Fell Into Food Podcast

Vinny Wilson is the Co-Founder of NO CAP! Soda Pop, a next-generation beverage brand bringing bold, nostalgic flavors to the modern soda category. After working with fast-growing brands like PRIME Hydration and Alani Nu, Vinny launched NO CAP! with his father in 2024. Delivering bold 16 oz flavors paired with zero sugar, zero calories, zero caffeine, and electrolytes, the brand generated $1.26 million in first-year revenue and has expanded to more than 4,000 active retail accounts and thousands of doors nationwide.In this episode of Fell Into Food, Jeff sits down with Vinny to break down what it really takes to launch and scale a beverage brand in one of the most cutthroat categories in CPG. Before starting his own company, Vinny moved from Southern California to a freezing Minnesota winter—accidentally living in the back of a pawn shop Airbnb—to take an entry-level field sales role with Congo Brands. After becoming their #1 sales rep and scaling into the National Field Sales Trainer role overseeing 500 reps across the country, he spotted a massive gap in the cooler: every modern "better-for-you" soda was fighting over millennial women with soft, pastel 12 oz cans, completely ignoring Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and male convenience-store shoppers.Born out of an Urban Dictionary joke over turkey burgers at a family backyard barbecue, NO CAP! Soda Pop flipped the script. Vinny shares how he and his dad (a 30-year beverage industry veteran) formulated 13 flavors in under a month, why they skipped lighting money on fire with Meta ads to lock in heavyweight licensing deals with SOUR PUNCH, ICEE, Albanese Gummies, and Country Time, and how their bold 16 oz cans pass the ultimate "Mom and Dad label turn" test. We also dive into their boots-on-the-ground guerilla sampling strategy—handing out 300,000 cans at the X Games and US Open of Surfing—and why K–12 school nutrition is the next major frontier on their roadmap.Website: https://drinknocapsoda.com/Instagram: @nocapsodapopLinkedIn: Vinny WilsonChapters00:10 – The Engine Room: Moving to Minnesota, living in a pawn shop Airbnb, and scaling PRIME Hydration sales from 30 to 500 reps.03:05 – Spotting the Gap: Recognizing that Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and male C-store shoppers were completely ignored by pastel, millennial-focused modern sodas.05:07 – The BBQ Origin: How an Urban Dictionary joke at a family turkey burger dinner sparked the "NO CAP!" name.08:41 – The Parent Test: Designing loud 16 oz cans that grab kids on the front while passing the zero-sugar, zero-caffeine back label test.11:13 – Fast Formulation: Working with top-tier formulators to lock in the name, packaging, and 13 flavors in under 30 days.12:37 – The Licensing Playbook: Skipping expensive Meta ads by partnering with Albanese, ICEE, Country Time, and SOUR PUNCH to drive instant C-store velocity.16:36 – The SOUR PUNCH Collab: Translating iconic sour-then-sweet candy flavors into four zero-sugar soda options.21:31 – Guerilla Sampling: Handing out 300,000 cans and sharing the podium with Monster and Red Bull at the X Games and US Open of Surfing.26:21 – Schools & 2027 Expansion: Bringing compliant beverages to K–12 athletics and pushing past Walmart, Kroger, and H-E-B into the Midwest and East Coast.Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comUntil next time we’ll catch you on the Sunny Side!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Brittney Miller is the President and second-generation owner of Manchester Farms, America’s oldest and largest quail farm, where she has helped transform her family’s South Carolina operation into a nationwide supplier of quail and quail eggs. A Clemson University graduate with a B.S. in Poultry Science, Miller grew up on the farm before building experience in animal health and fine dining, then returning home to take the reins of the family business. Today, she leads every facet of the operation, combining her poultry expertise, foodservice experience, and entrepreneurial approach to grow the specialty quail market while preserving her family’s agricultural legacy.This week, Brittney sits down with Jeff to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to scale an heirloom game bird farm from a small family operation into a $20 million commercial powerhouse. We dig into the realities of multi-generational succession, the challenges of commercial barn husbandry, and how Manchester Farms unlocked massive retail growth by distributing over 50 million quail eggs a year. Plus, Brittney shares practical culinary knowledge every chef and home cook needs—from the 3:1 baking ratio and the foolproof trick to peeling quail eggs, to why you need specialized scissors and what’s ahead for ready-to-eat sous-vide confit quail.Website: manchesterfarms.comInstagram: @manchesterquailTikTok: @manchesterquailFacebook: Manchester Farms QuailYouTube: @manchesterfarmsquail1102Chapters00:00 – Intro: Growing up on America’s oldest commercial quail farm05:12 – The Campbell Soup job offer and walking away for hunting season07:16 – Early days of Manchester Farms, trade shows, and distribution growth10:15 – Clemson Poultry Science, corporate gigs, and the Vail ski club detour13:37 – Navigating family business dynamics and stepping into sole ownership17:50 – Scaling from $7M to $20M: Barn biology, risk tolerance, and agribusiness banking22:25 – The Quail Egg explosion: Nutrition profile, Costco rollout, and heritage Pharaoh genetics26:47 – The banana-peel trick and why you need quail egg scissors30:49 – Kitchen applications: 3:1 baking ratio, deviled eggs, and Brittney’s pan-fried hack34:36 – Kid food exploration, Jewel-Osco / Midwest retail distribution, and grocery buyer buy-in40:15 – Innovation pipeline: Sous-vide duck fat confit quail and grilling tips43:13 – Outro and closing thoughtsListen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comUntil next time, we’ll catch you on the sunny side!