the Eco Echo

We get down and dirty with the living motivation that is Mark Samuel, founder of IWON Organics high-protein, plant-based snacks, granola and cereal. We get under the hood on the tactics that took them from Vitamin Shoppe to a national force. It's a must listen for any mission based brand or food and bev founder.

Mark opens up about:
- What makes him proudest
- How IWON survived as peers disappeared
- The need for capital
- Growth strategies he's using right now for DTC and discovery
- The big move from savory snacks to the cereal aisle 
- QVC! 
and far more. Listen and learn!

Is plant-based cheese the new plant- based meat? Can it be made of hemp and cauliflower instead of nuts?  Can cheese-free cheese NOT be "life, laugh, love, vegan?"  First-time founder and former marketing exec Veronica Fil and her chef partner Shaun Quade say yes. They took his bold cheese prototypes off their Australian restaurant menu and into the US market. Whole Foods came calling. Now they're selling meltable tasty cheese-free cheeses including American, baby. Stir some Rotel into the queso and get the story. It's serious inspiration to just go for an idea with the right whitespace and timing. 

Welcome the Cann Cannabis-based drink founder! Even if you don't party, we talk about promotion when you can't legally "advertise, " distribution when you can't be on shelf and why Cannabis drinks vs booze. Also: the queer origins of the Cann Social Tonic concept, how to make something tasty AND healthy and can you mix tequila and THC??!

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What does it take to make a great brand in Natural? From the studio that did Bobo's Naturals, Good Pop, Fat Snax, Boulder Canyon snacks and more, we talk packaging, design and ask the question, "What if a brand had NO copy?" Tune in!

 for a rant on the changing culture of the natural industry and what it means for brands. We also unpack Beautycounter's $1B acquisition and retailer Grove bringing its products into retailer Target. 

Join Eco Echo for interviews & regular takes on the green, eco and natural industry from your friends Corey and Julie K. Our newsletter >  ecoecho.substack.com

A mini-opinion ep where we ponder:

- NewNew and other emerging apps where we can pay to control the lives of others, and other new news in the influencers, the creator economy and monetization of everything

- Dr. Tusk, a curiously founder-less, mission-based brand with big claims and (we think) low credibility.

Are we wrong on both counts? Let us know! 

We talk to Lindsay McCormick who founded Bite Toothpaste Bits with an Etsy shop in her living room. Now it's at millions a year in revenue  - 100% direct, 100% equity, with ZERO VC funding and no Amazon shop. She gives us the details on how it's still possible to bootstrap your way to success. She's build believers with big heart, DIY product drops and an ex-TV producer's skills.  No Mark Cuban? No Fluoride? Champagne-flavored toothpaste? TUNE IN as we kick off season 2. 

Our take on news in natural, conscious & better-for-you brands and marketing. 

This time we take on the retail whiplash of upmarket Dollar Stores, Whole Foods' new Ideal Market test concept, and a cool new Joints for Justice bringing a powerful cause in a sea of  #wokewashing. Oh yeah, and plastic-eating enzymes may save us after all! 

Tune in and hit subscribe! 

We welcome the fabulous Ben Schott, author of the article had that the CPG, DTC and design worlds talking. And wondering whether they were part of the bland. 

And if you haven't read it, find "Welcome to Your Bland New World" on Bloomberg now, as well as his other pieces on tech, business, politics, ideas and finance.

Tell us if you think the BLAND world is over - or too big to go away. 

This week in sustainable, conscious, natural and better-for-you brands and marketing. 

We're back after a brief hiatus! We discuss surprisingly low numbers (or are they?) for online grocery and talk about a few encouraging sustainable moments stories: innovative refillables, bee-friendly KIND, and Julie's call for a new sort of CPG sustainability measure. Oh yeah, and Goop's gone democratized.