[00:00:10] Ray Latif: Hey folks, thanks for tuning in to 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-host for this episode, John Craven, Jacqui Brugliera, and Mike Schneider. 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. I think that was the first time in what, like three years that I've gotten the intro on the first try?
[00:00:42] John Craven: Yeah, well done. That was incredible.
[00:00:44] Ray Latif: Wasn't it? Yeah, I think I'm just like getting in the mood for our events, right? You know, you can't just screw up on stage and start over. You just gotta, just gotta keep going. And our events are right And The corner. Brewbound Live starts on November 29th and goes until November 30th. Nosh Live on December 1st and 2nd. Of course, DevNet Live on December 5th And The. Jacqui, are you fully prepared? Because you don't have a lot to do with the events. I know like one of the things that this is just kind of a side project for you.
[00:01:13] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, I'll just be in the back room twiddling my thumbs. Call me if you need me.
[00:01:20] Ray Latif: Are you making fun of me?
[00:01:21] Mike Schneider: Because I'm usually in the back of the room.
[00:01:24] Ray Latif: People are like, where's John Craven? I can't find him anywhere. Oh, he's in the back with a dark hoodie on. I'm not sure why it's all the way over his head like that. I wish I could wear a dark hoodie. Now, in all seriousness, it's exciting times for the BevNET team. Everyone's putting in the work. Everyone's trying to do their best to make sure that these shows go flawlessly. And it's just everyone's moving in the same direction, which is so great to see. Mike, what are you most excited about for the events? I know obviously our speaker lineups are pretty incredible, but tell me, what are you looking forward to?
[00:01:59] John Craven: I'm looking forward to a lot of things, Ray, but as you know, for me, I feel like a kid on Christmas. Once the New Beverage Showdown starts, I...
[00:02:09] Ray Latif: Well, there's a couple other competitions that happened before the New River showdown. Obviously our brew bound pitch slam, which is happening on November 29th And The, And The the Nosh pitch slam, which is happening on December 1st. Just one round to the Nosh pitch slam this time around. Some of the brands that we've seen have gone on to do amazing things, become iconic brands, And The is not hyperbole. If you think about in the brew bound pitch slam, what was it three or four years ago that we saw Athletic Brewing? We saw Bill Shufelt on stage talking about his crazy vision for non-alcoholic beer in America, and Athletic Brewing is probably the most respected brand in that space right now. If you think about a brand like, oh, how about Liquid Death, which didn't even make it to the final round of our showdown.
[00:02:54] John Craven: I was going to say, Ray, it's just another chance for me to galactically mess up and dismiss a brand like, say, Liquid Death, you know, where you've got a former ad agency guy who starts a brand. And how many times have you heard that pitch before? And okay, Mike was the one who understood what it actually takes to keep the creative funnel flowing, you know? Hats off to Liquid Death. What a brand.
[00:03:15] Ray Latif: But that's the coolest thing about meeting these entrepreneurs is, you know, there's so much doubt, there's so much risk, there's so much uncertainty, And The's such a high chance of not making it. But the brands that do, it's incredible to be there at the start, to be there at the start of their journey and see them in their early stages, in their development, and also try to help them along the way. And The's what all these events are about. Meeting young entrepreneurs, meeting early stage folks, hearing about their visions and trying to help them along the way. I think, you know, if there's any event, if there's any conferences that really define that program, that define that model, it's Brewbound, BevNET, and Nosh Live.
[00:03:54] Jacqui Brugliera: beyond competitions, just being able to sample hundreds of products. I mean, at BevNET Live, we have over a hundred beverages that will be at the sample bar. If you could see my office right now, you could see just piles of boxes of products that will be at the show as we bring them up to Santa Monica from San Diego. And I mean, we have the Pitch Slam, which is like an amazing focal point. We have the Cocktail Showdown, the New Beverage Showdown, There's just products everywhere. The founders are there. They're looking for feedback. So it goes both ways as far as we're looking at what's the latest innovation. We're looking to meet the founders And The founders are looking to meet the experts and to get some advice And The the next step in their business.
