receive compared to CPG brands.
Part of the reason has to do with efficiency, and the relative ease with which tech startups can access capital - and make splashy headlines as they take on funding or make big exits.
Compared to Tech, CPG just isn't efficient. Right now, the best way to learn about new opportunities - both for investors and brands - is to attend a few gigantic, hectic trade shows each year.
Ryan Caldbeck is here to change all of that.
Ryan is the founder and CEO of CircleUp, an investment platform that provides capital and resources to innovative, early-stage consumer brands. They've developed game-changing machine learning technology called Helio that continuously analyzes 1.2M CPG companies to help connect investors with brands and brands with resources.
In this episode, Ryan tells us why he founded CircleUp, why he's so bullish on data, and why right now is the best time to be an entrepreneur.
He also shares a DIY data hack that any brand - regardless of resources - can deploy to help make smarter decisions and iterate their products at the speed of the market.
Takeaways:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
When we last left Project 7 founder Tyler Merrick, a few missteps and some bad luck had put Project 7 in a bad spot. As in, "this might kill the business" bad spot.
Rather than give up, Tyler asked himself, "If we were to take one more shot at it, what would that look like?"
The rest is CPG history. Tyler killed all product categories except one, and doubled down on an old strategy from his days in pet food.
And it paid off. Tyler and Project 7 disrupted a declining category and pulled of the impossible, becoming the top selling gum at major retailers like Target. Most importantly, Tyler and his team have been able to make a huge impact in the 7 areas of need that inspired Project 7 in the first place.
Takeaways & Recap:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Tyler Merrick's world changed when he heard the following two words for the first time:
"Social entrepreneur."
Up to that point, Tyler had created a veritable pet food empire, providing dog and cat owners with gourmet, out-of-the-box food and treat combinations. But while the business was undoubtedly successful, it was anything but fulfilling for Tyler.
Then came a fateful conversation with a fellow socially-minded business owner, who opened his eyes to the concept of social entrepreneurship.
Tyler took the conversation to heart. He sold the pet food business not long after and launched Project 7, a gourmet specialty candy brand dedicated to creating one of a kind customer experiences while giving back to 7 areas of need. Basically, Project 7 comes up with totally out there flavors - like birthday cake flavored gum or moscow mule flavored organic gummies - and then partner with non profits who are making an impact both in America and abroad.
In part one of this two part episode, we embark on a journey of transformation with Tyler, and learn from his early mistakes building a consumer brand centered around doing good.
Takeaways
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Human beings are hardwired for stories.
Storytelling opens up neural pathways in the brain that excite us, make us feel, and help us retain information. In fact, people are 22 times more likely to remember information that's presented as a story rather than merely factually.
It's why crafting a compelling brand story can be so powerful. When done right, your brand's story engages your most important customers emotionally, developing invaluable brand loyalty and trust in the process.
Of course, it's a lot easier said than done. So many brands think they can slap some contrived, half-baked story on their website and call it a day, but they couldn't be more wrong. Telling your brand's story is an ongoing, always evolving project, one that extends to branding, packaging, and even customer experience.
In this episode, we learn more about these ideas from one of the best - SnackNation SVP of Customer Strategy Chelsie Rae Lee.
Chelsie breaks down the ins and outs of crafting your own compelling brand story, as well as the opportunities most brands miss when it comes to communicating this story to their most important customers and prospects.
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Links
Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Why is Nestle reportedly selling off their candy business? Why does "big" seem synonymous with "bad," while artisanal is king these days? And why does every big food corporation seem to have a Silicon Valley-style venture capital arm?
The short answer:
Because this is CPG, where the C stands for consumer, and consumer trends dictate everything.
Staying ahead of consumer trends might be the difference between your brand truly taking off, and your brand being left behind by the next big thing in CPG. But distinguishing between a true trend and a passing fad isn't always easy.
In this episode, you'll learn all about how to do exactly that thanks to the trendiest person we know - Alysse Burroni, SnackNation's Sr. Manager of Brand Experience.
Alysse takes us through the forces that are shaping consumer behaviors, and tells us exactly how to stay one step ahead of the market.
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Content marketing can be a game changer for brands. It accomplishes so many things in one fell swoop - builds awareness, fosters goodwill and trust, and forges an emotional bond that makes your brand irresistible to consumers.
But the things that make content marketing so valuable are also the things that make it so difficult. Content marketing is an authentic, sustained conversation with consumers. It's not a campaign - and it's definitely not a transaction. It's a relationship, and it takes years.
This week, we have content marketing master John Hardesty to show us the way. John is the CMO of Nutrabolt, the makers of mega-hit protein bar FitJoy.
In our opinion, John deserves an honorary doctorate in content marketing. He honed his skill at places like Quiksilver, as the head of his own marketing agency, and as a top content strategist at Bodybuilding.com, a content juggernaut that attracts millions of unique visitors to its site every month with - you guessed it - high quality content.
In this episode, John reveals how to approach content in a way that resonates with your target consumer and inspires them to fall in love with your brand.
Takeaways
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
"Ideas are ideas, and without great people they never come to life."
Translation: if you want your brand to take off, you better surround yourself with the right people.
And we can't think of anyone more qualified to tell us how to attract those people than Josh Wand, a 20 year veteran of CPG and the founder and CEO of ForceBrands.
ForceBrands builds the teams that build the best brands in CPG (and just so happen to co-present this show with SnackNation). Josh and his amazing team came to the Brand Builder studios, and we got him to discuss the origins of ForceBrands, his philosophy on business and leadership, and of course his particular area of expertise - building teams that build amazing brands.
In this episode, you'll learn the following three takeaways:
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Links
Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
When you look at Mark Rampolla's resume, he almost seems like he might secretly be The Most Interesting Man in the World.
Here's a partial list of the jobs Mark has held: Landscaper. Dishwasher. Peace Corp Volunteer. President of International Paper (a multinational corporation). CEO of Beanfields (aka, Chief Bean Fiend). Partner at Powerplant Ventures (a venture capital fund that invests in sustainable, plant-based businesses). Author of the book High Hanging Fruit.
But he's probably best known as the guy who started ZICO coconut water.
Yep, he and his team essentially created an $8 billion beverage category - and believe it or not, the inspiration ties back to his days in the Peace Corps. We picked Mark's brain on building a CPG brand to exit, what it's like to go from entrepreneur to VC, and a whole lot more.
Here's what you'll learn in this episode.
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Check out Mark's book, High Hanging Fruit.
Links
Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
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