UMAI Social Circle

Welcome to episode #55 of the UMAI Social Circle, with your hosts, Karin and Alison. Today's episode features guest Andrea Popova, and we're discussing investing in consumer packaged goods brands from an investor perspective. Andrea shares her journey from spending years in retail and eCommerce at companies like Walmart, Nielsen, Meta, and Prose to writing one of the most-read DTC newsletters—CPGD. CPGD has evolved into a vital resource for digitally native brands, boasting 10,000 weekly readers and fostering a vibrant community, and it's the go-to online directory that connects brands, investors, and service providers alike. Andrea shares how her experience of finding brands to invest in, what to look for, and her favorite brand darlings at this time. Join us as we explore the dynamic world of CPGD and uncover invaluable insights for investing success.

In this final episode of our Facebook and Instagram advertising series led by Alison, co-founder of UMAI Marketing, we conclude by delving into effective audience targeting methods. Learn how to properly identify prospective audiences, optimize cost per acquisition by using better audience targeting techniques, and leverage your retargeting for lifetime value. Join us as we explore the four essential steps for discovering optimal audiences to drive successful ad campaigns. Let's dive in!

Hi friends! Today, we're serving up some juicy tips on how to spice up your ad game with killer creativity! These tips are sure to help your brand skyrocket its growth!

Welcome to the UMAI Social Circle! In today's episode, our co-founder, Alison, discusses Facebook and Instagram advertising. We're answering the #1 question we get about FB and IG ads: "How much should I spend on advertising?" Join us as we discuss setting your budget, scaling it, and maximizing your spending between acquiring new customers and getting existing customers to return. Jump into today's episode, and let's start making your ad investment work for you!   Let's break it down for you... [0:59 - 2:05] Introduction: How to Budget and Plan Your Meta Ad Spend for the Best Results [2:06 - 5:51] First Tip: How to Set Your Advertising Budget [5:52 - 7:33] Second Tip: How to Scale your Budget once you're Hitting your Goals [7:34 - 9:36] Third Tip: How to Break Up your Ad Spend between Prospecting for New Customers and Retargeting Existing Customers [9:37 - 10:12] Closing Mentions from this episode: Learn more and Start growing with us – UMAI Marketing socials – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umaimarketing/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@umaimarketing LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/umai... Access the Digital Marketing Tools Collection SHOP NOW

Welcome to episode #51 of the podcast, where we get the chance to chat with Leslie Roberson, founder and CEO of Black Beauty Collective. With previous success in diversifying corporate teams and starting (and selling) a luxury linen rental company, Leslie's journey reflects a commitment to social impact and leveraging her recruiting, marketing, and networking skills for the greater good. Leslie founded The Black Beauty Collective, aiming to empower marginalized founders by providing opportunities and representation in the beauty industry. Through practical experiences and a dedication to inclusion, Leslie drives the collective's mission to support Black founded brands' success on and off shelf. Curious to learn more? Let's hear today's episode!

Welcome to episode #49! In this episode, we're diving into executing a winning brand refresh. Our co-founders, Alison and Karin, team up with the dynamic duo: Meghan Martin, UMAI's Strategy Director, and Sam Laubach, UMAI's Creative Director (previously the founders of boutique branding & package design agency, Here & Now Creative). With years of expertise in bringing strategic and eye-catching branding to the CPG world, Meghan and Sam share their insights on creating shelf appeal, their favorite brands in the space, and how to align your brand identity with consumer perception. Join us for an exploration of branding decisions, trend pitfalls, and the art of a refresh vs. a rebrand. Welcome to the world of brand success and reinvention! Start listening!

Welcome to Podcast #50: Social Strategies We Love featuring Black-Owned Brands! Today, we're delving into a special episode dedicated to Black History Month with co-founder of UMAI Marketing, Karin Samelson. Join her as we explore standout Black-owned brands, including Partake, A Dozen Cousins, and Me & the Bees Lemonade. Discover what sets these CPG brands apart and how their organic social media strategies help them to stand out from the crowd. Let's dive in!

Welcome to episode #48 where we're diving into branding for your consumer goods brands. Our co-founders, Alison and Karin, have teamed up with dynamic duo: Meghan Martin, our Strategy Director, and Sam Laubach, our Creative Director to bring you this episode. Meghan and Sam, cousins and business partners, started Here and Now Creative Co. years ago to bring strategic and eye-catching branding and packaging to the CPG world. Fast forward 5 years, and their work has graced Forbes, Shark Tank, Vogue, and beyond, AND they've now partnered with UMAI to provide branding and packaging offerings under the UMAI umbrella. Get ready to talk about brand strategies and packaging expertise, folks. Let's dive in!

Welcome to episode 47, where we'll discuss our top tips for training your marketing team. Our co-founder Alison will dive into the importance of ongoing education and training in the agency and marketing space. At UMAI, our approach has always been to hire & train bright individuals with potential and focus on ongoing education for our team. We've developed our own comprehensive training course, drawing from our decade of experience as in-house marketers, as well as in our marketing agency. In this episode, Alison will share key insights to elevate your marketing team's skills and help your brand scale. Let's get started!

We're talking about boosting your Q4 profitability!

Hi there, CPG friends! Welcome to Episode 45, where we're diving deeper into how to choose a successful promo offer for your brand. With Q4 just around the corner, it's time to gear up and make some serious cash! And guess what? We're here to equip you with the best tips and tricks to make this sales quarter your most successful one yet. Today's episode is extra special because we have our amazing team member Carley Jones joining us to share her promo expertise and insights. Together, we're going to unleash six revenue-driving tips that will help you pick killer promo offers, and set the stage for a profitable Q4. So buckle up; next stop: choosing your Q4 promo offer. 

We're diving into the exciting world of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Hey, y'all!

In this episode, Karin discusses the importance of utilizing user-generated content (UGC) as a cost-effective way to drive sales for consumer goods brands. UGC refers to content that's created by customers, content creators (or even your mother, brother, best friend, next door neighbor), and it's known for its authentic appearance and messaging. Karin shares some effective strategies for leveraging UGC to increase sales and engagement, even on a limited budget. Tune in to learn more about how UGC can benefit your brand and how to make the most of it.

In today's episode, Alison discusses the importance of email marketing as a direct and effective way to build a relationship & sales with leads. She shares four easy-to-implement tips to increase email open and click-through rates. Email marketing is a valuable marketing strategy that often gets overlooked - on this episode, learn how to make the most out of this valuable tool! Let's dive into these tips and start driving results for your email campaigns.

In this episode, Karin and Alison, co-founders of UMAI Marketing, are joined by Andy Janaitis, Founder and Chief Strategist of PPC Pitbulls. PPC Pitbulls is an agency that works with small businesses in the eCommerce space, helping them build authentic customer relationships and increase sales online. Andy shares his background on how he started the agency and his passion for serving purpose-driven, passionate founders with a product they believe in. Tune in to learn more about Andy and his journey in eCommerce marketing, as well as some top tips for running Google Ads. Don't miss out on this opportunity to improve your eCommerce marketing strategy!

In this episode, Karin and Alison, co-founders of UMAI Marketing, are joined by Andy Janaitis, Founder and Chief Strategist of PPC Pitbulls. PPC Pitbulls is an agency that works with small businesses in the eCommerce space, helping them build authentic customer relationships and increase sales online. Andy shares his background on how he started the agency and his passion for serving purpose-driven, passionate founders with a product they believe in. Tune in to learn more about Andy and his journey in eCommerce marketing, as well as some top tips for running Google Ads. Don't miss out on this opportunity to improve your eCommerce marketing strategy!

Join Alison and Karin as they chat with Alli Ball, creator of Retail Ready, and Adam Pollock of Rodeo CPG in this mini series: Lessons Learned from 7-Figure CPG Brands!   In the last episode of our mini series - Alison and Karin will be talking about the digital marketing KPIs you need to track to make informed decisions, three essential digital marketing levers for CPG brands, and how to prioritize your marketing to-do list so you can avoid overwhelm.    Let's get into our final episode!

Learn the strategies of million dollar brands! Join Alison and Karin as they chat with Alli Ball, creator of Retail Ready, and Adam Pollock of Rodeo CPG in this mini series: Lessons Learned from 7-Figure CPG Brands!   In the second episode of our mini series – Alli Ball shares everything you need to know about getting on AND off the shelf, and setting your CPG brand up for retail success.   Alright, let's get onto more shelves! Oops....We meant onto the pod!

Join Alison and Karin as they chat with Alli Ball, creator of Retail Ready, and Adam Pollock of Rodeo CPG in this mini series: Lessons Learned from 7-Figure CPG Brands! They're sharing some of the strategies that successful consumer goods brands implement across operations, retail, and digital marketing. In this first episode of our mini series - Adam Pollock shares everything you need to know from demand production, procurement, and cash flow. Let's get into today's episode...

