Brand Builder

A few years ago, "incubation" wasn't a term you really heard in CPG at all.

That's definitely changed. Whether it's Big CPG or a venture capital firm, the big strategics are trying to get closer to that early stage innovation, and incubation is one way to do that. The list of brands finding success within the incubator model seems to be growing exponentially.

But many - if not most - of the food incubators we see today are modeled after something like TechStars: the incubator provides mentorship, funding, a community, all in exchange for an equity stake in the company. Sometimes that's a great arrangement for founders. But not always. In fact, many of these models are anything but "founder friendly."

Chobani has come around and turned this model on its head.

This week we have Jackie Miller, the former Director of the Chobani Incubator, which is taking a totally a radical approach. They provide a sizeable grant to the brands in their program - with absolutely no strings attached. They provide community, mentorship, all the resources you'd expect and more, but they don't don't ask for any equity in return.

How is this possible? It all comes down to Chobani's values, and founder Hamdi Ulukaya's belief that doing good is good business.

In this episode, Jackie walks us through the founding of the Chobani Incubator, and explains how your brand can gain acceptance to their highly selective program.

One quick programming note - since recording the podcast, Jackie has moved on from Chobani. While she's off on another mission-driven adventure, we all agreed that the content is still super relevant and valuable.

Links

• Chobani Incubator
• How to Apply to the Chobani Incubator
• Questions? Email the Chobani Incubator
• Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

This week on Brand Builder we speak to someone who claims to have discovered the world's healthiest nut.

And by the looks of it, he's on to something.

Darin Olien is widely recognized as an authority on plant–based nutrition, supplement formulation, and elite performance programs. He's also a global superfood hunter, and he and the team at Barukas are on a mission to bring the obscure baru nut to the masses.

A quick look at the numbers and you can see why Darin and the team are bullish on baru. Whether you're talking calories, protein, antioxidants, fiber, or micronutrients - Barukas leads the pack in the nut category. And there's the taste - notes of coffee, chocolate, and just buttery, nutty goodness.

The baru nut isn't cultivated. It grows wild in the Brazilian Cerrado (basically the South American savannah), which makes sustainably sourcing it a big challenge. But it's a challenge that Darin and the team have taken on with gusto.

So how has the Baru nut, a source of nutrition for indigenous tribes for millennia, remained a secret for so long? And why did it take a global superfood hunter like Darin Olien to begin to bring this to the rest of the planet?

We dig in with Darin to find out.

Links

• Barukas
• Connect with Darin on LinkedIn
• Read Darin's book, Superlife

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

When people in the food industry meet Robyn O'Brien for the first time, they often remark, "Funny, you don't look like one of them."

"One of them," presumably being the stereotypical food or environmental activist.

And in a way, they're right. Robyn is a self-described "conservative Texas mom" raised in a military family, and admittedly, the last person you'd expect to be leading a crusade to reform the food industry. Yet she is at the forefront of a movement to fundamentally rethink what goes into our nation's food supply.

As a financial analyst in the food industry, Robyn began to undercover undeniable links in the chemical pesticides, GMOs, and antibiotics in our food and troubling health trends like the explosion of childhood food allergies.

Through her writing and her now Famous TEDx Talk, Robyn triggered an allergic reaction in the food industry when she dared to asked: "Are we allergic to food or what's been done to it?" Today, she is a sought-after advisor and speaker, inspiring organizations and individuals to engage in the "New Food Economy."

Robyn was a delight to interview, and as usual, the conversation took some unexpected turns. What we found most fascinating was Robyn's insight into her journey from financial analyst to food warrior. Fear, she says, was the one thing holding her back, but how leading with love (something she learned from her mother as a child) has given her the courage and resolve to bring these important issues to light.

Key Takeaways

• Why Robyn is optimistic for the future of the natural foods movement, and why the big food industry players are finally admitting that it isn't a fad or a trend.
• Why what we feed ourselves and our families directly impacts how we feel, live, and work.
• How a conservative girl from Texas from a military family became a crusader for reforming our food supply.
• How observing the exploding rates of food allergy in children inspired Robyn to dig deep and uncover the untold story of the food industry, and why accepting that this is her purpose has enabled Robyn to let go of the fear that has held her back from making a difference.
• How and why everyone should listen to their heart in order to find their true purpose and be the person that we're truly meant to be on this planet.
• Why our traits and emotions are like muscles, and why courage is just as easy to exercise as fear.
• The origin behind Robyn's now famous TEDx Talk, and why she didn't want to do it at first.
• Why making a difference isn't about focusing on the naysayers, but being energized by the positive voices you see opportunity in the challenges ahead.

