[00:00:00] Speaker: you
[00:00:05] Ray Latif: Hey folks, I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of BevNET's Taste Radio podcast, and you're tuning into the latest episode of Elevator Talk, the series that profiles early stage and disruptive brands from across the food and beverage industry. Today's episode will focus on four food brands whose entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to hear feedback and advice from our co-host for this episode. That's Rick Field, the founder of Pickles and Soup. Rick, it's great to see you again. It's great to see you, Ray. Thank you very much for having me. I should say the founder of Pickles and Soup and of course, Rick's Picks, which you're probably best known for an incredible brand that you launched how many years ago?
[00:00:46] Rick Field: I launched that brand in 2004 and wrapped it up in 2024.
[00:00:53] Ray Latif: And when you say wrapped it up, what does that mean?
[00:00:55] Rick Field: Well, that means that I decided that I wanted to move on from the business that bears my name, that I had given to it what I had, and I wanted to do what I'm doing now at Pickles and Soup, which is sharing two decades worth of experience and insight with other people. And it's bringing me incredible daily joy.
[00:01:18] Ray Latif: Well, I'm thrilled that you're doing just that because Elevator Talk is a platform where we highlight emerging brands in the industry and offer feedback and advice to entrepreneurs who are just getting started for the most part. When you were just getting started in 2004, I imagine some of the challenges with creating a CPG brand were a little different than they are today. But in your opinion, and having worked with early stage founders and new entrepreneurs, what do you see as some of the biggest hurdles, the biggest challenges that they're facing today?
[00:01:52] Rick Field: Well, I think that you really need to have some market differentiation first and foremost. I think showing up as just another fill in the blank is, you know, the first thing that would concern me if I was, you know, talking to a brand for the first time. You know, are you just another pasta sauce? Or are you a pasta sauce that's doing something that no other pasta sauce is doing? Creating differentiation with your brand, which can take a lot of forms. It can be, you know, the raw material. It can be the form factor. It can be how it's used. It can be the price point. There are a lot of different ways that you can differentiate. But I think that's where it starts. There really is no point. Business is too hard to just show up and do something that a million people are already doing.
[00:02:43] Ray Latif: Differentiation is key, but that's just one part. You think about operations, sales and marketing, social media or promotion just in general. In terms of what you experienced as an entrepreneur, and we should probably be very clear about what your products were and the kind of brand that you operated, but what were some of the biggest pain points for you as an entrepreneur, and how did you address them in the two decades that you were running Rick's Picks?
[00:03:11] Rick Field: Well, so first of all, you know, I think there's a lot of benefit in in working quietly on your idea until you feel like you're ready. As an example, I made pickles, which was my business for seven years, just for fun, while I was working in film and television, and very happily doing so. Before, I had this magic moment where I turned 40, lost my TV job, broke up with my girlfriend, and won a pickle contest at the same time, pretty much. So, I had a lot of life change in that one moment. And I decided to go for it. There's a moment that, you know, is different for every brand that I define as the cliff. It's a moment where, you know, you fully and completely commit to whatever this idea is. And I think it's important to recognize that you need to do this kind of work wholeheartedly. If you're doing it part-time, you have a hobby, and there's nothing wrong with that. but there are way too many fish in the ocean for anyone to kind of half-step it. So that would be one. I think understanding your own process, and that can come through just time and practice, and then being able to apply it to a commercial scale in a way that makes sense to understand what you need to know in order to apply it to a commercial scale and to anticipate that. For me, it was replicating recipes, in some cases up to 26 times before I considered them to be ready for commercialization.
[00:04:49] Ray Latif: And when it comes to retail, you know, there's a lot of different ways to go to market these days. Certainly direct to consumer is an opportunity that wasn't necessarily as available, you know, 10, 15 years ago. But going to market and meeting retail buyers and making that pitch, especially early on, can be a huge defining point, a huge turning point for any brand. What's been your experience with retail buyers and getting them on the same page as you, getting them to buy into your vision?
[00:05:18] Rick Field: Well, I think you need to have a compact message. I think you have to remember you have one chance to make a first impression. You know, and I speak from having made some, you know, I had the great good fortune, I guess you could say. I had a farmer's market stand in New York City at Union Square Green Market, which was basically the same thing as having a free pulpit every week to preach my pickle message. And so I got a lot of early attention from media, including a big article in the Times Dining section, which led to a call from Whole Foods the next day, which led to a placement in one store which became a region, which became multiple regions, which became global planogram. I adopted a strategy of arithmetic growth within that first region as opposed to geometric, the buyer said. At this point, artisan pickles were kind of a new thing, and I was at the forefront of it. And I could go into the whole region and take 30 stores. And I said, no, let me build some data in your system in one store first and work my way out slowly. Because it's a lot easier to advance than to retreat if you go too quickly. And it's easy to get overeager and excited when you have a big opportunity, but you have to be able to manage your own growth.
[00:06:31] Ray Latif: For sure. And I think you have to be able to be ready for that opportunity. And that's something where only you are going to know that.
[00:06:39] Rick Field: You know, I have a litmus test that I like to put my clients through at the beginning, strategy, finance, operations, and marketing. Where are you on each of those four key quadrants? When you start thinking about them, they're linear, right? You need your strategy. Then once you have it, you can look for money. Once you have the money, you can make stuff. Once you make stuff, you can sell and market it. But once you get to that fourth phase, it becomes a continuous loop of engagement. And each of those four pieces has to kind of feed off and assist the other three. So I like to understand when I'm starting to work with somebody, how they feel about each of those four areas where they are right now in time and space. And if they have a weakness, that's where we're gonna dig in. If they have a strength, okay, maybe we don't need to focus there so much. But it's not the same for everybody. You can have a brilliant idea, but haven't raised any money. You can have tons of money and be scratching your head what to do with it. You can have a co-packer lined up. You cannot have a co-packer lined up. You may think that hiring a teenager to do your social media marketing is going to be the best way to connect with young people. And that may or may not be true. So each case is individual. But one of the things I will say is that there are a lot of commonalities. Whether you're making pickles or baked beans or automobile tires or you know, deodorant, a lot of the same business issues that you encounter in the early phase of starting a business are similar. So from my standpoint, you know, it's easy, relatively easy to apply my learnings from the pickle universe to other verticals. And I actually, you know, I hope that my business will grow to include outside of food and bev, but right now I'm definitely staying in my lane.
[00:08:33] Ray Latif: Good news, Rick, because we have an entrepreneur who's making automobile tires, one who's making a deodorant, one who's making baked beans. So I think we can address all four categories in this episode. Obviously, I'm kidding. No, but we have some outstanding entrepreneurs who are making some really fantastic brands and products. Let's meet our first, shall we? Let's do it. All right, that person is Ava Lachowkow, who is the founder and CEO of a brand called Oh So Easy. Ava, it's great to see you again.
[00:09:06] Speaker 1: Hi, nice to see you again, Ray. Nice to meet you, Rick.
[00:09:09] Ray Latif: How's it going, Ava? Ava, we met you at Nosh Live Winter or LA 2025 in Marina Del Rey, where you pitched as part of our Nosh Pitch Slam. I thought it was fantastic to see you up on stage. You travel across the country to do so, so thank you so much for that. You, like Rick, are a fellow New Yorker, and you're making, dare I say, some oh-so-delicious products. Tell us all about what you do.
[00:09:34] Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much. It was so fun being in LA and getting to pitch amongst other amazing brands. So I'm Ava, I'm the founder and CEO of Oh So Easy. We're the first ever globally inspired baking mix brand in the US and we're bringing everyone the classics that they haven't tasted yet.
[00:09:52] Ray Latif: When you talk about classics, what do you mean? Because I think, yeah, these are products that need to be described because my mouth is already watering looking at your website.
[00:10:02] Speaker 1: Oh, thanks so much. Yeah, so we are taking essentially the American dessert classics that you know and love, such as brownies, blondies, cakes, cupcakes, and adding a global spin to them. So the, you know, the brand isn't, tied to a specific ethnicity or culture. It's very much inspired by my own third culture and immigrant background. And so we work with chefs from various cultures across the country to develop products that reflect their backgrounds and their cultures that are actually already popping up in bakeries across the country. So for instance, our bestseller right now is our ube blondie mix. So think of like a classic brown sugar blondie, but we complement it with the Filipino ingredient of purple yam or ube, which is slowly but surely becoming ubiquitous around the country. We also have a miso caramel brownie mix, which is our Japanese American take on a classic sweet and salty brownie treat. And then we also zhuzhed up the classic but boring yellow cake with some Middle Eastern spices with our spiced yellow cake. So, you know, we take dessert formats that are already very familiar within the American palette and just add a little bit of global twists to them.
[00:11:19] Ray Latif: Outstanding. Before we get to Rick, where are you sold and what's your price point per box?
[00:11:24] Speaker 1: Yeah, so we just launched our company in November. So we're very, we just started. So we're right now sold directly on our website at ohsoeasy.co and on TikTok shop. And then we're slowly but surely working towards, you know, smaller retail stores and then hopefully a couple of regionals by the end of the year. And our price point is right now around $14 a mix.
[00:11:48] Ray Latif: Rick, I don't know about you, but I have a sweet tooth and I love trying new products and just the thought of a miso caramel brownie makes me want to just get up and leave and go buy a samosa easy and become a baker, or at least an amateur baker in my home. Obviously not gonna do that, but do you have a sweet tooth and what do you think about this concept of a globally inspired bake mix?
[00:12:09] Rick Field: Well, first of all, the answer is yes, and that's capital Y-E-S on the sweet tooth. I look forward to trying your product. Yeah, I was captivated. Well, first of all, let me just say one thing. I believe that one of the most important things for a founder to get straight at the beginning is what their logline is. Logline is a one-sentence description that describes something. If you're in an elevator with an influential person, you need to be able to capture the essence of your brand in a really compact number of words. So classics that you haven't tasted yet, definitely addresses that. So, um, I appreciate that. And what I, what I like about that phrase at the top is it makes me want to know more, um, because it doesn't fully and completely answer all the questions, but it does lead to my next question. Um, see, I feel like you have two promises here. Um, you have one, which is these things are easy to make. Okay. And that's reflected in the name of the brand, but in my opinion, equally important is classically re-imagined with a global twist. And that's actually two promises, because it's classics reimagined, right? So when you think about the hierarchy of priority in terms of how you're, because when you go into a retail buyer meeting, you're going to want to make sure that you're leading off with whatever your most important unique selling proposition is. So is it the easy to make, or is it the classics reimagined? Which is at the top of that hierarchy?
[00:13:38] Speaker 1: yeah i think for us it's the easiness to make is the top it's it's in our name it's oh so easy i want people to think when when they see our brand it's really synonymous to a traditional baking mix a traditional baking mix a la duncan hines or betty crocker you literally just put the dry mix in a bowl, you add some water, eggs, and oil, easy, that's it, you pop it in the oven. That is exactly what I want to capture people's attention with. And then we also have really beautiful product photography on our packaging that, you know, when you first look at it, you may think, oh, that seems maybe a little bit intimidating, but then the name Oh So Easy really stands out. It really promises easiness to make, so.
[00:14:22] Rick Field: Well, you answered the question in the way that I hoped you would. because I think that, you know, there are certain words which are evergreen in the food lexicon, convenient in these busy times is at the very top of the masthead. So you've got that covered. And classics reimagined implies discovery, right? So people need to get to know that. So I think you've got that hierarchy situated perfectly. This is actually very appropriate because the next point I was going to make, is Ube. You have something really rare on your hands here. You have a word and an ingredient that has not been beaten to death. Ray, how many times have we gone to Expo West and seen 3,000 brands with the same sriracha this or you name it that? And I think having something where You can really lay claim to being one of the first people to be an evangelist for this ingredient is really great. And I knew what purple yams were. I've eaten them. I've used them. But I'm thinking about them as a staple of Filipino cuisine and popular for its sweet, earthy, vanilla nutty flavor. That's awesome. I got that from the internet. I didn't think of that myself. I also think that you've got some other things in there which are off the beaten path, precisely in the way that I said at the top about let's carve out some unique territory, mastic. And then what's hilarious to me is not only is it a fragrant pine like resin aromatic and medicinal, which is what you're using it for, but it's also a thick sticky adhesive used in construction for sealing HVAC ducts, which I find hilarious because Funny thing, in pickles, what do you do to make your pickles crisp? You add calcium chloride, which is a natural mineral, which still allows you to go to Whole Foods. Calcium chloride makes your pickles crisp. It also melts the snow on your sidewalks. So these ingredients that have dual purpose are always something that I pay close attention to. The last thing I would say, and I really want to commend you in this particular time that we're living in, is I like the way you laid out your values and your social mission. And I think that needs to be really a key part of your narrative. What I found compelling was the degree to which you were laying things out in a way that was very matter of fact. Like, this is the way things should be. And when we see all the crazy things that are terrible that are going on right now, I think all the time, why can't we have some common sense and some humanity here and treat others like we want to be treated? And I really felt like your values on your website were reflecting that. So I would keep that up high in the pitch deck towards the top and make sure everybody knows that's where you're coming from.
