[00:00:00] John Craven: BevNET Live, the premier event for beverage industry executives, is coming up fast on June 10th and 11th in New York City. Hundreds of beverage founders, investors, and retailers are already confirmed. Don't miss your chance to build momentum mid-year and set yourself up for a strong finish. Early registration pricing ends Friday, April 24th. Register now and save $100 at BevNetLive.com.
[00:00:39] Ray Latif: Hello and thanks for tuning into Taste Radio, the number one podcast for the food and beverage industry. I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of Taste Radio. And I'm with my co-hosts for this episode, John Craven, Jacqui Brugliera, and Mike Schneider. All right, folks, I just want to put a PSA out there to please review Taste Radio on the Apple Podcasts app. I know you're going to hear that later in the episode as well. But it's very helpful if you do, especially if you leave us five stars, it helps other people to see what we're doing and to get recommendations on what to listen to. And if you do review us on Apple Podcasts and let us know by sending us an email to askatasteradio.com, we will drape you in the finest of Taste Radio gear.
[00:01:22] Jacqui Brugliera: Why don't we offer like a Ray Latif commemorative gold coin?
[00:01:25] Mike Schneider: Do people still do that? We Have the next best thing. What's that? A Taste Radio lapel pin. Oh, a lapel pin is great.
[00:01:30] Jacqui Brugliera: Oh, those are better than a Ray Latif Gold coin.
[00:01:32] John McKenna: Yeah, that's like a coin that you attach to your shirt, you know?
[00:01:35] Ray Latif: It's like a coin that you attach to your shirt. It's got some weight to it, too. Those things are heavy. Do you remember those? It's like flair. It's like from that movie Office Space. Everyone needs, like at BevNET, everyone needs to wear at least six, seven pieces of flair around the office at all times.
[00:01:49] Jacqui Brugliera: I don't really like to talk about my flair, Ray. You should uh throw some of those like when you're up on stage at Nosh live You know and BevNET Live and Brewbound Live just throw handfuls out to the audience I don't think our insurance carry would really like that. Maybe they would. You could personally sign them with a teeny tiny little pen. Oh jeez. Just thought. Okay. Might get us more reviews.
[00:02:13] Ray Latif: Whatever it takes, right? I actually would prefer one of those t-shirt guns where you're Just Ice, you're firing the guns.
[00:02:19] John McKenna: Or like the catapults, you know? I think yes.
[00:02:22] Mike Schneider: I think you should go full Max Luthi when he threw the Plink into the audience. Just do that. Just start chucking Taste Radio swag into the audience.
[00:02:28] Ray Latif: I do remember that. And I think some people weren't too happy about that. So they flipped some back on stage at Max. I got those. Thank you for that. Thank you for flinging those back. That was great. Yes. I picked those all up. You know, I mean, that was a dynamic performance by Max and team at Plink. They ended up winning the competition. I'm excited to find out who wins our competitions at BevNET Nosh and Brewbound Live. Time is running out. As of this recording, it is December 1st, 2023. We're on the second day of Nosh Live, but plenty more to come, including BevNET Live and Brewbound Live. Do not be that person, if you haven't already signed up, do not be that person who's like, oh man, I should have gone to BevNET Live. I wish I had Brewbound Live right now. Why do those people always sound like that? I don't know whose voice that is, by the way. Why do they always sound that way? Yeah, I can do many other voices. Voice mails with everyone just saying that You know I should actually you know it's funny actually this is motivational speakers name is Wayne Dyer Don't ask me how I find about it's a story. I listen to a lot of motivational stuff. No. I don't anyway so He wrote he wrote his first book a long time ago. He has since passed, but anyway He wrote he wrote his first book a long time ago And to get people to listen to it, he used to go on Taste Radio shows, these morning radio shows all the time. And after he was done pitching his book, he would call local bookstores and ask them whether or not they were carrying his book. And he would use all different kinds of accents and different voices to make it seem like there were all these different people calling, but it was just him. He was generating all the enthusiasm and all the interest. What are you saying, Mike? Oh, is this what you guys do behind the scenes? I'm sorry, I was just zoning out at this. I thought it was a good story, but anyway. Cool story, bro. Yes, you like that. So anyway, the bottom line here is that if you're not already registered for BevNetLive or BrewmanLive, you don't have much time left and you're going to be missing out on the best events of 2023. That's all I can say at this point. Best events, excuse me, plural. Events, plural.
[00:04:36] Mike Schneider: Yeah. There are events. There's like events within events within events. I mean, we've got all kinds of stuff going on, Ray. You didn't even talk about beverage school. You didn't talk about bootcamp. You didn't talk about Spirit Sunday, the cocktail showdown. There's so much going on at these events. I didn't talk about it, but you did.
[00:04:51] John McKenna: It's back to back five days of networking, content, after parties. I think at BrewOnLive alone, We Have three parties going on. So there's a lot to do.
[00:05:02] Jacqui Brugliera: So much product sampling that you're guaranteed to feel ill after.
[00:05:08] Ray Latif: Oh, no, no, no. Everyone who is sampling, I highly recommend. Okay, the samples are great, but just to be clear, I meant because you consume so much. Yeah, it's a cornucopia. Be careful.
[00:05:17] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, you can't contain yourself with all the awesomeness that's there.
[00:05:21] Ray Latif: But here's the cool thing. I think what people should do, particularly at BevNET Live, is instead of just getting a full-size bottle of something and drinking a sip or two, find a friend on the floor. Introduce yourself to a few people and say, hey, would you like to share, would you like to try some of these products with me? And get to know each other a little. Yeah, exactly. Get to know each other over.
[00:05:39] Jacqui Brugliera: I love this guy giving advice that he would legit never do himself.
[00:05:45] Ray Latif: No, no, no.
[00:05:46] Jacqui Brugliera: I would just use a different cup. Let me deep fry that in Purell real quick.
[00:05:49] Ray Latif: I just don't love seeing like these, you know, bottles of products with like a sip in them and then put on the side. It's not because people didn't love the products just because they can't, as you mentioned, John, consume a ton of liquid.
[00:06:02] John McKenna: I love seeing people at lunchtime with just, you know, sitting at their table with a spread of beverages and they're all just taking a flight.
[00:06:10] Ray Latif: But, you know, you know, speaking of sampling, I know you brought some fun samples, John Craven, to try. And the one that I will try and not be all freaked out about It's a new limited-edition flavor from KitKat. Yeah, right look at this.
[00:06:26] Jacqui Brugliera: I I went to New York City the Times Square Oh boy wrote a double-decker bus John Craven is actually from Iowa City, Iowa And I never been to New York to go see the Rockefeller the tree at Rockefeller Center meet spider-man That's not true grew up in New York So know my way around.
[00:06:47] John McKenna: To the Kit Kat store.
[00:06:49] Mike Schneider: John does know if you need pizza in New York, John Craven help you find the best pizza.
[00:06:53] Jacqui Brugliera: My mom's from Canarsie, my dad's from Bayside, Queens. I think I'm like legit there. But anyway, hold on. I want to pause for a second. They want you to ride on a double decker bus, Ray. If your mom was from Canarsie, wouldn't she be from Canassie? If you said it with a mass accent, maybe. But they say Canarsie. Don't be an asshole. I try to have no accent, but I would say Canarsie. But I also, you know, anyway. OK, so I went to the Hershey store only because my kids wanted to. But I got this here chocolate frosted donut flavored Kit Kat, which apparently they had it next. But I didn't go to that. So I had to go to Times Square and get one. So I will let you.
[00:07:28] Ray Latif: open it just so we don't you know we don't contaminate don't contaminate the package here and you can have the first bite here okay it says to lip the flap and tear at the end which i did hooray reading all the instructions before opening now watch here as i don't touch it with my hands let's go right
[00:07:47] John McKenna: Oh my God. What are we doing here? Everyone else gets germs.
[00:07:53] Jacqui Brugliera: Wow. I just got. Yeah, I'm going to pass. I'm going to go for the other side of the pack. Good idea. Good idea.
[00:07:59] Mike Schneider: I didn't touch anything. You just sneezed on it, guy. No, I didn't. There You Got. All right, here we go. Donut Kit Kat.
[00:08:05] John McKenna: How is it? I don't remember the last time I had a Kit Kat, so.
[00:08:10] Jacqui Brugliera: Got a lot of sugar in this. It tastes like a Kit Kat with like donut glaze on it. It's terrible.
[00:08:16] John McKenna: Extra sugary.
[00:08:17] Jacqui Brugliera: It's a donut KitKat basically.
[00:08:19] John McKenna: Like you don't even need glaze on Kit Kat. It's already so sugary.
[00:08:23] Ray Latif: Um, too much artificial ingredients. I can't believe they ruined the KitKat. 10 out of 10 would definitely eat again. I gotta ask though. I like this, but I'm curious as to why the artificial colors include blue too. I don't like the smell.
[00:08:37] Mike Schneider: What does it smell like? It smells like a bad, smells like KitKat and donut. Smells like artificial donut. That's gonna be the best. I don't like this. I do not like this. I do not like it I love donuts and KitKats, but not KitKat donut apparently
[00:08:52] Jacqui Brugliera: We want to redeem ourselves yes, please got some better quality chocolate. I think better quality from Lobos send us this Box Lovo Chocolate here. How do you spell lovo lo vo there You Got? It's Swiss made 100% plant-based and 100% When Forrest Gump said life's like a box Lovo Chocolate. That's the box yeah, so you can have an entire box ray whoa I took one out of here, but you can have the rest Mike
[00:09:19] John McKenna: Yeah, I love Lobo. It's interesting that they just use different types of plant-based milks to kind of differentiate their Lovo Chocolate, but it's very creamy, which I think is hard to do sometimes with plant-based milk.
[00:09:33] Ray Latif: So they were just very kind in sending us these samples? Yeah. Very nice.
[00:09:39] John Craven: Vibrant Ingredients is the natural ingredient partner powering food and beverage innovation, delivering flavor, function, and protection through a science-backed portfolio. Vibrant delivers purpose-driven solutions that help brands create extraordinary experiences. Discover what's possible with Vibrant today. Visit vibrantingredients.com.
[00:10:06] Ray Latif: So in my box, I have an oat Lovo Chocolate, I have a hazelnut Lovo Chocolate, I have an almond Lovo Chocolate, and I have a coconut Lovo Chocolate.
[00:10:14] Mike Schneider: Almond milk and coconut milk here.
[00:10:16] Ray Latif: They all look pretty similar. They're differentiated by slight variations in color associated with the type of plant milk that you're using. Also on the back of the package is the Rainforest Alliance seal. I believe the Rainforest Alliance is working toward the preservation of rainforests in our world. Now, I haven't tried these yet, but maybe I'll... You can't, you can't follow up Kit Kat with a little Lovo Chocolate Ray? Yeah, but I'm deciding which one. I think I'm going to go with the coconut milk one.
[00:10:45] John McKenna: Yeah, that one's my favorite because I just think coconut and chocolate is a beautiful combination and it's just a hint of coconut.
[00:10:52] Ray Latif: It is a hint of coconut. I wonder if Lovo is sold at Foxtrot or Dom's Market. Do you hear about this news? Foxtrot and Dom's have merged. Yeah. I think a lot of people know what Foxtrot is. It's the premium convenience store, I guess, super premium convenience store based in Chicago, opening up outposts in different parts of the country. We actually had co-founder Michael Avitola on Taste Radio a couple of years back. Pretty amazing place. I mean, they really, they created a new idea of a corner store. melded with a sort of Whole Foods slash Erewhon type of selection and really appeal to so many people living in those particular parts of Chicago and beyond where those stores were located. Dom's Market, I think for me is a lot less known, but they are also based in Chicago and have a similar type of Approach to that corner story.
[00:11:44] Jacqui Brugliera: I'm gonna change the name is it gonna be a foxy Dom's or not sure dumb truck now They're gonna become out Fox hospitality. I think is what it's called correct.
[00:11:53] Ray Latif: That's much better than foxy Dom's But there was so much hype I mean Fox start raised about a hundred million dollars to expand and so this merger kind of came as a surprise to me Yeah, well Foxtrot certainly had a lot of hype and recognition for you know the format of their
[00:12:10] Jacqui Brugliera: stores and going into some, you know, hot markets like Austin. But I think, you know, I mean, look, both of these retailers compete with way bigger fish, some of whom have thousands of locations. So I'm sure that there's a part of it that's, you know, just combine resources and, you know, have something with a little more ability to scale. So definitely curious to see what happens with it. I mean, personally, when I first saw that headline, I'm not going to lie. I thought it was I was waiting for like theonion.com or something like that. But no, I mean, I think it's due to, you know, up and comers with great reputations, which is better than, you know, maybe some of the alternatives that could have acquired one of them. So.
[00:12:55] Mike Schneider: So do you think they'll they'll try to combine their store aesthetics or will they stick with the ones they have right now? That's that's an expensive change.
[00:13:03] Ray Latif: Well, according to an article penned by our very own Lukas Southard, the two brands will retain their respective names, but will eventually merge online ordering apps and rewards programs. Foxtrot will grow its prepared food business, expand it to private label offerings, and prioritize its cafe and coffee business. While Dom's will add Foxtrot's branded gummy candies, snacks, and wines to the grocery store shelves. Interesting stuff for sure. I do. Yeah. I mean, I guess the big question for me was whether or not this would affect Foxtrot's appetite for expansion. And apparently it says it does not, the merger, according to this article, does not quote, change the types of markets that Foxtrot is focused on and expanding into. So I am Just Ice guess I'm just hoping that one day Foxtrot will end up in Boston, which was an area of focus or a region of focus for the brand, for the company a couple of years ago. It still has not happened.
[00:13:58] John McKenna: Yeah, I think this Just Ice further supports their expansion. And even from what their plans are, I know Dom's is like a natural grocery store. So that allows them to get a little bit deeper into that, rather than just being purely like convenience, modern, you know, cutting edge brands. So I think it will be good for both of them.
[00:14:19] Ray Latif: Well, excited to see where this all goes. Maybe we'll get Mike back on the podcast. I'm right here. For a follow up. The other Mike, the Foxtrot Market, not Mike Schneider Mike. Not Barista Mike. Not Barista Mike. Do you still go by Schneider Mike?
[00:14:31] Mike Schneider: Sometimes, yeah.
[00:14:32] Ray Latif: That was the original handle.
[00:14:34] Jacqui Brugliera: Social handle. Only when he's trolling people online. About Arsenal, of course. Arsenal.
[00:14:40] Mike Schneider: Burst fans know me.
[00:14:41] Jacqui Brugliera: That was a heck of a win you guys had the other week.
[00:14:43] Mike Schneider: That was a good one.
[00:14:44] Ray Latif: Yeah. Anywho, I have a goal by mr. Garnaccio as well Hey, man, if you want to talk about one of the greatest goals You'll ever say it was one of the greatest goals ever see I'm glad the ball didn't get caught in his eyebrows Was that a helicopter kick? I think it's called a bicycle kick. Yeah, it's Alejandro Garnaccio from Manchester United.
[00:15:01] Jacqui Brugliera: That was a great goal I Just Ice Just Ice'm trying to stoke the flame. I know I know what it's called. I Saw the clip of it. I want to see a helicopter kick next do you think of a Street Fighter 2? Oh, yeah. Yeah different different. Yeah, sorry. I'm bad. I don't know Seems like we always got a sneak Street Fighter 2 into our podcast.
[00:15:18] John McKenna: I feel like we've been talking about that more than we've talked about soccer.
[00:15:22] Mike Schneider: We should actually try to do some of these moves in the podcast.
[00:15:26] John McKenna: I think I want to decide who can play this video game so I can participate. You would like it.
[00:15:32] Mike Schneider: We're going to make that happen during during the events, Jackie.
[00:15:35] John McKenna: OK, priority.
[00:15:37] Ray Latif: Well, at this point, I suggest that others don't because I have something very important to say, and that's that Tetra Pak is the presenting sponsor for this episode of Taste Radio. Tetra Pak is the pioneering packaging solutions company that provides safe, innovative, and environmentally sound products that each day meet the needs of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Learn more at tetrapak.com. Thanks Tetra Pak.
[00:16:00] John McKenna: Thank you.
[00:16:01] Ray Latif: Thank you, Tetra Pak. And thank you Just Ice Tea for this delicious peach oolong tea that I'm sipping on as we chat here on the podcast. Man, I was one of those folks that was pretty bummed when I heard that Coke was going to discontinue Honest Tea. And the fact that I do have this bottle of peach oolong tea sitting beside me right now is a great thing.
[00:16:22] Mike Schneider: Thanks, Coke.
[00:16:24] Ray Latif: Well, I guess to a certain extent, thanks, Coke. And to a bigger extent, thanks, Seth Goldman and team at Eat the Change and Just Ice Tea.
[00:16:32] Jeffrey Klineman: Do you want more repeat buyers on Amazon? Well, this free resource in collaboration with Straight Up Growth will help your brand turn first-time buyers into long-term subscribers. Download Winning the Repeat Purchase Game on Amazon now at Taste Radio slash SUG. That's Taste Radio slash S-U-G to start building retention-driven growth for your brand on Amazon. Scaling a beverage brand into major retail comes down to operational readiness. From packaging lead times to co-manufacturing strategy, the details can make or break a launch. In a new ebook in collaboration with Octopi and Asahi Beer USA, industry leaders share what they've learned in helping brands scale. Download it now at Taste Radio slash octopi.
[00:17:22] Ray Latif: Now, I know we had another subscription box brand on the show a few jumps back. It's called Tokyo Treat. Yum. Here's another one. Is this more Tokyo Treat? No, this one is called Munchpak. And Munchpak is similar in that they source all these really cool snacks. From the Netherlands. And treats from, well, I think it's from all over the world and put them into a box. and send them to you on a regular basis. Now, I will start putting some of these things on the table and you guys can start watching on them. Once again, Jackie, I apologize because I can't get this to you.
[00:18:00] John McKenna: I'm going to have to order my own box.
[00:18:02] Ray Latif: Yes, I think you, I think you should actually. But yes, there's one beverage. It's a, it's a Fanta Melon Soda. Oh, did you see John Craven? His eyes lit up when I said Fanta Melon Soda. Here You Got. Go for it. Nothing? Sorry, I didn't watch the top of that. Sorry, it adds flavor. You know, I mentioned this the last time we opened up one of these boxes. I wonder how much of this is just building awareness for these brands versus actually sort of generating real revenue for them. I think it's more the former than the latter, but in either case, I mean, these are really cool products that I've never seen before. What is this?
[00:18:37] Mike Schneider: Lush Mosaic Cocoa Cream Cookies.
[00:18:40] John McKenna: Nice. Yeah. Cause it's all there from all different countries. Right. Right. So, I mean, especially if you're in the U S if you see a product that you like, like, what's the odds that you are going to purchase that specific product rather than just waiting for the next box to see what other new things are coming in.
[00:18:57] Jacqui Brugliera: I mean, you probably can't if you wanted to, but.
[00:19:00] Mike Schneider: Choco, you're not going to get your choco pie anywhere else. This is rare.
[00:19:04] Jacqui Brugliera: I've never had potato chips that, I'm not joking, they contain real shamrock. They're Irish potato chips, sour cream and shamrock. And then it has a little badge here just to know that they're not messing around. contains real shamrock.
[00:19:20] Mike Schneider: Must've been feeling lucky to try this.
[00:19:21] Jacqui Brugliera: Pretty good. The, uh, I don't know. How would you say this? Kios? I don't know.
[00:19:26] Ray Latif: K-E-O-G-H apostrophe S. Pretty good. Yeah. And then you have some, what is that? Pipers? If only we started potato chip net. True story. If you want to go way, way back in time, there was a snack site that John started before Nosh. Jackie, you remember what it was called?
[00:19:43] John McKenna: No, I don't think I do. What was it called?
[00:19:45] Ray Latif: It was called bars are food. Oh yes, this is what 2010 maybe yeah bars are food and it was solely focused on bars, snack bars and protein bars and things like that, right? Was this because you wanted to just get lots of samples of lots of bars? I guess so. I don't even remember.
[00:20:03] Jacqui Brugliera: I don't know what we were thinking. I don't even know what we were. But yeah, we sold it to Google for like $10 note. Someone did try to get me to start a potato chip site in the early days. That was a, that was a hard no for me. That's a hyper focus kind of thing though.
[00:20:20] Ray Latif: I mean, I Just Ice feel like there's not a lot of runway for it.
[00:20:22] John McKenna: Bars are too, right? They're also hyper focused.
[00:20:26] Ray Latif: Which is why I think to your point, you're not really sure why you did that. I think it was just, let's see if we can do it kind of thing. I think so.
[00:20:34] Jacqui Brugliera: This melon, excuse me, melon Fanta, a little weird.
[00:20:39] Ray Latif: You just sipped right from the can. Yep. Sorry, nothing for us. Here, you can have some Gra Nuts. Gra Nuts. This is a pouch of lime flavored nuts. Wow, they even put their phone number on the back. Look at that. I've never seen this before. This is really interesting. So where they have the expiration date and the allergen info, there's also a phone number. This is best before June 1st of 2024. May contains Sesame and the phone number is 713-460-5427. Wow, they have like a reason why they want you to call them. I know I have no idea. I'm trying to figure out exactly where this product is made. Oh, made in Columbia. So this is it. It looks like this is a Colombian brand. Granuts, G-R-A-N-U-T-S. Interesting. The kiosk. You hate all the shamrock. Yeah, I Just Ice mean, it's a superfood.
[00:21:28] Mike Schneider: You just garbage mouth the whole thing.
[00:21:30] Ray Latif: Mike has been... Shamrock's gonna be real hot in 2024, right? Just you watch. Okay, we gotta end with this because this is pretty awesome. Well, some people might think this is pretty awesome. I believe our very own Shauna Golden would think this is very awesome. This is called a Slush Puppies Sherbet Chewbiz Bar. It's a strawberry and lime flavor. Sour fizz shoe bar. That's that's the description of it. Is it is it an airheads ray? Is it Turkish taffy? What's what's really cool about this? It's not Turkish taffy. What's really cool about this is even though what's the first thing that comes to mind, Jackie, when you think of Slush Puppies? Sweet. Sweet. 7-11. 7-11, sure. The first thing that comes to mind for me is artificial. Artificial flavors. But because this is a bar that's produced in a country where artificial flavors and additives are banned, instead of having like red dye or all these different kinds of colors, this is actually colored with beetroot. Curcumin those are the two colors in this Slush Puppies chew piece bar. I love this.
[00:22:34] Jacqui Brugliera: I'm taking this puppy a brand synonymous with health Or you just gonna end on that no no okay, I don't want to go out like that I appreciate people listening in I'm saying weird things from this phantom melons. Yeah, you're gone right to my head Yeah, you're all like jittery. I'm all jacked up
[00:22:53] John McKenna: Is there caffeine in there or no?
[00:22:55] Jacqui Brugliera: No, I don't know. I only had like two sips. I assume there's a decent amount of sugar in this though.
[00:23:01] Ray Latif: Well, in any case, very excited. If it sounds like we're all over the place and kind of excited, it's because we are. We're heading to Los Angeles, all of us very soon. Excited to see all of You Got there. Excited to answer your questions as Mike always likes to point out. If you do see us, find us, meet us, we'd love to have a conversation with you. Ask your hardest questions, the ones that are keeping you up at night, like where's Ray and where's Jackie? And as always, if you are looking for someone to connect with at the show and you can't do so for one reason or another, find one of us and let us help you make that connection. That's what we're there for. 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. On behalf of the entire Taste Radio team, thank you for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.
[00:24:27] Jacqui Brugliera: you
