This week, I sat down with Patrick Coyne, founder and chief executive of Laoban Dumplings, for a conversation that reminds you why some brands just hit differently. From teaching English in China to running dumpling shops in D.C. to building one of the most exciting frozen food brands in the country, Patrick’s journey is proof that authenticity travels, even into the freezer aisle.

We get into how Laoban went from brick and mortar to CPG during the pandemic, with Patrick and his team hand-packing dumplings and delivering them to local stores, often with the brand’s mascot, Rollie the Chief Dough Officer, riding shotgun and controlling the music.

Patrick breaks down his philosophy on hospitality and why frozen food deserves the same level of care as a restaurant experience. From packaging and cooking instructions to emotional branding and clarity of communication, every detail is intentional. He also shares how the team uses kids’ reactions to Rollie, retailer feedback, and product testing to shape the future of the brand.

We talked about the whitespace in frozen Asian food, why the category has not evolved in decades, and how Laoban plans to change that with items like scallion pancakes, Taiwanese popcorn chicken, bao, and of course dumplings. Patrick also opens up about hard decisions, like pulling a product launch from Whole Foods until it met their standards — a choice that led to an even stronger partnership and their successful bao rollout.

If you love brand building, hospitality, food culture, or founder stories that do not take themselves too seriously, this episode is full of heart, honesty, and plenty of Rollie energy.

📲 Follow Patrick:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-patrick-coyne/

📲 Check out Laoban:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/laoban-dumplings/

Website: https://laobandumplings.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I sat down with Erin Meskers, Director of Brand at Brami, to talk about what it really means to build a food brand people feel connected to, not just buy from.

We cover brand building, community, and the kind of marketing that makes people slow down and care. Erin shares how her work at Supergoop, Aviva, and Cadence shaped her approach to storytelling, and how those lessons now guide Brami’s mission to bring Italy’s food culture to the U.S.

We get into everything from educating customers about lupini beans and building loyalty through authenticity, to launching at Costco and learning how to scale without losing soul. Plus, Erin opens up about her journey across brand, growth, and retail, and why empathy, curiosity, and care are at the center of every campaign she leads.

If you’re in the business of brand storytelling, community, or CPG growth, this episode will remind you that real connection always wins.

Listen now for insight on marketing, brand experience, and what it takes to create a lifestyle around your product, one that’s built on purpose, not pressure.

Brami is currently hosting community events across the U.S., in New York, Seattle, Chicago, San Diego, and Atlanta.

If you live in one of these cities, DM Erin or Brami to join one of their upcoming experiences.

📲 Follow Erin:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinmeskers/

📲 Check out Brami:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brami/

Website: https://enjoybrami.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I sat down with Sydney Chestler, Director of CX at Fresh Clean Threads, to talk about what it really takes to build trust in customer experience, not just close tickets.

We get into what it means to lead CX at two wildly different brands, from helping a 25-year-old skincare fan find her first serum to supporting a 45-year-old dad buying tees for vacation. Sydney shares how she’s built a career around understanding what customers actually care about and how to design experiences that feel human, honest, and clear.

We cover the shift from reactive support to proactive CX, the importance of tracking “silent wins” like low ticket-to-order ratios, and why transparency should be your brand’s default setting. Sydney breaks down why the best metric isn’t how many tickets your team closes, it’s how many you prevent by setting the right expectations.

We also talk about leadership. Sydney opens up about how mentors shaped her career and how she now pays it forward by building teams that feel heard, supported, and empowered. Her approach is rooted in empathy and connection, and it shows up in everything she does, from team culture to how she thinks about the customer journey.

If you care about building trust, leading with transparency, and empowering your CX teams to do their best work, this episode’s for you.

Listen now for insights on leadership, trust, and how to turn every touchpoint into a relationship, not just a transaction.

📲 Follow Sydney:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneychestler/

📲 Check out Fresh Clean Threads:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fresh-clean-threads/

Website: https://freshcleantees.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I sat down with Rachel Coburn, a fractional marketing leader who’s worked with some of the biggest names in health and wellness, including AG1 and Happy V, to talk about what it really takes to build brands that last beyond the hype.

