Podcasts about Specialty Food Association

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Daniel Scharff and Patricia Menegoto from the Startup CPG team sit down with Leana Salamah of the Specialty Food Association to learn all about the upcoming Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, as well as Luca Molinari of BARIS, who exhibited last year, and Jaden McTaggart from Earth Fare, a show regular.They kick things off with an inside look at the upcoming Summer Fancy Food Show in New York—why it's one of the most high-impact events of the year for emerging brands, and what makes the Startup CPG section a magnet for top-tier buyers. Leana shares how the show supports brands at every stage, while Daniel and Patricia offer a behind-the-scenes look at their curated events, pitch sessions, and founder networking opportunities.Then, Luca shares the story behind BARIS—a Patagonia-born, chocolate-dipped raspberry brand that turned a single tabletop at Fancy Food into major retail wins. He shares insights on connecting with buyers, leading with purpose, and building traction as a young brand.Lastly, Jaden offers the buyer's perspective from Earth Fare, explaining what stands out at Fancy Food, how he approaches early-stage brands, and why product mission, packaging, and personal connection matter more than ever.Tune in now!Our upcoming Fancy Food Show 101 webinar: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fancy-food-show-101-get-ready-for-the-2025-summer-show-tickets-1291507807619?aff=oddtdtcreatorApply for the Startup CPG section at Fancy Food Show:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbu0jtXP2n-tS1xSWhC9LHorFI8Fm736mujws35eftWixlfg/viewform Listen in as they share about:Overview of the Fancy Food Show (Summer Edition)Opportunities for Brands at the ShowWhat to Expect from the ShowStartup CPG's Role and Events at the ShowBrand Perspective - SFA (Leana)Brand Perspective – Baris (Luca)Buyer Perspective – Earth Fare (Jaden)Tips for Brands Attending Fancy FoodEpisode Links:Website: https://www.specialtyfood.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leana-rogers-salamah-5770862/ Website: https://everybaris.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-molinari-cattarossi/ Website: https://www.instagram.com/earthfare/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaden-mctaggart-1167225b/ Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.Show Links:Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)Join the Startup CPG Slack community (20K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Daniel's Linkedin Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.comEpisode music by Super Fantastics

Food products that are trending hot in 2025 based on the new study released by the Specialty Food Association. The Group's Trend Spotter Panel has just completed an evaluation of thousands of new food products and novel flavors. Snacks for dinner have become a big thing in recent years, but this year's entries are more diverse, featuring vegan, high protein, functional, luxurious, and crunchy items. Wellness and quick healthy snacks will continue to inspire us all. Listen for full list.

