Episodes

In this highlight episode culled from interviews with six innovators, leaders and entrepreneurs who joined us on Taste Radio during the first half of 2019, we explore the role that innovation plays several for category-leading brands. Our guests include Vita Coco co-founder Mike Kirban, Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky, Justin’s founder Justin Gold, Sailor Jerry Rum and Hendricks Gin creator Steve Grasse and WTRMLN WTR co-founder Jody Levy.

Nutrabolt CEO Doss Cunningham explained why focusing on premium as the guiding principle of the company’s business strategy was key to its development and that of its anchor brand, C4. He also discussed the mission and focus of his venture capital firm LivWell Ventures and the lessons he hopes to impart to brand owners within its portfolio. This episode is presented by Flavorman, the beverage architects.

In a wide-ranging interview, Siggi’s founder Siggi Hilmarsson chronicled his journey from selling his Icelandic-style yogurt on the streets of Manhattan through to the creation and eventual acquisition of the brand in 2018. As part of our conversation, he explained why he urges entrepreneurs to “plan for success,” the important role basketball plays in his life, and why he’s a “maybe, sort-of perfectionist.” This episode is presented by Flavorman, the beverage architects.

In this episode, we’re joined by Popchips and RightRice founder Keith Belling, who discussed the origins of both brands and how lessons learned from building the former are being applied to the latter. He also spoke about the importance of branding and why he’s overinvested in package design, how celebrity investors supported the development of Popchips and the challenges of leveraging success. This episode is presented by ZoomEssence, the cool-tech powder flavor people.

In this episode, we sat down with Andrea Illy, the chairman of illycaffè and one of the global coffee industry’s most influential figures. As part of our interview, he spoke about how Illycaffe’s commitment to quality and ethical standards has positioned the company for long-term success. He also shared his perspective on the three most important attributes for “good coffee”and why the beverage should be treated with the same reverence as wine. This episode is presented by ZoomEssence, the cool-tech powder flavor people.