The Food Means Business Podcast

Hosted by Djenaba Johnson-Jones

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Aug 2026

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About the show

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.

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60 recent

August 25, 2026Episode 8918 min

Nobody Told You Building a Food Business Would Feel Like This with Regina L. Henry of RLH Global

Nobody tells you how it's going to feel to be a founder. The doubt, the comparison, the exhaustion of being the visionary and the operations manager at the same time, those are the things Regina L. Henry, founder of RLH Global, has been helping Food Business Bootcamp founders navigate for eight years. In this episode, she and Djenaba get honest about what building a food business actually feels like and what it takes to keep going anyway.

August 18, 2026Episode 8826 min

The One Question Every Food Founder Should Answer with Elena Minton of SFT Consulting

Before you price your product, raise money, or pitch a buyer, there is one question you need to answer: what kind of business are you building? In this episode, fractional CFO and SFT Consulting co-founder Elena Minton breaks down the three paths food founders take and why your answer shapes everything from your cost structure to who you let in the door.

August 11, 2026Episode 8618 min

A Local First Approach to Building a CPG Brand with Kelsey Bross of Kel's Kitchen Table

Kelsey Bross built Kel's Kitchen Table with a granola recipe, a farmers market tent, and a willingness to listen. A year and a half of weekends spent talking directly to customers taught her more about her product than any spreadsheet could. In this episode, she shares how she built her brand from the ground up, what the Summer Fancy Food Show changed for her, and why she chose to grow on her own terms before taking her brand national.

August 11, 2026Episode 8719 min

The Operations Playbook for a CPG Founder Who Leads and Lives with Rachel Cheng of Yay's Snacks

By the time Rachel Cheng joined co-founders Marlon and Ben to build Yay's Snacks, she had spent seven years learning what it takes to build a food operation that gives a founder room to lead. In this episode, she shares the systems, the team culture, and the mindset that create space for a founder to grow the business, rest, and actually live.

August 4, 2026Episode 8518 min

Owning Your Culture with Eve Chery of C'est Si Bon Pikliz

Eve Chery sat on her Pikliz recipe for five years before the Food Business Bootcamp finally moved her to act. In this episode, the founder of C'est Si Bon Pikliz talks about bringing a beloved Haitian condiment to market and the unexpected discovery she made about her own relationship to her culture.

August 4, 2026Episode 8420 min

Why Market Research Is the Foundation of Every Successful Food Brand with Alli Meyer

Alli Meyer has spent her career turning data into decisions, from her early days at IRI (now Circana) to brand work at Applegate Farms and Dr. Praeger's. In this episode she breaks down what market research actually is, why most food founders either skip it or overthink it, and why Yahoo Finance might be the most underrated tool in your research stack.

July 28, 2026Episode 839 min

Hiring a Food Photographer with Christina Branco of Starving Artist Food Photography

Christina Branco of Starving Artist Food Photography has spent her career capturing food in a way that tells a story. In this episode she breaks down her process, explains why props are about guiding the viewer not decorating the shot, and shares the one question every food founder should ask before hiring a photographer.

July 28, 2026Episode 828 min

The CPG Insider Who Decided to Build a Better Sandwich Bread with Ryan Mulligan of Morty's Brands

Ryan Mulligan spent 12 years in CPG consulting before walking away to build the brand he always wanted. In this episode, he talks about launching Morty's Naturally Leavened White Sourdough Bread, the dog behind the name, and why there is never a right time to start, only the time you decide to go for it.

July 21, 2026Episode 8118 min

Turning Home Recipes into Scalable Products with Dr. Jonathan Deutsch of the Drexel Food Lab

Dr. Jonathan Deutsch of the Drexel Food Lab shares what separates a delicious home recipe from a commercially viable product, the one word every food entrepreneur needs to learn, and why you should talk to a food scientist before you spend a single dollar.

July 21, 2026Episode 8011 min

Everything Is Irie: Brewing a Caribbean-Inspired Brand with Arnelle Thomas of Irie Brew Kombucha

Arnelle Thomas of Irie Brew Kombucha shares how Caribbean culture and a passion for wellness led her to kombucha, what the Food Business Bootcamp® taught her about commercializing a volatile product, and why she believes you can do it and figure it out at the same time.