UNiTE Food is a Yorba Linda, California-based company that produces globally inspired protein bars. The brand offers unique flavors such as Churro, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and PB & Jelly, aiming to bring diversity to the wellness industry. Each bar provides around 10 grams of protein and is gluten-free, catering to health-conscious consumers seeking both nutrition and nostalgic tastes. Clara often relied on protein bars during her busy career but found the available flavors uninspiring. Drawing from her diverse culinary background, she recognized a gap in the market for culturally diverse flavors. Clara's father is an entrepreneur. Her family immigrated from Sudan when she was five years old. When they arrived in the United States, her father started a plumbing supply distribution business, which is the business Clara worked in earlier in her career. The idea for UNiTE was something Clara started thinking about in 2018 or 2019 while she was still working in her family's plumbing business. She began experimenting with different recipes and products in her kitchen in the early days of the pandemic in 2020.Clara often visits ethnic markets to learn about new flavors for new products. She also studied flavors and what people were eating when she traveled abroad.  QUOTES “If I'm anything, I'm a very curious person. I'm curious about how the world works and I'm curious about why segments of the population aren't being served.” (Clara) “If you focus on your customers, they will reward you with loyalty. And if they reward you with loyalty, your revenue will grow. If you create value, why would somebody leave you?” (Clara)“For me, it was about making sure we were taking care of our customers. That was the winning strategy. It sounds really simple, but it's way harder to execute.” (Clara)“Business is a framework. Once you understand product liability, you understand how to insure against it. You learn about the certifying bodies in your industry. It's hard and it's not (hard).” (Clara)“It's really about building relationships. Mutually beneficial relationships.” (Clara) “When you're over 40 and you created a new business, you're usually not doing it for money, you're doing it to try to make the world a better place.” (Clara)“I wanted to find common ground. Let's find flavors that will resonate with lots of people.” (Clara)“The essence of the UNiTE brand is to seek to understand and seek to find common ground instead of focusing on how we're different.” (Clara)“At the end of the day, consumers want authenticity and they want brands that create products that are meaningful to them. (Clara)“I don't really worry about copycat brands. I worry more when they stop copying me.” (Clara) TRANSCRIPT 00:01.49vigorbrandingAll right. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Fork Tales. I’m Michael Pavone. Our guest today is Clara Paye. And I’ve known Clara for a long time. ah She is from Unite Foods. ah Unite’s line of nutritious bars are built around the concept of global flavors, but also comfort foods. Clara has started a brand that’s redefining what protein and nutrition bars can be, and I’m happy to have her as a guest. Clara, welcome. 00:25.55Clara Paye _ UNiTEThanks, Michael. Good to be here. 00:27.85vigorbrandingSo again, I know you, I think pretty well, and I’m excited to excited for this. This will be fun. So um I want to go back. I mean, you have a fascinating story. So before we get into Unite, I want to talk about you. How did you, you know, where where do you come from? Where do you, where did you work? You know, talk a little bit about what got you, got you here. 00:46.86Clara Paye _ UNiTEWell, it’s definitely not been a linear path. It’s been really a path led by my own curiosity in the world. And so I think if I’m anything, I’m a very curious person. I’m curious how the world works. I’m curious why, you know, segments of the population aren’t being served. So my journey really started, you know, undergrad, I went to USC and I really went undeclared and thought I but wanted to be a lawyer and. 01:10.72Clara Paye _ UNiTEgot into one political science class and I was like, no, I definitely don’t want to do this. And so kind of was looking around like what else is out there, found the business school at USC, and more importantly, found the entrepreneurship program, which was number one in the nation at the time. And, you know, and I knew I didn’t want to study accounting or finance, and that’s what business was to me in my mind back then. And finding this entrepreneurship route really like kind of opened up the world to me and was like a light bulb. 01:34.45Clara Paye _ UNiTEyou know My dad is an entrepreneur. and We immigrated from Africa and the Sudan when I was five years old. And in Africa, he had an automotive parts distribution business. And when he immigrated to the U.S., he started a plumbing manufacturing and hardware distribution business. And so, you know, having a dad that had kind of modeled entrepreneurship, it was demystified for me. And so I was like, oh, that’s really interesting. You know, I’ve been an entrepreneur kind of since I was a little girl, whether, you know, the classic lemonade stand or side popsicles or, you know, drawing pictures and trying to sell them to my aunts. Like, you know, I always had that entrepreneurial 02:07.53Clara Paye _ UNiTEstart and you know funny and but like at USC I remember them taking a poll of all the entrepreneurship kids and how many of them had like a lemonade stand or something similar as a kid and it was like 95% of the class raised their hand right like it’s something almost innate where you know that entrepreneurship bug grabs you was even a little kid and 02:15.32vigorbrandingMm 02:24.37Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so, you know, going into the entrepreneurship program, it was kind of like and equated to like Ted Talks, where you just got to like hear and listen to these really successful entrepreneurs that had launched and they were normal people with good ideas that they just implemented. 02:36.22vigorbrandinghmm. 02:38.93Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd I thought I would you know be an entrepreneur straight out of undergrad. I wrote a business plan um and for the apparel industry back then. this is I’ll date myself, but I graduated in 1999 and in 1998, 99. I wrote a business plan for plus size clothing for teenage girls. So I saw that there was this huge segment of the population where kids were kind of, you know, Americans were growing in size. and there weren’t really anything fashionable for young girls to wear if they were plus size. They had to shop, you know, especially in jeans, they had to start in the, you know, shop in the women’s Husky department, women’s department or the boy’s Husky department. And it really wasn’t anything fashionable. And I wrote this great business plan. All my professors told me to do it. And like the only person I knew that had any money was my dad. 03:21.66Clara Paye _ UNiTEyou know, being 21 years old and or, you know, barely 21 and asking him to fund, you know, I needed like $30,000 back then to launch this business. And my I was going to do it with my best friend whose father had just invested in the jeans manufacturing plant. 03:34.66Clara Paye _ UNiTEShe had done the entrepreneurship program the year before. It was like this home run idea. The internet was just coming online and we were going to do it all online. We didn’t need storefronts. You know, we’re kind of kind of revolutionize all of these things. 03:44.94Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd my dad’s like, what? Huh? Like watch yourself humming products. Yeah. 03:48.78vigorbrandingYeah. 03:50.42Clara Paye _ UNiTELike, this is a business that already exists. And he just didn’t see it, didn’t understand. But it’s it’s ironic that like that business would grow on to be like that segment specifically, um where I did all my research at this mall, like, went on to become a billion dollar business, like Torrid went into the same free mall with the same concept. And so that was kind of like always in the back of my mind, my entire career. So from age 20 to now, like, gosh, like, why I should have done that, like, I should have done something like that, you know, why didn’t I try and um I’m telling a really long part of the story so we can edit this, but it’s really like, you know, for me, it was really about that early experience in entrepreneurship that I held on to, but then I would go on. 04:22.93vigorbrandingOh, it’s great. 04:29.89Clara Paye _ UNiTEand work in cosmetics, worked for advertising agencies, you know, um and then eventually my dad lured me into the family business, which was like, you know, about five years after college, I wanted to get my MBA and he said, hey, I’ll make you a deal. You and your best friend want to come work for me, get your and MBAs and I’ll pay for them. And you just have to stay the time that you’re studying. And, you know, we did this executive MBA program where we worked our nine to five and then we went to school from like six to 10. 04:53.31Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd those are long days, but they were really fun because I got to take what I was learning in the MBA program and immediately apply it to my family business, which was, again, the plumbing and hardware distribution business. And so not that I was in love with plumbing and hardware, like, trust me, if I never see another supply line in my life, it’ll be too soon. But um it was really about this unique experience that I got to learn and apply, learn and apply. And it was just Really? um Really what set me up for like, you know in that curiosity to like really make an impact in my family business Where you know, sometimes when you join a family business you get told well, this is how we’ve always done it So this is why you have to do it this way and for me I got to kind of redefine everything Because of this MBA program that I was doing and my dad trusted, you know, he always had a high regard for education And so was like, okay. Well, yeah, let’s try it and really got you know got in and 05:45.11vigorbrandingThat’s fantastic. i mean You bring up a really interesting point, though. Being a so a sibling of an entrepreneur, you you kind of do realize, or you maybe you don’t realize that it’s it’s not easy, but you you know it’s it’s doable, right? If you watch your father do it, like my father had a couple small sporting goods stores. So I thought, well, if you want to start a business, you just go out and start it. You just do it. and You know, my story is I’ve never been smart enough to know what I can’t do. So I’m like, Oh yeah, I can do that. And just, you know, and sometimes you pass, sometimes you fail, but you know, it’s like, Oh, I can try that. Oh yeah, I’ll do that. So, but, but I think our parents really do make it easier for us if they’ve done that, you know, and you sort of, I don’t want to say you take it for granted, but it’s sort of like, it seems doable. It seems attainable, you know, and next thing you know, you you’ve got something special. And I’ll say this, it had to be interesting, difficult, and maybe very educational for you. 06:34.52vigorbrandingah being a young woman in and the and the plumbing supply distribution business. I mean, what was that like? 06:40.78Clara Paye _ UNiTEah You know, it was it’s a very old industry. It’s you know very much like there’s very little product innovation. And so for me, being a curious person, I was always trying to learn. I always wanted to go to like plumbing school. So like I could like learn about the products a little bit more because they’re actually really complex. And if you ever go down a hardware store aisle and you go down the plumbing fittings or the plumbing section, I mean, there’s literally thousands and thousands of SKUs and so many different parts to like toilets and you know faucets and it’s it’s a very confusing um you know you have to have like a lot of deep knowledge in the industry to really make an impact so for me you know i knew i was never going to have that right what i could bring to the table was really an outside the box way of thinking about this industry like you know we created the company’s first website and started selling you know online and really trying to 07:28.80Clara Paye _ UNiTEUm, quantify customer experience, right? Like it wasn’t just about like place, you know, filling orders. It was like, what was the experience of that order for your customer? And so I’ve always been a customer centric leader. So I think it’s because I came up through marketing and entrepreneurship. You know, I really care about the customer and I really care about like the person that’s opening the box, whatever that box is, you know, and so. 07:51.58Clara Paye _ UNiTEFor me, it was all about aligning the business to be customer-focused, because my thesis was, if you focus on your customers, they will reward you with loyalty. And if they reward you with loyalty, your revenue will grow. 08:01.84Clara Paye _ UNiTEright It’s a win-win. 08:02.46vigorbrandingmean 08:03.15Clara Paye _ UNiTEIf you create value, why would somebody leave you? So it’s when you’re not creating value and you’re creating problems for the customer that you know you have that attrition. 08:13.25Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so for me, it was really about um making sure that we were taking care of our customers. And and that was the winning strategy. I mean, it sounds really simple, but it’s way harder to execute when you get to scale. 08:26.05vigorbrandingThat’s great. I mean, it makes total sense. So basically, you do all your own plumbing now, is that what you’re saying? 08:31.81Clara Paye _ UNiTEnot at all 08:32.01vigorbrandingYeah, I knew about it. Okay, so now let’s jump into something that I know you’re very proud of and should be. the that You founded Unite, okay? and And so let’s talk about that. You founded in March of 2020, right? 08:44.85vigorbrandingIn the middle of that thing called the pandemic with COVID. um but Obviously, that was a part of the story. That’s what sort of infused the story. Can you talk a little bit about that? 08:53.69Clara Paye _ UNiTEYeah. So, you know you know, I’d been ideating on it for like probably a year and a half before that and really trying, you know, it was working in the plumbing business at my, you know, and the family business that I was kind of like stuck behind my desk. And especially when I became a mom, like I was always just like looking for quick fuel to get me through my day. And that was like kind of when I had the epiphany for Unite and really our main point of differentiation is that we use global flavors. 09:15.38Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so I had this unique experience, again, just just like the plus sized clothing where I was like, wait a minute, like there’s this whole population of people out there, like half the population are immigrants, people like me, or people that are just like really interested in other cultures and really interested in other foods. 09:31.28Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, I live in LA, like there’s, you can eat Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, whatever you want, any time of day you want, you know, it’s all, you know, and that’s what makes America unique is that we are this melting pot of cultures. 09:38.69vigorbrandingYeah. Yeah. 09:42.73Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd it very similarly, I saw this demographic shift where, you know, America was just going to continue to grow in, in multiculturalism. And so I was like, okay, if you’re in wellness and you are diagnosed with something like for me, it was a gluten intolerance. Like, and you go and try to find diet compliant food and you go to the shelf and like nothing resonates with you. Like that’s a huge miss. And so I think it was because 10:08.08vigorbrandingbut 10:08.18Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, i I’m not, everybody that has created protein bars up to that point wasn’t diverse, didn’t have the life experience I had. So I just kind of used my own life experience it to develop it. 10:18.38Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd I developed them in my kitchen, like really, like, you know, as I got my cuisine on out and was like, what would I put in my protein bars? And for me, it was like almond butter and dates and, you know, let’s sweeten it with all natural things. 10:25.68vigorbrandingMm hmm. 10:28.41Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd I i can’t use sugar, alcohols or Stevia. Like I i just, they’re not palatable to me. So I just use natural things. and literally googled what do nutritionists say should be in a protein bar and like made those my macros like it’s not that hard you know you don’t have to like spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to figure it out and um created my first recipes and found a co-packer to make them and I knew you know because I didn’t want any food liability I wanted a really strong co-packer to be the producer for them found one that ah you know where they saw the vision they understood what we were about and supported us and got our product launched and 11:05.31Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, Expo West was this trade show, you know, it was a trade show in the food industry. It’s the largest natural products convention in the entire world. And if anybody hasn’t been to it, just imagine seven convention centers all smashed together in Anaheim, hundreds of thousands of people, like 3000 plus exhibitors. It’s literally and figuratively like Disneyland. Like it’s just, it’s a zoo. It’s, there’s so many people. And we got our little 10 by 10 booth and at the, you know, they have this like new products part of natural expo that opens a day before or used to. 11:35.43Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd we got our booth set up and we were ready to rock. 11:37.30vigorbrandingMm hmm. 11:37.51Clara Paye _ UNiTEWe were going to go show our bars. We had this whole warehouse full of new bars to show buyers. 11:39.71vigorbrandingand 11:41.83Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd that’s how it’s going to get people excited. And then the pandemic. And that was the first thing to get canceled. And literally we got this call like shows not going to happen. So break down your booth. 11:51.86Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd you know, and it was like such a wild time. 11:52.43vigorbrandingYep. 11:55.64Clara Paye _ UNiTEum And people were really, you know, unsure of what was going to happen. And, you know, ah brands were not able to get into stores to pitch or any buyers, everything kind of went on hold because every grocery store was worried about safety for their employees and how to keep cleaning products on shelf and Lysol wipes. 12:13.52Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd like nobody was really thinking about like protein bars, right? 12:16.49vigorbrandingRight, right. 12:16.43Clara Paye _ UNiTELike we’re all trying to, you know, that’s what like, I think we all were baking banana bread every day in this power now and like, you know, consoling ourselves with chips and margaritas at, you know, noon. so 12:26.31vigorbrandingYeah. Well, I remember like for us, I mean, you know, one of my companies is Quench, which is a CPG food and beverage. I said, you know, COVID was truly the greatest sampling program in the face of the earth, food and beverage. If you made a product at that time, if you had an established product, you people bought it, people ate it, they put in their pantry, they stacked in their shells. I mean, it was phenomenal time for food. I mean, unfortunately, it was you were too new, right? You couldn’t even take advantage of it. You didn’t even get a chance to get out of the starting gate. so That’s how to be extremely disappointing. But I think it’s amazing too. Like, okay, so you you come from one industry and and you learn a lot just in business and dealing with people from one industry. But then you you applied to this startup that you didn’t, you’ve never really, you were never in the food business. So you don’t learn how to be a manufacturer, you had to learn about safety, you had to learn about ingredients, legal and and everything and anything. I mean, it’s just, ah it’s an amazing undertaking. How did you how did you learn so much? 13:21.18Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, like business is a framework. So once you understand product liability, you understand how to ensure against it, right? And you learn that, you know, you have to look, what are the certifying bodies in your industry, right? 13:35.40Clara Paye _ UNiTELike in, you know, for electrical companies, it’s like UL listing, you know, in food, it’s SQF. 13:35.85vigorbrandingMm hmm. Mm hmm. 13:40.84Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd it’s not like the information isn’t that hard to find. So I think it’s like, you know, once you have a framework of, it’s, you know, the product is a widget almost, right? Like how you deal with Lowe’s is how you deal with Target. 13:49.40vigorbrandingMm 13:52.55Clara Paye _ UNiTELike it’s a big box. 13:52.83vigorbrandinghmm. 13:53.59Clara Paye _ UNiTEThey care about many of the same things, right? You have to understand what’s going to happen on the back end of your business. You have to understand how to get that product there on time and in full. And that’s what matters to them. 14:04.49Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so I, you know, it’s hard and it’s not. And so for me, I’ve always really relied on my network, Michael, like, like if I don’t know the answer, I know somebody that I know must know the answer. 14:16.44vigorbrandingMm hmm. 14:17.09Clara Paye _ UNiTESo I spent a lot of time. I don’t want to say networking, but I think it’s really about building relationships, like mutual like mutually beneficial relationships with people, trust. 14:26.75vigorbrandingSure, trust. 14:29.50Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd when I got into the food space, I was like, I just need to great advisors around me. I need people. 14:33.78vigorbrandingMm hmm. 14:33.82Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd I didn’t want like consultants. I wanted people who were also running their businesses, who were going in the trenches, doing it with in in real time. 14:38.08vigorbrandingSure. Skin the game. Yep. 14:41.79Clara Paye _ UNiTEand so you know, having a ah YPO forum of YPO, you know, food CPG people was like one of the ways that I accomplished that and like really creating a forum of people around me that were doing the same things as I was. 14:50.42vigorbrandingMm 14:56.01Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd, you know, there’s a lot of symbiotic um experience there. And we all got to go through COVID together. So it was something I did early on, you know, it was like grabbing people who wanted to go on this journey with me. 15:02.72vigorbrandinghmm. Mm hmm. 15:06.56Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so, You know you’re I think networking is like kind of like a bad word sometimes like people think it’s like you’re using people when you say networking but you’re doing networking right you’re actually at creating value for other people first right and that out it works. 15:13.24vigorbrandingwho yeah 15:20.16vigorbrandingThat’s right. Yeah. Absolutely. All right. So now let’s talk. You created the, the you had a product, you you got shut down and covered. So let’s talk about the Unite name. You created a brand and I’m a big brand guy, you know that. I love brands and and I love what you did here. I love the name and I’m not just saying that because you’re here, but this is something I did not know. I read an article and I read about the I in Unite. I should have looked and realized that the lowercase I, but to talk about the brand and how you came up with the name. 15:45.47Clara Paye _ UNiTEYeah, I mean, so for me is all about that what I was trying to do. So this is like the mission part of like this journey when like you’re over 40 and you’re creating new business. Usually you’re not doing it just for money. You’re really doing it because you feel like something’s missing in the world and you want to make the world a better place. At least that’s my journey. 16:01.60Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd for me, it was like, how can I use food as this instrument of inclusion to improve the lives of people, see people who haven’t been seen, welcome them into wellness, right? And kind of create cultural bridges, right? Where like somebody who I think food is has this unique way of binding people, right? Like it’s the cultural equivalent of bringing your, you know, 16:23.95Clara Paye _ UNiTEyour dish to a potluck and like you know kind of like do you like it you know kind of like yeah having that like you know there’s a moment where you’re like are you sure it’s kind of a little strange or like you know when when people used to come to my home and like be like you know my mom made this thing you don’t have to eat it it’s you know you might not like it and then people loving it and you’re like oh Okay, it’s good. Like it’s safe. Like everyone’s accepted now. And so I think for me, it was like how, you know, food can, can also divide people. But if people make fun of somebody’s food or make fun of flavors, you know, and I think it also can unite. And so I wanted to use it as like, you know, let’s, let’s find common ground. Let’s find flavors that like will resonate with lots of people. And so like the flavors we choose typically are not just like country specific. They’re like region specific. 17:04.98Clara Paye _ UNiTESo like, you know, churros are eaten in Spain, in Mexico, and like all over Latin America, right? Baklava is eaten in North Africa, in Greece, in Russia, in Croatia, right? 17:15.03Clara Paye _ UNiTEBubble tea, which sounds like just an Asian, Asian flavor. And yes, it was born in Taiwan, but you know, like but the British drink milk with tea. the in Indian people drink milk with tea, and the Middle East drink milk with tea. 17:25.54Clara Paye _ UNiTELike those flavors are, can resonate with lots of different people. 17:29.23vigorbrandingYeah. 17:29.53Clara Paye _ UNiTESo, and then there’s peanut butter and jelly, and that’s the one where people are like, 17:31.64vigorbrandingYeah. 17:32.95Clara Paye _ UNiTEhuh like you know that’s like that’s not global but it’s like my american heritage is just as important and so i want all people to feel represented and the reason the eye is small and as i think because if you’re trying to connect two sides you yourself have to get smaller to understand the other side and so that you you know to understand the other you know and we live in such a time of division and so like really having a name like unites like it’s really the essence of the brand 17:37.39vigorbrandingyeah 17:58.39Clara Paye _ UNiTEis to, you know, ah seek to understand and seek to find common ground and instead of like how we’re different. 18:05.96vigorbrandingI love it. i mean You obviously have a propensity for for marketing. it’s it’s It’s very smart and very sound, the thinking behind it. and and I’ve had the products that are fantastic. and again I’m not just saying that they’re your your products are absolutely delicious, so you should be very, very proud of that. 18:21.31vigorbrandingum you know and now So we talk about the flavors, so ah we do a food trends presentation every year and we always come up with all these funky flavors and and we we I shouldn’t say funky, we we we learn about things that are popping in different parts of the world and starting to you know bubble up and and and ah you know we we try to grab onto them, I mean all of us as manufacturers, as restaurants, as ah marketers And we try to understand these flavors and how to bring them forth and and introduce something fresh. how do How do you go about finding flavors? How do you go about deciding what the next flavor is going to be? 18:54.83Clara Paye _ UNiTEit’s really intuitive for me but like you know my my hero flavor is churro and like that one was really you know born out of you know I live near Disneyland I live like 15 minutes away and I have small kids and so we were always at Disneyland always the line at the churro cart was kind of like around the corner right and like churro was like definitely this very familiar flavor and like churros are you know they’re eaten they’re They’re not just different for different sake. Many people have had a churro, whether it’s at a fair or at Disneyland or at a carnival. Churro was like not that um outside the box for most people, and it was very approachable. and so like That Disneyland car, just like looking at the lines, I was like, yeah, that could be a really good flavor. How come nobody you know hasn’t really done that? and then 19:44.35Clara Paye _ UNiTEyou know, I would visit ethnic markets a lot to look at the flavors. 19:47.44vigorbrandingSure. 19:47.62Clara Paye _ UNiTESo I go to Hispanic markets, I go to Korean markets, I go to Japanese markets, you know, I live in an area again, where I’m blessed by diversity. And so I study, you know, when I travel, what are people eating? 19:59.01Clara Paye _ UNiTEWhat, you know, what are people, you know, what do people enjoy? And I really, I mean I the first flavors are really like things that I loved so I just wanted to create things you know flavors and then I tested them on my friends and I probably Michael I probably made like 15 or 20 different flavors before I started right like and kind of like chose the heroes from um the ones that I made and in my kitchen. 20:17.81vigorbrandingMm-hmm. Now, is there one that you you loved and thought, oh, everyone’s gonna love this and didn’t make it? Is there a flavor that you kind of, what is it? 20:26.76Clara Paye _ UNiTEYeah it was a ah green tea matcha 20:30.55vigorbrandingUh-uh. 20:30.44Clara Paye _ UNiTEflavor and so but green tea powder sometimes can be fishy and it’s like sounds so weird but like it just didn’t work in in scale right and so and there are macho bars out there but I never think that they taste great and so you know I wanted it to have like good product integrity and so like that was like a 20:35.42vigorbrandingOkay. 20:39.37vigorbrandingNot it. 20:45.81vigorbrandingMm-hmm. 20:48.56Clara Paye _ UNiTEyou know, one that like I thought would be, you know, cause if you, if you look at the Starbucks menu, like ah so many, you know, those, those are great flavor cues too. Like, you know, Starbucks spends a lot of time in flavor development. And so you can just, you can take cues from adjacent industries. 21:01.68vigorbrandingSure. We got to work with a lot over the years ah through Quench. We worked with the Hershey Company and we worked with the scientists. And I was always blown away because we’d go in the, and back, this would be like early 90s, we’d go in these rooms or they’d have to swipe a card for the door to open. It seemed very like, 21:17.81vigorbrandingUh, sign sci-fi, you know, and it would it be lab technicians and they’d put drops and they’d be like, here, taste that. What does it taste like? I’m like, well, I taste apple pie. They’re like, wait for it. I’m like, Oh, I taste whipped cream. Wait for it. Oh, I can not taste crust. Like they could do this. I mean, it was like better living through chemistry. They could do all this stuff. 21:36.54vigorbrandingand what it came down to obviously was and this is what is so hard with what you do is now you have to source the ingredients now you have to make sure it’s not a chemical thing and then you have to understand can you can you afford that flavoring at a price point that will be palatable to the consumer so there’s so much involved in all of what you do yeah 21:56.81Clara Paye _ UNiTEThere is so much like, look, all business is hard, but the food business is particularly hard, right? Because you’re, it’s a living, breathing thing, right? And for me, it came down to simplicity. Like I always wanted simple ingredients um because I wanted people to be able to understand what was going into the bar, right? Like I wanted it to be real food and natural. And um so when you have those kinds of like, 22:22.56Clara Paye _ UNiTEBarriers, you know, it’s it helps you and it hurts you right? Like I can’t put in a bunch of processing You know like many large companies can because that’s not the brand value that I’m trying to create or the kind of product I’m trying to create. 22:30.08vigorbrandingRight. Mhm. 22:34.50Clara Paye _ UNiTESo yeah, it’s very hard um You know, we do get a lot of those scientists taking pictures at our booth every year at all the Expos and so people and we have been copied, you know and that’s like just anytime you’re successful at something people are gonna copy you and so 22:45.84vigorbrandingSure. Mhm. 22:50.21Clara Paye _ UNiTEBut I think at the end of the day, consumers want authenticity. They want you know brands that are creating products that are meaningful to them and will reward those brands. So I don’t really worry about like copycats. I worry more about when they stop copying me. 23:07.91vigorbrandingbut you know and But to your point, and you know weve we’ve been doing a food trends report for over 15 years, and what you are doing and and how you’re doing it is very on trend. It’s not easy. It’s not inexpensive. i mean it’s ah it’s ah you know you there’s you could You could have cut corners along the way on your product, but you don’t do that. I just think that that’s going to pay dividends in the long run. i think that’s such a It’s hard to stick to your ethos, but I think you do a fantastic job of that. so I think it’s something to be proud of. and so and My next thing is, I did not know this, but the I in Unite stands for invite. and I did not realize on the back of every bar there’s an email address that you can people can send directly to you for suggestions on new flavors. Have you have you learned anything from these? Have you gotten anything interesting in the emails? 23:52.30Clara Paye _ UNiTEYes, I love those emails, like those emails come to me. And so I get to interact with the people that write those emails. And, you know, the most meaningful ones are when people will give me a flavor suggestion, but then they’ll also say, thank you for making a bar for us. 24:07.73Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, thank you. And it’s exactly what I wanted to do. 24:09.63vigorbrandingThat’s super cool. 24:10.64Clara Paye _ UNiTEwhen I, when I set out was like, make the invisible feel seen. 24:12.05vigorbrandingYeah. 24:14.77Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd you know, I know what it’s like to not feel seen. You know, I know what it’s like to like, kind of be in the shadows, like being a woman in the plumbing industry. Perfect example, right? Like you don’t really belong here or you don’t like, you know, somebody that looks like me typically doesn’t work in plumbing, right? 24:29.33Clara Paye _ UNiTElike It’s a very old, old, you know, antiquated kind of industry. And so like when I get those emails, I get really excited and people do have some great ideas and ideas of like things that we’ve actually developed, you know, and just haven’t launched. And, you know, so it’s fun to know that like, it is also on trend for people. 24:49.00vigorbrandingThat’s fantastic. So I mean, ah um I’m being italian Italian. My wife’s Greek. So yeah, yeah, her mother makes us baklava. So it’s phenomenal. So I love that. I’m really proud to see that you have a baklava in your in your flavors. So you have you have baklava, you have peanut butter and jelly, you have chiro, bubble tea, Mexican hot chocolate. What’s your what’s your favorite? 25:09.34Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, it’s like asking me which my favorite kid is. 25:12.05vigorbrandingah We all have one. 25:11.94Clara Paye _ UNiTEum i and I mean, is our hero. 25:12.61vigorbrandingCome on. We all have one. On any given day, we all have one. A favorite kid. 25:18.32Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd churro was like the first bar where I was like, okay, we really have something. 25:19.02vigorbrandingUh-huh. That’s the baby. 25:21.72Clara Paye _ UNiTEYeah. But I really also very much like baklava. And it’s similar to churro in that, you know, it’s got kind of like some of the the same kind of spices with the cinnamon. 25:28.18vigorbrandingMm-hmm. 25:29.41Clara Paye _ UNiTEBut baklava has never been done outside of baklava. 25:31.48vigorbrandingMm-hmm. 25:32.33Clara Paye _ UNiTELike, think about it, Michael. Like, you’ve never seen a baklava ice cream. You’ve never seen a baklava cracker. 25:35.23vigorbrandingNope. 25:36.56Clara Paye _ UNiTELike, you’ve never seen a baklava popcorn. Right? Like it was very unique. 25:40.80vigorbrandingYeah. 25:41.16Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd, you know, when I, before I launched, you know, many of the, the manufacturing partners I met with in the beginning were like, these price flavors are too strange. Like nobody’s going to buy these and like to be, you know, have come full circle and and be like, no, they’re great. 25:54.00Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd like Baklava just won a good housekeeping award this year when they’re, you know, best snack award. Churro won the same award last year. 25:59.19vigorbrandingAwesome. 26:00.98Clara Paye _ UNiTESo it’s like, it’s incredibly validating when, you know, people. like like the product and like, you know, um appreciate it. And it’s got organic honey in it. It’s just really tasty bar. 26:12.34vigorbrandingThat’s great. Well, like I said, you’re the products are amazing. And in a way, I like i look at these flavors and in a way they are they’re kind of all comfort foods, too, right? I mean, they’re, they’re, yeah, they’re all international flavors, but they’re almost like international comfort flavors, you know, it just it kind of feels that way. 26:28.40Clara Paye _ UNiTEWell, they’re nostalgic flavors. 26:30.16vigorbrandingYeah. 26:30.11Clara Paye _ UNiTESo they’re foods that you ate in childhood. 26:32.21vigorbrandingRight. 26:32.26Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so that was also really important to me. That was also one of the barometers is like childhood flavors. 26:36.76vigorbrandingPerfect. 26:38.45Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd ironically, I mean, I didn’t develop these for kids, but like kids love our bars and like, duh, they’re childhood flavors, right? Like they’re really for adults, but you know, so we’ve had this like wide range of like consumer interest in our, in our products. And so for me, it’s like about taking you back to kind of like a simpler time. I think, you know, health food specifically is sometimes punitive. Like, Oh, I don’t really like this mushroom powder, but I’m going to drink it because like, i my you know, my, 27:03.59Clara Paye _ UNiTEpodcast said that I’m going to get muscles if I drink it. you know and I’m like more on the other side of wellness. We’re like, let’s make it fun and let’s make it like food you want to eat, not food you have to eat. 27:09.80vigorbrandingMm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, that’s great. All right. Well, let’s have some fun here. So, you know, being the research guys that we are and the marketing guys where we came up with our own flavors. So we decided to go around the world. I want your opinion on if these are going to be winners or not. So we’ll start in India, a gulab jambu. It’s very popular dessert. It’s often served during celebrations. It’s fried dough soaked in a rosewater syrup, often garnished with almonds and cashews. 27:40.04Clara Paye _ UNiTE10 out of 10. I think that would like a home run flavor. I’ve actually, you know, my Indian friends have also suggested ah exact flavor and it’s always kind of been in my mind. 27:45.01vigorbrandingYeah. 27:48.94Clara Paye _ UNiTEThe rosewater is the one that’s like, can be polarizing. So, you know, we try to have things that are like, you know, broad appeal, but yeah, I think 10 out of 10 would be a great flavor. 27:57.57vigorbrandingPlus, I’ll say this, I hate to be the total American here, but pronunciation can also be a barrier to people buying something if they can’t if they can’t figure out how to say it. 28:04.52Clara Paye _ UNiTEFor now, right? 28:06.08vigorbrandingAll right, now we’ll head to Spain, a creamy caramel flan. 28:09.66Clara Paye _ UNiTEI love flan and I think flan is another one of those foods that’s mistaken for like just Latin Americans because lots of people eat flan or you know it’s called sometimes creme caramel it’s called like different things in other regions of the world you know so yeah another great flavor you guys are good at this don um don’t start a bar company Michael. 28:15.09vigorbrandingMm hmm. 28:26.72vigorbrandingyeah Yeah, yeah. We would never if we, you know, they’re yours. These are all yours if you want to do them. So you have some friends, we have some employees in Brazil. So um Bolo de Rolo. It’s a light sponge cake. It’s rolled up with a layer of tangy guava jam. 28:43.47Clara Paye _ UNiTEThis one I’ve never heard of, I’ve never had. 28:45.94vigorbrandingright 28:46.23Clara Paye _ UNiTEI’ve not not been to Brazil, so it really piqued my interest. I love guavas. I think tropical fruits, you know, we see that in beverage now. 28:54.85vigorbrandingRight. 28:55.48Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, there’s all kinds of great beverages that have popped up with tropical fruit flavors. 28:56.09vigorbrandingMm hmm. 29:00.70Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd definitely in terms of what global flavor trends, guava I think is still underrated because I love guavas. 29:04.97vigorbrandingMm hmm. 29:07.99Clara Paye _ UNiTESo yeah, I think, you know, it’d be interesting to to get the um the sponge cake kind of consistency in a bar because bars tend to be a little bit drier and a little bit harder to to make soft because water stability issues. 29:20.76Clara Paye _ UNiTEBut I think that’s super intrigued. I want to go to Brazil, so that’s on my list. 29:24.27vigorbrandingYeah, there you go. There’s an excuse for R and&D. It’s a write-off. um you know Yeah, it’s ah that that’s that’s that’s fun. OK, so we go to Italy ah for some almond biscotti. 29:37.61Clara Paye _ UNiTEI mean, I love biscotti, but I think if you’re craving biscotti, eat a biscotti. 29:41.08vigorbrandingYeah, I agree. 29:41.18Clara Paye _ UNiTEyou know 29:42.08vigorbrandingYeah, I don’t think that works in a bar, right? 29:43.73Clara Paye _ UNiTEWell, you know like people tell me, like oh, you should make a hummus flavored bar. I’m like, what? Why don’t you just eat hummus? 29:49.24vigorbrandingYeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. 29:50.94Clara Paye _ UNiTEyou know For me, it’s about taking some things. Because biscotti is not unhealthy, like typically. like you know If you had one, it’s like it’s fine. 29:55.05vigorbrandingNo. 29:57.11Clara Paye _ UNiTEIt’s like a treat. So I typically try to take like higher calorie, higher density things to make them healthy and approachable. 30:02.75vigorbrandingoh 30:05.67vigorbrandingYeah, you’re you’re almost bringing a dessert together to a degree, right? 30:05.58Clara Paye _ UNiTEso i probably Exactly. 30:08.59vigorbrandingYeah. 30:08.51Clara Paye _ UNiTEa 30:09.42vigorbrandingYeah, that totally makes sense. And you know what’s funny? You you just said something that that really kind of stuck with me. though The beverage industry does do a lot of flavors. And it’s really kind of accelerated. I mean, as a company, we were early on with with flavored beverages in the tea category. 30:24.27vigorbrandingAnd we were we had a brand that we worked with for like 15 years. We helped build what’s called Turkey Hill Iced Tea. Excuse me. And it was the first refrigerated tea. a lot of There was teas out there that were shelf-stable, but we were in the refrigerator. Well, the proliferation now of beverages in the refrigerator. You go to a convenience store with just walls of beverages. So there’s a lot of unique flavorings that you see popping up. And I guess that’s that would be a good place to see, I don’t know, what’s acceptable, right? like what are what are What are consumers interested in? 30:53.61Clara Paye _ UNiTEYeah, I think um it’s a good, again, like I got to take a lot of flavor cues from like a Starbucks or like, you know, what are people drinking? 31:01.08vigorbrandingyeah 31:02.11Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd like, what are the flavor cues in beverage that we can borrow from, right? Or we that can inform some of us. I think in beverage, it’s a little bit easier because the flavoring is just like props added to something versus like you’re trying to really create something authentic in food. 31:13.60vigorbrandingYeah, yep, yep. 31:19.97Clara Paye _ UNiTEBut gosh, I’m just happy I have a shelf stable product. Like I can’t imagine distributing a refrigerated or frozen product. 31:25.52vigorbrandingYeah, yeah, yeah. 31:26.11Clara Paye _ UNiTELike knowing what I know now, it’s like just a whole nother level of of anxiety. 31:30.73vigorbrandingYeah, well in flavoring to own on that side is it’s amazing how if you had some foot, it’s not obvious as a flavor to like what happened to potato chips, right? So we have a snack food category of snack foods. I mean, adding just a new flavor a new fun. It’s it’s amazing how much velocity you get and how much traction we actually did it across the tuna category. 31:49.35vigorbrandingAnd you would think, you know, tuna, we started adding sriracha or different types of hot or or or Thai chili or, I mean, just all these kind of unique flavors. 31:54.20Clara Paye _ UNiTEMm 31:57.94vigorbrandingAnd it’s amazing how it can really ah get you more more ah shelf presence. 31:59.66Clara Paye _ UNiTEhmm. 32:03.65vigorbrandingAnd it also then, ah it creates ah an atmosphere of trial. So it’s ah’s it’s an awful lot of fun for that too. So um so as an entrepreneur who who’s growing and developing a brand that’s still a relatively young brand, ah you just created it four years ago. 32:17.34vigorbrandingWhat are some of your biggest challenges? 32:20.85Clara Paye _ UNiTEIt’s sad to say, Michael, but like there’s a lot of predatory behavior for emerging brands in the food space, right? 32:26.57vigorbrandinghe 32:26.47Clara Paye _ UNiTEWhere I think this industry like depends on the turn to a certain degree of like brands to fail, to come in to shoot their shot. And like when they fail, it doesn’t matter because there’s like so many other brands behind them trying to get in that same shelf space. 32:39.58Clara Paye _ UNiTESo I think it’s just being the underdog. like If you look at the shelves that we’re on, we’re competing with behemoths, right? Like billion dollar brands, multi-billion dollar brands, like that control the entire food supply. 32:48.42vigorbrandingMm hmm. Mm hmm. 32:51.38Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd we’re like on the same shelf and like, how can we actually compete to build brand awareness? Like, you know, so you just do it with a radical authenticity. You do it by creating value for the consumer, creating something different, creating a better product. 33:05.17Clara Paye _ UNiTEBut it’s really like having come from a larger company where like, you know, you have some kind of street cred because you are a larger and you’re eight It’s easier to grow a larger company, but to grow from scratch has been like humbling. 33:17.69Clara Paye _ UNiTElike it’s There’s a lot of people who want to put their hand in your pocket, who want to you know take advantage of you, and you have to be astute. 33:18.13vigorbrandingYeah. 33:24.66Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd again, you have to surround yourself with people that are smart, that will help you avoid the landline, help you clear those paths. but You know, I, um, I also started, um, a nonprofit called included for, you know, people of color in food CPG just because I feel very passionately it’s called included included CPG, um, for people to kind of like not make the same mistakes that I made or kind of try to pull it forward somehow by clearing the path for, you know, I don’t want people to, you know, make the mistakes that we, we’ve made or could have potentially made. 33:49.99vigorbrandingMm hmm. 33:56.73vigorbrandingMm hmm. That’s you’ve you’ve always been one to give back. And I think that’s very admirable. I mean, we were walking around. It was it was it this we were just talking about with the included CPG. 34:09.40vigorbrandingWe were walking around. He was exposed. You had a special section and they they they don’t you had them donate space. What was that for? 34:16.71Clara Paye _ UNiTEum Yes for emerging brands and no for included and so we do do that at the fancy food show and at Expo West every year and so we kind of run kind of a mini incubator accelerator For these brands and help them get that space and be ready to pitch and you know, you have to be market ready So it’s not like for a brand that’s like pre-launch it’s like, you know if you have some kind of like established brand presence and really hoping to elevate them to the next level because those trade shows are so expensive and it’s so primitive and so anything that we can do to 34:18.69vigorbrandingOh, OK. 34:43.19vigorbrandingYeah. 34:46.50Clara Paye _ UNiTELevel the playing field to like help an emerging brand win is like I just it just lights me up I like it makes me so happy because These are the people improving the food systems. 34:57.16Clara Paye _ UNiTEThese are the people that are bringing healthy Products to market. 34:57.35vigorbrandingRight. 35:01.02Clara Paye _ UNiTEThese are the people who are you know, taking their family recipes and trying to share them with the world 35:06.90vigorbrandingWell, I mean, I admire you because you’re able to, I could see you walking into those shows and asking for them to give you all this space. And I know how you are. You do with a smile, but you’re pretty emphatic and I’m sure you always get your way. 35:19.64vigorbrandingCause I know I sit in meetings with you and when I’m, and when I miss a meeting, I have to answer to you, but you do with a smile, but you always hold people accountable and you get what you want. And I do respect that. So sure. 35:29.41Clara Paye _ UNiTEWell, I mean, it’s been a great partnership with New Hope and the Specialty Food Association. And it just, it aligns with their value. So they actually are great partners. And so it’s a, you know, and it’s a team. It’s not just me. There’s like five other founders on the leadership team have included. So, you know, we, we are really working hard to improve um the food systems. 35:51.19vigorbrandingwhat So what ah what do a lot of these folks, i mean thankfully they have you ah to sort of open up the door for them, literally to bring them into the into these shows. so like What do you see a mistake made by ah want to be entrepreneurs? what What do they do wrong? Or what do what do you think and in the brand creation process? What do you what do what do you think that they they do wrong a lot? 36:11.05Clara Paye _ UNiTEI mean, it’s probably something we did wrong too, but it’s like trying to pretend you’re a big brand when you’re not, right? Like, yes, you can get on that shelf, but are you ready? Can you support it the same way a big brand does? 36:20.43vigorbrandingMmhmm. 36:22.89Clara Paye _ UNiTEDo you know all the levers to pull, right? 36:24.66vigorbrandingMmhmm. 36:25.09Clara Paye _ UNiTElike And it’s hard to say, like, it’s hard when the opportunity knocks not to take it, right? 36:30.71vigorbrandingSure. 36:31.30Clara Paye _ UNiTESo it’s like that discipline of knowing, you know, What is the actual contribution margin of this account? And, you know, is it just like, or does it accomplish something else? So I think it’s like biting off a little bit more than you can chew. 36:44.02Clara Paye _ UNiTEum And then the one that I pay attention very closely to is quality. I think quality can sink your company so fast. You know, one quality issue, one copacker issue, one whatever issue. 36:53.05vigorbrandingyeah 36:54.04Clara Paye _ UNiTESo if you’re not paying attention to your product, you know, so closely, um that can really be a landmine because you can always create more brands. But you know, if your brand name is like tainted, it’s hard for you. 37:07.44vigorbrandingRight. I mean, some people might not even know like that. I think people assume because you have a brand, that you actually make it yourself. And you know, there are co-packers out there and a lot of brands use co-packers and you’re handing off your basically your baby and your promise, you know, a brand is a promise, your promise to the consumer to someone else to make. Obviously, there’s there’s checks and balances there. But it it is a, you know, there’s there’s places along the way that you have to count on a lot of partners. And it’s a, I’m sure it’s a difficult business, you know, 37:36.97Clara Paye _ UNiTEI think you have to think of your co-man relationships as kind of like your investors because they’re investing their line time, their energy you know to develop your brand as well. 37:40.66vigorbrandinghere Yep. 37:44.95Clara Paye _ UNiTESo it is a partnership. You’re not just like, you know. Um, taking and giving, right? is It’s truly a partnership but if done right. And like, yeah, I like to, I like to actually preface a lot of my buyer meetings by saying, Hey, by the way, I don’t make this in my garage. 37:56.50vigorbrandingMm 37:57.57Clara Paye _ UNiTEI, you know, because like the, the bias is if you’re like an emerging, I have a dream person and you’re like, make as far as in your garage and like packaging them up and sending them out. 38:01.10vigorbranding-hmm. 38:07.22Clara Paye _ UNiTEI thought there’s anything wrong with that. But like, when you’re trying to pitch a fortune, you know, 100 company, they got to make sure that, you know, you have your ducks in a row. 38:09.52vigorbrandingRight. eat Yeah. Yeah. 38:14.95Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so that’s a good qualifier. 38:17.32vigorbrandingYeah, Target doesn’t want you like ah to think you’re baking the night before. That’s funny. But I mean, yeah, it’s ah yeah’s it’s true. And it’s amazing all of the the hurdles, I’ll say, that you have to go through. So you have a great, yeah there’s a quote that you like to talk about. lot Winston Churchill, success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. And you’re always enthusiastic. You want to talk a little bit about some of those things that you had to bump up against, some of your failures, some of the things that you had to pivot. 38:44.24Clara Paye _ UNiTEOh, there’s so many, Michael. I mean, every, if it’s, if it was easy, everyone would do it, you know, like I say that, but it’s like, it’s so true. 38:49.31vigorbrandingSure. 38:51.46Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd like, you know, and every entrepreneur I talk to in the food space or any space, it’s like, you gotta be able to take those hits and get back up. 38:57.56vigorbrandingOh, yeah. 38:59.18Clara Paye _ UNiTEBut the getting back up is really hard, right? 39:02.31vigorbrandingMm hmm. 39:02.73Clara Paye _ UNiTEEspecially when there’s like, you could do something else with your time. You could do something else with your energy. 39:06.20vigorbrandingGreat. 39:07.24Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd that’s where like a mission becomes really important. And it’s like, what’s actually driving you? 39:11.03vigorbrandingMm 39:11.36Clara Paye _ UNiTECause if it’s money, you’ll give up. There’s way easier ways to make money. 39:15.17vigorbrandinghmm. 39:15.47Clara Paye _ UNiTELike if I wanted to go make money, I’d just take my money and invest it in real estate or whatever. I’m like, yes, we do that too. but It’s really about mission for me. And so what drives you to like make the world a better place, have a lasting impact, create products that resonate with people. 39:31.82Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd so success is just a barometer. It’s just an outcome of you living that up. But like, you know, there are times, I mean, I think if you’re not ready to throw in the towel every month in your business, are you even an entrepreneur? 39:42.90Clara Paye _ UNiTELike, you know, like it’s just, it’s the getting back up. 39:43.50vigorbrandingRight. 39:46.20Clara Paye _ UNiTEAnd it’s like that loss of enthusiasm is what gets you. And like another way to send that is like burnout. If you’ve burned out, it’s too late. So I make sure that I don’t burn out. 39:52.89vigorbrandingYep. Yeah, that’s very smart. That’s actually very sage advice right there. Because look, these businesses, no matter how ah exciting they are, or how long you’ve been doing them, you do hit those those troughs, you do hit the burnout phase. I mean, personally, I started my first agency 33 years ago. And it’s, you know, ah yeah well and during this whole time with COVID, there’s so much change. And and and you know You think, well, you’ve been doing this for a long time. Everything think just should be on autopilot. No. I mean, I probably worked harder in the last couple of years. I did maybe in some of the middle years. I don’t know. It’s just just a different time. So yeah, the entrepreneur thing, I think everyone takes it for granted or everyone looks over and says, oh, you’ve done that. Or you have money because of this. And ah most people don’t realize those days and those sleepless nights and those weekends and the you know the the fears of everything from bankruptcy to lawsuits to everything else. We all go through it. right i mean every 40:45.92vigorbrandingi get to I’m very fortunate i get to talk to a lot of founders, I get to talk to a lot of entrepreneurs, and a lot of successful people, and they all have the same they all have those same stories. Every one of them has that nightmare, like, yeah, there was this time when, and you know you didn’t think there was a tomorrow. so it’s ah ah you know it’s ah It’s good to hear, it because your story, you’ve seen it all all the way around from your father to to starting up now and what you’re doing. and I love that you stick to your guns. because ah Again, you can cut corners. You could do things faster, cheaper, but not better. And I think that what you do is ah is really remarkable. And i again, I know it’s going to pay off in the long run. So so what’s what’s next for you tonight? I mean, are there any new flavors? If you can’t talk about it, I understand. But if theres is there anything new products or flavors or anything exciting on the horizon? 41:29.86Clara Paye _ UNiTEYeah, there is a new flavor. It’s called Hot Fudge Sunday. We’ll be launching soon. And so we’re really excited about that flavor, another nostalgic childhood treat. 41:35.70vigorbrandingAwesome. Yep. 41:38.67Clara Paye _ UNiTEAlso some different, you know, we’re looking at different formats, kind of some adjacent things. So definitely an innovation pipeline out there. 41:43.72vigorbrandingthat 41:44.39Clara Paye _ UNiTESo hoping to launch some other products. But really, I want to win at bars first and, um you know, really own our category and really, you know, make sure that our velocities stay up and and everything is is good with bars. 41:59.13vigorbrandingFantastic. All right, so one last question. And you can’t be one of your bars. But if you had one last final meal, what would you eat? Where? Why? 42:09.00Clara Paye _ UNiTESuch a good question. I mean, I’m a California girl, so it’d probably be an In-N-Out cheeseburger, ah you know, and and yeah some french fries and egg steak, animals for sure, animal style. 42:15.08vigorbrandingThere you go. All right. I respect that answer. That’s a great answer. Animal animal style, I hope. 42:25.41Clara Paye _ UNiTEum You know, it’s kind of like, that’s the meal when we travel abroad or something and you get back, you’re like, oh, I just want an In-N-Out burger. 42:26.67vigorbrandingah 42:30.92vigorbrandingYeah. 42:31.05Clara Paye _ UNiTEYou know, it just, it feels like home. And I think that goes back to nostalgia and childhood too. 42:35.15vigorbrandingAnybody that with work or or or whatever, friends or family that travel with me, they know when I land in California, that’s one of the first things I do and I will not leave until I do it. It might not be the very first thing I get to do if I have a meeting, but I will have in and out before I get on that plane to fly back east. 42:51.43vigorbrandingso That’s a great answer. 42:51.95Clara Paye _ UNiTEThat’s right. 42:52.84vigorbrandinggreat answer so Anyway, Claire, thank you. This was awesome. I you know i appreciate you. ah you know I’ve known you a long time and it’s just so cool to hear your story and see what you’re up to and congratulations. 43:03.82Clara Paye _ UNiTEThanks, Michaels. Fun to be on. 43:06.07vigorbrandingAwesome. Thanks.