Links

• Field Trip Jerky
• www.RobynObrien.com
• Robyn on LinkedIn
• Robyn on Facebook
• @foodawkenings on Twitter
• Robyn's TEDx Talk

Recommended Reading

• The Unhealthy Truth by Robyn O'Brien
• The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist and Teresa Baker

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

This week on the podcast we have Sisun Lee, the CEO and founder of Morning Recovery.

Using functional ingredients that have been widely used by South Korean revelers for years, Morning Recovery takes the sting out of a night of heavy drinking so that you can do more the next day. The product launched on Indiegogo and immediately resonated with consumers, hitting 1000% of its crowdfunding goal and selling more than a million dollars in the first three months.

And that's not all. While the company is barely a year old, Sisun and the team have accomplished the following:

• 1.5 million bottles shipped worldwide, and built a $33 million dollar brand
• Announced $250K research fund with USC School of Pharmacy
• Grew from a team of 1 to 18

The path to Morning Recovery was anything but straight for Sisun, who began his career as a software engineer at places like Tesla, Uber, and Facebook. Sisun tells us how he ended up the savior of countless partiers across the world, while interviewer (and SnackNation CEO) Sean Kelly teases out the lessons learned along the way.

Links

• Morning Recovery
• Connect with Sisun on LinkedIn
• How Morning Recovery built a $33 Million brand in less than a year.

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

"Waste isn't waste until you waste it."

Our guest this week claims to have discovered the most sustainable superfood on earth - and it's something that most manufacturers were simply throwing away.

This week we have an in-depth conversation with Kaitlin Mogentale (MOJ-en-tail), founder and CEO of Pulp Pantry.

Pulp Pantry make innovative, totally delicious snacks out of pulp - a byproduct from commercial juiceries that usually just gets thrown in landfills. They're creating a healthy, delicious, sustainable product that's helping solve some of our most pressing healthy and environmental challenges.

And if that were all that the brand was about, that would still be pretty cool. But there's so much more.

This was an awesome conversation and great story full of challenges and valuable lessons. We go over everything from what it's like to bootstrap a business, why Pulp Pantry chose to work with a food accelerator, and the values that drive the brand.

At the heart of it all is this idea of Food Justice, something that Katilin studied as a Environmental Studies major at USC. It's a driving force behind both the product development and the brand messages.

Links

• Comparably
• USC Environmental Studies Program
• Connect with Kaitlin on LinkedIn

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

For our 50th episode, we have a classic conversation with Jason Nazar, an incredibly accomplished entrepreneur and Culture Builder extraordinaire.

Jason is the founder and former CEO of DocStoc (which was acquired by Intuit), and he's also a board member and advisor for some impressive companies. We're talking Wondery, The Bouqs, and StackCommerce to name but a few. Today Jason is the co-founder and CEO at Comparably, a company culture data platform.

Suffice to say, Jason has a ton of first-hand knowledge about building teams from the ground up, and he shares that in this long form interview with SnackNation CEO Sean Kelly. Jason also describes his first foray into entrepreneurship at age seven, explains why he did a 180 on the importance of culture, and reveals the three hiring rules that helped him build teams that win championships.

Links

• Comparably
• Jason's writing on Forbes.com
• Jason's writing on WSJ.com
• @JasonNazar on Twitter
• Jason Nazar on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• People Over Profit by Dale Partridge
• Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
• Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

Functional ingredients seem to be all the rage. But what's behind the functional ingredients craze in CPG these days?

To find out, we spoke to two companies and three entrepreneurs who are leading the functional ingredient revolution - MCT Co.'s Matthew Trimner and NeuroGum's Ryan Chen and Kent Yoshimura.

I turns out, functional products are all about aspiration - consumers are increasingly looking for products that aren't just clean, convenient, and taste amazing, but that make their lives better in a demonstrable way. They want products that move them a little bit closer to that ideal version of themselves.

A tall order for sure. To find out how to pull this off, we spoke to two companies and three entrepreneurs who are leading the charge.

