The Story of a Brand Show

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Harry says, “I started this company called Ilinel Food Company, which in the Mayan language means the plants that nurture us. I wanted to pay homage to that ancient tradition of food and go going back to Mother Earth, which means going back to fruits, vegetables, and a simpler way of life we had many thousands of years ago. That's our roots and our mission.”

Today, we interview Harry Lewis, Founder of Ilinel Food Company and the maker of Casa Verde. Casa Verde is your one-stop for nutritious, ready-to-eat authentic plant-based Latin food for every occasion.

We discuss so many topics, including a powerful story of gratefulness, homelessness, breaking-free and following your dreams. founder advice for food & beverage brands, to the health benefits of their products, Casa Verde and others. Topics include:

* His gratefulness for the person who gave him courage to break free * Overview of the brand, including the roots, meaning of the name, and his mission * Why he got into food * Why he wants to represent Latin America culture through food * His concept of Affordable Wellness and why it’s important * How the product is shelf stable for 18 months without preservatives? * Why, if everyone eats well, everyone prospers * Why it’s important to have a diverse team * Breakdown of the Casa Verde products * His distribution strategy and availability around the country * Advice for other Food & Beverage founders * Why the donate meals * Why he loves his team

Join Ramon Vela and Harry Lewis as we break down the inside story of Ilinel Food Company, the maker of Casa Verde on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Ilinel Food Company and the maker of Casa Verde, visit: https://eatcasaverde.com/ 

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Jeff says, “when we set out to create this company, we decided we were going to build a brand at the forefront of high performance. And that doesn't mean just building a supplement brand or a product brand. That means building a brand with real differentiated things. In other words, doing the hard things first.”

Today, they serve a broad range of consumers. Basically, their consumer is anybody who's looking for that continuous pursuit of optimization. Someone who says every day, “How do I get better mindset, body, whatever that may be?”

In this episode, we interview Jeff Byers, Co-Founder and CEO of Momentous. Momentous is a human performance company dedicated to creating no-compromise products and tools that support the endless improvement of personal performance. They’ve won 8 defense contracts for innovation. They work with over 200 pro and college teams and have worked with the best scientist in the country to develop their products.

We discuss so many topics, including:

* Jeff’s gratefulness for his college injury and what he learned from the experience * His take on what defines us as human beings: our challenges * Having the humility to ask for help * Who is Momentous the brand and who are its consumers * Why it was crucial for them to do the hard things first when building the brand * Why this it’s unheard and important that they have won 8 defense contracts for innovation and work with over 200 pro and college teams * How do people choose the right products? * Advice for entrepreneurs, including why the inability to learn fast can kill you * His origin story and how does brand and a person stay authentic * Creating a systematic approach for consumers * What’s important for consumers to know about optimization

Join Ramon Vela and Jeff Byers as we break down the inside story of Momentous on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Momentous, visit: https://www.livemomentous.com/ 

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Breanna and Jared say, “what makes us special is we're really the only coconut spread being sold in our category, which is the nut butter and seed butter category except we are peanut free, which is so important right now, a lot of schools aren't allowing peanuts, and we are gluten-free, refined sugar-free and organic.”

Today we interview Breanna Atkinson and Jared Golestani, Co-founders of Kokada. Kokada is an iconic coconut spread that’s completely peanut-free, gluten-free, made with natural ingredients and refined sugar-free. It’s the first sugar and nut-free alternative coconut spread.

We discuss so many topics, including founder advice for food & beverage brands, the health benefits of their product, Kokada and more. Other topic include:

* Jared’s gratefulness for a general manager at an early retailer * Breanna’s gratefulness for a mentor at a previous job * Overview of the brand * Their origins as athletes and how it started the brand * The health benefits of Kokada * How they first sold their product in farmer’s markets * Advice for entrepreneurs, including how long it takes to grow a brand * How they marketed and grew their brand with one product * Last words of advice for founders of food & beverage brands

Join Ramon Vela, Breanna Atkinson, and Jared Golestani as we break down the inside story of Kokada on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Kokada, visit: https://kokada.com/ 

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Adam says, “And that's really what this entire platform is all about. Yes, we're always going to be focused on taste and texture, cause that's the most important thing. A lot of brands choose to focus on macronutrients. I believe macros are incredibly important. But what we believe here at CanDo is it's got to taste great.”

He stresses, “We are sticklers on taste. We are sticklers on texture. We are sticklers on ingredients and we, if we can make it taste good and it's a little better for you, it's a win-win for everybody.”

Today we talked with Adam Bremen, Founder of Keto Krisp by CanDo. CanDo (makers of Keto Krisp) is driven by a mission to inspire and empower a community of doers, dreamers and believers to live a healthier, more-fulfilling lifestyle, every day. They make gluten-free, low carb, low sugar, Keto Krisp keto bars that are a delicious blend of healthy fat, protein, and energy to fuel your day. We have a lively discussion about life, challenges, overcoming obstacles, great tasting keto bars and the true mission of CanDo.