LAS VEGAS (STATI UNITI) (ITALPRESS) - "L'Italia, per molti decenni, è stata un partner incredibile per i Fancy Food Shows. Riconoscerla ufficialmente come paese partner è semplicemente fantastico, ha un impatto su come i buyer statunitensi vedono le nostre fiere, perché l'Italia è nota per le sue innovazioni e tesori culinari". Lo afferma Bill Lynch, presidente della Specialty Food Association, a margine del Winter Fancy Food Show di Las Vegas.sat/gsl

LAS VEGAS (STATI UNITI) (ITALPRESS) - "L'Italia, per molti decenni, è stata un partner incredibile per i Fancy Food Shows. Riconoscerla ufficialmente come paese partner è semplicemente fantastico, ha un impatto su come i buyer statunitensi vedono le nostre fiere, perché l'Italia è nota per le sue innovazioni e tesori culinari". Lo afferma Bill Lynch, presidente della Specialty Food Association, a margine del Winter Fancy Food Show di Las Vegas.sat/gsl

LAS VEGAS (STATI UNITI) (ITALPRESS) - "L'Italia, per molti decenni, è stata un partner incredibile per i Fancy Food Shows. Riconoscerla ufficialmente come paese partner è semplicemente fantastico, ha un impatto su come i buyer statunitensi vedono le nostre fiere, perché l'Italia è nota per le sue innovazioni e tesori culinari". Lo afferma Bill Lynch, presidente della Specialty Food Association, a margine del Winter Fancy Food Show di Las Vegas.sat/gsl

NEW YORK (ITALPRESS) - "La crescita dei prodotti italiani nell'ultimo decennio è una storia fenomenale, è anche una storia di buon cibo, innovazione e tendenze che l'Italia ha contribuito a portare a un livello superiore nella ristorazione e alimentazione negli Usa". Lo ha detto Phil Robinson - Senior Vice President, Specialty Food Association, in occasione della presentazione del Fancy Food Show. f11/mgg/gtr

NEW YORK (ITALPRESS) - "La crescita dei prodotti italiani nell'ultimo decennio è una storia fenomenale, è anche una storia di buon cibo, innovazione e tendenze che l'Italia ha contribuito a portare a un livello superiore nella ristorazione e alimentazione negli Usa". Lo ha detto Phil Robinson - Senior Vice President, Specialty Food Association, in occasione della presentazione del Fancy Food Show. f11/mgg/gtr

Luke Schneider is the Founder and CEO of Fire Dept. Coffee, a certified veteran-owned coffee company. Fire Dept. Coffee gives back to and supports injured firefighters and has been named to the Inc. 5000 list three years in a row. Luke is also a retired firefighter, paramedic, and US Navy veteran. In 2023, he received the Leadership award for Citizenship from the Specialty Food Association.  In this episode…  In a business environment dominated by duplicate products, brands must employ creative measures to stand out and capture consumers' attention. This requires more than having a widespread presence on popular social media apps. How did a community-focused coffee brand gain recognition in thousands of Walmart locations? Former firefighter and US Navy veteran Luke Schneider credits his coffee company's growth to a robust community presence and a resonant mission. He emphasizes building a local community to convey your mission and cultivate a brand identity. For a broader reach, you can communicate your message on various social media platforms by targeting audiences who align with your mission to differentiate your products in the market. Luke maintains that a motivated team and influential culture can promote your community efforts and amplify your mission.  In today's episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, William Harris chats with Luke Schneider, the Founder and CEO of Fire Dept. Coffee (FDC), about building a robust community and team to scale. Luke discusses social selling, FDC's subscription offers, and how the company received its first publicity and navigated a trademark lawsuit.

