Food Marketing Nerds Restaurant and CPG Marketing Podcast

We’re chatting with David Klavsons, CEO of King Juice / Calypso. By volume, Calypso is the leader in bottled lemonade, and while the product has always been amazing, the company’s growth was a little stagnant. That is, until David entered the picture. Since assuming the role of CEO, David has staged a massive turnaround, helping Calypso in all areas from marketing and branding to sales and distribution. In his words, Calypso has focused on mastering the basics, and that approach is paying dividends.

David has extensive CPG experience, having worked at Pepsi, Kraft, and Frito Lay - helping companies thrive in the industry is basically second nature for him. Thankfully, he was happy to dumb things down to help me understand. While this specific conversation focuses a lot on bottle beverages specifically, a lot of the topics would be make perfect chapters in a “Winning in CPG for dummies” book.

In this episode, you’ll learn 

• What hires are most crucial for breaking through a plateau
• Why you shouldn’t write off a smaller social media following
• What metrics matter in leading a company turnaround
• Why fact-based selling is crucial to successful product sell-through

And plenty more. David is awesome, and I know you’re about to learn a ton from his interview.

Learn more about Calypso:

• On Facebook
• On Instagram

We’re chatting with David Klavsons, CEO of King Juice / Calypso. By volume, Calypso is the leader in bottled lemonade, and while the product has always been amazing, the company’s growth was a little stagnant. That is, until David entered the picture. Since assuming the role of CEO, David has staged a massive turnaround, helping Calypso in all areas from marketing and branding to sales and distribution. In his words, Calypso has focused on mastering the basics, and that approach is paying dividends.

David has extensive CPG experience, having worked at Pepsi, Kraft, and Frito Lay - helping companies thrive in the industry is basically second nature for him. Thankfully, he was happy to dumb things down to help me understand. While this specific conversation focuses a lot on bottle beverages specifically, a lot of the topics would be make perfect chapters in a “Winning in CPG for dummies” book.

In this episode, you’ll learn 

• What hires are most crucial for breaking through a plateau
• Why you shouldn’t write off a smaller social media following
• What metrics matter in leading a company turnaround
• Why fact-based selling is crucial to successful product sell-through

And plenty more. David is awesome, and I know you’re about to learn a ton from his interview.

Learn more about Calypso:

• On Facebook
• On Instagram

On the show today, we’re jumping into some do’s and don’ts of social media video. With how aggressively social platforms change and release new features, we brought on Matt Oesterle, manager of video production at our own Blue Bear Creative, to talk through the latest best practices relevant to food marketing in 2020.

If you’re looking to up your content game on social, this episode offers plenty of practical insights on how to set your videos up for success.

Let’s get after it.

Today’s episode goes out to all the Kombucha nerds in the audience. This interview is a little bit of a change in pace from our usual conversations around tactics and strategies within food and beverage marketing - instead, we're diving deeper into a category that's had a major impact on the food and beverage industry. 

Today, we’re chatting with Hannah Crum, founder and president of Kombucha Brewers International. Hannah, otherwise known as the "Kombucha Momma", has a profound understanding of the industry, best practices, and what it takes to be a success. As you’ll soon hear, Hannah’s demeanor is as effervescent as the Kombucha her trade association represents. 

If you’ve ever considered launching a Kombucha product line or have crossover with the category in some way, then stay tuned for today’s deep dive into the rapidly evolved world fermented tea!

Hannah's Recommended Reads:

• Crucial Conversations

Resources:

• Kombucha Kon 2020

Joining us on the show today, we’ve got Lucinda Wright, Co-Founder and CEO of Cask & Kettle. If you aren’t familiar, Cask & Kettle is a company that is truly in a category of one. They make the first and only spiked coffee K-Cups on the market, ranging from the more traditional Irish Coffee to their Hot Blonde Coffee with vodka, and even a Spiked Dry Cider.

Lucinda has an incredible depth of expertise in CPG. She was VP of Marketing at Kelloggs, where she helped to build Raisin Bran into a powerhouse brand. She’s also worked with a number of similar household names, before getting into consulting for, you guessed it, growing CPG brands. 

Lucinda has been putting her past experience to good use, from navigating the regulation heavy spirits industry to borrowing big brand principles and executing with start-up scrappiness.