Here are our main takeaways from this episode:

• Aspiration drives everything. It's all about what consumers want to do, and who they want to become. The ingredient is really just a means to move the consumer closer to that aspiration.
• Think of the product as a delivery system. The product is a means to deliver the ingredient - but also has to conform to the context of the use case - and has to be clean and taste great. (That's a tricky needle to thread.)
• Brand ties everything together. The brand delivers these messages. It helps create the community that communicate and amplify the aspirations.

Links

• NeuroGum
• MCT Co.
• Connect with Ryan and Kent on LinkedIn
• Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn

Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! [email protected].

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

This week we've got Zak Normandin, the Co Founder & CEO of Dirty Lemon Beverages

Dirty Lemon make functional beverages designed to help you get better sleep, elevate your metabolism, or just look your best.

Zak and the team have created a red-hot brand that's been a hit with consumers. But as we learn in this interview, there's so much more to it than that.

Dirty Lemon is the first consumer brand in the world to offer products exclusively via text message.

We're back with another "Culture Builder" edition of the podcast, where we focus on how to build great teams and become the leader your brand needs to reach that next level.

Our guest this week is Dr. John Izzo, author of six bestselling books, most recently releasing The Purpose Revolution, a manual to show leaders and companies how to transform their corporate culture so they can succeed in the midst of this Purpose Revolution.

Dr. Izzo has been a pioneer in creating thriving businesses for over twenty years, focused on the topics of employee engagement and social responsibility. He's spoken to over one million people, advised over 500 companies and helped some of the world's most admired companies.

We jump right into a conversation around the journey of humanity, exploring how humans can step into their highest possibilities. What does this look like? Izzo calls out three major shifts: our relationship to the planet, our relationship to each other and lastly to the economy.

Doing good is good business and is more fulfilling for leaders and employees. Citing a Harvard study, Izzo explains that when asked if activating purpose and social good within their company would make a big difference, 85% of CEOs said yes.

Expanding, he calls out that customers only rate 6% of brands as acting on purpose. This is a major opportunity for brands to increase customer attitudes and gain a competitive edge.

In this episode, learn how to embed purpose and social good in your company and ignite a revolution.

Books

• The Purpose Revolution
• The Five Thieves of Happiness
• Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything
• The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die
• Values Shift: Recruiting and Engaging the Multigenerational Workforce
• Second Innocence: Rediscovering Joy and Wonder: A Guide to Renewal in Work, Relationships, and Daily Life
• Awakening Corporate Soul: Four Paths to Unleash the Power of People at Work

Links

• Dr. John Izzo
• Amy Wrzesniewski, Yale School of Management
• A Walk by Rainer Maria Rilke

What does it take to bring a totally new product to the US market? How do you go about sourcing the highest quality option for a single-ingredient product? How do you bring an ancient Indian practice to the US CPG industry?

Even after just a couple months to market, Priyal Bhartia and Nadine Habayeb of Bohana have answered these questions with their newly launched snack: popped water lily seeds.

Yes, that's a thing - and we'll tell all about how this dynamic duo is bringing this functional and delicious Indian ingredient to The States.

Bohana as a brand has a lot of depth to it… it's built around Ayurvedic principles and their core value of "free spirit snacking."

Priyal and Nadine talk about all this and share some great lessons learned, including why they had to develop their own supply chain from scratch.

Priyal fell in love with popped water lily seeds as a kid, recounting that she and her family used to eat them all the time as a staple in the Indian diet, and one of the only sanctioned foods that can be eaten during fasts. Years later, she shared some with her friend Nadine and they both knew they were onto something.

During Nadine's last couple of months in graduate school, the two tested the market by sharing water lily seeds with friends and classmates. After 6 months of market validation, the two began the process of building their brand, starting with the sourcing of the seeds. After finding that the supply chain was hugely disorganized, they decided to cut out the middleman and go straight to the farmers, developing relationships that allowed them to source high-quality product, have confidence in their ability to scale and give more of the profits back to the farmers.

After bringing the ingredient back to the US for production and perfecting the finished product, they worked to develop a brand that embodied their core value of "free spirit snacking."

Priyal and Nadine join us this week and take us along their journey to market through an 18 month R&D phase.

Links

• Bohana
• @BohanaLife on Instagram
• Connect with Priyal and Nadine on LinkedIn