We cover growth, brand strategy, and what happens when the pursuit of “acquisition at all costs” starts eroding trust. Rachel brings the kind of honesty and experience that every marketer needs to hear, because she’s been on both sides of the equation. From running performance channels to building full marketing ecosystems, her perspective hits hard: retention starts at acquisition, and brand equity starts with truth.

Rachel opens up about why the DTC space has lost some of its transparency and how brands can get it back. We talk about the balance between performance and authenticity, why marketing ops deserve way more credit than they get, and how to keep growth and retention teams working together instead of in silos. She also shares her advice for early-stage founders, from who to hire first to why you should bring a CX expert into the conversation before launch, not after.

We also dig into creativity and process, two things Rachel refuses to separate. She calls herself a “process freak,” but it’s her eye for brand storytelling and love of cinematic content that makes her stand out. Whether she’s talking about AI in marketing or the art of a well-crafted ad, Rachel’s take is clear: real connection always beats shortcuts.

If you’re building a brand, leading a marketing team, or rethinking what growth should look like in 2025, this episode is packed with lessons you’ll actually want to use.

📲 Follow Rachel:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelecoburn/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I sat down with Tess Awal, CX Manager at Dr. Squatch — the men’s soap brand that turned natural hygiene into a full-blown lifestyle movement. If you’ve ever seen their cheeky ads or heard about their viral Sydney Sweeney “bathwater” drop, you already know: Dr. Squatch knows how to make personality a growth strategy.

We cover creativity, leadership, and what it really takes to build CX that keeps customers talking. Tess shares how her background in fashion photography and visual merchandising taught her the art of storytelling through experience, and why good CX is a lot like good design — it’s about knowing what makes people stop, look, and feel something.

She talks about how Dr. Squatch keeps its humor while scaling into major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Costco, and what really went into the Sydney Sweeney campaign that broke the internet. Tess also shares why she believes “bad feedback” doesn’t exist when you care enough to listen, and how she ensures customer insights are front and center — even the company’s COO reads NPS reports every week. Finally, she explains what the Unilever acquisition means for the brand and why loyal fans have nothing to worry about.

If you’re building a brand, leading a CX team, or figuring out how to stay human as you grow, this episode is packed with takeaways you can actually use. Listen now for lessons on creativity, brand voice, and why humor, empathy, and authenticity never go out of style.

📲 Follow Tess:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasnuva-awal/

📲 Check out Dr. Squatch:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dr-squatch/

Website: https://www.drsquatch.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I sat down with Lisa Yarrow, Senior Manager of Customer Experience at Everlane, to talk about how retail instincts are shaping the next era of digital CX.

We get into what it means to bring empathy into analytics, why storytelling is the secret weapon for getting buy-in, and how the best customer insights do not come from dashboards. They come from people.

Lisa shares her journey from the retail floor to leading CX at one of the most values-driven brands out there, and how Everlane’s thoughtful approach to sustainability, tone, and trust is changing the way teams connect with their customers.

We also unpack what it takes to make data feel human, how to translate in-store experiences to e-commerce, and why loyalty is really about connection, not points or perks.

If you are building a CX team, refining your brand’s voice, or just figuring out how to make your customer experience feel more human, this episode is packed with insights you can actually use.

Listen now for takeaways on empathy, data storytelling, and how to bring heart back into digital experience.

📲 Follow Lisa:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisayarrow/

📲 Check out Everlane:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/everlane/

Website: https://www.everlane.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I sat down with Minou Clark, CEO of RealSelf, to talk about leadership, culture, and why creativity is the secret weapon in business. Minou’s journey is anything but traditional. From theater major to running digital growth at BuzzFeed, PopSugar, People, Yahoo, and Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media, before stepping into the CEO role at RealSelf.

We cover entrepreneurship, digital strategy, and what it really means to lead with empathy. Minou shares how her theater background shaped her leadership style and built her emotional intelligence, and why she treats interns, CFOs, and board members exactly the same, holding radical transparency as her rule. She talks about rebranding RealSelf to modernize the experience while keeping its loyal community at the center, and why companies that resist change get left behind. We also dig into the gap between corporate excitement about AI and consumer distrust, and Minou’s long-term vision for RealSelf beyond aesthetics to include wellness, nutrition, and mental health.

