Taste Radio

The most overlooked aisle in the grocery store may be ripe for reinvention. Riff is betting on it. We dig into the new shelf-stable meal kit brand launched by Sir Kensington's co-founder Mark Ramadan and Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm. We also discuss Battle Bars' attempt to broaden its appeal in the protein bar category and what investor network The Angel Group wants to see from emerging CPG brands. Show notes: 0:20: Angels In The Parking Lot. We Riff On Riff. Winning The Battle. Phenomenal Education. – The hosts recap the recent Taste Radio meetup in San Diego, featuring live interviews with Maddie Serviente of The Angel Group and Chuck Casano, founder and CEO of Pitaya Foods. They also preview upcoming Nosh Live, BevNET Live and Brewbound Live events in Los Angeles. The conversation then turns to Riff, a new brand of elevated pasta and noodle meals designed to compete with familiar names such as Hamburger Helper and Rice-A-Roni and now available nationwide at Target. The hosts discuss the opportunity to reinvent familiar categories through better food, branding and consumer appeal, while emphasizing that taste remains critical to a brand's success. They also spotlight Battle Bars' brand refresh, including redesigned packaging and reformulated protein bars, and discuss how the changes were informed in part by the significant role women play in the protein bar category and are intended to broaden the brand's appeal. Ray offers a mea culpa over Goodles' reported acquisition price, while the hosts discuss Sol-ti's growth in the wellness shot category and its recent $30 million fundraise. They wrap with All Phenoms, a sparkling functional beverage that illustrates both the opportunity and challenge of communicating multiple functional benefits while maintaining a clear consumer proposition. Brands in this episode: Riff, Sir Kensington's, Hugh Kitchen, Hamburger Helper, Rice-A-Roni, Jif, Life, Goodles, Chef Boyardee, Super Coffee, Battle Bars, Sol-ti, All Phenoms, Wild Wonder, Olipop, Poppi

Building a thriving CPG brand wasn't Katie Lee's plan. It was a crisis response that evolved into a national business. When the COVID-19 shutdown threatened her four St. Louis restaurants and the livelihoods of 150 employees, the chef and restaurateur created a line of frozen pizzas simply to keep her team working. That pizza became the foundation for Katie's, a CPG brand that has grown from roughly $2 million in revenue in 2023 to a business on pace to surpass $24 million in sales this year. The brand is also headed for more than 6,300 retail doors by year-end, including every Target and Sprouts nationwide, along with Whole Foods, Publix, Wegmans and other major retailers. That kind of growth hasn't come without some serious operational challenges. When Target awarded Katie's a national rollout, Lee suddenly had to figure out how to produce 400,000 pizzas in three months. Now, as the brand expands beyond pizza into new categories, she's building a new manufacturing facility while working to preserve the restaurant-level standards and culinary approach that set Katie's apart in the first place. Katie shares what she's had to learn the hard way about CPG, how she and her team navigated the brand's explosive growth, and why she's ultimately more motivated by the freedom to create, build and make an impact than by a big exit. Show notes: 0:20: Katie Lee, Founder & CEO, Katie's – Katie discusses her new book, Unemployable, which chronicles the unconventional path that took her from dropping out of high school at 15 and struggling with addiction to becoming a successful restaurateur and entrepreneur. She explains how she essentially brought the restaurant experience to the freezer aisle, using hand-stretched dough, wood-fired cooking and premium ingredients to create KATIE'S first line of pizzas. She talks about the brand's Walmart Golden Ticket and full-chain Target rollout, including the challenge of meeting the massive production demands that came with those opportunities. Lee also explains how her restaurant background gives KATIE'S an advantage in CPG: her team can develop products quickly, test them with thousands of restaurant customers and apply decades of culinary experience to ingredients, technique and hospitality. She believes consumers are increasingly looking for restaurant-quality food at home, but says the experience extends beyond the food itself to storytelling, presentation and the people and craft behind the product. Brands in this episode: Katie's

This week, we dig into Barilla Group's acquisition of Goodles and how the mac and cheese brand's success reflects growing demand for better-for-you versions of familiar, legacy products. We also look at David Protein maker Medici Brands' $2.2 billion valuation following its Series B raise, the launch of its better-for-you candy brand HallPass and how the company is rethinking two of the most familiar formats in CPG.  Show notes: 0:20: Incremental Betterness. Medici Momentum. Shelf Impact. Dance & Drink. A Trip To London. – Ray highlights Taste Radio's upcoming meetups in San Diego and San Francisco before the hosts unpack Barilla Group's acquisition of Goodles, including the brand attributes that made it attractive to consumers and acquirers alike. They also explore the broader trend of "incremental betterness," as Ray puts it, and why improving established categories can be just as powerful as creating something entirely new. The conversation turns to Medici Brands and how founder Peter Rahal has fueled its rapid expansion beyond David protein bars into new formats, including HallPass, which the hosts sample and review. They also taste David's new pumpkin spice bar and discuss how brands can use "training wheels" to make better-for-you products more approachable before potentially improving their formulas further. Melissa spotlights new flavors of Koia's Protein Pop line, while Mike showcases Golden Disco's non-alcoholic cocktails. Melissa also highlights a new Nombase course from packaging expert Fred Hart focused on designing products for maximum shelf impact. Finally, the hosts discuss Kendall Jenner joining U.K.-based functional beverage brand Trip as a shareholder and global ambassador, and look ahead to Taste Radio's upcoming meetup in London. Brands in this episode: Poppi, Goodles, Culture Pop, Annie's, RXBAR, David Protein, HallPass, Thirsty Buddha, Rise Kombucha, Trip, Koia, Golden Disco

In the latest episode of Taste Radio's Elevator Talk, leaders from five emerging CPG brands -- Tamarind Heads, Cozy, Samsara, Jöey Nordic Seed Crisps and Nadas Empanadas -- introduce their businesses, share what's changed since launch and offer a look at where they're headed next. Joining regular host Ray Latif, editor and producer of Taste Radio, is Can Koyuncu, the co-founder and CMO of Chapter Foods, who brings sharp questions, candid feedback and an investor's perspective to each pitch. Want to put your brand in front of experienced CPG operators and investors? Applications are open for future episodes of Elevator Talk. Participation is free, interviews are conducted remotely, and founders get the chance to pitch their products, share company news and get unfiltered feedback from industry leaders. Apply now to be featured in an upcoming episode.

What if the smartest growth strategy for your CPG brand is to stop chasing growth? Larry Young spent nearly 50 years in the beverage business before trading corporate boardrooms for a cattle ranch. The former CEO and president of Keurig Dr Pepper and his wife, Colette, now own Texas-based 10-2-4 Ranch, where they're building a premium beef brand on their own terms. In this episode, Larry and Colette explain why they've resisted the pressure to grow fast, raise money and chase scale; how they've made premium quality accessible without premium pricing; and why customer relationships, authenticity and simply delivering on your promises can be more powerful than any conventional growth strategy. They also share lessons on educating consumers, building word of mouth, choosing the right partners and hiring people who genuinely care about what they do. Show notes: 0:20: Larry & Colette Young, Owners, 10-2-4 Ranch – Larry discusses how a lifelong career in the beverage industry ultimately led him and Colette to ranching and the creation of a consumer beef brand. They talk about the 10-2-4's origins as a hunting ranch, how it evolved into a cattle operation and, eventually, a premium beef business built around Wagyu-influenced cattle, quality, traceability and affordability. The Youngs explain why their goal isn't to become the biggest beef brand, but the best, why taste is the most powerful selling point, how affordable pricing makes premium beef more approachable, and why educating consumers about lesser-known cuts and the nutritional benefits of beef is central to their strategy. They also share how word of mouth, restaurant partnerships, steak nights and social media help build the brand, while emphasizing personal relationships and customer service as key differentiators. The conversation also explores their decision to avoid political debates and carefully choose media and influencer partners so the brand remains focused on food rather than ideology. Finally, the Youngs reflect on entrepreneurship, defining success on their own terms, the importance of hiring people with passion and integrity, and the unexpected fulfillment of building a business that aligns with their lifestyle and values. Brands in this episode: 10-2-4, Bai