jobTopia with Tony Moore

Former NFL player and chef is currently closing a round of investment for his newest venture, ToMarket, a POS (point of sale) ordering platform that solves three problems: 1. Chefs don't have time to find farmers, 2. Farmers don't know how to find chefs, and 3. Distributors want a value ad for their customers. Join David Moosman, CEO and Founder of ToMarket as he discusses how this POS system, the old legacy restaurant marketplace, and his insights into dealing with investors. Today we are diving into a food tech! Let's go.

Origin Story – Grid Iron Chef at U of M

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

Farmers don’t know how to find chefs and chefs don’t have time to find farmers.

POS system – integrates directly into an ordering platform for chefs

Digitize their clipboard

They sell to distributors and get introduced to the buyers on the platform

The greatest barrier to scaling is the “status quo” mindset

Consumer restaurant spending is outpacing grocery store spending

Get to a dollar as soon as possible

Venture capital opinions

Hot-hand fallacy

Season 3, Episode 22

ToMarket: 

• LinkedIn

Youtube

Connect with David Moosman

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

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TIKTOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE

Creating a profitable and scalable casual dining establishment or quick-serve restaurant (QSR) isn't for the faint of heart. The food entrepreneur needs a delicious menu, an attractive concept, passionate front-of-the-house people, and a skilled back-of-the-house operation. Consumers want to save water, reduce plastic use and be good stewards of resources, and they expect their favorite restaurants and brands to do the same. Diana Geseking joins me from Restaurant Technologies to share how RT is partnering with our favorite restaurants to help them recycle spent oil, reduce CO2, and lessen the landfill burden. In this episode, you will learn how to start a sustainability program.

RTI – their place in the restaurant infrastructure

Turning spent oil into bio-diesel  

Tracking the data to help customers see sustainability results

2022 numbers - 289.4 million pounds of waste oil recycled, 16 million total jugs saved, 7.4 million cubic feet of landfill space saved, 66.6 estimated GHG C02 emission reduction, and 24.6 million pounds of trash saved

Trends in Foodservice and QSRs

Plastic reduction is a stepping stone to greater opportunities

Advice for restauranteurs to advance into more sustainable practices

Role of the distributor

Standing up for what is right

What Gen Z wants

Educational Scholarships for employees to go to secondary school

Season 3, Episode 21

Restaurant Technologies: 

• LinkedIn

Connect with Diana Geseking

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

TIKTOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE

Draft anything, anywhere? Don’t pinch yourself. You’re not dreaming! Whether you like beer, bubbly, hard seltzers, cocktails, soda, get ready for the Cooler Keg. ER nurse, founder/CEO and former chemist, Anthony Bernas built a system that lets you take the bar with you. Just rinse, clean, empty, REPEAT. The perfect solution to take to concerts, tailgates, camping, or just hanging out at home, you’ll wish you found the Cooler Keg sooner. 

The wait is OVER! Anthony joins us as we tap into the makings of turning his passion into reality. 

Cooler Keg - portable, stainless steel draft system holding up to 36 beers or 72 cocktails

What are people saying about this invention?

Who is the ideal customer?

Opportunities for growth

2023 plans

Initial production run

Cost to purchase

Season 3, Episode 20

Cooler Keg: 

• Preorder Now!

TikTok

Connect with Anthony Bernas

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

TIKTOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE

Have you ever skipped lunch because the line for the Chipotle was out the door during lunch rush? or maybe you've found yourself at 9pm looking up "food open near me," to see the only place open is the gas station 15 minutes away? Andy Lin, CEO of Yo-Kai Express, found himself in that situation when he was up late studying and craving comfort food - noodle soup. That longing for a warm bowl of soup snowballed into the creation of Yo-Kai Express: the unattended solution. Now the autonomous restaurant offers 30+ gourmet meals that are ready in 90 seconds or less, 24/7, expanding to hundreds of locations across multiple countries. You won't want to miss this episode with CEO Andy Lin because Yo-Kai can pop up anywhere at anytime.~

Origin Story - Noodle soup is comfort food

Don’t think of these as a vending machine– think food platform or ghost kitchen

Good food fast

2022 – Japan and Taiwan

2023 – Europe, Singapore, and Korea to name a few

Challenges with autonomous

Focus on frozen using rapid heating technology

Introducing a Boba Tea concept

Target consumer is wide ranging

Whenever someone is in a hurry

Consumers are quickly adopting

Business model – work with existing business operators

Japan doesn’t not need consumer education; American consumers need education

100 Autonomous Restaurants in America

300-500 planned expansion globally

Partner with big food brands under the ghost kitchen model (shout out Jinya)

Social media is a must – and different based on the region

Season 3, Episode 20

Yo-kai Express: 

• Website

Connect with Andy Lin

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

TIKTOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE

The most delicious, lean red meat that isn't beef is Ostrich! If you are like me, you probably have not tried it. I did and was pleasantly surprised!  Today I interview the premiere Ostrich farmer in America, Alex McCoy, CEO, of American Ostrich Farms. Agriculture is the single most important industry in America if you ask me, and Alex is single-handedly building the value chain for this environmentally friendly, healthy, and sustainable alternative to beef. Join me as I dive deep into Alex's business to discover the challenges and immense future opportunities for this unique bird. 

Origin story

Health and environmental benefits

The biggest consumer challenge

Building the value chain

Vertical integration

Using every part of the bird

It's red meat, not beef

What differentiates ostrich that makes it an interesting addition to your protein mix

The business model

Certification proliferation

The birds never leave the farm

Problems with DTC marketing

Chefs love ostrich meat

Foodservice strategy

Jerky?