[00:17:17] Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much. It's in our DNA. I am an immigrant. I'm a third culture kid. I've lived around the world. It is just who we are. I can't hide it because it's me. So yeah, thank you for recognizing that.
[00:17:30] Ray Latif: Absolutely, Ava. I mean, I love what you're doing. I mean, I loved it when I saw it in December. In fact, I think I met you guys in New York last April, right? You came to our Taste Radio meetup?
[00:17:41] Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I think so, yeah.
[00:17:42] Ray Latif: Yeah, so this is the third time we're having an opportunity to sit down and chat. You know, when I ask entrepreneurs all the time about their brands, who is this for? Oh, so easy feels like it could be for a lot of different people. Although the branding feels like it skews a little bit younger. The price point feels like it might skew a little bit older. The flavors feel like they might skew a little bit younger. But, you know, I can see this being for a lot of folks. But when you're at an early stage, you really want to be a little bit more narrow in terms of your target consumer. So it's a long winded way of saying, who are you trying to target with oh so easy?
[00:18:16] Speaker 1: I made it for people like me, for young professionals who hopefully have a little bit of money, who've saved a little bit of money, who like to eat out, who are very adventurous eaters, who just like to discover new types of food. So it's really, I would say, like older Gen Zs to older millennials who, you know, can spend $14 of their own money for a baking mix that's normally like $3 to $4, who are just really interested in trying new foods. And again, we're working very hard. I understand $14 a mix is extremely expensive. It's not where I want to land price-wise whenever we get into retail. And we're working very hard behind the scenes to lower that cost for our consumers. But for now, it's really just shoppers who are very interested in discovering new flavors.
[00:19:04] Ray Latif: We're out of time, but Rick, I want to ask you and get your thoughts on this. When it comes to cutting costs, ingredients, packaging, what have you, what's the first one you should think of? And again, we're out of time. So 30 seconds, if you could.
[00:19:18] Rick Field: Okay. I would say that you need to look at your entire supply chain and think about whatever is making your product what it is, you probably are going to need that. But the order of magnitude with which you are ordering ingredients, as an example, you know, I went from having gallons of vinegar to buying vinegar in 250 gallon totes. And that created a cash flow issue, but more efficiency on a unit cost. So there's a long, long string of things that you're going to need to think about in that regard. But I think getting your price point down is important, but also being selective about who your audience is valuable to. You don't want to be a general contractor. Somebody needs a plumber or an electrician, they should call you. You don't want a general contractor. Not so much, right? But I think it feels to me like the number one challenge for you is going to be maintaining the integrity that you're manifesting across the entire brand and coming at a price point that's going to allow you to scale. Core is great, but you need to get to more in order to attract investment dollars. Core to more is a key metric to think about where you are to where you could be.
[00:20:33] Speaker 1: Awesome. Thank you so much.
[00:20:35] Ray Latif: Yeah, indeed, Rick. Thank you so much. I thought that was fantastic advice. And Ava, it's just so wonderful seeing you again. I think what you're doing is fantastic. Yeah, thank you. And please let us know if we can help in any way. I always talk about BevNET, CPG Media, or our organization as being more than just media. We're really there to benefit and help the community as much as we can. We want to write about the success stories. We want everyone to have their best chance of winning. And if we can help be a small part of that in any way, please let us know how. and we'll do what we can.
[00:21:06] Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
[00:21:07] Ray Latif: Thank you.
[00:21:09] Speaker 2: Better-for-you ingredients can help a product stand out, but turning those ingredients into a business that grows is the harder part. Join Nambase for a free webinar on July 28th with Tom First, founder of CulturePop, and Heather Wood, SVP of marketing at Goodals. They'll talk about what it really takes to build clean label brands that drive trial, repeat purchase, and sustainable growth, from formulation and sourcing to branding, retail, and operations. Sign up for free at nambase.com slash podcast.
[00:21:39] Ray Latif: All right, great start to the show. Let's keep it going with our next guest, Christian Gaggi, who is the founder of BamJam. Christian, great to see you.
[00:21:48] Speaker 3: Great to meet you, Ray. Thank you for having me, and great to meet you as well, Rick. Thank you for your time. I have to say, big fan of pickles. I have a pickle-themed coffee mug in my apartment that I drink out of very frequently, so.
[00:22:00] Rick Field: That's awesome, and thank you for connecting with me this morning on LinkedIn. I appreciated that. Of course, thank you. Shows good initiative.
[00:22:08] Ray Latif: Thank you. It certainly does. It also shows good initiative and no knock on other founders because, you know, we get products all the time. And we've had, I think, we think we've had all these products in our office at one point, but we happen to have some Bam Jam in our office right now. And I'm holding two jars. One is the strawberry variety, one's the wild berry variety, and the other one on my table is the blueberry variety. And this is a really cool product. And I think Rick's gonna like it because it is differentiated. Tell us all about Bam Jam, Christian.
[00:22:37] Speaker 3: Yes, so I am the CEO and founder of Bam Jam. We took a modern pantry, or we took a pantry staple and reinvented it for modern families. So instead of traditional sugar-filled jams that you see every time you go into the jam aisle currently, we decided to rely on the sweetness found in real fruit. So we made a fruit spread that is only simple natural ingredients, zero grams of added sugar, and an added benefit of collagen protein. We launched just three weeks ago, And we did so in three flavors, like Ray just stated, strawberry, blueberry, and wild berry.
[00:23:09] Ray Latif: According to my notes, you were working on this project for two years behind the scenes, which also I think is music to Rick's ears. Why did it take you, why were you so patient with the launch of this brand?
[00:23:23] Speaker 3: Yeah, so I definitely wanted to get it right. I think when you're making such a differentiated product, a lot of people, especially with protein and a lot of things now, people are scared of what I like to say, the over-proteinification of products where it doesn't really make sense. And I knew that if we, you know, cut corners and maybe put a bit of sugar in the jam and we could have got away with taste there, you know, it wouldn't really have landed with consumers the way it should have as a healthy product. And I wanted to get everything right from the taste, the texture, to the whole product experience so that a consumer that decides to make the swap from a traditional jam doesn't feel like they're really sacrificing on many things. And I started off experimenting in my kitchen because I used to wanna be a chef and I thought this would be easy to develop something that could actually scale just in my home kitchen. I was wrong and I decided to work with some award-winning food scientists and get this right over the course of two years.
