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Dear Citrus Diaries
Dear Citrus Diaries
Author: Lauren Hodgen
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© Lauren Hodgen
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Each episode, I'll sit down with inspiring founders + creatives who are making waves in the CPG food and beverage world. From innovative entrepreneurs to trailblazing executives to game changing creatives, we delve into their stories and who they are outside of their title. Get ready to be inspired, empowered, and equipped with the insights you need to succeed in the kitchen and your career.
@citrusdiaries.studio | citrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.com
@citrusdiaries.studio | citrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.com
128 Episodes
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Michael Tashman is the Founder and CEO of Churn Foods, the butter brand combining the finest grass-fed European-style butter with the highest quality ingredients. He entered the culinary world starting as a line cook while playing football at The University of Miami, and went on to attend both Japanese and French culinary schools. In 2020, Tashman launched Churn bringing a fresh, innovative take on butter to the American market. Churn’s butter offers chef crafted tools to home cooks across the US through sweet and savory flavored European-style butters. IG churnfoods | churnfoods.com Find Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Maura Duggan is the founder and CEO of Fancypants, a delicious crispy cookie brand using high-quality ingredients with an elevated twist. She originally started Fancypants as a decorative cookie company in Massachusetts in 2004, along with creating her own manufacturing facility to ensure quality control and scale the business. Maura evolved the company with her husband and COO Justin Housman into a premium CPG cookie brand in December 2023. With sustainability top of mind for Maura, she’s proud that Fancypants is a zero-waste, upcycled cookie brand. We chat all about the journey Maura has taken on the past 20+ years, her latest evolution, and the growing importance of upcycled goods in CPG products + manufacturing. IG: fancypantsbaker | fancypantsbakery.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Get Golden is founded by home cook and New York City ballerina of over a decade, Jenelle Manzi (Ballerina Journal).After battling injuries and food allergies throughout her career, Jenelle has turned to food to savor, fuel, and heal. In that, she channeled her own experiences and knack for precision to create a snack company where health & indulgence go hand-in-hand—a feeling she likes to call gold.During our conversation we chatted about Jenelle’s balance between being a professional ballerina and brand owner. Diving into what her routines look like, why building a products fueled by great ingredients was so important, how she finds balance in the craziness, and more. IG: getgolden | getgolden.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Life has been pretty stressful lately. From working and going to school virtually, not seeing friends in a year, and just feeling trapped in general. Someone recently messaged me on Instagram asking what are some positive things that have happened in my life recently. Which gave me a moment to reflect on all the things I should be thankful for, click play to hear all about it! Go to the Ep. 2 podcast post on IG and comment some positive things that have happened in your life :)New episode every Tuesday at 9am EST. 🎙🍊✨ Find me:Instagram // Pinterest // Facebook // Citrus Diaries Playlist // hello@citrusdiaries.com
Find out who the voice behind the Citrus Diaries podcast is!New episode every Tuesday at 9am EST. 🎙🍊✨Find Me:Instagram // Pinterest // Facebook // Citrus Diaries Playlist // hello@citrusdiaries.com
Max is the co-founder and CEO of Plink! and based out of Burlington, VT where he lives with his wife and three kids. Before co-founding Plink!, Max spent a decade at global trend firm TrendWatching, where he helped companies like Google, PepsiCo, Disney, and Target innovate for the future. As Director of Trends & Insights, he led a global team across three continents and co-authored the book Trend-Driven Innovation (Wiley). He's also started a record label and a VR company.Plink! is reimagining hydration with fizzy, flavorful tablets made by two dads who wanted something better for their families and the planet. Designed for everyday wellbeing, Plink! delivers just-right electrolytes with only 1g of sugar, no artificial ingredients, and zero plastic waste. The brand’s joyful approach to hydration has earned recognition — including BevNET’s New Beverage Showdown win — and distribution in 1,100 CVS stores, GNC, Bristol Farms and more.IG drinkplink | drinkplink.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Dr. Erin Stokes, ND believes that transformation begins when we reconnect with the healing power of nature. As a Naturopathic Doctor for 20+ years, Erin has dedicated her career to translating complex health concepts into actionable insights that empower people on their healing journey. Dr. Erin Stokes earned her Naturopathic Medicine degree from Bastyr University in 2001, and worked with individuals in her private practice, Lotus Naturopathic Clinic for over a decade.At WishGarden Herbs, we believe in the profound power of plants and herbs to maintain healthy lives. Our mission is to help empower people to own their health by formulating fast-acting legendary herbal tinctures for everyday life. Our herbal remedies are crafted for those real-life moments when you need a simple swift kick of nature to rebalance and revitalize.Find Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Alyse Borkan has been one of the brains behind building some of the fastest-growing startups in recent years including Billie, Casper, and SoulCycle, and now Rocco. Rocco was founded in New York by startup vets Alyse Borkan and Sam Naparstek after realizing just how outdated the home appliance space really was, especially when it came to fridges. At the same time, drinks were getting more interesting at home: think canned cocktails, non-alcoholic aperitivos, and sparkling everything. So they launched The Super Smart Fridge just more than a year ago, and basically created a whole new category: a design-forward, tech-powered drinks fridge made for hosting.IG roccofridge | roccofridge.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