Summer means field days and food shows. Lesley talks briefly about the Eagle Lake, TX Field Day, while Michael brought back interviews and samples from the Specialty Food Association's 68th Annual Fancy Food Show that featured lots of U.S.-grown rice. He talked rice with people from Fancypants Baking Company, Olivia's Croutons, Hillside Lane Farms, the Dutch Waffle Company, and some innovators whose products only fault is that they weren't using U.S.-grown rice. Michael also shares information from education sessions he attended. All this, plus Bloody Marys, a new game, and ASMR! You're going to get hungry. https://fancypantsbakery.com https://dutchwafflecompany.us https://oliviascroutons.com https://hillsidelanefarm.com www.captaindanny.com/en With special guests: Maura Duggan, Founder & CEO, FancyPants Baking Company, Francie Caccovo, Founder & Owner, Olivia's Croutons, Bianca Letens, Dutch Waffle Company, Cathy Bacon, Hillside Lane Farms, Christine Chang, Captain Danny Hosted by: Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

NEW YORK (STATI UNITI) (ITALPRESS) - "Per la prima volta un Paese diventa il promotore di un un'iniziativa che durerà un anno intero con la collaborazione della Specialty Food Association statunitense". Lo dice Donato Cinelli, presidente di Universal Marketing, in occasione del Summer Fancy Food Show di New York.sat/gtr

NEW YORK (STATI UNITI) (ITALPRESS) - "Per la prima volta un Paese diventa il promotore di un un'iniziativa che durerà un anno intero con la collaborazione della Specialty Food Association statunitense". Lo dice Donato Cinelli, presidente di Universal Marketing, in occasione del Summer Fancy Food Show di New York.sat/gtr

NEW YORK (STATI UNITI) (ITALPRESS) - "Questa è la nostra 68ª edizione e siamo al tutto esaurito. Siamo felicissimi del risultato. L'Italia è sempre stata al nostro fianco sin dall'inizio e questo padiglione continua a essere il più grande e il più significativo di ogni Fancy Food Show". Lo dice Bill Lynch, presidente della Specialty Food Association, a margine del Summer Fancy Food Show di New York.sat/gtr

NEW YORK (STATI UNITI) (ITALPRESS) - "Questa è la nostra 68ª edizione e siamo al tutto esaurito. Siamo felicissimi del risultato. L'Italia è sempre stata al nostro fianco sin dall'inizio e questo padiglione continua a essere il più grande e il più significativo di ogni Fancy Food Show". Lo dice Bill Lynch, presidente della Specialty Food Association, a margine del Summer Fancy Food Show di New York.sat/gtr

Join us today for a front-row seat to real talk from two agency owners! Whitney is chatting with Susie Timm, Founder and CEO of Knife & Fork Media. The two agency owners give you the scoop on things that they LOVE about owning an agency, tips for freelancers looking to scale, and things that they had to learn the hard way so that you don't have to. If you're a freelancer on the verge of scaling and growing a team, you won't want to miss this episode! ---------------- Knife & Fork Media Founder, Susie Timm grew up in the land of cow, otherwise known as Wisconsin. In 1992 she moved to the Valley of the Sun and graduated from high school in Scottsdale and is a proud alumni of Arizona State University with her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Political Science.. Interestingly enough, she started a booming career as a banker in 2000 and was named the youngest Bank President in Arizona at the age of 27. Susie worked in that industry until it became “un-fun” in 2009. She found her true passion in the food industry mid-2009 when she co-founded a food events company. That business morphed into the full service PR agency we are today! Susie and her team manage a marketing portfolio of clients ranging in size and scope from food to entertainment to accounting. With over fifteen years of experience, her proven marketing, media and sales models have helped grow small and medium-sized companies all over Arizona and the United States. Susie won numerous achievement awards for her sales skills during her years as a corporate warrior. Additionally, she has been honored as a member of the Phoenix Business Journal's “40 under 40,” and “Women Leaders in Business,” the Phoenix New Times' “100 Tastemakers in Phoenix,” So Scottsdale's “24 Powerful Leaders Under 40,” and has served as a national trendspotter for the Specialty Food Association's Fancy Food Shows. Susie is a proud graduate of Scottsdale Leadership, Class 23. Susie has been a recurring featured guest on many local TV stations for her passionate take on gourmet food trends. Susie believes strongly in community stewardship and to that end, she has served as a board member with Scottsdale Leadership, the Leadership Council of Careers in Culinary Arts (C-Cap AZ), and has served three times as the Co-Chair of Taste of the Nation Arizona, an event that raises important funds to feed hungry kids in Arizona. She currently serves as Vice President of Les Dames de Escoffier, Phoenix Chapter and is a founding member of the One More Ball Foundation, dedicated to bringing tennis to underserved kids. For fun, Susie plays tennis 4-5 times a week, cooks, reads cooking magazines, sits in the Jacuzzi and spends too much time shopping online. ------------- Connect with Susie Knife & Fork Media Connect with Whitney

Bringing you a solo episode today, why? Here's my background.I'm the founder of Women Who Brunch and Host of the Brunch & Learn Podcast, but have also spent the past 13 years of my career in event management, marketing, sponsorships/partnerships, and lead management. The past 7 years of my career were specifically in trade show management. I'm combining my experience of both understanding from an exhibitor side to my press/content creator side in covering food events and trade shows such as ExpoEast, Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show, New York City Wine Food Festival, and Hudson Valley Restaurant Week to many food tours, pop-ups, and experiential food events. In this Episode We'll Cover: Why you shouldn't sleep on a Press Release or your Event Announcements.Offering Press, Buyers, Retailers, Inventors & High Quality Leads a special gift or offerUnderstanding how you're going to qualify leads Post-Show Follow Up Strategy Tapping into your membership, awards, accolades, pitch contents, webinars for further reach, education, and exposureLink to FULL Blog Post - This is updated yearly to include a Show Calendar of food events for the year + new tips and exhibit samples I come across.Support the showAbout Us - Women Who Brunch:Women Who Brunch is a food community and event series for women who love connecting, networking, and learning from each other over the most important meal of the week...BRUNCH! We're solving the problem of making adult friendships while doing cool stuff in the Hudson Vally, NY.Visit our website for updates on events, recipes, brunch spots, product reviews, and more or say hi on Instagram!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenwhobrunchWebsite: https://womenwhobrunch.com

Beverage sales have outpaced that of food within the specialty segment in the past decade, according to the Specialty Food Association, which attributes the boom to an increased demand for functional benefits, a faster pace of innovation and a lower threshold for initial trial.

Members of the Specialty Food Association (SFA) create high-end foods and drinks. Rice is often found as an ingredient, but why not take the spotlight? Michael went to SFA's Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas last month to ask this question and sample fancy food. He's back to talk about his observations with Lesley and share an interview with California rice farmers (and show exhibitors) Tom and Carter Knowles of Chico Rice. He also visited with Laurie Demeritt, CEO of The Hartman Group about food trends and consumer desires. And SFA's Leana Salamah stops by to talk about the market and her organization. With special guests: Leana Salamah​​​​ SVP, Marketing & Communications, Specialty Food Association, Laurie Demeritt, CEO, The Hartman Group, Carter Knowles, Chico Rice, and Tom Knowles, Chico Rice Hosted by: Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

At the Specialty Food Association's recent Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas, George Hajjar, associate editor at the SFA, spoke with Cathy Strange, ambassador of food culture at Whole Foods Market. In this episode, they discussed how to teach others to taste with their five senses, what grocery buyers look for in specialty products, and standout trends for the year.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

Joe chats with industry veteran Lydia Burns from Rogers Collection, contemplating what makes Food so Fancy and the new location of the Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by Simplecast.

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - L'andamento degli scambi USA Italia continua a consolidare il forte aumento già rilevato nelle precedenti analisi. Il Belpaese sale al 12° posto tra i partner commerciali degli Stati Uniti e dal 5° al 4° posto tra quelli europei. Le eccellenze italiane hanno preso vita nel tradizionale "Italian Pavilion" del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas, la fiera dedicata alle specialità alimentari e alle bevande. La tradizionale Lounge organizzata da ICE ha riproposto la speciale postazione dedicata all'aperitivo italiano. col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - L'andamento degli scambi USA Italia continua a consolidare il forte aumento già rilevato nelle precedenti analisi. Il Belpaese sale al 12° posto tra i partner commerciali degli Stati Uniti e dal 5° al 4° posto tra quelli europei. Le eccellenze italiane hanno preso vita nel tradizionale "Italian Pavilion" del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas, la fiera dedicata alle specialità alimentari e alle bevande. La tradizionale Lounge organizzata da ICE ha riproposto la speciale postazione dedicata all'aperitivo italiano. col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - L'andamento degli scambi USA Italia continua a consolidare il forte aumento già rilevato nelle precedenti analisi. Il Belpaese sale al 12° posto tra i partner commerciali degli Stati Uniti e dal 5° al 4° posto tra quelli europei. Le eccellenze italiane hanno preso vita nel tradizionale "Italian Pavilion" del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas, la fiera dedicata alle specialità alimentari e alle bevande. La tradizionale Lounge organizzata da ICE ha riproposto la speciale postazione dedicata all'aperitivo italiano. col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - "Siamo assolutamente entusiasti della presenza di produttori alimentari innovativi dall'Italia. Questa è il 48esimo anno che organizziamo il Winter Fancy Food sulla costa Ovest degli Stati Uniti ed è il terzo anno a Las Vegas. Dal primo giorno i produttori italiani sono stati al nostro fianco e continuano a fissare trend global ed è straordinario. Questo è il primo evento dell'anno per l'industria agroalimentare e siamo tutti felici per la grande presenza di aziende". Lo ha detto Bill Lynch, presidente Specialty Food Association, in occasione del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas. col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - "La fiera sta andando molto bene, ha avuto un inizio molto importante, con diverse attività all'interno del padiglione italiano. Bel numero di visitatori e anche buyers di un ottimo livello". Lo ha detto Donato Cinelli, presidente Universal Marketing, agente esclusivo per l'Italia della Specialty Food Association a margine del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas.col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - "La fiera sta andando molto bene, ha avuto un inizio molto importante, con diverse attività all'interno del padiglione italiano. Bel numero di visitatori e anche buyers di un ottimo livello". Lo ha detto Donato Cinelli, presidente Universal Marketing, agente esclusivo per l'Italia della Specialty Food Association a margine del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas.col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - "La fiera sta andando molto bene, ha avuto un inizio molto importante, con diverse attività all'interno del padiglione italiano. Bel numero di visitatori e anche buyers di un ottimo livello". Lo ha detto Donato Cinelli, presidente Universal Marketing, agente esclusivo per l'Italia della Specialty Food Association a margine del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas.col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - "Siamo assolutamente entusiasti della presenza di produttori alimentari innovativi dall'Italia. Questa è il 48esimo anno che organizziamo il Winter Fancy Food sulla costa Ovest degli Stati Uniti ed è il terzo anno a Las Vegas. Dal primo giorno i produttori italiani sono stati al nostro fianco e continuano a fissare trend global ed è straordinario. Questo è il primo evento dell'anno per l'industria agroalimentare e siamo tutti felici per la grande presenza di aziende". Lo ha detto Bill Lynch, presidente Specialty Food Association, in occasione del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas. col/mgg/gtr

LAS VEGAS (ITALPRESS) - "Siamo assolutamente entusiasti della presenza di produttori alimentari innovativi dall'Italia. Questa è il 48esimo anno che organizziamo il Winter Fancy Food sulla costa Ovest degli Stati Uniti ed è il terzo anno a Las Vegas. Dal primo giorno i produttori italiani sono stati al nostro fianco e continuano a fissare trend global ed è straordinario. Questo è il primo evento dell'anno per l'industria agroalimentare e siamo tutti felici per la grande presenza di aziende". Lo ha detto Bill Lynch, presidente Specialty Food Association, in occasione del Winter Fancy Food di Las Vegas. col/mgg/gtr

Lewis Road Creamery is a New Zealand-based maker of the 10 Star Certified Salted Butter that was named Specialty Food Association's 2023 sofi Product of the Year at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City.In this episode, Julie Gallagher, director of content development for SFA, speaks with Lewis Road Creamery's co-founder and director of marketing and communications, Lynette Maan, and vice president of sales and operations, Steve Muir, about the premium butter space, their product's sofi win, and how Lewis Road Creamery does right by farmers, animals, and the Earth. Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

Thursday, October 26th — In this episode we talk about: Vegan ultrarunner Harvey Lewis wins Big's Backyard Ultra and sets new record Weather report: Slutty Vegan opening Baltimore location, McDonald's doing away with McFlurry spoon AITA: Man Bans Sister from Serving Vegan Menu at Family Reunion (https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/26/man-bans-sister-from-serving-vegan-menu-at-family-reunion-19723318/) Top 2024 Food and Beverage Trends from Specialty Food Association (https://www.specialtyfood.com/news/article/top-2024-food-and-beverage-trends-revealed-specialty-food-association-trendspotter-panel/) Tune in live every weekday at 11am to watch on YouTube or on Instagram (@plantbasedmorningshow and @nomeatathlete_official), or watch on Twitter or Twitch! Follow @plantbasedmorningshow, @realmattfrazier, and @itsdoughay for more.

Sam Mogannam is a chef and second-generation owner of San Francisco's Bi-Rite Market and founder of the B Corp certified Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, which includes two specialty markets, a creamery, catering commissary, and a nonprofit cooking school and education space. In this episode, Julie Gallagher, director of content development for Specialty Food Association, speaks with Mogannam about the rich sensory experience that can be had at Bi-Rite, how he strives to maintain its B Corp status, and plans for a new store opening.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

Cold-pressed grapeseed oil produces a high-quality, nutrient-rich product that can be used to bake, sauté, top salads, and more. Salute Santé's upcycled, chef-inspired grapeseed oil is a recent 2023 Gold Sofi Award winner and has been a leader in the alternative oil category for decades. The company also makes infused oils and grapeseed flour.In this episode of Spill & Dish, George Hajjar, content development associate at the Specialty Food Association, speaks with co-founders and life partners Valentin and Nanette Humer about the company's mission to bring sustainability to the industry, how it began, and how its suite of products is produced.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

What were the biggest trends at the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show? Tanner Food Group president, Specialty Food Association alum, and food industry veteran Ron Tanner joined The Food Institute Podcast to reflect upon the show's biggest winners, emerging trends, and what it takes to have staying power in the food industry. Additionally, he shares how important events like the Summer Fancy Food show have become in a post-pandemic world. More About Ron Tanner: Ron Tanner is president of Tanner Food Group, a specialty food consultancy focused on international trade, industry preparedness and regulatory activities. Ron is a former executive team member of the Specialty Food Association, the leading trade association for the $170 billion specialty food industry. His last role after a 33-year career with the trade group was Vice President, Education, Content and Advocacy. Ron worked for the SFA and its 3,900+ members from 1987 – 2020, helping them understand and succeed in the specialty food business. His responsibilities included education, content, marketing, public relations, industry relations, awards, government relations and philanthropy. Ron is a frequent speaker on the U.S. specialty food market and food trends and has presented at key national and international industry conferences and events, including FoodEx Japan, Anuga, CIBUS, the Fancy Food Shows, the National Grocers Association Show, the American Cheese Society Conference and more. Ron holds a Master of Science degree in Journalism from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science degree in English and Communications Studies from Oberlin College. Check Out Food Institute's Coverage of SFFS: Day One Livestream Replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zabRDi14e7Y Day Two Livestream Replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXSGxwPpeds Day Three Livestream Replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSu09gzmoU0 Top Trends at the Summer Fancy Food Show: https://foodinstitute.com/beverage/top-trends-at-the-fancy-food-show/

Emre Imamoglu saw an opportunity to bring healthy eating habits from the Mediterranean to a U.S. audience in the form of CiboVita. In this episode, George Hajjar, associate editor at the Specialty Food Association, spoke with Imamoglu about the company's health-first approach, its sofi award-winning product, and the business strategies that enabled its success.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

"Sono oltre 60 i Paesi rappresentati al Summer Fancy Food Show di New York". Lo ha detto Bill Lynch, presidente Specialty Food Association.mgg/gtr

"Sono oltre 60 i Paesi rappresentati al Summer Fancy Food Show di New York". Lo ha detto Bill Lynch, presidente Specialty Food Association.mgg/gtr

Le eccellenze alimentari italiane sono le protagoniste del Summer Fancy Food Show 2023 di New York. Al Jacob Javits Convention Center, l'Italian Pavilion è lo spazio espositivo più ampio dell'area internazionale, con oltre 300 imprese e 308 stand. Specialty Food Association, organizzazione senza scopo di lucro per la promozione mondiale del consumo di food di alta qualità, ha collaborato per l'evento con Universal Marketing e ICE. mgg/gtr

Le eccellenze alimentari italiane sono le protagoniste del Summer Fancy Food Show 2023 di New York. Al Jacob Javits Convention Center, l'Italian Pavilion è lo spazio espositivo più ampio dell'area internazionale, con oltre 300 imprese e 308 stand. Specialty Food Association, organizzazione senza scopo di lucro per la promozione mondiale del consumo di food di alta qualità, ha collaborato per l'evento con Universal Marketing e ICE. mgg/gtr

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Sisters Jessica Amel and Angela Kmeck co-lead Janet's Finest, a specialty food brand started by their mother that incorporates spicy jalapeños into sweet fruity compotes. In this episode of Spill & Dish, George Hajjar, associate editor of the Specialty Food Association, speaks with the sisters about driving success on social media and the importance of family and community in their brand.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