Topics include:

* His gratefulness for his family * Why everyone has a CanDo story * For Adam, love is at the center * How their focus is on taste and texture * The origin story / his story * How they got in their first retailer * Why you have to be an advocate for the things you care about * Why this is a platform for sharing the CanDo philosophy * Why they are a consumer focused company first, a product company, second * And more…

Join Ramon Vela, as we break down the inside story of Keto Krisp by CanDo, on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Keto Krisp by CanDo, visit: https://tastecando.com/

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen to your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Rising acquisition costs and the return to in-store shopping have eCommerce marketers double-clicking on their retention strategy.

Now more than ever, brands need to focus on lifetime value. Yotpo is proud to announce Yotpo Subscriptions on Shopify, making retention easy and affordable for growing brands.

Take 8 minutes or fewer to add a recurring revenue channel to your business.

Download Yotpo Subscriptions from the Shopify App Store today https://apps.shopify.com/yotpo-subscription

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Nick says, "Teresa Purzner, his sister and Co-founder, went to the grocery store and was shocked to find that you could not get over three or four of the 16 nutrients scientifically crucial to supporting brain growth in children in store-bought baby food."

He stresses, “I think it’s important to note that it wasn't three or four missing ingredients in any pouch. It's that 12 or 13 of these 16 nutrients were completely absent from any baby food you could buy at a grocery store.”

Today we interview Nick Langan, Co-founder of Cerebelly. This brand, developed by practicing neurosurgeons, offers organic baby food packed with 16 key brain-supporting nutrients that support how their brain and body grow.

We discuss:

* His gratefulness for founding the brand with his sister * How it’s like to work with siblings within a business * The cognitive function in babies * How the brand started * His Co-founders background in neuroscience and working with cancer treatments * Three things crucial for development: genes, love, and nutrition * Uncovering the 16 nutrients for brain health * The unique manufacturing process of Cerebelly * The crucial window for a baby's brain development * Why nutrition is 100% in your control * Nutrients breakdown * The Whole Food Story * Advice for entrepreneurs including having a mission, always do the right thing, and more * Why price point is important * And much more…

Join Ramon Vela and Nick Langan as we break down the inside story of Cerebelly on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Cerebelly, visit: https://cerebelly.com/ 

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Donda and Michael say, “We are really taking the granola out of naturals and mainstreaming it at an affordable price point that speaks to all people, all genders, all age groups. And it we made it inclusive. Because you, you're not inclusive if you only can speak to a small segment of people that can pay for products that we know make us feel better. And that really was the aha moment.”

Today we interview Michael Marquis, CEO and Donda Mullis, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Raw Sugar. Raw Sugar is an aspirational lifestyle brand on a mission to promote clean and healthy living through products that are affordable, accessible, and good for the body and the soul.

We discuss the origin of the brand, business operations, ingredients, the mission and values and, most interesting, how they make clean, effective products affordable and accessible to all consumers.

* Michael’s gratitude toward his family, daughters, and their support * The wisdom & lessons from Donda’s hard experience with family * Overview of the brand and their “clean for all” mission * Their focus on products that make you feel better * The Secret to building brand affordable and accessible to all consumers * Why price point and great products keep people buying * Why you must have an aligned set of values internally and externally * One of their biggest launches: Raw Sugar Kids launch * Their Raw Sugar Deodorant line * Where consumers should start their journey with Raw Sugar * Why brands need to authentically listen to their audiences * Parting thoughts: Do what you love and Don’t follow profits, follow purpose

Join Ramon Vela, Michael Marquis and Donda Mullis as we break down the inside story of Raw Sugar on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Raw Sugar, visit: https://rawsugarliving.com/

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Gretchen says, “We're a woman's accessory company. We like to say that we are effortlessly cool accessories. When you're struggling with what to wear, it might be just a white t-shirt and jeans and you can put on these bright, colorful earrings or bracelets and it just transforms you and feels great.”

They also work with Commit to Change, an organization that educates young girls in India’s impoverished communities, where they are targeting to educate over a 1000 young girls. Gretchen says, “they have shown that if you educate a young girl, she grows up, and she is more likely to give back to her family and lift so many more people out of poverty. It makes us feel like we're really making an impact.”

Today we interview Gretchen Hollingsworth, Founder and CEO of INK+ALLOY. INK+ALLOY is a woman-owned accessory brand created to inspire and empower the spirit of wonder and exploration. They handcraft colorful glass seed beads and upcycled brass into pieces that evoke a bohemian vibe that is modern, unique, and effortlessly cool.