If you’re building a brand, leading a team, or just want to understand how empathy and bold change fuel real growth, this episode is packed with insights you can use. Listen now for lessons on leadership, digital growth, and why being authentic is the best strategy.

📲 Follow Minou:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minouclark/

📲 Check out RealSelf:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/realself-com/

Website: https://www.realself.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I sat down with Suze Dowling, Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Pattern, for a conversation about what it really takes to build brands that last. Suze has spent more than a decade helping companies launch, scale, and connect with customers in meaningful ways, and today Pattern is a family of seven home-focused brands built around one mission: making everyday life more joyful.

We cover entrepreneurship, brand strategy, and the real lessons learned from building in the DTC space. Suze shares how she and her co-founders went from running a world-class branding agency to realizing the hard truth that building an operating business is a whole different challenge. She opens up about their biggest early mistake — creating their first brand for themselves instead of their customers — and why “direct with consumer” is the only way to win.

We also get into why a brand is like a human being, with depth, layers, and personality that evolves over time, and why so many companies still get this wrong. Suze explains how product quality, customer education, and thoughtful retention strategies go hand-in-hand with building a strong brand. And she doesn’t shy away from the business side either, talking about margins, pricing, capital, and why most consumer founders should think twice before raising institutional funding.

If you’re building a consumer brand, leading a team, or just curious about how to connect with customers in ways that actually last, this episode is packed with insights you can use right away.

Listen now for lessons on brand building, customer experience, and why empathy and clarity will always beat hype.

📲 Follow Suze:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzedowling/

📲 Check out Pattern:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pattern-brands/

Website: https://www.patternbrands.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week on Above The Fold, I sat down with Chef Rama Ginde to talk about building a food brand rooted in heritage, education, and flavor. Rama is a private chef, culinary educator, and co-founder of Satya Blends, a spice company created from family recipes with the goal of making Indian flavors approachable for every kitchen.

We cover entrepreneurship, food culture, and what it really means to educate customers while building a CPG brand. Rama opens up about growing up between Puerto Rican and Indian cultures and how it shaped her love of food, launching Wannabe Chef as her first business and turning cooking lessons into a career that has lasted over 16 years, and creating Satya Blends with her mom, inspired by her grandmother’s cooking classes in Bombay. She also talks about the challenges of honoring tradition while making spices mainstream and easy to use, and why packaging, sampling, and constant education are the keys to building customer loyalty in CPG.

If you’re building a food brand, leading a CPG startup, or just want to learn how heritage can shape customer experience, this episode is packed with practical insight you can actually use.

Listen now for tips on CPG marketing, customer education, and why the best food brands are built on empathy and tradition.

📲 Follow Rama:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rama-ginde-06222987/

📲 Check out Satya Blends:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/satya-blends/

Website: https://satyablends.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon

This week, I went live at Subs Summit with my girl Ren Fuller-Wasserman, Senior Director of CX at Tushy, the brand that made bidets cool (and fun to talk about).

We cover startup grit, customer obsession, and why CX is never just about support tickets. Ren gets real about:

• Her unlikely path into CX, starting in a call center and turning it into a career superpower
• What it was like building Tushy’s CX team from scratch (and the wild stories that came with it)
• Why humor, empathy, and product knowledge are the not-so-secret sauce of customer retention
• Subscription loyalty, cross-sell opportunities, and how to keep customers engaged after the first purchase
• The balance between automation, AI, and the very human work of talking about… well, poop 💩

If you’re scaling a brand, leading a CX team, or just want to hear how to turn taboo topics into loyal customers, this episode is full of insight you can actually use.

Listen now for tips on CX strategy, subscription retention, and why even bidets need great brand storytelling.

📲 Follow Ren:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ren-fuller-wasserman-68709a52/

📲 Check out Tushy:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tushy/

Website: https://hellotushy.com/

👋 Enjoying Above the Fold?

Keep the insights coming by subscribing to my newsletter, Sunday Postcards. Each week, I share tips, stories, and strategies that help you unlock the secrets to brand success. Written from my experience in the marketing world, it’s your go-to source for staying ahead of the curve. Subscribe at www.sundaypostcards.co and join the community!

Connect with Jess on:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon

Twitter: x.com/jesscervellon

Instagram: instagram.com/jess.cervellon