[00:00:10] Ray Latif: Hello, friends, and thanks for tuning in to another edition of Taste Radio, the number one podcast for The Good and beverage industry. I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of Taste Radio, and I'm with my BevNET and Nosh colleagues, Jacqui Brugliera, Martín Caballero, and Adrianne DeLuca. Just a reminder, if you like what you hear In Taste Radio, please share the podcast with friends and colleagues. And of course, we would love it if you could review us on the Apple Podcasts app or your listening platform of choice. Welcome, Adrianne DeLuca, to the podcast. Thank you for having me. So You role is as a staff reporter, initially with BevNET and Nosh. Are you just focused on Nosh now?
[00:00:48] Adrianne DeLuca: I am focused more on Nosh right now, but sometimes jump over to BevNET when they need me, but a little back and forth. I like it.
[00:00:55] Ray Latif: All right, let me ask you a question. Are you more into food or beverage at this point?
[00:00:59] Adrianne DeLuca: I've got to say food, but I like writing about beverage. So take that So You will.
[00:01:05] Ray Latif: There you go. There you go. Where were you before you came to BevNET?
[00:01:09] Adrianne DeLuca: I was in college, so this was my first job out of school.
[00:01:13] Ray Latif: Straight from school, left right into the lion's mouth, that is The Good and beverage industry. Jacqui, did you do that too? You came right from school, right?
[00:01:24] Jacqui Brugliera: I did, yeah. I took a little break to travel and then I found BevNET, which is right down the street from my college, so it was very convenient.
[00:01:32] Ray Latif: Yeah. Although you're in a different part of BevNET now. Well, you're in the WCB, the West Coast Branch now, so a bit further away from Bentley. Bentley is where you went to school, right?
[00:01:43] Jacqui Brugliera: Yes. Yep. Bentley University.
[00:01:45] Ray Latif: Martín and I both went to Boston University. For folks listening, they probably heard this on the podcast before. Not necessarily worth the money. I mean, it's a great school, but it's very expensive. Very expensive.
[00:01:57] Martín Caballero: Right, you gotta, I mean, yeah, it's an experience. For you, amazing time.
[00:02:05] Ray Latif: You know, I mean, I think being in Boston was the was the best part about it, frankly. For sure. I think since I've been at the school or since I graduated, you know, the school's reputation has gotten better and better, obviously, since I left. But there's something about city life and urban life that's just that was so much more compelling for me than it was, you know, to go to a different school, to go to a sort of a suburban school or one that was just in a town where like the university or the college was the entire town. Well, this episode of Taste Radio is being published on December 31st, 2021. It's been a heck of a couple of years that we've had. 2020 was, well, it was something else. And I think I remember at the end of the year, everyone was like, oh, I can't wait to get to 2021. It's going to be awesome. And in some ways, things were better in some things. Things were pretty much the same, if not worse. But I think we're all hoping that the following year is going to be great. And, you know, I think for our industry, we're all rooting for entrepreneurs and their brands to do really, really well. I'd love to hear from you guys and chat a bit about, you know, what we think the year will hold in terms of The Good and beverage industry and what some of these entrepreneurs need to consider as they're going into the new year. You know, from my perspective, just thinking about our events, BevNET Live and Nosh Live and the competitions in each, you know, we saw a lot of really innovative concepts and we saw So Good business plans to go along with those new concepts. I think one of the things that the judges talked about, and I would agree, is that you have to think about how innovation fits into the addressable market for food and beverage. I think there's a lot So You know, clever ideas, but how do they really fit into people's lives? And I think that was the question that would always come up when judges would ask entrepreneurs, okay, this is really cool, but why should people drink it? Why should people eat it? And I think that's something that entrepreneurs need to consider as The Good into new year. And, you know, I've always needed to consider, but it becomes more pertinent, you know, as we start to see more and more innovation come to market.
[00:04:10] Martín Caballero: Yeah I would agree. I think we always want to see innovation but you don't want to see innovation just for the sake of innovation just because you know a new technology or a new sort of trend or something like that maybe has some temporary appeal. You don't want to see necessarily a lot of chasing the tail In Taste segment or sort of a lot of me too products. So I think yet purposeful innovation is really going to be something to watch for the new year for sure. And I think based on what we saw in the competitions I'm optimistic that you know the entrepreneurs are really on to some cool things.