When Hannah was first introduced to matcha by a friend who had spent time in Japan, it was love at first sip. The energy she felt was unlike anything she’d experienced before: alert, yet calm. As she did more research, she found that most matcha companies at the time offered little-to-no visibility into their matcha’s origin. This matcha was often blended at a distributor using leaves from various farms, making it near-impossible to identify the original source.Matchaful is a female-founded purveyor of sustainable botanical nutrition that nourishes mind, body and spirit. Inspired by ancient Japanese principles, Matchaful’s intentional and creative menu seeks to nourish, restore and delight. We exist to ground you in the moment and empower you with every sip and bite.IG chiefmatchaofficer , matchaful | matchaful.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Intro: Ed Schultz, President and CEO of Hawaiian Host GroupEd Schultz has been President of Hawaiian Host Group since 2018 and became President and CEO in 2020. For more than 50 years, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts has been serving up macadamia-powered paradise by the handful to consumers across the U.S., Canada and beyond. Founded in Kea’au on Hawai’i Island and now headquartered in Honolulu, Mauna Loa is the nation’s leading macadamia nut brand.IG maunaloamacnut | hawaiianhost.com/pages/maunaloaArshdeep Toor transitioned from a career in investment banking to creating a better-for-you pistachio butter brand.Stesh Butter is committed to transforming the nut butter category and making pistachio butter better. They are on a mission to offer a perfect blend of nutrition and flavor - a healthy and delicious pistachio butter that you can indulge freely by the spoonful and feel good about! Their pistachio butter is vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and palm/seed oil-free; it’s made of all-natural ingredients and packed with 6g of protein in each serving.IG getstesh | steshbutter.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Teddy Kim is a writer and founder based in Los Angeles. He is the co-founder of Last Call, an alcohol wellness startup inspired by products in Korea and Japan.He writes an entertainment column for Emily Sundberg’s Feed Me newsletter, focusing on the intersection of entertainment and technology, and also writes his own newsletter, first Derivative.Last Call is an alcohol wellness startup founded in Los Angeles, offering a dietary supplement to aid recovery after drinking. Inspired by Korean wellness practices, its product features dihydromyricetin (DHM), a natural extract from the Japanese raisin tree, alongside theanine, prickly pear, milk thistle, and B vitamins to boost alcohol metabolism, reduce hangover symptoms, and support liver health.IG try_lastcall | trylastcall.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Intro: Theo Terris, CEO of Uncle ArniesUncle Arnie’s is a California-born beverage company redefining the way people enjoy THC. Launched in 2020 with a mission to make cannabis approachable, affordable, and undeniably fun, Uncle Arnie’s has quickly become one of the best-selling cannabis beverage brands in the U.S. IG unclearnies | unclearnies.comFrancesca Salac, Head of Brand Marketing North America of Minor FiguresMinor Figures is a global brand developing best-in-class plant-based beverages designed to take you on a taste trip. Founded by coffee-loving friends and baristas for a better planet, Minor Figures is creating a future worth saving — crafting tomorrow’s beverage innovations with the biggest impact and smallest environmental footprint. IG minorfigures | us.minorfigures.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Big Spoon Roasters was founded by husband-and-wife team Mark and Megan Overbay. The duo shared a love for nut butter: Mark, having spent time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zimbabwe, originally learned how to hand-make his favorite food, peanut butter, while living abroad, and Megan's experience as an endurance athlete led her to craft her own nutrient-dense nut butter bars that both tasted good and fueled her training.Big Spoon Roasters is a small-batch food company handcrafting innovative, wholesome nut butters and bars with thoughtfully sourced ingredients in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Operating since 2011, Big Spoon Roasters is proudly independently owned and operated.IG bigspoonroasters | bigspoonroasters.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Jane Coxwell is a globally trained chef and the founder of OKO, with a career that spans cooking in the South of France and Southeast Asia to more than a decade as Diane von Furstenberg’s private chef and head chef aboard the super yacht Eos. Known for her elegant, vibrant approach to real food, Jane began creating fresh vegetable blends to help a close friend nourish herself through health challenges. Those recipes became the foundation of OKO. Today, Jane brings her deep culinary expertise to crafting organic, chef-developed vegetable blends that make eating more vegetables effortless, flavorful, and deeply satisfying.OKO is a chef-founded food company dedicated to making healthy, plant-based eating effortless and delicious. Its fresh, organic vegetable blends are crafted to be vibrantly flavorful and endlessly versatile—ready to scoop, sauce, dip, or stir into meals with no prep required.IG okofoodco | okofood.