[00:00:10] Ray Latif: Hello friends 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 with my co-host for this episode, Jacqui Brugliera, Mike Schneider and Melissa Traverse. Get access to limited swag and exclusive content by becoming a Taste Radio VIP. It's easy for you to join that group of very important people. Just head to Taste Radio slash VIP and take one minute to sign up. Well, John Craven is in Vermont today, which means we're blessed with the presence of Melissa Traverse. Melissa, how are you?
[00:00:46] Jacqui Brugliera: I'm fantastic. The pleasure is all mine.
[00:00:49] Ray Latif: You fill the seat very well. Craven, I think, actually, I don't think he sits up as well as you do, though. Like you have Better Sour.
[00:00:55] Jacqui Brugliera: I've worked on that. It's, um, it's taken me a long time, but I, I fill a seat.
[00:01:00] Ray Latif: Yeah.
[00:01:01] Jacqui Brugliera: I feel like I'm kind of like slouching.
[00:01:02] Ray Latif: We're all slouching.
[00:01:03] Mike Schneider: We're like, oh, goodness. You're not really grading our posture.
[00:01:08] Ray Latif: It's slightly problematic because we have these wonderful green velour chairs, which are just so comfortable Jackie. Do you have one of these nice chairs?
[00:01:16] Melissa Traverse: It's like a very Hits the low back and it's oh wait. Does it help me sit up straight?
[00:01:22] Mike Schneider: It's not one of our bev net stage.
[00:01:24] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah Practicing we Need To get Jackie a velour chair something very comfortable at the very least and I can just like, you know, I
[00:01:34] Mike Schneider: You do find yourself just sinking right into it though.
[00:01:37] Ray Latif: Well, she does that. Jackie has one advantage and that's it's a swivel chair. So if she's trying to reach for something, it's easier to do so. When I reach for something, I basically bang my head into the microphone or into some product that I'm trying to reach for.
[00:01:51] Melissa Traverse: It's only bad when I'm fidgeting though, and then I'm like, hey.
[00:01:55] Ray Latif: No fidgeting. Do people do people say that anymore? There's those fidget spinners. Remember those fidget spinners?
[00:02:00] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, people still have fidget spinners.
[00:02:02] Ray Latif: Really?
[00:02:02] Jacqui Brugliera: Now they're encouraging the kids to fidget. In my day.
[00:02:07] Ray Latif: I know right. I don't I don't like fidget spinners life would have been so much easier if I could just fidget all the time No, they had stress balls I mean they still have stress balls that they give out at trade shows you know for people who get angry at work And there are also these little cubes you ever see these were like it has like little snaps and yeah Yeah, yeah fidget cubes fidget cubes.
[00:02:28] Melissa Traverse: Yeah, they have a little bit less distracting than a fidget spinner for everyone else oh
[00:02:32] Mike Schneider: Except for the noise that they make yeah constantly flicking a thing around like I mean our teachers are like sit still Will you sit still please sit still stop talking sit still sit.
[00:02:43] Ray Latif: I miss so many recesses Jesus my yeah, you Need To talk to someone about that sir. I think I just scary. I think I just did thanks everybody Hey, Taste Radio listeners well on that note today is the last day to apply for a New Beverage showdown 25 It's pretty much a no-brainer. We've been talking about this. It's a no-brainer. If you're an early stage beverage brand, the exposure, the advice, the networking, your brand being top of mind with industry gatekeepers, it is the right thing to do. We've had a ton of applications already come in and we're looking for more. Again, today is the last day to apply. And, you know, Whenever we do the New Beverage Showdown, the feedback we always get from the brands that participate is, this was outstanding for getting my name and my brand's name out to the industry. It is so hard to get that kind of awareness. And when you're on stage in front of all those industry gatekeepers, all those people who are so influential in New Beverage industry, it's, it's, you know, you can't really put a price on it.
[00:03:42] Mike Schneider: You're going to get a Lot Of great feedback. You become a celebrity for the event basically, and You Only't have to, you know, start your conversations with your pitch.
[00:03:50] Melissa Traverse: Yeah, and it's not just about winning. There's been so many past participants that haven't won and have gone on to be super successful. It's all about getting on stage, getting that visibility, getting some feedback, and like Mike said, being a little mini celebrity at BevNET Live.
[00:04:04] Mike Schneider: Just say it, Jackie. Mike screwed up Liquid Death.
[00:04:08] Melissa Traverse: I wasn't going to say, I just, you know.
[00:04:13] Jacqui Brugliera: I have an important question about New Beverage Showdown. If somebody had New Beverage brand, why wouldn't they apply? It doesn't cost anything to apply. The application is pretty straightforward and easy. We ask for a video and a few questions about your business. And if you do make it on stage, it's so much fun. And I'll just reiterate everything everyone said here. The exposure and the feedback that you get, not only from the judges, but folks who are at the show is invaluable.
[00:04:43] Mike Schneider: And you can do that video on your phone. You Only't need like JJ Abrams to produce it or anything. You can just, you can just shoot it on your phone. We just want to see who you are and get a sense of how you're going to pitch and make sure you're a little bit prepared to be up on stage because you know, That part can be a little bit daunting for people, but again, it's a safe space. It's a great place to pitch.
[00:05:04] Melissa Traverse: Leading up to the event, we actually support those brands that are going to get up on stage with holding a couple meetings with our team, with people outside of our team that have been there in their shoes to show them the ropes, to give them advice and feedback on their pitch as they prepare and to get ready for BevNET Live.
[00:05:24] Ray Latif: Absolutely. And just to say one more time, you know, if you're on stage and You Only't want the competition, you still may be on stage later in your journey as a speaker at Bed, Net, Live, just like the three brothers from Super Coffee, the three brothers and co-founders from Super Coffee are exciting to see those folks in June. And just off the top of my head, we mentioned Super Coffee, Vive Organic, Liquid Death, all brands that didn't win the competition, but are primetime and well-respected and highly distributed brands across the United States. So if we haven't made it clear, you should definitely, if you're an early stage brand, apply Food and Beverage Showdown 25. We want to see you in New York City in June. And of course, there are Lot Of other folks that want to meet you in June, including suppliers and service providers. Is one of them AFS? One of them being AFS, Applied Food Sciences, which is the leader in innovation for functional organic ingredients in the natural products industry and is built on the belief that quality is transparent from Need To label through organic farming, ethical sourcing, and sustainability. You can learn more at AppliedFoods.com. I love their website too. It's very straightforward, easy to navigate. And if you're looking for an answer, you can find it pretty quickly. Check out AppliedFoods.com.
[00:06:43] Mike Schneider: And thanks AFS for partnering with Taste Radio.
[00:06:46] Jacqui Brugliera: Of course. Thanks AFS.
[00:06:48] Ray Latif: Mike mentioned J.J. Abrams earlier and it's because we were chatting about J.J. Abrams and, you know, the director, he's well known for the new Star Trek movies, some of the Star Wars movies, Cloverfield, Lost, the TV show. Were you a big Lost fan, Melissa?
[00:07:02] Jacqui Brugliera: Yes, I absolutely was.
[00:07:03] Ray Latif: Really? Oh, yeah. Did you watch every episode?
[00:07:06] Jacqui Brugliera: Every single episode. Yeah.
[00:07:07] Ray Latif: Did you watch it more than once?
[00:07:09] Jacqui Brugliera: No, that's really a one and done series. Once the big reveal happens, I think, yeah, you're all done.
[00:07:16] Ray Latif: I haven't seen a single. I think I know how the show ends, but I'm not. I didn't Get It Lost either. I think the biggest reason was because HBO series already existed. And I didn't want to just wait through commercials. Like, you know, when you Watch Lost on ABC for the first run, you'd be sitting there every four minutes, just like twiddling your thumbs. And I just don't like that. Got a little lost at the end But I stuck it through okay good to know well anyway I thought JJ Abrams did a really good job with that new Star Trek movie that I think that but that came out Oh gosh like at least 11 to 10 or 11 years ago at this point mm-hmm, but I don't know I love the idea of Star Trek being this future where everyone isn't necessarily focused on money, but is focused on a better society, like a better civilization for all people. I think everyone, you know, generally wants, you know, good things for all people. And I kind of feel like that's why Michelle Obama got involved in New Beverage industry. The breaking news from last week was that Michelle, the former first lady, announced that she's joining a kids' drink brand called Plesi. as a co-founder and strategic partner. And the focus is part of her overall focus to fight childhood obesity. Plessy is a four-rescue line of beverages currently sold at Sprouts and Target stores. It's sweetened with stevia and monk fruit, and it has 75% less sugar than average, leading 100% fruit juices. It's also fortified with fiber and other nutrients. Huge story, huge story.
[00:08:52] Mike Schneider: Are You Only a first name basis with Michelle Obama? Because I always call her Michelle Obama. But you're on a first-name basis her and JLo.
[00:08:59] Ray Latif: I mean Ray Latif mover and shaker Ray knows important people You know it's that's a dream Bucket list interview is Michelle Obama.
[00:09:08] Melissa Traverse: Oh absolutely yeah like every time a celebrity Get It the Food and Beverage space Are you like stoked are you like this is my chance?
[00:09:16] Ray Latif: Yeah, well, sometimes. I mean, it depends on if it's a A-list celebrity or if it's an E-list celebrity. I mean, E-list ones are pretty... E-list ones aren't necessarily the most exciting ones to get, but I think Michelle Obama's like an A++ celebrity.
[00:09:33] Melissa Traverse: I think she's on her own list.
[00:09:35] Mike Schneider: Yeah, she's top of the pyramid.
[00:09:37] Ray Latif: But, you know, in terms of impact, I mean, this is really interesting because she's not just going to associate her name with any brand. And, you know, Plessy is an interesting company. And I think about what the upside and sort of the potential of this partnership is, you know, in terms of broad impact.
[00:10:00] Melissa Traverse: I think it's interesting because she's starting with New Beverage. I think maybe the thought process is that it's something that's approachable that is a little bit easier to Get In Schools than maybe a food brand. It's also a closer one-to-one alternative to some of the fruit juices and sodas that are In Schools now. So it's a little bit more approachable for kids. It's less of a leap to something that's maybe more functional or not as tasty. And I'm very, very curious about just what's next too, because it seems like Plezi is going to be a platform for other products as well. And this is just where they're getting started.
[00:10:38] Ray Latif: Yeah, I mean, that's their statement of identity, or at least their mission statement on their website is to be a driver for change, creating higher standards for how we make and market Food and Beverage for our kids. That's a, that's a pretty bold statement and a big mission for sure. But with Michelle Obama on board, you know, who knows? I think this might be one of those brands that is as spoken and top of mind as say, Liquid Death is or Prime.
[00:11:06] Michelle Obama: 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.
[00:11:34] Ray Latif: Now, not everyone loves this partnership. You know, we saw a little bit of backlash on Twitter, of course, you know, that's expected. Oh, shocking. Yeah. There is someone named Callie Means, who is the co-founder of TrueMedPayments and the co-author of an upcoming book on health. I guess he's associated with Stanford and Harvard as well. And he tweeted that, Yesterday, as in the day this was announced, Michelle Obama announced that she is partnering with a junk food company to sell sugar water to kids. We must speak plainly. This is a cynical cash grab. Kids don't need safer cigarettes and they don't need safer sugar water. They need leadership. That's pretty biting. You know, that's a pretty cynical view of this announcement and this partnership.
[00:12:19] Jacqui Brugliera: To Mike's point, I would be I would also be interested in hearing what the vetting process was. Michelle Obama is so well known for trying to incorporate, as we discussed, more vegetables In Schools lunches and healthier school lunches. So I would be super interested in understanding what her vetting process was in wanting to partner with Plessy.
[00:12:40] Ray Latif: And so I get why some people are concerned about, you know, New Beverage that has added sugar in it. but we're not going to wipe off the face of the planet all beverages with added sugar, all kids beverages with added sugar. So this is a step in the right direction. And I feel like that's kind of what Michelle Obama is looking at. She's looking at the big picture. Okay. How can we get better drinks in the hands of kids? We know it's not going to be an overnight thing, but let's, let's take a step by step process in that direction.
[00:13:07] Melissa Traverse: Yeah. It seems like she's trying to meet kids where they are.
[00:13:11] Ray Latif: Bottom line here is that we need Michelle Obama to join us for a future episode of Taste Radio.
[00:13:15] Mike Schneider: We just Need To just flesh this out entirely, you know, and hear it from the former first lady herself.
[00:13:26] Ray Latif: Now, Plessy isn't the only brand that's trying to create Better Sour you products for modern consumers. There's a Lot Of folks in Target's new, it's latest, takeoff Food and Beverage class as part of Target's accelerators program. They just announced that 10 emerging Food and Beverage brands have joined that class, including some that we've mentioned here on the podcast.
[00:13:48] Mike Schneider: So many that we love.
[00:13:49] Ray Latif: Yes. Glownuts. Glownuts. Resist. Resist Nutrition. Immoral. Immoral. Yeah.
[00:13:55] Mike Schneider: One of my favorites, Homiya's in there. I am craving laksa lately. I mean, theirs is so good. I want to Get It for breakfast.
[00:14:02] Ray Latif: Yeah. Also Brooklyn Tea, Bumpin' Bluns, Mocktail Club, Better Chew, Honeycut Kitchen, and Soldadera. Congratulations to all those 10 brands. It's a six week program, virtual six week program. And it is, according to Target, designed to give these folks an MBA in retail with help in merchandising, digital marketing strategy, packaging, and optimizing supply chain management. So interesting stuff for sure. You know what we need? We need an upstart chartreuse company to solve all these supply chain issues that we're seeing with chartreuse. Now, if You Only't know what chartreuse is, A, you're missing out, and B, you're probably not alone. What is chartreuse, Melissa?
[00:14:43] Jacqui Brugliera: Chartreuse is a product made by Carthusian monks since the 1600s, over a hundred botanicals. It comes in a yellow and green variety. And I have gone down a chartreuse rabbit hole because just recently I understood that there's a chartreuse shortage. And do you want to know why?
[00:15:03] Mike Schneider: Yes. It's a spirit, right? A spirit? A spirit, yeah.
[00:15:07] Melissa Traverse: I will say I am one of the people missing out, so I'm curious about chartreuse.
[00:15:12] Mike Schneider: It's so good.
[00:15:13] Jacqui Brugliera: The last word is like probably one of the most famous cocktails made with chartreuse, but the monks want to dedicate their time to prayer and solitude and no longer want to mass produce chartreuse.
[00:15:28] Ray Latif: That is so I guess there can't be an upstart brand of chartreuse. because they would have to be like a breakaway group of monks starting their own brand. Maybe, I don't know what they would call it, but it's chartreuse.
[00:15:44] Mike Schneider: What's your favorite chartreuse cocktail, Ray?
[00:15:46] Ray Latif: I don't really have one. You Only't? No, I used to do chartreuse jello shots. What? Really?
[00:15:53] Melissa Traverse: Chartreuse is expensive. Those are very fancy jello shots.
[00:15:57] Ray Latif: Well, there's two things about that. Number one, chartreuse is a very, yes, Melissa, it definitely comes in two colors, yellow and green. And chartreuse is actually a color name. So it's the only liqueur, I believe, that is named after a color or vice versa.
[00:16:12] Mike Schneider: And in Boston, it's Chartreuse. I think my favorite cocktail celebrates both the pomp and circumstance of Chartreuse. It is a Naked and Famous.
[00:16:24] Ray Latif: Okay. Ooh, yes. That sounds appropriate. But, you know, chartreuse jello shots. So our dear colleague and friend, Adam Stern, frequent a bar in Boston on a pretty regular basis. And they would have this annual party where they would shut down the bar and have it open only for select patrons. And I think you would pay like a hundred bucks for a ticket to Get It, but all the proceeds would go to a charity and it would just be a blowout party. And as part of the party, they would make chartreuse jello shots. And Adam, We take a week off from work after attending the party Recovering from the yes. Oh, no. I can never know He never specifically said that it was because of the party. I think he I think he called it like the flu Sure
[00:17:20] Melissa Traverse: Going back to the monks, do monks have to make chartreuse?
[00:17:23] Jacqui Brugliera: Yes, they certainly do. Yes, it's a product made only by these monks in France, which is not to say that chartreuse won't be available from here on in. It'll be more widely available in France than other places. So it'll be more of like an allocation based thing. Another tip about chartreuse that I found while diving down in that rabbit hole is that if you want to find out which year your chartreuse was produced, you take a look at the top of the bottle, you take the first three numbers that you see, add them to 1084, and then you'll get the year that your chartreuse was created because chartreuse ages pretty well too.
[00:18:02] Ray Latif: Interesting. I was just reading a New York Times article about this, and there was a former monk, apparently he's a former monk, who oversaw chartreuse production from 1986 to 1990. And following up on what you talked about, Melissa, he said, there's only so much chartreuse you can make without ruining the balance of monastic life. And, you know, it seems like it really is interrupting their monastic life because production is currently at 1.6 million bottles per year, the highest level since the 1800s. Wow. They were producing that much in the 1800s?
[00:18:34] Mike Schneider: Wow. Wow. I want to know what percentage is green and what percentage is yellow. The default is green, right? When you say chartreuse? Correct. Yeah.
[00:18:41] Jacqui Brugliera: The yellow is so lovely though. Just pour it over a little ice.
[00:18:44] Mike Schneider: It's so good. You guys are tempting my sober curiosity.
[00:18:48] Melissa Traverse: I have to go try it, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to find it.
[00:18:52] Mike Schneider: I know somebody who will send you some, Jackie.
[00:18:55] Ray Latif: We'll send you some Jell-O shots, some Chartreuse Jell-O shots.
[00:18:58] Melissa Traverse: Yes, please.
[00:18:58] Ray Latif: All right, back to some non-alcoholic Food and Beverage. Congratulations to the folks at Better Sour, Bella Hughes and Samira Niku, who are the co-founders of the Better Sour You gummy brand. that is inspired by global flavors. They recently made their retail debut across California Erewhon stores this month. They're exclusively available at all nine locations of Erewhon until July before expanding into other retail accounts later this year. Good stuff.
[00:19:28] Mike Schneider: Fabulous brand and a fabulous MENA brand.
[00:19:30] Ray Latif: MENA standing for Middle Eastern and North African or of Middle Eastern and North African descent.
[00:19:37] Mike Schneider: also known as the brand that I ate a whole bag of in front of the founders.
[00:19:41] Jacqui Brugliera: They are so good. It's a lower sugar gummy, but there, I mean, I feel like they do a really good job with the product itself.
[00:19:47] Ray Latif: Yeah, absolutely. Great packaging too. And speaking of great packaging and Erewhon, Struesli, that's spelled S-T-R-U-E-S-L-I, which is a granola or described by the company as a granola redefined with no added sweeteners of any kind and packs of super foods. recently introduced two new chef-crafted flavors in partnership with Erewhon. I have both of them here on my little side table. One of them is the original and one of them is the cacao and coffee. They come in these cylinder packages, which are absolutely beautiful. Each one comes with tiger nuts, pecans, pecans or pecans? What do you think, Melissa? Yes.
[00:20:29] Melissa Traverse: I think pecan. Pecan. Pecans.
[00:20:32] Ray Latif: Yeah, I knew Jackie was going to say pecan. It's very much a brahmin. It's the brahmin accent. But pecawn. Pecawn. Well, that's coconut flakes, hemp hearts, chia seeds, and flaked sea salt. Actually, the original comes with flaked sea salt, and the chia seeds, the cacao one, does not. Uh, I would love to, I haven't tried these yet, but I can't wait to crack them open. I wanted to hold them until we talked about them. They look like scotch. They look like scotch packets. It does. The packaging is gorgeous. I'm listening to what you're saying, but I'm like, that's granola? Well, the package, the similar package looks like, uh, it holds a scotch bottle inside.
[00:21:09] Mike Schneider: I was like, is this, is this, uh, Islay granola? That's why you say pecan. Space side granola? Melissa has a space side granola over there.
[00:21:19] Jacqui Brugliera: Four grams of fiber two grams of sugar those are some pretty good stats.
[00:21:24] Ray Latif: Maybe ray will let us try it Maybe also in terms of some delicious things that I haven't tried yet, but I'm excited to do so Anjali Bhargava Who is the founder of Anjali's cup which is a maker of? golden milk mixes and Turmeric powders, please yes recently introduced a new product. I'm gonna butcher the pronunciation of it, but it's Maz Haldi dude masala Yes Essentially, it's a golden milk mix with turmeric and ginger The tin I'm holding in my hand we are making lattes. Yes, and it has 20 servings You just Need To heat six ounces of milk with two ounces of water and a teaspoon of maz masala sweetened Okay, I'm gonna make shots of that.
[00:22:09] Mike Schneider: We're gonna make some golden milk lattes. Oh
[00:22:12] Jacqui Brugliera: So were you thinking like a dirty golden milk latte with espresso in it?
[00:22:15] Mike Schneider: No, no, no. Why would I pollute it? That's going to be amazing. Can you believe I said pollute in coffee?
[00:22:22] Jacqui Brugliera: No, I'm shocked. I don't even know who you are anymore.
[00:22:26] Mike Schneider: But I love, love, love, love a tumeric latte and that just sounds amazing. It is. Ray, earlier in the show we were talking about Better Sour You Water and This, Hapi Water, it comes in a pack that looks like, I guess the leading, uh, it looks like a Capri Sun pack. Let's just call it. So it's called Hapi Water, H-A-P-I, and it's got zero grams of sugar and it's got the straw. It's got the whole, you know, the whole thing. This one in my hand is called Apple Joy. And I tried it and I thought, see, it's pretty good. You know, it reminded me of Capri Sun and Gen Z in the office cannot get enough of this. Like Amanda Huang and Colin, who receives all the samples and he's on our ad ops team. I saw him drinking it. They look like little kids when they're doing it. They have them like, they just, um, they basically, when it gets like three quarter done, they're just holding it by the straw. in their mouths and they're just like little kids. It's amazing.
[00:23:25] Jacqui Brugliera: We all want to feel like a little kid again sometime.
[00:23:27] Mike Schneider: They told me it's just super fun to drink and it just takes them back to their childhood.
[00:23:32] Takeoff Food: 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 New 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 e-book 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.
[00:24:22] Jacqui Brugliera: Did you guys try these Sea Monsters seaweed puffs at Expo? I tried them at Expo West, but... We tried them at the Snack Shot event. Oh, yeah, that's right. I think these are super tasty. They're made Lot Of a bunch of ingredients, but the two major components are sorghum and seaweed, which are both climate-friendly ingredients. And I think sometimes with seaweed snacks, in general, they can get a little fish food-y, but I thought that Sea Monsters...
[00:24:51] Mike Schneider: mine, but I don't think everyone likes that.
[00:24:54] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah. But I thought they did a really nice job with the puff itself and the seasoning.
[00:24:58] Mike Schneider: I think those are a great alternative to, you know, Cheetos. And I like that, just that form factor and the, and just the, the crunch, crunch, crunch of them. And yeah, I could eat a whole bag of those. My kids love those.
[00:25:10] Melissa Traverse: I love the packaging and it's also just way more approachable than some other seaweed snacks or things on the shelves. So yeah, I think they did a great job.
[00:25:18] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, they've got these little icons on the front, so there's a different character for each skew similar Off Limits So makes them they're a lot more approachable than your daily gloop Jackie
[00:25:32] Melissa Traverse: My Seamoss.
[00:25:34] Jacqui Brugliera: Oh, Jackie, are you into Seamoss?
[00:25:38] Mike Schneider: Yes, we got down the rabbit hole and that was the rabbit hole last.
[00:25:43] Jacqui Brugliera: OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, yeah, I've been dying to. I hear I hear kind of like differing opinions like is it bad for you? Is it good for you?
[00:25:51] Mike Schneider: Yeah, but Jackie's on sort of like a longitudinal study. So how you doing? Give you girls yet? Any any gills? Any sign of gills?
[00:25:58] Melissa Traverse: No gills. I can't breathe underwater yet.
[00:26:01] Mike Schneider: I'm working on it. We're working on AquaJack here.
[00:26:04] Melissa Traverse: So what I'm going to eat for lunch today is a new product from Somos. So Somos, I'm just always impressed by the number of products they have and how many products they launched with. But this is a new SKU of 90-second rice. So this is Mexican street corn white rice.
[00:26:23] Mike Schneider: Get It.
[00:26:24] Melissa Traverse: Yeah. I love Mexican street corn living in San Diego. I mean, I Get It a lot. But this is really exciting that I can eat this in 90 seconds and it has really quality ingredients. It's gluten-free, plant-based, non-GMO. So this is a recent addition to their line of products.
[00:26:42] Mike Schneider: Jackie means that she can not only make it in 90 seconds, but can Get It in 90 seconds.
[00:26:47] Melissa Traverse: Less than 90 seconds, I can Get It. Is it ready to eat? Do you add anything? Nope. You just pop it in the microwave and it's ready to go.
[00:26:55] Ray Latif: I love that pouch packaging for these instant meals. It's just... It make well and I love the Dozen Cousins in my belly.
[00:27:02] Mike Schneider: Right.
[00:27:02] Ray Latif: And I love that they have the option of microwaveable preparation or you can just open it up and put it into a pot for like two minutes.
[00:27:10] Jacqui Brugliera: And it makes you feel like an astronaut if you eat Lot Of the package.
[00:27:14] Mike Schneider: But it also reminds me of what used to be convenient back in the day was not very good for you.
[00:27:21] Melissa Traverse: I remember in my college dorm room having hacks that looked like this, but didn't have the same ingredients, had way more sodium, was not good for me. But that was what I was eating in the dorm room. And college kids these days have so many options. They're making gourmet meals.
[00:27:40] Ray Latif: These damn Gen Zers. The world by the tail.
[00:27:45] Melissa Traverse: The fidget spinners and they're delicious, ready to eat food. Another product that we just got into the office in San Diego is called Talk House. It's a line of RTD cocktails. So this is tequila soda, grapefruit tequila soda. They also have vodka sodas. I think it's based on a venue on the east end of Long Island. So it's taking something from a bar and a venue in Long Island and creating a RTD cocktail Lot Of it, which is interesting. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm very curious. I do love me a tequila soda, but I would say just on the packaging, Maybe, I don't know, a little bit more straightforward of what's the story. Cause I had to dig a little bit to understand the connection to the venue.
[00:28:35] Mike Schneider: Maybe a little too artisan.
[00:28:37] Melissa Traverse: Yeah. Yeah. So maybe just tell the story a little bit more. Cause I would love to understand the roots and why they launched this product, but I'm very interested to try it.
[00:28:46] Ray Latif: Tequila soda.
[00:28:48] Melissa Traverse: So thirsty.
[00:28:49] Ray Latif: Granola. We have some work to do folks. So thank you so much for listening to us, but we're going to go eat and drink.
[00:28:55] Melissa Traverse: and be merry, as we always do.
[00:28:58] Ray Latif: 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 Cracci. 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. you
