Food Marketing Nerds Restaurant and CPG Marketing Podcast

On the show today, we have Lacie Mackey, co-founder and COO of Caveman Coffee. If you're not already familiar with the story behind Caveman, then you're in for a treat.

Lacie is a professional stunt trainer and crossfit athlete with a business background in guerilla marketing. Her co-founders Keith Jardine and Tait Fletcher are both professional MMA fighters who combined have either acted in or did stunts for Breaking Bad, Maze Runner, Jurrassic World and a lot more stuff you've probably seen or heard of.

We're talking with Lacie today about how she and her cofounders stumbled upon their successful business idea, and then leveraged their skills to grow their business through social media, podcasting, and just being themselves.

On the episode, you'll learn:

• What benefits and challenges come with starting an e-commerce first brand
• How Caveman leveraged social media and their community to grow their brand
• How to stay sharp and focused when you have a massive to do list

And plenty more.

Caveman Coffee is doing a lot of things right, tapping marketing channels most companies haven't even thought about yet, and it's paying big off for them in a big way. You'll learn a lot from Lacie in this episode, not just about how to approach business, but managing the lifestyle as a marketer and entrepreneur.

On the show today, we're talking with Billie Jo Waara, who is the CMO of a brand doing some really interesting things in a sector that's flooded with competitors with deep pockets. We're talking about Taco Johns.

Here's a fun little fact about Taco John's. They actually invented and own the trademark for the term Taco Tuesday. See, you already learned something new and the interview hasn't even started yet.

Billie Jo spent the first part of her career in advertising before joining Taco Johns as their CMO, so she has a lot of great stories and insights we talk about in the interview.

In today's episode, you'll learn:

• How to create demand for your products before having a presence in a new market
• What you can do to fan the flames around good online conversations about your brand
• How to use product innovation to engage a younger audience

And a ton more.

Billie Jo's Book Recommendations:

• McDonalds: Behind the Arches
• Then We Set His Hair on Fire

This week's episode is a solo-cast - which means you're hanging out with yours truly. We're talking about smart Facebook ad strategies to grow your sales without breaking the bank.

As a marketing consultant, I firmly believe there is no better place to spend advertising dollars right now than Facebook, which is why I wanted to do an episode solely focus ed on this topic.

While we have another solocast planned on Facebook ads for restaurant brands, this episode focuses primarily on how CPG brands can grow their sales with a few simple tactics.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why you should absolutely be advertising on Facebook if you're not already
• What are the most common mistakes brands make with Facebook advertising
• How to set up a process that will drive higher ROI for your brand

And a lot more…

If you're a Facebook ads whiz, go ahead and skip this episode. But if you're not, or you're starting to dabble in Facebook ads and want to up your game, then don't go anywhere just yet.

For transcripts or more information, visit FoodMarketingNerds.com.

We're changing pace a little bit in today's episode, talking about the new advances in marketing technology and automation.

Marketers barely have enough time as it is to get their own work done, let alone invest the added time in researching the latest innovations in marketing tech.

That's exactly why we reached out to today's guest, Andrew Borella, Director of Business Development for Zenreach out of San Francisco. Zenreach is a super interesting company, working to quantify the foot traffic to grocery stores and restaurants as a result of your digital marketing efforts.

They've received some pretty substantial investments lately, and after this interview, I think you'll start to understand why. Joining us for San Francisco, let's go chat with Andrew...

For show notes, and more information on the podcast, visit FoodMarketingNerds.com.

Whether you're thinking of launching a new CPG brand, or just finding ways to differentiate a product that's already on the shelves, today's guest is a wealth of knowledge in the natural foods startup space.

We're talking with Pete Truby, founder of Salazon Chocolate. From working at Mrs. Meyer's when it was in its early stages, to being one of the first employees at Honest Tea, Pete has been a sponge - soaking up knowledge and information when it comes to startups, entrepreneurship, and the natural foods industry.

Today, you'll get to hear how he's applied that knowledge in bootstrapping Salazon into a brand with national distribution.

In our interview, you're going to learn:

• Why Pete believes branding is equally, or more, important than product value
• What the pros and cons are of taking outside investment money
• How to compete in-store with competitors that have deeper pockets than you

And a whole lot more...

Pete teaches at a local university, so I think you'll really appreciate the way he approaches my questions.

For show notes or to get more information about the podcast, go to FoodMarketingNerds.com.

Thanks for listening!

