Have you thought much about the fact that you need to sell your product THREE times before someone can use it at home? I don’t share this to be depressing because sometimes one sounds like enough! And if it sounds like more work, it’s just the reality of breaking down the process that’s already happening and being intentional with your marketing and sales plans to leverage your brand strategy foundations. I’m talking about first selling into a retail buyer, then selling at shelf once you’re there to get into somebody’s cart, and then selling from their fridge or pantry or snack bin to get it o ..read more

In almost every client meeting or strategy session I hear food business owners relay concern over how many things are competing for their attention -- and how exhausting it can be. Some share they are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, and some just feel like they are being forced to wear too many hats at the same time every. single. day...and are searching for ways to stay positive about the business they love.  Recognizing the power of focus is a good start, but not as easy as just saying, "stay focused," right?!  With your brand strategy and business plan in mind, you can use this episod ..read more

The Real Food Brands Podcast is BACK and I'm so glad you're here.  The topic of doing the right things at the right time is always a good concept to keep top of mind, and in this episode, you'll hear me (Katie Mleziva, your food brand strategist) talk about:  What you can expect from new podcast episodes to help you Define, Align, and Activate your brand strategy to position your brand to stand out.  A brief intro for those of you who are new listeners, including how helping you shake up shopping carts with a solid brand strategy helps more people get access to real food.  ..read more

Have you ever noticed something in your business isn’t working as you planned, or as it once did? Sometimes things that made sense just aren't a good fit anymore. We spend so much time and energy trying to keep pushing forward that it can be hard to step back and admit when things aren’t working the way we want them to—and decide what to do about it. Today on Episode 111 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks through what to do when something in your business is out of alignment, and what she’s doing about that in her own business to make ..read more

We all need to communicate to our consumers, but how do you do that well? What’s the difference between talking past someone and really connecting with them in a way that gets them to invest in you? Today on Episode 110 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva has a conversation with Celsea Jenkins, the owner of Grassfed Copy. We’ve put together six copywriting tips to help your brand stand out. In This Episode: The difference between copywriting and content writing. Why you really need to get in the shoes of your ideal customer to know what you ..read more

Sometimes you need to let yourself dream and think big. Instead of letting other people tell you how things work and why you can’t do something, it can pay off to look at things from a new perspective. It helps, of course, to have a great story, which is something that brand strategy work can really help with. Today on Episode 109 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Monique and Chevalo Wilsondebriano, owners of Recipe for Retail and the Charleston Gourmet Burger Company. We’ll learn how thinking BIG took them from a backyard BB ..read more

As you’re working to build your food business or farm, brand strategy and brand development may seem like something that can wait for later. The thing is, brand strategy work goes far beyond your logo or fonts or colors. When you’ve done the work to create your brand’s North Star, it serves as the guide and the glue for everything you do on the front AND back end of your business. It helps you make decisions that will deliver a consistent, cohesive, and relevant experience to your consumers. More importantly, it can help them know how to talk about your brand to others and drive better word-of ..read more

Brand strategy work is something that is second nature for big brands, but not as common for small brands. There’s so much to do when you’re wearing all the hats that it can seem like something you’ll get to “next.” While big brands have access to brand managers and agencies, we can help even the score by providing streamlined versions of the concepts they use to focus on the key parts of the process to help you build a brand that stands out no matter who you’re lined up next to. Today on Episode 107 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares ..read more

A common approach for food and farm businesses is to think about offering a great product rather than building a strong brand. The thinking is that if a product is good enough, taste will ultimately win and of course, people will buy. While this is understandable as you perfect your craft, great taste and quality are expected these days so we don’t want your products to be seen as an interchangeable commodity. There’s so much more to your food brand’s story, so let's uncover it! Today on Episode 106 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks t ..read more

With over 100 episodes of the podcast now available, we thought it would be a good time to go back and highlight some of the great content you may have missed to help you find the right resources at the right time for your food business. To help, we’ve put together a list of some of our best episodes organized around the Brand Strategy Streamlined process: Define/Refine, Align, and Activate (and a few other categories to help you really navigate the topics...100+ episodes is a lot of content!). Today on Episode 105 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie ..read more