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Born into a poor family in Peru as the youngest of five children, Daniel Valverde’s path to winemaking began far from the vineyard. At nineteen, without a college degree, he followed his older siblings to the United States and took a job busing tables on weekends in New Jersey while juggling shifts at a local supermarket. Grinding his way across restaurant floors, he eventually made the leap to New York City to work at the historic steakhouse The Palm, rising through the ranks from server to floor manager, beverage manager, and eventually sales manager. It was there that he met fellow server Max, sparking a late-night pact to one day make wine together in Peru. Driven by an entrepreneurial streak forged in the US, Daniel later stepped away from the corporate dining world, survived a battle with thyroid cancer, and relocated to Puerto Rico on an impulse in 2021. There, he founded Green Rose Cleaners—scaling it from a solo hustle into the island’s highest-rated commercial and residential cleaning service. That venture provided the operational freedom to return home to Peru and finally fulfill his promise: founding Valtierro to prove that Peru’s heritage grapes belong on the world’s finest dining tables.Long before Valtierro existed, Daniel and his coworker Max made an offhand promise over shift drinks in Manhattan that they would one day make wine together. Daniel walks through the forgotten history that fueled that dream: how Peru actually produced wine before Chile and Argentina in the 1500s, why Spanish Crown tariffs and natural disasters crushed the industry, and the exact phone call a decade later that convinced Max to hop on a plane to Ica.Instead of raising millions to buy real estate, Daniel hit the road and scouted bodegas across southern Peru, landing in the high-desert valley of Tacna right on the Chilean border. He explains the art of tenant winemaking—how he convinced an independent, multigenerational grape farmer to sell him two tons of fruit and rent out cellar space so they could vinify on their own terms.Valtierro Website: https://www.valtierro.com/Valtierro Instagram: @valtierrowineEpisode Timestamps & Chapters00:00 – Intro: Welcome Daniel Valverde to Fell Into Food00:23 – Leaving Peru at 19: Busing tables and rising through NYC dining rooms01:40 – The 15-year pact with sommelier Max at The Palm02:20 – The lost history: Why Peru made wine before Chile and Argentina03:53 – Ground zero: Scouting Ica and sending the text that started Valtierro05:41 – The entrepreneurial mindset, early failures, and launching Green Rose Cleaners12:44 – Arriving in Tacna: Renting tanks and partnering with a generational grower14:55 – Bringing in 40 years of Argentine winemaking expertise15:36 – The Malbec of Peru? Why bet on Negra Criolla17:26 – Overcoming the Pisco legacy and leaning into fine dining momentum19:50 – The NYC restaurant story: Confronting the domestic wine stigma21:38 – The go-to-market: 1,500 bottles, allocation math, and scaling up24:20 – Direct-to-consumer club plans vs. retail placement25:09 – Rejecting tourist kitsch: Burgundy glass, clean labels, and wax stamps26:15 – Cellar details: 50% whole-cluster, manual picking, and nitrogen bottling28:44 – Pairing wine with Peruvian cuisine: What to ask your server30:00 – Full circle: What the 19-year-old busboy would say today31:05 – Where to find Valtierro and closing thoughtsListen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

First time in New Orleans, and I nearly choked on powdered sugar within the first hour. Worth it.Down for three days, so I did what I do and ate everything. I have opinions on the turtle soup (I grew up in the sticks, it's turtle soup, guys). I found a boudin egg roll that was one of my favorite thing I ate all trip. I walked Bourbon Street after everyone told me it'd be a disaster, and it wasn't. Best meal of the trip? Lufu which is Indian food. In New Orleans. Go figure.Go watch this one on YouTube, because me describing a plate of food with audio only gets old fast. Everything I mentioned is listed below. Tell me what I missed, because I'm going back, and next time it's crawfish season.Catch you on the sunny side.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Stephanie Noto is a Registered Dietitian, Child Nutrition Program, and School Food Expert. In partnership with school districts, Stephanie evaluates and enhances school meal programs by integrating sound nutrition principles with operational and sustainable best practices. Her career in school nutrition spans 17 years, self-employed as a consultant for the last 8 years. She brings experience as a former K12 Food Service Director, Regional Food Production Specialist, and National Support Resource for K12 operators, which has given her first hand view of the opportunities and challenges school food service teams face. Districts often struggle with staffing capacity, limited training, the complexity of institutional procurement, and the need to balance regulatory compliance with increased expectations around fresh, minimally processed ingredients.School nutrition is one of the most complex, misunderstood sectors in the entire culinary landscape. Between federal reimbursement guidelines, strict meal pattern requirements, and tight bottom lines, serving high-quality, scratch-cooked food to students is an uphill battle.In this episode, registered dietitian, former K-12 Food Service Director, and school food consultant Stephanie Noto (Noto Nutrition Consulting) breaks down the true state of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). We explore recent changes in USDA nutrition regulations—including added sugar limits and sodium tier targets—and unpack the execution disconnect that leads to "cop-out" meals like grab bags and mealy red delicious apples.Stephanie Noto’s Website: https://www.notonutrition.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notonutritionLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-noto-rd-cdn-sns-23410878/0:00 Intro: Meet Stephanie Noto1:14 State of school nutrition — what's changed in 3–5 years2:43 NSLP, SBP, and the sodium/sugar rollout explained6:23 The "compliant" lunch that isn't really a meal10:31 Self-op vs. contract management: the training gap13:49 Fixing the middle of the P&L17:45 Writing real food into the contract21:59 From 24-year-old regional resource to independent consultant27:19 Do chefs belong in school kitchens?32:01 Her fix: mandatory training before you get the jobListen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy