We have Eric Pierce, Director of Business Insights for New Hope Network. If you’ve been following the podcast, we had Eric on the show back at episode 19.

It’s been one of our most popular episodes so we asked Eric to come back on the show to share some more insights on trends and he graciously obliged.

Eric is incredibly talented in helping entrepreneurs and companies uncover opportunities in the market, and I always walk away from our conversations feeling more in tune with what’s happening emerging in the industry.

In this episode, Eric answers the following questions:

• What trends are providing big growth potential in food and beverage?
• How can you test new product concepts without breaking the bank?
• Could retailers benefit from thinking more like Zara or H&M?

 And plenty more…

 So let’s go chat with Eric..

Today, we're talking with Ben Fenton of Boulder Food Group about the do's and don'ts if you're looking for outside investment for your food or beverage company.

Ben is a VP over at BFG, which if you're not familiar with this firm, is a venture capital group that partners with early stage food and beverage brands, and they partner with some brands like Barnana, Birch Benders, Chameleon Cold-Brew and plenty more.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What firms like BFG consider potential red flags when assessing potential brand partners
• Which metrics on your income statement are the most important to investors
• What founder attributes make you more marketable to VC's

...and plenty more.

If seeking outside funding is on the horizon for your company, you'll have plenty to learn from Ben in this episode.

Book Recommendations:

The Book of Joy - Archbishop Desmond Tutu Dalai Lama

Today we’re talking with Koel Thomae, Founder of Noosa Yoghurt.

I’m sure you’ve seen the Noosa brand in the thousands of stores they’re in across the country, and today, Koel discusses what it was like growing the business with an extremely tight budget.

Before partnering with an investment firm, Koel and her business partner had bootstrapped their way to a projected $100M a year in revenue. Everyone loves to talk about big investments and overnight successes, which is why I wanted to dig into the early years of Noosa, what it was like growing the company in the early stages to where it is now.

In the episode, you’ll learn 

• How flexibility in your growth strategy can actually be a good thing
• Why tactically picking your retail partners is essential in scaling a food startup
• How to market a brand with a small team and small budget

And plenty more…

Books Mentioned in the Episode

Penguin Bloom

On the show today, we have Tripp Hughes, Director of Brand Management for a company whose marketing I absolutely love, Organic Valley.

Organic Valley seems to have figured out the recipe behind viral marketing content, and before the interview, I wondered how they consistently put out content that was on brand, and always felt so genuine.

You’ll get to hear more about it in just a second, but Organic Valley’s business model is extremely unique. With some context, you'll start to understand why their marketing is so strong.

In the episode with Tripp, you’ll learn…

• Why transparency is crucial in building a successful company
• How to empower your team to create great marketing that’s on-brand
• Why listening to your customers is essential to launching strong campaigns

And plenty more…

Book Recommendation:

Let My People Go Surfing - Yvon Chouinard