In this episode, we meet Dylan Ceglio CEO of Chubby Snacks. 

Chubby Snacks is a better-for-you alternative to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Dillon shares how he went from a modest upbringing to a digital agency owner to a healthy snack brand founder. 

Other topics covered in this episode

• Trademark protection
• Transitioning from DTC to retail 
• Retail distribution
• Digital Marketing for retail

Key Takeaways

• Don’t reinvent the wheel with business models that work
• KeHE and UNFI are key distributor relationships in the retail distribution model 
• Tradeshows are a great way to get in front of retail buyers
• Geotargeting is key to retail digital marketing campaigns 
• Put 80% of your efforts into 20% of your stores where its key to move the needle

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Dillon Ceglio:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillon-ceglio/

​Website: https://www.chubbysnacks.co/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

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www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Anouck Gotlib, CEO of Belgian Boys. 

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Belgian Boys is a company that sells a variety of breakfast foods and desserts that are made with non-GMO ingredients. ‍

Anouck gives some fascinating insight on how her brand has pioneered a new breakfast category and what stands out to customers. 

Topics covered

• The importance of visual design in bringing products to life
• Identifying what your customers want out of your product
• How Belgian Boy moved from the frozen breakfast section to the dairy refrigerator
• Tapping into what is popular amongst younger generations as a way to expand the audience of the brand 
• Connect with users as a way to elevate your brand
• Harmony within the brand is vital

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Takeaways

• A new brand needs to be fresh and bold to stand out from the crowd.
• When building a brand, you are creating a mission that your audience can experience.
• Breakfast products are evaluated based on taste, convenience, and ingredients.
• Making the lives of your customers easier is a priority with consideration of ingredients.
• DTC is a go-to-market model that doesn’t really work for refrigerated products.
• It’s important to do what makes the most sense for your brand. 
• Look to media platforms like TikTok and use the trends as a way to create products. 
• Word of mouth is a very powerful tool, especially in the parent community.

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Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

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Where to find Anouck Gotlib:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anouck-gotlib 

​Website: https://www.belgianboys.com/ 

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Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

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In this episode, we meet Scout Brisson, CEO of De Soi. 

De Soi is a non-alcoholic beverage brand made with natural adaptogens.

Scout gives a deep dive on what it’s like to create a new category and some of the benefits of being a celebrity-led brand. 

Topics covered

• Non-alcohol category
• New category creation
• Role of DTC
• Celebrity brands
• Liquor vs traditional distribution

Takeaways

• Non-alcohol category is young and has a lot of room to grow
• New categories require education at every touch point in the funnel
• DTC and retail are connected flywheel, not separate funnels
• It takes 7 brand touchpoints to breed familiarity and desire to buy
• GoPuff, BevMil, Boisson and Faire are all helping De Soi expand distribution thoughtfully
• Celebrities can bring audience, content, brand awareness, unique giveaways, and warm introductions to high-end restaurants/bars
• Find distributors who rep multiple brands and can work on commission 

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Scout Brisson:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

​Website: https://drinkdesoi.com/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Phil Jamison, VP of North American Sales at Beatbox Beverage. 

Beatbox Beverage is a party punch beverage brand. Party punch is a fruit-flavored non-carbonated alcoholic beverage. 

Phil shares a masterclass in alcohol distribution and how to build a powerhouse alcohol brand.

Topics covered

• Wine/liquor vs. beer distributions
• Buyer research
• Social media  for an alcohol brand
• Getting share of mind with distributors 
• Online alcohol sales 

Takeaways

• There is more focus on merchandising at the local level in beer distribution (vs. wine/liquor)
• Don’t try to be something you are not; know your demographic and career to them.
• Getting your distribution sales pitch is a powerful sales lever
• Alcohol distribution is 100% relationship-driven
• If you don’t have relationships, make sure you have data and a differentiated story
• Start small and focus on building trust.
• Alcohol brands can sell online, but it’s highly regulated. Consequently, it’s a very small part of sales.

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Scout Brisson:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

​Website: https://drinkdesoi.com/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Menaka Gopinath, president and COO of Graf Lantz. 

Graf Lantz is a bags and accessories company that uses durable and sustainable materials like wool felt, leather, hemp, and canvas.

Menaka shares her insights and perspective on building whole in the boutique channel and building loyalty programs. 

Other topics covered in this episode

• Specialty boutique channel
• Wholesale distribution strategy
• B2B sales to hospitality and corporate 
• Customer loyalty (19:40 - 22:45)

Key Takeaways

• The boutique channel is relationship-driven
• Displays, optimized packaging, starter packs, and education make it easier for boutiques to sell your product
• Start slow with new sales channels
• Loyalty programs aren’t just about points and rewards, but creating exclusive brand engagement opportunities like meeting the founder or access to limited edition products

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Menaka Gopinath:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menakagopinath

​Website: https://graflantz.com

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menakagopinath/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Jess Cervellon, Head of Customer Experience at Feastables. 

