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We’re joined this week by Pat LaFrieda, CEO of renowned meat brand Pat LaFrieda’s, who discussed his definition for quality and how it fits into the company’s evolution, why “relationships are everything” in business, his vision for the future of the restaurant industry and his surprising opinion about plant-based meat products.
Lee Robinson, Director of Dairy & Beverage at Whole Foods Market, discussed best practices for engaging with retail buyers, why he urges entrepreneurs to be transparent about their business and innovation strategies, how he evaluates disruptive concepts, his perspective on the future of plant-based food and setting expectations for communication with buyers amid the current crisis.
Annie Chun and Steve Broad, founders of Annie Chun’s and gimMe Snacks, spoke about their entrepreneurial journey from selling at farmer’s markets to building category leading brands, why operational efficiency is critical to achieve sustainable margins and the importance of “discovering new experiences for the consumer.”
Ashley Thompson, co-founder and CEO of innovative ready-to-eat oat brand MUSH, spoke about why she set out to create a “best for you” product, why she likes having a “polarizing” brand name, how she prepared for her first meeting with Whole Foods and why the company has pivoted from being “product first” to “team first.”
Trey Zoeller, founder of pioneering whiskey brand Jefferson’s Bourbon, spoke about overcoming initial criticism of his experimental methods for aging bourbon, why he doesn’t consider himself a distiller, balancing consumer demand for diversity, consistency and predictability and why he’ll “never create a brand or an expression out of a boardroom.”
We’re joined this week by Jordan Salcito, founder of acclaimed canned wine brand Ramona, who spoke about the inspiration behind her disruptive concept, why she’s not prescriptive about how and when people should drink the products and how cultivating industry relationships prior to the brand’s launch was critical to its fast start.
Bantam Bagels co-founders Nick & Elyse Oleksek spoke about their transition from Wall Street analysts to bagel entrepreneurs, why they’ve said “yes” to everything and why effective cold-emailing works. They also explained why investing in PR has been crucial to the brand’s success and how they assessed opportunities to scale the brand.
Ethan Hirshberg, the founder & CEO of organic wellness shot brand Ethan’s, spoke about the importance of “being nimble responsibly,” why the company is “maniacally obsessed with customer feedback,” how core values are incorporated into products and communicated to consumers and what he views as Ethan’s biggest advantage over more established competitors.
David Lester and Ben Goodwin, co-founders of Olipop, explained why they believe creating a better-for-you soda brand was the “most impactful thing” they could do, how package design fuels trial, why educating consumers about the products’ health benefits is not a priority and lessons from their first experience as beverage entrepreneurs.
Hilary McCain, founder/CEO of CBD-infused sparkling water brand Sweet Reason, spoke about attempting to own a distinct message about the benefits of CBD, strategizing amid an uncertain cannabis regulatory environment and how she convinced Lerer Hippeau, an early-stage venture capital fund notable for early investments in Warby Parker and Casper, to invest in the brand.