Good Food Marketing with The Virginia Foodie Georgiana Dearing

I’m sure many of you can relate to this!We've all been through those big moments that suddenly shake up our lives and make us rethink everything – it could be an unexpected illness, a family emergency, a career setback, or even a surprise accident. These are the moments that can turn our world upside down in the blink of an eye.As a marketer, I totally get how these life-altering events can throw entrepreneurs into a loop. So, let's talk about what we, as entrepreneurs, should do when life hi...

“You don't know what you don't know until you're in it."Says Emily Harpster in our recent conversation about the growth of her ice cream brand, SugarBear Cville.And she is right. You really don’t know what you’re getting into unless you try it. No amount of planning and studying will make you totally ready (but of course, careful planning and strategizing will help a lot in managing your business)—because some things will always come as a surprise! Before Emily launched her craft food busines...

Summer 2020 was not the best, but we found pleasure in simple things: like big scoops of craft ice cream. In this episode, we are talking to the owners of Blue Cow, a craft ice cream business here in Virginia. Husband and wife team Jason and Carolyn Kiser offer their insights on what it takes to run a small food business, and for them, it’s all about sourcing as many of their products as possible locally. Their philosophy is one of using wholesome ingredients that are produced in the area and...

Just a few months after our last conversation, Emily Harspter of SugarBear Cville is back on the podcast to give us the latest updates about the progress of her ice cream brand.It’s truly an adventure, she says, to be a one-woman team who has now grown the brand by partnering with seven individual businesses. But it’s a rollercoaster ride worthy to be enjoyed nonetheless.In this sweet conversation, Emily will take us on her journey of growing her good food brand, what she is currently doing, ...

One of the scariest (or bravest) things a food brand could do is go straight from a recipe idea to the shelf. No market testing or selling in a specialty store. It’s every startup’s dream - or nightmare if done poorly!Emily Harpster of SugarBear Cville has done just that, and her story is a great opportunity to learn about a startup retail brand in the very early stages of development. In this episode, we speak about some of the challenges most startup food brands face and why vision and dete...

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” says a popular adage.We like to think we can see past a first impression, but that’s not always the case. And in CPG sales, it’s rarely true. Plenty of shopper research shows how fickle consumers can be right at the last moment of putting your products into their cart – whether it’s in real life or online.Your packaging has to do some heavy lifting: Your entire brand story needs to be available for split-second decisions. Packaging is the silent salesman for...