Hello, dear friends, and thanks for tuning into 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-hosts for this episode, Jacqui Brugliera. Mike Schneider and Melissa Traverse. Melissa, welcome back. Thank you so much.
It's great to be here. I feel like this is your, it's a shared seat now. It's not just the craven seat. It's the Traverse seat as well. Yeah. It's like musical chairs. I'll just sit wherever someone isn't sitting. Yes, exactly. What are we, what are you doing, Mike? Forgot about us. We're just, we didn't even, we didn't even get welcomed.
I got welcomed. You, you went straight to Melissa. I mean, geez. We're old news. I'm just a novelty. Well, my point was that you're not a novelty, but then Mike was just like, I feel unwelcome. I feel like I'm just like, I felt out. Yes. Mike needs some love. I, I feel attacked and so did Jacqui. Okay, let's, let's, I could sense it from San Diego.
Let's try, let's try this again. It's good to see you, Melissa and Jo, Mike and Jack. Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness. Good to see. Good to see you, right? It's been so long. He's sick of us. Hell no. Not at all. John is, uh, OIO as I like to call him. He's out in Orlando. So, uh, Melissa was very kind enough to say, you know what, I'll, I'll pop in and, and do my best John Craven impression, which I don't know how you would do one.
Ooh, let's hear it. Um, I don't even know. Now. Just call Mike and Numpty. Yeah. And say, Ray, you're wrong. There you go. Mike, you're a Numpty and Ray, you're wrong. There you go. Well done. Okay. That's your, that's a very good chunk. It's more like ignoring Ray, but whatever. No, sometimes it's like, ignore that question.
Oh yeah. That was the new beverage Joe down. That was not, uh, John's best moment. Nor, nor was, yeah. What was the point of that? I don't know. I'm gonna ignore your question again anyway and answer a better one. Yes. As most folks know, Melissa is the director of community. Bev Net CPG Media, and she runs Nom Base.
And for those of you that are relatively new to the podcast or might just need a refresher on what Nom base is, Melissa, tell us all about that amazing platform. I would be very happy to do that. Nom Base is Bev Net's platform that integrates all of our verticals and it's a place where you can find all kinds of helpful stuff.
So we have a data hub there that you should absolutely. Check out for all of your data needs. We also have a partner directory so you can find all of the partners that you need, Comans design, whatever it is that you're looking for, you can find it there. We also have the Nombase podcast, which I host and produce, and that's sort of a how I am building this podcast.
So we have brands like Chomps and Kite Hill and AO talking about how they. Specifically figured out a very particular part of business, whether it's operations or finance, sales and marketing, that kind of thing. We also talked to retailers like TikTok Faire and Wegmans, and then you should absolutely check out our Education Hub, which we launched in the last month or so, and we have some really amazing experts explaining.
All kinds of CPG topics like our Arnulfo Ventura, Seth Goldman, Asha Appalachia, and then coming up soon we've got Ben Mand and Jack Ri. So definitely check out Nombase.com to help you figure out whatever it is you're puzzling over. I also wanna point out that you often bring on our suppliers and our service provider partners to just get into the ins and outs of what they do.
And you know, since they're so brilliant and you, and you just. Bring it right out of it, and that feels like a lot going on. I feel like the easiest way for people to kind of take a step in is maybe your weekly newsletter. Yep. Check out the Nombase newsletter. Just go to Nombase.com and head all the way to the bottom to sign up for that.
We have a q and a with anyone and everyone that you can think of in CPG there, which is a a fun interview and a great way to get to know folks. So Nombase.com. Now, obviously we're back from our LA events, which were spectacular. December 4th through the 11th, uh, a bunch of us were out there the entire time.
Melissa, you were out there from the fourth until, or was it really the third until the ninth or the 10th? Yep, until the 10th and I headed home the 11th. Yes. The 10th and 11th we held our brew bound live event in la which. Was really well received. You know, the beer industry and founders tackling beer adjacent categories like cider or hard seltzers or FMBs.
It's a space and it's an industry that. It's really complex and doesn't necessarily have a very clear path forward, and I think the content was just really, really well curated and, and thought through Zoe Lata, Justin Fonte from the editorial team, Justin Kendall, who couldn't be there. But congrats, Justin, on your new child.
