[00:00:00] John Craven: BevNET Live, the premier event for beverage industry executives, is coming up fast on June 10th and 11th in New York City. Hundreds of beverage founders, investors, and retailers are already confirmed. Don't miss your chance to build momentum mid-year and set yourself up for a strong finish. Early registration pricing ends Friday, April 24th. Register now and save $100 at bevnetlive.com.
[00:00:39] Ray Latif: Hello, and thanks for tuning into Taste Radio, the number one podcast for the food and beverage industry. I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of Taste Radio, and with my co-hosts for this episode, John Craven, Jacqui Brugliera, and Mike Schneider. I should stop calling us co-hosts or calling you guys co-hosts and just refer to all of us as the Taste Radio Squad. Squad. Squad. Didn't Taylor Swift, like, she made that a big thing, calling everything a squad. Whatever Taylor Swift says turns to gold right now. Yeah, it does.
[00:01:10] Jacqui Brugliera: I mean, she has like the bracelets that everyone's wearing now that Jackie's wearing. People can't stop watching football like what is this?
[00:01:19] Ray Latif: But do you only get one of those bracelets if you're part of her crew or part of her squad?
[00:01:22] Jacqui Brugliera: No, if you go to her concerts, yeah, you like trade bracelets.
[00:01:26] Ray Latif: OK, that's how Travis Kelsey got on her squad, right? He got a bracelet. Well, he he was going to make a bracelet. And he made one, but he couldn't give it to her, supposedly. But then somehow they connected after the fact, and now they're almost husband and wife.
[00:01:39] Mike Schneider: Now it's the story you can't stop hearing about, even on Taste Radio.
[00:01:42] Jacqui Brugliera: It's fun! I mean, they're really trying to squeeze all the juice out of this one, because they are on SNL revealing their relationship. Like, it's Kind of a big PR stunt.
[00:01:55] Mike Schneider: Did you guys see our dear friend Lance Bass? He was at the game and he had a sign that said, sorry, not Taylor Swift. And you just brought it up really slowly.
[00:02:05] Ray Latif: Oh, geez. That's kind of sad, actually.
[00:02:09] Mike Schneider: It was funny. He's a funny guy. Got him on TV and Mike talking about him.
[00:02:12] Ray Latif: Do you remember when you did an interview with him and he was doing some mixture brand?
[00:02:16] Mike Schneider: I remember. That's why I called him our dear friend. That was in air quotes.
[00:02:19] Ray Latif: Okay, that was like six years ago.
[00:02:20] Mike Schneider: I wonder what happened that that was 20 January 2020 January 2021 really I think so it's a winter fancy food show. Oh, okay I think he's just the right level of celebrity just like he's kind of like just barely below you Ray And then you know not Taylor Swift level of course so he he can get around people know who he is But he can you know he can still probably go out in public have a good time So what you're saying is if I had launched that mixture brand instead of him it might have been a success would have gone off the rails, right?
[00:02:49] Ray Latif: I don't know. That's like one of those brands where they were like, and we launched in January of 2020. And then the pandemic hit. Rocket ship right to the top.
[00:02:57] Jacqui Brugliera: Not ideal, but NSYNC is coming back. So, you know, he's got something else going on now.
[00:03:02] Ray Latif: Justin Timberlake's coming back to NSYNC.
[00:03:04] Jacqui Brugliera: NSYNC is back together. The band is back together.
[00:03:07] Ray Latif: Really?
[00:03:07] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah.
[00:03:08] Mike Schneider: Man, this is like entertainment news. Ray's living under a rock segment here. All right. We got to get back to the CPG. Stick with what you know, Ray. All right. Well, Manchester, you know.
[00:03:21] Ray Latif: No, we're not going there. I'll tell you, DevNet Live and Osh Live to a certain extent have been known of late for having celebrities featured at the events and from time to time from time to time and our winter events are coming up and you know it's possible it's possible you might see some celebrities at the shows not saying it's gonna happen but it might happen there's a little teaser out there for you But what you will see for sure at Nosh Live is the opportunity to meet with some of the leading retailers in the United States, including Kroger, the Fresh Market and Thrive Market. And recently added to that list is a heavyweight that many of you know that heavyweight is Jackie.
[00:04:05] Jacqui Brugliera: It is Whole Foods.
[00:04:07] Ray Latif: Indeed, it is Whole Foods. So at Nosh Live on November 30th and December 1st in Marina Del Rey, attendees are invited to meet one-on-one with representatives from Thrive Market, Kroger, The Fresh Market, and now Whole Foods. Private meetings throughout the two-day event. Pretty amazing stuff. I mean, when else, where else can you have this opportunity to meet with four? of the top retailers, the most sought after retailers in America. That's happening at Nosh Live. And you get to have a great strategic discussion with them. Bring them your pitch. They'll give you feedback. I'm going to try to have a nice strategic discussion with Whole Foods and ask them. Right after the brands. No. Yeah. I get, I get dibs.
[00:04:47] Jacqui Brugliera: Brands get priority.
[00:04:47] Ray Latif: Yeah, sure, why not? See, John Craven me dibs. No, no dibs. No dibs? Darn. Cause I was hoping to launch a brand called Dibs and now forget that. Oh yeah. For that, you do. Yeah. Ray, you'll be first on the list. I'm sure they're going to want to talk to you. We have to get one dad joke in today. All right. Way to go.
[00:05:02] Jacqui Brugliera: There will be plenty of buyers there, so I think you'll have some time, right? There are five representatives from Whole Foods, from a variety of categories, top execs. So all you need to do as a brand is just register for Nosh Live and then you have access to sign up.
[00:05:18] Ray Latif: Thrive is sending three representatives. It's going to be awesome. You say there are five from Whole Foods and three from Thrive? That's incredible. I almost wanted to do the, was that Eddie Murphy where it said Hercules, Hercules, Hercules? Do you remember that one? Yes, Simon. Nope. Nope. Someone listening definitely remembers that. In addition to these Retailer One-on-One opportunities. They were trying to forget. They couldn't. Attendees will have an opportunity to join us for a live session of Elevator Talk. Yeah. Elevator Talk being the series that profiles early stage and disruptive brands from across the food and beverage industry. We sit one-on-one or actually in this case two-on-one, me being the host, and we'll have a co-host who is an expert in the field of investment, retailing, merchandising, or distribution, talking to brands about their business plans, their products, their strategies, their packaging, et cetera. So an incredible opportunity to hear from an expert about your brand, about your company, and how to scale in a really efficient way. Practice your pitch.
[00:06:18] Mike Schneider: We're going to live stream it. At the end, there's a video of you. You can send to people, you know, there's all kinds of great reasons to come to Nosh.
[00:06:25] Ray Latif: Exactly. Now I should mention that at BevNetLive you will also have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with the retailer. That retailer is...
[00:06:33] Jacqui Brugliera: Albertson's companies, which is the umbrella company of pretty much most retailers you can think of.
[00:06:41] Mike Schneider: Safeway, Vons, Pavilion, Star Market, Shaw's. Star Market.
[00:06:46] Jacqui Brugliera: Star Market.
[00:06:47] Mike Schneider: Star Market. For Boston people, that's the same as Star Market.
[00:06:50] Ray Latif: Yes. I mean, this is an incredible opportunity to meet with a retailer that really does cover the entire United States and has retail stores in pretty much every state across the country, I would say.
[00:07:02] Mike Schneider: Thanks to our partner, LA Libations, which is also SIP, LA Vibrations, and Hi-Touch Distribution. Indeed. Powering the Albertsons umbrella being there.
[00:07:13] Ray Latif: And you know what else I'm excited about at BevNET Live is the return of the Taste Radio Studio. The Taste Radio Studio is our live podcasting format in which we sit down with attendees for about 10 minutes at a time, chat with them about news and updates with their brand. We also have some exciting features in which Mike, and a to be announced attendee at BevNET Live will be sitting down and examining package design on the spot. So if you're interested in participating in our Elevator Talk series at Nosh Live or Taste Radio Studio at BevNET Live, please send us an email to ask at Taste Radio. Would love to sit down with you for an interview. Right after BevNET Live comes Brewbound Live. We're going to talk a little bit about Brewbound Live, Ray.
[00:08:04] Mike Schneider: The beers, kid. The beers. The beers. The beers.
[00:08:07] Ray Latif: And the Beyond beers. And the Beyond beers. And the beers. And the RTDs.
[00:08:09] Mike Schneider: And the Beyond beers. The RTDs. We've got Brewbound Live going on with our Pitch Slam competition. Great content on stage. Awesome opportunities for networking. We're going to be returning to Firestone Walker Brewery for our party. We're going to have a kickoff party. There's probably a rap party too. I mean, Brewbound has a lot of cool networking opportunities. There's a rap party? LL Cool J is going to be there? Yeah, LL Cool J. Did you see how Mike immediately he went?
[00:08:34] Ray Latif: I'm ready for the turntable, baby. He was trying to scratch. I went right to scratch. Okay.
[00:08:38] Mike Schneider: Old school, man.
[00:08:39] Ray Latif: No, I mean, I love that. I do love Kendrick too, though, you know? I love that Brewbound Live is coming. He's not a big scratcher, is he, Jackie?
[00:08:46] Jacqui Brugliera: No, Kendrick's my favorite.
[00:08:48] Ray Latif: Yeah. I do love that Brewbound Live is coming up right on the heels of BevNET Live because there is so much blurring of the lines between non-alcoholic beverages, spirits, beer, FMBs. It all feels like it's kind of coming together as part of sort of this overall beverage industry that is trying to get better at every level. And so, yeah, definitely excited to see, hear from- Justin, Jess, Zoe, planning an incredible program. Those are the editors and reporters for Brewbound. For Brewbound. Excited to see the stage content. It is always top notch. The pitch slam is going to be awesome.
[00:09:22] Jacqui Brugliera: There's a really nice through line from BevNET Live to Brewbound Live on Sunday. We're kicking off BevNET Live with our RTD Spirits content and competition. I know we also have some RTD Spirits content planned for the main stage of BevNET Live and then continue that right into Brewbound Live, which we'll be talking about beer and the whole world of Beyond Beer, which is just expanding and growing.
[00:09:48] Ray Latif: I am excited and I'm excited to host all four competitions. It's going to be a test of endurance for sure.
[00:09:56] Jacqui Brugliera: We believe in you.
[00:09:57] Ray Latif: Well, I mean, my favorite thing to do is like I always go back to like Press Your Luck and some of those game shows in the past where you get so excited for the winners because they have been working so hard to get to this point. And once you announce their name and you see them walking up to the stage, it's like nothing. It's like no other feeling because They earned it. They really, really earned it. And it's just, it's a fun experience to be able to share that with them.
[00:10:19] Jacqui Brugliera: Wasn't your childhood dream being a game show host, Ray?
[00:10:22] Ray Latif: Indeed it was. As I mentioned, press your luck. Peter Tamarkin. I always talk about this, but if you Google Peter Tamarkin and press your luck from back in the day, you'll see there's some... You're basically his clone. ...similarities between he and I in terms of our appearance and I guess the way we both act like Muppets up on stage.
[00:10:42] Mike Schneider: Yeah, you're definitely not as robotic as Wink Martindale back in the day.
[00:10:46] Ray Latif: Wink, what a cool name. He was a cool guy too.
[00:10:49] Mike Schneider: You know, you guys forgot to mention one other important part about the events. Which is? I mean the networking, the investors, all that good stuff. And the fact that there's hundreds of people already signed up for these things. And our hotel room block is... For BevNET, I think the hotel's sold out, right? For BevNET Live, the hotel's sold out, but don't fret because there are lots of good hotels and Airbnbs nearby, so you won't have trouble finding accommodation.
[00:11:16] Ray Latif: Yeah, not too far from Santa Monica, Venice, all the good spots in LA.
[00:11:22] Mike Schneider: Marina del Rey also has many hotels, so.
[00:11:25] Ray Latif: It definitely does.
[00:11:26] Mike Schneider: It's set up for you.
[00:11:27] Ray Latif: And we can go surfing afterwards.
[00:11:29] Mike Schneider: Yeah. In a marina, no, but you do you.
[00:11:32] Jacqui Brugliera: Go boating, maybe?
[00:11:34] Ray Latif: Kayaking? We'll paddle surf.
[00:11:36] Mike Schneider: No, you probably have one of those little things that hovers you off the ground, right? I mean those like is like hydro surfing or something I don't even know are in the marina, but we're not we're not far from the beach I mean, it's it's awesome. You could swim there right from the marina highly recommend.
[00:11:52] Ray Latif: Okay.
[00:11:52] Mike Schneider: Yeah you go first
[00:11:55] Ray Latif: John, you mentioned networking, and I hope that folks at BevNET Live gets to network with the fine and incredible team of Tetra Ask And Tetra Pak is, of course, the presenting sponsor for this episode of Taste Radio. Tetra Pak is the pioneering packaging solutions company. That provides safe, innovative, and environmentally sound products that each day meet the needs of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Learn more at tetrapack.com. All right, switching gears to food news. Very excited to hear that tilapia. The brand of clean-labeled hot sauces, Salsa Macha, also known as Mexican Chili Crisp, and grain-free tortillas and tortilla chips made with a base of nopales, also known as cactus, has raised $2.6 million in funding led by Ascenta Terra Capital and GBM Ventures. Congratulations to Hector Saldivar, who is the founder and CEO of Tia Lupita, who told our Shauna Golden that the investment is validating and comforting and represents its confidence in the startup's potential in the better for you Mexican food segment. Love this brand. I had an opportunity to interview Hector a few episodes back on Taste Radio, well more than a few episodes back. I particularly love their salsa matcha. I mean, there's, there's a bunch of, I don't know, at least maybe more of a handful of salsa matcha products that have come out since Tia Lupita's, but theirs really is special and couldn't happen to a better guy. Have you guys met Hector?
[00:13:36] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, he's awesome. He's so friendly. Like you walk up to a booth at a trade show and he's very welcoming and it feels like you just saw him the other day.
[00:13:45] Mike Schneider: And his products are quite tasty.
[00:13:49] Jacqui Brugliera: Mm hmm. Yeah. It's been great to watch the brand evolve into different categories as well. Like I really enjoy their cactus chips too. And I know, I believe they started with their hot sauce, then created the salsa matcha and then the cactus chips.
[00:14:01] Ray Latif: I totally agree with Hector. I mean, with the idea that this investment is validating, but it also is validating just to see this brand in thousands of retail stores. And, you know, you wouldn't be in these retail stores unless the products were turning and, you know, they, they seem to be doing quite well and on the right track for sure. So congratulations again to Tia Lupita.
[00:14:22] Jacqui Brugliera: Yeah, I think there's great opportunity for better for you Mexican brands living in San Diego and going into, you know, Mexican grocery stores. There's still a lot of the traditional Mexican brands in there and not a lot of startups or emerging brands.
[00:14:39] John Craven: Vibrant Ingredients is the natural ingredient partner powering food and beverage innovation, delivering flavor, function, and protection through a science-backed portfolio. Vibrant delivers purpose-driven solutions that help brands create extraordinary experiences. Discover what's possible with Vibrant today. Visit VibrantIngredients.com.
[00:15:06] Ray Latif: Well, speaking of deals, what is generating investor interest in food and beverage these days? And that is a top of mind question for everyone in the industry. And once again, we turn to Shauna Golden, who broke down a recent survey published by an M&Ask And capital raising platform called Axial. And in this survey, there were three takeaways that stood out. One, that businesses must first address ongoing operational challenges. It's interesting because we saw so much of this at the outset of the pandemic where people were having a real hard time accessing co-manufacturers and getting the ingredients, getting the raw materials they needed to produce their products. And it seems like it is still an issue. The survey also pointed out that there's a heightened focus on understanding forward demand. And lastly, it noted that private equity firms, family offices, and sponsor-backed strategics will be most active in this space over the next six to 12 months. For the full story, head to Nosh.com. The name of the article is Dealmaking Survey Confidence Lags for Food Brand Fundraising.
[00:16:14] Mike Schneider: Which, you know, it doesn't sound as great as it should, but I think it's... It's kind of weirdly worded because I think the way that survey works, food was the fourth best of all the things, but the percentage is maybe a little lower than normal right now, especially after It was probably super high in pandemic times, but some of that stuff, it was interesting. I mean, I feel like are we ever at a point where there isn't some supply chain or operational challenge for CPG businesses or businesses in general? I mean, I don't remember a time like that where everyone just found all the ingredients and components they needed at super cheap prices and everyone was happy. That's not a thing. But yeah, interesting that obviously we're not at a point where there's... Just VC money, writing checks like crazy for brands, but certainly some positives and some good advice in that article. For sure.
[00:17:13] Ray Latif: Yeah, it was interesting in that survey that grocery, as in food, was ranked as the fourth leading subsector behind health and wellness, pet and animal care, and personal care products, respectively. Pet and animal care, goodness gracious. It is amazing how much money people spend on their pets.
[00:17:29] Mike Schneider: So everyone got a dog in the pandemic.
[00:17:31] Ray Latif: Is that what happened? I didn't, but I mean in my town of Brookline and surrounding towns as well, it feels like I'm seeing a new animal hospital open up like once a month. I'm not even kidding. It's nuts. It's like you get a franchise. No, I, I don't think I could be a vet or be in that business.
[00:17:49] Mike Schneider: They don't have enough hand sanitizer.
[00:17:51] Ray Latif: I used to be small as a kid and dogs used to knock me over. That was like their favorite thing to do. And so I'm not a huge fan of dogs.
[00:17:57] Mike Schneider: I definitely have some dog trauma too.
[00:17:59] Ray Latif: Oh yeah. What happened to you?
[00:18:00] Mike Schneider: I just always had to be the person who takes care of the dog. So everybody else wanted the dog, but I didn't. So they're like, Hey, do this, take care of this part, you know, feed the dog, go clean up the dog's, you know, business. And I just, I didn't want to do that. I want to go play soccer.
[00:18:16] Jacqui Brugliera: I also had dog trauma. Everyone has dog trauma. Jeez.
[00:18:19] Ray Latif: Do you have dog trauma?
[00:18:20] Jacqui Brugliera: I do. When I was like a baby, my mom got chased by like a Rottweiler with me in her hand. So I was scared of dogs until I was, I think like 12 or something when I was big enough, you know, to not be scared anymore.
[00:18:33] Ray Latif: You remember that when you were one year old?
[00:18:35] Jacqui Brugliera: Well, I think it was like two or something, but I think it was just the whole situation. I internalized it.
[00:18:41] Mike Schneider: Oh my God. The next door neighbor's, my grandmother's next door neighbor's dog knocked my brother down, cracked his head open. He wanted to go visit the dog and the dog just, I don't think the dog was trying to, but it jumped up on him and knocked him over. Maybe we should cut this whole anti-dog rant out of the podcast.
[00:18:57] Ray Latif: It's not anti-dog. It's just dog trauma. I love dogs. It's getting a little dark here. It's getting pretty dark. I mean, you know dog traumas. I'm feeling it right now. I'm you know, what's gonna help me get it get away from this. All right, maybe a drink What is One of the most trendy purple ingredients that's out there right now. I know what it is. Oh
[00:19:25] Mike Schneider: Ube?
[00:19:25] Ray Latif: That's right, Ube. Okay, if you didn't say ingredients, they would have said Grimace from McDonald's.
[00:19:29] Mike Schneider: When you think of what liquid is gonna pair perfect with Ube, doesn'The Glenlivet 14 come to mind?
[00:19:38] Ray Latif: Well, The Glenlivet 14 does have a purple label.
[00:19:43] Mike Schneider: It does it was one of the labels purple anyway, so anyway the fine folks at the Glenn live it Suggested this oh boy wait for it. This is a espresso martini riff here ray, okay? Loaded up with ube so there's ube. Yes. Why don't you try a sample and see if you can look at those Jesus? Might fry the board here. There's scotch in there, too Oh yeah, there'The Glenlivet 14 in there.
[00:20:08] Ray Latif: Okay, let's see how we do.
[00:20:09] Mike Schneider: You made a cocktail The Glenlivet 14?
[00:20:12] Ray Latif: That's incredible. Cheers, cheers, cheers. Let's see how we go, huh? How is it? My dog trauma is gone. Thank you Everything's healed.
[00:20:23] Mike Schneider: This is their recipe. I don't know. I just thought it was kind of amusing that had ube It's The Glenlivet coffee liqueur cold brew and this ube milk here, which is basically coconut milk with a bunch of Stuff and it's make it purple, you know 300 shows in a row ray would not sample and you just broke the streak It was the dog drama I mean, it's a nice looking purple cocktail, right?
[00:20:49] Ray Latif: I mean, you could sell this at a bar for $16, you know, not that bad.
[00:20:54] Mike Schneider: I mean, I think this is, I can't remember what the name of it is, but it's like the, uh, an ube, uh, I don't know what they call it. Exuberant or something.
[00:21:02] Ray Latif: Uh, espressotini or something. I don't know.
[00:21:05] Mike Schneider: We're probably not the target demographic here.
[00:21:08] Ray Latif: We could just sip on The Glenlivet later. I have some advice for the folks at The Glenlivet. They could call it The Glenlivet Grimace. might get a cease and desist there.
[00:21:19] Mike Schneider: Why? No, no, no, not Grimace, G-R-I-M-A-C-E, lowercase. Yeah, exactly. You know what else would pair great with this cocktail? What's that? John's slowly turning into me. Yep. I'm just segwaying from one, shilling one brand to the next. Um, it's not compensated in any way for this. Uh, just want you to know that this is the new Ruby and Bjorn corn collaboration. They made a seasonal tangy and salty popcorn. That's got some hibiscus powder in it. It's pretty darn tasty.
[00:21:54] Ray Latif: Very cool. Ruby being the brand of hibiscus-based beverages. Bjornkorn is spelled B-J-O-R-N-Q-O-R-N. I don't really see Bjornkorn in the salty snack section. I feel like it's in... I almost always feel like I see it somewhere else, like in a... I don't know, like an ethnic food section? Am I crazy?
[00:22:13] Mike Schneider: Yes, but not for that. Not for that, no. That stuff is interesting. It has like a tangy, almost sour flavor to it from, I think it's from the hibiscus. And it tastes cheesy, so I thought it was cheese, but it's nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast. And how about, since I'm just on a roll here, another collaboration.
[00:22:33] Ray Latif: Chill away.
[00:22:34] Mike Schneider: I don't know, how do you pronounce these? Dough. Dough, that's right. The name of the brand is spelled D-E-U-X. It should be duh. You know, I don't know, when brands have their own pronunciation, sometimes it's a little hard to remember. But anyway, this is a collaboration with Chamberlain Coffee. It is a vegan and gluten-free cinnamon sugar donut hole. And dough is a maker of? What would you call these? Refrigerated... Like dough bites?
[00:23:01] Jacqui Brugliera: Dough bites?
[00:23:02] Mike Schneider: Those are bites, but dough also makes just like cookie dough in jars.
[00:23:06] Jacqui Brugliera: Exactly.
[00:23:07] Mike Schneider: The cookie dough in the jar is quite tasty, so I'm gonna try one of these. Anyone want to try one? Yeah, I want to try one too. Kind of looks like a little cookie dough ball. Hold on, hold on.
[00:23:15] Ray Latif: Got that Batman branded hand sanitizer for you. There we go. You know what's cool about those two collaborations? Now around Expo East or at Expo East, we talked a lot about the collaboration between Ourobora and Graza and noted that you don't typically see a lot of food and beverage brands collaborating on an LTO, a limited edition offering. But here's two more. You saw Bjorn, Korn, and Ruby. This is not what I was expecting. And you saw Chamberlain Coffee, and Doe. So love to see these collaborations coming together. I hope to see more of them.
[00:23:46] Mike Schneider: This is really good. It's super fluffy. It's almost like a super fluffy donut bite that's coated with almost like a chai tea tasting cinnamon sugar. This is awesome. Nice. Yeah, it's good. Speaking of treats, I have some of Evolved's new treats in front of me. One is a chocolate protein bite. What is Evolved again? Evolved is a maker of chocolates. Didn't it used to be called Eating Evolved? Yeah, it used to be called Eating Evolved, and now it has evolved to Just Evolved. This one is dark chocolate hazelnut. I also have white macadamia. They both have 10 grams of protein per serving. Serving is two pieces, by the way. And then I also have their new cups. So this one is organic brownie batter, and I also have organic coconut. Keto chocolate cups. I don't know that I love white chocolate in general, but these are pretty good.
[00:24:45] Ray Latif: Well, technically white chocolate isn't chocolate. I know that's not, I don't.
[00:24:48] Mike Schneider: That's white chocolate.
[00:24:50] Ray Latif: It's white chocolate.
[00:24:50] Mike Schneider: Never just call it chocolate.
[00:24:51] Ray Latif: Anybody want to try these?
[00:24:53] Mike Schneider: I'm good for now. All right. I'm going to go for the dark chocolate hazelnut protein bite here.
[00:24:59] Ray Latif: While you guys are chewing, I want to talk about a brand called Yaza. That's Y-A-Z-A. They are a maker of clean label Lebna. Lebna is a Mediterranean style dip that's made from cultured milk. Yaza has three varieties. They have a za'atar and olive oil variety. They have a spicy chili and they have a original plain. And it was great to meet with the founder of the company, Kareem Khalil, who joined us for an episode of Elevator Talk. And it's interesting because I think... You know, hummus was something that 20 years ago we wouldn't see in every grocery store across America. And now it is ubiquitous. I mean, you go into any place and you'll see, I don't know, like what, eight brands of hummus out there. And I really feel like there's an opportunity for Lebna, which again is a dairy-based dip. It's like a thicker sour cream. Almost like a yogurt. Yeah, but it's thicker than that. Much thicker. And you can eat it with pita bread. You can, you know, use it as a side to, you know, breakfast or lunch. You can use it as a condiment for sandwiches. And the cool thing about Yaza, and this is from the company, it's the first traditional Lebna with no preservatives or added sugars and can be sold nationwide. So great stuff from Karim Khalil. Hope to be seeing Yaza in my local grocery store soon.
[00:26:18] Mike Schneider: I can't wait to try it. You've got more than one skew there. You've got za'atar, olive oil. What are the other ones?
[00:26:25] Ray Latif: Spicy chili and just the original. Awesome. The one thing I might say about their spicy chili, spicy chili is kind of a redundant term though, isn't it?
[00:26:36] Mike Schneider: Well, you want it. It is and it isn't. So it can be made with chili peppers and still be sweet. If you don't use a lot of chili, it just kind of tells you how much you use. I think it's okay.
[00:26:48] Jacqui Brugliera: I think it's okay. Or if you're like eating chili, it's not necessarily spicy.
[00:26:52] Mike Schneider: I'll allow it.
[00:26:53] Jacqui Brugliera: Like spice, you know, can be different levels. Right. Like you can have habanero. If anyone would know that it's spicy. And then on all levels of spice.
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[00:27:55] Jacqui Brugliera: So I believe it was a week and a half ago. We went to the local San Diego meetup for naturally San Diego. They had their fall fling and I ran into Alex Bayer with Genius Juice and he had his new daily new tropic shots. And this is the chocolate skew. And he also has a coffee one and it's really tasty. This just honestly tastes like chocolate milk, but it has a lot of different functional benefits because it's packed with lion's mane, cordyceps, my favorite things, mushrooms, MCT oil, some vitamins, and then cacao. So it's supposed to help with like brain fog and help you with focus, energy, and clarity. And I like how it's a little shot.
[00:28:39] Mike Schneider: There's also a chocolate raspberry that's pretty, pretty damn delicious too.
[00:28:43] Jacqui Brugliera: Mm-hmm. I love the new shot format. I just, I feel like people are drinking larger functional beverages a little less often and they just want, you know, a quick hit. So yeah, I really enjoyed this.
[00:28:57] Ray Latif: Now, if folks recall, I went on a rant about blue raspberry money months ago. Oh yes, we remember. The fake blue raspberry. I think that went viral, right? It kind of went viral.
[00:29:08] Mike Schneider: I've heard people listen to that once a week.
[00:29:10] Ray Latif: I just love it. You mean you listen to that once a week? People. I'm one of people.
[00:29:14] Jacqui Brugliera: When you want to rage.
[00:29:15] Ray Latif: Actually, you know, I go back to that every so often, but anyway, I love the raspberry chocolate or chocolate raspberry. That's, that's a good flavor right there.
[00:29:23] Mike Schneider: Mm-hmm super tasty. Yeah, it was like a German chocolate Ask And it there's just enough of it, too As Jackie said when you have a shot of it, it's like all right. That was it's pretty decadent Mm-hmm.
[00:29:34] Ray Latif: I would agree
[00:29:35] Mike Schneider: I also got my hands on the new, uh, Resist bars, which used to be called Resist Nutrition. And, uh, they want you to join the Resistance. This one is peanut butter, turmeric, and, uh, it's the new packaging. It's really tasty.
[00:29:50] Ray Latif: Yes. Resist, which was featured in the Pitch Slam. Nosh Live Pitch Slam. Nosh Live Pitch Slam in December of 2022. Love, love that rebrand. It looks really, really good. There you go. Enjoy. Peanut butter and turmeric. I've never seen that combination before. So good. John's still eating all those doughnuts. Is that one fluffy too?
[00:30:13] Mike Schneider: Yeah, here, have some. It's really good. I'm just gonna eat some popcorn and watch the entertainment here. Did you already crush your cocktail? No, I just dumped it in there.
[00:30:22] Ray Latif: Oh.
[00:30:23] Mike Schneider: Oh.
[00:30:24] Ray Latif: Okay. Ray's gonna drink the whole thing. I'm sipping mine. This is a sipper for the rest of the afternoon.
[00:30:28] Mike Schneider: I'm gonna get an ounce and a half of the scotch at lunches.
[00:30:31] Ray Latif: That's some Mad Men shit right there. 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.
[00:31:27] Ask And: you
