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 I'm with my co-hosts, John Craven, Jacqui Brugliera, and Melissa Traverse. Melissa, it's good to see you again. You know, I'm just never gonna stop coming back.
That's it. I am, I, I don't have a problem with that. Um, the only thing is I can't see Jacqui. I see a whole bunch of, uh, gobbly go and, uh, in lines. I'm, I'm trying to see her in the screen in front of me and, and I can't see anything right now. Oh, it's broken. It's not broken as much as it is our switchboard operator, I'm gonna call it.
'cause that's a kind of a dated term that was like ai. Jacqui, our director, our director, switchboard operator is for phones. Right. I was trying switchboard operator. See what happens. I was trying to date Mike, 'cause Mike is actually running the, uh. Right. You're trying to date Mike? Oh yeah. Oh geez. Okay.
Nice. Everything's gone. We've, we've come off the wheels here. I think everyone's probably a little groggy from last night's Super Bowl. Certainly people from New England are, are probably a little bit grumpier and groggier than usual because, you know, the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. It was not a very exciting game.
It wasn't very pretty, wasn't, thankfully they had a couple runs that made it a little bit interesting. The end of the game, but I thought it was gonna be a shutout. Yeah, I think that was a worry among New England Patriots fans is that the team wouldn't score a single point. It certainly looked that way for a while, but it was a blowout.
Seahawks play their butts off and their defense was just spectacular. But it is what it is. And, uh, I didn't have a dog in this fight. I'm a Bills fan, people know this, so I didn't really, I wasn't really rooting for either team very much. Very much. I just show up for the food. Yes, exactly. What, what do you bring, what do you have for your spread?
So, um, I actually went to my sister-in-law's house and they did a smoked pork. They smoked it for like 17 hours is amazing. Some coleslaw. And I actually brought my own royo bun to put, you know, Royo bread. It's like the super high fiber bread. So I did, oh boy. I brought my own bun to put the pork on and you know, I'm really glad I did.
Why. I don't know. I just felt, I feel really satisfied after a meal with plenty of fiber, I guess. Oh, okay. Was not expecting that answer. All right. Moving around. I mean, you know, it's just that you feel like you, you know you got what you needed after all that bacon and the wings and all that other stuff.
You wanna make sure that you actually digest all that food properly. I get ya. I hear ya. I'm with you. All right. I didn't. Probably didn't have enough fiber yesterday. I'm not getting into the specifics of it's getting weird, my bodily functions. How do you know? But anyway, no, I had some, uh, bacon wrap scallops from, uh, Wegmans, which were fantastic.
Mm-hmm. I, I'm a big Wegman's guy, especially at prepared foods, just amazing. Mm-hmm. Even the ready to prepare, you know, it's good stuff. What are you laughing at John c Crazy with, with your beverage over here? What sounds So in the wheats, I was just talking about nutrients gallops from Wegman's. What do you even, what do you.
Doing man. We wings too anyway. Alright. Alright. Anyway, I'm really excited because we are T minus five days until Taste Radio's Miami Meetup. That's happening on Wednesday, February 18th from five to 7:30 PM at Casa La Rubia in the city's Wynwood neighborhood. What is Casa La Rubia? John Craven. It's a beer, taproom.
Beer and taproom. Sure. What else do you wanna know? They've got some amazing outdoor space. It is a beautiful locale in the most vibrant neighborhood in Miami. Wow. There go. So, yes. Someone asked Chat GPT about Wynwood. Uh, I prefer Claude. You know Claude. Yeah, me too. But anyway, um, after I saw all the advertisements yesterday, but it is a, uh, it is a tap room owned by AB InBev.
There you go. The makers of Budweiser or Bud Light. Yeah. Like a bajillion beers. You'd waste the whole episode talking about them all. Exactly. Casa Lu, I, I believe they're not gonna be serving any Bud Light or Budweiser. Don't believe so. Don't think so. So they got some beer and wine cocktails, all kinds of stuff.
Yeah. So we're gonna be. Able to sample some of that beer and wine in addition to all the amazing industry networking that's gonna be happening at the event, the live podcast interviews, there will be NA drinks, so there'll be a and NA drinks available and light bites. We're gonna have some light bites there as well.