Just did such a really great job addressing the biggest topics, the most pressing concerns that entrepreneurs are facing in that space. And in addition to that. The networking was just really amazing to see. It seemed like everyone was very interested and engaging and wanting to meet people that they haven't connected with in the past, and Bound gave them that opportunity.
So congrats again to the editorial team, our operations team, our marketing team, our events team, everybody who put that event together. Because I heard from a lot of folks that not only are they coming back next year. To the brew band live event in Marina del Rey, but they're bringing their friends and I don't know what else to say.
I was just really happy that the event went as well as it did. The vibe was amazing. At the event, you know, in the news there's been some negative headlines about beer, alcohol, THC, but everyone was very hopeful. They were excited for what's next. Rather than just reading the headlines and being doom and gloom.
It was like, how do we dig in deeper and figure out what. Can we actually do? How can we come together? How can you bring fun back into the category? I loved the presentation with Rabobank where he was diving into why Gen Z's actually drinking less. And yeah, a lot of the stats are actually just made up based on the fact that they're not even legal drinking age yet.
So there's a lot of things that need to be, you know, dug in deeper to really understand where we're going and what can happen within the industry. So those presentations are awesome and everyone can watch them at. Dot com slash video. Well, you just took the words outta my mouth because I was going to say if you miss the event or if you were an attendee of the event and want to refresh yourself on the content, you can do so, and you can do so if you went to Benet Live or Noosh Live.
And the way to do that, Jacqui, is simply to go to the websites. Go to the websites, benet.com/video noosh.com/video. You do have to be an insider to watch those replays, but it's pretty easy to do. You just go to benet.com/insider and if all the videos aren't up at the time that this podcast is published, don't worry.
Our team is still getting to it and they'll get everything out there as soon as possible. But, uh, everything from our taste radio studio interviews to main stage interviews to our pitch slam competitions, it's all on the site, but you gotta be an insider of Bev Net and Nas or Brew Bound to do so. You can actually be an insider for all three websites.
It's, uh. Yeah, that's a pretty easy process. All access. All access. Is that what? That's what it's called. All access. I already have all access, so I don't really, yeah, you don't really need to know what it's called. No. 'cause you have all access. I mean, you are an. A-list industry celebrity, so I am definitely not a celebrity.
I'm, I'm, I'll call myself a-list. I like that you're a Q list in real celebrity. You call me cute. QQ, yeah. Q list. Oh, Q list. Oh my gosh. In reality to edit that out. Where's Z list? Yeah, right, right. I was hoping for V, but we'll see. I would say Q because like you're above me. That's that's true us, yeah. The, the Q rating, is that what you're talking about?
No, there is a Q rating out there. You never heard of that? No. Oh. There was like a Q rating for people who are actually celebrities. Really Q Yeah, Q that, that low. I, I only think of A and B list. Celebrity. I don't know what to tell you once you're c you know, you're dead to me. Okay. I wanted to say that, um, speaking of celebrities, there was a Bob Ross happy little accident that led to like a beautiful moment when we kind of had a little glitch with the reveal of the pitch slam winner.
Oh, geez. Yeah. Yeah. And he, he didn't quite, I, I don't think it was anyone's fault, but it was just like, all right, we're just gonna get on with it. And we, you're talking about the brew bound pitch slam? Yeah. The brew bound pitch slam and the graphic went up before Ray knew, and, and everyone starts cheering.
The founder didn't know, and then he stands up and he is like, yeah, team runs up to the stage. It was so awesome. Yeah. Well, I tried to extend the anxiety a little bit longer than I probably should have, and all of a sudden everyone started drumming on their tables like that, and I was like, oh, that's cool.
Let that go. Yeah, you kinda let it try. Try to let it go. As soon as I heard people start cheering, I was like, I haven't said anything yet. And they had shown the graphic that said Iio Brewing, the founder who is uh, Mazda Kitano Iio Brewing one. The competition. He jumped up and he was jumping up, arms flying up in the air, and he ran up on, he jumped up onto the stage from the front of the stage.
I thought he was gonna do a flip. He was very happy. I love that kind of enthusiasm when people win the, uh, pitch lens. It, it was a really cool moment. 'cause the, the tension built, he didn't realize he'd won and then afterwards he is like, I didn't realize what had happened. Yeah, I think people were slapping him on the back and being like, congratulations.
And then so, but uh, yeah. Congratulations to Ma Kitano, the founder of Kasu Brewing. Melissa, do you get a lot of questions about whether brands should incorporate regenerative ingredients into their products? It feels like that's, that's a term that's been having a moment for some time. I mean, people always, obviously their organic is, is known.
It seems like there's a lot of demand for that, but it seems like regenerative. Organic and regenerative farming has been bubbling up for a while. Yeah, for sure. And I think folks are still not sure which certification to go with, how to word it, what the hierarchy should be if it's, you know, among other differentiators.
I think there are a lot of questions around it, but I also see a lot of interest not only with retailers, but more and more with consumers being interested in. Especially now with some of the rollbacks that we're seeing, regenerative, I think has maybe even more potential than it has in the last few years.
Yeah, I think one of the hardest parts about regenerative agriculture is that it's not very clear what it is. I think it essentially it's about protecting the soil that farmers are using. We're using it in a sustainable way as opposed to. Clearing it out and just replacing it with SOD or new soil each time.
It's intended to protect the health of our lands as much as it is to grow ingredients that taste good and have the nutrient density that we have come to want in our foods, I guess have always wanted in our foods. And one of the things that's been hard is that, you're right, Melissa, there's all these different kind of certification programs out there.
And it's not necessarily clear as to which one branch should latch onto. And so people have been waiting for the USDA, the US Department of Agriculture to say, okay, well here's a clear certification process just like USDA organic is. So when you see that seal, you know you can trust that the product is organic.
So last week I saw this in the news on na, Adrian DeLuca, our dear colleague who writes for na, why are you doing a penguin thing? What was that all about? I was doing a seal. A seal. Okay, what? What for? Because you mentioned a seal. Oh, for crying out loud hug. Oh my god. Adrian DeLuca wrote this story where she wrote that the USDA this week unveiled the regenerative pilot program, an initiative that claims will put $700 million claims.
I'm not sure what it says. That claims will put $700 million toward assisting American farmers. And the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices to improve soil and water quality, boost productivity and strengthen the US food and fiber supplies. So I feel like at a time when we're not hearing a lot of great headlines coming from the government, this seems to be a good one and hopefully it leads to great things and hopefully an event, eventually a certification program that's sort of an umbrella for all the other certifications that we're seeing out there.
You know, I think such a great example of a regeneratively centered product. Is Lil b Emily was at Noosh Live, and actually that was one of the products that I ate, though. I ate two bags. Yes. Emily Griffith is a maker of, or is the founder of a brand called Lil Buck. They're a maker of buckwheat snacks, which is her buckwheat based snacks.
Yeah. And so buckwheat is a cover crop. It's something that farmers plant to put nitrogen back into the soil, and she's using. The buck weed itself for her product. And I think it's such a great example because it makes so much sense. It's not hard to understand the regenerative principle when you look at a brand like Lil Bucks and it's so good, by the way.
It's hard to understand now. I mean, she's done so much work. Oh yeah, exactly. To, and it, you know, we never recommend that a brand is the educator and that is a brand that has required, you know, her to be. A big time educator and it's worked for them. And this new packaging is absolutely stunning. It's gorgeous.
And the product itself has had a bit of an evolution. And I think that the one that she's settled on now, where it's clusters, cluster bucks, it's, they're so, they're so good. So funny. Yeah. I, I don't necessarily look for products that are made with regenerative ingredients, but I hope that it becomes. More of a standard than it is sort of the exception to the rule.
Just like with organic, I feel like consumers didn't even know what that was. And then that became, you know, a new standard for produce, for products. And I think this could be another standard to level up from organic even. And I think the USDA putting money into it is just gonna help everyone. I think a lot of companies have been doing it like themselves and really trying to invest in that.
But to have just a baseline of support, I think would be really helpful for just that movement. To your point though, Ray, I'm still not sure that the majority of consumers would choose a product that has, even if it has a regenerative certification on it. But I think if they buy the product because they like it, then you feel good about buying it a little more because it does have that aspect to it.
Yeah, most likely you're gonna find these types of products at places. You'd expect to find 'em in the Whole Foods or sprouts and what have you. But um, as soon as they get into more mainstream and mass retailers, I think consumers are gonna be a little bit more aware of the certification or the ingredients and what regenerative means.
And I think, again, that's to the benefit of everyone. So continue to follow that story on nas.com and certainly on bev net.com as well. To do so the best way to do so is to become an insider. And we already talked about that. So Mike is over here just like bursting at the seams, ready to talk about all the wonderful products he bought.
He brought, you didn't buy them, did you? Not today. Not today. Okay. He's sent to us. You got some generously. You got some, some fest. Some fested beverages there. I have been sipping on a recess. Zero proof pepper. Barini. A pepper Barini. Yeah. Did they trademark that? They should. I hope so. What? I mean, I really hope so.
It's a holiday mocktail with notes of candy, cane and chocolate. Slightly sparkling zero A BV, 30 calories, 12% juice. Pretty spectacular actually. So recess, as we know, is a maker of. Beverages that are intended to calm or chill you. And they have their recess, uh, what do they call moods, recess, mood, beverages that are magnesium.
Yes, infused with magnesium. And they also are makers of zero proof cocktails. This peppermint Barini looks pretty good. Does it taste like chocolate? It does. Okay. It tastes, it's got a little, uh, I mean, it tastes like peppermint chocolate. It's exactly what you'd want it to taste like. But there's, there's no creaminess to it.
There's a little creaminess to it. It's, there's no cream, but it's got a little creaminess to it. Interesting. Okay. It's, uh, yeah, it's one of those beverages that you look at it, you get an idea of what it's going to taste like, and then it tastes exactly like that. I mean, I want it perfect from the carrot.
It's really, really well done. Yeah. Okay. Good stuff. Well done. Recess. Yeah. And now you've got some, oh, candy dates, smooth sweets, candy dates. Nice. They're green. Unfortunately I destroyed the, uh, sweet buried fish yesterday, which are kind of a take on Swedish fish. And those are incredible. So these are not to dissimilar from the true dates.
Remember the true dates that we are all gushing about? Mm-hmm. At, uh, expo West where they're dates, but they're candy flavored. Although these, the difference with these Yeah. Is there's a candy shell, it's like an m and m candy shell around the date. I just had the peach. This looks amazing. It's fantastic.
It really does taste like candy. I just had the watermelon. I'm gonna go in for bubblegum. I'm a little skeptical about this one, but I'm gonna do it anyway. The sour watermelon, it seems like it's right up my alley. So are you Melissa? Sweet. Uh, sweet peach. And they've got sweet. Oh, you destroyed the sweet berry fish already.
It's a bubblegum peach is really good. Not a fan of the bubblegum, but I see what they're going for. I like it. Do you think kids are gonna eat this stuff or is it really just for adults? That's a good question. I'm not sure. I mean, I think if you're a Swedish fish fan, for instance, that these sweet berry fish hit almost the same note, so kids would like them, but the question is, are they gonna pick them up?
The answer's probably not. I think it's how restrictive are you with your children and how much sugar they're allowed to have, because. If you are, then they'll probably love them. Yeah. Well, there's three servings per pouch. Each pouch contains three ounces. Uh, there's four pieces per serving, and each serving contains 80 calories and 13 grams of sugar, which is not terrible for candy or at least, and dates are naturally more low glycemic 'cause I understand it.
I'll take your word for it. Okay. But the pit of dates, it says they're grown in California, so you can appreciate the fact that you're buying a US product, if that's important to you. No artificial flavors or colors. Yeah, I would buy these depending on the price. If these were like four bucks, I'd definitely buy these.
Yeah, me too. If there's six bucks, I'd hesitate. I'd hesitate, but I probably still would do it. Yeah. Good stuff. Smooth. Sweet. This seems like a great. Airport snack too. I definitely want this to take on the plane with me. These are great. Or if you're like Monica and you run marathons, I bet this would be a great marathon snack.
Monica Walrus, the managing editor of not, she runs a lot of marathons. A lot of marathons. Very impressive. She just ran another half. Yeah, I don't think I could, I mean, I know you have to train for marathons. It just seems like a lot. Yeah, I couldn't do it. No. And what do you do like. When you're running a marathon, do you listen to music?
Do you just like focus on the road, cry, like, I don't know, go crazy. Cry, I guess. You know, you have to be an extraordinary human to run a marathon. Yes. And we're not. Let's, right, we'll leave that to Monica. There you go. Not for us, Jacqui. If you run a marathon, actually Jacqui is though. No, I'm not a runner.
I'm a sprinter, not a runner. I need to like chase something. I'm like a dog. I need to chase a ball. That's how I am too. I just run for miles and miles and miles. I, I've seen you run Jacqui. So the funny thing about Jacqui, she's like, I'm not a runner. And then she does great in a 5K. Okay. Also, I haven't ran a 5K in like 10 years.
And then you were like, let's run a 5K. And I was like, sure. Why, why not? And then I was hurting for weeks, but I made it. When, when did you run a 5K? Last year we did the Santa Monica Christmas run, which was tragically moved to the day after we left. Darn it. Jacqui's so sad. Look, I didn't know you didn't like it.
Sorry. The tears are streaming down her face. It was. It was really fine. Bye Bonnie just didn't like it. I understand. Was it because we had been at JJ the night before? Is that why you were hurting or is just Uh, no, we weren't. I was just trying to keep up with Mike, so I was just running really fast. Okay.
Okay. Peak physical condition, Mike? Yeah. Versus, you know, peak physical condition, Jacqui, but just not for running. Okay, I hear you. Alright, so more beverages there, Mike. There were two, uh, extraordinary beverages that, oh, extraordinary. I wanna. I mean, there were a lot of extraordinary beverages at Benet Live, but, um, I wanted to shout out the founders of Hippie Water, Sasha Voda and Sasha Paters, who I really enjoyed that product.
It was the exact thing that I needed after a day of just being like, ah, and you know, wait, hippie water? Mm-hmm. She's, uh, the founder's pretty well known, isn't she? She is, yes. The CEO is on a show that you might know called Pretty Little Liars. Okay. I didn't know. I didn't know either. I didn't actually know it.
I didn't know. I was scrolling through the attendee list and I'm like, what's this hippie water stuff? And then, uh, I looked up the founder, whose name is, well, she's the co-founder, Sasha Pieter. I'm getting, I think it, it's Pearson. It's Schafer. Yeah. And so. She's, uh, she's got 18 million followers on the Grams.
I mean, all I know is they were two really nice people who had a beverage and they were trying to figure out how to sample it, and I helped them figure that out. And then Jacqui tried it and, mm-hmm. It was really good. Okay. It just hit the spot. And it had just the right amount of THC too. Oh, you gave me one, I think.
Yes. Yeah, it was good. Yeah. She was the undercover celebrity at Benet Life. I guess so, yes. Her and Ryan Philippy. Chloe Kash. Sasha was telling me, Chloe Claire, that she was not in recovery. They can't walk down the street without somebody asking for a picture of Sasha. And I'm like, is it because she looks like Wednesday Adams?
And she laughed and I think it was like I was being serious, but she Adams family. Yeah. Oh, you just called someone Wednesday Adams. Is that what you I, I thought she had a little bit of that vibe going, which is good, by the way. Right, right. I think that's a positive thing. Really cool. Also. I didn't know.
And then, you know, later they followed me on Instagram and I was like, 17 point how many? 17.6 million followers and only 1,552 that Sasha's following. So you're a, you're one of very. Yeah. Yeah. She'll figure that out soon enough. And unfollow me. But, uh, uh, maybe your, maybe her PR team. Oh, no, she's following Craven too.
I just saw this Craven. No, but she's following Mike, but they were saying like, the event was great. They had a good time and they were just, you know, they're walking around having great conversations and they really enjoyed the event. So I was like, I was, you know, eating that up. Of course. And, um. I also, uh, got the, she's also following Kevin Bacon.
So you're like on the same Oh yeah. Yeah. Six degrees. Yeah, not six degrees. I'm just saying. You and Kevin Bacon. Oh, I might two degrees now. Yeah. Forget the degrees. Go on to Gly. Well, this is not Gly. It's called giggly actually. Oh, okay. But old people like you and me, remember that terrible film, Julie, see this and go, no, but it's actually giggly.
And this part here is a smile. Right? And that's, um, it looks like a tongue. They're, they're making it more, look more like a smile in later revisions. But, but the important thing here is that it's very colorful. The THC callout is super clear and the flavors are great. I've got blood orange, margarita, raspberry mule, pineapple mojito in my hand here, and I think I'm gonna go in.