Dani Zuchovicki, member and community manager at The Hatchery, began observing and later assisting her grandmother in the kitchen from an early age. Her culinary curiosity continued during her teen years, when she tested out recipes by hosting supper clubs with high school friends. These days she assists early-stage food entrepreneurs at the Chicago incubator in getting their businesses off the ground. In this episode of Spill & Dish, Julie Gallagher, content director for the Specialty Food Association, speaks with SFA's Emerging Leader Award winner about her work with women from under served communities, the common hurdles they face, and the ways she's assisted hundreds of food makers.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

Miyoko, Now and ZenMarvelous Miyoko has been let go from the beloved vegan cheese company she founded and her many vegan fans are shocked and saddened. As this unfortunate situation unfolds we hope for the best for Miyoko and her delicious creations. Caryn Hartglass presents three excerpts of IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD interviews with Miyoko from 2012, 2014, and 2016 showing the evolution of what is today, Miyoko's Creamery. During the 1990s, she taught vegan cooking classes, and in 1991 The Book Publishing Company published her first vegan cookbook The Now and Zen Epicure. In 1994, she opened the vegan restaurant Now and Zen in San Francisco, which eventually expanded into a natural food company of the same name, which was sold in 2003. Schinner has launched a number of vegan brands, such as UnTurkey, which she exhibited at the 1995 Natural Products Expo alongside competitor Tofurky, and Hip Whip. In 2014, Schinner launched vegan cheese company Miyoko's Kitchen, later renaming it Miyoko's Creamery. Tofurky founder Seth Tibbott was the company's first investor. In 2016, the Specialty Food Association reported the company had “grown 300% year over year,” and “they recently signed on to a new 28,000+ square-foot headquarters in Petaluma.” Miyoko has authored these cookbooks: The Now and Zen Epicure, Book Publishing Company, June 1, 1991 (as Miyoko Nishimoto) Japanese Cooking: Contemporary & Traditional [Simple, Delicious, and Vegan], Book Publishing Company, Aug 19, 1999 (as Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner) The New Now and Zen Epicure, Book Publishing Company, September 1, 2001 (as Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner) Artisan Vegan Cheese, Book Publishing Company, Aug. 8, 2012 (as Miyoko Schinner) The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples, Ten Speed Press, June 16, 2015 (as Miyoko Schinner) The Vegan Meat Cookbook: Meatless Favorites. Made with Plants, Ten Speed Press, May 11, 2021 (as Miyoko Schinner) Miyoko has won many awards including: 2015, Veggie Award Product of the Year, VegNews Veggie Awards 2016, Sofi Award, Sofi Awards 2016, Nexty Award, Natural Products Expo West 2016 2016, Vegetarian Hall of Fame, North American Vegetarian Society 2017, Best Bite Award, Delicious Living's Best Bite Awards 2017, Animal Equality Compassionate Company, Animal Equality 2018, Next Generation Industry Pioneer Award, North Bay Food Industry Group In 2021, Miyoko was included in the inaugural Forbes 50 Over 50 list.

Check out the latest ON THE DELO PODCAST ! Follow me on YOUTUBE @iamthedelo and IG @iamthedelo Thank you for listening. Love to all ! Check out Susie at Knifeandforkmedia.com Founder, Susie Timm grew up in the land of cow, otherwise known as Wisconsin. In 1992 she moved to the Valley of the Sun and graduated from high school in Scottsdale and is a proud alumni of Arizona State University with her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Political Science.. Interestingly enough, she started a booming career as a banker in 2000 and was named the youngest Bank President in Arizona at the age of 27. Susie worked in that industry until it became “un-fun” in 2009. She found her true passion in the food industry mid-2009 when she co-founded a food events company. That business morphed into the full service PR agency we are today! Susie and her team manage a marketing portfolio of clients ranging in size and scope from food to entertainment to accounting. With over fifteen years of experience, her proven marketing, media and sales models have helped grow small and medium-sized companies all over Arizona and the United States. Susie won numerous achievement awards for her sales skills during her years as a corporate warrior. Additionally, she has been honored as a member of the Phoenix Business Journal's “40 under 40,” and “Women Leaders in Business,” the Phoenix New Times' “100 Tastemakers in Phoenix,” So Scottsdale's “24 Powerful Leaders Under 40,” and as a national trendspotter for the Specialty Food Association's Fancy Food Shows. Susie is a proud graduate of Scottsdale Leadership, Class 23. Susie has been a recurring featured guest on many local TV stations for her passionate take on gourmet food trends. Susie believes strongly in community stewardship and to that end, she has served as a board member with Scottsdale Leadership, the Leadership Council of Careers in Culinary Arts (C-Cap AZ), and has served three times as the Co-Chair of Taste of the Nation Arizona, an event that raises important funds to feed hungry kids in Arizona. For fun, Susie writes (a lot!), cooks, reads cooking magazines, sits in the Jacuzzi and spends too much time at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Susie is a proud patriot, a strong advocate of capitalism and she loves to debate politics with anyone who will listen.

After leading a platoon of 45 marines in combat at the age of 23, David Kemp was looking to leverage his Harvard Business School degree. He became partner in Les Trois Petits Cochons in 2015 and has increased sales by 25 percent per year since 2017.In this Spill & Dish episode, Julie Gallagher, director of content development for SFA, talks with Kemp, SFA's 2023 Leadership Award Winner for Vision, about his road to success, the impact of inflation, and what's next for Village Gourmet.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

About Eileen: Sunday Night® Foods was founded by Eileen Gannon, a former corporate executive and award-winning baker who turned her passion into a profession when she launched the company's first products in 2021. The specialty food company offers luxurious, shelf-stable, premium chocolate ganache crafted in small batches with only the finest pure ingredients. In its first year, Sunday Night won a prestigious sofi™ Award for New Product for Dessert Toppings from the Specialty Food Association. The company donates 1 percent of sales to the National Alliance on Mental Illness and is located in Des Moines, Iowa.Eileen has more than 35 years of experience in public relations, corporate communications, finance and investing. Before founding Sunday Night Foods, Eileen was a SVP for Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at Workiva, a publicly traded software company. She has won 15 awards for corporate communications, public relations and investor relations, including being named a Top Woman in PR from PR News and a Finalist for a Platinum PR Award for Best Financial and Investor Relations for the Workiva IPO. Even though she loved working in corporate America, her passion was always in baking. So in 2020, she was finally brave enough to launch Sunday Night Foods.What You'll Learn in This Episode:How Eileen's passion for baking started.More about your recent sofi award win and baking competitions. Sunday Night Food's  focus on the National Alliance on Mental Illness.Her past corporate experience and how that has played a role in SNF's branding and marketing. Say Hi to Sunday Night Foods: Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundayfoodsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/sundaynightfoodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sundaynightfoods----About Us - Women Who Brunch:Women Who Brunch is a community for  women who love connecting, networking, and learning from each other over the most important meal of the week...BRUNCH!Check out our website for updates on events, recipes, brunch spots, product reviews and more or say hi on Instagram!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenwhobrunchWebsite: https://womenwhobrunch.com

Over the past 25 years, Lotus Foods has imported over 25 million pounds of certified organic rice from a multi-country network of rice producers whose lives and communities have been transformed by access to markets and organic and fair trade premiums. In this episode, Co-Founders Caryl Levine and Ken Lee share how their commitment to organic and regenerative practices is generating more rice from less land, preserving valuable genetic biodiversity, saving hundreds of millions of gallons of water annually, and reducing methane gas generated by rice fields by over 40%. Caryl Levine and Ken Lee Caryl Levine and Ken Lee are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Lotus Foods. Lotus Foods is one of the most innovative, organic, and fair trade specialty rice brands in the country. Its products have received many awards from the Specialty Food Association and Natural Products trade groups. Ken has over 20 years of experience importing rice from smallholder farmers in developing countries who had no previous export experience and providing them access to a global marketplace. Responsible for establishing Lotus Foods' primary account base, Ken has developed extensive personal and capacity-building relationships with the company's suppliers throughout the world. Caryl leads Lotus Foods marketing and sales and is primarily responsible for the image and positioning of the Lotus Foods brand, the development of all packaging and merchandising materials, and new product development. Resources Learn more about Lotus Foods at https://www.lotusfoods.com/ Connect with Lotus Foods on LinkedIn Visit leadwithwe.com to learn more about Simon's new book or search for "Lead With We" on Amazon, Google Books, or Barnes & Noble. The Lead With We podcast is produced by Goal17Media.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://thecitylife.org/2022/06/21/specialty-food-association-summer-fancy-food-show-exhibitors-donate-112000-pounds-of-specialty-food-to-city-harvest/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/citylifeorg/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/citylifeorg/support

Bitchin' Sauce Chief of Staff Amanda Miles talks about how the business began, the ways they give back to the community, and their upcoming sauces. Learn more about the Carlsbad Chamber. On this episode of the Carlsbad People, Purpose, and Impact Podcast, Bret Schanzenbach speaks with Bitchin' Sauce Chief of Staff Amanda Miles. She shares how the company began, the incredible volunteer opportunities they offer their employees, the ways they've expanded nationwide, and new recipes straight from the Bitchin' Sauce kitchen. The original 2010 Bitchin' Sauce recipe was humble and simple: husband and wife duo Starr and L.A. Edwards, a $200 gift card, a used blender from Craig's List, and a passion for making delicious food. They started selling the Bitchin' Sauce Starr made at the Carlsbad Farmers' Market and quickly realized that they had an incredible business opportunity at their fingertips. 12 years later, they have grown their company to over 85 employees, offer on-site childcare for all of their employees, and sell their sauce nationwide. Not only are they thriving as a company, they also give back to the local community with dedicated Volunteer Time Off every Friday. Certainly, Bitchin' Sauce is deserving of their 2021 CBAD Business of the Year Award, as well as their many Specialty Food Association sofi™ Awards in the Salsa and Dip category. In this conversation, Amanda shares the backstory of Bitchin' Sauce, their new flavors and snack options, and the ways they continually give back to the community. If you want to taste what all the buzz is about, you can purchase a tub of Bitchin' Sauce at Whole Foods, Costco, Sprouts, Albertsons, or online! Interview Links You can find or order Bitchin' Sauce on their website. Connect with Amanda Miles via email. Resources Did you like what you heard? This show is produced by Imagine Podcasting dba Heard Not Seen Media, Inc. For more, visit Imagine Podcasting's website.

The Specialty Food Association puts on a show, a really big show, It is the largest U.S. event focused exclusively on the specialty food industry and although COVID slowed down the show schedule, our very own hosts, Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall, attended the first 2022 show, February 6th through 8th in Las Vegas (yes, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it). In this episode, they talk about the things they did, the people they saw and the great foods they ate. The Association is comprised of specialty food manufacturers. Specialty foods are hand-crafted, of extremely high quality and this association helps protect their standards, build a community and keep promoting good eating of nutritious foods which are generally found in specialty food stores, certain sections of a grocery store or shops such as your favorite cheese shop. Twice each year, the association puts on their Fancy Food Show, essentially a trade show for their members to reconnect, share, grow their knowledge base and help promote each other's wares, and to connect with Buyers! Our hosts had a little time to enjoy the big art exhibit on tour and catch a few venues recommended by friends. Of particular interest was the art exhibit. To enter, you go through a door that feels like a minimart with real and not-real products. As you explore, you can go through a refrigerator door, look behind a meat case, open a file cabinet drawer and it opens a secret door – very Alice In Wonderland. Outside in the city, our hosts found a very clean, not crowded Las Vegas. And the food in the restaurants was wonderful; this episode contains a great list if you're interested. But back to the food show. Part of the value of a show is new connections for young company food entrepreneurs and Sarah Marshall gives us a case study in this episode. Tonia Farman, whose company is Queen of Hearts Hemp (episode #82), was personally introduced around by Sarah. Tonia met new food buyers and grocery buyers. These are buyers who would normally take weeks, months and years of door knocking to get an audience and even then might be impossible to see. But a person-to-person setting with a qualified introduction by a known quantity can make a huge difference in the growth trajectory of a budding food company. Queen of Hearts Hemp is one of a long list of Oregon food founders who got to meet and greet important people in the industry by our hosts. It's great to see business is getting brighter and brighter. And stay tuned to more episodes! Our two hosts are working on a secret “new idea” which will probably be revealed over time…" "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

What's it like to work for an association that is founded on salsa, jerky, kombucha, bonbons, pâté, and thousands of other specialty foods? Pretty sweet. In this episode, you'll meet the team behind Spill & Dish as they share stories about the business, reveal where they love to shop and dine, and share the scoop behind the Fancy Food Show.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

In 2021, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Trendspotter Panel virtually assembled to research thousands of specialty food and beverage products from around the world. After recording their extensive findings, they settled on five trends that will drive the growth of the $170.4 billion specialty food industry in 2022, including pasta's comeback, plant-based comfort foods, and hot peppers. Jonathan Deutsch Ph.D. is a Professor and the Director of Drexel University Food Core Lab, as well as a Member of the Specialty Food Association's Trendspotter Panel (SFA). He joins Dr. ROizen to talk about 2022 food trends, as well as his top restaurant picks in his hometown of Philadelphia.

What are the trendiest foods for 2022?In 2021, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Trendspotter Panel virtually assembled to research thousands of specialty food and beverage products from around the world. After recording their extensive findings, they settled on five trends that will drive the growth of the $170.4 billion specialty food industry in 2022, including pasta's comeback, plant-based comfort foods, and hot peppers. Jonathan Deutsch Ph.D. is a Professor and the Director of Drexel University Food Core Lab, as well as a Member of the Specialty Food Association's Trendspotter Panel (SFA). He joins Dr. ROizen to talk about 2022 food trends, as well as his top restaurant picks in his hometown of Philadelphia.

What are the trendiest foods for 2022?In 2021, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Trendspotter Panel virtually assembled to research thousands of specialty food and beverage products from around the world. After recording their extensive findings, they settled on five trends that will drive the growth of the $170.4 billion specialty food industry in 2022, including pasta's comeback, plant-based comfort foods, and hot peppers. Jonathan Deutsch Ph.D. is a Professor and the Director of Drexel University Food Core Lab, as well as a Member of the Specialty Food Association's Trendspotter Panel (SFA). He joins Dr. ROizen to talk about 2022 food trends, as well as his top restaurant picks in his hometown of Philadelphia.

What makes a specialty food special? At the Specialty Food Association, we like to say that every member has a story. Spill & Dish brings you the stories of the entrepreneurs, makers, and sellers who are shaping the future of food. Listen and discover the inspiration, recipe, craft, culture, ingredients, and production methods that make a true specialty food and get a deeper understanding of the people and motivation behind the products—beyond what you'll read on a label. If you have a recipe you've thought about bringing to market or a brand you are launching, if you are a buyer in the trade, or simply a food lover, this podcast is for you.Spill & Dish is Powered by Simplecast.

Maria Littlefield is the Co-founder and COO of Owl's Brew. Owl's Brew makes boozy beverages with 100% real ingredients. Their fresh-brewed tea, fruit, and botanicals have no artificial flavors, sugar substitutes, or parabens. Maria has been chosen by Forbes as “30 Under 30” among food and beverage entrepreneurs and has been selected as “35 Under 35 Food Entrepreneurs” by the Specialty Food Association. Maria is also the Co-author of Wise Cocktails, a book about tea cocktails. She graduated from Skidmore College and lives in New York City. Previously, she was a Partner at Brew Lab Tea and the Director of Integrated Marketing at Talent Resources. In this episode… Unfortunately, when a food label says “natural flavoring,” their origins are still a little hazy. To earn the “natural” label, the FDA only requires that the original base is something from the earth. That means your raspberry flavoring could be made from animal by-products or other unclean ingredients. Unless you're talking about Owl's Brew. When they say your drink is raspberry flavored — it was made from real, red, and ripe raspberries. No chemicals, no sugar substitutes, and no funny business. Just amazingly delicious and totally clean boozy teas.  In this episode of the Gooder Podcast, Diana Fryc is joined by Maria Littlefield, Co-founder and COO of Owl's Brew, to discuss her journey to revolutionize the brewing business. Maria talks about why she started making boozy teas, how she upheld the standard of real, fresh ingredients, and the importance of empowering young women in the beverage industry.

Mark Zoske is the visionary and CEO of SaltWorks Inc., the first and largest gourmet salt manufacturing company in North America. SaltWorks was first imagined decades ago when Zoske studied the health benefits of genuine, unrefined sea salts. From that ideation, he vowed to revolutionize the salt industry by making high-quality sea salts for everyone, including food manufacturers, specialty retailers and consumers. SaltWorks became a reality in 2001, launching with just five products. Since then, Zoske has developed the perfect salt for everyday cooking or baking and specialty salts ideal for pairing with meats, desserts, beverages and more. In addition to food salts, SaltWorks offers the highest quality therapeutic bath salts that are entirely authentic and natural. SaltWorks' growth has not gone unnoticed. Zoske was named 2014 EY Entrepreneur of the Year for the Pacific Northwest and has been featured in various publications, including Entrepreneur, The Seattle Times and Seattle Business Magazine. In 2016, the company celebrated ten years on Inc Magazine's list of America's fastest-growing private companies. During the tumultuous year of 2020, SaltWorks received gold honors at the Specialty Food Association's Sofi awards. This year, SaltWorks, Zoske and his team of over 100 employees celebrate 20 years of leading the sea salt industry as the world's most trusted gourmet salt company. 

President of the Specialty Food Association, Bill Lynch, discusses how the SFA found success throughout the pandemic, where new opportunities arose and what the future holds for the industry.