[00:04:44] Jacqui Brugliera: And I would also say that there is a lot of exciting opportunities for brands to engage their audiences in a variety of ways. Everyone's gone online, you know, since COVID, there's a whole new range of platforms and communities to engage your consumers, to ask them directly, what do they want from your product? What functionality are they looking for? What flavor profiles resonate with them? And you could post on Instagram, get their feedback instantly. There's new platforms like Discord. People are going back to Twitter. there's a lot of new conversation going on directly between brands and consumers, which I think is only going to fuel innovation and allow brands to directly meet the needs of their consumer.
[00:05:27] Ray Latif: Yeah, that's a really good point, Jacqui, especially about Twitter. Twitter has seen a kind of a comeback in 2021. I have been off the social platform for a while, actually, and I've started to check it out more often on a regular basis. And there is this great conversation. There is this great engagement among entrepreneurs and their colleagues, entrepreneurs and consumers. It's interesting to see how that platform has, again, had a resurgence over the past year. Adrian, what are you using for social media and how are you engaging with brands In Taste way?
[00:06:04] Adrianne DeLuca: Well, mainly I see a lot of brands on LinkedIn, but my Instagram feed since starting here, I would say it's been very targeted to CPG. I discover new Brad Avery day. And I love seeing all these different food brands popping up that I had never heard from. And I know part of it's just the algorithm targeting me. They know what I'm searching for, but I'd say on Instagram, I would, I love seeing the engagement there and content brands are putting out.
[00:06:30] Martín Caballero: Yeah, check back in a year and we may all be on Discord and every other platform also. So let's check back.
[00:06:39] Ray Latif: OK, I'm going to embarrass myself here, Jacqui. I'm not too familiar with Discord. What's Discord all about?
[00:06:43] Jacqui Brugliera: So Discord is pretty much, if you think of Slack, it's like different Slack channels. It's often used in the NFT community to talk about different crypto and NFTs that are about to launch or are launching. A lot of students use Discord channels too to talk with their different students and their teachers and to keep in touch. So it's pretty much just a whole new way to instantly connect So it's kind of like Slack for the rest of the world.
[00:07:16] Ray Latif: Slack for the rest of the world. I like the way you put that. That should be their tagline. Discord. Slack for the rest of the world.
[00:07:26] In Taste: Guessing your margins? That's risky. Belay Financial gives CPG brands the clarity to scale smarter, faster, stronger. Get your free inventory ebook by texting TASTE to 55123 and start making data work for you. Vibrant Ingredients is the natural ingredient partner powering food and beverage innovation, delivering flavor, function, and protection through a science-backed portfolio. Vibrant delivers purpose-driven solutions that help brands create extraordinary experiences. Discover what's possible with Vibrant today. Visit VibrantIngredients.com.
[00:08:13] Ray Latif: I'm surprised we haven't talked about TikTok. Well, I just mentioned it, so I guess we are talking about it. But, you know, a brand called Poppy, which we mentioned on the podcast a number of times, we awarded for their excellent work engaging consumers on TikTok. Poppy being a brand of prebiotic sodas formerly known as Mother Beverage. We've talked about this a number of times, but they're doing really well. And it seems to be that They're doing well in a segment that continues to grow, that of better for you sodas, probiotic, prebiotic sodas, everything from Culture Pop, which was awarded BevNET's or one of BevNET's best new products of 2021, HealthAid's Pop product, Olipop, obviously. And then there's a new entry to this space launched by the folks from Hum Kombucha, They've recently launched probiotic sodas and seltzers. We cover this on BevNET. Marty, what's behind this launch? Why is the timing right for Hum to get into this space?
[00:09:15] Martín Caballero: Well I mean I think it's arguable if the time is right. But I think in terms of their their motivation is getting in this in this category from their perspective is that's where the consumer is taking them. That's kind of what the consumer and the retailer is sort of asking for them to do. And I think it's interesting. I mean the brands that you mentioned you know the Ollie Pops and the poppies I think they're the ones who have really sort of laid the foundation for this kind of emerging category to sort of come into being. And those were all sort of original you know they started within that concept and really sort So You know anchor themselves to that concept of that prebiotic probiotic soda that has you know good health benefits and you know a soda alternative that you can drink multiple times a day and fits In Taste better for you category. So I think when we see brands like health aid and home coming into that space I think it's interesting to see if the sort of brand loyalty and awareness that they developed in kombucha, which is kind of a different proposition. We'll carry over into this shelf stable in a can, slightly differentiated type of product. You know, personally, I think it's super interesting just because you're seeing brands that are coming from this really craft background, which kombucha is one of the things I really appreciate about it. It has that craft background and it is difficult to, you know, transport and manage because it is a unique living product. that these brands have specialized in. And now they're moving into a space that's a little bit more commodified. It's going to have a little bit more competition and a little bit, it's just sort of a different position thing. So again, I think it'll be interesting to see if the awareness and leverage they've gotten from their previous work is going to translate over as they step into this new category. I think actually Rebel is another one that you could add to that list as well.
[00:10:58] Ray Latif: Is it sort of not I want to I don't want to call it an admission but is it sort of the reality that the kombucha category is sort of peaked is sort of plateaued and that kombucha companies like home are looking for new ways to reach new consumers.
[00:11:12] Martín Caballero: I'm not sure. I think that with these companies I think they've if we're talking about the health aid and home in particular that have done these types of products and as an extension I think those companies were kind of scaled in a way that maybe was looking at kombucha to grow and maybe a different pace and sort of to make more of an impact as that soda alternative as it was originally pitched. And so I think in order to continue growing and get that that scale that they're looking for they need to sort of be in more places that once they need to expand their consumer base and home in particular has done that previously through their zero sugar kombucha. And now through this like they're clearly trying to grow their audience because they're sort of built to scale in a way that needs to create that volume. So I mean, again, it's, I don't know what it says about the category in whole though, because I think there's a lot of, just as a general analogy to, to craft beer. Again, there's, I think there's opportunities for sort of regional players and, and kind of, there's, there's a really cool story to be told with kombucha and it's a really great thing to share with people. It says maybe more about the top end of the kombucha category than maybe the viability of sort of a midsize brand, at least to me.
[00:12:23] Ray Latif: I mean, it's a lot more approachable. Probiotic sodas and seltzers seem to be a lot more approachable and a lot more relatable, I guess, to the mainstream consumer than kombucha, that is. Sure. Yeah. I mean, Adrian, you know, obviously you're familiar with kombucha having worked in the beverage industry. I mean, for someone who's, I guess, relatively new to the space, I mean, is it something where you'd be more interested in reaching for something like a seltzer or soda than you would a kombucha, a full strength kombucha?
[00:12:49] Adrianne DeLuca: Definitely. I've personally never loved the vinegary taste of kombucha. And since starting here, I've gotten to try a bunch of different probiotic focused drinks. I definitely favor the more seltzer type, less, I guess, sweet and heavy or like flavors that are used to mask that vinegary taste. So yeah, it's been eyeopening to what's out there. Something I was not previously aware of.
[00:13:15] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, I think the seltzer space in general, there's always new entrants, but it's something that is just continuing to grow and people are just wanting really simple ingredients, no sweeteners, no sweetness. And if you can add a function to a bubbly, healthy beverage, then I think that's only going to attract more consumers.
[00:13:39] Martín Caballero: I agree with with Jacqui there. And I think again the interesting thing is going to be if we're going to see people who really like Ali pop people who really like poppy and have sort of grown those brands. Are they going to be open to a further extension with with the homes and the health days of the world. Or will those brands be able to defend the position that they laid out. It's going to be cool to see.
[00:14:01] Ray Latif: Absolutely. Well, we're looking forward to seeing what 2022 has in store for that category. It sounds like the year will have a lot of new distribution and retail for a brand called The Good Crisp. Everyone knows Pringles. Think about The Good Crisp as a better for you Pringles company. It comes In Taste cylinder package stacks of potato chips. We've talked about it on the show before. We've actually had founder and CEO Matt Perry featured in an episode published on September 14th called What Does It Take to Go from Good to Great? Consider Your Audience. something we talked about earlier in this show, but congratulations to Matt and his team for raising a new round of funding. The amount was undisclosed, but it sounds like it's the biggest they've raised to date. Read all about it on Nosh.com. Once again, congratulations to Matt and a great brand in The Good Crisp.
[00:14:57] Snacks And: So You want more repeat buyers on Amazon? Well, this free resource in collaboration with Straight Up Growth will help your brand turn first-time buyers into long-term subscribers. Download Winning the Repeat Purchase Game on Amazon now at Taste Radio slash SUG. That's Taste Radio slash S-U-G to start building retention-driven growth for your brand on Amazon. Scaling a beverage brand into major retail comes down to operational readiness. From packaging lead times to co-manufacturing strategy, the details can make or break a launch. In a new e-book in collaboration with Octopi and Asahi Beer USA, industry leaders share what they've learned in helping brands scale. Download it now at Taste Radio slash octopi.
[00:15:47] Ray Latif: Now, two brands that I think are going to do well in 2022 and benefited from all the craziness of the past two years are two Jusha brands that I really admire. One is called So Good, So You, which is based out of Minneapolis. We've talked to these guys In Taste Radio. They recently sent me some of their newest products, including their Happy variety, which is made with blood orange guava. Their new immunity products, well, they have several immunity products, but this one is made with blueberry and clementine. And their energy variety, which is made with passion fruit, all of them contain 1 billion CFUs of probiotics, really tasty stuff. And then, of course, Vive Organic, which recently released a new vitamin C product, one focused on vitamin C. It has 500 milligrams of vitamin C. This one has acerola and camu camu. This is part of their Pure Boost line of products, Vive's Pure Boost line of products. I think the best thing about juice shots of late is that they taste really good. They're very, very sippable. And I think in the past, they had been less so. But I feel like I could, like, take this happy So Good So You and just sip on it for like a while. I don't want to just like slam it down if that makes any sense. Although they do say to maximize potency, consume upon opening. So maybe I should just pound it. I don't know. What So You guys think? You need a straw for that maybe? Maybe. It's So Good. It's this happy variety. It's so tasty. I wish I had like 16 ounces of it. Although 16 ounces of juice would be a lot of sugar. This one has four grams of sugar and it's only two ounces. So do the math.
[00:17:23] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, I think it's interesting because usually when you associate like an immunity shot or something, you're thinking about like harsh taste, something that really gives a bite, like you're actually taking the shot. So the fact that they're sippable is also maybe we're thinking about sugars, like you said, maybe we're trying to give juice in a smaller format, even though it'So You know, it could be in a 16 ounce bottle, but the calories and the sugar content on a 16 ounce bottle is way different than a shot. So it's interesting point.
[00:17:53] Ray Latif: Yeah, and I feel like I'm getting all the adaptogenic benefits in this small shot as well. This one has saffron, ashwagandha. I don't know if I need more ashwagandha in my life. Maybe I do. I don't know. What So You guys think? How are your ashwagandha levels, Ray? What So You think? I don't know. Jacqui's the expert on adaptogens and mushrooms and things like that. How much So You need on a daily basis? Yeah, I'm telling you, Jacqui, Jacqui's the mushroom queen.
[00:18:20] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, yeah. Ashwagandha, definitely here for it. Take it every day.
[00:18:25] Ray Latif: Okay. Marty, anything new in your life? I know you get a lot of new products sent So You, sent to your home office that is as well.
[00:18:31] Martín Caballero: Yeah, well, I've been stopping in the office, checking out the haul that we usually get there as well. I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but Ourobora shout out to paul the chai is outstanding. That is a sparkling water, zero calo and it just makes me thin is so overdone at this po and every drink and every snack everything you everywhere you look but this sort of like winter spice kind of jam with a little bit you know the nutmeg the clove the cinnamon and then you know this one obviously playing off the cranberry man that's So Good i just i'm surprised that we're not seeing kind of more of that kind of take on things but uh but yeah that one is uh outstanding so i've been enjoying that and then um i managed to snag a sweet case of the Another bed net award winner, the taika matcha lattes with macadamia milk. Outstanding. Can drink those like all day. Super good. So shout out to them. Did you say you snagged a case? Snagged a case. You got to know the right people, man. I'll walk you through it. How many cans are in a case? 24? 12? Yeah, 24 maybe. You know, you stop counting after a while.
[00:19:54] Ray Latif: Wow, not bad. That'So You know, So You know, we The Good products in the office and we often The Good products in the office. You know, typically everyone takes two or three cans, but 24, that's how you do it. That is how you do it. Sometimes things disappear, you know, it's like, fell off the back of a truck. There you go. Well, Taika and Ourobor, yeah, two great brands. Well done on both fronts. Jacqui, anything new in San Diego?
[00:20:21] Jacqui Brugliera: So nothing new in the office, but I, you know, have been stalking Nosh per use looking at all the new launches, and there's two that really I really want to try. One is Ben and Jerry's collaboration with Chancellor rapper. I'm a fan of both Ben and Jerry's and Chancellor rapper, they made a mint chocolate product And a portion of the proceeds will go to Chance's Youth Empowerment Charity Social Work. So I think it's really cool. It has a space on the product. I feel like you see collaboration sometimes with other brands, but you don't necessarily see collaborations with celebrities all the time. So I'm curious to see how that plays out. And then also Baybell came out with a plant based version of their mini cheese wheels, which is like nostalgic for me. Just as a child, I always had those as a Snacks And it's cool to see, you know, steadfast brand finally jumping on the plant based train. So excited to try those two.
[00:21:19] Ray Latif: That is unbelievable. I didn't see that on Nosh, but you would think a brand like that would be fighting tooth and nail to fend off plant-based cheese. It sounds like they're trying to get a piece of that action and then some. Yeah, you haven't tasted it yet. I'm not a huge fan of cheese in general. We've established that on the podcast, but yeah, that's interesting. That's really interesting.
[00:21:42] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah. I mean, you go to like Ebony 7-Eleven or a convenience store and they always have the little cheeses as a snack. So I think it would be cool to have this as another option next to the dairy cheeses.
[00:21:54] Ray Latif: Adrian, anything that blew your mind in terms of products that you sampled at Nosh or BevNET Live?
[00:22:00] Adrianne DeLuca: Definitely, they were actually one of the Pitch Slam competitors, but the mushrooms, that mushroom jerky was amazing. As someone who's been vegetarian for years, I've never found a jerky that I actually liked. The kind of concept of jerky always freaked me out, but our former reporter, Aaron, convinced me to try some, and it was fantastic. An unexplainable flavor.
[00:22:26] Ray Latif: That is what we've been hearing from everyone, that munchrooms, that new line of plant-based jerky, mushroom jerky, is really phenomenal in terms of its flavor. Yeah, I have some. I've tried it. I need to give it another try. But I think, yeah, I think the idea of jerky, like in general, if you don't love just jerky, can kind of freak you out. And that as a snack, you know, on its own, if you can make a believer out of someone who's vegetarian, well then that, that says something, I guess. I have one more line of products that I'd like to mention. They are from a brand called Tom and Luke, who make these products called Snackables. S-N-A-C-K-A-B-A-L-L-S. I have three different varieties. One of them is their dark strawberry. One is their original dark. and one is their salted caramel. Now, these snackables are all made with fruits and nuts. They're vegan, no added sugar, dairy-free, gluten-free, portion control, and non-GMO. Each serving is three Snacks And they have 136 calories per serving. 14 grams of sugar. These look pretty good. The ingredients are dates. Well, in this one, the salted caramel, it's dates, cashew nuts, pea protein, desiccated coconut, raisins, natural caramel flavor, and sea salt. Not too dissimilar from the other varieties as well, except the other varieties do not contain cashews. You know what? I haven't tried these yet. I'm going to go after the dark strawberry one. Maybe I should wash it down with a juice shot because that's all I have in terms of liquids right now.
[00:24:03] Martín Caballero: I'm just going to say quickly, as long as Jacqui's chatting out Ben & Jerry's and Chance the Rapper, we also should mention Anosh this week. We did have that. Another hip-hop legend entering the game. Jermaine Dupri, of course, with his non-dairy ice cream. Mr. Money in the Bank is back. Respect to him.
[00:24:22] Jacqui Brugliera: Amazing.
[00:24:23] Ray Latif: JD ice cream, I believe, yes? JD's vegan. JD's vegan. Okay. Tom & Luke's snack bowls. Yeah, this So Good. Strawberry is really good. It's going to take a while to finish this, but well done, Tom and Luke. Okay, well, thank you very much to everyone who sends us products to BevNET and Nosh headquarters in Newton, Mass., and also to our San Diego headquarters as well. If you're sending products to our BEVNA headquarters, please do send them to our address at 65 Chapel Street, Newton, Mass, 02458. Jacqui, can you remind folks of the San Diego address?
[00:25:04] Jacqui Brugliera: It's 2645 Financial Court, Suite D in San Diego, California, 92117.
[00:25:12] Ray Latif: Outstanding. All right, excited to try more products as we go into the new year and a very happy new year to everyone who's listening. Thank you so much for supporting Taste Radio over the past year. We have a lot more great content to come in 2022. Please continue to listen. Send us ideas, thoughts, questions about the podcast to ask at Taste Radio. Until then, signing off for our amazing team at BevNetNosh In Taste Radio, I'm Ray Latif, and we'll talk So You next time.
