On the show, we have David Czinn, co-founder and president of D'Vash. If you’re not already familiar, D’Vash’s makes a line of all-natural sweeteners which are derived from superfoods, like dates and sweet potatoes, (think “syrups" and "nectars”, except with 25% less sugar than regular honey).  While the idea of using dates to create a sweetener is pretty new in the US, date syrup has been around for a long time – as in, dating back to the biblical era. During a trip in the Middle East, David and his best friend, Brian, tried date syrup for the first time and became obsessed. Realizing th ..read more

On the show today, we have Chas Littlefield, VP of Marketing for one of the largest spirit brands in the world: Jägermeister. As a heavy hitter in the industry, Jägermeister is recognized across the globe, in just about every country. New product launches aside, brand awareness isn’t necessarily the main challenge at Jäger’s scale. the question instead becomes “how do you influence the way consumers think or feel about a brand they already  know,” or at least think they know. In our conversation, Chas and I discuss some of Jäger's recent campaigns and innovations, all of which bring diffe ..read more

Joining us on this episode, we have Michael Keplinger, Director of Strategy at Smashbrand. Even if you’re not familiar with Michael’s agency, you’ve certainly seen their branding and packaging work on shelves, both at grocery stores or even in your own home. Smashbrand uses a research-forward process to stress-test brand strategy and packaging design, which helps them better understand what sways consumers in a given purchase decision. Smashbrand works with brands like Kool-Aid, Yucatan Guacamole, 7-Eleven Private Label, Duracell, and even PayPal. While their brand work reaches beyond the food ..read more

On the show today, we have Fred Hart, partner and creative director at Interact. Fred is a Food Marketing Nerds regular - he’s been on the podcast a handful of times, and he always brings new knowledge and a fresh perspective – which is why we keep inviting him back on.  Interact, is a world class branding and packaging design firm that specializes in CPG. They recently launched a really informative series called SprintToSuccess, which explains the branding and packaging design process. The content dives into the research, strategy, and creative work that goes into identifying and capital ..read more

We have an awesome interview lined up for you. Hayley Raymond, Associate Director of Brand Marketing at HelloFresh, joining us out of Brooklyn for today’s episode. HelloFresh has grown into the leader in the meal kit space, and as a direct to consumer company, they’ve built their portfolio of brands largely through performance marketing.  While branding and performance marketing have traditionally been somewhat at odds with one another, a big part of Hayley’s role is to break down silos and make sure HelloFresh is building brand equity at every stage of their marketing funnel. In this epi ..read more

On the podcast today, we have Michael Sloan, CEO of Chloe’s Fruit. If you’re not familiar with the company, you are seriously missing out. Chloe’s makes several different varieties of clean ingredients, frozen treats that I can say from personal experience, are incredibly delicious and very quality.  Whether you’re a rising startup or the industry leader, product quality is critical to long term success. But, as you likely know as a listener of this podcast, there’s so much more than goes into which challengers become and remain household names, and which ones become statistics.  In ..read more

When it comes to the companies who win awards for product innovation, the first thought that comes to mind is probably some hot new startup on the bleeding edge of an emerging trend. And while that might be true in some cases, B&G Foods is no start up by any stretch of the imagination, and they’ve been reinventing some of the most classic brands in the CPG industry lately, picking up awards while they’re at it . Today we’re talking with Juv Marchisio, Marketing Director of B&G Foods, about innovating both from a product development and marketing standpoint with recent examples from the ..read more

Over the past several years, the beef jerky category has been on fire with investments from big money players and major acquisitions, and today, we’re talking with Steele Meisinger, te brand manager for one of the companies that started it all: Krave Jerky. After being acquired by Hershey in 2015, Krave has been growing like crazy, and it’s allowed them to do some amazing things in the marketing department. And you’re gonna get to hear about a few of those things from Steele herself. On today’s episode, you’ll learn: Where to start when approaching a truly 360 degree campaign How to integrate ..read more

I don’t know about you but it feels like every other week, there's yet another food company being acquired by an industry beast for 10’s and even 100’s of millions of dollars. It’s encouraging for food entrepreneurs, knowing that many of these companies started with good old-fashioned, grassroots marketing. But does that type of approach even work anymore? Well today’s guest will be the first to say that, yes, it absolutely does. Hannah Kuhlberg is the Bean Queen, aka handler of many things including marketing, for a company called Better Bean Co. She’s been using some really creative, not to ..read more

Today we’re talkin' Hummus. Hummus has been around for THOUSANDS of years, and yet, Hope Foods, makers of Hope Hummus, has redefined the category as we know it. On the show today, we’re gonna be chatting with Will Burger, Director of Marketing for Hope Foods, about how a group of friends went from making hummus in their kitchen at home, to now, still a group of friends making hummus for stores all over the country, all on a shoestring budget. On today’s episode, you’ll learn: How to get buyers and customers talking to each other about your products What you should be doing on social media to b ..read more