BRAVE COMMERCE Adweek Podcast Network

In this episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, hosts Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter sit down with Michael Rosenberg, founder and CEO of PIM Brands, to explore the fascinating journey of his company. Initially founded as "Promotion in Motion" with the idea of advertising on tractor trailers, Rosenberg's company has transformed into one of North America's leading confectionery businesses. He shares the intriguing backstory of how a licensing deal with Columbia Pictures for Annie-shaped cookies marked the beginning of their success in the food and candy industry, eventually leading to their rebranding as PIM Brands. Rosenberg emphasizes the importance of adaptability and innovation, crucial elements that have driven the company's growth and evolution over the years.
Rosenberg delves into the strategic pillars that have fueled PIM Brands' impressive 15% annual growth for over four decades. He outlines the company's focus on five key areas: innovation, consumption, distribution, promotion, and exportation. By maintaining a pulse on market trends, investing in technology, and expanding globally, PIM Brands has successfully navigated the ever-changing landscape of the confectionery industry. Rosenberg also highlights the significance of having a talented team and fostering a culture of continuous learning, which has been instrumental in achieving sustained growth and profitability.
Additionally, the episode touches on the personal aspects of running a family business, with Rosenberg's children now joining the company and bringing fresh perspectives and leadership. He shares his passion for the business and his approach to maintaining energy and enthusiasm after decades in the industry. Rosenberg's story is not just about building a successful company but also about creating a legacy that combines innovation, family values, and a genuine love for bringing moments of joy to consumers through their products. Tune in for a compelling conversation about resilience, strategic growth, and the sweet success of PIM Brands.
Takeaways:

Strategic Growth Through Innovation: Learn how PIM Brands has maintained a 15% annual growth rate by focusing on five strategic pillars: innovation, consumption, distribution, promotion, and exportation.Adaptability and Market Awareness: Discover the importance of staying ahead of market trends, investing in technology, and expanding globally to navigate the ever-changing landscape of the confectionery industry.Family Business Dynamics: Gain insights into the benefits and challenges of running a family business, as well as the role of passion and enthusiasm in driving long-term success and building a lasting legacy.
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Loretta Franks, Global Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Kellanova, started her career at Kellogg’s seventeen years ago. Thanks to a recent spinoff, she now works at a company with a 118 year legacy that is also a start-up. In this conversation, recorded live on June 4th, 2024 at Shoptalk Europe in Barcelona, Loretta shares the experience of managing IT through the separation of Kellonova from WK Kellogg Co as well as how she successfully leads a data and analytics organization across 180 countries and an extensive array of product categories.
In spinning off Kellanova, Loretta oversaw the transition of 300 different IT systems, the creation of 7K+ individual user IDs, and did so while maintaining the supportive and fun culture that kept her at the company for so many years. The success of these transitions required that all bets were off as far as silos “We had a job to do and that was to make sure that we continued to supply our customers, continued to delight our consumers, and continued to keep running the business.”
Despite the 118 year legacy of the Kellogg’s brand, Kellanova is facing the future with a startup mentality and this perspective shift also triggered a cultural shift. The company added courage to its key values of accountability and integrity and they shaped their strategy in order to differentiate, drive and deliver. When it comes to data and analytics in particular, Loretta focuses on the business need or problem and backs their processes, tools, and goals into those needs. 
Every day requires thoughtful prioritization to meet the needs of so many brands across so many markets. Loretta balances speed, risk and value in order to help her team address organizational needs and assess new opportunities successfully. She emphasizes the need for strong partnerships to succeed in a cross-functional role.
Key Takeaways:
Focus on what you are trying to achieve and finding the right solution for itIn a time of change, transparency and teamwork are the keys to successLook after your talent and ensure they have a career path

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Over the years, BRAVE COMMERCE hosts Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter have made it a point to focus on the experiences and stories of their guests, and not themselves. As a result, they have never used this platform to highlight the work they do in their day-to-day roles: Rachel as the Founder and CEO of MikMak and Sarah as the President of Profitero.
 
This episode, recorded on stage at the recent BRAVE COMMERCE Live event in NYC, features the professional wisdom these two industry leaders bring to their work every day.
 
Rachel launched MikMak with the strong belief that the boom in D2C did not signal the end of retail, but instead the need for enterprise brands to connect more directly with their consumers. As many challenger brands have moved into stores, their legacy competitors feel an even greater need to show up where their customers are spending time, and convert them effectively. MikMak creates shoppable experiences that put brands in the driver's seat with consumers. In turn, MikMak provides the data needed for these brands to make smarter marketing decisions. Additionally, this data strengthens brands positioning with the 7,000+ retailers in MikMak’s network. After a year that included two major acquisitions and several new partnerships, MikMak is better positioned than ever to empower the world’s brands to grow commerce-first, and to succeed in the emerging era of intelligent commerce.
 
Sarah’s company, Profitero, is the leading global commerce acceleration company offering a flexible suite of intelligence-driven solutions so that brands can grow profitably. Their integrated digital shelf analytics, shelf-intelligent activation and advisory services empower brands to optimize product availability, discoverability, and maximize conversions across 1,200+ retailers in 70 countries. With Sarah at the helm, Profitero has been recognized as the #1 Digital Shelf Provider by DCG, deemed a customer favorite on G2, and identified as an integral part of Publicis Groupe’s recognition as a commerce leader in the Forrester Wave™.  
 