[00:24:18] Ray Latif: I love that it's very clear. Bam jam, protein packed, fruit spread. I mean, everyone's gonna know immediately what this is. The price point, I would assume it's a little bit higher than you might see for just everyday jams. What is the price point per jar?
[00:24:32] Speaker 3: Yes, on shelf it is $13.99 a jar.
[00:24:35] Ray Latif: Okay. Rick, yeah, I think Christian hit the nail on the head about the over-proteinification. Is that a term? I think you should trademark that if that's the term of the industry. I mean, I literally just talked to a tortilla chip entrepreneur today and one of his retailers asked him to create a protein tortilla chip. Okay. But I think it's a good point that Christian made is, you know, some protein makes sense in some products and makes sense not so much in other products. What do you think of protein in jam?
[00:25:04] Rick Field: The first word on my list of questions for Christian was the word protein. So good, good, Ray. Good on you. Last year at Expo West, protein was the number one fad trend, whatever you want to call it. Protein in some really crazy applications, as well as ones that make sense. Ubiquitous at that show. Number two was all things Korean. And that was very prominent as well. But protein was number one. So here's my question to you, Christian. All right. When food ideas come into some form of recognition or popularity, okay, they start out as a fad. Okay. Early adoption. Then maybe they become a trend. Trends are good. You can monetize trends. You have to make sure if the trend is starting to go down that you're prepared for that with your business. And then the holy grail would be evergreen, something that has got lasting permanence in the minds of the consumers and can be counted on to be important three, five, 10 years from now. So protein, as you're using it, where do you see it on this spectrum of longevity?
[00:26:26] Speaker 3: I feel like that's where we differentiate a bit from a lot of other protein products is because we're not marketing as max out your macronutrients for the gym bros. We're definitely going after more of an everyday swap for easy nourishment. If you think about the format that jam comes in, It's not limiting the consumer to one specific thing that they have to have every single day. They could use it in a yogurt bowl, they could use it in a sandwich, they could bake with it. It's all about make the swap from a traditional jam and all of a sudden everything it touches has the ability to become healthier and more nourishing for everyone in the household. So it's really focusing on that. And we really do, beyond protein, have a lot of benefits. You know, it's the no added sugar. We also have one to two grams of fiber per serving, which is another up and coming trend right now. And it's just all about a well-rounded, easy nourishment swap.
[00:27:17] Rick Field: I did have one idea. I'm glad you kind of jumped into some of those use occasions, because I think if you make it easy for consumers to understand how they can use something, document that on your Instagram, and call them recipes, even if you're just putting jam and some yogurt, that's a recipe. It's two ingredients, right? But I had one idea for you, and this kind of goes back to what we were talking about earlier about core to more. You know, you're starting out with your set set of ideas about the business and you want to expand, you want to ripple out and have it become bigger. What about entertaining? And I'm talking about charcuterie, like when you think about a high-end charcuterie plate, there's going to be some fine cheeses, there's going to be some salumi, there's often a jam there. Why not why not have a band jam there and expand into the entertaining arena as well? Does that feel like a red herring to you, like out of your scope, out of your wheelhouse, or does that feel like something you'd like to get to?
[00:28:21] Speaker 3: Absolutely, it feels like something I would definitely love to explore. I think the nice thing about jam is it actually goes in so many places that there is immense B2B opportunities. Like I'm already talking to some bagel shops that were like, hey, what if we did a cream cheese with your jam or like, you know, certain events like there's a cheese shop here. I'm based in Madison, Wisconsin. They would love to carry the product and you know, it's, you know, jam goes with cheese and there's delis. So there's a lot of B2B opportunities and charcuterie boards are a great fit for it. If it's the, you know, the right type of event that the charcuterie board's going to. And I'd love to explore that.
[00:28:55] Rick Field: I have a charcuterie client for pickles and soup. So you send me some jam. I'll make a pretty picture on Instagram and you can use it. and see what happens. And maybe we're right, maybe we're wrong. I do have a couple of comments about your website, if I might. In the about section, it calls out for our founder, but it doesn't name you. And there's no picture. You're a handsome guy. Come on, you're a founder. Let's get this is key. We got to know that it's you. So, you know, let's just do a very little facelift on that part of the site, and people are going to connect, because it's all about connection, really. This is the main thing. If you're an anonymous whatever, why would I care enough to spend $13.99 for eight ounces of jam? The other thing is that there's a lot of charts and a lot of tables on websites having to do with attributes or reviews. Oftentimes you'll see you know, a chart that says our company has all 10 of these important attributes and the competition has none. Immediately, I don't believe them because it's never black and white that way. And the same thing with reviews. You have 18 five-star reviews, and maybe you do, but I think you should get somebody to write a three-star review. Because if there was one on there that wasn't a five-star review that punctured a hole in that invincibility, I would trust you more, right? I would trust you more. So just think about that little detail because building trust, you know, making connection is the first stage, and building trust is the second one with your consumer base. And I think it's going to be At $13.99, even if you do some hard work on your cost of goods and get it down into where I'd like to see it at this pack size, which is $9.99, I'm not saying that's going to happen based on how you're set up. But for a quarter more, I think $9.99 is going to be a tipping point, potentially. But either way, just something to consider as you go forward. Thank you.
[00:31:03] Ray Latif: Yeah. There is a picture of Christian on the website. It's just that he's 13 years old or 12 years old as a baseball player. Okay.
[00:31:11] Speaker 3: Yes. Yes. Yeah. How old are you in that photo? I was about 12 or 13. So there you go. There you go.
[00:31:17] Ray Latif: My, my, my, my age, uh, prognication is, uh, is spot on there. Um, Christian, before we wrap up here, I gotta ask about, your experience at Pop-Up Grocer, where you're selling your products, and Pop-Up Grocer is a small retail store in New York City. They still only have that one store, right, in Greenwich Village? Yeah. How's your performance been there?
[00:31:40] Speaker 3: It's been great. We're one of the top brands in the pantry section out of 40. I actually sampled there the other week where that was, you know, I think that was a really groundbreaking experience to be able to sample because a lot of people when they first hear protein-packed fruit spread, they're like, why would I want to try that? I'm imagining a grainy texture. I'm imagining something that doesn't taste good. So actually getting a lot of feedback live that day was really helpful and I think could potentially guide a lot of messaging that we use moving forward for, you know, marketing and whatnot.
[00:32:10] Ray Latif: Yeah, definitely gonna get out there in front of the consumer, hear what their thoughts are. And I think that's where that three-star review might come into play, where you don't necessarily think you need that on your website, but maybe there's something you can enhance on your packaging, in your flavors, perhaps the next flavor you introduce that you hear right from consumers. And guess what? As soon as you get on Amazon, you're gonna hear all kinds of stuff and see all kinds of reviews coming in as well. Christian, I'm so thrilled that we had this opportunity to sit down and talk to you today. Please stay in touch. If there's anything we can do, any way we can help you along your journey, please let us know.
[00:32:43] Speaker 3: Thank you so much. It means the world.
[00:32:44] Ray Latif: Have a great day, both of you. Good stuff. Let's keep it going with Marion Chang, who is the co-founder of Mimi Chang's. Marion, it's great to see you.
[00:32:52] Speaker 4: Yeah, great to see you, Ray. The last time I saw you was at Winter Fancy Food.
[00:32:57] Ray Latif: Yes, indeed. That's actually where I last saw Rick and our next guest for Elevator Talk as well. And I was thrilled to be able to put a face to the name and the brand because your team sent me some samples a few weeks back, and I just absolutely was blown away by what you're making and just how delicious your products are. Tell us all about Mimi Changs.
[00:33:18] Speaker 4: Thank you so much. And hi, Rick. It's nice to meet you as well. I'm SavvyNutMeat at Fancy Food by KnowMeWell, and I just sent you a LinkedIn request.
[00:33:27] Rick Field: Awesome, and I'm coming to the restaurant at my first stop. Well, we'll talk, we'll talk.
[00:33:34] Speaker 4: Sounds good, sounds good.
[00:33:37] Ray Latif: So Mimi Changs, yeah, you got your products behind you. Clearly you make frozen products, but these aren't just your everyday frozen products. They are, as I mentioned, very delicious frozen products.
[00:33:46] Speaker 4: Thank you so much. So Mimi Chang started from craving my mom's organic dumplings and she moved to the West Coast. So my sister and I decided to learn how to make it for ourselves. And it's been over 11 years of building Mimi Chang's.
[00:34:03] Ray Latif: And Rick alluded to the fact that you have a restaurant.
[00:34:07] Speaker 4: We do. We've had a restaurant in the East Village of Manhattan, 2nd Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets. My sister Hannah and I, who's my business partner, we decided to sign a 10-year lease without professional culinary experience because we believed in our mom's dumplings and family recipes so much.
[00:34:28] Ray Latif: And when did you launch the company? I think it's relatively new. Yeah. Or the CBG brand.
[00:34:33] Speaker 4: For CBG, it's been about a year-ish. So we launched in one Whole Foods location in New York City about a year and a half ago and just went nationwide. Well, that's the recent news. Just went nationwide in October for Whole Foods.
[00:34:48] Ray Latif: Well, congratulations. That's very cool. And something that is both, I'm sure, very exciting and also quite terrifying. What was it about your brand that Whole Foods really loved? You said you were in one region and then you went national?
[00:35:03] Speaker 4: Yes, exactly. Yeah, we started in the Northeast region. And because we've had a restaurant over there, that really helped with people knowing the brand. And of course, there's so many people that don't know about the brand yet. But it was about quality about having an elevated chef driven taste at the restaurant. It's been about just building nourishing recipes, chef collaborations and focusing on quality and intention. And so building that parallel to CPG has been really, really incredible and the reception has been amazing. So I'm excited that you all get to try it.
[00:35:39] Ray Latif: Yes, well, I have tried it. I hope Rick gets to try some soon. It sounds like you know a bit about Amy Chang's Rick already. When it comes to dumplings, it feels like it's a pretty wide variety of quality. I know these are amazing, but you know, frozen can be kind of tough because you still got to open that door and, you know, wade through all the different products and brands that are out there. Just on based on what you're hearing from Marion and what you've seen on their website, you know, what are your thoughts on Mimi Cheng's?
[00:36:13] Rick Field: Well, first thing I'm curious about, so you guys are coming from a Taiwanese tradition. And my curiosity starts with understanding specifically what separates dumplings from this cultural tradition from those of mainland China or say gyoza from Japan.
[00:36:36] Speaker 4: Well, they all have an overlap. I always say there's a dumpling for each kind of person, each kind of tradition and culture. So, you know, ravioli to empanadas, there's a dumpling in every culture. It's just a matter of what you decide you put in there, and then also what kind of wrapper, how you cook it. But there is a lot of overlap. But I would say almost every Chinese family has their own take or spin on dumpling recipes. This is our family's recipes where we use King Arthur's artisanal flour for the dumpling wrapper. We use the, it's clean label. We use the best meat that we can find and that we can scale as well.
[00:37:17] Rick Field: Awesome, yeah, I'm a huge fan of everything that King Arthur does, both specifically with flour and as their brand. My family home in Vermont is right near their flagship store, and I was actually there three days ago. So I hear you on the King Arthur's. And then also, if we're talking about the dumplings, we've got to talk about the sauce. Now, I know we're not under an NDA here, but you talk about secret sauce, so I want to know what makes it secret, or more generally, like, what are you trying to achieve with the sauce that, again, going back to the original premise that we talked about with differentiation, there's a lot of groupthink in dumpling sauce. How are you standing out?
[00:37:55] Speaker 4: Well, we we just have our Mimi secret sauce at the restaurants currently. However, we've gotten a lot of people asking us if we will sell in retail. But it actually started because our mom Mimi, it was her way of getting my sister and I home during college, bring coolers of her frozen dumplings and bottles of her secret sauce to us in college to our first New York City jobs to make sure we had something healthy and nourishing to eat and would not tell us a secret recipe. So it was about a week to two weeks before we were opening up our East Village restaurant that we're like, Mom, this isn't funny anymore. We can't keep it here. We have to figure out the actual measurements, actual items in it. and we're opening a restaurant. So we figured it out together, but my dad doesn't even know the recipe. It's still a secret, but we just find it as complimentary for dumplings. It's actually a great marinade as well. And you were also just touching about the different dumpling flavors. And so the recipe that we grew up on is the mini chicken and zucchini one. The retail one also has bok choy in it. And as you can see, we do a take on a traditional Chinese dumpling with pork and Berkshire pork and chives. And then the chicken parm one, you haven't asked about yet, but I know we'll get there. But there's a lot of interesting background around that as well.
[00:39:20] Rick Field: That's awesome. So a couple of other things. Congrats on the global with Whole Foods. That's amazing. I will say one sentence, because we could spend the whole episode talking about Whole Foods. Whole Foods is a mile marker. It's not the finish line. Always remember that. And additionally, I was really happy to see the part of your website that was given over to food service applications or restaurant applications or things of that nature. Because I think that for a brand that's making a strong push in retail, which you're now doing, food service, the food service channel is essential. In my own experience, you know, I had hundreds of retail accounts all across the country. And, you know, I attended them carefully. But there were a lot of challenges, a lot of chargebacks. buyer change, new items come in, items get discontinued, blah, blah, blah, all that stuff. Food service has, if you get it right, a lot more solidity to it. I had two main food service clients, Shake Shack and Sweetgreen. And by the time I was done with Rick's Picks, they accounted for a third of my P&L. And I'll tell you that I would send an invoice to UNFI for retail, let's say it was for 10 grand, I might get a bill back for 3,000 off that 10 grand I was asking for. And with food service, 99 times out of 100, you invoice $10,000, you get $10,000 back in 30 days. And that's enormously important. And even if it's not branded, because that's a major pushback from investors, right? It's not branded. We have to build a brand. We have to build a brand. Well, we have to build a healthy P&L. We have to build. And so, you know, I'm very pleased to see that you're giving consideration at this juncture to food service. And then the last point I'll make is that, you know, we talked about the cliff earlier. Well, I'll tell you what, signing a 10-year lease at 2nd Avenue and 12th Street, that is the cliff. So good on you for jumping off it.
[00:41:22] Speaker 4: Thank you so much. That's completely true about all that insight. And that's how we want to build Mimi Cheng's as well to sustain it and to grow it. And there's so much opportunity with having food service as an option as well and as a parallel channel.
[00:41:39] Rick Field: Yeah, Ray, do we have time for one more point that I'd like to make?
[00:41:42] Ray Latif: You have all the time in the world as long as it can fit into 60 seconds. Okay, good.
[00:41:48] Rick Field: I love the fact that it starts with mom. I learned how to make pickles with my mom. And there is no more potent cross-cultural connector than family. If you're from the American South, if you're from Ukraine, if you're from Japan, family tradition and a lot of it involving food is always going to be important to you. Everybody can relate to it, wherever they are, culturally, socioeconomically. So anchoring your business in this strong family connection, which you're already doing, I'm just telling you, good job for doing what you're already doing. But I think you should continue to reinforce that because it's the very definition of an evergreen attribute to business.
[00:42:31] Speaker 4: Thank you so much. Yeah, we love treating it as a comfort food and also as a utility because they only take a couple minutes to make. You keep it in your freezer, so it's super easy for any kind of meal or snack. for the entire family and also just continuing to elevate premium Asian flavors. So many people order Chinese, Asian takeout, but the freezer aisle doesn't quite reflect that yet. So we would love to continue building that.
[00:42:58] Ray Latif: Marion, I have a ton of questions for you, but we were pretty much out of time. So I'll ask you two quick ones. You mentioned the chicken parm variety, which seems pretty out there for a dumpling. How did that come about?
[00:43:12] Speaker 4: It came about because at the restaurant we do monthly specials, a lot of times chef collaborations. In January, we just did one with Cactus Deli. We've done it with chefs like Dan Barber, Daniel Hume, John and Vinny's, Turkey and the Wolf. So we love using dumplings to create something craveable and relatable with comfort food. And so the chicken parm came about from being one of the top sellers at the restaurant.
[00:43:34] Ray Latif: And in terms of price point, what is the price per bag at retail?
[00:43:39] Speaker 4: It's from $9.99 to $10.49, $10.99, depending where you are.
[00:43:45] Rick Field: How many dumplings, what's the count in that bag?
[00:43:49] Speaker 4: It's two servings, it's about 10 dumplings.
[00:43:53] Ray Latif: I mean, if you know maybe Chang's in New York City, it seems like people will be willing to pay a premium for these products. Is that your target consumer, people who are sort of in the know about that premium tier for dumplings and maybe even your restaurant?
[00:44:07] Speaker 4: Yes, and also at the end of the day, something that just speaks to people who want dumplings and comfort food and want to try something a little bit different. It should come down to taste at the end of the day for people who don't know the restaurant, who do know the restaurant.
[00:44:22] Ray Latif: All right. In my notes here, I have that you were in luxury fashion or were you on the trading floor? Which one of it?
[00:44:28] Speaker 4: I was in luxury fashion before.
[00:44:30] Ray Latif: Okay. Do you miss it?
[00:44:32] Speaker 4: I like being adjacent to it. Instead of selling clothes, I'm selling dumplings now.
[00:44:38] Ray Latif: Luxury dumplings. Yes.
[00:44:40] Speaker 4: Well, hopefully not too luxury.
[00:44:42] Ray Latif: Exactly, exactly. Well, Marian, I feel like we could sit down and chat for another half hour. Perhaps we can do that later this year or down the line. In the meantime, thank you so much for joining us on Elevator Talk today. I think what you've built is really amazing. And as I mentioned at the top of our conversation, just absolutely delicious products. So thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:45:01] Speaker 5: Thank you both so much.
[00:45:21] Speaker 6: Quick pause to let you know that the leading event for the beverage industry is headed back to Los Angeles this December 6th through 8th. BevNET Live brings founders, investors, retailers, suppliers, and operators together for product discovery, high-value conversations, and partnerships that can shape what comes next. Early registration pricing is available now. Head to bevnetlive.com to register.
[00:45:41] Speaker 5: Mark your calendar. Nosh Live is back December 3rd and 4th in Los Angeles. Join packaged food founders, buyers, investors, and operators for two days of product discovery and conversations focused on what's next. Early registration pricing is available now. Head to noshlive.com to register.
[00:45:58] Ray Latif: Outstanding stuff. All right. Our final guest for this episode of Elevator Talk is Davis Freeman, who's the founder of Bunky. Davis, great to see you again.
[00:46:07] Speaker 7: Hey Ray, how's it going? Great to see you. Rick, great to meet you. I'm a huge fan of your pickles, actually. One of my best friends is named Rick. And I vividly remember going to Tompkins Square Bagels and taking a picture with your pickles while he's standing by it. So it's great to put a face to the name.
[00:46:30] Rick Field: Oh, well, awesome. And I'm sure Chris at Tompkins Bagels appreciated the picture being taken in his store. Totally.
[00:46:39] Ray Latif: Yeah, Davis, I had a great opportunity to meet you at the Winter Fancy Fair in San Diego last month, and I was really impressed with what you're doing with Bunky. You know, it definitely seems like it's timely innovation that you're doing right here. Tell us all about the brand. Tell us all about your products.
[00:46:58] Speaker 7: Yeah, so I created a popcorn with protein. Bunky is a protein popcorn that's seed oil-free, non-GMO, gluten-free, and made with natural ingredients. I came up with this product initially about two years ago while training for a marathon. I found myself eating a lot more popcorn. I always loved popcorn as a kid growing up. It was my ADD focus snack and fast forward about 24 years later, I started eating a lot more of it and then kind of saw the white space on the shelves that I went to my local Whole Foods and saw that there was no popcorn on the market that had the benefits that I wanted and the added extra protein that I felt was necessary during my training and later found out that popcorn was a great snack for marathon runners just because it had the light airiness to it and had the right carb count to fuel your day. So I saw there was nothing on the market and also went to Expo West and saw the proteinification last year and saw that there was no protein popcorn and spent years and years diligently working to make sure that the flavor was there and that it was just a better tasting popcorn at the end of the day and that you couldn't taste any of the protein within the actual product and continuing to innovate on some exciting flavor stories that we have coming up later this year.
[00:48:36] Ray Latif: I tasted your popcorn at the Winter Fancy Fair, and I thought it was amazing because you couldn't taste the protein, which is clearly what you want out of a product like yours. According to my notes, you just launched larger bag sizes. Were you in individual bags to start?
[00:48:52] Speaker 7: So we were in a two ounce bag size. We like to consider like a pregnant size between the one ounce single serving and a four and a half ounce bag size that you see on a traditional supermarket. We did that for about three to four months and we sold out completely and super satisfied with how that went. Now it's time to launched these bigger bag sizes that we launched on the 15th of January and sales are going well so far. And now our focus is really trying to get into some awesome supermarkets across the West Coast and the East Coast.
[00:49:28] Ray Latif: All right. Before we get to Rick, price point per size and where are you sold at this point?
[00:49:34] Speaker 7: Yeah, so we're looking at a $6.99 price point. Right now, we're just in specialty cafes, pantries across the U.S., specifically some notables such as Pop Grocer, Happier Grocery in New York City, really awesome incubation centers that do great for us. And we're now in 45 specialty cafes in retail locations across the country.
[00:50:02] Ray Latif: All right, Rick, this is the second brand that we've seen today where protein has been infused into a legacy category. I really do like the idea of protein in popcorn, and I guess others do too. Certain celebrities are big on protein popcorn, but we'll hold off on that for now. What are your initial thoughts about Bunky?
[00:50:24] Rick Field: The first thing I noticed, and we talked about this with Oh So Easy as well, logline to me, Davis, is always a very critical definer. You have to be clear about who you are and what you're doing. Feel good fuel with no trade-offs. That's about as good as it gets. And I'll tell you, there's something embedded within it. First of all, it's only six words, which I love. And second of all, it starts with the affirmation. You would be shocked if you went around Expo West and did a census of the number of brands that say, we're not this, we're not that, we're not, and I'm like, you know what, dude, I don't care what you ain't, I wanna know what you is, right? So by starting with the feel good fuel point, you're acknowledging the fact that, you know, you know, there is something, you know, comforting and fun and nostalgic about popcorn. And no trade-offs, I think, is really sharp, too, because without kind of getting into a wordy explanation of why the protein is there and it's good, but it doesn't affect the flavor profile negatively, like, I think you really come up with a very concise way of explaining yourself to retailers. And, you know, I am curious, you know, the same question we asked earlier about protein as it relates to being a fad, a trend, or something that's evergreen. I'm interested to hear what you have to say about that. And then I want to ask a follow-up question about your SKU mix.
[00:51:58] Speaker 7: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, I think protein is here to stay. It's going to continue to be a major factor for many consumers. With the rise in GLP-1s, a lot of retail buyers are looking for protein based products. The thing is with our product is it's a functional better for you product. We're not in the sense of making it a huge, huge amount of protein per serving here. We're just adding the benefits of protein and natural fiber that we see in popcorn and bringing that to bringing awareness to that category. So I think that protein is here to stay. It's going to continue to be a leader in the space. It's just a matter of making sure that the product tastes great at the end of the day. People are going to taste it initially, and if they taste it and they don't like it, they're never going to come back to it. So I was so, so adamant on releasing the product at the right time for it to taste great and making sure that There was an opportunity to release it when I thought it was going to taste what consumers wanted it to be.
[00:53:16] Rick Field: I think the most important thing and what you just said is you alluded to like buying it again. Sales are great, but repeat sales are really great. And anybody can get into a door. not anybody, but you know, you can get into a door, but can you stay there once you're in that retailer? So, you know, good on you for focusing on that. As far as so my next really two more questions. The first is about SKUs. I'm a huge believer in the number three. One is an idea, two is a concept, three is a campaign. I worked at VH1 directing commercials before I was a pickle guy. And most of the campaigns we did there had three ads. If you have three SKUs, you have a brand block in retail. The human brain cannot handle more than three ideas at any one moment. There's so many evidences of why three is a powerful number. And so you have two SKUs. So I'm curious to know, what your plans are for a third SKU and please don't do what I did, which is like, I launched with nine SKUs, which was like, that was terrible. Should have launched with three. And I'll let you answer that. And then I have a question for you about the, about the website as well.
[00:54:32] Speaker 7: Yeah. So, I mean, the reason why we launched with two SKUs is really to just give proof of concept that the product is wanted. The third SKU is definitely an importance in getting it to market as soon as possible as retail buyers want a third SKU to really make the shelf, make it look great on the shelf. So we're working hard to launch a third and force you to really open up the shelf architecture for us. So that's in progress as we speak. It's a little confidential right now. We're working on some really exciting flavors in the pipeline.
[00:55:18] Rick Field: Good. Lips are sealed until it's revealed. Oh, that's a good one, right? Lips are sealed until it's revealed. Um, okay. Um, the, the splash page of your website is literally a splash page. There are a bunch of very attractive people in bathing suits, eating popcorn. Um, how do you perform or outside of, you know, Gen Z iPhone owners? And is that even important?
[00:55:42] Speaker 7: Retail is the next push for us really. Um, and really trying to get our popcorn into major retail is very important. Popcorn. You know, it does our product as well, direct to consumer, but at the end of the day, it's also a impulse purchase. It's a purchase where you go to a supermarket and you grab a bag of popcorn that you're heading out of the supermarket, heading to a friend's party or whatever it may be. But ideally we're a Gen Z focused brand that's creating innovative flavors. And we're really trying to push that audience. But at the end of the day, we still want to focus on the older audiences that we dearly love because they're making the buying decisions as well.
[00:56:31] Rick Field: You're talking about me now, aren't you? You're talking about me. I'll address that with my final question. So I spent a lot of time driving from Brooklyn to Vermont and popcorn gets me from A to B often. Historically, because I'm looking forward to trying Bunky, there's a brand that's available in gas stations that I've bought hundreds of times. And then there's another brand that I've bought that has nutritional yeast, because we're not supposed to mention other brands, right? There's a brand that I use that I often buy that has nutritional yeast as a flavor profile. So my question to you is, why should I choose Bunkies for my rides from Brooklyn to Vermont?
[00:57:14] Speaker 7: It tastes a lot better. where we perfected popcorn and we added functional benefits to it.
[00:57:22] Rick Field: That's beautifully simple.
[00:57:24] Ray Latif: That is the answer, right? Because it tastes better. Why else would you want, I mean, do you want something that's going to be lower in quality in terms of taste? I would never want that. And I think most consumers don't want that. So I thought that was a brilliant answer, Davis. Also, I thought, Rick, you were going to mention about the website, the Bunky website, the About Us page again, because, you know, there's a, there's no current picture of Davis on there. There's a picture of him when he's about three years old in a stroller. So it also explains the name of the brand. Your brother used to call you Bunky.
[00:57:53] Speaker 7: Exactly right. When I came home from the hospital in my little carrier when I was born, he just goes, you look like a little bunky boy. And it's stuck ever since. And I wanted to name it something close to home and something that was meaningful. And it's been like that ever since. And it just felt like the right name.
[00:58:12] Ray Latif: I mean, it's a great brand name. It's easy. It's five characters and it fits easily on a package for sure. I got to ask, we're out of time, but I got to ask, You know, the brand that hasn't been mentioned, and I'll just mention it, is Cloud. You know, Cloud came onto the scene. It's a protein popcorn brand launched by Khloe Kardashian. They're already in Starbucks. I mean, it has definitely captured the attention of a lot of people. Has the launch of that brand helped elevate funky status, or has it kind of been to the detriment of what you're doing?
[00:58:43] Speaker 7: I'd say a little bit of both. It's definitely bring awareness to the category and it's given us the opportunity to keep pushing in the space and continuing to show buyers across the nation how great our product is. And I think that there's certain parts that make it Um a little frustrating just because you know certain flavor flavor profiles across the the cloud brand is isn't as superior as our product, but I think it's the same way with with how poppy and Olipop is. There's always room for another person, another brand in general. And we're going to keep going and we're going to keep growing. And there's going to be some exciting flavors that consumers want that cloud necessarily won't be able to do themselves.
[00:59:42] Rick Field: I think that's an excellent answer. Just real quick, if it's good for one, it can be good for the category. I experienced that firsthand. You've probably heard of McClure's Pickles. We had, you know, a lot of that Rick's Picks and McClure's, you know, all the boats were rising. So I think your approach is good. Plus it's, you know, if you are competitive with them, you know, you're going to, of course, keep a competitor at arm's length, but it's good to be collegial at the same time.
[01:00:09] Ray Latif: So Rick, you're saying there were some street fights with the McClure brothers back in the day? No, we had each other's back.
[01:00:15] Rick Field: Where do you think I learned about the 250 gallon tote of vinegar?
[01:00:19] Ray Latif: They are actually based in Detroit and you're in New York, so yeah. Yes. But yes, they definitely had a presence in New York. All right, we're getting off topic here. Davis, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. Really excited for Bunky. I think you're definitely on the right track. And I'm very excited to see where this all goes from here. If we can help in any way, please let us know. Just definitely stay in touch.
[01:00:42] Speaker 7: Thank you both. And Rick, would love to send you some product just for you to try. We'll connect after the interview.
[01:00:48] Ray Latif: Thank you so much. Please. Rick, as promised, you know, I told you when we saw each other at the Winter Fancy Fair, we were gonna have a really great episode with really amazing brands and incredible founders. And I think we delivered, or at least I think I delivered on that.
[01:01:05] Rick Field: You always deliver. I mean, I didn't get a chance to mention this, but I'll tell the whole internet that the best interview that was ever done with me when I was running the pickle company was the one that you did, I think it was about six, seven years ago. It's probably in the Taste Radio archive still somewhere. But I remember finishing it and thinking to myself, that's how I want to be represented.
[01:01:30] Ray Latif: Thank you very much. I sincerely appreciate you saying that, Rick. And it is definitely still available to listen to on Taste Radio. So just look up Rick's Picks or Rick Field in our search bar, and you can listen. And I think it's really about the founder. I, in BevNET in general, BevNET CPG Media, we really try to elevate the founder as much as we can in all of our content, and I think the founders today really represent the future of our food industry, whether it's premium dumplings, or a protein-enhanced jelly, or a protein-enhanced popcorn, globally inspired baking mixes. These are all things that people want, And it's just a matter of making sure that the entrepreneurs are getting the right advice, putting themselves in position where they can actually get more of their products into more people's hands at a price point that's reasonable. And I hope that we're doing a little bit here on Elevator Talk. And I know you're doing a lot with Pickles and Soup, Rick, to get people in that position.
[01:02:33] Rick Field: I think if I was gonna sum up what we just experienced, all four brands and all four founders really had their feet firmly planted in the ground. And, you know, we're clear on where they were and we're, are clear on where they're going. So those are essential attributes. And it's nice to see them, you know, across the whole spectrum of the show. Absolutely.
[01:02:59] Ray Latif: Now I know folks are going to want to get in touch with you after hearing you on Elevator Talk, Rick. What's the best way to connect with you at Pickles and Soup?
[01:03:07] Rick Field: Well, you can we just in the process of redoing the website. So it is live pickles and not ampersand pickles and soup.com. You're welcome to email me Rick at pickles and soup.com. And yeah, I welcome, you know, any and all increase. And, you know, this, like I said, There's something, this is sort of the third phase for me. I had television, pickles, and now I'm sharing wisdom. And it's really, really fun. And I appreciate your having me on the show.
[01:03:44] Ray Latif: Well, I would love to have you back. Can we get you back as a co-host? Absolutely. All right. Well, I'm going to be knocking on your door, calling your phone, begging you on email to come back soon. But in the meantime, once again, Rick, thank you so much for joining us today.
[01:04:01] Rick Field: Why don't you come to New York and we'll go to Mimi Chang's for some dumplings. Oh, my goodness.
[01:04:05] Ray Latif: I've already booked my plane ticket or train ticket or probably both. We'll make that happen for sure. Thanks again, Rick, and thanks to all of our entrepreneurs who joined us today. Thanks to all the folks watching or listening to Elevator Talk, and thanks to our amazing team at BevNET, Nosh, and Taste Radio, the best in the business. Signing off for everyone, I'm Ray Latif, and we'll talk to you next time.
