This week on the NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman, editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Lukas Southard give their hot takes on club store purchases and how better-for-you brands are strategically “dipping” into conventional to reach more consumers. In this week’s interview, Red’s Natural Foods CEO and founder Michael Adair shares the lessons he has gathered while operating the frozen snack and breakfast food brand for 14 years and how the clean label brand has found success sitting next to conventional products in the freezer case.

In this episode:

1:10 - The NOSH Podcast team discusses their opinions of club store shopping and some of their favorite products to grab in bulk.

7:55 - Are natural food brands seeing results from positioning themselves among conventional competitors? The NOSHers explore some brands that have tried the strategy. Jeff cautions that the strategy might not be as “conventional” as it seems.

15:45 - Red’s founder Mike Adair joins the NOSH podcast to talk about his journey in frozen and how he found that patience was his best weapon in building the clean label brand.

20:30 - Self-manufacturing might help a brand control its production and supply chain more efficiently but it comes with a number of other issues that co-packed brands don’t have to worry about. Adair discusses how Red’s move into self-manufacturing opened up new doors (and investment) but was not always the easiest road.

28:05 - It might not always be up to a brand but where on the shelf but which products a brand is placed next to can make a big difference in sales. Adair talks about what Red’s has learned about placement in the frozen category.

“One of the things that we're not afraid of is failing. The minute that you become too conservative in your innovation and the lanes in which you play, you can become stale pretty fast.”

 -Mike Adair, Red’s Natural Foods CEO and founder

About the NOSH Podcast

The staff of NOSH.com takes listeners inside the business of natural, organic, sustainable and healthy food during the NOSH Podcast. Using interviews and discussion, the team illuminates the news, brands, people, trends, and money affecting the world of packaged food.

New episodes are released every week. Send us comments and suggestions anytime to [email protected].

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