After [finally] introducing their companies, Rachel and Sarah shift the discussion to the trends they are seeing in commerce and in the market including:
 
● The consumer is more digitally connected than ever before – 8 in 10 consumers say retail purchases are influenced by digital touchpoints (Profitero)
● 66% of traffic (as measured by MikMak) comes from Social, and the majority of that is from Meta
● Amazon is losing against Walmart when it comes to grocery, 50% decline in Amazon grocery traffic in the past 90 days (MikMak)
● There is a clear trend of shrinking basket size (MikMak), but profitability remains a priority with brands reporting a 116% increase in a dedicated focus on pricing and promotions (Profitero)
 
The market is different. To succeed in the era of intelligent commerce requires brands to beat the market where it is today. You’ve got the information and collaborative partnerships will help you understand what to do with it. Stay tuned for future episodes from BRAVE COMMERCE Live featuring the superstars of commerce.

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In his 13 years with the company, Sean Adams, SVP of Digital Commerce at Utz Quality Foods, LLC, the operating company of Utz Brands, Inc., has boiled their approach down to this simple philosophy: “Build sales overnight and brands over time.”
While that philosophy might be simple, succeeding at it is anything but. It starts by understanding the who and when of snacking. There are all kinds of consumers:  foodies, functional eaters, adventurers. There are also all kinds of times for a snack: on-the-go, with friends, fueling activities, and more. Sean knows that success comes from aligning the Utz brand portfolio with the consumer and with the occasion.
According to Sean, “once someone tries Utz, they love Utz” therefore a big part of expansion is to reach consumers who might not otherwise have thought of trying their products. Search has been key to this bottom of the funnel marketing. They pair search with a balance of retail and social media in order to increase amplification. This combination of channels provides multiple venues by which to educate consumers about their products, especially in new markets.
As a legacy brand with an embedded culture of in-store sales and discovery, internal storytelling is key to getting buy-in for digital initiatives. Sean uses the same skill set that helps him cut through the noise with consumers to cut through internal noise when influencing internal stakeholders.
As a self-taught marketer with an entrepreneurial spirit, Sean focuses on finding a message that resonates with his target audience, and that focus has helped him lead Utz to become the fastest-growing salty snack brand of scale in eCommerce according to Circana 1.
Key Takeaways:
Build sales overnight and brands over timeStorytelling is your most powerful tool to get buy-in with consumers and internal stakeholdersKnow your objectives and ensure that your investments are serving them 

1 Circana (Total E-Commerce with ePOS EMI-RMA Latest 26 Week Period Ending 4-21-24)

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Early in his career, Dan O’Leary realized that “If you don’t find some different paths, you’re not going to stand out at all.” Even though he has worked at a series of CPG and food companies, he has made a point of raising his hand for the complicated and unpopular opportunities. These choices gave him the opportunity to stretch, feel uncomfortable, and thus differentiate himself. 
A role at Mizkan, followed by taking a role with Hostess gave Dan the opportunity to lean into his passion for building. Whether it be building brands, building teams, or building strategy, Dan considers himself a builder first. 
One key to building brands is increasing household penetration and Dan learned to have a maniacal focus on customer acquisition during his time at Digitas. He shares a story about taking a whole new approach to increase usage for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. He took the lead from the consumer and embraced learnings about how they were using the product to create a new marketing strategy.
As a leader, Dan prioritizes communication. Even when he thinks he’s communicating too much, he has often realized he could do a little more. Now at J.M. Smucker, Dan sends a weekly email to keep the team informed about progress, united around goals, and clear about their next steps and objectives. 
Mentorship both from his leaders and from his team has been key to helping Dan grow as a leader. One mentor, Jill Baskin, former CMO of Hershey’s, helped him realize that there are “a lot of times when good can be good enough and a lot of times when great is not good enough and you have to strive for excellent.” Another mentor was someone who reports to Dan and whose example of balancing parenthood and career helped Dan think about how to make the right trade-offs when he became a father.
Key Takeaways:
Take opportunities to differentiate yourself and your resumeListen to and learn from your consumer about how they use your productModel balance to help your team make the right trade offs for themselves

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In this episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, Ben Goodwin, Co-Founder, CEO, and Formulator of OLIPOP, joins hosts Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter to offer insights into the challenges and strategies involved in creating products that bring both enjoyment and health benefits to consumers.
As the conversation begins, Ben shares his early experiences consuming a standard American diet and dealing with health issues, which led him to focus on nutrition from a young age. This early interest guided him into the beverage industry, specifically focusing on functional beverages and probiotics. He shares how his work in kombucha and other fermented beverages sparked his fascination with the microbiome, the brain-gut axis, and their impact on cognitive function and emotional stability.
Ben then delves into OLIPOP's origins, explaining how the product is designed to mimic traditional soda while providing health benefits through fiber, prebiotics, and nutritional diversity. OLIPOP is positioned as the first fiber, prebiotic, functional soda on the market, aiming to offer consumers the familiar soda experience while improving their health.
The conversation touches on the challenges and strategies involved in creating a new market category, including the brand's focus on distribution, pricing, and accessibility. Ben explains OLIPOP's partnerships with insurance providers to make the product more accessible to those in high-need groups, as well as its participation in SNAP and its eligibility for HSA and FSA spending.
Ben also discusses OLIPOP's social media presence, particularly its successful use of TikTok as a marketing platform. He shares how the brand leveraged influencers and creative content to connect with younger audiences, as well as the balance between low and high funnel marketing strategies. Ben also sheds light on his approach to brand building including a focus on longevity, reflected in investments in channels like out-of-home advertising and connected TV.
Key takeaways: 
● Understand and address consumer needs with empathy and without judgment
● Balance affordability and accessibility in product distribution
● Invest in strategies that prioritize brand longevity through genuine storytelling and brand


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