When we think of founders who live, breathe, (and eat) their product every single day - Kate Morton is definitely right up there on that list. She's the founder of Funk It Wellness, a woman-owned menstrual health company based here in Austin, TX. Kate went to school to become a registered dietitian, and never intended to be an entrepreneur let alone become a marketer for her own business. In this episode, Kate will be sharing wisdom about building her brand from the ground up, the struggles of marketing a menstrual wellness brand, and wearing (and looking good in) many hats along the way.   This episode is loaded with insights for accelerating your brand's growth. You DEFINITELY don't want to miss it if you're in the wellness space, too. Let's get funky!   Timestamp: [0:45 - 4:41] Introduction [4:44 - 6:50] Small Wins lead to big victories [6:51 - 10:40] Overcoming product development challenges [10:43 - 15:03] Ways of pushing through obstacles to achieve her goals [15:06 - 17:45] Building and maintaining good business relationships [17:49 - 20:10] Funk It Team [20:11 - 24:00] Kate's marketing strategy  [24:05 - 29:35] Favorite thing about UMAI's Growth Course [29:39 - 34:24] What marketing channel are you most excited about? [34:32 - 36:10] Biggest piece of advice for small CPG business owners  [36:25 - 37:17] Outro   Mentions from this episode:  Learn more and Join there mailing list - Check out their woman-owned menstrual health company, here Instagram, here Facebook, here Pinterest, here Stay in touch: Join UMAI's Facebook Group: CORE 3

April King, founder of Better Than Provisions, joins Alison and Karin to discuss her journey of building her own keto-friendly, grain-free granola brand. From farmers' market roots to an all-grown-up re-brand, April shares her biggest wins, advice she has for other founders, and how taking the Consumer Goods Growth Course has given her the confidence to show up on social for her community.  Listen in to discover how April's motto to be "better than", paired with small steps and small actions, led to long-term growth.   Let's break it down for you: [0:46 - 5:17] Introduction [5:18 - 11:44] The leap of faith that took her brand from a hobby to a real business [11:49 - 20:11] April's grassroots approach for steady growth [20:13 - 25:30] How April connects to her audience to better share her brand's mission  [25:32 - 30:50] What keeps April driven [31:03 - 32:46] Looking forward for Better Than Provisions [32:47 - 35:30] Using community & continued education to build her brand [35:34 - 41:30] How April uses the Consumer Goods Growth Course to build her strategy & marketing knowledge [41:34 - 44:11] Closing remarks   Mentions from this episode:  Learn more and Join there mailing list - Check out their grain-free granola, here Instagram, here Facebook, here Use code UMAI20 and get 20% discount off to your whole order Stay in touch: Join UMAI's Facebook Group: CORE 3    

Co-Founder and CEO of Cantina Royal Hot Sauce, Diana Beshara, joins UMAI Social Circle podcast to chat about her biggest wins, challenges she overcame as an owner (including a major pandemic pivot from restauranteur to CPG brand owner), and how a pinch of luck landed her hot sauce on "Hot Ones", the #1 most popular YouTube show. You're going to love this SPICY episode, so let's get into it!

Amy Zitelman is the co-founder and CEO of the premium tahini brand, Soom Foods. In this podcast episode, join Alison and Karin, co-founders of UMAI Marketing, as they chat with Amy about her journey of bringing high-quality tahini to consumers here in the states. Discover how Amy successfully rooted Soom Foods in B2B first, created valuable relationships with chefs and influencers to help spread the Soom word, and how she's been using UMAI's Consumer Goods Growth Course to expand and train her marketing team (we love to hear it!). Sit back and turn the volume up!

Granarly founder, Morgan Potts, joins Alison and Karin to discuss her dream of bringing granola baked with whiskey to the masses. She shares her business philosophy, how her brand landed on the shelves of Whole Foods, and how taking leaps of faith in business ended up driving much of her success.    In this episode, Morgan shared how she made the jump from "half-in" to "all-in" on her CPG business, and what it's been like running the daily operations, sales, and marketing! See what's in store for Morgan and Granarly on this episode of UMAI Social Circle!   ---   Mentions from this episode:    Learn more and Join there mailing list - Shop Granarly - use the code “UMAI20” 20% off  Instagram Facebook   Reach out to Morgan - Email: morgan@granarly.com Instagram   Stay in touch: Join UMAI's Facebook Group: CORE 3 

We're speaking with Zoë and Summer, herbalists, creatives, and regulatory nerds to share how herbal brands can creatively market their brands despite strict regulations. Zoë, a PhD in Plant & Soil Sciences, and Summer, Communications Manager and author of Kosmic Kitchen Cookbook, met while working at one of the largest herbal tea companies. They both dropped out of the corporate world at the same time and decided to join forces. They realized that in the world of herbal products, the regulatory and creative teams deeply need each other in business. In this podcast episode, join Alison and Karin, Co-Founders of UMAI Marketing, as they break down the journey of Summer & Zoë, as well as how they help herbal brands succeed. 

Independent Brand Strategist, Katie Mleziva left the corporate world after working with brands like American Girl and Kraft Foods to pursue her own entrepreneurial journey as an independent Brand Strategist working with smaller more natural food businesses and farms. She joins UMAI Social Circle podcast to chat about why brand strategy is paramount and dives into detail on her three-pronged strategy for brand success. Let's get into it! 

