Brand Start Goes Healthy - Brand Development for Better-for-You Food and Beverage CPG Podcast Brand Start

Driving product trials is critical to boost CPG sales. It's how you generate awareness, get customers to taste your product, and gain consumer feedback. But it can be a tough and costly game.



In this episode, Leonard talks to Mario West, founder & CEO of West Food Brands, to talk about how they are leveraging free samples to acquire customers.



Listen to this episode to learn:

1) What are the inexpensive ways to validate your product?

2) How can you generate 100% ROI with your product sampling?

3) Why competitive scan can be a game-changer for CPG start-ups?

4) How can you market your product differently?

5) What are the pitfalls to avoid to succeed more with Amazon?



Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. Learn more about Mario and his brand and businesses at https://westfoodbrands.net/.

Operating a CPG company has many components and you need to pull the right levers and set the right systems to anticipate and drive growth. 


In this special episode, Jessi Freitag, CPG consultant and host of the Start-Up CPG Podcast joined Leonard to tackle all things CPG operations to help founders scale their brands. 

Listen to this conversation to learn: 

1) What are the operational changes that can bring huge impact to a CPG company?

2) What are the systems and tools that can help increase efficiencies?

3) How do you overcome common scaling challenges that CPG founders face?

4) Why is branding important in growing a CPG company?

5) What is the number 1 success quality of a CPG founder? 


Subscribe to the podcast if you find this helpful. Learn more about Jessi and how she can help you run your operations at https://jessifreitag.com/. 

You can also check the Start-Up CPG podcast in all platforms.

Capitalization is a constant concern for every CPG company. Funding challenges come almost on an annual basis. 

In this episode, Leonard is joined by Aaron Gailmor, founder & CEO of Brass Roots, who shared his experiences in raising funds and managing cash requirements for his better-for-you F&B brand.



Listen to this conversation to learn:


1) What are the underappreciated costs of building a CPG brand?

2) How do you drive product trial and build brand affinity?

3) What mindset shifts are happening on CPG profitability?

4) What is the biggest challenge for early-stage CPG brands?

5) How do you overcome obstacles as a CPG founder? 



Be sure to subscribe to show if you find this helpful and help other CPG founders by sharing this podcast. Also, learn more about and support Aaron's company at https://brassrootsfood.com/.

Being an early-stage CPG brand is tough but it can have many advantages if you know how to leverage them.

In this episode, Christina Drake, founder of Willa's Oat Milk, joined Leonard to share her journey in building a better-for-you plant-based milk brand. She talked about the strategies and tactics that she employed to thrive against bigger brands in their category.Listen to this episode to learn:1) Why is it important to understand business positioning as a CPG start-up?2) How do you launch with limited resources and still thrive?3) What are the important branding principles that can help you succeed?4) Which growth levers should you focus on as an early-stage brand?5) How do you validate your business assumptions as a CPG founder?Subscribe to this podcast if you find this episode helpful. Learn more about and support Christina's company at www.willaskitchen.com.P.S. Enjoy a 30% discount when you buy their products by using the promo code mentioned at the end of the conversation.

Integrating brand and product development can lead to a differentiated CPG product, especially in highly competitive categories. This was the strategy of Unite, a better-for-you protein bar with flavors that are inspired by global cultures.



In this episode, Leonard is joined by its co-founder and CEO, Clara Paye, who shared how they are able to differentiate their brand and gain market share against bigger protein bar companies.



Listen to this episode to learn:

1) How can you leverage product flavors to be a unique CPG brand?

2) How do you become strategic with SKU expansion?

3) Why is having a bigger brand purpose important for better-for-you products?

4) How do you grow from 0 to 4,000 doors in sales channels?

5) How can you use being a smaller CPG company to your advantage? Subscribe to the podcast if you like this episode.



Learn more about Clara's company at https://unitefood.com/.

Many better-for-you CPG founders consider retail and DTC as main sales platforms but there are several other viable sales channels that brands can take advantage of.



In this episode, Leonard is joined by Matt Cotton, CEO of Rooted Food Sales, where they discussed strategies and tactics to grow sales for CPG brands by widening their reach through food service channels.



Listen if you want to learn about:

1) What are the 6 major sales channels in the area of food service that are viable for CPG brands?

2) What are the core strategies in expanding your sales distribution?

3) When and how do you start working with brokerage firms?

4) What is an effective pitch tactic to get your products in stores?

5) What are the advantages of food service sales channels?



Subscribe to the podcast if you find this episode helpful.

Learn more about Matt's company at www.rootedfoodsales.com.