Brand Start Goes Healthy - Brand Development for Better-for-You Food and Beverage CPG Podcast

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Mar 2024

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About the show

If you're a better-for-you food and beverage CPG who want to learn insights, tips, and advice from other successful healthy Food and Beverage founders then this podcast is for you. At the Brand Start Goes Healthy, you will find answers to questions such as: 1) How do you successfully develop a better-for-you food and beverage CPG brand? 2) How do you get your product into retail & boost sales? 3) How do you raise capital? 4) How do you leverage branding, sales, and marketing in the better-for-you CPG industry? Plus success mindsets and inspiration to help you in your journey.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

March 26, 2024Episode 7957 min

How to Build a Tribal Market that Loves your CPG with Allison Cayne of Haven's Kitchen

Allison Cayne launched her CPG product in Fresh Direct and sold out in 4 hours. She credits this success to how she has built a customer base that has a deeply rooted relationship with her brand. It's not only about growing their email list to 70,000 subscribers but creating that genuine relationship with consumers that lasts for a long time. Listen to this episode to learn: 1) How to make your customers feel connected with your brand? 2) How do you achieve a sold-out launch? 3) Why making your audience part of the brand process important? 4) What are the CPG foundations for growth and scale? 5) How do you handle regrets as a CPG founder? Learn more about Ali and her brand at https://havenskitchen.com/. P.S. If you're struggling to drive product trials and you want to strengthen your product positioning, I may be the guy to help. I'm opening my CPG Brand Consulting program for strat-ups and emerging CPG founders. Get on a 30-minute discovery call to see if we're fit to work together. Sign up here: https://calendly.com/leogrape/cpgbrand.

February 25, 2024Episode 7846 min

Navigating the Turbulent Journey of Being a CPG founder with Joe Hill of One Planet Pizza

Being a CPG founder is tough. It takes courage, business acumen, and mental fortitude to succeed. This conversation is both insightful and vulnerable, uncovering not only the business side of CPG but also the realities of being a founder. In this episode, Leonard is joined by Joe Hill, co-founder of One Planet Pizza, who opened up about his ups and downs in building his company alongside his dad. Listen to this episode to learn: 1) Why is testing and failing a critical part of CPG success? 2) What's the #1 challenge to expect when starting a CPG brand? 3) Why scaling down is a growth strategy? 4) What should be your #1 priority as a CPG founder? 5) What does CPG survival truly mean? Learn more about Joe and his brand at https://oneplanetpizza.com/. If you find this podcast helpful, be sure to subscribe and leave us a rating. P.S. If you're struggling to drive product trials and you want to strengthen your product positioning, I may be the guy to help. I'm opening my CPG Brand Consulting program for start-ups and emerging CPG founders. Get on a 30-minute discovery call to see if we're fit to work together. Sign up here: https://calendly.com/leogrape/cpgbrand.

February 19, 2024Episode 771 hr 0 min

The Biggest CPG Liability that Hinders Growth with Hank Watt of Nature's Wild Berry

85% of CPGs fail after two years. One of the main reasons is the inability to generate awareness and drive product trials. In this episode, Leonard talks to Hank Watt, CEO of Nature's Wild Berry, a Shark Tank brand that's been growing in the past 8 years, who shared how they pivoted their marketing game to drive more awareness and reach more customers. Listen to this episode to learn: 1) What's the importance of driving product trials? 2) How to be more effective with your marketing? 3) Why it's important to have a high-margin product? 4) How to get investment from Shark Tank? 5) How to build a brand that people love? Learn more about Hank and his product at www.natureswildberry.com. If you find this podcast helpful, be sure to subscribe and leave us a rating. P.S. Get your FREE guide that helps you increase your website conversion rate by downloading your copy of The Complete Playbook to Creating a Killer CPG Website that Converts at www.thevineyardbc.com/freeplaybook.

February 6, 2024Episode 7649 min

The #1 Factor that Drives CPG Product Trials with Kevin Smith of SmashBrand

Driving product trials is a key to success for any CPG company. It's foundational for growth for CPG start-ups, emerging CPGs, and even CPGs that are in growth mode. But how do you get more product trials in such a competitive industry? In this episode, Leonard is joined by Kevin Smith, a CPG founder and fellow Brand Development Expert who's the CEO of SmashBrand, to talk about the importance of branding and product positioning in achieving CPG success. Listen to this episode to learn: 1) What's the #1 factor in driving CPG product trials? 2) Why is brand development at the center of CPG success? 3) How do you find your product differentiation to build a compelling brand? 4) What are the common CPG branding mistakes that you must avoid? 5) How do you create a packaging design that boosts product sales? There are so many more insights that you can learn from this conversation This is probably the most in-depth brand development episode in the entire podcast so be sure to listen to it until the end. Learn more about Kevin and his company at www.smashbrand.com. P.S. Get your FREE guide that helps you increase your website conversion rate by downloading your copy of The Complete Playbook to Creating a Killer CPG Website that Converts at www.thevineyardbc.com/freeplaybook.

January 31, 2024Episode 7443 min

How to Find Product-Market Fit as a CPG Brand with Jordan Buckner

Finding product-market fit in the CPG space is a critical component of success for any CPG brand. It's how you know that you've reached a point where there's promising demand for your product, your marketing is working, and your sales are growing. In this episode, Leonard is joined by fellow CPG expert, Jordan Buckner, who's a former CPG founder himself, to talk about how CPG founders can be more strategic and efficient in finding product-market fit. Listen to this episode to learn: 1) What are the key steps in finding product market fit? 2) How do you create a product with the customers in mind? 3) What are the 2 ideal audience types for emerging CPG brands? 4) What's the downside of taking investors' money? 5) How do you manage the emotional toll of running a CPG? Jordan also shared an amazing product-market fit tool that you can download here: https://www.foodbevy.com/product-market-fit-calculator/. You can learn more about Jordan and his businesses at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanbuckner/. P.S. Do you have conversion challenges for your CPG website? Then you need our new guide called The Complete Playbook in Creating a Killer CPG Website that Converts to help you increase your website conversion rates. Get your FREE copy at www.thevineyardbc.com/freeplaybook.