On the show today, we have Taylor West, VP of Marketing for Kodiak Cakes. Taylor has a wealth of experience in the food industry - before making the move into the Natural Products space, he spent around seven years in marketing for General Mills learning how the big dogs roll.

Taylor recently published an incredible article on the state of the food industry in America and what's driving the success behind natural food brands, which we're going to be discussing a little more today.

From the world of cost cutting to make shareholders happy, to an environment where focusing the why behind the brand can be all the difference, Taylor offers some amazing insight into what makes natural brands like Kodiak grow 100% year over year.

In today's interview, Taylor answers:

In short answer, yes. There's a reason big food companies aren't successfully knocking off smaller brands on a regular basis. Sure, there may be some instances, but Taylor discusses why brands like Justin's are pulling huge acquisition deals, rather than having to compete with large companies developing similar products.

Coming from General Mills, Taylor went from one of the largest food companies in the business to practically a startup. He discusses the impact on his career trajectory, along with what one should consider when thinking about a similar change.

Taylor has first-hand experience with leveraging the benefit of being small in marketing, in a way no big can imitate. From sending out gifts to loyal clients, to direct and in-depth surveys, Kodiak Cakes sets the bar for agile, and thoughtful marketing.

And so much more. For anyone in CPG marketing, whether in Big Food or the natural category, you may want to pause and grab a pen and paper before hitting the play button, because Taylor offers a ton of great advice thats actionable and practical.

For those of you looking to lock down your brand strategy, differentiating yourself in a crowded market, this episode is a gold mine for creative inspiration and how to get your marketing together.

On the show, we've got Fred Hart, Creative Director of Interact, which is one of top branding and packaging design firms in the food and beverage industry, and they're based in our home state of Colorado - so bonus points in my book.

Fred is a thought leader on design thinking, especially in the food and beverage industry, and you'd have to pay a pretty penny for the advice he gives away for free in this interview.

In this episode, you'll learn

• Why great design might actually be the worst thing that can happen to a new company
• How you should approach branding if you don't have a clear cut strategy
• What new trends are starting to gain traction in the food and beverage industry

And plenty more. For show notes, visit FoodMarketingNerds.com.

On the podcast today, we've got Rich Hope, CMO of one of the fastest growing restaurant brands in the country, Jersey Mike's.

At over 1,200 locations (and counting), we talk about the catalysts for the growth behind Jersey Mike's. You'll get a peak behind the curtains about how they're adjusting to account for underlying changes in the market.

Jersey Mike's has nailed it when it comes to serving up a great product, but what might surprise you is how the company has adapted to the advancing tech in marketing and the restaurant industry.

If you've yet to fully embrace marketing technology, or are wondering how the fastest growing brands do, there are plenty of takeaways in today's interview with Rich.

Let's get after it.

For show note and additional resources, visit FoodMarketingNerds.com.

We're changing gears a little bit in today's episode, and I think you'll really enjoy it. On the show, we have Barr Hogen, owner of Barr-None Consulting, and we're going to talking about developing food products with an approach that sets you up for success.

It today's episode, we talk with Barr about her expertise in developing food products that appeal to a specific target demographic's flavor preferences. Barr is a product development consultant with an extensive background in creating healthy, and delicious food and beverage products.

Before spending nine years at Odwalla creating products they still sell today, Barr helped open one of, if not the first, whole foods restaurants in San Francisco. In other words, Barr was creating nutritious products way before it was trendy.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What flavor profiles you should focus on if you want to market to millennials vs. baby boomers
• How to approach product development differently if you're planning to sell mass market
• What Barr tells every food entrepreneur with a new product idea

And plenty more…

Let's go chat with Barr.

Resources from the Episode:

• Blood, Bones & Butter
• Kitchen Confidential
• Life on the Line
• Barr's Website
• Barr's Twitter

In this episode, we're chatting with Matt D'Amour, CEO of Yumbutter, about how he built his B Corp from the ground up, increasing his ability to make a positive impact on the world.

Starting with only $900 and zero industry experience, Matt and his business partner launched the business, which has grown in distribution by over 430% this past year.

Through their Buy One, Feed One model, which you'll get to hear about shortly, Yumbutter has helped feed over 150,000 children with malnutrition since 2015.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Where the bottlenecks are when it comes to scaling a food CPG company
• What the challenges and benefits of running a certified B Corp are
• How to increase awareness around your company's bigger mission when you get into new stores

And a whole lot more.

For more information on Yumbutter, check out their website at Yumbutter.com.