[00:00:10] Ray Latif: Hello, friends, and thanks for tuning in to Taste Radio, the number one podcast for anyone building a business in food or beverage. I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of Taste Radio, and with my co-host for this episode, John Craven, Jacqui Brugliera, and Mike Schneider. The gang's all here, all four of us finally back on the pod all at once. I think it's been at least a month since we've all been together.
[00:00:33] John Craven: Sounds about right. Planes, trains, and automobiles, four weddings and a funeral, something like that.
[00:00:38] Ray Latif: All the above. Welcome back, John, from the great city of Copenhagen. We were all jealous last week that you were in Denmark and we were here in our respective locations.
[00:00:48] John Craven: I heard you were drinking under a bridge.
[00:00:50] Jacqui Brugliera: Yes. We were just creeping on your Instagram.
[00:00:53] Mike Schneider: Yes. Yeah. I drank under a bridge. I mean, that was mainly after, uh, I took a restaurant recommendation from Ray Latif and Adam Stern, and I didn't really know what the Danish Krone to USD conversion was. Now you know? Yeah, I'm pretty good with it now.
[00:01:15] Ray Latif: I learned that lesson the hard way. Well, let it be known, number one, that the restaurant you went to was rated the number one restaurant in the world two years ago. And it is a spectacular place. And number two, the experience you had of drinking natural Wine Under a bridge is something I've always wanted to do, but didn't. And to be clear, there is a very high end wine shop with a great selection of natural Wine Under this bridge. And what people do is they buy the wine. and then they go and sit at these little patio tables and have their drink. What are the names of these places? What is the restaurant? The restaurant is called Geranium and it is quite the experience.
[00:01:56] Mike Schneider: Yeah, it's kind of not my cup of tea, if I'm being honest, but I mean, it was good. I don't need a freaking four hour dinner and like, you know. You should have gone there for lunch. Didn't we tell you to go there for lunch? Stuff assembled with like tweezers and stuff.
[00:02:08] Jacqui Brugliera: Were you hungry afterwards? I feel like I'm always hungry after those dinners.
[00:02:11] Mike Schneider: You know, I kind of was. The other thing that was really tough was that, you know, like a wine pairing in the U.S. and I don't know, I guess other places that I've had a wine pairing is like, you know, a little, Like Is It's like a seven course thing and there's all this wine, they're like little teeny pours. This place will give you a full glass. And then when you finish it, they just keep refilling. But it's not just one wine, right? No, I don't know.
[00:02:36] Ray Latif: I feel like I had like 14 glasses of wine over like four hours.
[00:02:39] Jacqui Brugliera: It's starting to get a little fuzzy.
[00:02:41] Ray Latif: The wine pairing is not inexpensive, and I think there's four options. There's like the basic, there's a mid-tier, there's a much more expensive one, and then there's one that's like... Yeah, we got the cheap and the second cheapest one.
[00:02:51] Mike Schneider: Also, what was kind of interesting, just as like, you know, maybe a nod from them of how expensive the whole thing is, they give you this gift bag when you leave that has two beers Is It. I'm like, is this because I'm so broke I'm gonna be sitting on a park bench? Like just... For under the bridge. I don't know, it's weird, but...
[00:03:08] John Craven: And what's the place, the bridge bar called?
[00:03:11] Mike Schneider: I forget. It's called Rosforth and Rosforth, forgive my, however that would be pronounced with a Danish accent or something. But yeah, it's just chill, natural wine. You can buy a glass of wine, bottle, whatever you want. Yeah. Some people just hop in the water after that too.
[00:03:28] Ray Latif: Yeah. I don't want to dissuade people from thinking that Copenhagen is a chill place and also quite expensive. I mean, you can do a lot there without having to spend a ton of money. It just so happens that some of the best restaurants in the world are there. And if you're there and have saved up enough money to go there, you know, it might be worth the experience.
[00:03:47] Mike Schneider: I personally preferred, I guess from your list, we ended up going to a variety of, you know, places that were opened by alum of Noma, you know, Taqueria, bakery, wine bar. Those are kind of more enjoyable and way more affordable too.
[00:04:04] Ray Latif: We talked about this last week. I talked about Heart Bagari, which has the cardamom buns. I saw you had more than one of those. We had some of those. Good, good.
[00:04:11] John Craven: I'm planning a trip to Amsterdam next year and I think I'll just walk to Copenhagen so I can afford the experience.
[00:04:15] Mike Schneider: It's close. You can definitely do it. Yeah. Yeah. Just like an hour and a half flight. But anyway.
[00:04:20] Ray Latif: I'm glad we're talking about Scandinavia because earlier this week we published an episode of Taste Radio that featured the founder and CEO of Four Sigmatic. Four Sigmatic, everyone knows, is a brand of mushroom-infused coffees, teas, supplements, creamers, etc. His name is Tero Isokauppila. And he is from Finland. I had the pleasure of sitting down with him at BevNow Live. Oh, you did? Yeah, remember? Very cool, dude. I like that guy a lot. We had a great conversation. Talked about how he's made every mistake that a founder could make in the industry and how he's overcome them. Talking about pioneering a category, being ahead of a trend. Fascinating.
[00:04:58] Jacqui Brugliera: Fascinating person.
[00:04:59] Ray Latif: How to merge. category insights with innovation, working with, uh, you know, your e-commerce partners and those offline. So a lot in there. I highly recommend folks listen to it. Really interesting guy, an amazing brand that, you know, at the outset you would be like this, this brand has no chance. zero chance out there. But then, of course, now it's a brand that generates tens of millions of dollars a year.
[00:05:19] John Craven: And only because they were inventing something new. And we've seen a lot of coffee replacement happen and a lot of coffee replacement just come and go. And these guys came in and said, oh, mushroom coffee's the way. And people are like, oh, OK, yeah, let's give this a shot.
[00:05:32] Ray Latif: And now everything has mushrooms Is It. snacks, beverages, breakfast foods, I mean, everything out there. And they were definitely at the forefront of that. Yeah. I'll tease this for a second for folks that haven't listened to it yet. You know, at one point in our conversation, Tara recounted a story about playing golf with the CEO of a very well-known and large U.S. retailer. And the retailer, of course, you know, he sells thousands and thousands of brands. And he asked her, what's the name of your brand again? He said, Four Sigmatic. He's like, oh. You got to change the name. He's like, that's never going to be successful. Of course, the CEO underestimated the brand. So really, really interesting stuff. As I mentioned at the top of the show, the four of us are here in studio, so to speak. The four of us will be together in a studio in person, including Jackie, in San Diego in a couple of weeks. September 25th is when we are hosting our Taste Radio meetup. at the WCB, the West Coast branch of BevNET, which is by the Costco, the Costco. It's always the landmark.
[00:06:33] Jacqui Brugliera: Yes.
[00:06:33] Ray Latif: And near the Harley Davidson. Yeah, why not the Harley? The Harley Davidson, what do they call that? You can't actually buy a dealer. Yeah. You can't buy a Harley Davidson off the lot. You have to like order those way in advance, don't you? They have plenty. Why are you asking Jackie?
[00:06:47] Jacqui Brugliera: I don't know, but I see people test driving and riding off. I don't know.
[00:06:53] Ray Latif: Four Harleys. It's like a Rolex. By the way, I just learned this about Rolexes. You can't actually go into a Rolex shop and buy a Rolex. They're like, you look at the cases and they're like, none of this stuff is for sale. You have to develop a relationship with one of the salespeople and then. To be clear I'm not everyone's gonna think I'm hottie-tottie. I've never done this I know people are into watches, and they've told me about this so mm-hmm Rolex sir for Pedestrian yeah, you're more of a what's another like Philippe. Yes. Yes.
[00:07:21] Mike Schneider: That's the one.
[00:07:22] Ray Latif: Thank you anywho the 25th of September Cassio Yeah, you got the timer going right now. Yeah, I'll be wearing my Rolex it at the meetup So anyone who wants to talk about that? No, I'm just kidding 25th of September The four of us will be there a bunch of our folks from the San Diego office will be there a ton of folks from all over SoCal will be there and founders, investors, retailers, distributors. I know of a bunch of people that are attending. It's going to be a great event. We encourage everyone from that region and perhaps beyond to come out. We will give you the address. Can we give the address right now? I'm sure we can do that.
[00:08:01] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah. One second. I don't even remember it off the top of my head.
[00:08:05] Ray Latif: Come on. 2645 Financial Court.
[00:08:07] Jacqui Brugliera: I love this San Diego, California. I don't know. I know it's Financial Court.
[00:08:10] Ray Latif: Okay. Great.
[00:08:11] Jacqui Brugliera: Sweet D. Yes.
[00:08:13] Ray Latif: Okay. Go to BevNET.com. Search for Taste Radio Meetup and you will see how to register. We will be doing interviews, Taste Radio interviews at the event for social and for the podcast as well. And. We're teasing a pretty good sized interview good name interview that will be hosting as well at the meetup Did I cover everything? I think I covered everything. For San Diego, but we're going somewhere else. We're also going somewhere else, Ray. Oh, we are, and I do want to call out Naturally San Diego, which will be co-hosting the Meetup with us, Naturally San Diego.
[00:08:47] Jacqui Brugliera: Yes, they'll be there too.
[00:08:48] Ray Latif: One of the best community organizations in the country. Great partners. Yes, love seeing those guys. Can I tease where we're going, Ray? Yes, but after the 25th, about three weeks after that, Mike, where are we going? To the home of the greatest football club of all time. We're going to London, Ray. Okay, we're just gonna have to cut all that. I'm just kidding, Joe. Yes, we're headed to London the week of October 14th. The October 14th is Columbus Day here in the United States. Yeah, who needs to be here for that? We're heading out. Yeah, yes.
[00:09:19] Mike Schneider: That's not even a holiday anymore.
[00:09:21] Ray Latif: Columbus is definitely not one in London Via the Boston area, in the town I live in, in Brookline, it's described as indigenous people's day. Indigenous people's day is proper. Yes, please. I could go on and on about Columbus, but let's get back on track here. London, October 14th, that's the week John, Mike and I will be attending an event called the Cheers Drink Summit or Cheers the Drink Summit by Bread and Jam, which looks to be a really fun time. John, what is this all about?
[00:09:53] Mike Schneider: Well, Ray, it's a pretty interesting drinks conference. Getting the UK community together, I guess, in one room for a day. And, you know, we're looking forward to just meeting founders and people who are in the UK drinks industry. I suppose we're going to have you record some interviews, maybe? Maybe that's what you're going to have me do. Yeah, we're dragging you there, kicking and screaming.
[00:10:19] John Craven: Pre-COVID, we went to Bread and Jam. It was a phenomenal event. We expect Cheers to Drink to be the same sort of thing. Just, you know, learning, founders interacting, great community. We just, we can't wait to get over there and meet you.
[00:10:32] Ray Latif: Yeah, it seems like there's quite a bit of stage content talking about trends, news, innovation that's happening in the UK and beyond. I see that there's a taste and rate bar, which looks really cool. Industry networking, there's a meet the investor program that they're doing. So very cool stuff. A deep dive is what they're calling it for no and low softs. Softs, I like that. Soft drink, softs, that's what they call it. That's what they call it there, Ray. Yes. Juice, plant, dairy, functional, alcoholic, and RTD. Challenge your drink brands to gather and explore the latest opportunities in drink. I am excited. And if you're going to be there, maybe hit us up at askattasteradio.com. Let us know. Absolutely. Or DM us on the Instagrams. You got BevNetMike, you got BevNetKraven, you got BevNetJackie, you got BevTrade. I've got to get the BevNET Ray going.
[00:11:16] Mike Schneider: You want to give them your toll free number too, Ray?
[00:11:19] Ray Latif: 1-800-RAY-LATIF. You can't get 1-800-RAY-LATIF anymore. You can get 1-855-RAY-LATIF. But we'll also be hosting our own little thing going on. Details TBD. Details are TBD. We don't want to reveal anything just yet. But yes, if you are planning to be in the London area or if you're a London resident or London based founder, let us know because we'd love to invite you to our super secret thing, at least super secret for
[00:11:46] Mike Schneider: It'll be later in the week, not the same day as the Cheers Drink Summit.
[00:11:49] John Craven: It's only super secret because we haven't figured everything out yet. But once we do, we'll give you the details.
[00:11:53] Mike Schneider: If anyone knows people that want to come to it or a place to host it or anything about planning an event, just let us know.
[00:12:01] Ray Latif: And to be clear, once again, the Cheers Drink Summit is being held on the 15th of October and our super secret thing will be held in subsequent days. So, correct. Very good. Well, I got to tell you, I was very excited for 2024 to be the year of ranch, ranch flavor. I don't think it's because Monica Watrous, our dear friend and colleague, had predicted that we'd be seeing an explosion of ranch flavored products. And I think we did see a number of them. I made an explosion of ranch products. You know what? That just is way too close to a bathroom experience that people don't want to hear about. Explosion of ranch diarrhea I try not to talk about that sort of thing on the podcast
[00:13:06] John Craven: Okay, other topics in play, but not that okay.
[00:13:10] Ray Latif: Well. Let's let's keep on keeping on here. Um it seems to me however that everything bagel flavoring which had Had a good run.
[00:13:19] Mike Schneider: Yeah, we had everything bagel, but I think they're 15 minutes.
[00:13:22] Ray Latif: You're still going.
[00:13:23] John Craven: I'm Everything even pumpkin spice even pumpkin season approach.
[00:13:29] Ray Latif: Yes, I Get this, earlier this summer, there was a everything bagel flavored vodka that was launched. Now I know these things are kind of kitschy and it's limited edition, but I was like, okay, you know, it seems like people aren't jaded or completely tired of these everything bagel seasonings.
[00:13:49] Mike Schneider: I mean, it's like, I don't know, there's chili crisp and there's salsa matcha. Yes. And Americans just have everything bagel.
[00:13:57] Ray Latif: I guess that's true.
[00:13:58] Mike Schneider: It needs to be like in an oil.
[00:14:01] Ray Latif: I think you just put it on everything. OK, but it makes sense. Like, I like the stuff where, OK, obviously, Is It's somehow tangentially related to everything bagel products or things that you would normally see within everything bagel, like cheese. So The Laughing cow introduced in everything bagel. That makes sense. Flavored cheese wedge. But then, you know, on the other end of the dairy spectrum, I wasn't expecting to see this. CoffeeMate, which is owned by Nestle and is a maker of creamers that I don't know if actually contained dairy, to be honest with you. Now it does say it on the front of the pack, it says dairy creamer, has introduced or is teased a new bagel and cream cheese flavored CoffeeMate product. Now this is not everything bagel, but it's, again, tangentially related. And they're not actually charging for it. They're doing limited-edition drops that you can only get from their website on three different dates in September That's just because no one would pay for it I actually asked for a sample. They're like we can't give out samples, so I'm gonna have to what you know get on the website Yes, probably just know you're gonna troll it.
[00:15:03] Mike Schneider: That's actually probably true. There's no reason to give you a sample Yeah, only bad things will happen
[00:15:10] John Craven: No PR is bad PR.
[00:15:11] Mike Schneider: They know bad things are gonna happen on the Twitters and on the Instagram and everybody else is gonna be like, you know, it's gonna happen Yeah, so I mean you can't actually care about food and Be in the coffee made really can you I mean, I don't know I guess there's habit sort of stuff that people do that might go against what they care about in the greater scheme of food and beverage and
[00:15:34] Jacqui Brugliera: If you're drinking Coffee Mate, I think you would be into this flavor, probably.
[00:15:38] Ray Latif: That's a very good point, Jackie, because it seems like those who drink Coffee Mate to begin with, they're looking for some sort of flavor with their coffee. Yeah. It's not just like, here's a regular half and half cream flavor they want there.
[00:15:52] Mike Schneider: Don't they have like Butterfinger Coffee Mate?
[00:15:53] Jacqui Brugliera: They have all different types.
[00:15:55] Mike Schneider: I'd rather that, I'd rather just wreck my coffee with a candy bar than some cream cheese.
[00:15:59] John Craven: And for the UK people who are listening now, we're not talking about coffee for a friend, we're talking about a brand called CoffeeMate.
[00:16:04] Ray Latif: That's a very, thank you for clarifying Mike, that's important to know. Yes, CoffeeMate is the name of a brand.
[00:16:08] Mike Schneider: More like coffee numpty or coffee bloke. More like coffee pillock.
[00:16:12] Ray Latif: Yeah, the saccharine coffee mate makes sense, but the savory does not so if anyone gets a bottle of stuff Let me know cuz I'll send you a few books sure sure it'll be amazing.
[00:16:23] Mike Schneider: I mean won't they be selling that at like every Grocery store though, just cuz again.
[00:16:29] Ray Latif: I think Mike's right people would be like disgusted by this like Yeah. Will there be a cannabis-infused, a THC-infused coffee mate coming to market anytime soon? Probably no. Probably no. And that's... Probably never. Not because of what you're about to talk about, but... No, probably never. But yeah, exactly. But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if folks in California have a little THC drop, a couple of THC drops with their morning coffee or afternoon coffee, perhaps. Smoke a little weed. Smoke a little weed. Or a lot of weed. Hit that bong, as the kids say. Is that what the kids say, Jackie? No. Now you're accusing her of smoking weed with Probably on her Harley, right Down Marina Boulevard full of weed These band is called bong Harley if you guys were still creating AI images now, that's an AI image I would want to see actually Jackie smoking a joint while driving down the PCH on her I'm on it
[00:17:27] Mike Schneider: It's this is a use case for Twitter's what Is It called grok? I don't even know it's like no holds barred. Yeah, I don't pretty good.
[00:17:35] Ray Latif: Well. I'm curious Yeah, well now the point out that segway I was trying to make is a pretty big story coming out of California and England covered on BevNET.com It's the title is California closing the door on hemp derived THC products. And the excerpt notes that citing concerns over public health, California's Governor Gavin Newsom proposed on Friday an emergency regulation that will heavily restrict, quote, intoxicating hemp products. Very interesting developments. I immediately thought of Erewhon because I was like, okay, so Erewhon, I typically see your THC drinks next to your energy drinks, next to your juice drinks and things like that. But John Craven, you said it's less about drinks and more about other things.
[00:18:18] Mike Schneider: Yeah, I don't think it's really about Erewhon. It's, you know, if you look through it and, you know, just read up on this, I mean, it's certainly targeting. products that were more directly, I don't know. Marketed to kids? Maybe I'll reverse this just to be careful, but not really being smart about who they were targeting. Okay. And I think they were more edible, like, and vaping type products than beverages, which, you know, most of the beverage brands out there, you know, have language on the products and I think are also being sold in retailers like a Total One or a BevMo that are, you know, already sort of age-restricting these products. But, you know, look, I mean, this is sort of the most obvious thing ever to happen to this category because, I mean, any category that sort of... I guess there really aren't that many that kind of exist because of a loophole, as people would say it. I think, you know, the category is kind of only as good as its weakest link, and there are some, you know, sort of unscrupulous marketers that have really tried to take advantage of this. Again, I don't think that that's the majority of the beverage products out there. Like, I think the stuff that we've seen is pretty clearly, like, being marketed as alcohol alternatives, not thing for, you know, someone who is younger. But we'll see. I mean, you know, it's clear that this is going to end up in a... Court fight of some sort so some level of regulation for this stuff is You know great not a bad thing so I mean not that there isn't regulation already. There's just a bad bad boy It was interesting.
[00:19:59] Ray Latif: I was I'm reading this quote from Gavin Newsom about this and It felt like 1991. He said, we will not sit in our hands as drug peddlers target our children with dangerous and unregulated hemp products containing THC at our retail stores. Mike is just shaking his head over here.
[00:20:12] John Craven: I mean, it feels like a big smoke screen right now. They needed something to do while, yeah. I mean, while people were boiling over the weekend from a hundred degree plus temperatures, they don't talk about climate change. So we'll just talk, we'll just, we'll target the hemp industry again.
[00:20:26] Jacqui Brugliera: I feel like the challenge is like there's no nuance to what they're talking about. You know, like just reading the headlines or reading the summary, I wouldn't understand who they're actually going after. And it kind of demonizes the brands and companies that are actually doing good things and makes it harder for them, but they're actually not the problem. So I think that's kind of the challenge.
[00:20:46] Mike Schneider: It does feel like a Little Saints of grandstanding just to get some attention. And, you know, I'm guessing this will in the end probably have rather than some total ban, something that's a compromise of sorts. But I don't know.
[00:20:59] John Craven: I mean, they're trying to force regulation, but they're not really doing anything. It is kind of their job to regulate.
[00:21:05] Ray Latif: It's very much their job.
[00:21:06] John Craven: Kind of, Ray. You know, kind of their job. So, you know, Is It's not regulated, whose fault Is It? I just let's just get it regulated.
[00:21:13] Ray Latif: Well, it remains to be seen where this is all going. But of course, the team at BevNET will be following the story. BevNET and Nosh, of course, will be following this story in the weeks to come. Stay tuned. If you want to read the story that was written by our dear friend and colleague Lukas Southard, please do so. But you got to be an insider. To be an insider, you go to BevNET.com slash insider. Maybe the best thing you do all week, all month, all year. Definitely. We've got thousands. I do want to talk about more things, but we've got so many products and some that might even heat it up in the microwave We got it. We got to get to some we should probably get to that one. Yeah Still
[00:21:48] John Craven: These are dumplings from Foodware. I've got two varieties here. The one that I have in my hand is the Japchae. Foodware.
[00:21:55] Ray Latif: It's spelled like F-O-O-D-W-A-R-E. It's like software. Foodware.
[00:22:00] John Craven: Is It a tech company? No, it is a food company. Okay, gotcha. So we've got the Japchae dumplings here. Then we've got the vegan mushroom dumplings here as well. Don't mind if I do. Yeah, try those. You wanted to see the package, right?
[00:22:16] Ray Latif: There you go. Okay. These definitely have dumplings on the front. 100% plant-based. The ingredient panel has quite a few ingredients on it, but you know, most ingredients I know, which is a good thing. You could have pan fried or steamed these. I steamed them. You steamed them. How so?
[00:22:35] Wine Under: What?
[00:22:36] John Craven: I steamed them, right?
[00:22:38] Ray Latif: There's the package that John wanted to see.
[00:22:41] John Craven: You know, if I did it at home, I would have used my dumpling steamer, but I used the microwave trick and they came out pretty good, but I wouldn't recommend preparing them that way. I would definitely, if I was making them at home, I'd steam them and pan fry them.
[00:22:54] Ray Latif: Yes, that's actually a really good place.
[00:22:56] John Craven: They're really tasty dumplings. I tried the Japchae ones and I was going to try the mushroom too, but I passed them over to John.
[00:23:01] Ray Latif: We're going to wash this down, these dumplings down with something that I brought. The mushroom dumplings are really good. Gia, which is a brand of sparkling non-alcoholic aperitifs. They also make a concentrated version where you can blend it with whatever you want. But Gia has launched a new multi-serve product called Le Fizz. And this is their strawberry and orange blossom variety. This is the only variety of Le Fizz. Really? They launched it last week. It comes in a 25 ounce glass bottle with a crown top. I've been waiting to try this. You haven't even tried it yet, Ray. I have not it's described as a dry and juicy sip. I don't have a bottle opener. So let's play. Okay, that worked fantastic.
[00:23:42] Mike Schneider: And I said 25 ounce bottle, but it's so many so many electronics under this class.
[00:23:51] John Craven: I'm happy to regulate it.
[00:23:54] Ray Latif: He's regulated. He's learned nothing here. It's a, uh, it's ready to drink. As I mentioned with five to six servings per bottle. And it'Is It's like a wine bottle. It's like a 750 milliliter bottle. And it's unlocking, according to the company, new potential in hospitality accounts. Smoky. The brand is currently served in over 500 restaurants in the United States. I'm excited. I'm going to try this. Hold on. Sorry, I just wanted to read the label. OK, Mike is going to read the label while I sip. Oh, it's tasty.
[00:24:22] Jacqui Brugliera: What does it taste like? Is It similar to anything?
[00:24:25] John Craven: It's sweet, orange, and a little smoky. Orange blossom meets strawberry. Juicy main character energy. Juicy main character energy. Tangy tang and a dry finish mixed with bubbles. Oui oui. That's what it says on the bottle, but I like the smoky character. There's a little tea flavor. I'll send that bottle down here.
[00:24:46] Ray Latif: Yeah, it is smoky, surprisingly. Mike pointed out, that's a good call out there. I wasn't expecting that. A little like chipotle pepper. Yeah. Is there chipotle pepper Is It? I think it's got a lot going on. There's a lot of complexity to this product, more than I expected. Probably orange rind as well. Yeah, it's great. It's really good. There is orange peel extract. There's cherry wood smoked salt there you go and There's orange and rosemary extract. Yeah, well done. Yeah, well done. This is really good and for someone who's off the sauce Um, you know, I feel like this is a really good alternative to a cocktail or a wine or whatnot.
[00:25:26] John Craven: I mean, it's just between Bon buzz and Little Saints. I'm set. I mean, those are three really great products that have like similar character. And I think if we can just get the language down and get people to understand what's in these, in these cans and bottles, I mean, it's good. Yeah. It'Is It's on. These are really good adult drinks.
[00:25:46] Ray Latif: Indeed. Well done. Gia. Before we get to John and his cornucopia products here, Jackie, what's going on in San Diego?
[00:25:54] Jacqui Brugliera: I have some Boiled Peanuts, which is kind of random. but I have Boiled Peanuts. It's from Dixie Grace's Boiled Peanuts. It's a company that's actually out of New Jersey. They have different lines. This is their brown sugar. I don't know. Have you all eaten Boiled Peanuts? Like, I feel like I haven't really.
[00:26:19] Ray Latif: I am embarrassed to say I have not yet tried the samples that they sent me. What do they taste like?
[00:26:24] Jacqui Brugliera: I haven't tried them either, but I know it's a thing.
[00:26:26] Ray Latif: Where Is It a thing?
[00:26:28] Jacqui Brugliera: Like Craven, you were saying like down South on the side of the road, you can get some Boiled Peanuts.
[00:26:33] Mike Schneider: Southeast, like, I don't know, Georgia, South Carolina.
[00:26:36] Ray Latif: We need some context here. I mean, Is It good for your health or Is It just like a treat?
[00:26:41] Mike Schneider: It's just like, you know, you have roast peanuts and they have like a more dry texture. A Boiled Peanuts has a, I don't know, softer texture.
[00:26:50] Ray Latif: My concern was in the, I was feeling through the bag, the outside of the bag, and it felt very wet. Yeah. They're not a dry peanut. They're like, it feels like they're wet.
[00:26:59] Mike Schneider: I think they boil them in the shell. Cause you can kind of eat the shell.
[00:27:03] Jacqui Brugliera: Oh, Is It gets coated and interesting. I'm going to have to try them. They came with some toppers too. So I do have some everything bagel. Seasoning, I've just been like kind of eating out of the bag.
[00:27:15] John Craven: Jackie's been brushing her teeth with it.
[00:27:17] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah. If I have poppy seeds in my teeth, it's because of this. Okay.
[00:27:21] Ray Latif: Just don't go to, I think, what Is It, Korea? You can't go to Korea if you have poppy seeds on you. Really? I'm canceling my trip right now, Ray. Thanks. No way. I think it was Korea, might've been Singapore, where you can't, someone tried to bring some Trader Joe's everything bagel seasoning and they confiscated it because they don't allow poppy seeds. It's getting weird here. Yeah, okay before we get any weirder Mike has a big box of Bessie in front of I have a big box of Bessie Hey, right you and I we might be labna influencers. I think we are actually
[00:27:53] John Craven: My favorite part is the beginning of this letter here. It says, hi, Mike and Ray.
[00:27:58] Ray Latif: Oh, because you're, you're listed first. Well, tell us what Bezi is.
[00:28:03] John Craven: It's Labneh, Ray.
[00:28:04] Ray Latif: We did talk about this in a previous episode of the podcast. And Labneh is a thick fermented yogurt that is delicious, a delicious dip that is typically served in the Middle East.
[00:28:16] John Craven: It's a delicious dip, and we've got, speaking of everything, Jackie, we've got plain and everything flavor here. And Ray, I brought the legit pita.
[00:28:26] Ray Latif: That's the legit pita from Montreal, I believe, right?
[00:28:29] John Craven: I brought the legit pita. Is It from Montreal? Well, this is actually made in Worcester, Mass.
[00:28:34] Ray Latif: Oh, Worcester, Worcester, just as good, just as good.
[00:28:36] John Craven: It's legit. The woo. So we can try this if you want to try.
[00:28:39] Ray Latif: I'm going to hold off because I need to wash my hands as you know, but please dig in. There is, here we go. I keep talking about this. There is an everything bagel, Bezzy, again, how apropos, as well as their plain variety. I'm going for plain. Can I say the everything? Yeah. There you go. John's going to gram while Mike's going to eat. I'm going to grab a little pita here. Beautiful branding.
[00:29:01] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, that box is really pretty.
[00:29:03] Ray Latif: Yeah. We featured the founder of Bezzy in a recent episode of Elevator Talk. I am going to butcher her name again. I'm so sorry. I believe it's Eli, I-L-A-Y. I'm so sorry if I got your name wrong again. But really really love what she's doing. I think she knocked it out of the park with the branding She knocked it out of the park. She clearly knocked it out of the park with the formulation. Chuck me a spoon or some bread so I don't have to use my finger. Yes, okay. Here's some spoon. Get that. Wait, I have another spoon. Yeah, give me my own spoon. You do need a Lazy Susan. But yeah, this brand literally just launched. And I think they're going to do quite well. That's good.
[00:29:46] John Craven: I'm having like flashbacks to the time that I tried Yaza, cause it'Is It's that good. Like they're both incredible products. This is phenomenal.
[00:29:55] Ray Latif: Yeah. Well, this is every time you, you try a new Labna, you're, it seems like you're doing it live. I like it a lot. You did the Yaza at Expo West. You're doing the Bezi here at the studio. I guess I'm a Labna influencer now. Yeah. So if you, if you have a labna that you would like Mike to try live, or at least on, uh, on a recording, I would love to see Bessie and Yaza readily available.
[00:30:21] John Craven: Oh boy. Let's, let's go for it. Okay. Fair enough.
[00:30:24] Ray Latif: Fair enough. Can I try the everything? Yeah. Alright, Mike has his busy John has his hot ones or a collaboration with hot ones Yeah, so you know since I had that dinner geranium and also have two kids in college.
[00:30:38] Mike Schneider: I've been eating a lot of ramen now
[00:30:47] Ray Latif: If you and Adam could complete the Venmo request that I've sent over that would be that'd be great anyway
[00:31:02] Mike Schneider: These are new Asha ramen with a collaboration with the Hot Ones, you know, the YouTube series. Where celebrities eat very, very hot chicken wings. Progressively hotter chicken wings. And have an awkward interview at the same time. It's great. But they have a couple different flavors here, varying degrees of heat. They have a smoky chili, a garlic chili, and a sweet chili. I'm honestly not a super huge ramen fan, but the broth and this stuff is pretty incredible and it's got like a little packet you can adjust the flavor. The hot ones like stupidly hot. This mild sweet chili ones more my cup of tea, I guess, or cup of soup.
[00:31:39] Ray Latif: But you know, they emailed me the Asha folks or the PR team for the Asha folks and. I asked them to please send it to the office.
[00:31:45] Mike Schneider: Well, I have a whole bunch of them. So you're in luck Well, that's what I'm saying. I'm like I you guys I was it gives me is like you you guys are you guys?
[00:31:52] Ray Latif: You're stealing stuff. There you go. Thank joy. I don't I I share Saying I'm stealing stuff
[00:32:03] Mike Schneider: Can we have one beverage that would be actually pretty good to wash down? Yes, I love this. So this is Laurel'Is It's a line of lattes made with A2 milk. Right now there's two flavors, a classic latte and a dirty chai latte. I think the founder just is on maybe an upcoming Elevator Talk?
[00:32:30] Ray Latif: Yeah, no, this week we published an episode of Elevator Talk. It was published on Wednesday with the founder, Isabel Washington, who is the founder of the company based in Los Angeles, California. I am excited to try this. Yes, it's a latte using A2 dairy milk. I encouraged her, by the way, to pitch her brand or apply for the New Beverage Showdown in December.
[00:32:51] Mike Schneider: Which flavor would you prefer to try first?
[00:32:53] Ray Latif: Go classic, you know, we've got to go classic to start.
[00:32:57] Mike Schneider: Oh my goodness, Mike. Pour yourself a little. I want to protect it. A little scotch. I'll let you do yourself since I know you like to pour it over your laptop.
[00:33:08] Ray Latif: I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding folks. I'm just kidding close. Yeah. Oh, it smells delicious And not share You know, it reminds me of the first time I tried a La Colombe draft latte, even though they mean... Different animal, of course. Different mouthfeel for sure. But this, it's very high quality. It's a very high quality product.
[00:33:31] Mike Schneider: Yeah, I mean, it's just straightforward, like really solid ingredients. You know, I think the A2 milk thing is pretty interesting just since that's obviously like a mark of quality, something that I think there's maybe still some work to do on the education front, but... You know, I think it's a subtle way to make it clear that you put good stuff in the can, so.
[00:33:51] Ray Latif: Yeah, well, Isabel, again, the founder of Laurel's, was talking about the use of A2 milk in other products and brands, including Alex. Alex Ice Cream AL. I think that's like the best example of an emerging brand using it right now. Yeah, and that is a phenomenal product. I think Laurel's is on the right track for sure. I won't say too much more. I think people Gotta watch the Elevator Talk. Would do well to watch that episode because it's a really good one. We also feature Uso, Sparkling Tea, Kombucha Rista, Loom, and St. Cecilia Soda Company. If you would like to participate in an upcoming episode of Elevator Talk, head to BevNET or Nosh.com, search for Elevator Talk, and you will find a way to apply or just send us a note to askatasteradio.com and we'll make sure your application is all set and done.
[00:34:33] John Craven: And all 11 of the brands are fast-tracked.