January 23, 2024Episode 7458 min

How to Scale your Retail Door Count by 300% with Ashley Nickelsen of BTR Nation

BTR Nation started as a DTC better-for-you protein bar brand. When scaling, they expanded into retail and grew their door count and distribution channels by 300% at a rapid phase. Leonard talked to Ashley Nickelsen, its founder & CEO, who shared her journey from getting the product idea when both her parents were diagnosed with a rare form of cancer to scaling it to a $1,000,000+ brand. Listen to this conversation to learn: 1) How do you differentiate your product in a saturated category? 2) What's the key to succeeding in DTC and Amazon? 3) How do you scale your retail door count and distribution channels? 4) What's the number 1 metric when getting on the shelves? 5) Do branding and marketing really yield ROI? Consider subscribing if you find this podcast helpful. Learn more about Ashley and support her brand at https://www.btrnation.com/.

January 16, 2024Episode 7321 min

3 Growth Pillars for CPGs in 2024 with Leonard Grape of The Vineyard

How can you grow your CPG brand this 2024? What are the 3 major growth pillars to focus on? The CPG landscape isn't looking to bolster anytime soon but that doesn't mean you can't have growth opportunities.In my very first solo episode, I talk about the 3 pillars that you can revisit, assess, and immediately act on to drive momentum for your CPG company this year. If you need help in growing your CPG brand, don't hesitate to reach out and schedule a free 30-minute discovery call: https://calendly.com/leogrape/discoverycall. P.S. Our new FREE guide called The Complete Playbook to Creating a Killer CPG Website that Converts to help you increase your website conversion rate is now available for download. Get your FREE copy at www.thevineyardbc.com/freeplaybook.

December 12, 2023Episode 7241 min

The Best of Brand Start 2023 - Part 2

For this Part 2 of The Best of Brand Start 2023, we're bringing back key moments and insightful discussions with the following better-for-you food and beverage CPG founders: Mark Samuel on Surviving as a CPG and Packaging Mistakes to Avoid Jake Karls of Mid-day Squares on Using Emotional Marketing for CPG Differentiation Taylor Walker of Spritzal on the Power of CPG Rebranding David Delcourt of Seed Ranch Co on Success Tenets for CPGs, and Aaron Gailmor on Strategic Branding for CPGs Are you enjoying this podcast? Consider subscribing so you can be updated as we bring you more insightful and amazing episodes this 2024. Want free daily tips on CPG Brand Development? Connect with me on LinkedIn at Leonard Grape! As a holiday request, would you consider leaving us a 5-star rating? And would it be crazy to ask if you can leave a comment? This will help us grow the show and help more founders! Have a great holiday and see you again in 2024!

December 5, 2023Episode 7147 min

The Best of Brand Start 2023 - Part 1

This 2023, we've featured some of the most inspiring and successful founders in the better-for-you food and beverage CPG space. For the first time ever, we're giving you a year-end treat for a 2-part The Best of Brand Start 2023. Our team at The Vineyard picked some of the best moments with CPG founders who share their biggest lessons, inspiring stories, and business advice all in 2 episodes. In this 1st part, you'll hear valuable insights from: Isabelle Steichen of Lupii on understanding CPG profitability and how you can reach it Christina Drake of Willa's Oat Milk on effective CPG marketing strategies and consumer-focused tactics Clara Paye of Unite on strategic product Expansion and sales channels Ana Fortun of In-Bite on niching as a growth strategy and why industry knowledge is mandatory for success, and Arshad Bahl of Amrita Foods on Retail vs DTC Insights for CPG and hard metrics for CPG success. Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Let us know! If you want to get more CPG insights, follow me on LinkedIn at Leonard Grape for daily brand development, CPG industry, and entrepreneurial posts. Thanks for joining us this year and see you in 2024! P.S. We're offering a free 45-minute brand call to help you address your main challenges and give you insights on how to leverage brand development to grow your business. Visit www.thevineyardbc.com/talk to avail.

November 28, 2023Episode 7038 min

No Sh*t, No Fluff Conversation on CPG Success and Challenges with Mark Samuel of IWON Organics

No Sh*t, No Fluff Conversation on CPG Success and Challenges with Mark Samuel of IWON Organics. Listen to this conversation to learn: 1) Why you should think long and hard before starting a CPG brand? 2) What is the single most important thing for any CPG company? 3) What's a fatal CPG packaging mistake to avoid? 4) Why should you treat DTC as an independent business? 5) How do you create a balanced lifestyle as a CPG founder? Subscribe to this podcast if you want more valuable and insightful CPG conversations. Learn more about Mark Samuel and support their brand at https://iwonorganics.com/. If you need help in making your product stand out and build a differentiated brand, feel free to reach us at www.thevineyardbc.com/talk. P.S. It's Leonard here and it's been an amazing ride getting to this 70th episode. I want to thank all of you for your continued support - for every single subscriber and listener, for every wonderful guest, and to our great team at The Vineyard, the brand development firm for better-for-you CPGs for producing this show. Here's to the next 70 episodes! Cheers!