The Physical Product Movement

97 Episodes

Reverse

[Greatest Hits] Using Events & Competitions To Market Effectively with Jeff Vierling, Co-Founder & CEO at Tailwind Nutrition

2022-09-2948:47

In this episode, Jeff Vierling, Co-founder and CEO of Tailwind Nutrition, joins the conversation. Jeff is an endurance biker who competes in races all over the country. As a result of his experiences, Jeff was intimately familiar with the challenges of keeping his body fueled while competing. Unfortunately, Jeff couldn't find any products with the nutrition he needed to compete in endurance events, so he created one. Jeff talks about how to scale your business by effectively marketing using events and competitions, digital marketing, and strategically going after targeted wholesale accounts worldwide. Jeff also shares why they chose to manufacture in-house and how he keeps this production operationally simple.

[Greatest Hits] Why Brands Need to Focus on Understanding Their Customers with Mia Medina, Founder & CEO at Gather Brands

2022-09-2238:37

In this episode, we're joined by Mia Medina, Founder and CEO of Gather Brands, a full-service marketing management agency that focuses on women-owned and women-run companies in the CPG industry. Today, she talks about common mistakes that she has seen brands make when they try to break into retail and the importance of understanding your customers and why they choose your product.

[Greatest Hits] The Benefits of Selling Online & FTC Labeling with Juan Salinas, CEO & Founder at P-nuff Crunch, a Mark Cuban Company

2022-09-1521:34

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, we speak with Juan Salinas, CEO & Founder of P-nuff Crunch, a Mark Cuban Company. Juan shares his insights on why you should bring on help as soon as possible when starting a CPG business, the benefits of selling online, and how getting into retail is more expensive than you might think.

[Greatest Hits] Getting Your Brand into Retail Stores with Allison Ball, Founder & CEO at Food Biz Wiz

2022-09-0841:24

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement Podcast, we speak with Allison Ball, Founder and CEO of Food Biz Wiz. Allison shares her experience as a buyer for a fast-growing grocery chain and how that taught her lessons about why brands succeed or fail in retail. She also gives tips on how to get in front of buyers and the mistakes brands make when engaging with them.

[Greatest Hits] Turning Misfortune Into Success with Ted Fleming, Founder and CEO at Partake Brewing

2022-09-0144:32

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, Ted Fleming, Founder and CEO of Partake Brewing, shares his life and experiences after receiving a devastating medical diagnosis and how that inspired him to create his product. Ted tells us that he knew in his core that there was a market for this product, even though others thought it was a terrible idea. He also shares the actions he took after his manufacturer sent him a bad batch of the initial product and how that led to the creation of a different product that he still sells to this day.

Innovating and Disrupting the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Market with Jordan Bass, CEO and Cofounder at HOP WTR

2022-08-2542:17

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, Ken Ojuka is joined by Jordan Bass, CEO and Cofounder of HOP WTR, a non-alcoholic brand alternative to beer. Jordan covers his personal experiences that eventually led him to start HOP WTR and shares his approach to analyzing the market and gathering the data while still staying true to his intuition and life experience. Jordan also explains how to position your product and business for each customer any CPG brand has to consider: the distributor, the retailer, and the consumer.

[Greatest Hits] An Incremental Approach To Distribution & Product Development with Chris Kirby, Founder at Ithaca Hummus

2022-08-1842:18

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement, Chris Kirby, Founder of Ithaca Hummus, shares the story behind building his hummus company, the value of an incremental approach to wholesale, and how that allowed him to continue to develop his product into a nationwide CPG brand.

[Greatest Hits] The Importance of Forming a Close Relationship with your Co-Packer with Pat Bennett, President & Founder at Pat’s Granola

2022-08-1149:26

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, Pat Bennett, President and Founder of Pat's Granola, shares advice on working with a local co-packer along with the advantages of being onsite, especially during the initial production, and how crucial it is to have a close working relationship with your co-packer.

Bringing Your CPG Manufacturing In-House with Ryan Margolin, CEO at Professional Hair Labs

2022-08-0459:461

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, Ryan Margolin, CEO of Professional Hair Labs, joins the conversation to discuss his company's transition from outsourcing their manufacturing to manufacturing their own line of products in-house. Ryan talks about the hidden cost every manufacturer needs to stay on top of, how to finance and bootstrap the expenses of starting up your own production line, and the advantages to brands of selecting custom formulations versus the private label. Coming from a digital marketing background, Ryan also shares some tips on marketing and how brands should use social media to find new markets and sell their products. This was a great conversation applicable to both manufacturers and brands that teaches you how to improve your current manufacturing processes, whether you're doing that in-house or using a co-man. We appreciate Ryan’s willingness to share some tips for others looking to do the same. This is a must-listen if you've ever debated whether to bring your CPG product manufacturing in-house or not.

[Greatest Hits] Co-Manufacturing Mastery with Dustin Finkel, CEO at Awakened Foods

2022-07-2821:54

In this episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, Dustin Finkel, CEO of Awakened Foods, shares transparent and actionable insights that help those raising capital to scale their brands and gives some invaluable tips on partnering with co-manufacturers.

[Greatest Hits] Launching, Growing, & Perfecting an Ice Cream Brand with Hannah Hong, Co-Founder at Must Love

2022-07-2151:04

If you’ve been looking for healthy and delicious ice cream, look no further! Must Love is a Los Angeles-based ice cream company founded by Hannah Hong and her best friend Molly that focuses on producing non-dairy ice cream made with real, simple ingredients. Hannah explains what makes Must Love a healthier product and describes their strategy to enter grocery stores in Southern California and expand nationally. Hannah shares the challenges of distributing a temperature-controlled product like ice cream in the CPG space and how being on Shark Tank forced them to embrace D2C and perfect it. She also talks about how a chance meeting with a customer in Hawaii led to an introduction to a Costco buyer and eventually a fantastic deal.

[Greatest Hits] Scaling Up Your Brand with Jessi Freitag, a CPG Operations Consultant, Podcast Host, and Producer at Startup CPG and Iroh's Corner

2022-07-1451:34

Not long ago, Jessi Freitag, a CPG Operations Consultant, Podcast Host, and Producer at Startup CPG and Iroh's Corner, joined us on a great episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast. She talked about her CPG experience, the advantages and drawbacks of manufacturing in-house, and how the operations team works with marketing and sales to scale the brand. Jessi also shared the exciting efficiencies you can find when looking for small operations improvements daily and a lot more.

[Greatest Hits] The Power of a Brand Autopsy with Tyler Merrick, Founder at Project 7

2022-07-0701:07:25

One exciting conversation we had on The Physical Product Movement podcast was with Tyler Merrick, the Founder of Project 7, a premium confectionery brand with a social mission to fund critical areas of need through their keto-friendly plant-based candies and delicious gummies. Tyler unfolded his experience launching Project 7 and how he managed to perform a brand autopsy to revive it. He also shared lessons he learned the hard way from relying too much on brick-and-mortar sales and how COVID reinforced that experience.

[Greatest Hits] Kickstarter Campaign Mastery with Will Nitze, Founder & CEO at IQBAR

2022-06-3058:331

Recalling some of the greatest episodes we had on the podcast, we couldn't miss Will Nitze, Founder, and CEO of IQBAR, the leading "brain+body" plant-based protein bar. After attending Harvard, studying psychology and neuroscience, he moved toward the world of software sales and, ultimately, launched his own business. In this episode, Will shares his experience with the countless iterations that led him to create IQBAR and then leverage the Kickstarter campaign for market research and to gain initial traction. Lastly, Will provides tremendous insight into his distribution strategy through D2C, retail, and Amazon.

Developing a Successful and Tasty Organic Product with Grace Ventura, CEO & Founder at Grace’s Goodness Organics

2022-06-2355:44

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement Podcast, we're joined by Grace Ventura of Grace’s Goodness Organics, a plant-based sipping broth made from simple ingredients like vegetables, wellness herbs, and MCT oil. Her brand focuses on those with an active lifestyle looking for a healthy mini-meal or a quick pick-me-up. Grace tells the story of how food and nutrition were a big area of struggle for her clients. Wanting to help them, she landed on plant-based sipping broths. Grace describes how she started Grace’s Goodness Organics, explains the importance of authenticity behind the brand, and how customers can feel the intention and energy in the brand’s products.

Why CPG Brands Needs to Differentiate Their Products to Thrive with Laurel Orley, CEO & Co-Founder at Daily Crunch Snacks

2022-06-1650:29

In this episode of the Physical Product Movement podcast, we talk with Laurel Orley, CEO and Co-Founder of Daily Crunch Snacks, a women-owned and non-GMO healthy snack company. Laurel spent thirteen years building brands at Unilever and had the opportunity to work on well-known brands like Lipton Tea, the Ragu line of sauces, Dove Body Wash, and the Dove Men’s line of products. She has a unique approach on what is needed to succeed as a brand. Today, Laurel talks about different trends in the CPG space and how Keto and Plant-based brands need to differentiate more to connect meaningfully with the consumer. Laurel also shares her approach to trade shows and how to get better results from virtual or in-person trade shows. Lastly, she talks about how getting into a retail store is just the beginning, and what you need to do as a brand to cultivate that relationship and succeed with the retailer.

[Greatest Hits] Understanding Landed Costs & Profit Margins with Marc Siden, Co-Founder & CEO at Cloud Water

2022-06-0956:23

Is there any way smaller, emerging beverage brands can compete with giants like Coca-Cola? In one of the previous episodes of the Physical Product Movement podcast, we got a positive answer. Marc Siden, Co-founder, and CEO of Cloud Water is an ambitious entrepreneur who has established a natural sparkling hemp beverage brand with premium botanicals. Marc shares the challenges of leading his company through COVID and how they've been able to thrive. He also talks about difficulties and opportunities in the beverage space, specifically on how to compete against established giants like Coca-Cola. Lastly, Marc gives some great insights on the importance of understanding your landed and promotional costs, distributor margins, retailer margins, and shipping.

[Greatest Hits] The Secrets to Conducting Useful Customer Research with Josh Belinsky, Co-Founder at Slate Milk

2022-06-0243:14

Since the first episode of The Physical Product Movement podcast, we have heard many incredible stories from different CPG entrepreneurs. Among our guests was Josh Belinsky, the Co-Founder of Slate Milk, a line of lactose-free, high protein, and better-for-you chocolate milk. Josh shared how his struggle with lactose intolerance while also having a love for chocolate milk, motivated him to start Slate Milk. Josh also talked about the importance of asking the right questions when doing customer research and staying curious, especially when breaking into a very competitive category. It was a great episode, and we believe you'll get a lot out of this conversation with Josh Belinsky.

Redefining Kombucha and Developing a Unique Functional Beverage with Jamba Dunn, Founder & CEO at Rowdy Mermaid

2022-05-2653:17

Jamba Dunn, Founder, and CEO of Rowdy Mermaid, is our guest today on The Physical Product Movement podcast. Rowdy Mermaid is a premier kombucha and functional beverage brand located in Boulder, Colorado. Jamba talks about his obsession and passion for kombucha and how his scientific and research-focused approach led to a unique, light, refreshing, clean, and functional beverage. He shares how his past experience had made him extremely reluctant to become an entrepreneur until he got positive support and feedback from friends and family. Jamba also discusses how he started Rowdy Mermaid, the importance of being selective about the words used to position and market products, and how that impacts customer expectations.

[Greatest Hits] CPG Operations and Scaling with John Schiaroli, President and Founder at Armatura Company

2022-05-1925:161

We had many fantastic amazing guests on the Physical Product Movement podcast with unbelievable stories. And one of them was John Schiaroli, President and Founder of Armatura Company, which helps food and beverages entrepreneurs scale their businesses. With his decades of experience in food and beverage, John makes operations simple and scalable. He shared everything CPG entrepreneurs need to know about CPG operations, from the dos and don’ts of working with co-packers to the differences between brands that thrive and brands that fail. We had a fantastic conversation with John and decided to share it again.

#box-pro-ellipsis-176065731868298{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}The Physical Product Movement