Brand Builder

Evan Delahanty is not a foodie. Yes, the man who founded Peaceful Fruits, a company that makes honest, whole fruit snacks ... was not all that into food at first. So how did he end up at the helm of a company that's changing the fruit snack game? It's all about connecting people and markets to the Amazon.

Some people follow their dreams in a figurative sense. And then there's JJ Rademaekers. JJ is the founder and CEO of JJ's Sweets. Their signature candy is an award-winning, coconut milk caramels called Cocomels, and the idea for Cocomels came to JJ in a dream. For this special episode of Brand Builder, we sent our intrepid field reporter Travis Miller to Boulder, CO, to see where JJ launched JJ's sweets, and to learn how JJ went from musician, to candy maker, to candy business-maker.

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 SF. 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.

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.

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. Ryan Caldbeck is here to change all of that - with his compnay CircleUp and Helio, their machine learning platform.

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” type bad spot. Rather than give up, Tyler asked himself, "If we were to take one more shot at it, what would that look like?" Tyler killed all product categories except one, and doubled down on an old strategy from his days in pet food - and the rest is CPG history.

Tyler Merrick's world changed when he heard the following two words for the first time: "Social entrepreneur." Meeting a socially-minded business owner inspired Tyler to sell his successful pet food business and launch Project 7, a cause-oriented gourmet gum and candy brand dedicated to giving back. 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.

Did you know people are 22 times more likely to remember information that’s presented as a story rather than merely factually? It’s one reason 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. In this episode, we learn how to craft a brand story that cuts through the noise from SnackNation SVP of Customer Strategy Chelsie Rae Lee.

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.

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. But the things that make content marketing so valuable are also the things that make it so difficult. 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.

“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. 

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: Dishwasher. Peace Corp Volunteer. 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. We talk to him about how he conceived and launched ZICO.

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.

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. 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., to find out how they do it.

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! Today, 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. Here's how they're doing it.