[00:04:37] Ray Latif: Yeah, and we haven't even really talked about the speaker lineups, which are pretty darn incredible throughout all of our events. Now, I don't know how much we can mention about one of the speakers that we'll be hosting at Bebinet Live. Probably not much. Be careful, Ray. But this is someone that everyone knows. And it is a person who is considered A-list in every sense of the word, is highly successful in entertainment and also in entrepreneurship. We are, we are. Okay.
[00:05:12] John Craven: All right, Ray.
[00:05:13] Ray Latif: Okay.
[00:05:13] John Craven: Is that all I can say?
[00:05:17] Jacqui Brugliera: Okay, hold them back.
[00:05:18] John Craven: Yeah, we have a super secret mystery guests.
[00:05:21] Ray Latif: And it's going to be worth it. The house is going to be packed. Like, you know, sometimes at the events, you know, there are people mingling outside, there's always people packed into the ballroom, you know, to hear our speakers, but occasionally people were outside mingling, networking, having a snack on a phone call, whatever. When this person's on stage, the entire room will be full and you wanna be there in that room with that person, with all your colleagues as well, is one you cannot miss. So if you haven't already signed up for BevNET Live, this is a darn good reason to do so because once again, this is someone you want to hear from.
[00:05:57] John Craven: I mean, we've got A-list people at Nosh Live as well, Ray. We've got Melissa Urban, who's the founder of the Whole30 community, who's going to talk about how she founded and sustained that plan, the community. And I mean, that room is going to be packed. We've got Emma Chamberlain. She's going to talk about the collision of the creator economy and CPG, And The's going to be pretty interesting, too. How many people do you get to talk to on a daily basis that can talk about a product And The it move the needle? And The's going to talk to us about how that works and how they've built that business. That's going to be extraordinary.
[00:06:32] Jacqui Brugliera: And a pretty well named Rob Dyrdek will also be there as most people know him from MTV or as a professional skateboarder. And The's been really involved investing in emerging brands. So we're going to talk to him just about his investment strategy and how he kind of feeds his machine and also talk a bit about content.
[00:06:52] Ray Latif: Now, we mentioned a few people, but I always get the question, who's going to be at these events? Typically, I say everyone. I always call this, once again, a critical mass for the food and beverage industry. But we do have lists of folks that are attending these events, or at least the brands And The companies that they represent. go to BevNET.com, Nosh.com, or Brewbound.com, head to the event pages and look for that drop down menu where you can And The brands And The companies represented by the attendees of these events. And, you know, again, This is where the BevNET, Nosh, Brewbound, Taste Radio team comes into play. If you're looking to speak with someone from one of those companies, if you're looking for an introduction to one of the attendees on that list, and you don't know who that person is, or you're a little uncomfortable making an introduction on your own, find us. Come find Ray, come find Mike, John, Jacqui, whomever. We will do our best to make that introduction happen. We will do our best to find that person for you, even if we don't know them that well. So once again, please use us to help build out your network because that's a big part of the reason that we're there as well.
[00:08:01] Jacqui Brugliera: And in this hybrid world, we do have a virtual component of these events. So you can see the full attendee list in the virtual portal. You can message directly fellow attendees and get the conversations going even before you arrive at the event. So definitely if you're not registered yet, register, get access to that portal, get ready to go, and hopefully we'll see you there.
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[00:09:10] Ray Latif: Now, John Craven, I just want to make sure you're all set for the event. I know you missed the last one, so you might be a little rusty when it comes to DevNet lives and Nosh lives. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like that. I just want to make sure you're good to go.
[00:09:23] Mike Schneider: Just making jokes about COVID, Ray thinks.
[00:09:25] Ray Latif: Oh, no, no, no.
[00:09:27] Mike Schneider: Not at all. Ray's that guy that, you know, when you fall down, he just kicks some dirt on you. That's terrible. Depends on who the guy is. Not true at all. Not true at all. Yes, I am ready, eager, all those things, excited to get out there and see all the people that are coming to these events and yeah, do our thing.
[00:09:48] Ray Latif: You and Mike are ahead of the game. I haven't got my haircut yet. I've got my appointment for a couple of days from now.
[00:09:55] Jacqui Brugliera: Yep. I got mine scheduled for today.
[00:09:57] Ray Latif: You got your schedule. Do you have your teeth cleaning appointment? I got my teeth cleaning appointment scheduled for tomorrow. Oh, wow. I'm going to get that done.
[00:10:02] Jacqui Brugliera: Impressive.
[00:10:04] Ray Latif: That's serious. Yeah, I gotta go, you know, wax 90% of my body too.
[00:10:10] Jacqui Brugliera: I mean, you will be on stage. Gotta look good for the camera.
[00:10:14] Ray Latif: Exactly, exactly. Yeah, and obviously, I gotta make sure I bring the right razors because everyone's always like, oh, Ray, your beard looks good. Yeah, this takes time, folks. Okay, it's just like, you know, you think this is an accident. I thought it was just spray on Ray. You know what, I would look, listen, if there were a product out there where you could spray on your beard, I would buy that. I don't care if it would cost $1,000 per spray. That would be worth it. In fairness, I'd need spray on to get a beard like that. So yeah, I'd be a customer. Why not? There you go. And I take that back. There's no way I'd pay $1,000 for it. I'd pay a lot of money for it, but there's no way I'd pay $1,000 for that, no. I would pay a lot of money for anything that a brand called Jenny's makes. Now, Jenny's, many of you know, is a maker of artisanal ice cream. They have grown quite a bit in recent years, going from a small craft brand to one that is nationally available or available nationally at retailers across the country. They have recently introduced a new boozy eggnog variety which was made in partnership with a brand called Uncle Nearest, which is a maker of premium whiskey products. You know, eggnog is one of those things where I like, I am hesitant to bring it up to people because I think there's such a love-hate relationship. It's so divisive. But when it comes to making an eggnog ice cream, I trusted the folks at Jenny's and of course their partner and Uncle Nearest to do it justice And The have this thing is freaking incredible. They nailed just the right amount of like sort of that whiskey flavor that you get in a sort of spiked eggnog. with the creaminess of the Jenny's ice cream that it is known for, for the brand is known for. So really excited to finish off this pint. I am not sharing, do not ask. Yes, you better. No, no, no, no. Do you just have melting ice cream down there? What are you, what are you doing? Look, I didn't get a chance to try the Grillo's ice cream variety that you guys. I will gladly, you, you have to take a pint home.
[00:12:19] John Craven: I'll give you a quart. We have some here, Ray. You can still try it. Also, I think John Craven might, you know, he might knee you in the head, like when Muhammad Alaoui caught or Al Sharani earlier in the Saudi versus Argentina game to get to that ice cream.
[00:12:32] Mike Schneider: Jeez, you're taking too much pride in a person getting hurt. We should probably not put that in.
[00:12:37] Ray Latif: Well, you know, Mike is trying to get some soccer in and I appreciate that, you know, cause we always need some soccer on the podcast. Can't get through an episode without a little bit of football this morning. Ray John comes in. He's like, did you see the Saudi keeper? MMA is defender. awesome. It was a bad hit, but congratulations to Saudi Arabia on their victory, their historic victory over Argentina. Mike, what are you chewing on over there? What do you got there?
[00:13:01] John Craven: I got a chomps. I have a chomps over here in front of me right now, right? It's it's half gone at this point. It's a free range Turkey chomps. I was also, I mean, there's some really, really, really, really, really good bars out there, And The's some really, really, really, really, really bad bars out there, and Belly Welly is a really, really, really, really, really good bar. Tried the Cinnamon Swirl.
[00:13:24] Ray Latif: Is it a protein bar? Is it a dessert bar?
[00:13:26] John Craven: What kind of bar is it? No, it's a probiotic snack. It doesn't have a lot of protein in it, but it's made to be probably better for a snack, fiber, a little bit of protein, gluten-free, no sugar alcohols, tasty.
[00:13:40] Ray Latif: Nice. Is that a tamale I see in front of you, too? Oh, yeah, right.
[00:13:44] John Craven: I mean, I'll snacks. This one gets the Bevanette Mike Award. I love these fellows walking tamales. If there was one, if any, you know, the coveted Bevanette Mike Award, that doesn't sound he's going to give it out.
[00:13:59] Ray Latif: It's not a real award. It's Filo's, F-I-L-O-S. It's their walking tamales. Probably Fios, right? Fios walking tamales? Yes. These are portable. And I think we've talked about this. We have talked about this in the podcast in the past. Yeah. But the one you have is there a sort of deserty variety. They have, I think, three savory varieties. And The are just, again, you know, portable tamales that are shelf stable, packaged in. What do they call those pouches? It's kind of like a burrito pouch. Yeah, almost like a burrito pouch. They're really, really delicious. Corn-based. And again, three savory varieties and two sweet varieties. Is that the peanut butter you have, Mike?
[00:14:38] John Craven: This is the peanut butter I have in front of me. I haven't tried the peanut butter yet. I really like the savory ones, though.
[00:14:43] Ray Latif: Nice. They're really unique. And for what they are, they're some of the best new products that I've had this year.
[00:14:50] John Craven: Yeah, I'd say it's one of the top three products I had this year. It was really tasty. There you go.
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[00:15:47] Ray Latif: John, you were talking about how much stuff is on your desk. What are you sipping on these days? A lot of stuff, right?
[00:15:52] Mike Schneider: As always, uh, first got these new shots from honey drop. Oh my gosh. Yeah. These are, are really good. You know, they're kind of in that two ounce shot format. It's kind of like the cold press juice looking shot with, uh, Manuka honey. Honey drop also makes full-size ready to drink lemonades and such, but these, uh, definitely stand out for me.
[00:16:17] John Craven: You also gave me the Honey Drop lip balm, not for nothing, that was really good too. Manuka Honey, I like that. Is that Honey Drop branded?
[00:16:27] Mike Schneider: It is. Okay, yeah. How about that? Some Manuka Honey lip balm too, but also got these products from a company called Something Else. These folks will be at Bevanette Live. These are non-alcoholic kind of cocktail wine sort of products that are made with Chardonnay verjus. Some fancy non-alcoholic products. They come in cans of 750 milliliters. Also got some Golden Rule, their tequila Paloma. Pretty darn tasty. Not drinking that while working. But yes, highly recommend. And last but not least, this other one we got is called Jukes.
[00:17:08] John Craven: Yeah.
[00:17:09] Mike Schneider: How's that spelled?
[00:17:11] SPEAKER_??: you
[00:17:11] Mike Schneider: J-U-K-E-S. Jukes.
[00:17:15] Ray Latif: Well, I'm just saying, I can read it. I'm just saying for our audience who isn't watching any video right now.
[00:17:20] Mike Schneider: Jukes. These are another designed to be kind of like a wine type flavor. They've got like 10 different ones that I think range from sort of more like a white wine to a red wine, but you mix them with still or sparkling water and pretty cool looking little sampler box thing they have here.
[00:17:41] John Craven: That's from London, right, John? I think it's, uh, they have like eight different varieties and comes with a little card that tells you what they're supposed to kind of emulate and really tasty stuff. Correct. Nice.
[00:17:54] Ray Latif: I've been on a plant-based chicken kick of late, and I'm really happy that Dr. Prager's was able to send some of their newest products to me, me, not to you guys, to me. No, I'm just kidding. I will share these. I'll share these for sure. Dr. Prager's is the frozen food brand best known for its veggie burgers And The veggie-forward food products. They just introduced three brand new products as an expansion of its Perfect line, including a Perfect Nashville Hot Chicken Morsels variety, Perfect Chicken Tenders, and a perfect general size chicken morsels. All of these products are packed with protein. For example, the Nashville Hot, it's 17 grams per serving. It's sort of hit or miss when it comes to plant-based foods, when it comes to plant-based versions of meat products, but Dr. Prager's has been nailing it every single time with their new products.
[00:18:51] Jacqui Brugliera: On my desk, I have a couple products from brands that will be in attendance at our Santa Monica events. So I have some coffee nuts from Pocket Latte, And The will be at Nosh Live. They launched these this year. These are fueling me this morning. Some mocha and sea salt coffee nuts. So they are coffee chocolate coated almonds. So Pocket Latte will be at Nosh Live. And The I have Velvet Llama, which is a line of canned cocktails. This is their Moscow Mule. They also have a spicy margarita, and I believe they're coming out with an espresso martini. and it is crafted by New York City bartenders. And right now you can just find this in New York City, but they will be at BevNET Live. We do have a whole RTD Spirits track starting on Sunday, the day before BevNET Live and going through day one. So we do have an investor panel on Sunday focused on RTD Spirits, as well as the Cocktail Showdown. And The we have some main stage presentations on Monday as well. So I recommend checking it out.
[00:19:59] John Craven: We also have non-ALC bars at our happy hours and parties. So for the sober curious like me, you can sample non-ALC RTDs during the appropriate use occasion.
[00:20:10] Ray Latif: It's always an appropriate use occasion for non-ALC RTDs, right? That's true.
[00:20:13] John Craven: That's true. Yeah. Like when you whip out a hoplark at halftime of your soccer game and people are like, what are you doing, right?
[00:20:22] Jacqui Brugliera: And we do have a variety of parties as Mike was talking about at all of our events, which very excited about Notch Live. We have an awesome happy hour, which will help you take a look into the future with some handwriting analysis, palm readers, tarot card readers. And The at Bad Net Live, we have a happy hour. And The also the official party, which is going to be taking place beach side, right behind the Lowe's Santa Monica. And at Brewbound Live, three different parties, Booch, beer, non-alc, you got it.
[00:20:54] Mike Schneider: Can't wait. I mean, my main contribution to these events was that I came up with the cocktails for Nosh and Bevin at Live Parties, so hopefully they don't suck, okay?
[00:21:04] John Craven: I mean, aside from dreaming up the events in the first place, that is your next biggest contribution.
[00:21:10] Mike Schneider: Yes, I dreamt them up. That's a good way. They came to me in a vision.
[00:21:15] Ray Latif: Yeah, very exciting stuff. If you're still not signed up for Brewbound, BevNET, or Nosh Live, please do. We definitely want to see you out in California. You don't want to have FOMO. You know you will if you don't attend. So now's your last chance to do so. If you have any questions about the events, just let us know. Shoot us an email to ask at Taste Radio.com. We'll be happy to answer any questions or point you in the right direction for people who have the answers that you might be asking.
[00:21:44] John Craven: And Jacqui told me she wants to meet you, so we like to keep her happy.
[00:21:48] Jacqui Brugliera: Exactly. I want to meet you all. Yeah.
[00:21:52] Ray Latif: Well, once again, hope to see everyone at the events. In the meantime, thank you so much for listening and a happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Hope everyone had a great holiday with their families and loved ones. Just want to note that our audio engineer for Taste Radio is Joe Cratchy, our technical director is Joshua Pratt, and our video editor is Ryan Galang. As always, for questions, comments, ideas for future podcasts, please send us an email to askattasteradio.com. On behalf of the entire Taste Radio team, thank you for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.
