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.
Food, family, and love.
For the folks at Skinny Dipped, these three things are hard to separate.
For one thing, it's because co-founders Val and Breezy Griffith are family - mother and daughter to be exact.
Another reason - this epic food brand was launched as a way to bring the Griffith family closer together after they experienced an intense personal tragedy.
The Seattle based company make irresistible dark chocolate covered almonds that are both healthy and indulgent. Their products contain way less sugar, more fiber and protein than traditional chocolate covered nuts - plus no artificial ingredients or GMOs. And while Val (the mom) thought maybe they'd sell these almonds at a few farmer's markets, CEO Breezy (the daughter) had much bigger ambitions.
In this episode, you'll learn:
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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.
If there's one constant in CPG, it's change. Startup CPG brands have to constantly adapt to changing taste preferences, changing retail trends, and changing norms around supply chain and ingredients.
Change is also ingrained in the entrepreneurial experience. It's sort of the entrepreneur's way - deploy a minimum viable product, test it in the market, iterate until you see real traction. In this model, change is inevitable, and the plan you start with is rarely the plan you end up with.
So it's fitting that 301 Inc. - an "emerging brand elevator" that helps startup CPG brands optimize for growth - underwent it's own strategic pivot a few years after launching in 2012.
In this episode we talk to John Haugen, the VP and General Manager of 301 Inc. 301 is a VC arm within General Mills, providing direct investment, strategic counsel, and the resources and expertise that only a company like General Mills can provide.
We spoke with John to learn how 301 have made themselves an indispensable partner for growth.
In this episode, you'll learn:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
Serial entrepreneur Jim Simon knows a thing or two about launching successful brands. He's a veteran of Web 1.0 and has started or run six companies, mostly in tech. But ironically, he didn't recognize one of his biggest opportunities the first time out.
That opportunity? His namesake clean bar brand, JiMMYBAR!
A bout of pneumonia and several allergies inspired Jim to create a healthier bar that wasn't full of the usual garbage. The bars were a hit locally, but it took a fellow entrepreneur to say, "Hey, you should really pursue this bar thing," for Jim to see the potential.
Jim and team haven't looked back since. JiMMYBAR! has built a loyal following by focusing on alternative channels like hospitals, sports stadiums, museums, military bases, and college campuses - especially colleges. According to their site, they're available at nearly 400 colleges across the U.S. and counting.
Today, the Chicago-based bar brand has an ever-expanding footprint, and are putting their products in the hands of health- and taste-conscious consumers across the U.S. (and beyond). The company strives to be the "Ben and Jerry's of bars" - a purpose-driven, personality-infused brand that's fun and stands for something.
How are they doing it? We got the inside scoop from Jim himself.
In this episode, you will learn the following takeaways:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
Vincent Kitirattragarn wasn't trying to start a company. He was just trying to find a traditional ingredient to make one of Mama Dang's delicious Thai recipes.
But, as so often happens, fate intervened, and a brand new snack category - and company - was born.
Dang.
Of course, creating a new category is always a challenge. You have to come up with something brand new that still feels familiar. But by all measures, Dang has done it. The Berkeley based company make whole food, Asian inspired snacks that people just can't get enough of.
And while they started with coconut chips, today they're a platform for all sorts of better for you, dang delicious snacks, including onion chips and their new sticky rice chips. We talked to Vincent to learn how he and his team did it.
In this episode, you will learn the following takeaways:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
It was a once in a lifetime break.
Just four months into launching their business, a chance encounter and a random act of kindness helped land Pipsnacks a coveted spot in Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode. This meant massive exposure and the halo effect that only comes from the one and only Lady O.
But elation quickly turned to devastation during the first airing. Within five seconds of their logo flashing on the screen, the influx of traffic crashed the company's home made site.
Pipsnacks are best known as the makers of Pipcorn, the delicious, artisanal mini popcorn that not only tastes great, but that's easier on the stomach and teeth thanks to a more delicate hull.
On this week's Brand Builder, we are fortunate to have all three of Pipsnacks' founders - siblings Jeff and Jen Martin and Jeff's wife Teresa - to tell the incredible Pipsnacks story, including how they landed on Oprah's radar, and how they went about assembling a brand and a culture that could weather all the ups and downs of CPG entrepreneurship.
In this episode, you will learn the following takeaways:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
They're the bar brand everyone is talking about.
RXBAR make whole food, minimally processed protein bars that taste great and are made with only a handful of ingredients. Their bars are also famous for emphasizing what's NOT in them - No Dairy. No Soy. No Gluten. No B.S. And they are killing it.
Less than five years after launching the brand from their kitchen, founders Peter Rahal and Jared Smith recently announced a $600 million acquisition by Kellogg.
How'd they do it? We've got co-founder and CEO Peter Rahal to clue us in.
In this episode you'll learn the following three takeaways:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
If you want to understand Deep River Snacks, look no further than their infamous tagline -
"Because we give a chip."
The company makes small-batch, non GMO kettle chips, popcorn, and tortilla chips, but their mission is so much bigger than that. It's about using their amazingly successful, irresistible product as a platform for good.
It's why they feature a different charity on every single variety of Deep River snacks. And not just any cause will do. They feature causes that they have a personal connection to. Whether it's breast cancer, Crohn's disease, or liver disease, these are issues that the people behind Deep River and those closest to them face every single day.
It's also why they've turned down some major distribution opportunities. If it doesn't feel right and isn't consistent with their mission, Jim and the Deep River crew just can't put their name on it (and vice versa).
That being said, the brand is about to embark on something entirely new (and a little scary for Jim) - opening up the conversation to their consumers by letting them decide which charity will appear on Deep River's new Black Truffle flavored kettle chips.
We got the scoop on what "Giving a Chip" is all about from founder and CEO Jim Goldberg in this moving episode of Brand Builder. In its essence, it means caring about the people in your life, and doing something to make an impact.
Jim says it best:
"That's what give a chip means - we do what we do because it's the right thing to do. Period."
In this conversation, you'll learn the following takeaways:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
NOTE: we'll be releasing "snack sized" bonus episodes like this every Thursday during our launch, and new full length episodes every Monday.
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Let's say you're an up-and-coming brand with a slick e-commerce store and a little bit of buzz. Maybe you were just featured in an influential newsletter or appeared in a high profile publication.
In fact, you're kind of a big deal.
Your analytics tell you that tons of people are visiting your Website each day, but the majority just aren't buying anything.
What gives?
Turns out this scenario is all too common, and there's a simple tactic you can use to convert more of your site's traffic into paying customers.
In this "snack sized" bonus episode, SnackNation Marketing Director Emil Shour shares the single best tactic for optimizing your Website traffic. Take his advice, and you'll be seeing fewer bounces and more sweet, sweet $$$$.
Emil also proves to us that he is definitely NOT a marketing robot.
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
Hippie parents. A solar dehydrator. A burgeoning triathlon career.
These usually aren't the elements that make for CPG success - unless of course, your name is Caue Suplicy.
Caue is the founder and CEO of Barnana, the Santa Monica-based company that has made one of the world's most popular foods even more irresistible. These bags of banana bites have driven eight-figure annual revenues and a dedicated global following. Barnana proved that you can improve on perfection, all while promoting values like sustainability and healthier living.
Caue first began eating bite-sized dehydrated bananas as a child in Brazil, and rediscovered them while training for triathlons in the States. With the success of fellow Brazilian exports acai and coconut water, Caue figured all he had to do was bring the product to the U.S. and he'd have it made.
Boy was he wrong. From an ugly product to an American public that needed educating to shipping delays, Caue learned that the real work was just beginning.
Caue sat with the Brand Builder crew to break down how he built a successful CPG brand around one of the world's most familiar foods.
In this episode, you'll learn:
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The infamous Gorilla Milk package that started a minor controversy at Expo West:
Links
Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
In 2010, Tom Donigan and his friends Scott Fiesinger and Matt Levey launched a jerky brand on a modest $11,250 seed investment, and didn't take on any additional money for an entire year. Today that brand - Field Trip - can be found in more than 30,000 retail locations, and last year closed a six-figure funding round.
How'd they do it? That's what this episode of Brand Builder is all about.
In our debut episode, Tom tells Brand Builder co-hosts Jordan Cohen and Jeff Murphy how the Brooklyn-based company elevated a gas station staple and created a company that fuels adventures for thousands of people every day. In this episode you'll learn:
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Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.
Brand Builder is presented by SnackNation.
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