We discuss:

* Her gratitude for second chances * What she learned from her previous experience building a successful brand * Advice for women entrepreneurs including make sure you’re part of the business, not just design or creative and be the person you want to be * What INK+ALLOY represent to Gretchen: second chance and joy * Overview of the brand * Origin of the brand concept * Why it’s critical that you surround yourself with friends * What are you proud of about the INK+ALLOY that is not emphasized on the website or social media? * Why she works with boutiques and why she supports small businesses * Where does a person start their journey with INK+ALLOY * What inspires their designs? * Why they are BOHO style and what that means? * And more…

Join Ramon Vela and Gretchen Hollingsworth as we break down the inside story of INK+ALLOY on The Story of a Brand.

For more on INK+ALLOY, visit: https://inkalloy.com/ 

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Jolijt and Jacob say, “we focused on creating a culture where everyone's aligned that we were going to sacrifice everything for the customer experience period. End of discussion… We even barred conversations about competitors in company discussions. Because if we weren’t talking about whether it makes a customer's life better, then it shouldn’t be in the discussion. It's about what we can do for our customers.”

Today we interview Jolijt Tamanaha, Co-founder and VP of Growth and Jacob Goodman, Co-founder and VP of Sales, at Fresh Prints. Fresh Prints provide custom apparel and promotional products to Student Groups, Greek Organizations, University Administrations, Intramural Teams, and individuals. They also have a division that works with businesses.

We cover a lot of topics from sacrifice, building a culture, the entrepreneurial mindset, growing a business, operating as if you’re never going to raise funding, hiring missionaries, and creating a great customer experience.

* Why they're grateful for the employees and teams’ dedication to the business * Why they run as a meritocracy * The origins of the brand * Entrepreneurship and the search for the perfect business * The Four things they focused on when growing the business * Why they’re obsessed with customer experience and not raising money * How they're powered by campaign managers * How training and support are their biggest challenges * Their two sets of customers: collegiate customers and businesses * What’s next for Fresh Prints * And more…

Join Ramon Vela, Jolijt Tamanaha and Jacob Goodman as we break down the inside story of Fresh Prints on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Fresh Prints, visit: https://www.freshprints.com 

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Nate says, "that's where the Scandinavian companies just shine. They are so focused on the utility of the garment. There is a saying, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. And that is as close to a motto for Norway, Sweden, and Denmark as you can get."

Today we interview Nate Axvig, Co-founder of Aktiv. Aktiv represents clothing that is built to endure and last. It is your view of the durable, functional designs of Scandinavia. Timeless Classics.

We discuss:

* His gratefulness for starting the business with his wife and the support his friends and family gave him * Overview of the brand * Origin of the brand: what led up to starting the brand * Starting the brand and testing the concept over the web * Focusing on well made, classic clothing * Why there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing * How they fared during the pandemic * Why they opened a physical store * Their primary material: Wool * Plans for Aktiv

Join Ramon Vela and Nate Axvig as we break down the inside story of StoryFile on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Aktiv, visit: https://aktivstyle.com/ 

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright, guys, here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

In today’s episode, we interview Jessica Pelligra, Senior Vice-President of Marketing at Levitate Foundry. Levitate foundry is an e-commerce agency. They are the largest female founded Shopify partner agency and provide end-to-end digital marketing across vast industries.

Although Levitate Foundry works with lots of companies, their sweet spot are direct -to-consumer brands where they do everything from new brand launch, media buying, growth consulting, lifestyle marketing, organic search and social, design, and more.

In our conversation, we discuss everything from gratefulness to list growth, giveaways, videos and most critically, what brands can do right now (holiday season) and what strategies work all year round to grow the business. This episode is spilling over with amazing insights with some incredible detail instructions, including:

* Her gratefulness towards Steph Liu for getting her back in the game * Paid media and why you have to stay nimble * How platform changes are affecting paid media strategies * List growth initiative for holidays and all year around * What offers work best? * How and why you should add a VIP offer * Video strategies and why people are prone to spend after watching videos * Using giveaways * Knowing what your BFCM offer is early on

Note: Jessica shares detailed slides during the episode. If you’d like a copy of these slides, go to https://levitatefoundry.com/consult/ and mention Ramon Vela.

Join Ramon Vela and Jessica Pelligra, as we break down the inside story of Levitate Foundry, on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Levitate Foundry, visit: https://levitatefoundry.com/

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player.

*

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Rising acquisition costs and the return to in-store shopping have eCommerce marketers double-clicking on their retention strategy.

Now more than ever, brands need to focus on lifetime value. Yotpo is proud to announce Yotpo Subscriptions on Shopify, making retention easy and affordable for growing brands.

Take 8 minutes or less to add a recurring revenue channel to your business.

Download Yotpo Subscriptions from the Shopify App Store today https://apps.shopify.com/yotpo-subscription