Feastables is a better-for-you snack brand from Mr. Beast, the #1 creator on Youtube. 

Jess shares her perspective on Customer Experience and how she is driving engagement and building community at Feastables. 

Other topics covered in this episode

• Creator-led brands
• QR Codes Experiences
• Sweepstakes
• Customer experience
• Text and chat bots
• Surveying retail customers  

Key Takeaways

• Retail provides accessible pricing options for DTC products, i.e. ability to buy a single bar vs. 10-pack
• For Feastables, retail also expanded word of mouth outside the Youtuber segment 
• QR codes bridge the gap between digital and physical for Feastables
• Sweepstakes are a great way to drive engagement with QR codes
• Customer experience is more than support; it’s community building and digital experience too
• Feastables is using SMS and webchat in fun and creative ways to drive engagement 
• Brands can learn more about their retail customers with a QR code / survey combination

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Jess Cervellon:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon/

​Website: https://feastables.com/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Jamie Roller, Associate Director of Growth Channels at Dr. Squatch

Dr. Squatch is a men’s natural personal care brand, best known for its soaps and deodorants. 

In this episode, Jamie shares a deep dive in how Dr. Squatch, a $100M+ soap brand is approaching and managing the Amazon marketplace channel.  

Other topics covered in this episode

• Transitioning from DTC to Omnichannel
• The growing role of Amazon
• Offensive and defensive Amazon strategies
• Marketplace pricing

Key Takeaways

• Paid Youtube and Tiktok ads to DTC drive brand search volume on Amazon
• Retail and Amazon are difficult to measure 
• Brands should consider PPC ads on Amazon to define their search positions
• Make sure to test and learn to figure out what works for your brand
• Investments in Amazon merchandising drive growth in customer LTV
• In addition to CAC / LTV ratio look at the payback period

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Jamie Roller:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieroller/

​Website: https://drsquatch.com/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Dale Mason, International Sales Manager at Tooletries. 

Tooletries makes silicon grooming tools that are stylish, clever, and bespoke. 

In this episode, we hear went from packing orders in a shed back in Australia to global retail distribution.

Other topics covered in this episode

• The Sales role in a CPG company
• International sales distribution
• Individual retailer sales strategy
• Role of packaging in sales
• Merchandising

Key Takeaways

• Men’s grooming is a $9.5B market
• A big component of retail success is finding win-win positions in the planogram 
• Turn retail success into case studies for selling future partners and improving placement
• Packaging design can play a part of the retail sell-through strategy
• Merchandising needs to evolve cardboard displays to touch screens to truly drive in-store engagement

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Dale Mason:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-mason-4ba76059/

​Website: https://tooletries.com/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Vladimir Vukicevic, co-founder and CEO of Better & Better.

Better & Better is a vitamin-infused toothpaste designed to remove the need for taking pill vitamin supplements..

Other topics covered in this episode

• Turning personal pain into a passion project
• Serial entrepreneurship
• Role of Amazon in personal care
• Product differentiation
• Role of press 
• Market education

Key Takeaways

• Distill your value proposition down to as few core benefits as possible
• Your website is the channel that gives the most storytelling power
• Amazon is a powerful channel for personal care and hygiene products
• Retailers like products with unique positioning and compelling story
• Press is a great credibility signal for getting into retail 
• Use credible sources to tell your brand story

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Vladimir Vukicevic:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vukicevic/ 

​Website: ​ https://betterandbetter.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomebetterandbetter/ 

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Courtney Toll, the founder, and CEO of Nori. 

Nori in an innovation on the traditional iron that has the form factor of a hair straightener. 

In this episode, we hear how Nori was born from Courtney’s own pain and went from no product to over $5M in sales in 2 years..  

Topics covered:

• Product innovation
• Customer pain points
• Defying iOS 14 changes with DTC and Meta 
• Amazon launches
• In-store demos
• Adding consumable parts to products

Takeaways: 

• Great product opportunities lay in categories that are boring and lack innovation
• Customers are likely to resonate with products that demonstrable and solve an acute pain
• A brand should have an appropriate spend level where acquisition is profitable, there is sufficient data to learn and improve ROAS
• Seasonal buying periods are a great time to launch Amazon. 
• Amazon has its own ecosystem of influencers and affiliate partners
• New form factors need to be tried out in the store
• Omnichannel is not just distribution, it’s marketing too

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Courtney Toll:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-toll-442602116/

​Website: https://nori.co/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com