And so this brand was founded by Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, right? No, that's the movie, right? Again, that's the movie. Right? No. Right. Hopefully it has a better outcome than that movie. 'cause that movie bombed. Yeah. Yeah. This is, I mean, the bar is low for Gly, but this is giggly, which the bar is high for.
So this is really tasty stuff. It's got real juice in it and really hits the spot. How many calories in it? It's only 70. Not bad. Not bad. Not bad. Indeed. Not bad. I mean, it's supposed to be an indulgence, right? Absolutely. 70 calories. Nothing for an indulgence. It's a less than a, a, you know, margarita. Mm-hmm.
All right, Jacqui. What's new on the West coast? I have another product that people were sipping at the official party at Bev Net Live, which is Vivi. Oh yeah. And this was like a fan favorite of the team. Mm-hmm. See it? VIVY? Yeah, VIVY. Viviana on our team. I think she was a little biased because, but everyone else loved it too.
And it's kind of fun. It's in like a a pouch. And this is their pineapple martini. It's a vodka cocktail and it comes with a straw, and it's just very simple. It's just a vodka cocktail, 9% alcohol. Gluten-free made with natural flavors and everyone that I was talking to really enjoyed it. It's the adult Capri Sun, pretty much.
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely leans more towards women. Do you think Viviana was biased because of the name or because it was her third alcoholic drink ever? I think both. We'll ask her later. Nice. Viviana who, uh, you all met at the one-to-one booth? Yes. If you did any of the one-to-ones at any of the events you met Vianna for sure.
Yeah. Just keeping everyone on track. Yep. And I do have some more alcohol 'cause it is the holiday season. I have summer club, which you know, it's getting cold out. I guess I would want something to make me feel like it's summertime. And this is their chy or LECHY cooler. And then they also have a POG Mosa.
So some cool flavors. The pos passion fruit orange guava. These are wine spritzers with no fruit juice, and 6.4% alcohol. Pineapple, orange, guava, pog, pog. Yeah. Sounds yummy. There you go. Mm-hmm. Sounds tropical. Yeah. Well, I mean, that looks like a refreshing beverage. I think that definitely feels like it's something I would sip on in the summer.
Hopefully it isn't, uh, something that people avoid in the winter. Yeah, I know. That was the, the only thing with the name is do you think people would not pick it up if it's wintertime and they see refreshing? I think if it was Winter club, people would not pick it up in the summer, but I think summer club, nobody ever says, I, I wish it wasn't summer.
Especially on the East Coast. I hate summer. Yeah, sure. Oh no, it's summertime. You never hear that. You're like, uh, winter. I wish it was summer. Yeah, the does say summertime, anytime. So, okay. They're trying to bring summer all year along. I think they're outta something there. I would love to try that. How do we join the club?
If we, yeah, if we have any in the office. I will be looking for that product. And Melissa, anything, uh, in your, uh. Pockets there that you wanna share? Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Unfortunately, I don't have one in my pocket because I didn't take it home from California, but I, I actually had an opportunity to interview Alda from Skinnery.
Mm. And I'm really into the brand. It's Icelandic Marine collagen. And of course it's supposed to promote skin, hair, and nail health. It's a combination of caffeine, collagen, and vitamin C. And Aldo is talking about marine collagen, which I thought was so interesting. They processed the fish skins and she actually, her family in Iceland actually, they're a family of fishermen.
So they do that themselves and as she was talking about marine collagen and how it's easier for your body to process it, I think when I'm done with my vital proteins bovine collagen, which I mixed into my coffee, I think I'm switching to, uh, marine collagen, that beverage was so tasty, really interest and her presentation was extraordinary.
I wanna get my hands on that brand. I mean, it has a lot of potential to, you know, be a great brand with a few tweaks. I think it really does. Right now they're D two C, but she's here to launch it in the United States, so hopefully I can go buy some and drink it, and my skin is just gonna be glowing. You guys are gonna have to wear sunglasses.
Well, more than usual. You should definitely share your experience with marine collagen. With the community, I think with Jacqui too. Do you use marine collagen? 'cause you're not eating? I do bovine. I, yeah, I don't use bovine, I use Marine. Ah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And, and why, why did you switch, or why do you use Marine instead of bovine?
Uh, well am pescatarian, so that's number one. Yep. And then, yeah, I don't know. I do find that I digest it easier too. It's easier on the stomach. Well sign me up and it doesn't even taste like fish, the,
not even a little bit. The other product I did bring back from the Taste Radio live stream studio at Bev Net Live, I chatted with Brian from the brand Cox. This was a really interesting product. They have these packets of powder. It's a bioactive substance for athletes that has all kinds of vitamins. And minerals.
They also have a ready to drink version, which is a bottle with liquid in it, and then it has a cap that has powder, and you push a button and you release the powder into the liquid. And the reason that you do that is because if you had mixed those things previously and it's sitting on the shelf for a while or in transit, the effectiveness of the vitamins and minerals are diminished.
And I thought it was really interesting to see and hear about this now because with the creatine craze that's going on, I think we're all hearing about how you have to mix the creatine in the powder right before you consume it, otherwise. It's not an active product. So I thought that timing on this was really interesting.
It's a cortisol stress reducer, so the idea being that you work out and your body produces this cortisol, this helps quell that and it helps restore glycogen and I guess it boosts muscle growth and it reduces doms, which is. A couple days after you exercise and you can't walk up the stairs. If it helps that, then you know who isn't in couple hours.
Jacqui, you could have had this for your 5K and you would've been fine. Only they weren't there last year. They were only here this year. Cox, that's a a EX described as a cortisol stress reducer. Everybody wants something that's gonna reduce stress. You have a reducer too, don't you? What's that? Don't you have a reducer over here?
I do actually. And uh, this is the last brand we're gonna be talking about and. I feel like this is the brand that we needed to close a show on. I was upstairs with Captain Collin, the now world famous Captain Collin. Mm-hmm. Because, uh, everyone saw him at the events and he's, 'cause he was everywhere. He was just everywhere and doing everything all the time.
He never went to sleep. The captain of sampling? No. He ran our, our, uh, samples and he was just helping out everywhere he could. Calling Seru. He handed me this bottle. It's a. Short white bottle. I believe it looks like a mushroom. It's glass, but it almost feels like a kind of one of those like clay jars.
Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. And it's got this really weird closure. It almost looks like one of these candy dates. It looks like toad from Super Mario. Yeah, I think it looks like a mushroom almost. Yeah, it's almost, it's mushroomy. And the name of the brand. I couldn't tell if it's Santa or Sansa. It can't be be Sansa 'cause that.
Well, if it is then they have two different S's and the A's are the same. I think it's Santa. Think the bottle is white. Closure is bright red like a nose, almost like, uh, Rudolph's nose. And it's described. Incredibly as a noise canceling tonic. What'd you say? Stop a, a noise canceling tonic. What? What in the heck?
I just had some Is the noise canceling? Tonic? It's a really beautiful package. Who needs a noise canceling? Tonic? I don't know. Doesn't mean actual like sound or like the noise in your head like makes you calm. No idea. And it is Drink Santa. It's, I mean, it is Santa 'cause it's, we have to go to drink santa.com.
Let's take a look at this. Oh shoot. You have to be 21 to proceed. So what's in here, uhoh? It says it's a scifi kind, tonic powered by the Amita Mus Korea Mushroom for calm, blissful, clear energy without the jitters or crash. A spicy sweet tonic. That helps you zone in on what matters and tune out everything else.
It's for focus and fun. What did you say? It's described as a coffee alternative. It's nons, psychedelic and alcohol free. But why does it have to be? Why do you have to be 21 plus? Is it a psychoactive mushroom? It says non psychedelic, huh? Two bottles is 35 bucks. Six bottles is only $59. So it says it's for anyone seeking clear, focused, calm energy in a blissful mood.
Oh, it has kava in it. Okay. Mm-hmm. Oh, okay. So that's, that's probably why it, and it also has MUS Mole, which is a naturally extracted GABA alpha agonist with distinct, relaxing and focusing effect. Interesting stuff. I'm gonna have to get some more data on some of this stuff before I drink that. Yeah.
Probably should do that. But for those of you who are familiar with GABA kava and beta alanine, maybe this is the right product for you. I just don't know. Noise canceling tonic doesn't seem like a, doesn't seem like a description or descriptor that a lot of people are going to understand or really need.
It sounds like a way to say it, like the noise in your brain canceling, but it takes a little bit of a while to get there. We'll let you know on the next episode of Taste Radio.