Phil Kafarakis is president of the Specialty Food Association, where he is an advocate and spokesman for the $140 billion U.S. specialty food industry. Prior to his appointment in 2016, he served as the Chief Innovation & Member Advancement Officer at the National Restaurant Association. He has held positions at Kraft, McCormick & Co., Cargill, and Jones Dairy Farm. He received an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Phil [14:59] about: Effects of politics on the food supply chain: Trade and tariffs and regulatory environment Leadership changes in our federal food agencies Important topics to watch for in 2021: FSMA compliance, genetically modified foods, climate issues, and country of origin labeling Changes in import and export regulations The future of foodservice Effects of the pandemic on the food industry: Stimulus payments, lockdowns, and transportation Third-party delivery: Lack of regulations, packaging and temperature challenges, and who’s responsible for food safety? Pandemic-inspired innovations  Bob Ferguson: Food Safety Insights [5:35]2021: What Changes of the Past Year Are Likely to Stick? News and Resources: FDA Publishes Information from Food Traceability Public Meetings, Including Supply Chain Example FDA's Core Response Teams Releases List of Outbreak Investigations Global Food Safety Culture Series: Europe Global Food Safety Culture Series: Australia Sponsored by ARM & HAMMER Visit AHfoodchain.com to learn more about the diverse and comprehensive food safety solutions available from ARM & HAMMER. We Want to Hear from You!Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com

The President of the Specialty Food Association, Bill Lynch, shares how to lead an organization in a customer-centered way and move the customer experience from physical to digital. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My Guest this week is Shawn Askinosie. Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award-winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri. They source 100% of their beans directly from farmers. Shawn travels to Ecuador, the Philippines, and Tanzania to source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled authentic single origin.   Their mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers, and each other. The company is currently sustainably feeding over 1,600 students per day in Tanzania and the Philippines without any donations. Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in Forbes, NYTimes, WSJ, MSNBC, Oprah Magazine, and numerous others.   Shawn has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Missouri- Columbia and Missouri State University. Askinosie Chocolate has received 3 Good Food Awards, considered the Oscars of food, 6 silver awards from the Specialty Food Association; and 7 International Chocolate Awards.   During this episode, Shawn boldly opens up about changing careers, past experiences that shaped his future, threats of having a driven personality, simple living, strong relationships with his farmers in developing nations, facing dark seasons of life, marriage, changes of life, and more.   This episode covers helpful insights, but more about life in its raw for and how to live it in a meaningful way. Available now- I hope you enjoy it!     RECAP   0:28 My grandparents were huge inspirations to me in starting my chocolate business about 14 years ago, and they have long since died, but they were farmers, they were very kind, patient, sweet people, good hearts, lived a very simple life on a small farm, lived on that farm, same place for over 65 years 7:05 Some goals in terms of top line growth, but really it has more to do with cash flow and debt reduction and pay for people and stuff like that. 10:17 It’s been there and you've just seen it escalate or maybe as you've been given more opportunity or more blessing, however you would want to define that 11:18 The trap is, especially for hard-driving entrepreneurs, for people who have a social justice equality mindset, and what I mean is that if we're not careful, we fall into the trap of overwork, and we tell ourselves for years that it's okay and we justify this over work, because we see that the end result is good 16:24 I've been doing that for seven or eight years now in the mornings, and I rarely change it up, and that's the first most practical thing 18:11 Which is how I begin my morning, and that really, I think, sets the tone 25:10 I made a ton of money, I was a sought after lawyer that I could pick my own cases, and so that level of quote, and I really do mean success prompted me to start asking this question, well, maybe I need to think about this hurt in my life, the sorrow, this heartbreak 27:40 Then this kind of paradox, this mystery occurred, which was this really tightly wound, hard-driven, hard-charging lawyer who had to know the answer to everything 31:40 It can be a very scary place, and I know you would probably say, Well, I didn't really figure it all out, I didn't have the seven-step process, but how are you able to kinda keep all the balls in the air, I guess, for those five years as you went through that season 39:12 I think is this that you described is a pathway, and so I would say that it doesn't always have to be that way, but I think in the pathway of... Let's call it in the pathway towards spiritual maturity that we need to experience those doorways, those pathways in order to reach an understanding that we don't need those anymore in order to experience non-duality, so once we can reach a place of understanding and awareness of the non-dual nature of our soul.     RESOURCES   https://askinosie.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnaskinosie/ Matt Haaga State Farm: https://www.matthaaga.com/ https://abjets.com/

In this episode of Gooder I had the privilege of interviewing Natalie Shmulik, CEO of The Hatchery, a food incubator just outside downtown Chicago. The Hatchery is a powerful initiative that brings a community of innovators along the entrepreneurial path and launches the dreams of owning and running a business to communities that have not traditionally had this access. We learn about the resources The Hatchery provides and how we as a community can provide our expertise, in big and small ways. And why Natalie believes in the power of community.“Whenever speaking with an entrepreneur, you should always make sure that if you are going to provide feedback or input or a suggestion, that you coach them to believe that the idea was their own.”In this episode we learn:* The genesis of The Hatchery and why it is fast becoming a beloved innovation partner to the food and beverage industry.* The common challenges of budding and small entrepreneurial food and beverage brands.* Why exciting innovation comes from under-represented entrepreneurial brands.* About the symbiotic co-learning traditional CPG's and entrepreneurial brands share in their journey with The Hatchery.* How coach-ability is a make-or-break trait for leaders and how to vet for coach-ability in your recruiting process.* How to become a Hatchery brand or partner.* About Natalie’s trend forecasting super-powers and how it supports The Hatchery’s entrepreneurs.About Natalie Shmulik:Natalie Shmulik is The Hatchery’s CEO, and go-to resource for everything food business related. Along with an M.L.A. in Gastronomy from Boston University, she has a wide range of experience working with supermarkets, culinary publications, consumer packaged goods companies, and food service establishments. After successfully operating her own restaurant, Natalie was hired as a specialty consultant for one of Ontario’s largest supermarket chains where she enhanced consumer experiences through educational initiatives. Discovering her passion for innovation, Natalie was brought on as a brand strategist for the first cold brew tea company and later moved to Chicago to run The Hatchery Chicago. With over six years of food incubation experience, Natalie has gained a unique perspective on the industry and what it takes to launch and grow a successful business. Natalie is a regular contributor to Food Business News, was recently featured in the Chicago Tribune's 10 Business People to Watch in 2020 and received the Specialty Food Association's award for leadership in vision. She continues to play a valuable role in branding and marketing for food businesses around the country, with her specialty in trend forecasting.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-shmulik-1432313b/ Email: info@thehatcherychicago.orgShow Notes:The Hatchery:  A non-profit food and beverage incubator dedicated to helping local entrepreneurs build & grow successful businesses.ICNC: Industria Council of Nearwest Chicago offers entrepreneurs an innovative community to grow small businesses through incubation, workforce development, neighborhood planning, and business advising.ACCION: A nonprofit microlender providing small businesses with loans at an early stage, particularly to support those that aren't bankable yet.Episode Sponsor - Retail Voodoo:A branding firm building, growing and evolving brands in the food, beverage, wellness, and fitness industry. If your brand is in need of positioning, package design, or marketing activation, we’re here to help. You can find more information at www.retail-voodoo.com Key Takeaways:0:00 Intro2:46 Natalie talks about the origin of The Hatchery, what it’s about and why it exist4:37 Natalie talks about some of the major challenges that budding, small entrepreneurs face7:00 Natalie talks about what made her join The Hatchery and taking care of yourself as an entrepreneur to have good relationships with other entrepreneurs9:11 Natalie talks about diversity and giving opportunity to people and communities that typically don't have access to resources12:39 Natalie gives reasons why it’s important for consumers to know the origin story of where a lot of the products they consume come from13:25 Natalie talks about what it takes to develop a safe and successful food and beverage company to produce nutritionally dense products that meets the consumer needs14:53 Natalie talks about the program they’ve developed that allows entrepreneurs to connect with one another and to get the information they need15:45 Natalie talks about incubators and accelerators, what they are and what they do to help small businesses17:05 Natalie talks about the importance of helping small business operators to grow their businesses19:45 Natalie talks about the importance of bringing the young startup brands and the old and steady brands together21:01 Natalie talks about how brands coming from The Hatchery have a distinctive or unique POV22:49 Natalie talks about the importance of being coachable as a brand and always being open to feedback and suggestions25:02 Natalie talks about vetting your clients and the impact that has on your business27:30 Natalie talks about their success story in terms of brands they have helped become a success29:46 Natalie talks about the type of partners The Hatchery is looking for and the importance of having partners31:27 Natalie talks about the culinary impact program The Hatchery partnered with Rick Bayless34:29 Natalie talks about trend forecasting through researching a lot and why it’s an important trait that entrepreneurs should have38:03 Natalie talks about transitioning from traditional brick and mortar business to a virtual business and the benefits that comes with being virtual Quotes Mentioned:“The more we come to the table together, the more change we'll be able to create.”“There’s so much that big brands can learn from startups and there's so much that the startupscan learn from big brands.”“It’s important to always adopt lean startup methodologies and just get to market as quicklyas possible.”“Whenever speaking with an entrepreneur, you should always make sure that if you are goingto provide feedback or input or suggestion, that you coach them to believe that the idea wastheir own.”“It’s important to have a drastically innovative brand and a brand that has values consumerscan connect with.”“We are not experts in everything.”“Be okay with not being okay.”

Today on The Uplow'd, we welcome Julie Emmett, Jessica Mahan and Eric Wolfe to discuss an in-store test conducted on behalf of the Plant Based Foods Association to uncover how Kroger shoppers are responding to plant-based meat products across the midwestern U.S. We'll learn about the surprising results of this test, and what it means for the future of plant-based meats.  The test was also recently featured in an article by the Specialty Food Association. For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/307Q4KC. Julie Emmett is Senior Director of Retail Partnerships for the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA). She collaborates with retailers on behalf of PBFA members by leading a multitude of groundbreaking initiatives to grow plant-based foods. Julie holds a Master of Business Administration from St. Mary's College, is certified in nutrition education, and is thoroughly passionate about understanding what is driving growth within plant-based foods.  Jessica Mahan is a Lead Insights Account Manager at 84.51°, where she connects associations, boards, product licensors, marketing and media agencies with leading customer data and insights. In addition to her work scoping and executing the causal impact test with Kroger and the Plant Based Foods Association, she has also worked closely with Kroger's leading CPG and supplier partners in the Grocery and Fresh categories, consulting on merchandising strategy and linking companies with 84.51° customer-first analytics.  Eric Wolfe is a Director of Merchandising Consulting for 84.51°. In his current role, he helps clients identify areas and processes where insight can be infused to make better business decisions. During his 10-year tenure with 84.51°, Eric has worked on a variety of initiatives including leading research and development of strategy for Fortune 500 CPGs, development of new data science capabilities across retail channels, and progressing Kroger's understanding of customers' needs within the Meat and Seafood categories. Eric holds a Master of Business Administration from The University of Kentucky.

Thanks for joining us on Episode 10 with our guest Bill Lynch, CEM, Interim President at Specialty Food Association. The Traveling Podcast is hosted by industry veterans Dan Sherman and Ryan Barth, CMP.In this episode we'll touch on the top stories in group business travel, live events and sports (subscribe to the Market in a Minute newsletter). In addition, Bill will share his thoughts on a climbing the association ladder, the evolution of the Fancy Food Show, bridging the face-to-face and virtual gap and forecasting the future of the trade show industry.Bill Lynch, CEMInterim PresidentSpecialty Food AssociationLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wjlynch/Bio: Bill Lynch has over 20 years of experience in a range of different organizations including event marketing, media and all aspects of a trade association. Over the course of his career, Bill has lead a variety of award-winning trade shows in various industries; created a customer service department servicing over 40,000 customers; ran office operations for a staff of 50+; lead production for an industry-leading magazine; and lead a membership team that produced double-digit membership growth along with new program/service development.Currently Interim President at the SFA, Bill is accountable for leading an organization that is focused on creating and delivering value for its 4,000+ member companies through increasing members sales and profits while building community and connection to support a thriving specialty food industry.Bill is passionate about what he does and he cares for the people he works with. An excellent leader and representative for a fantastic organization that is constantly innovating for the $148 billion specialty food industry. Outside of work, Bill is focused on family and their involvement in local community activities.The Traveling Podcast is Presented by: HIP NetworkHIP Network is a B2B digital media company shaping the hospitality industry’s agenda with expertly curated content that fuels growth. To learn more, please visit www.HipNetwork.comSupport the show (http://www.hipnetwork.com/traveling-podcast)

Growing up, Sheree loved the smells and tastes of her mother's soul food cooking. The food cooked and enjoyed by her family provided simple thrills and delicious memories. The thought of tasting the unfamiliar was not appealing and the comfort zone created since being a child seemed to be as good as it gets. That all changed over the years starting with college and later into her adult life when she began to discover and explore a whole new world and relationship with food. Today, she is writing about her delicious relationship as the publisher of Cuisine Noir, the country's first Black online and print food, wine and travel magazine. Re-launched online in September 2009 and debuting in print in September 2011 (2011 – 2017) under her company V. Sheree Creative Enterprises, Cuisine Noir is a lifestyle publication centered on connecting the African diaspora through food, wine and travel. Designing a niche publication was an easy fit for Sheree who is also a multicultural marketing consultant. She knew that such a publication was not only needed but will be widely received by all. And it has. It would also provide a clear and distinct media outlet for advertisers executing multicultural campaigns geared toward Blacks with a food, health, wine/spirits and travel focus. Sheree's leadership has successfully started a new cultural culinary movement by putting Black chefs, culinary professionals and vintners in the forefront to showcase their talents and contributions to foodies, media and key industry companies. She has interviewed some of the most talented chefs across the country as well as celebrities such as Chef Govind Armstrong, Chef Carla Hall, the late Dr. Maya Angelou, George Duke, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chef Roger Mooking, Niecy Nash, Russell Simmons, Grace Hightower DeNiro and Charlie Wilson. In addition to writing about the chefs behind the food, she was produced and organized cooking demonstrations with a variety of celebrity chefs such as Chef Jeff Henderson (The Food Network), Chef Aaron McCargo, Jr. (The Food Network), Chef Tre Wilcox (Bravo's Top Chef), Chef Darrell “DAS” Smith (The Food Network), Chef G. Garvin (The Cooking Channel), Chef Kevin Sbraga (Bravo's Top Chef), Chef Bryant Terry (Author – Vegan Soul Kitchen), Chef Rock Harper (Winner of Hell's Kitchen Season 3) and Chef Nikki Shaw (The Food Network). Event culinary programming clients include United Negro College Fund, Bay Area Black Expo and The Network for a Healthier California. From 2011- 2015, she was the stage manager for Unicomm's Travel and Adventure Show's Taste of Travel stage that traveled to seven cities and worked with local and celebrity chefs as well as restaurants and destinations around the world. She was a sofi Awards judge for the Specialty Food Association and was also recognized by Dine Diaspora as one of 31 Women in Food to know during Women's History Month in 2019. In 2020, she was among 26 Black and White women participating in the #sharethemicfoodandbev campaign created to amplify the voices of Black women in these industries. Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Sheree holds a Bachelor of Science in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications with a Concentration in Public Relations from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She currently lives in Oakland, Calif., and enjoys trying new restaurants, cooking, gardening, traveling, hiking, relaxing on the beach and food and travel photography. Recently, V. Sheree was on our show talking about Cuisine Noir Magazine. During our conversation, V. Sheree talked about: – Life growing up in Chicago and how she ended up living in California in 1998 – The story behind Cuisine Noir, taking ownership of the magazine in December 2008, the early days of the magazine and some memories – Her first big YES with the magazine and going from covering food to covering food, wine and travel – Black restaurants, Black wine industry and Blacks and travel in 2020 – The changes in the industries for Blacks over the years – The connection of Black food with heritage – Encouraging and informing Black youth about the different careers in the food industry – Diversity and inclusion in these industries and are the big players in these industries change their mindset – Some of the common barriers that Blacks in these industries face – Some of her favourite foods – Blacks and food sustainability and farming – Her passion for self development and always wanting to grow – The first restaurant that she would like to go to when the restrictions are lifted – Where in five years would she would like to see Blacks in food, wine and travel and Cuisine Noir You can fine out more about Cuisine Noir Magazine via: Website Twitter Facebook Instagram Visit The Dr. Vibe Show™ at https://www.thedrvibeshow.com/ Please feel free to email us at dr.vibe@thedrvibeshow.com Please feel free to “Like” the “The Dr. Vibe Show” Facebook Fan page here God bless, peace, be well and keep the faith, Dr. Vibe dr.vibe@thedrvibeshow.com 2018 Innovation Award Winner – Canadian Ethnic Media Association Producer of Google+ Hangouts – The Good Men Project The Dr. Vibe Show™ At “The Good Men Project” One of the first Brand Ambassador's – Cuisine Noir Magazine Dr. Vibe – Producer And Co-host of Black Men Talking On WJMS Radio Dr. Vibe on HuffPost Live – August 2, 2013 2013 Black Weblog Awards Finalist (Best Podcast) 2012 Black Weblog Awards Winner (Best International Blog)BLACK 2012 Black Weblog Awards Finalist (Best Podcast) 2011 Black Weblog Awards Finalist (Best International Blog and Best Podcast Series) Black Blog Of The Day – Black Bloggers Network – June 23, 2011 Twitter Twitter hashtag: #DrVibe The Dr. Vibe Show™ – iTunes Dr. Vibe Media – You Tube The Dr. Vibe Show™ – Stitcher Radio The Dr. Vibe Show™ – TuneIn Radio The Dr. Vibe Show™ – Google Play Music The Dr. Vibe Show™ – iHeartRadio The Dr. Vibe Show™ at Anchor Linkedin – The Dr. Vibe Show™ Instagram The Dr. Vibe Show Facebook Fan Page

June is Pride Month, but this year the rainbow flag that celebrates freedom of sexual expression has perhaps been overshadowed by Black Lives Matter flags, signs and banners, as the issue of racial inequality drawn heated attention and concern across the country and in many parts of the world.  For the meetings and travel business, this is a difficult and important time to assess our progress with diversity and inclusion among all oppressed groups, says Jim Clapes, events manager for the Specialty Food Association and chair of the LGBT Meeting Professionals Association (and former events manager for the Drug Policy Alliance). We’ve made some strides as an industry, Clapes says, but there’s plenty of work to be done.

In 2005, Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back. Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award-winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers. The only chocolate maker working directly with cocoa farmers on four continents, Shawn travels to regions of Ecuador, the Philippines and Tanzania to source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled authentic single origin. It also enables Askinosie Chocolate to profit share with the farmers, giving them a “Stake In the Outcome,” a principle he learned from author/entrepreneur Jack Stack. Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBCand numerous other national and international media outlets. The Askinosie Chocolate mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers and each other, sharing the Askinosie Chocolate experience by leaving the world a better place than they found it. The company is currently sustainably feeding over 1,600 students per day in Tanzania and the Philippines, without any donations. Founded at the forefront of the American craft chocolate revolution and regarded by many as a vanguard in the industry, Askinosie Chocolate sets the standard: they are one of the few chocolate makers in the world who press their own cocoa butter (to make their chocolate truly single origin) and the only American craft chocolate maker to produce a natural cocoa powder; they were the first American craft chocolate makers to create white chocolate, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread (says The New York Times: “one spoonful of Askinosie’s Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and all memory of Nutella is gone”). Shawn was named by O, The Oprah Magazine "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." They said, "Why we're fans: The philanthropically-minded chocolate entrepreneur aims to get students thinking about business ethics in a way that could have ripple effects for generations." For his efforts in "Advancing food standards... by creating social, economic, and environmental impact", Shawn was awarded Top Business Leader of the Year in 2013 by the Specialty Food Association. Shawn has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University. In 2015, Askinosie Chocolate was awarded a complimentary membership to the Clinton Global Initiative for the company’s social efforts around the world. Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author, recently praised the company's model: "[Shawn] has built a practice of creating a worthwhile luxury good that directly benefits people. Not sort of. Not a little. But directly.” Askinosie Chocolate has received 3 Good Food Awards, considered to be the Oscars of food; 6 silver awards from the Specialty Food Association; and 7 International Chocolate Awards, including the Gold World Award for the Dark Chocolate + Licorice bar. The small team at Askinosie works directly with all of their retailers and sells their chocolate into specialty food stores, luxury boutiques, and high-end grocery chains throughout the US in nearly all fifty states and across the globe. Shawn's book, recently released, co-written with his daughter Lawren, published by Penguin titled "Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul" is an Amazon #1 New Release. Read Seth Godin's review of the book here. He is a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Ava, Missouri and the co-founder of Lost & Found, a grief center serving children and families in Southwest Missouri.

