Shows
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands131. Would You Rather Be Connecting or Marketing to Build Your Food Business?What if you created a Connection Plan instead of a traditional Marketing Plan? If the word "marketing" makes you cringe just a little—you’re not alone. I know many food business owners who do. And, I have a Marketing degree and I even feel the same way sometimes! But my approach is different. That’s why in this short and powerful episode of the Real Food Brands podcast, I’m flipping the script and asking: Would you rather be marketing… or connecting? In this episode, I share how a fresh mi...2025-05-0908 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands127. Looking for Your Competitive Advantage? Start With StrategyIf you want to stand out in a crowded market, attract the right people, lead your team, and build your food business with confidence, it all starts with strategy. In this episode, host Katie Mleziva shares why brand strategy isn’t just for big brands with big budgets—it’s how smaller, purpose-driven food businesses gain a real competitive edge to scale. Whether you're updating your packaging, pitching to retailers, or working to gain clarity about where you want to take your business, your brand strategy is the foundation that serves as your guide and your g...2025-04-1011 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands126. Running In Circles? The Power of a Fresh PerspectiveHave you ever felt like you’re doing all the things—but still not making progress...like you're just running in circles? In this short and lighter episode, I share a personal (and slightly ridiculous) real-life story that turned into a powerful reminder: sometimes the answer isn't about pushing through—it's about finding a way to shift your perspective. Whether you're stuck on messaging, spinning on a new product idea, or just generally overwhelmed, this episode is a mindset reset for food business owners who need a new view to get moving again. 🎧 Tune in t...2025-04-0209 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands119. How to Communicate That Your Food Brand IS Actually BetterFind the full transcript for this episode plus other resources for food business owners at www.realfoodbrands.com/podcast. Do you ever wonder how to stand out in a crowded market and help people see why your food brand really is better? In today’s episode, I’m answering a listener’s question: ‘Katie, how can I tell people our products are ACTUALLY better?’ In this episode, you'll hear tips to shift from selling products to building a brand, defining what ‘better’ means for your ideal audience, and how to show AND tell your brand story in a way...2025-02-0112 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands117. Achieve Clarity, Confidence, and Consistency in Your Food Business with a Brand-First ApproachIn this episode, Katie Mleziva, Food Brand Strategist and host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast shares how taking a brand-first approach can help you prioritize ideas and take aligned action to build a strong, cohesive food brand that stands out. Whether you’re just starting or have been in the business for a while, this approach ensures you lead with strategy, not just tactics. Key Takeaways: The difference between branding (logo, visuals) and brand strategy (the foundation that guides your decisions). Why a brand-first approach can help you find more joy in your business. Ho...2024-10-1010 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands116. How Trying to Build Your Food Brand Could Be Holding You BackYour Brand Strategy requires careful word choice, and so does how you talk about your plans with your team and partners. Listen to this episode for one easy, but important shift that will instill confidence in your brand! I'm your host and Food Brand Strategist, Katie Mleziva. I spent years in Brand Management at big companies before I left the corporate world to follow my vision of working with smaller, more entrepreneurial brands . Together we can use a Brand Management Mindset™ to shake up shopping carts and help more people get access to real food! In...2024-09-1012 minFood Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands115. Your Big Shift: From Selling a Great Product to Building a Strong BrandAre you selling a product or building a brand? Everyone has to start somewhere, but in this episode, Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares what it means to go from making a great product to building a strong brand that stands out. Here's what's in this episode - you can find all the links on the episode web page. The event that sparked Katie’s interest in brand management. Why a great product is necessary, but not enough. Why the time for brand strategy is always now. How Katie's Brand Strategy process brings clarity and confidence. Ho...2024-06-0817 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWelcome Back! Doing the Right Things at the Right Time in Your Food BusinessThe Real Food Brands Podcast is BACK and I'm so glad you're here. The topic of doing the right things at the right time is always a good concept to keep top of mind, and in this episode, you'll hear me (Katie Mleziva, your food brand strategist) talk about: What you can expect from new podcast episodes to help you Define, Align, and Activate your brand strategy to position your brand to stand out. A brief intro for those of you who are new listeners, including how helping you shake up shopping carts with a solid bra...2023-12-1118 minFood Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands111. What to Do When Something Is Out of Alignment With Your Vision...and the Shift I'm MakingHave you ever noticed something in your business isn’t working as you planned, or as it once did? Sometimes things that made sense just aren't a good fit anymore. We spend so much time and energy trying to keep pushing forward that it can be hard to step back and admit when things aren’t working the way we want them to—and decide what to do about it. Today on Episode 111 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks through what to do when something in your business is out...2022-05-2521 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands110. 6 Copywriting Tips to Help Food Brands Stand Out with Celsea Jenkins of Grassfed CopyHave you ever thought about the difference between content and copy? And how each works differently to connect with your reader depending on if you’re talking about a website, social media, ads, packaging, etc? Today on Episode 110 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva has a conversation with Celsea Jenkins, the owner of Grassfed Copy about the art and science to writing great copy that converts people from readers to taking an action. Celsea shares Katie’s passion for health and wellness – and clear messaging – and the episode highlights their sh...2022-05-1131 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands109. Thinking BIG and Making It Happen with Monique & Chevalo WilsondebrianoSometimes you need to let yourself dream and think big. Instead of letting other people tell you how things work and why you can’t do something, it can pay off to look at things from a new perspective. It helps, of course, to have a great story, which is something that brand strategy work can really help with. Today on Episode 109 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Monique and Chevalo Wilsondebriano, owners of Recipe for Retail and the Charleston Gourmet Burger Company. We’ll learn how...2022-04-2737 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands108. 