[00:34:35] Ray Latif: Bessie was on an episode as I mentioned. Laurels. Do we have any other brands that we're using? Yeah, we've got Spooze over here. What are we doing? Okay, we have some Amaricano that was sent by the wonderful people at Fast Penny Spirits. Fast Penny Spirits, a distiller based in Seattle, Washington, and also joined us for the Cocktail Showdown in 2023 at BevNET Live 2023, Winter 2023. She makes a lovely RTD coffee cocktail. And that person is Jamie Hunt, as the she we were talking about. So they just introduced four, or they have four cask finished options of their Americano. She sent me three of them. Me, but I sent them to the office. Don't worry. We have the Dalil Cabernet Sauvignon cask or the Americano H1, Westland Single Malt cask, and the Bianca Voila. Cask as well. I believe that's yeah, that's the one right there to be clear in americano.
[00:35:38] Mike Schneider: John is a coffee drink It could be also a cocktail of I think Is It soda water bitters? Wait, no, Is It soda water and Campari? Campari sweet vermouth and it's too early in the day.
[00:35:57] Ray Latif: I'm not thinking cocktails yet. Yes Yes, but no fast penny makes these amazing products. I cannot try them just yet But it's too early in the morning for that, but I don't know if you want to dig in feel free for later It's okay.
[00:36:10] Mike Schneider: I mean, I'm sure these are top-notch so much faith. I have in fast penny exactly exactly and
[00:36:16] Ray Latif: Now, last month, middle of the month, you may have heard an episode of Taste Radio that we featured or we published and featured the founder of Everlane, which is a fashion brand that focuses on sustainability and has done quite well for itself. And the founder's name of Everlane, that is, is Michael Prasman. He's also the founder of a new brand called Magna. Magna markets itself as a brand of hydration powders that are made with magnesium and electrolytes. They sent me a variety pack. This one has 28 servings. And as the box notes, drinking these will give you greater focus, greater energy, and greater recovery. They come in four flavors, lemon, lime, watermelon, lime, tea, lemonade, and peach mango. I've tried the peach mango. It's quite good. I have not gotten into this whole magnesium craze yet. There's a ton of people I know who already like incorporate it into their daily regimens, but I haven't done that yet. Mike, are you a magnesium guy?
[00:37:19] John Craven: I'm not yet, but now I am. Okay. You're going to take some powder packets.
[00:37:22] Ray Latif: I'm going to dress in magna. Yeah. Jackie, in addition to your daily mushrooms, you drink magnesium or incorporate magnesium into your...
[00:37:30] Jacqui Brugliera: I do with like supplements when I'm working out a lot or I'm doing training or like I'm prepping for this big hike this weekend and I've been trying to make sure that's included in like my electrolytes and powders because you don't want to cramp up.
[00:37:44] Ray Latif: Yeah. Okay. So that's the thing. I think people have always said magnesium is the mineral or I guess, what would, how would you, yeah, a mineral that you, most people are lacking in their daily diets and you need supplements to, it's an element. It's an element. Okay. Mike said it's an element. And you need to supplement magnesium into your diet because it's just not naturally found in most foods, apparently. I'm not sure.
[00:38:08] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah. I don't know. There's so many supplements that you could be taking on a daily basis. So I don't know if that one is the most critical for everyone. I think like eventually people are going to just be doing their own biohacking and realizing what they're individually, you know, needing, but I don't take that every day.
[00:38:25] Ray Latif: Yeah. I mean, it's a beautiful box though. And notably, if you listen to the interview and I, again, encourage folks to listen to it. Michael Praisman talked about how they were designing the box and the packaging to look like, or I guess in the vein of, or in the style of, the old Marlboro cigarette boxes, which is interesting. Interesting. Yeah, yeah, I don't really see it, but yeah, where's the red the Cowboys and yeah, they're their colors are very very much for us the adornment black and yellow Why would you emulate that if you're trying to be something healthy oh I think they thought it was just like a very classic and well-known design to the point where people would see it and see some of the, I guess, design elements and recognize it.
[00:39:15] John Craven: Got it. There's also three magnesium compounds in here. Magnesium L-threonate, which I haven't heard of for focus. Magnesium malate for energy and magnelium, magnelium? Magnelium. Magnesium. It's helium and magnesium combined. Magnesium glycinate for recovery, probably using Donghua Jinlong industrial grade glycine.
[00:39:32] Ray Latif: Good to know.
[00:39:33] John Craven: Yes, well done indeed.
[00:39:35] Ray Latif: That brings us to the end of this episode of Taste Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Taste Radio is a production of BevNET.com, Incorporated. Our audio engineer for Taste Radio is Joe Cracci. Our technical director is Joshua Pratt, and our video editor is Ryan Galang. Our social marketing manager is Amanda Smerlinski, and our designer is Amanda Huang. Just a reminder, if you like what you hear on 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. Check us out on Instagram. Our handle is bevnettasteradio. As always, for questions, comments, ideas for future podcasts, please send us an email to ask at Taste Radio.com. On behalf of the entire Taste Radio team, thank you for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.
[00:40:26] Wine Under: you
