the Eco Echo

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. We talk to David Greenfeld of DreamPops. With him, Everything is Popsicle.™ Like driving revenue pre-distro via major partnerships. Self-manufacturing since day 1. Running the brand as a content company. Getting Beats by Dre as customer one with a cold email. Omnichannel and early DTC.

David gives details on: 
- writing his own rules of partnership and working with Goop, Patron, SoulCycle and more
- emails that get meetings
- their content focus, platform-by-platform 
- why cooperation beats competition
- why outside investment is overrated
- working your product as a platform
-  DreamPops beyond popsicles

This design-driven vegan popsicle and snack company is making their own rules and keeping great company. Listen and be inspired. 

Join us each week for our hot takes on the latest in natural, conscious, sustainable and better-for-you brands, marketing, retail, startups and more. 

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. We talk about how Impossible Food gets everything right again with their 1000 store rollout support. Facebook, IG and TikTok get more commerce-friendly while Quibi thinks old. Is the gym dead? Is sexual wellness the new casual sex? Also: how we ended up caring about Pepsi's DTC play. 

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. We interview the co-founder Three Wishes Cereal, a better-for-you, high plant protein take on our childhood faves. 

We dig into:
-  product dev & food science journey
- getting into key retailers fast - but waiting on Target 
- learning from Amazon & DTC
- connecting with community. and buyers.
- spouse co-working 

And so much more. This convo is as tasty and easy as the cereal. Join us each week for our hot takes on the latest in natural, conscious, sustainable and better-for-you brands, marketing, retail, startups and more. 

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. How might acquisitions and innovation look different for the industry? We consult the oracles of CEO quotes and Krave's sale and discuss. Plus a prenatal brand that could use some messaging massage and talk QVC for GenZ. Join us each week for our hot takes on the latest in natural, conscious, sustainable and better-for-you brands, marketing, retail, startups and more. 

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

Eco Echo interviews Courtney Boyd Myers, Founder of AKUA, maker of delicious Kelp jerky, pasta and soon, kelp burgers. 

What we cover in this episode: 
- Kelp as a regenerative resource & climate-negative superfood 
- Finding a future market for a future food 
- How to pursue a bold idea without a clear product development path or big budget
- Figuring out challenging supply chains, production, retailer & marketing strategy
- What her experiences at Four Sigmatic taught her about story-telling 
- Amazon, Thrive Market and very specialty retail 
- The one tool every founder needs 
- BONUS: discount code!
And so much more.

AKUA believes you should kelp yourself and we agree. Check out this episode and subscribe.

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. Covid19 is shining new light on retailer practices and worker's rights. Consumers increasingly want brands to do the right thing plus convenience. Will ask more of "conscious" post-Covid? Bonus: Is Sprouts looking to be the next Trader Joe's? 


Join us each week for our hot takes on the latest in natural, conscious, sustainable and better-for-you brands, marketing, retail, startups and more. 

This week in natural, conscious and better-for-you brands and marketing is OLIPOP. The healthy alternative to soda is a better-for-you masterclass in how to do natural brand building right. 

Eco Echo interviews Steven Vigilante, Olipop's head of Partnerships and e-commerce lead.

What we cover in this episode: 
- Nurturing a great culture in company that's always been remote 
- Lessons from their explosive DTC and e-commerce growth in the 5 weeks since COVID-19 
- Learning regionally vs launching nationally
- Keys to amazing partnerships, buzz-building & organic growth 
- The importance of mission
- What separates a good startup founder from a great founder
And so much more.

Olipop wants to be your best friend and so do we. Check out this episode and subscribe.

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. We talk Millennial brands & Instagram under threat by GenZennials and TikTok. Authenticity is dead! Long live Realness! Also: Everlane Hate, the comeback of Big Food & Big Grocery and SWAT shopping vs event shopping in the quarantine age.

Show Notes: 
1:18 What happens to the "stay in" Millennial brands when you can't go anywhere? Friday Night In is no longer an aspiration, it's a govt order.

5:00 Is this is the end of Authentic™ Branding? The rise of the real may also be the changing of guard to Gen Z and younger Millennials.

8:01 TikTok is the medium of the moment and FOR the moment. 

16:12 Chobani is already the #2 oat milk in America and it's only been around since January 2020. But WHAT is number one? 

20:10 Everlane laid off striking workers. It's the latest example of what happens when the mission doesn't meet reality, at least in the eyes of consumers. P.S. Is Everlane fast fashion? We discuss. 

25:33 Is Big Food back? Tough times call for big distro. 

30:29 SWAT team shopping vs Sunday drives in the age of coronavirus - how we are navigating in-person grocery trips right now. 

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. We talk about one-stop to get your ongoing COVID marketing updates, food and beverage analyst reads & predictions, and what's up and down CBD. Plus a random divergence into WFH. 

Join us each week for our hot takes on the latest in natural, conscious, sustainable and better-for-you brands, marketing, retail, startups and more. 

This week in natural brands and the sustainable marketplace. We talk about the categories we see benefitting from our socially distanced times. Plus: the brand that boldly launched amidst week 1 of COVID-19 and yet another thing that makes Grove Collaborative a retailer worth watching. 

Join us each week for our hot takes on the latest in natural, conscious, sustainable and better-for-you brands, marketing, retail, startups and more.