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Intro: Importance of fair sourcing + ethical pay in the coca industry as we ramp up for Valentine's DayTaza co-founder and CEO Alex Whitmore took his first bite of stone ground chocolate while traveling in Oaxaca, Mexico. Inspired by its rustic intensity, he learned to hand-carve granite millstones and built the Taza Chocolate factory back home in Somerville, Massachusetts with his wife, co-founder Kathleen Fulton in 2005.IG tazachocolate | tazachocolate.comHaylee Jordan of FABRICFABRIC is a premium, THC-infused Aussie Hop Fizz. We’re here to spark creativity, bring people together, and create meaningful social impact where we can. We like to say we’re on a mission to unf*ck tomorrow, because the world’s on fire. We give 2% to mental health initiatives and work to marry profit and purpose.Haylee brings over a decade of brand strategy and identity design to her newest venture: co-founding a CPG brand with two fellow founders that marries profit and purpose.IG drinkfabric | drinkfabric.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Jessica Hamel has never played by the rules—whether running ultramarathons, racing sailboats, or shaking up the food world. Now, with PlantChi, she’s ditching the wellness fuss and making nutrition effortless, rebellious, and straight-up good.PlantChi is a middle finger to complicated wellness trends, a love letter to nature, and an open invitation to embrace what’s real. PlantChi is a line of seasonings with benefits. We take nutrient-dense superseeds and pair them with craveable ingredients like nutritional yeast and seaweed to create toppings that let you sprinkle in a little wellness without turning your life upside down.what we chat about:You’ve gone from ultramarathons and sailboat racing to building food brands—what through-line connects all of those chapters, and how did that mindset shape PlantChi?PlantChi leans into “ritual over routine.” What does that distinction mean to you, and how can food rituals help people actually stick with healthier habits?IG plantchi.life | plantchi.lifeFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Ben Jacobsen is the founder of Jacobsen Salt Co., the Oregon-based artisan salt company he started in 2011 to bring world-class sea salt to American kitchens. After studying and working in Scandinavia, where he first discovered the transformative impact of high-quality finishing salts, Ben returned to Oregon and spent years experimenting with sea water from dozens of Pacific Northwest sites before settling on Netarts Bay for its uniquely bright salinity.Under his leadership, Jacobsen Salt Co. became the first company in the Pacific Northwest to revive traditional salt harvesting, combining meticulous sourcing and small-batch techniques to create salts noted for their delicate crunch and pure briny flavor.IG jacobsensaltco | jacobsensalt.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Guittard Chocolate Company is a historic American chocolate maker founded in 1868 by French immigrant Étienne Guittard during the California Gold Rush. What began as a small San Francisco shop quickly grew into a respected confectionery business, and today Guittard stands as the oldest continuously family-owned and operated chocolate company in the United States, now based in Burlingame, California and led by fourth and fifth-generation family members.what we chat about:As CMO, you oversee both marketing and brand development. How do you balance honoring Guittard’s long history with innovating to stay relevant in today’s chocolate market?Guittard is known for working closely with both professional chefs and home bakers. How does this dual focus influence your marketing strategies and product development?IG guittard.chocolate | guittard.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Vincent Ricchiuti of Enzo’s TableAs the fourth generation of his Italian-American farming family, Vincent Ricchiuti was naturally drawn to the family business. A native of Fresno, CA, he spent his formative years working alongside his father and grandfather in the family’s diversified agricultural business.For more than a century, the Ricchiuti Family has diligently worked the land in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley with a goal to sustainably grow, produce, and harvest premium fruit, nuts, and more recently, estate grown award-winning ENZO Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.IG enzos.table | enzostable.comIntro Segment: Loonen’s Launch 💧Meet Loonen. The cleanest, most transparent bottled water on earth. The brand comes from Clara Sieg, a venture investor turned founder who spent years backing category-defining consumer brands and realized water, the most basic product in our lives, was still the least transparent. She built Loonen with operator David Kimmell (ex-Spindrift) to bring accountability and design integrity to the category.Learn more in my chat with Clara!Find Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Floura (Co-Founder + CEO); Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (Founder) Jeni Britton is an American entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author. She founded Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in an Ohio farmers' market in 2002, transforming it from a small shop into a beloved national brand. Underscoring her commitment to wellbeing and sustainability, Jeni's latest venture, Floura., reinvents fresh produce trimmings as delicious nutrient-dense food with the intent to help close the dietary fiber gap in America.Kemma Kefalas, Yahoo’s Creative Lab DirectorJust in time for the holidays, Yahoo & cult-favorite olive oil brand Graza are teaming up on a drop that gives a nod to the ultimate keyboard warriors in our lives: loud typers.They debuted “Sssshhhhizzle” Keyboard Oil, a tongue-in-cheek holiday gift set celebrating the quirks of modern office culture—and the people who make the most noise while getting things done. Hear more in my chat with Kemma!Find Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr









