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.
When we think about training for high performance, we usually think about training our bodies. We might even think about working our craft. But how often do we consider training our emotions?
Not very often, right? Well, if we care about performance, that's actually a huge mistake.
That's a big part of we explore in this episode with Dr. Glenn Fox.
Dr. Fox leads program design at USC's Performance Science Institute, where he works with top athletes to devise strategies that optimize their abilities. He's an expert on the ways that emotions - particularly gratitude and optimism - drive performance. According to his research, the ability to regulate emotions is the number one predictor of success in life.
This is just as true in business as anywhere else. Since gratitude and optimism affect performance, companies who proactively foster these positive emotions via a culture of recognition have an automatic leg-up on those who don't.
In this presentation, Dr. Fox -
Links
Recommended Reading
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
It's the Monday after Thanksgiving, and if you're anything like me, you're thinking about one thing right now…
Pizza.
Ok, maybe I'm the only one.
Before the holiday, I saw an incredible campaign by the folks at MOD Pizza. It's their Spreading MODness initiative, a bold, anthemic vision statement in which they declare, "This is not a pizza place. This is a people place."
In the campaign it's quickly apparent that this brand is more than a pizza company, they're a platform for greater good.
And while these aspirational campaigns can sometimes come off a little cheesy (pizza joke!), this one just works. The reason? Because MOD has been proving they're the real deal since day one.
This week, we revisit an interview with MOD Pizza co-founder and CEO Scott Svenson. Scott and his wife and co-founder Ally see MOD as more than just a pizza chain, and a company as more than just a money-making enterprise. They call the approach "enlightened capitalism."
Of course it doesn't hurt that their pizza happens to also be amazing. MOD is a pioneer in the fast-casual pizza concept, and they've been the fastest growing restaurant chain in the U.S. for the past four years.
Key Takeaways
Recommended Reading
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Evan Holod isn't afraid to admit it. Michel et Augustin is hard to say.
Holod is the CEO of Michel et Augustin U.S., and exactly how consumers might say their name is one of the first challenges he and the team encountered. "It's something we spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about," he told us.
It's not just Michel et Augustin - every French brand that crosses the Atlantic has to contend with the fact that most Americans aren't exactly Francophiles. According to Holod, it's precisely this apprehension with the French language that has prevented French brands from connecting with American consumers in a big way. But Michel et Augustin is here to change all that.
This week we learn how Evan and the team are taking an iconic French brand and starting over in the states. Evan also talks about the "Share a Coke" campaign, which he worked on during his time as an executive at Coca-Cola.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
If you were only paying attention to the headlines, you'd be forgiven if you thought that the future of brick and mortar retail is a bleak one.
But brick and mortar isn't dead - far from it. In fact, with digital-first players like Amazon getting in the game, pop-ups popping up left and right, and 8-figure investments in places like The Beverly Center in Los Angeles and Hudson Yards in New York, one could argue that we're in a bit of a retail resurgence.
Still, retail strategy remains a sticking point for most brands. To help us uncover the secrets of brick and mortar success, we talk to Dylan Lauren, the CEO & Founder of Dylan's Candy Bar.
Why Dylan? Because Dylan's Candy Bar launched in 2001, and has thrived during this entire period of disruption and change.
Dylan's Candy Bar is the largest confectionery emporium in the world with over 20 locations worldwide, including a new location in Hawaii. Their flagship NYC store is a cross between FAO Schwarz, Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory, and Disneyland.
Success for Dylan's lies in constantly creating fresh, memorable experiences that keep people coming back for more.
We also learn why Dylan conceives of the brand as a fusion of art, fashion, and lifestyle, plus the top lesson learned from her father, the iconic fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
When Saffron Road founder Adnan Durrani first started talking to investors about things like social entrepreneurship and multiple bottom lines, they looked at him "as if [he] had nine heads."
Thirty years ago, Adnan saw the emerging Millennial consumer as the future of CPG, even if the wider business community wasn't ready for a brand proposition that placed health, sustainability, and animal welfare at the forefront.
Today, Adnan's big bet on Millennial values has paid off, and he sits at the helm of a $50 million brand: Saffron Road.
Saffron Road specialize in halal foods, and make world-cuisine inspired frozen meals, simmer sauces, and snack foods that are a hit with Millennial consumers.
Saffron Road was also at the center of a minor controversy that landed Adnan on CNN. Rather than panic, Adnan took a potential PR crisis and turned it into a win - while also strengthening the relationship with their most important partner.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Spend a few minutes with the dynamic duo behind Owl's Brew, and a few things become apparent.
First, the depth of the passion for what they do. Founders Jennie Ripps and Maria Littlefield are a testament to the idea that big things happen when vision meets drive. Another - the importance of discovering white space in the market. Add to that, the imperative to capitalize on that discovery, before someone else does.
The Owl's Brew story is a case study in brand building, with all of its challenges and triumphs, its strategy and its serendipity. But I'd argue that you can actually sum up the Owl's Brew story with two words -
No compromise.
The temptation to compromise is something that most challenger brands face, but one that people don't really talk about. It's an especially thorny area for emerging better-for-you brands, whose values are core to their appeal.
In fact, it is precisely this unwillingness to compromise that actually creates the magic for these brands, and that paves a pathway for success.
This week we talk to "tea drinking boozers" (their words not ours) Jennie Ripps and Maria Littlefield, the CEO and COO of Owl's Brew. They make organic spiked tea and tea and botanical mixers that have been a huge hit with a new class of alcohol consumers.
Owl's Brew has won by saying "no" - no to flavor houses, no to artificial ingredients, no to compromise of any kind - and that has made a world of difference. This ethos is why Jennie and Maria are well on their way to making Owl's Brew the category king in the spirits industry.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
A lot of brands looking to scale focus on optimizing and growing in the market they're already in.
But at a certain point, you've got to think bigger. In order to achieve scale, you have to break into new markets. And that's what this week's episode is all about.
Alejandro Restrepo is the co-founder and COO of Ekoa, and he's embarking on the ultimate market breakthrough - taking a successful suite of brands in Brazil and entering the U.S.
Ekoa is a line of all natural dried fruit bars. Their tagline says it all - discover simple. In this interview, Alejandro describes his strategy for breaking into the U.S., plus all the unexpected obstacles he encountered along the way.
He also talks about the meaning of brand, his four part framework for success, and why he personally ate more than 700 bars as part of Ekoa's R&D.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
This week on Brand Builder, we hear from Oliver Bogner, the CEO and founder of brandable.
Brandable is a CPG platform focused on innovating, curating and creating brands that enable people to live their best lives.
Think of it almost like an entertainment studio, but for better-for-you CPG brands.
Oliver has a big, audacious vision for brandable: he wants to become the "Millennial Unilever," with a suite of brands that will be around for the next hundred years. And with exclusive deals with Target, Walmart, and other big time retailers, he and the team are well on their way.
So how do you create transcendent, better-for-you brands that will stand the test of time?
By "keeping your eyes open" and honing in on true consumer pain points. Oliver breaks down his framework for discovering these pain points, and explains why brands have to focus on moving the needle for consumers in order to be successful.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
What does your brand stand for?
If you've never considered it, now's the time. Today's consumers - especially Millennial and Gen Z - vote with their dollar, and want to support brands that make a difference, not just a profit.
This week, SnackNation Chief Revenue Officer Chelsie Lee sits down with Briana Crane, the Director of Development at Feeding America to understand how this dynamic shows up for your brand.Both Briana and Chelsie have unique insight into the ways philanthropic giving can help create a lasting affinity and deeper loyalty with your brand. The Feeding America network is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, and they rely on the support of hundreds of companies across the U.S. to help end hunger in America.
Briana also delves deeply into the problem Feeding America is solving, and the ways brand storytelling helps raise awareness and inspires both brands and consumers to get involved in the fight.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Fresh from Expo East, SnackNation's Clara Kim joins Brand Builder this week to talk about the best products, flavors, and trends from this year's show. Plus, learn how to get the most out of your next trade show.
Links
Join our Exclusive Facebook Group!
What's your biggest takeaway from the episode? Join our invite-only, private Facebook group just for Brand Builder Community members, where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs and founders, crowdsource ideas, share best practices (or lessons learned), and get your most important questions answered. Join now!
Facebook.com/groups/brandbuilderpod
Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
