Episodes
85
Latest episode
Jun 2026
Language
EN
Hosted by Djenaba Johnson-Jones, former marketing executive turned entrepreneur and founder of food business incubator, Hudson Kitchen, The Food Means Business podcast features the personal stories and “secret ingredients” behind what it's like to abandon your day job to start a food business. Join our community of fellow food business owners and subject matter experts to learn and laugh with us as we explore a start-up world that’s a little more culinary and a lot less corporate these days.
Karen Merz of Next Level Grains shares how a COVID-era rabbit hole into home flour milling became a food brand, what she learned about operations and margins in the Food Business Bootcamp®, and why she developed a children's book and DIY kit to bring customers into the grain-to-cookie experience.
Maria Javier of Toasty Polvo shares how she pivoted from 15 years in government and nonprofit to launching a Filipino shortbread brand, why she chose food service over retail as her go-to-market strategy, and why the best way to reach your customer is to let them experience your product first.
Sarah Hwang of Gamsa Foods shares how she turned a childhood staple into a Korean-inspired breakfast brand, what she learned about building a category that barely exists, and why knowing your why matters more than having the perfect plan.
Alejandro Quintero Corral of Mucha Macha shares how he turned a beloved Mexican chili crisp into a CPG brand, what he learned about operations from building inside the Food Business Bootcamp®, and why taking the first step matters more than having all the answers.
In this episode, Juliette "Juju" Clark shares how she went from home kitchen to market-ready in under a year, what the Food Business Bootcamp® Startup Accelerator taught her about building under pressure, and why she believes food founders should never do a stealth startup.
Summer Johnson is the co-owner of Zach and Zoë Sweet Bee Farm and started the business in 2015 with her husband, Kam. Together, they began keeping bees in their backyard to use the hyper-local honey to alleviate their son's allergies. Today, their honey is retailed all over the world, and in dozens of specialty, mass, and boutique stores across the nation. They have expanded the brand's assortment to 20+ organic superfoods flavors blended with their raw honey and have plans to continue growing. During this episode of The Food Means Business Podcast, we discuss:How Summer and Kam started with beekeeping and eventually turned it into a businessTheir Chase Business commercial, Shark Tank appearance and being selected for Oprah's Favorite Things The importance of persistence and keeping the business a family-owned operationLessons learned from their entrepreneurial journey Get full notes and a transcript at: https://www.thehudsonkitchen.com/podcast/growing-a-family-food-business-with-summer-and-kam-johnsonTo get more Food Business Bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at thehudsonkitchen.com.
Introducing Victoria Ho, founder of Sherpa CPG and a fearless food and beverage industry leader. With over a decade of experience as an award-winning brand strategist, clean-label formulator, and commercialization expert, Victoria is dedicated to helping emerging food, and beverage brands turn their meaningful ideas into memorable, retail-ready products. She tackles the essential work of defining brand purpose, developing bulletproof brand positioning, and expressing brand persona consistently across all audience touchpoints, from pitch deck to packaging.During this episode of The Food Means Business Podcast, we discuss:How to create and maintain a consistent brand strategy as a formula for success in scaling your food and beverage business.How to increase your chances of having a successful partnership with a co-packer.The key stages of growth for food and beverage companies and how to tackle the challenges along the way.The importance of choosing food with the intention to nourish both the body and spirit.How a consistent, exceptional brand and product experience is important in achieving commercial success.Connect with Victoria:Victoria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriajho/Website: sherpacpg.comTo get more Food Business Bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at thehudsonkitchen.com.
Think quality bread is off the menu? Think again! Now, you can get gluten-free sourdough products delivered right to your doorstep.In this episode, I’m joined by Sadie Scheffer, the founder of Bread SRSLY — a business born of a college crush and shared gluten intolerance. Hear the story of how Sadie leveraged the growing nationwide demand for healthier and more accessible food options to grow her business into what it is today. Topics range from the early days of Bread SRSLY to Sadie’s adjacent business ventures into coaching and motivational speaking. Whether you practice your own gluten-free diet or just need some inspiration to jump start your own food business, you won’t want to miss this episode!In this episode, you’ll learn…[00:36] Sadie’s commitment to gluten-free food and the early days of Bread SRSLY[09:24] Business processes, growing a team, and managing wholesale orders/shipments[13:00] Adjacent business ventures including coaching and motivational speaking[16:40] Tips for hiring great teams including setting clear expectations[18:42] Advice for entrepreneurs just starting out in the food industryGet full notes and a transcript at: https://www.thehudsonkitchen.com/podcast/ep47/To get more Food Business Bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at thehudsonkitchen.com.
Once upon time, Alak Vasa was a Wall Street trader. Everything was going well, but there was one problem, she was missing a sense of purpose . So without much of a plan, Alak gave in to her inner voice, quit her job, and eventually launched Elements Truffles, a food business rooted in her authentic Indian heritage and passion for fine chocolate.Get full notes and a transcript at: https://www.thehudsonkitchen.com/podcast/2022/9/18/alak-vasa-co-founder-elements-trufflesTo get more Food Business Bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at thehudsonkitchen.com.
JW Wiseman started his career in marketing and not specifically in the food industry. But that didn’t stop when he decided to branch out into the CPG industry via non-alcoholic cocktails. After years in the corporate world and seeing how alcohol was embedded into networking and socializing in the sphere, he wanted an alternative, and one that used better ingredients than what he could find on the market at the time.Enter: Curious Elixirs, a booze-free cocktail company whose mission it is to redefine how society drinks socially by providing healthy adult beverages that taste great and look cool too.In this episode, JW shares how he started his company, how he’s grown it without investors, why his marketing experience isn’t a substitute for hustle, and how he tries to find balance in his life outside of entrepreneurship. This episode is a must-listen for any aspiring CPG entrepreneurs.In this episode, you’ll learn…[00:00] Intro[00:36] How JW went branched out into non-alcoholic cocktails from a marketing background (and how that related to his experience with alcohol in his corporate career)[04:37] How JW formulated his own product ideas before approaching a formulator[07:30] Why the hustle is so important when it comes to marketing[12:22] How JW has been able to grow Curious Elixirs without investment money[14:25] The flavors of each Curious Elixir and how they were developed[18:17] JW’s best advice for a new CPG entrepreneur[21:47] How JW takes care of himself outside entrepreneurshipGet full notes and a transcript at: https://www.thehudsonkitchen.com/podcast/To get more Food Business Bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at thehudsonkitchen.com.
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