Nona Lim is forecasting 2020 to be the first profitable year for her namesake brand. As she explained in an interview in this episode, it took a lot of saying “no” to get to this point. The Nona Lim brand, launched in 2014 as a spin-off of Lim’s ahead-of-its time meal kit company, markets a variety of better-for-you and convenient Asian-inspired foods, including broths, sippable soups and noodle bowls. The products are sold nationally at Whole Foods and at select Walmart locations, along with hundreds of independent retail and chain locations.  As part of our conversation, Lim spoke about the company’s development and path to profitability was guided by a clear strategy and a willingness “to say ‘no’ to top-line growth that isn’t in line with our profitability requirements.”  “Say ‘no’ to business that’s not going to give you the minimum gross margin target that you have set,” she said. “Say ‘no’ to retailers that ask for too much, because you can’t afford it.” Lim also discussed the variety of ways that she funded her upstart brand prior to accepting venture capital and why she advises early-stage entrepreneurs to retain a bookkeeper or accountant. She also spoke about how she negotiates favorable terms with suppliers, what it means to be “fiscally disciplined” and why she describes venture capital as a “double-edged sword.” Show notes:  0:40: “Buttoned Up” Booze, Savory Bars and a Buddy’s Donuts -- The episode’s hosts chatted about a recent visit from Bobby Romano, who leads sales efforts for Rochester, NY-based Black Button Distilling, riffed on the development of the savory bar category, munched on vegan pork rinds and discussed challenges in brand revamps. 15:53: Nona Lim, Founder/CEO, Nona Lim -- Lim joined Taste Radio editor Ray Latif for an interview recorded at the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. Lim spoke about her role as a board member of the Specialty Food Association, which hosts the annual event, how competitive fencing led to the creation of her meal kit company in 2006 and why she chose soup as the initial product line for the Nona Lim brand. She also discussed the three hallmarks of the brand, why slowing down the pace of innovation was a key learning early on and how microloans, equipment leases and government subsidies can be useful for new entrepreneurs. Later, Lim explained why it’s critical to manage working capital, how she identified the right time to take venture capital and why she jokes that a partnership with an investor is “worse than getting married.” Brands in this episode: Nona Lim, Black Button Distilling, Tig Snacks, Mediterra, PigOut Rinds, Beanfields, Snacklins, Jim Buddy’s, Onu, Rau Chocolate, Sonu, Starbucks, Poppi, Kitu Life, Bulletproof, Blue Apron

Season three of the Food Biz Wiz™ podcast kicks off with another rapid fire episode where I answer your questions on building your packaged food business. In today's show, I talk through:   How you can get feedback from Grocery Buyers as you fine-tune your product line What happens if you miss your category review? How to prepare for the Specialty Food Association's Fancy Food Show The most common mistakes I see on sell sheets How to find a “good” broker or distributor Whether or pursue E-commerce or brick & mortar accounts   Click here for the full show notes, or connect with me on Instagram at @itsalliball!   This show was brought to you by Retail Ready™, my online course for producers of packaged product who are looking to increase their wholesale success. Click here to be notified when enrollment opens again!

Season three of the Food Biz Wiz™ podcast kicks off with another rapid fire episode where I answer your questions on building your packaged food business. In today’s show, I talk through:   How you can get feedback from Grocery Buyers as you fine-tune your product line What happens if you miss your category review? How to prepare for the Specialty Food Association’s Fancy Food Show The most common mistakes I see on sell sheets How to find a “good” broker or distributor Whether or pursue E-commerce or brick & mortar accounts   Click here for the full show notes, or connect with me on Instagram at @itsalliball!   This show was brought to you by Retail Ready™, my online course for producers of packaged product who are looking to increase their wholesale success. Click here to be notified when enrollment opens again!

Join me in conversation with David Browne, a Market Research Retail & Brand Analyst in the natural, organic, and specialty food space. Since 2009, David has been the principal writer and analyst of the State of the Specialty Food Industry report series for the Specialty Food Association and Mintel, and in today's episode he shares his findings from the 2019 report. We discuss:   How David shifted from being a Whole Foods Category Manager and Store Trainer in the 1990s to THE leading Data Analyst in the natural products industry What the Specialty Food Association and Mintel's State of the Specialty Food Industry report is, and where the data comes from How to use this report in decision making for your emerging natural, organic, or specialty brand David's key takeaways from the report, as well as a few big surprises that he found in the data this year David's assessment of what's changed in the industry over the past decade that he's been writing this report for the natural, organic, and specialty food industry - plus what that means for emerging brands.   Once you listen to this conversation, please join us in the Food Biz Wiz™ Facebook group to continue the discussion. We can't wait to see you over there!   For full show notes, links to the report, information on the data companies and brands that are mentioned on today's show, and David's contact information, click here.

Join me in conversation with David Browne, a Market Research Retail & Brand Analyst in the natural, organic, and specialty food space. Since 2009, David has been the principal writer and analyst of the State of the Specialty Food Industry report series for the Specialty Food Association and Mintel, and in today’s episode he shares his findings from the 2019 report. We discuss:   How David shifted from being a Whole Foods Category Manager and Store Trainer in the 1990s to THE leading Data Analyst in the natural products industry What the Specialty Food Association and Mintel’s State of the Specialty Food Industry report is, and where the data comes from How to use this report in decision making for your emerging natural, organic, or specialty brand David’s key takeaways from the report, as well as a few big surprises that he found in the data this year David’s assessment of what’s changed in the industry over the past decade that he’s been writing this report for the natural, organic, and specialty food industry - plus what that means for emerging brands.   Once you listen to this conversation, please join us in the Food Biz Wiz™ Facebook group to continue the discussion. We can’t wait to see you over there!   For full show notes, links to the report, information on the data companies and brands that are mentioned on today’s show, and David’s contact information, click here.

Stan Sagner went from media to line cooking and back to media, though now in a more strategy-focused way. His transition to culinary is similar to several that I’ve met who attended culinary school “later in life” - he was working in a fast-paced, stressful world and wanted to get out. So he went into cooking. Only then did he realize how ironic that move was. Then again, Stan has been able to combine his love for food and expertise in media and has worked as a journalist, a food critic, and now a food business strategist. We’re connected through the Specialty Food Association where I was able to speak in the Big Ideas forum in June.  This podcast is sponsored by , founding sponsor for the past two years. Find out how they can help you with your sweetener solutions, and tell them that you heard about them through PeasOnMoss.

Tweet D and L Coffee Service Inc. and Sysco Corporation Sysco Philadelphia CAKE from Sysco at www.trycake.com/smallbites to get $750 off activation costs present the #1 listed “Food Radio show Philadelphia”, Small Bites with Donato Marino and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com on Wildfire Radio this Sunday, April 14th at 635pm EST with us possibly doing the IMPOSSIBLE We are thrilled to welcome Chef Robert Irvine who is a world class chef, fitness authority, and philanthropist who seeks to inspire people to live better each and every day. He is the host of one epic night of food and music the 3rd Annual Beats 'N Eats - Food + Music Event at The Fillmore Philadelphia on May 13th from 7-11pm. Beats 'n Eats– A Food + Music Event– hosted by Chef Robert Irvine– is an immersive, one-of-a-kind food and music experience designed to increase opportunities for our veterans and members of the military. The event features a family style, six-course meal prepared by local and celebrity chefs such as Andrew Zimmern, Buddy Valastro, Cat Cora, Jose Garces, Kevin Sbraga, Marcie Turney, Matt Fein, and more with live music performances from both established and emerging artists between each course. Robert is a tireless supporter of our nation's military. He believes that none of his success would be possible without the brave men and women who defend our freedoms. For that reason, Robert founded Robert Irvine Foundation in 2014 to support veterans and their causes. Grants have been awarded to the USO, Valor Service Dogs, the Gary Sinise Foundation, and the American Veterans Center. For those of you who can't make the event but still want to see Chef Robert Irvine, Robert pioneered a new genre of programming for Food Network with his extreme cooking challenge show, Dinner: Impossible and parlayed that success into the even more popular Restaurant: Impossible which returns on the Food Network on April 20th with new episodes. Additionally, Robert has hosted or appeared on Food Network shows including Worst Cooks in America, Next Iron Chef, Restaurant Express, Chopped: Impossible and many more as well as doing partnered workouts with his wife Gail Kim to motivate and push each other at the gym. For more information or to purchase tickets for Beats 'n Eats– A Food + Music Event visit https://www.beatsneats.co/ Some people have called our show very cheesy, so we thought who better to have join us then Janet Fletcher the author of weekly blog, Planet Cheese, that is read by cheese enthusiasts internationally, is the cheese columnist for Specialty Food Association and The SOMM Journal magazines, and she is a member of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers. Fletcher's journalism has received three James Beard Awards and the IACP Bert Greene Award, and her food writing has appeared in numerous national publications, including The New York Times, SAVEUR Magazine, Fine Cooking, and Food & Wine. Janet will be on to talk about her latest book “Wine Country Table: With Recipes that Celebrate California's Sustainable Harvest” from Rizzoli New York. Celebrating the Golden State's wine-growing regions, Wine Country Table features compelling stories and recipes that showcase the range of the state's agricultural bounty and the seasonal spirit that continues to define the produce-driven and ethnically influenced essence of California wine country cooking. Beautifully photographed, the book offers a visual tour of 23 stunning farms and wineries--including Cakebread Cellars, Domaine Carneros Winery, Handley Cellars, and Tablas Creek Vineyard, along with Lodi Farming (cherries), Hilltop & Canyon Farms (avocados and citrus), and Henderson Orchards (pears) to name a few--whose sustainable practices highlight the future of responsible farming and wine-growing embraced throughout California. Janet also teaches cooking and cheese-appreciation classes around the country www.janetfletcher.com Then coming in studio to talk about Philly's hottest dining destination East Passyunk Avenue is Adam Leiter the Executive Director of East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District (EPABID) and Dominick Leuzzi the co-owner of Stogie Joe's Tavern. He will talk about their Flavors on the Avenue Street Festival event held on Sunday, April 28, 2019 from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Flavors will take over five blocks of East Passyunk from Broad to Dickinson. The street will be filled with tasty bites and seasonal sips from dozens of restaurants, bars and cafes. Philadelphia's top chefs will fire up signature dishes and inventive small plates - putting their own twist on street food. Come for the food, but be prepared to stay for the day! On top of award-winning cuisine, experience all that East Passyunk has to offer with live entertainment, on-trend fashion, sidewalk sales, free family fun, crafters, art and much more! From the sweet to the savory, the casual to the fine dining, the American to the international, the Flavors media tasting tour has it all with selections from Bing Bing Dim Sum, Brigantessa, Cantina Los Caballitos, Fuel Healthy Kitchen, Mamma Maria Ristorante, Marra's Philadelphia - Italiana Cucina, Noir Philadelphia, P'unk Burger, Redcrest Fried Chicken, Stogie Joe's Tavern, and Ristorante Tre Scalini. Flavors has become one of Philadelphia's tastiest spring festivals and block parties. Text your friends and tell them "Meet me on East Passyunk!" Last, but certainly not least we are excited to have on Chef Paul Watterson of The Fanwood Grille. The Fanwood Grille (34 South Martine Ave., Fanwood) within six months of opening won the award for having the Best Soup in New Jersey, according to The The Daily Meal food website. Well Last summer, Fanwood Grille established themselves as a destination for fans of authentic Maine lobster rolls, and now has a growing reputation for its foot-long hot dogs. The eatery serves home-cooked food made on-premises with fresh ingredients and a little flair. (This in addition to having a classic diner/luncheonette menu of breakfast, burgers, grilled cheese, salads, soups and granola made from scratch on premises.) Some customers believe the Chicken Noodle Soup is almost medicinal and call in advance to reserve it because it sells so quickly. Along with other classics like Lobster Bisque, creamy Butternut Squash, and the award-winning New England Clam Chowder, chef Paul Watterson has invented soups including Mango Chicken Habanero, Falafel Soup (vegan and gluten-free),Italian Hot Dog Soup, and Cream of Thanksgiving Soup. They all sound delicious and can't wait to talk to them. You say you STILL NEED MORE!!! Don't forget we still have our regular weekly segments from Courier-Post nightlife correspondent and The New York Times recognized for Blog Eating in SJ, John Howard-Fusco for his news of the week and please remember that John's book “A Culinary History of Cape May: Salt Oysters, Beach Plums & Cabernet Franc” from Arcadia Publishing The History Press is available, Chef Barbie Marshall who is a Chef Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Season 10 finalist, appeared on Season 17 of FOX Hell's Kitchen #AllStars, as well named Pennsylvania's most influential chef by Cooking Light will delight us with her tip of the week, and a joke of the week from legendary joke teller Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling of The Howard Stern Show fame and his autobiography “The Joke Man: Bow to Stern” from Post Hill Press is available for purchase on Amazon.com and a documentary film of his life by Ian Karr will be released Fall 2019. D & L Coffee Services Inc. and Bluejeanfood.com hope you will use the TuneIn app to listen worldwide or also catch Small Bites Radio syndicated on KGTK 920AM, KITZ 1400AM, KSBN 1230AM, KBNP 1410AM, Salem Radio Network, ScyNet Radio, Stitcher Radio, PodOmatic, Indie Philly Radio, Player FM, iTunes, and TryThisDish Radio which is the only independently owned and operated international chef-driven foodie and lifestyle radio network in the world. D & L Coffee Services has an expert staff of highly qualified, certified, and experienced office, technical, and sales personnel. D & L Coffee Services are able to provide your business, home, or special event the absolute best from the beans they sell, vendors they work with, Italian delicacies available for delivery, catering on-site for any sized affair, hands-on barista training, equipment available for purchase, and maintenance/repair services for your espresso and coffee machines. You can stop by their warehouse at 7000 HOLSTEIN AVE, SUITE 3, Philadelphia, PA 19153 during business hours or call the office at 215-365-5521 for an appointment, consultation, or any questions. Go to www.trycake.com/smallbites and you and our listeners can get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount. And with that discount, you get a user-friendly Point of Sale solution that includes cloud reporting and world-class 24/7 support. CAKE is the Point of Sale system that lets bar & restaurant owners focus on the guest experience and STOP worrying about tracking every sale as CAKE does that for you. You can automatically save information and review it later, from anywhere. The post Small Bites – Episode 108 appeared first on Wildfire Radio.

Education and Content Specialist Sara Kay wrote an interesting article about developing products that allow them to make certain health claims. I reached out on LinkedIn, and then the conversation really got going. Not wanting to hog all the juicy information, I thought, we better get Sara on the show!  Sara wanted to share this with the PeasOnMoss audience: "We have a really exciting event coming up this April in Chicago, April 7-9, called the Specialty Food Business Summit, focused on makers of specialty food and which is open to members and non-members of the SFA. Full information on the Summit can be found at , or people can email me at skay@specialtyfood.com"  This podcast is sponsored by , maker of natural sweetener blends to help you reduce the sugar in your formulas. Contact them and let them know that PeasOnMoss sent you!

Specialty food is a category of food products unto its own and the CPGs that provide products for the various categories that fit within the description have one of the largest and most exciting shows in the food industry - the Fancy Food Show. In this preview Specialty Food Association content and education specialist Sara Kay and I talk about how interesting the industry is and what the SFA is doing to help start-up business owners build successful food businesses.  This podcast is sponsored by , the source for customized natural sweeteners. Contact them to help you solve your sweetener challenges.  Join us at the next show, held twice a year in San Francisco and New York City. Find out if your brand is a good fit for the . 

The Good Food Awards Mercantile is the place to taste the future of food, from small, sustainable producers. We discuss the Good Food Foundation that puts it on, and chat with two Good Food Guild members, direct from the show floor. Links and Show Notes Good Food Foundation (https://goodfoodfdn.org) Good Food Awards (https://goodfoodfdn.org/awards/) Good Food Mercantile (https://goodfoodfdn.org/mercantile/) Specialty Food Association (https://www.specialtyfood.com) 2019 Winter Fancy Food Show (https://www.specialtyfood.com/shows-events/winter-fancy-food-show/) 2019 Summer Fancy Food Show (https://www.specialtyfood.com/shows-events/summer-fancy-food-show/) Fort Mason Farmers Market, San Francisco (http://www.cafarmersmkts.com/fort-mason-center-farmers-market/) Oregon Bark (https://www.oregonbark.com) Tcho Chocolate (https://tcho.com/) (Amazon (https://amzn.to/2EpIErQ)) Types of peanuts, including Valencia (https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/peanut-types.htm) Guittard Chocolate (https://www.guittard.com) (Amazon (https://amzn.to/2EqYaDO)) Rainbow Grocery (https://www.rainbow.coop), San Francisco Bay Area Animal Place’s Vegan Republic (https://www.veganrepublicstore.org) Vermont Amber Organic Toffee (https://www.vermontamber.com) Our thanks to Anne Smith of Oregon Bark and Elizabeth Feinberg of Vermont Amber for joining us. You can follow them on Twitter: Oregon Bark (@oregonbark) (https://twitter.com/oregonbark) Vermont Amber Organic Toffee (@vermontamber) (https://twitter.com/vermontamber) Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter: Lettuce Wrap (@lettucewrappod (https://twitter.com/lettucewrappod)) Christine Doerr (@christinedoerr (https://twitter.com/christinedoerr)) Tammy Tan (@spicehound (http://twitter.com/spicehound)) or email us at lettucerwrappod@gmail.com (mailto:lettucerwrappod@gmail.com). That’s a wrap! Amazon (https://amzn.to/2DBzg5j) and other links may be affiliates. Purchases help support the show. Special Guests: Anne Smith, Oregon Bark and Elizabeth Feinberg, Vermont Amber .