Join Alison and Karin as they audit The Cumin Club with Stef Shapira and Lindsey Leroy of The Rind PR! Learn about everything you need, from website click throughs to social copy as they look over this up-and-coming CPG brand. 

Join Alison and Karin as they audit Sippin Snax with Stef Shapira and Lindsey Leroy of The Rind PR! Learn about everything you need, from product bundling to social posting as they look over this up-and-coming CPG brand. 

Join Alison and Karin as they audit Lost River Apothecary with Stef Shapira and Lindsey Leroy of The Rind PR! Learn about everything you need, from sending product to influencers to product linking as they look over this up-and-coming CPG brand. 

Join Alison and Karin as they audit Willow St. Snacks with Stef Shapira and Lindsey Leroy of The Rind PR! Learn about everything you need, from influencer affiliates to product photography as they look over this up-and-coming CPG brand. 

Join Alison and Karin, Co-Founders of UMAI Marketing, as they talk CPG business tips that brands need to know before marketing with Sari Kimbell, founder of Sari Kimbell Coaching. Learn all about what you could be forgetting, and what you need to be keeping in mind, with running your CPG business.

Join Karin and Alison, co-founders of Umai Marketing, as they interview Trish Wesevich, founder of Capital Kitchens and LaunchPoint Culinary Services. Get the inside scoop on challenges and some key tips on how to start and grow your dream CPG business.

Dragon Spirits founder Lamar Romero joins Alison and Karin to discuss his brand activation strategy in a post-pandemic world, offers hope in the form of humanity's need to congregate, and shares his business philosophy. Romero revolutionized the brand ambassador marketplace by creating a more inclusive workplace. He does not believe in the need to hire models to sell products, instead focusing on personality and work ethic. The result is a flourishing business specializing in the marketing of wineries, distilleries, breweries, and consumer products. Romero is always thinking ahead. In a world filled with uncertainties, he's prepared Dragon Spirits to be a certainty within the marketing industry.

You're at the grocery store, heading down the chip aisle.

If you wanna work smarter, not harder, you've got to MoSCoW it! And, we're not talking about the mule variety.

The Good Food CFO, Sarah Delevan, breaks down the best processes and strategies for creating and implementing a stand-out financial model that will help your business become more profitable.

Alison picks Buttermilk Creative's Founder, Andy Kurtts', brain to discover the inside scoop on branding and packaging. Find out what buyers look for, how to draw consumers in for a bite, and the small details that can make or break packaging.

Photographer, Food Stylist, and Educator Ashleigh Amoroso joins the podcast to discuss what CPG brand owners should know leading up to that big day. She's worked with such household names as Magnolia Home (Chip and Joanna Gaines, how cool?!), Patron, and Tillamook - now, she's sharing some of those lessons learned with YOU. Ya better listen.

How MUCH of your product should you STOCK? Whether it's your first product run or your 100th - it's a question you're continuously asking yourself! While it's tempting to consult your nearest fortune teller on this matter, it's 100% not recommended.

Of course your product is delicious! But, that's just the baseline.

Do the haters deserve a response?

Ever heard of Mother Beverage? Okay, how about Poppi??

Austin's food, bev, and better-for-you packaged goods community is growing at an ever-more rapid pace. But, industry leaders like Emily Kealey, Naturally Austin, and Notley say it's an atmosphere of collaboration over competition.

When a huge retailer wants your product, it's a good sign - sure! But, Nathan points out how the pressures of these kinds of partnerships can hurt your biz more than they help it. Plus, how monthly coffee shop hangs are keeping Austin's CPG network (and beyond) connected in a time when we need it more than ever. Want more? Follow us on Instagram at @umaimarketing.

To quote Michelle Breyer's LinkedIn: “Don't tell me something can't be done. Let's work to make it a reality.”

Caroline Fabacher might've entered the biz world as an attorney at law. ⚖️ But, it was always her love for finances and startups that continually drew her closer to her current position: Principal at Springdale Ventures.

Alyssa Padron got her start at SKU - and, man! Their accelerator program has seen a TON of growth since then.  Just look at alumni brands Siete Foods

This is NOT your average yogurt brand, and we're so pumped about that - ‘cause who needs the “other guys” when you've got Culina Yogurt.

We connect with Pabst Brewing Brand Director Emily Hoyle to discuss embracing industry trends, overcoming imposter syndrome, and leaning into an ever-changing day-to-day workflow.  You'll be reaching for a can of Lone Star before this one's over with. Cheers!

In 2005, @nadamoo seriously shook up the frozen dessert market with the first ever dairy-free coconut milk ice cream.