So. We are encouraging attendees to bring samples of your brands. If you're a founder, if you're an operator, if you're an executive with a brand CPG brand, food and beverage brand, please bring samples. We'll have space for everyone to pour, sip, and snack on your products. Also, I am thrilled about this. We are going to welcome the amazing folks from Atomos Strategic Marketing.
They're gonna be hosting an Ask Me Anything table. So bring your toughest CPG marketing and design questions, and you're gonna get real answers from experts who know their stuff. Atomos is based in Miami. The team there has been deep in the marketing of CPG brands and products for many years. So if you have a question about how to promote your brand, how to market your brand design, what have you.
They're there to answer those questions, so I'm really excited about that. It's kind of a new thing we're doing at these events. I bet you could even bring your packaging or your packaging iteration and get some feedback on it. Absolutely. And it's not just from some random schmo like, you know, Ray Latif.
It's from an expert in the industry who knows what is doing or she's doing. So if you are thinking about attending, and I don't know why you wouldn't if you live in the Miami area. We'd ask that you please register taste radio.com/events/miami. The registration takes maybe two minutes, 120 seconds. Not very long.
I would say five seconds. Oh, if I really matter. If you're using dialogue, this isn't gonna be the reason that you're not gonna go. No, I think I, I don't like, long's gonna be like Ray, I don't know man. You said a minute and 20, but it took, that's too, took a minute. 35 'em out. I'm out. I'm just saying it's not gonna take 10 minutes.
What would we be asking? That would take a long time. Okay. So when you apply, I'm saying you're talking about senseless things that no one's thinking about. No. No. And you're making them think about it. When you have to register for Expo West, how long does it take? I don't know. It takes 10 minutes. Who cares?
You're still gonna go, that's my point. No, I just don't want people to waste their time. Two minutes. It's gonna take time. Okay. Is there a wall that I can bang my head on? There's a table anyway. Yes. If you just show up, that's fine too. Five to 7:00 PM Wednesday, February 18th. Casa La Rubia. Take the 25 seconds.
It takes. Yeah, takes the 25 seconds. Taste radio.com/events/miami a humongous thanks to our partners for the event, Casa La Rubia, obviously Vibrant Ingredients, Matriarch Wealth Management, and of course Atomos strategic marketing. If you have a company and you're interested in sponsoring this event or any one of the other six taste radio meetups that are gonna be happening this year, later this year, that is, please email us to learn more, ask@tasteradio.com.
Very exciting stuff. I am. Excited to just be able to go to a place where it's not gonna be odd degree. Yeah. When I walk outside in the morning. Yeah. It's literally like one degree here in Boston. It's so cold. Yes. Meanwhile, Jacqui's wearing short sleeves. Yep. She's just degrees skin in the sun. Ugh. Did you say 80, 80 son of a gun?
I just got colder hearing. That sounds awful. It does too hot. Where is, um, once upon a farm based, are they based in, they're not based in San Diego. I think that's where they started. It's where they started. I don't know. Yeah, they were founded in San I think. I think they're technically a without an office company.
Ah, okay. Yeah. Well, they are definitely not without funding because once Upon a farm, just last Thursday, made his debut as a publicly traded company. This happened after months of speculation once upon a farm as a baby and kid food brand. And upon this debut, they raised $198 million from selling 11 million shares of common stock.
Once Upon A Farm is Helmed by John Forker, co-founded by actress Jennifer Garner. At the time of the debut, the company was valued at $724.2 million based on shares outs. Standing. So a lot of speculation about this. I actually didn't think it was gonna happen because it was taking so long. I know you've been following me, John.
I mean, it's pretty cool 'cause we don't typically see a lot of CPG brands launch an IPO. We don't see a lot of publicly trading CP brands. Not good ones. At least not what? What does that mean? I'm saying there's always companies that, uh Oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah. Like Penny, penny Stock company.
Sure, yeah. Sort of things. So, you know, to see, uh, like actual, kinda legit more traditional IPO with a actually material valuation. Yeah, that's kind of cool. And not only are they a baby and kid food brand, but they're also a refrigerated brand, which is pretty operationally complex. I feel like it's really impressive that they've done what they've done and come so far in a pretty challenging category.
Yeah, I mean, establishing. Their own space in as many stores as they've had. I mean, they really were the forerunners to creating a refrigerated section within that baby food aisle. You go into a lot of stores these days, obviously a Whole Foods, but I mean I think they're in Target and Walmart and other places like that they've carved out and it's higher section in that aisle.
And not only created a place for their own products, but I think expanded the opportunity for other brands to get into that space as well, which is pretty awesome and really. At the end of the day provided consumers with more options and more better for you options for kids and children, which is a fantastic thing.
It's difficult and expensive to get consumers to learn a new behavior, but if you can do it, it pays off. Yeah, it's exciting. I think it just shows that there's like another path for CPG brands too. Like maybe there's another one that's in coming up in the ranks that could do the same thing. Yeah, so if you read the story about Once Upon A Farm's IPO Pen by Adrian DeLuca at the end of the article, she notes that investors such as Manitree, Steve Young and Nutter McClellan and Fish's Will Burnett have expressed optimism that once upon a farm's public offering could establish market demand for food and beverage companies.
So. Who knows what we'll see next in terms of IPOs for CBG brands. I mean, it's a pretty complicated process as far as I know, and it takes a long time for it to happen, but, um. As you pointed out, Jacqui, it's another path for Better For You. Brands emerging, well, not really emerging brands, but better for you brands and more established brands to build value and create greater value on their own terms versus selling the company well and also.
I think it is something that requires brands to really think about their future a bit more, and I suppose their willingness or ability to kind of stay independent. I mean, obviously you're a public company, but you know, it's different than getting rolled up into some larger. CPG company or something that's gonna come with, for better or worse, all sorts of other stuff, infrastructure, et cetera.
And I think that's a lot of times been the challenge with food and beverage companies that have gone public is just Wall Street just expects continued growth. You know? And like how big can any brand or company get on its own? Like what's the runway? You know? And I think that sometimes has been, again, something that, uh.
At least the past ones, it's kind of made them not work out so great. What do you think would make a team choose an IPO versus an acquisition terms? Acquisition terms, I think, you know, it's no secret that once upon a farm has been on the radar of large CPG companies, large strategics, and I think the terms just weren't there.
Beyond that. I think as John pointed out, you know, you're sort of controlling your own destiny, even though Oh yes, no. Yes. Well, yes and no, but I mean, yes, wall Street is gonna be demanding or has certain expectations for your company, but I think if you want to hopefully maintain the quality, integrity of your products and your brand as a whole.
You probably have more power to do so launching an IPO than you might selling to a strategic, I mean, let's be honest, like, you know, John Forker was the CEO of Annie's when they sold to General Mills in 2014, that sale brought in $820 million, or the acquisition price was $820 million. Clearly, Annie's is a, is a major brand right now.
It's in, it's a ubiquitous brand in every grocery store in America. But I wonder if. The founders. Are happy with where it is right now. I would assume they are, but maybe they had a different kind of vision. They have no control over that vision anymore. Well, they probably moved on to other things at this point.
It's been so long. But perhaps they're, they're probably heavily invested in real estate on Mars or crypto or, yeah. Yeah. But I know you, I mean, you were saying something about like not being able to control your own destiny as a publicly traded company. No, I was just saying, I think the other part, you can operate a company and just be like totally heads down focused on numbers, and that's not how publicly traded companies work.
Share prices. I mean, if it were just number driven, it would be, I don't know, way less interesting, I guess. But I mean, it's kind of emotion driven in the eyes of Wall Street and. Whoever the actual like investors are. Hence you get acquisitions like Buy, which was acquired by KE Dr. Pepper for $1.7 billion, which in hindsight is dramatically overpriced.
Well, it's more like for public companies. You get a company like an Nvidia that trades at some absurd, obscene, multiple. Whereas other companies don't, you know? Yeah. But I'm saying that in the buy example, there was a lot of pressure from shareholders of KE Dr. Pepper to acquire buy when they had the opportunity to do so.
And I think there, if I recall, their share price was taking a hit before the acquisition because people felt like buy was going to be acquired by another strategic at the. Yeah. I mean, but there's a whole other mess of problems here. We could talk about this for hours and obviously we're not the best people to talk about it, but there's also nice things called like activist shareholders.
Sure. So is that a nice thing? Actually, I don't think that's a nice thing. It depends who you are. But anyway, according Gordon Gecko from here, I think to a certain extent it's like an almost untested path of sorts. The more traditional like m and a fundraising route has somewhat well established outcomes.
I think for what Once Upon a Farm is doing, they are like on their own path. I mean, I think it's definitely pretty cool. I'm not knocking it at all, and I think it's great that. For the broader CPG industry, I think. At least for right now. This is good. You know, and we'll see how it plays out and I, I wish them nothing but the best.
I think it's a very, you know, amazing brand that they built and have a lot of respect for those folks and see what happens. Yeah, it seemed to have worked out for Vita Coco, which was in a similar position a few years back when. I don't think they were getting the offers that they wanted in terms of an acquisition and they were like, screw it, we're gonna do an IPO as if they made it that simple.
I'm making it seem like it was just
turn on switch. Well, I was gonna say, you asked chat GPT, you probably, I don't know, used like Siri or something still, but No, you just asked. I own AI platform. I've created my own AI platform. Yeah, it's, it's going ITpedia Britannica, do you call it? With like an 800 number. It's a 900 number actually. Anyway, I'm really, really dating myself standard.
Oh boy. Anyway, we'll continue to follow this, uh, this story because it is an interesting one and, uh, congrats to John Forker. Jennifer Garner the entire team at once upon a farm because it is pretty remarkable and at evaluation that is just spectacular. You don't see companies like this all the time, and it's a great thing for emerging brands.
It's a great thing for our industry as a whole. Yeah, and again, I think John Forker especially has done a lot of. I think really positive things that whether early stage entrepreneurs know it or not, he's probably had impact on their ability to do what they're doing. So gotta get him back on the pot.
Yeah, you should. Yeah. Whatcha doing it? I sat down with him and, uh, Jennifer Garner in 2020. Late 2020. So, uh, it's time, time for a check-in. It is absolutely time. No doubt both of 'em will be at Expo West. For those of you who wondered about my ranting and raving about that show and whether I'd actually show up, I will be there.
Kicking and screaming, but I'll be at Expo West with the rest of the team here. So, uh, see you there. I'm assuming we'll see the team from Graza as well. I am sure that we'll see the team from Graza. I feel like I'm seeing more and more from Graza all the time. I actually picked up their olive oil mayonnaise this weekend.
It was at Whole Foods. They have a fancy version and then they have an original version. So the fancy version uses only extra virgin olive oil as the source of fat, and the original uses refined olive PMA oil. So they have two different versions. I just thought it was a really interesting, uh. Kind of case study around ultra processed foods, oils, kind of catering to a few different audiences on the non base platform.
I am going to publish a couple of podcasts that are centered around some of the new nutrient scoring system. So there's the food health system that Kroger and Hy-Vee just implemented that was created by this woman named Sam Citro Alexander. And then. Chris Ucci from Koya. So they put together this scoring system and it's being used by retailers.
There's an app and that scoring system uses nutrient density and ingredient quality. So they do rate things like whole grains, unsaturated fats. Fiber protein, fermented things, that kind of thing, but they don't restrict or limit things like processed oils or seed oils, anything like that. I thought that was really interesting.
Contrasted with the non ultra processed food verified program, which just was launched by the non GMO project. Bill Creelman from Spindrift is part of that, and they were the first brand to have it. So I have a, the first, with the first beverage brand. I thought they were the first brand to Oh, really?
Have the label? I think so. Okay. I think so. Yeah. I think they're the first brand to use it, and I know that they were part of putting the whole system together. So I have a couple of non base podcasts on that@nonbase.com. But the non UPF verified program does restrict any kinds of processed oils at all, and they really are focused on limiting ingredients like emulsifying gums added sugars.
Industrial trans fats in any kind of RBD oils, which are refined, bleached and deodorized. Yeah. So, yeah. But I just thought that it was really interesting that Graza has one for each group. They have one that would fit into a more strict non ultra processed food certification, and then one that is cheaper and appeals to the masses.
It's pretty strange, honestly, to be, to, to be completely honest with you, I, I feel like most people are gonna expect. That Graza will be selling a clean label product with no gums, fillers, what have you, deodorized oils, which is the term I've never heard before. Well, how do you make an an oil not have odor?
You use a solvent like hexane to take all of that stuff out of it. I was like, do you really want to know? Right. That was impressive. But so and so interestingly though, the olive oil mayo that has extra virgin olive oil, you can obviously taste the extra virgin olive oil. I didn't taste. It'd be weird if you couldn't.