Episode 10:  Ron Tanner:  Specialty Food Association Vice President Philanthropy, Government and Industry Relations Did you ever wonder how food products get to the shelves in your market or how new food trends happen? We get to discuss these topics on site at the Winter Fancy Food Show with Ron Tanner, who has been on staff for the Specialty Food Association for over 40 years. The Winter Fancy Food Show had over 1400 companies with over 80,000 different products on display. Sondra tried only about 30 of them in her two days walking the show and Brian tasted 3. The SFA is known for being the hub around the innovation of food and over the years Ron has worked hard bringing an education, philanthropic, and networking component to the association. Listen in to hear what the latest trends are for 2019, the number 1 growth category  and about the 7 incubators that are working to make production accessible to everyone. Summer Fancy Food Show is in New York (june 23 - 25) www.specialtyfood.com www,specialtyfoodfoundation.org rtanner@specialtyfood.com  

In 2005, Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back. Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers. The only chocolate maker working directly with cocoa farmers on four continents, Shawn travels to regions of Ecuador, the Philippines and Tanzania to source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled authentic single origin. It also enables Askinosie Chocolate to profit share with the farmers, giving them a “Stake In the Outcome,” a principle he learned from author/entrepreneur Jack Stack. Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBCand numerous other national and international media outlets. The Askinosie Chocolate mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers and each other, sharing the Askinosie Chocolate experience by leaving the world a better place than they found it. The company is currently sustainably feeding over 1,600 students per day in Tanzania and the Philippines, without any donations. Founded at the forefront of the American craft chocolate revolution and regarded by many as a vanguard in the industry, Askinosie Chocolate sets the standard: they are one of the few chocolate makers in the world who press their own cocoa butter (to make their chocolate truly single origin) and the only American craft chocolate maker to produce a natural cocoa powder; they were the first American craft chocolate makers to create white chocolate, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread (says The New York Times: “one spoonful of Askinosie’s Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and all memory of Nutella is gone”). Shawn was named by O, The Oprah Magazine "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." They said, "Why we're fans: The philanthropically-minded chocolate entrepreneur aims to get students thinking about business ethics in a way that could have ripple effects for generations." For his efforts in "Advancing food standards... by creating social, economic, and environmental impact", Shawn was awarded Top Business Leader of the Year in 2013 by the Specialty Food Association. Shawn has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University. In 2015, Askinosie Chocolate was awarded a complimentary membership to the Clinton Global Initiative for the company’s social efforts around the world. Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author, recently praised the company's model: "[Shawn] has built a practice of creating a worthwhile luxury good that directly benefits people. Not sort of. Not a little. But directly.” Askinosie Chocolate has received 3 Good Food Awards, considered to be the Oscars of food; 6 silver awards from the Specialty Food Association; and 7 International Chocolate Awards, including the Gold World Award for the Dark Chocolate + Licorice bar. The small team at Askinosie works directly with all of their retailers and sells their chocolate into specialty food stores, luxury boutiques, and high-end grocery chains throughout the US in nearly all fifty states and across the globe. Shawn's book, recently released, co-written with his daughter Lawren, published by Penguin titled "Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul" is an Amazon #1 New Release. Read Seth Godin's review of the book here. He is a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Ava, Missouri and the co-founder of Lost & Found, a grief center serving children and families in Southwest Missouri.

From artisanal foods to craft spirits, this episode explores the evolving business landscape for specialty food and distilled beverages. Steven Rannekleiv, the global sector strategist for beverages at global financial services firm Rabobank, has covered the alcoholic beverage industry for over a decade and in our conversation, we explored the emerging market for craft spirits, including parallels to and differences in the development of the craft beer category. Rannekleiv also discussed how the investment community is evaluating craft distilling companies and how growing consumer demand for cannabis products is affecting alcoholic beverage categories. Later in the episode, we sit down with Phil Kafarakis, who is the president of the Specialty Food Association, the industry trade group that the organizes the annual Winter and Summer Fancy Food Shows. In our discussion, Kafarakis spoke about how the term specialty food  has evolved in recent years and the ingredients and formulations that are shaping the future of the industry. He discussed the role legacy food and beverage categories, like cocktail mixers and charcuterie, in the development of the space and the Specialty Food Association’s long-standing work with international food and beverage producers. Show notes: 2:16: Sitting Pretty at #WFFS19 -- On location at the 2019 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, the hosts riffed on notable exhibits, brands and products featured at the annual trade show. 9:24: Interview: Steven Rannekleiv, Global Sector Strategist - Beverages, Rabobank -- In a call with Rannekleiv spoke about the launch and mission behind Rabobank’s beverage-focused podcast, Liquid Assets. He also discussed the growing consumer demand for craft spirits and the opportunities and challenges facing small producers, explained how strategic investors are evaluating the space, why wine, not spirits, might be the alcoholic beverage category most at risk from rising consumer demand for cannabis. 32:28: Interview: Phil Kafarakis, President, Specialty Food Association -- Recorded at the 2019 Winter Fancy Food Show, Kafarakis spoke about the evolution of the Winter event, and the development of its education platform and Incubator Village exhibit. He also explained how the trade group defines “specialty food,” and why speciality products are becoming increasingly available at mainstream retailers. Brands in this episode: Chobani, Loca Food, Sonar, Siete Foods, Zola, Pulp Pantry, Cleveland Kraut, Ayoba-Yo, Bohana, Kween Foods, Tea Crush, Q Soo, 1821 Bitters, Pappy’s, Bittermilk, Freshe, Perky Jerky, Blue Bottle Coffee, Copper & Kings, Kuli Kuli

Phil Lempert sits down with SFA President Phil Kafarakis to discuss the success of the Specialty Food Association's 2019 Winter Fancy Food Show.

In 2005, Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back.Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers. The only chocolate maker working directly with cocoa farmers on four continents, Shawn travels to regions of Ecuador, the Philippines and Tanzania to source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled authentic single origin. It also enables Askinosie Chocolate to profit share with the farmers, giving them a “Stake In the Outcome,” a principle he learned from author/entrepreneur Jack Stack.Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBCand numerous other national and international media outlets.The Askinosie Chocolate mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers and each other, sharing the Askinosie Chocolate experience by leaving the world a better place than they found it. The company is currently sustainably feeding over 1,600 students per day in Tanzania and the Philippines, without any donations. Founded at the forefront of the American craft chocolate revolution and regarded by many as a vanguard in the industry, Askinosie Chocolate sets the standard: they are one of the few chocolate makers in the world who press their own cocoa butter (to make their chocolate truly single origin) and the only American craft chocolate maker to produce a natural cocoa powder; they were the first American craft chocolate makers to create white chocolate, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread (says The New York Times: “one spoonful of Askinosie’s Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and all memory of Nutella is gone”).Shawn was named by O, The Oprah Magazine "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." They said, "Why we're fans: The philanthropically-minded chocolate entrepreneur aims to get students thinking about business ethics in a way that could have ripple effects for generations." For his efforts in "Advancing food standards... by creating social, economic, and environmental impact", Shawn was awarded Top Business Leader of the Year in 2013 by the Specialty Food Association. Shawn has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University. In 2015, Askinosie Chocolate was awarded a complimentary membership to the Clinton Global Initiative for the company’s social efforts around the world. Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author, recently praised the company's model: "[Shawn] has built a practice of creating a worthwhile luxury good that directly benefits people. Not sort of. Not a little. But directly.”Askinosie Chocolate has received 3 Good Food Awards, considered to be the Oscars of food; 6 silver awards from the Specialty Food Association; and 7 International Chocolate Awards, including the Gold World Award for the Dark Chocolate + Licorice bar. The small team at Askinosie works directly with all of their retailers and sells their chocolate into specialty food stores, luxury boutiques, and high-end grocery chains throughout the US in nearly all fifty states and across the globe.Shawn's book, recently released, co-written with his daughter Lawren, published by Penguin titled "Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul" is an Amazon #1 New Release. Read Seth Godin's review of the book here. He is a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Ava, Missouri and the co-founder of Lost & Found, a grief center serving children and families in Southwest Missouri.- askinosie.com- https://www.amazon.com/Meaningful-Work-Quest-Great-Business/dp/0143130315Please do NOT hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or via email mark@vudream.comLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/Twitter - https://twitter.com/markymetryMedium - https://medium.com/@markymetryFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/Humans.2.0.PodcastMark Metry - https://www.markmetry.com/Humans 2.0 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Humans2Podcast

In 2005, Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back.Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers. The only chocolate maker working directly with cocoa farmers on four continents, Shawn travels to regions of Ecuador, the Philippines and Tanzania to source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled authentic single origin. It also enables Askinosie Chocolate to profit share with the farmers, giving them a “Stake In the Outcome,” a principle he learned from author/entrepreneur Jack Stack.Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBCand numerous other national and international media outlets.The Askinosie Chocolate mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers and each other, sharing the Askinosie Chocolate experience by leaving the world a better place than they found it. The company is currently sustainably feeding over 1,600 students per day in Tanzania and the Philippines, without any donations. Founded at the forefront of the American craft chocolate revolution and regarded by many as a vanguard in the industry, Askinosie Chocolate sets the standard: they are one of the few chocolate makers in the world who press their own cocoa butter (to make their chocolate truly single origin) and the only American craft chocolate maker to produce a natural cocoa powder; they were the first American craft chocolate makers to create white chocolate, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread (says The New York Times: “one spoonful of Askinosie's Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and all memory of Nutella is gone”).Shawn was named by O, The Oprah Magazine "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." They said, "Why we're fans: The philanthropically-minded chocolate entrepreneur aims to get students thinking about business ethics in a way that could have ripple effects for generations." For his efforts in "Advancing food standards... by creating social, economic, and environmental impact", Shawn was awarded Top Business Leader of the Year in 2013 by the Specialty Food Association. Shawn has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University. In 2015, Askinosie Chocolate was awarded a complimentary membership to the Clinton Global Initiative for the company's social efforts around the world. Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author, recently praised the company's model: "[Shawn] has built a practice of creating a worthwhile luxury good that directly benefits people. Not sort of. Not a little. But directly.”Askinosie Chocolate has received 3 Good Food Awards, considered to be the Oscars of food; 6 silver awards from the Specialty Food Association; and 7 International Chocolate Awards, including the Gold World Award for the Dark Chocolate + Licorice bar. The small team at Askinosie works directly with all of their retailers and sells their chocolate into specialty food stores, luxury boutiques, and high-end grocery chains throughout the US in nearly all fifty states and across the globe.Shawn's book, recently released, co-written with his daughter Lawren, published by Penguin titled "Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul" is an Amazon #1 New Release. Read Seth Godin's review of the book here. He is a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Ava, Missouri and the co-founder of Lost & Found, a grief center serving children and families in Southwest Missouri.- askinosie.com- https://www.amazon.com/Meaningful-Work-Quest-Great-Business/dp/0143130315Please do NOT hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or via email mark@vudream.comLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/Twitter - https://twitter.com/markymetryMedium - https://medium.com/@markymetryFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/Humans.2.0.PodcastMark Metry - https://www.markmetry.com/Humans 2.0 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Humans2Podcast

In 2005, Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back.Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers. The only chocolate maker working directly with cocoa farmers on four continents, Shawn travels to regions of Ecuador, the Philippines and Tanzania to source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled authentic single origin. It also enables Askinosie Chocolate to profit share with the farmers, giving them a “Stake In the Outcome,” a principle he learned from author/entrepreneur Jack Stack.Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBCand numerous other national and international media outlets.The Askinosie Chocolate mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers and each other, sharing the Askinosie Chocolate experience by leaving the world a better place than they found it. The company is currently sustainably feeding over 1,600 students per day in Tanzania and the Philippines, without any donations. Founded at the forefront of the American craft chocolate revolution and regarded by many as a vanguard in the industry, Askinosie Chocolate sets the standard: they are one of the few chocolate makers in the world who press their own cocoa butter (to make their chocolate truly single origin) and the only American craft chocolate maker to produce a natural cocoa powder; they were the first American craft chocolate makers to create white chocolate, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread (says The New York Times: “one spoonful of Askinosie’s Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and all memory of Nutella is gone”).Shawn was named by O, The Oprah Magazine "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." They said, "Why we're fans: The philanthropically-minded chocolate entrepreneur aims to get students thinking about business ethics in a way that could have ripple effects for generations." For his efforts in "Advancing food standards... by creating social, economic, and environmental impact", Shawn was awarded Top Business Leader of the Year in 2013 by the Specialty Food Association. Shawn has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University. In 2015, Askinosie Chocolate was awarded a complimentary membership to the Clinton Global Initiative for the company’s social efforts around the world. Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author, recently praised the company's model: "[Shawn] has built a practice of creating a worthwhile luxury good that directly benefits people. Not sort of. Not a little. But directly.”Askinosie Chocolate has received 3 Good Food Awards, considered to be the Oscars of food; 6 silver awards from the Specialty Food Association; and 7 International Chocolate Awards, including the Gold World Award for the Dark Chocolate + Licorice bar. The small team at Askinosie works directly with all of their retailers and sells their chocolate into specialty food stores, luxury boutiques, and high-end grocery chains throughout the US in nearly all fifty states and across the globe.Shawn's book, recently released, co-written with his daughter Lawren, published by Penguin titled "Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul" is an Amazon #1 New Release. Read Seth Godin's review of the book here. He is a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Ava, Missouri and the co-founder of Lost & Found, a grief center serving children and families in Southwest Missouri.- askinosie.com- https://www.amazon.com/Meaningful-Work-Quest-Great-Business/dp/0143130315Please do NOT hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or via email mark@vudream.comLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/Twitter - https://twitter.com/markymetryMedium - https://medium.com/@markymetryFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/Humans.2.0.PodcastMark Metry - https://www.markmetry.com/Humans 2.0 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Humans2Podcast

In 2005, Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back. Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers. The only chocolate maker working directly with cocoa farmers on four continents, Shawn travels to regions of Ecuador, the Philippines and Tanzania to source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled authentic single origin. It also enables Askinosie Chocolate to profit share with the farmers, giving them a “Stake In the Outcome,” a principle he learned from author/entrepreneur Jack Stack. Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBCand numerous other national and international media outlets. The Askinosie Chocolate mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers and each other, sharing the Askinosie Chocolate experience by leaving the world a better place than they found it. The company is currently sustainably feeding over 1,600 students per day in Tanzania and the Philippines, without any donations. Founded at the forefront of the American craft chocolate revolution and regarded by many as a vanguard in the industry, Askinosie Chocolate sets the standard: they are one of the few chocolate makers in the world who press their own cocoa butter (to make their chocolate truly single origin) and the only American craft chocolate maker to produce a natural cocoa powder; they were the first American craft chocolate makers to create white chocolate, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread (says The New York Times: “one spoonful of Askinosie’s Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and all memory of Nutella is gone”). Shawn was named by O, The Oprah Magazine "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." They said, "Why we're fans: The philanthropically-minded chocolate entrepreneur aims to get students thinking about business ethics in a way that could have ripple effects for generations." For his efforts in "Advancing food standards... by creating social, economic, and environmental impact", Shawn was awarded Top Business Leader of the Year in 2013 by the Specialty Food Association. Shawn has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University. In 2015, Askinosie Chocolate was awarded a complimentary membership to the Clinton Global Initiative for the company’s social efforts around the world. Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author, recently praised the company's model: "[Shawn] has built a practice of creating a worthwhile luxury good that directly benefits people. Not sort of. Not a little. But directly.” Askinosie Chocolate has received 3 Good Food Awards, considered to be the Oscars of food; 6 silver awards from the Specialty Food Association; and 7 International Chocolate Awards, including the Gold World Award for the Dark Chocolate + Licorice bar. The small team at Askinosie works directly with all of their retailers and sells their chocolate into specialty food stores, luxury boutiques, and high-end grocery chains throughout the US in nearly all fifty states and across the globe. Shawn's book, recently released, co-written with his daughter Lawren, published by Penguin titled "Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul" is an Amazon #1 New Release. Read Seth Godin's review of the book here. He is a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Ava, Missouri and the co-founder of Lost & Found, a grief center serving children and families in Southwest Missouri. https://www.askinosie.com/

François Robin has the prestigious designation "Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best French Craftsman). He is a cheesemonger who travels the world to educate and lecture on cheeses from France. François discusses the "terroir" of different cheeses and how to serve. Specialty foods are a $127 billion industry. Chris Crocker, SVP for the Specialty Food Association, discusses the Summer Fancy Food Show's eye-opening Future of Food exhibit, food trends and how consumers today shop for food. This show is broadcast live on Wednesday's at 2PM ET on W4CY Radio – (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (http://www.talk4radio.com/) on the Talk 4 Media Network (http://www.talk4media.com/).

Why is it important for associations to understand their online communities? What are some of the ways associations are using their online communities and what are the resources needed to manage them effectively?  Meet the organizers for this year's Community Manager Appreciation Day, who each have their own special perspective to add to this discussion.  Ask your questions and we'll share some solid advice on how to make your online communities even stronger! Special guests include: Susan Cato Maddie Grant Ben Martin Susan Cato is a visionary leader and innovator in the world of digital strategy, online communications, and community engagement creating award-winning websites, applications, online publications and online communities for more than 15 years. Susan’s superpower is leveraging her deep understanding of digital processes, content, branding, and structures to deliver innovative and meaningful experiences for members and customers. Maddie Grant is the Lead Editor at SocialFish, a widely-read blog about social media and social business strategy. Her recent consulting work focuses on digital transformation and internal and external engagement. She’s also a Founding Partner of WorkXO, a software platform that enables companies to improve their workplace culture. Ben Martin is the Chief Engagement Officer at Online Community Results, a consultancy dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations achieve their missions and ROI using online communities. He has worked with organizations like IEEE, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Toastmasters International, and the Specialty Food Association. KiKi L’Italien is the CEO and founder of Amplified Growth, a digital marketing consultancy specializing in SEO, social media, and content strategy. She also hosts the hugely popular Association Chat live-streamed vodcast, a weekly association-centric news and education outlet which has run since 2009.

Chef Beverly Gannon runs three top rated restaurants in Maui: Hali'imaile General Store, Gannons and Joe's Nuevo Latino, and she's considers one of the 12 founding members of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine Movement. The Specialty Food Association's Ron Tanner discusses highlights of the 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show, trends and impact of the $109-billion specialty food industry, from regional mom & pop businesses to more than 50 countries. Hot tips: healthy juices, sweet heat and vegetable snacks.This show is broadcast live on W4CY Radio – (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (http://www.talk4radio.com/) on the Talk 4 Media Network http://www.talk4media.com/).

This week’s featured farmer is Louisa Conrad. Louisa Conrad owns and operates Big Picture Farm in Townshend, VT with her husband Lucas Farrell. On their hillside farm lives a herd of 37 goats, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 30 or so chickens and an incredible team of employees. Big Picture Farm makes the finest goat milk caramels in the world and for their efforts have been awarded 2 SOFI Awards from the Specialty Food Association, 2 Good Food Awards, & an American Cheese Society Award. This program was brought Heritage Foods USA.