[00:00:10] Ray Latif: Hello, 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 I'm with my co-hosts, John Craven, Melissa Traverse, and Mike Schneider. As AI increasingly shapes how consumers discover products, we examine why emerging beverage and food brands need to appeal to algorithms as much as shoppers. We also discuss a proposed class-action lawsuit against the only bean over protein labeling claims and explore why early-stage founders should think beyond niche audiences and bigger from day one. Well, with the 4th of July now behind us, it feels like the rest of the summer is for the taking. I don't know. I always feel like the summer goes by so quickly that I always dread the 4th of July because it feels like it's almost over at this point. I don't know. Stop. I know.
[00:01:10] John Craven: I feel the same way. I know. I know.
[00:01:12] Ray Latif: Thanks a lot, Ray.
[00:01:13] John Craven: I know.
[00:01:14] Ray Latif: Sorry. But, you know, there is time to go out and get some beach, get some sun, hopefully get some relaxation. But for entrepreneurs, the show never stops. And that's why we're here to help, advise, share some insights, share some perspective on what it takes to be very successful in this industry. I really enjoyed the interview I did with a guy named Nima Fotovat, who is one of the co-founders of a brand called Made Good. We published an interview with Nima earlier this week on Taste Radio. Made Good is a Toronto-based company that started out being completely focused on allergen-friendly snacks, particularly for lunchboxes, and obviously has evolved into something That Was much larger than That Was taste-first snack platform that I love. I keep in my pantry all the time. Their bars, their bites. They have these little muffins that they call oat bites that are just amazing. Melissa, you like a good made good bar every so often, don't you?
[00:02:12] John Craven: Oh, for sure. Great for the kids' lunchboxes. Great for grownups when You Need an extra snack. Just great all around.
[00:02:19] Ray Latif: Great all around.
[00:02:20] John Craven: Good all around.
[00:02:22] Ray Latif: Good all around. Well, it's interesting you say that because the title of the episode is, what did it take for made good to become great? It's really about long-term planning and really thinking about the future of your brand beyond the short term, beyond the first few years and trying to consider what it takes to be a legacy brand, one that could be a generational brand at that. So take a listen. I Think Big's a great interview. That's just me though.
[00:02:50] John Craven: You know, I actually stock up on those and Bobo's Oat Bites at Market Basket.
[00:02:56] Ray Latif: Market Basket. Oh, good segue. Good segue, Melissa. Market Basket, the regional grocery store chain That Was a favorite of Mike and Melissa, the M&M's.
[00:03:08] Melissa Traverse: I was there on July 3rd. All the ingredients were there for full combat, like no parking spaces. Nice. Just the place was packed. You could barely move your shopping cart. Did you stab someone to get the last Weber charcoal? It was not necessary buns. No. It was the most joy wasn't a completely market Yeah, I've ever had where'd you have the body I? Did not do that it was it was unnecessary in fact everybody was I Think Big's the World Cup healing people There were a lot of people there that were in various country kits. I saw Argentina. I saw Canada. I saw Colombia I saw others I was probably wearing Arsenal The conversations were, especially in the deli, fantastic. I had a conversation with a woman about salami and then I was like, well, have a great fourth. And she's like, oh, I will. And I said, enjoy the world cup. And she's, oh, I'm going to, I'm from Cape Verde and they hadn't played Argentina yet. And she was so excited. And then I got excited and everybody saw it. It was just, it was a fantastic experience at MarketBasket.
[00:04:12] John Craven: You know, Mike, I would love to agree that the World Cup has changed everything and everyone, including Market Basket, but I feel like the healing power of Market Basket is a thing in and of itself.
[00:04:24] Melissa Traverse: Maybe both coming together?
[00:04:26] John Craven: I mean, that's like the Care Bear stare.
[00:04:30] Ray Latif: Incredible. A very Gen X term. I know. No, it's fine. It's fine. You know, we talk about market baskets so much on this podcast. I would love to have the owners of the grocery chain either on the show or at Bevanite Live or Nosh Live, but it's a little bit of a family dispute in terms of ownership there. Yeah, I don't think they're going to do that. Darn, I can't do that for us.
[00:04:48] Melissa Traverse: We're not sure who the owner is.
[00:04:49] John Craven: I've tried, but actually the folks at WACU, they were on the Market Basket shelves. So I've been talking to them about possibly doing a Market Basket show because everybody needs to know the joy That Was Market Basket.
[00:05:05] Ray Latif: All right. All right. Well, I still can't get over the fact that Mike had a conversation with someone in the deli line about salami. That Was very interesting.
[00:05:13] Melissa Traverse: Yeah. I was making an Italian sandwich and I was ordering my salami and she asked me what I was ordering. Okay. And I told her and she's like, I love salami so much. And we had a great conversation.
[00:05:24] Ray Latif: I was hoping it would end there, but it did not.
[00:05:26] John Craven: I had a similar conversation in Market Basket about bologna.
[00:05:30] Ray Latif: Well, I am not going to market that. I ordered a mortadella. Just so John Craven's head doesn't explode, let's segue to a different part of the store, or maybe just a different store completely, and that being the liquor store. I had this product sent to me recently. And I met the founder...
[00:05:47] Melissa Traverse: It's the package store, Ray.
[00:05:48] Ray Latif: Okay, the package store. I met the founder of this brand at Bar Convent, Brooklyn, which took place in June of 2026, obviously. It took place last month when I just say that. And it's a brand called... Because summer's over, Ray. Because summer's over. It's a brand called Vermouth Mist and I thought this was a brilliant product because it Reduces the waste That Was typically associated with vermouth now vermouth global problem, right? It is a huge global problem. They've been talking about this at the UN I think the the NATO meeting this past week. I had a big big part of it was about vermouth and As most folks know, or maybe don't know, Vermouth Mist a perishable product. So when you're making your cocktails, you open up the bottle, you got to put it in the fridge, and even in the fridge doesn't last longer than two to four weeks or so. So this guy created this product, which looks like a perfume bottle. And it's really just a mister so that you could just use mist as opposed to pouring an ounce or two ounces of Vermouth Mist your cocktail.
[00:06:53] Melissa Traverse: That's going to be a lot of sprays into your Negroni, right?
[00:06:56] Ray Latif: But I tried, I Think Big was a martini that he made with this and it was amazing. And so I know we're not gonna be making any martinis or cocktails anytime soon, or at least not this morning. But yeah, I thought this was a fun thing to play around with and I'm looking forward to it.
[00:07:12] Mike Schneider: I saw Vermouth Mist and I'm like, what is this? I was thinking it was more like, I don't know, your version of, like, Axe Body Spray or... Mydra Car Noir. Maybe a replacement for Febreze.
[00:07:22] John Craven: I was gonna say maybe a replacement for Listerine Stress.
[00:07:25] Mike Schneider: I thought it was... Oh, boy. ...Cologne. I thought it was, like, your Christmas. Air Spray. Air Spray. I mean, so many things. Would not have guessed That Was what it was for.
[00:07:31] Ray Latif: Well, we're gonna test this out. We're gonna make a few cocktails. Not right now, but we'll tell you how it all came out in an upcoming episode of the show. Yes. Do I spray a little gin in my mouth at the same time for a martini sensation?
[00:07:44] Speaker 1: You know what?
[00:07:45] Mike Schneider: That actually...
[00:07:46] Ray Latif: That could be an interesting way to reduce alcohol consumption, and I know people are complaining about that these days. Yes. Right? Or at least concerned about it these days. Maybe just in a vape? Perhaps. Oh no. Perhaps. Well, Vermouth Mist may not replace all of the bottled vermouth That Was see in America or beyond. But there are still concerns That Was is replacing jobs. Our lifestyles are very different now because of AI. You're not even real. It's just an AI voice. This is just an AI voice, which is very possible, actually. No, in all seriousness, it's an interesting time for consumers. It's an interesting time for brand owners because It's not just about the algorithm anymore. Remember everyone was always talking about how do you how do you beat the algorithm? How do you navigate the algorithm for all these social media companies and Google and so on and so forth? And now it's how do you navigate AI and all the things that are changing on a daily basis with the advent of AI? And so we had A great panel at BevNET Live New York City 2026 about how AI is reshaping the shopper journey. And we had three tech marketing and sales experts, Kevin Sen from Aisle AI, Lynn Altman from BrandNow and Jess Graham from Banquet. And what they talked about is how founders can manage AI on platforms like Amazon, Instacart, and Walmart. Obviously, you should tune in to this panel and you can do so even if you didn't visit BevNET Live by being an insider for BevNET or Nosh. You can watch the entire panel on both BevNET and Nosh. But I want to talk about how you perceive AI, John Craven, as positively impacting or maybe making it more challenging for brand owners to get their products to market and make sure that consumers are paying attention to what they're selling?
[00:09:44] Mike Schneider: Well, first Do All, you know, while these guys were off Well, at least Mike at Market Basket on July 3rd. I was sitting at my house getting, you know, ready to watch a World Cup match. I don't even remember which one. And I get this notification on my phone from GoPuff. It was trying to promote that I should go buy 4Loko. And it was a moment where I was like, man, these guys need some AI here, you know? You should know my buying habits. I mean, you probably don't need AI for that, but it was kind of weird.
[00:10:14] Ray Latif: Did you have any guests at your house at the time? Were there other folks that may have been potential Four Loko consumers? No.
[00:10:21] Melissa Traverse: I was coming over later. No. Okay. Well, there you go.
[00:10:24] Mike Schneider: Mike, Mr. Four Loko. Yeah, it was a little strange, but look, I mean, the sessions we had at BevNET Live, which touched, I think, a bunch of different ways That Was is kind of impacting the CPG landscape today and in the near term. Yeah. I mean, it's for sure something that it's really interesting to see how brands are leveraging it, you know, and some certainly aren't leveraging it at all. Some are just using it for. Kind of what everybody else is using it for, putting stuff in chat, GPT. We've seen brands that have designed packages and whatnot from it. But I think, you know, how it ultimately makes for a better retail experience, I Think Big, I don't know, it's almost kind of hard to wrap your head around right now. You know, things should get pretty different, but yeah, I would definitely encourage folks to watch those sessions from BevNET Live.
[00:11:17] Ray Latif: One thing that I have definitely noticed about AI and the implementation of AI in email communication or on social media platforms is that unless you actually have a foundation That Was authentic to your brand and to whatever company you're working for, If you're just letting AI do the work, it's gonna be a bad experience for that end consumer, viewer, anyone who's consuming that content.
[00:11:47] Melissa Traverse: Yeah, you should not be sending AI slop to your customers. You should not be replacing all of your employees with AI bots. I mean, the thing is, AI just makes... the people that you have more productive because it can take some of those more menial tasks off their plates. It can help them think more about their strategies. They can help them poke holes in them, develop scenarios, but it also often will take you down the wrong path too. And it can hallucinate. It can get you to try to accept something that isn't going to work for you. I Think Big's just very dangerous to think That Was can replace your entire workforce.
[00:12:25] John Craven: You know, I thought a really important point That Was brought up at BevNET Live when it comes to AI is how product data is marketing. Do All of the material that you have yourself for your brand online is important, but then also third party information is really important because AI prioritizes third party information. So, you know, that's stuff like being on Taste Radio, Elevator Talk. non-based podcasts or co-publishing campaigns for service providers and suppliers. Do All of that stuff really helps.
[00:12:55] Mike Schneider: I Think Big's also just, to some extent, enabling lazy behavior too. You know, this kind of like, just let AI do whatever. It's like the old spray and pray approach times, like with 10 more spray, I guess. You know, there's one that stands out to me, just an AI slob, not going to name any names, but it was a PR company That Was basically, you know, using AI for a BDR kind of thing to drum up people to meet while they were at BevNET Live. And the opening paragraph was supposed to be contextualized to the recipient. And the first sentence was something about, Hey, congrats on, you know, putting together BevNET live. That's a really amazing community. Just AI slop. And then it's like, are you going to BevNET live? It's like. John Craven are you well done?
[00:13:47] John Craven: I'm impressed that you even read down that far I mean they might have no that one time that you didn't go do the subject was like are you going to bed?
[00:13:55] Mike Schneider: I don't really want to I Mean I think email messaging email communication is one form of
[00:14:06] Ray Latif: of or one way That Was could go really wrong for your brand. But I also think that if you let AI define who you are as a company, as a brand, as a product type, I think that's a really dangerous, very dangerous and slippery slope. I think you really have to know who you are, what your brand stands for, what it's about, why consumers love your brand to begin with. And that let AI enhance those aspects of your brand and business.
[00:14:34] Melissa Traverse: AI is not an expert immediately on building brand. And it will make you think that it is. And it's gonna give you a lot of good ideas. And it's going to go and scrape the internet to try to find the thought leaders on sites like ours who have put their ideas out there and synthesize those for you. But at the end of the day, You should either think about how to build it yourself and build it the way that you're going to feel comfortable running the brand and executing on that brand, or have the expert themselves come in and help you craft the way that you're building your brand. Because otherwise you're just taking the best practices that the AI model is finding, putting those together and creating something
[00:15:20] Ray Latif: that isn't your identity, as you said, Ray. And how do you find those experts that you were referring to, Mike? You find them on non-base. You find all those folks who are the service suppliers, the partners, the providers that can address the needs of your business and address them in a way that's based on experience and objectivity. Non-base.
[00:15:42] Melissa Traverse: That's right. There certainly are a lot of them on non-base. I do think you still can find them via AI as well.
[00:15:48] Ray Latif: They just blew up my entire point.
[00:15:52] Melissa Traverse: Your point is to go to a site That Was authority, where real people are having real conversations and sourcing That Was, but you can also complement that.
[00:16:03] Ray Latif: Yes, you definitely should be searching for the appropriate experts when it comes to law and legal matters. And again, I think you can find a lot of those folks on Nombase. And you might avoid the problems That Was're seeing the only bean face today. The only bean is a maker of dry roasted edamame snacks and recently on Nosh our very dear colleague Monica Watrous reported that the only bean is facing a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the company misled consumers by overstating the usable protein content of its products and failing to comply with federal labeling requirements. What is usable protein content, Melissa?
[00:16:54] John Craven: So apparently the FDA has a protein digestibility corrected amino acid score, PDCAS. I mean, I just want to say that acronym in general is ridiculous and too long. But anyways, that's the amount of protein that your body can use. I actually wasn't aware that this factored so heavily into nutritional panels, but I guess this is something that all brands need to be aware of. And depending on the amount of digestible protein that you have in your product, that affects what you can say on your packaging. What I thought was really interesting is that the plant-based proteins seem to have, you know, less protein digestibility than things like whey, milk and egg. When I was digging into this and digging into the protein digestibility score in general, I found that collagen has a score of zero so that your body can't digest collagen on its own as a protein because it's not a complete amino acid.
[00:17:56] Melissa Traverse: You just dropped a bombshell Do All bombshells in the middle of the show. What? That's a conversation you should have with Mark Sisson. He would talk to me about that all the time, about how you don't actually digest the collagen. You're basically throwing it at your joints and hoping that it absorbs them or something along those lines.
[00:18:12] John Craven: Yeah, and when you look at packaging, I mean, hopefully when you look at products that are based around collagen, they talk about the amount of collagen peptides, but not necessarily the amount of protein in the product, unless it has that other amino acid profile in it.
[00:18:28] Mike Schneider: Look, this is always one of those things where just a reminder that you should have a legal professional reviewing your package and label. And also, you know, the class action side of things, as we've talked about before, to some extent it's like a sign that you're doing something right, at least in terms of your business objectives. since, you know, those usually aren't targeting companies that are super small or not on a growth trajectory. But this is the type of stuff that there's just increased risk the more CPG ventures into functional areas. These little claims that seem innocuous as marketing claims turn into these things.
[00:19:08] John Craven: And apparently brands like Huel, Owen, and Kodiak have all been socked with lawsuits when it comes to protein. This actually dovetails nicely into a topic that Sherry Fry from Nielsen IQ brought up on the Nonbase podcast. It was right after Expo West, and she was talking about how one of the next trends in protein will be marketing the quality of the protein versus the quantity. So we're seeing that, yeah. Right, exactly.
[00:19:37] Melissa Traverse: Because they're just throwing all this protein at us and do you actually know what it does? How much do You Need? How much is useful for your body? I don't think we all know yet.
[00:19:45] Ray Latif: No. I actually wonder. Finger numbers better.
[00:19:49] Melissa Traverse: That's what they say. That's why I get the 30 grams, Giovanni.
[00:19:52] Ray Latif: Right. Yes. Yeah. I mean, I wonder how many people are really buying the Only Bean for its protein content. If you look at the packaging, it is not the biggest and boldest part of the label. In fact, I believe all I can see is the macro callouts at the very top of the package. And I imagine there are a lot of people who just want a healthier snack, say, than chips or pretzels or what have you. And this is a good whole food option. And maybe the protein isn't the prime reason. I'm not that well-versed in the company. The owners and operators of this brand know much more about it, but maybe it's not worth the call out that they're making right now. And I'm interested to see where this all goes. The founder of the company and CEO said this in the article, the grams we claim are lab tested and accurate. We have counsel reviewing this. They mentioned similar claims have been filed across the category, and they are confident it will be resolved. So more on this story, I'm sure, to be reported on. And I know our very dear friend and colleague, Monica Watrous, will continue to follow it. What are you crunching on Mike well train?
[00:21:03] Melissa Traverse: It's almost like you're gumming it as much as you are crunching it our dear friend Matt flakator from talk back Talk That Was I was gonna get to that right. It is a brand of spicy shortbread cookies, okay that use very interesting ingredients like cumin and green chili and also gochugaru and toffee This one is a newer flavor to us, the gochugaru and toffee flavor, and it's pretty interesting. I always like sweet heat. I don't usually think about it in a cookie. They call it swicy. Oh, do they?
[00:21:35] Mike Schneider: Yeah, that's the new thing. The kids. Yeah. Hold on, I'm going to start crunching too.
[00:21:39] Melissa Traverse: Nice job, kids. The cumin and green chili, it used to be like a lot of cumin, remember?
[00:21:45] John Craven: Very, very spicy.
[00:21:46] Melissa Traverse: I'd be curious to what you think now.
[00:21:48] Ray Latif: I do have to wonder about their approach to flavors. And I almost feel like this is bordering on very niche as opposed to- Super niche. Yeah? Yeah. I think we can say that. I just wonder if, you know, it's fun. It's exciting. You get to try all these different flavors in cookies and it's a very exciting taste experience.
[00:22:11] Melissa Traverse: I agree, Ray. I mean, this is a product that they're doing well in the farmers markets. It's a, you know, dad and son business, and they're having a great time doing this. I'm not sure what the ceiling is for this. I hope they can find some kind of mainstream distribution, but it is pretty niche to have cumin and green chili in a cookie.
[00:22:28] Ray Latif: This is not necessarily a one-to-one comparison here, but I Do All when BodyArmor launched, BodyArmor being the brand of natural sports drinks. And Lance Collins had talked about his own mistake in creating flavors that were a little out there for the mainstream consumer. And within a few months, he pivoted and focused on flavors that everyone knows. So instead of saying we're doing, I don't know, like a dragon fruit and raisin berry or whatever it was, Let's just do orange mango and fruit punch and quickly people caught on to the flavors That Was Yeah, so you're saying talk back just needs Magic Chocolate chip. I'm saying that talk back would or do well to having flavors that are a little bit more well understood and appreciated by the mainstream consumer I know this clearly defines them and differentiates them. It sure does. That's their innovation. Yeah.
[00:23:26] Melissa Traverse: Because it's a great spicy shortbread cookie.
[00:23:28] Mike Schneider: I think with any of these, and look, I really like these products. They're unique. I Think Big just needs to lead with shortbread more. Right. Because I think that in its current form is presented as something that's like the footnote on here. I couldn't even tell you what this flavor is. Like, I'm not going to remember. Gojugaru, just from looking at it real quick. Make it more approachable.
[00:23:52] John Craven: Alyssa's got a little tears over there from the heat. I would say I think the crushability of these shortbreads are limited because the spice, it really, really builds. And maybe you could have one with a cocktail, but this is not something you can just pound and all of a sudden realize you've emptied the bag and You Need another one.
[00:24:11] Mike Schneider: I would pound these. I think the opportunity of positioning, if we're just keeping the product as is, is that it's a spiced shortbread. Just keep it simple. Because if I said, hey, Melissa, what are you eating? There's no way in hell you're going to be like, oh, I'm eating a gochugaru and toffee shortbread, because that kind of sounds pretentious, right? I love that idea, though. You'd just be like, I'm eating a kind of spicy shortbread.
[00:24:34] Ray Latif: Look, this is a kind of constructive criticism that I think we're trying to share with Talk Back. Because again, we like this brand a lot. But the lesson here, I think, for a lot of brands, at least what we're trying to offer here, is that if you think about the broad opportunity and the big opportunity for your brand beyond, say, a specialty retailer or, I don't know, a roadside convenience store in Vermont, where I feel like this would fit really well, if you want to be in a Walmart, You're probably not going to get in there with these flavors.
[00:25:04] Mike Schneider: Well, let's forget about Walmart for a second. I do agree with what we were touching on before that they just need a flavor. And I don't know, it feels like the wheels are turning because this toffee one is way less spicy than the others, but they still need to just do more to bridge the gap between, you know, someone who maybe understands a shortbread, wants an elevated one, but isn't ready to go out on like a real limb here.
[00:25:27] Ray Latif: I feel like TalkBack is where a brand like the brand that John Craven is holding, Daily Crunch, where they were about five or six years ago. Daily Crunch started out as being really focused on the fact that they're a brand of sprouted almonds, and That Was the differentiator right there. But at the end of the day, I think people love this brand and love their products so much because they just taste so great.
[00:25:49] Mike Schneider: Yeah, I mean, I didn't plan that segue. That's why I'm here, John. But it kind of works out. But anyway, I do Think Big mean, I have Daily Crunch's two new flavors. They have a churro and a Mediterranean medley. The churro one is not sweet like an actual churro, but the kind of spice of it. One promotes itself as having five grams of protein in the churro and six grams for the Mediterranean medley. Melissa, I forget that acronym, but I don't know how much of it fits in that bucket. But, um, I think to Ray's point, you know, they've, they've kind of changed just the layout. And, you know, I like, they've got this sub tagline of uniquely crunchy too, which I Think Big a good, simple way to describe the actual experience of eating these. But, you know, I mean, these guys have done a really good job of just evolving this. The flavors are really dialed in this Mediterranean medley one. So good.
[00:26:41] John Craven: I think they used to lead more with sprouted and they pivoted to the uniquely crunchy, which is so smart because that's the effect you get from the sprouting. But that's what consumers understand.
[00:26:51] Ray Latif: Yeah, that's such a good point, Melissa. Oftentimes people talk about the ingredients and not necessarily the function or the effect. And people want to know about the function or effect because that's what they understand. The name is Daily Crunch. No, but to explain what sprouted beans. Yes, they have a description on the back. They talk about why sprouted is important to the brand. Right. But at the end of the day, I think very few of their customers really care. They just love the crunch. They love the flavor.
[00:27:14] Mike Schneider: And you know, daily, great way to speak to the use occasion. Yeah. When do I eat this?
[00:27:20] John Craven: Every day.
[00:27:20] Mike Schneider: There you go. Air Day. It's a dream. Once every two months? Come on now.
[00:27:25] Melissa Traverse: Are you still getting the spice from the talkback?
[00:27:28] John Craven: That lingers, I will say.
[00:27:30] Mike Schneider: It's great. Talkback face melting cookies? Talkback face melting cookies. That one definitely has got some kick.
[00:27:38] Melissa Traverse: If the talk is, oh my god!
[00:27:41] Ray Latif: No, it's got some good kick. Does your product in your hands, Melissa, does that have any kick or spice to it? Because we're on a spice kick at this point.
[00:27:49] John Craven: This is absolutely kick and spice free. In fact, this may quench the spice of the shortbread cookies. This is Magic Chocolate. And I picked this up at the UNFI show Mohegan Sun. If you all are familiar with the chocolate that Dr. Bronner's used to put out, they had fair trade, ethically sourced chocolate bars. They decided that they didn't want to do those anymore. So the team That Was making the chocolate for Dr. Bronner's decided to go out on their own. and made these Magic Chocolate bars. They have the bars that are just 100% the chocolate flavor, the way that Dr. Bronner's did, but they also have these truffle bars, which absolutely blew my mind. Here, I have the salted candied hazelnut truffle layer bars.
[00:28:37] Melissa Traverse: Accio Magic Chocolate.
[00:28:38] John Craven: And let me tell you, for sharing purposes, they come in these candy- Oh, so much packaging.
[00:28:44] Melissa Traverse: Yeah. They're like little wands.
[00:28:45] Ray Latif: Chuck me one. They're like little magic wands. It's like a Kit Kat, but individually wrapped. What? Sure, look at that. Right?
[00:28:52] John Craven: May I point out that even Ray is going to try one of these.
[00:28:55] Melissa Traverse: Wait, why does mine say Avada Kedavra?
[00:29:00] John Craven: So tasty and I love the crunchies inside they have again candied hazelnut and the magic team is Doing everything that the Bronner's team did so they are ethically sourced. It's the first regeneratively Certified Magic Chocolate bar out in market, and I just think they're so tasty how much does that cost you know? That's a good question. I don't
[00:29:23] Ray Latif: Because if that were say three or four bucks, I know that's still a lot more than your average KitKat, but it'd be for sure worth it.
[00:29:32] John Craven: Oh, yeah.
[00:29:33] Ray Latif: Yeah, there's gotta be more.
[00:29:34] John Craven: Come on. And this is oat milk. Really? Isn't that wild? It does not taste like something that isn't made from dairy.
[00:29:44] Mike Schneider: I mean, I don't Think Big's a KitKat replacement. Texture's different.
[00:29:48] John Craven: Yeah, there are no layers of wafer, but there's like a layer of chocolate on either side of the truffle layer with the crunch.
[00:29:56] Mike Schneider: There's something about that package that doesn't look premium enough.
[00:29:59] John Craven: Yeah. I think they use silver to differentiate from the other bars, but I agree that they, I don't know, maybe more color, less silver.
[00:30:07] Melissa Traverse: It's because it looks like a silver pack. It looks like something That Was would get as a test. And they're definitely deserving of looking a lot more premium.
[00:30:17] John Craven: Yes.
[00:30:17] Ray Latif: Should definitely get a DNS rating.
[00:30:19] Melissa Traverse: This is fantastic.
[00:30:20] Ray Latif: DNS. Yeah. Just circling back to the Summer Fantasy Food Show for a sec, I had a fantastic time catching up with Yasemin and Sheila Sajjadi, who are the founders. Rub it in. I know. I miss them. Yes, they held a after party at the amazing Shea Zoo, which is a bar slash event space. Oh, really? Yes, in Hudson Yards.
[00:30:48] Mike Schneider: Sounds like Shea J.
[00:30:49] Ray Latif: Uh, not so much. From legendary Bevanette Live Santa Monica fame. A little bit. It's definitely a different experience.
[00:30:57] Mike Schneider: Like I said, it sounds like. It sounds like.
[00:30:59] Ray Latif: I'm sure Hudson Yards does not have a legit Shea Jay. It's their own Shea Jay. But they were very gracious, the Maza folks.
[00:31:06] Melissa Traverse: As always.
[00:31:06] Ray Latif: In hosting us. And we connected on a level and in a way That Was hadn't in the past. Had some really good conversations. And it wasn't about the brand, it wasn't about their products, it wasn't about their growth, it was just getting to know them better. I really, really appreciated it.
[00:31:21] Melissa Traverse: I'm glad you got to because that's all my conversations with them. They are two of the nicest people I've ever met. Such a wonderful family. And they're so innovative. The way That Was met them in the first place with their vegetable boxes, their little charcuterie boxes that are actually full of real vegetables and the way they take all this care to put together this phenomenal spread during the event that's so unique and so them. That's just who they are. Fantastic people.
[00:31:45] Ray Latif: Absolutely. And Mazza as a brand is doing really, really well. I am excited. I'm going to sit down with Yez and Sheila. Yay. Pretty soon. Nice. For an episode of Taste Radio. So stay tuned for that. Also at the event, I got to catch up with our dear friend, Alan Skolnick, who's the founder of a brand called Datefix. Datefix is described as fresh fruit made to go. Essentially, it's pureed dates that come in a little squeeze pack and have a very short ingredient list. The one I'm holding in my hand is their original, and it contains medjool dates and orange blossom water. That's it. It comes in this 1.13 ounce pouch. 80 calories, 189 milligrams of potassium, 2 grams of dietary fiber. And this is the natural replacement for all those disgusting energy gels that people eat during marathons and so on and so forth.
[00:32:39] Melissa Traverse: It was either that or an IV. I wasn't sure.
[00:32:41] Ray Latif: Yeah, also at the event, I was catching up with our dear friend John Sider, formerly of Greater Than, the brand of better for you sports.
[00:32:49] Melissa Traverse: John Sider's a Bevnetter.
[00:32:51] Ray Latif: Now he's a Bevnetter. Or Bevstalker? Bevstalker. We love John. He crushed this. He crushed one of these and he's now a devotee of Datefix. So yeah. Thank you, Alan.
[00:33:03] John Craven: That looks like new design, new branding as well.
[00:33:06] Ray Latif: And how many different flavors are in that pack? So you've got the original, you've got the cinnamon, you've got the ginger, and you've got the turmeric. Alright, we're going to toss it. Ginger! Anybody? Turmeric? Turmeric? Turmeric? Ginger? Ginger? Alright, we'll toss it.
[00:33:21] Mike Schneider: Maybe later.
[00:33:22] Ray Latif: Maybe later.
[00:33:22] Mike Schneider: Maybe later. I just Magic Chocolate, spicy cookies, and some nuts. Well, you definitely need to round it out with some dates. It's like you're the Fancy Food Chef. I'm getting a little...
[00:33:31] Ray Latif: I need some Vermouth Mist. 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 Kratchy, 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.
[00:34:25] Speaker 1: you