Growth plans

Preferred climate

The matrix 

Season 3, Episode 19

• American Ostrich Farms
  

• Website

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

Nature teaches us about sustainability, insulation, and freshness. You just have to know where to look. Alan Cohen, CEO of KoKomio found his inspiration in the Mexican coconut and is building a deliciously natural beverage brand, a multi-use co-packing facility, and Ko Ko Chill - a cold-pack insulation technique inspired by nature's design.  Matt Kovacs, the CEO of Blaze PR joins me today as we discover a new brand that is making its way into America.

Kokomio – mission and purpose

Vertically integrated

Circular economy model - Take care of people, profits, and the environment

90% of US coconut beverages come from Asian coconuts – imagine the carbon footprint!

Cold press in Mexico retail very successful - helped launch into more markets

The coconut broker model didn’t work – inconsistent quality

KoKomio trained the coconut harvesters and gave them better wages and benefits to improve the quality of coconuts harvested and the communities.

Using the entire coconut to reduce the cost of shipping and improve insulation

Called “Co-Co Chill”. You can use the insulation in your garden!

Sales and marketing strategy

Consumers can scan the QR code and look at the whole supply chain and see a more sustainable product

US expansion plan – learning how the consumer works

What are the storylines you are getting from the consumer?

People who were hesitant to try because they didn’t like coconut, loved it because it is different – fresh, just like it was from the tree

“Beach in the bottle”

Expo West was a success

Foodies: How it’s made, coconut maturity level dictates taste. Each one contains MCT, electrolytes, and plant protein, and additional flavors are not added, they blend in actual fruit. 70% less natural sugar than Asian coconuts

3 categories of competitors – cheap brands, raw refrigerated, specialty

Trial and demo strategies, POS promotions, rebates, events, and VW bugs!

Season 3, Episode 18

• Kokomio
  

• Website

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

Brewers invent new beers every year, but Can Algul, Co-Founder and CEO of Pubinno, says the draft beer industry hasn't seen any innovation since 1956. Can's vision for the oldest industry in the world is a Pubinno Smart Tap installed in every tap room to give the beer drinker the optimal pour while providing the owner better data for sales and marketing, sustainability, and a reduced carbon footprint. 

Origin story

A little history lesson

What is Pubinno

What is a Smart Tap

What is smart clean

Obstacles

The business model

Where can I find a Pubinno 

When are you coming to America

Season 3, Episode 17

Pubinno 

Connect with Can Algul

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

Imagine creating a peanut butter spread without nuts. You would have an amazing business opportunity! The same can be said for making a chocolate bar without cocoa beans or coffee without coffee beans. Adam Maxwell, CEO of Voyage Foods, is disrupting all three categories simultaneously! 

What business opportunities exist and what unique challenges await this pioneer of our favorite foods? Join Adam and me to and discover the hottest food-tech company and what lies ahead.

Show notes-

Didn't finish college

Origin Story

Raising capital

Building IP and technology

Marketplace: large-scale ingredient producers

Long sales cycle

Business fundamentals

Capital pragmatism

Capital allocation

Where they focus capital

Selling environments

"The Pitch"

Multi-billion dollar markets

Which category will grow the fastest

FDA regulations and hurdles

Coffee talk

RTD is hot right now

Adam's vision

Expo West

Season 3, Episode 16

Voyage Foods

Connect with Adam Maxwell

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

What's more American than a local coffee shop serving up its version of a cup o joe? 20 years ago Jared Smith and his brother Paul started Fives Lakes, bought a roaster, and began their business journey. Jared joins me as he shares the inside story of roasting the perfect coffee bean and their successful business plan to be a regional player.

Welcome to Five Lakes: Home of the Highly Caffeinated Angry Brew. Small batch Michigan coffee roasters with eight locations in MI and IN.

Origin Story

Purchasing a roaster

1st coffee shop in their town

The roasting process

Store-bought VS fresh roasted

Coffee bean blends, caffeination

Current business model

Key learning – opened 2 stores too far away and had to close them

8 regional stores – spoke and wheel model and a 9th scheduled this year

Some foodservice, universities, casinos no retail grocery at this point

Expanding into RTD coffee with Michigan States University

Scaling a coffee company

Be willing to work a lot and trust people

Be winning or learning

HR Strategy

GMs and assistants

Store Director

Communications

Trainer

Responding to trends

Don’t be attached to an idea or menu item

Iced and frozen drinks are trending

Systems that actually work

What does the future hold?

Season 3, Episode 15

Five Lakes Coffee

Connect with Jared Smith

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat

The Ready To Drink category (RTD) is set to explode past $10 billion in the next 5-10 years. The fastest-growing segment within RTD is the spirits category.  Andrew Rodbell and his co-founder identified a "whitespace" in the marketplace 6 years ago.  Today they are the category leader, and Andrews joins me today and reveals his #1 business philosophy that guides their decisions.  

Origin story

Whitespace

Trends

Market size

Going against the norm

Canning line

Sales strategy

Marketing and Influencers? 

Points of Distribution

Who is the target market - the buyer persona?

Where to find these cute little cans

Season 3, Episode 14

Post Meridiem Spirit Company

Connect with Andrew Rodbell

Connect with Tony

About me and my mission and the podcast:

Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more.

I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies. 

Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you:

Searching for distributor or broker partners? 

Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution?

Searching for the right person to add to the team?

My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow. 

Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, people (DEMO)

Contact me: [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands

Join Our Community

Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat