Justin’s old Vega colleague, Julie Daoust joins the show to discuss the kingdom of mushrooms.  Julie provides a new perspective of the natural CPG world from the scientific / R&D side and dives into some of the most cutting edge nutritional science of today.  Alex and Justin are about 10x smarter after this conversation.

Julie's LinkedIn

M2 Ingredients

Om Mushrooms

2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 and Dream Pops founder David Greenfeld swings by to chat about building a delicious plant-based ice cream company in public.  He dives into his investment banking past, how he creatively built a brand following before selling direct, and the importance of connections with other founders.

David's LinkedIn

Dream Pops

Nishal Kumar of No Days Wasted joins the show to discuss building a North America brand, DTC vs. retail, the Dragon’s Den experience, and working with TV personalities like Biz Nasty.  He gets granular on steps to build a business from scratch, creating fans of your product, drops some legendary quotes and the importance of maximizing every single day.

Nishal's LinkedIn

No Days Wasted

Phil’s co-founder behind This Commerce Life, Kenny Vannucci joins the show that chat about how the industry has evolved over the past few decades and some of the challenges the industry is facing.  Kenny talks about growing up in retail, his long career at London Drugs, and the move to the consulting world with fun projects on Commercial Drive Coffee Company, Old Growth Beverages, & Norman’s Community Market.

Kenny's LinkedIn

This Commerce Life Homepage

This Commerce Life Spotify

Canadian podcast legend, Phil Chang, joins the show to discuss the state of the industry and his career path through it.  Phil covers his time at some of the big guys: Unilever, Revlon, Kimberly-Clark, Danone, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson; his transition to the retailer side with the rise and fall of Target Canada and the transition into consulting and podcasting.

Phil's LinkedIn

This Commerce Life Homepage

This Commerce Life Spotify

Will Nitze joins the show to discuss building the amazing IQBAR from the ground up.  Will goes into detail on crowdfunding, the importance of go-to-market strategy, unit economics, creative marketing, and the importance of being obsessed with your product.

Will's LinkedIn

IQBAR Homepage

Mike Catalano had a big impact on each of the guys early in their careers: as the person who recruited Alex and gave him his first shot in CPG, and as a mentor who took Justin on one of his first buyer engagements to a planogram lab during an internship.   Mike joins the show and discusses his career path, the move into the food space, importance of quality and the power of vertical integration, and how to be a great mentee.

Mike's LinkedIn

Wonderful Homepage

CPG veteran and Justin’s work BFF, Vanessa Ordway joins the show to talk about her career with companies like Rubbermaid, PepsiCo, Danone, and Vega.  Vanessa goes deep on the importance of candor, differentiated experiences, and how to build a successful career in CPG.

Vanessa's LinkedIn

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream

Founder of Bro Dough & social media expert, Erica Rankin joins the guys to chat about building a brand from scratch, the importance of finding strong mentors, spending time in stores, and the power of thinking bigger.

Erica's LinkedIn

Bro Dough Homepage