It'd be weird if you couldn't. And then what? Exactly. And I think if consumers aren't looking for that or aren't used to that and are comparing it, like I love Duke's mayonnaise. Sure. But it doesn't taste anything like that. But I would also say though, that so many products and consumer packaged goods have processed oils in them or RBD oils, and I think a lot of people don't think of them as being unhealthy at all.
No, I think that's something that, um, general awareness of it is. So it's almost like your focus has been just redirected to other things, you know? I mean, I, I think what they're doing with Graza is super interesting in that, like other sort of things that are out there in the mayonnaise aisle. I don't know.
When I saw different colors, I was like, Ooh, are they, they gonna do a Chipotle one or something, you know? So there's just like a lot of other stuff that's taken away from the actual, like core ingredients that. Make the actual mayonnaise, you know? Yeah. Which at its core, I mean, obviously you could just make mayo at home with some eggs and olive oil and citrus.
Right. I do wonder how long it'll take to get that message across. Mm-hmm. And clearly they need other brands to help kind of create education on that. And I think it's an interesting one, like in, in the, I don't know, it's almost like, uh, what's a good comparison? I mean. They're, they're highlighting something that's in there that you don't know about, that you might not like.
Right, right. Yeah. I mean, I even think about growing up all the crap that I ate and I'm making better decisions these days, but it might not be perfect. And I think that it just shows that there's the consumers that are really hyper-focused on, you know, almost biohacking and. Like incremental nutrition versus the ones that are just trying to make better decisions that are still affordable.
So there are different consumers out there and there are different channels. And I think it's interesting that like the first one that you mentioned is in partnership with Kroger, which is, you know, mainstream retailer that's trying to help the consumer guide them a little bit in a better direction rather than like.
Something that's not as approachable or even on their radar yet. And it feels almost like doing something like Yuca ISS doing where it's an app you scan and you can just see whether it's good, bad, you know, not terrible, so you can kind of make your decisions with just a little bit more information.
Yeah, it seems like the food health rating system is a little bit more accessible for a lot more people. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Whereas the non UPF verified certification is gonna be tough for a lot of brands. I mean, I'm actually kind of surprised to see that there is Xantham gum in this mayonnaise from Graza. I don't know if you need.
Anthem gums for a lot of mayo. I mean, to keep it stable for that long. You do. And the other thing that the non UPF verified program limits and restricts is natural flavors. Mm-hmm. More than half of the things that we try and eat have natural flavors in them. Well, that was spin drifts. We're gonna stand in our soapbox moment and many, many years ago to almost 10 years ago, I think at this point, we're.
Bill Creelman was just confused about where natural flavors actually come from. How are they produced? Are they as natural quote unquote natural as you know, people would think them to be. And he came to the conclusion that a lot of natural flavors are actually more synthetic than natural, at least in his opinion.
And he's like, no, we're not gonna do that anymore. He's just gonna use juices and purees to flavor our products, which is was pretty bold at the time. But I also think in line with their positioning in premium nature, spin drift, that is, you don't see a ton of brands doing that. It was interesting because we had a guest last week, Ashley Nicholson, who's the founder and CEO of BTR Nation, which is a maker of protein bars plus protein and more snackable bars and also with chocolates, and they don't use natural flavors in their products.
And it was just her stance that. We just can't use ingredients that we can't stand behind, and we had a fantastic conversation that we're gonna feature in a future episode of Taste Radio, so stay tuned for that. But those are the only two brands that I can think of off the top of my head that don't use natural flavors.
I mean, there's a lot out there for sure. I mean, certain coconut waters, like single ingredient products. Yeah, it just, I, I was gonna say it really depends on the product and the product category in terms of the tolerance for it, necessity for it, et cetera. Allah, like, you know, Graza probably doesn't use that and their olive oils, right?
Some things like, I don't know, maybe chocolate's easier, who knows? I don't know, but uh, even something as simple as orange juice, where you would think that the only ingredient is orange juice. There were, there was, I think it was in The Economist or Forbes, it was some business magazine a number of years ago where they revealed how.
Large scale orange juice. Legacy orange juice brands actually make orange juice, and a lot of it depends on the price of oranges. At a certain time of the year, they buy it at its lowest price. They juice it, they seal it hermetically. It's gonna lose some of its flavor and some of its nutrition and some of that flavor and nutrition that gets lost is re-added via vitamin C and natural flavors.
But they don't disclose it, apparently. They don't have to disclose it, which is kind of a weird thing. Yeah, yeah. Interesting stuff. Jacqui, I think your point about how the food health system and the non UPF verified program coincide and how they appeal to different consumer groups. I think that's right on.
I was just talking to Kiva Dickinson recording a non based podcast about Cadus, which is the new cracker brand that he has with Jordan Carpenter and Rachel Mansfield. They only use extra virgin olive oil in their crackers, and I ask. Why limit it to something like that? And he started talking about how.
These sorts of values have a ripple effect. So you may have that one person who's super, super conscious about no natural flavors, no gums, no, you know, processed oils, and then they tell their friends and maybe their friends don't. You know, necessarily care about those factors as much, but sometimes the folks who are most passionate about some of those things are the ones who share products and, you know, share their favorite things with their friends.
So I can sort of see how the non UPF verified program sort of transitions into something like the food health program that just appeals to a wider swath of consumers. All this information is a lot more easily shared than it has been in the past. I mean, maybe not the past 15 years, but prior to that, I think people are more willing to just send a link to an article they may have seen.
Mm-hmm. And hopefully it's a, it's an article of substance and reality versus just some crazy internet theory out there, which does happen a lot too. I mean, you go through social media and you see certain reels on Instagram or TikTok, and people just can be talking outta their ass about stuff. They have no perspective on.
No real information about, and you know, you do have to do a little homework on your own, but if it is from someone that you trust and if it is from mm-hmm. Someone that you. You know, think is a relatively intelligent person. I think that's how a lot of this information gets shared as well. So people just gets people thinking a little bit more.
Mm-hmm. And I think that goes across the board for everything. I think consumers are just so skeptical of media and advertising and they just wanna go to their friend and ask them for a recommendation from someone they trust rather than watch an ad. Be, you know, told that they should be eating this thing, or they should be eating zero sugar, no fat.
You know, like all of the diet trends that have gone through the years. Yeah. Everyone has that friend that you ask like, what do you like, what are you buying? I, I mean, I get that a lot, obviously. Well, because no people know I, you know, I talk about food and beverage for a living. P Yeah. I mean, I think we might all be that friend in our friend groups.
Yes, exactly. It's, I always love when someone pulls a product off the shelf like, Hey Ray, have you seen this? Yeah, I noticed this a year ago. Oh yeah. People need going grocery shopping with us. Probably, probably. What else we got? We got some protein, soda. Okay. 2026 is definitely gotta be the year at protein soda because we know Koya launched their protein Pop Joy Burst finally launched their long awaited protein soda.
They have three varieties that I saw in our cooler. One's cotton candy, one is gummy bear sparkles, and the last one I have is fuzzy peach rings. Fudgy peach rings. That would be would be something that I probably wouldn't consume. Zero grams of sugar, four grams of protein. Doesn't seem like a lot of protein.
I mean, it's a soda ray. Yeah. Yeah. But like the middle of the can, the label hierarchy is pretty interesting 'cause you have the brand name Joy Burst in bigger font, much bigger font. Right in the middle of the can you have protein, soda, and protein is the second largest font. On the package. On the bottom is the flavor name.
These come in 12 ounce slim cans. Yeah. I would've expected more than four grams of protein. I don't know. I think that's just, you're, uh, staring at beverages too long though. Whatcha talking about? That you would expect it to have some massive, like just jammed with protein. If you're gonna call something protein soda, I would hope that it has more than four grams of protein.
I mean, look at another way, it's got like, I don't know, 4000% more protein than your typical beverage or soda. Mm-hmm. That might appeal to folks who just know protein, like, ah, gotta get some protein. Like, it's just, that's about what they're focused on. But I think if you have people who have dived into protein significantly and know the numbers, it's probably not gonna knock their socks out.
Is it a significant amount of protein though? No. You just gotta drink a bunch. Right. It's a great, but this model too, so it works. Okay. Jacqui has some too. Also looking at like the flavors like cotton candy and fuzzy peach drinks. Like do you think someone that is like a bodybuilder, no. Or really focused?
On their macros are gonna be drinking this? Probably not. It's for the casual, it's for the kids, for the Gen Zers that want something tasty, have fun, and they're like, awesome protein. This makes it healthier. I don't know. Is protein more attractive than probiotics or prebiotics? Perhaps. Definitely. But if you're interested in protein and you see four, I would've assumed.
If you get double digits, start with 10. It probably would taste bad, but anyway, moving on. No, we can't. Okay, we'll move on to something actually that I want to talk about. You know, I wanna mention something about Graza. So Graza was a brand that at Launch was featured in an episode of our elevator talk series, which highlights early stage and disruptive brands from across the food and beverage industry.
We produce new episodes that are either focused on food or beverage brands twice a month. Fantastic show. If you haven't seen it, heard it, just tune it to Taste radio, you'll find it eventually. And Andrew Benin, who's the co-founder and CEO of the company, joined us from a closet in his house and before GR it was anything and look where it is today.
So I would encourage a lot of brands to, or that are listening and that are brand new or just getting started. Consider joining us for a future episode of Elevator Talk. Just go to taste radio.com. You'll find elevator Talk in the top menu, and you can apply to join us. There's no cost. There's no cost to join or apply.
Just join us. We'd love to have you. So there was a brand last week that joined us for an episode of Elevator Talk. The brand is called Bam Jam, and so they make. According to the front of pack here, protein packed, fruit spreads. So they have three varieties and there's eight grams of collagen protein per serving.
They have a blueberry, they have a wildberry, and they have a strawberry. And I feel like this makes a ton of sense, right? Yeah, it does. You want a little bit of extra protein with your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Here's where you're gonna get it from. And the collagen may give sort of like a more viscous consistency, which is what you want in that product.
Makes sense? Yes. So well done. Ba jam, joy burst. You gotta do a little bit more convincing, but I'm sure you don't give a damn about what I say anyway, so. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I, I Great. Crazy. For the record, I'm crazy for, I'm crazy. I'm crazy. I, I really like joy Burst. I'm just saying. I would up the protein if you can.
All right. Okay. What do you got from queso? It's a jar here. Yeah. I mean, I know you love cheese. Is that from last night? You love cheese. You already super, I mean, I sampled it. Come on, man. Uh, it's called drippy. They have a couple different varieties. This one's a salsa and queso dip made with real cheddar cheese.
Dripping. Not to be confused with, uh, drippy, the non-alcoholic cocktail brand. THC Seltzer brand. Oh, okay. Yeah. What's the one I'm thinking of? Dappy Dappy. Oh yes. Yeah. But there is a drippy, although maybe after you have a couple dippies, you're craving some queso dip. Oh, a hundred percent. That's probably not definitely.
But, uh, I don't know. I kinda like the branding of this. I don't really eat a lot of jarred cheese dip, uh, protein content is way too low for you. Right? Less than one gram. So I know if it had like 40 grams, you'd be like, crushing cheese dip. Well, honestly, that's, that's kind of surprising. 'cause doesn't cheese have a significant amount of protein?
Well, it's probably got a reasonable portion. It says 30 something calories. Okay, so it's probably like one chip. I mean, it's pretty obvious what that is. Yeah. But it's cool. I like it. Yeah. And then to wash it down, this is what I was drinking before. Fave. Fave is good stuff. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. This is, uh, organic drink mix that just is focusing on making a nice tasting drink mix.
Yeah. We met those guys at the winter Fancy fair in San Diego. Those guys, the guy, well, he's the guy. Yeah. There were some other folks there too. Ryan Ra. Yeah. At their booth. He talks about how fave is really just intended to be a better for you drink. Mixed brand. It doesn't have any adaptogens, probiotics, anything else?
Protein. Protein. It's supposed to be like a crystal light. A better for you crystal light from today's generation, right? Yeah, exactly. Pepsi. Yeah. I mean, what do you, what do you think? I know you're always slamming down crystal light. I'm more of a high sea guy. No, I love it and I love it because it's not trying to be anything more than it is.
And I love it because they have a fruit punch variety. That's fantastic. I was really happy about that one. This seems like a great kind of modern glow up of something that people consume a lot of and have for a long time. And it's pretty darn tasty. Yeah, because how often are people drinking things for all the other stuff besides just a good tasting beverage?
I mean, you can't drink probiotics and prebiotics all day, can you? Right. I'm the wrong guy to ask you to ask Melissa about that. It's, uh, she's, she's the fiber expert, so yes. I don't think you can.