We’re discussing a lot of the do’s and don’ts when it comes breaking ground with an innovative product, and in this episode, you’ll also learn:

• How to perform big brand consumer research on a start-up budget
• Why marketing to your product’s buyers may be the wrong approach
• What to avoid when adding SKUs to your product line

And plenty more...

More Resources: 

• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
• Cask & Kettle on IG
• Cask & Kettle on FB

If you’re the type of person who likes to geek out on paid social, sales funnels, or just all-around masterful digital marketing, then boy do I know the episode for you. I’m excited to introduce you to our guest, Yoon-Ji Nam, Head of Growth at the company transforming the cereal category: Magic Spoon.  And by cereal, I mean like breakfast cereal you eat with milk, not serial, as in the true-crime podcast with a bummer of a second season. 

Magic Spoon is the healthy version of your favorite childhood cereals, and if you’re anything like me, you might already be somewhat familiar with them from an eye-catching Instagram or Facebook ad. Magic Spoon is turning the cereal aisle upside down, and the crazy part is, they aren’t even in the cereal aisle. 

That’s where Yoon-Ji comes in. Having worked at successful online-only companies like Away and Hawthorne, she’s helping Magic Spoon leverage a similar direct to consumer approach, to build emotional connections to the brand that money can’t buy.

From general mindset down to tactical execution, there’s so much to learn from this interview, like:

• What consumer data most companies already have, but severely underutilize
• How to effectively personalize customer journeys 
• Why you have it all wrong when it comes to organic social 

And a ton more. We’ve dabbled in topics like digital media, sales funnels and e-commerce in previous episodes, but not like this. Get ready for it, Nerds. 

More Resources: 

• Magic Spoon on IG
• Unbounce - Landing Page Software
• Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Hey folks, thanks for tuning in. On the show today, we have Blue Bear’s own Social Media Strategist, Emily Larsen. Emily has spent her career in social and digital marketing, and today, we’re discussing opportunities and watch-outs for Food & Beverage brands on social media. 

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• How platforms are catering to the rise in e-commerce
• What to keep in mind before investing in TikTok
• Why CPG brands shouldn’t sleep on Pinterest

And plenty more. I should caveat this by saying, this episode is being recorded in late August of 2020, and with how quickly social media changes if you happen to be listening back on this episode, the window of the arbitrage from being an early adopter to certain features may have already closed. What we’re saying is, social changes quickly, so the landscape may look a little different if you’re tuning into this at a later date.

Other Resources: 

• Connect with Emily on LinkedIn
• Download the Social Media Trend Report

On the show today, we’re chatting with Jeremy Gregory, co-founder and marketing director of Montucky Cold Snacks. If you haven’t already seen Montucky’s distinctive beer cans on shelves, you probably will soon. As of February of this year, Montucky became one of the fastest-growing brands in the category, second to only White Claw. 

As a light lager, Montucky is up against stiff competition, and yet, their product continues to fly off the shelves.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

• How the right apparel strategy can transform your brand
• Why it pays to not take yourself too seriously
• What goes into building a brand people young consumers can identify with
• And plenty more…

Montucky’s marketing vibe and brand voice are one of, if not the company’s, biggest strengths and we’re thrilled to introduce you to the guy behind it all.

Recommended Resources: 

• Montucky on Instagram
• Montucky on Facebook
• The 1-Page Marketing Plan 

Today we’re sitting down with Rifle Hughes, Strategy and Innovation Business Partner at JPG Resources. Rifle has spent over 20 years helping companies build strong connections between brands and consumers. He’s worked with a range of companies within the industry, from start-ups to heavy hitters like Nestlé, Hormel, and Pepsi.

Rifle and I discuss how COVID is influencing consumer behavior, and how both CPG and restaurant brands should adapt.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What consumer behaviors will likely have the most staying power in a post-pandemic world.
• How restaurants are bringing the on-premise experience to their customers' homes.
• What factors to consider before investing more into your e-commerce presence, and lot’s more. 

Recommended Resources:

Connect with Rifle Hughes on LinkedIn

Edmund Hillary: A Biography by Michael Gill

On the show today, we have Vanessa Santana, Brand Experience Planner at General Mills. We’re discussing some of the most important issues the industry is wrestling with today, the lack of diversity and what leaders can do to play a role in making a positive change. 

We invited Vanessa onto the show to talk through this from both a personal and business perspective. And looking forward, what actions we can take to build a more inclusive industry. 

Recommended Reading:

• The Promise of a Pencil – Adam Braun

• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – Angela Duckworth