6 Brand Strategy Tips for Small But Mighty Food Businesses (Part 2)As you’re working to build your food business or farm, brand strategy and brand development may seem like something that can wait for later. The thing is, brand strategy work goes far beyond your logo or fonts or colors. When you’ve done the work to create your brand’s North Star, it serves as the guide and the glue for everything you do on the front AND back end of your business. It helps you make decisions that will deliver a consistent, cohesive, and relevant experience to your consumers. More importantly, it can help them know how to tal...2022-04-1323 minFood Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands107. 6 Brand Strategy Tips for Small But Mighty Food Businesses (Part 1)Brand strategy work is something that is second nature for big brands, but not as common for small brands. There’s so much to do when you’re wearing all the hats that it can seem like something you’ll get to “next.” While big brands have access to brand managers and agencies, we can help even the score by providing streamlined versions of the concepts they use to focus on the key parts of the process to help you build a brand that stands out no matter who you’re lined up next to. Today on Episode 107...2022-03-3023 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands106. How Riemer Family Farm is Growing a Regenerative BrandA common approach for food and farm businesses is to think about offering a great product rather than building a strong brand. The thinking is that if a product is good enough, taste will ultimately win and of course, people will buy. While this is understandable as you perfect your craft, great taste and quality are expected these days so we don’t want your products to be seen as an interchangeable commodity. There’s so much more to your food brand’s story, so let's uncover it! Today on Episode 106 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcas...2022-03-1631 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands105. New Episode Index to Help Your Food Brand Stand OutWith over 100 episodes of the podcast now available, we thought it would be a good time to go back and highlight some of the great content you may have missed to help you find the right resources at the right time for your food business. To help, we’ve put together a list of some of our best episodes organized around the Brand Strategy Streamlined process: Define/Refine, Align, and Activate (and a few other categories to help you really navigate the topics...100+ episodes is a lot of content!). Today on Episode 105 of the Real Food Brands Ma...2022-03-0211 minFood Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands104. What Is a Brand Positioning Statement?If you want to understand brand positioning, think of Kia, Volvo, and Tesla. Sure, all three are car companies but they’re each very different brands with their own unique, loyal audience, product benefits, and customer experience. All of these factors combined for each brand create a very different offer for each and attract different groups of people as loyal fans of their brand. Today on Episode 104 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva goes into detail about how to write a brand positioning statement and how to know if yo...2022-02-1627 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands103. How Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Food Are Shifting with Sarah Marion of Murphy ResearchWe’ve been through a lot of changes in the past few years, and as a result, consumer behaviors are shifting. But as a food business owner how do you know what changes are temporary and what changes are here to stay? And how can you meet the evolving needs of your consumers? In Episode 103 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Sarah Marion, the Director of Syndicated Research at Murphy Research. Sarah shares how consumers have shifted attitudes and behaviors related to food, fitness, and mindset over the pa...2022-02-0231 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands102. Are you inviting people into a brand story or sharing brand history?Have you thought about the difference between brand story and brand history? While your brand history can certainly be a part of your brand story, the history is about the past and the story is about the future, and what you’re inviting people to be a part of. Today on episode 102 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares her guidance on writing a brand story and sharing brand history for your food business, plus 3 tips to make your brand story more compelling to create a lasting connection with yo...2022-01-1918 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands101. Brand Strategy 101: Positioning Your Food Brand to Stand OutAfter episode 100, Katie’s daughter suggested that she “start over,” and it only seemed fitting that episode 101 should be a brand strategy 101—an intro-level class, so to speak. Today on episode 101 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva goes over the five W’s of how Brand Strategy can help you go from making a great product to building a strong brand that is well-positioned to stand out: WHAT, WHERE, WHO, WHEN & WHY. In This Episode: The winners of the 100th episode giveaway! Why it’s always a good idea...2022-01-0527 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands100. Celebrating 100 Episodes With Gratitude, Gear & Giveaway!When we launched the podcast in March 2018, we didn’t know exactly what the future would hold but we took a leap. It’s been a steady build over the past few years and we’re so thankful for all our listeners and guests who have made this show an enriching and rewarding experience as we work collectively to help more people get access to real food. Today on episode 100 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva reflects on one hundred episodes, shares her motivation behind working with food business owners...2021-12-2216 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands99. Strategy Does Not Have to Come at the Expense of ActionFor a food and beverage business, it can be a big benefit to choose to go slow to go fast. While that may sound counterintuitive, taking a little time to plan can increase efficiency and help you accelerate more rapidly because you’ve got the clarity and confidence to know what to do next. Today on episode 99 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains why starting with strategy can help your tactics come together. In This Episode: The 3 main benefits of taking time to set your No...2021-12-0818 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands98. Insider Tips to Get on Podcasts and Boost Your Food Brand’s VisibilityPodcasts have exploded in popularity, and being a guest on one can be a big boost for both your brand and your credibility. But what kind of show are you looking for? How do you reach out? And how do you make it a success once you get a YES? Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares how to make the right pitch, and what to do once you’re booked for an appearance. In This Episode: Why being a podcast guest can be great fo...2021-11-2429 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands97. Unlock Your Best Ideas: My NEW Self-Paced Brand Strategy Course is Live!While Katie loves her 1:1 work with clients, she’s become increasingly aware that her impact is limited by the number of hours in the day. At the same time, while the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast can help you piece together the process, there’s space for something in between the two—a self-guided but structured resource to help you create a strong brand strategy for your food business. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva introduces her solution – her new self-paced brand strategy course, Brand Strategy Streamlined™. In This...2021-11-1019 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands96. 5 Steps to Accelerate Progress Towards Your VisionMost of us are in the food and bev business because, in some way, we want to make a positive impact on how people eat. Most of us also have a Vision for the impact we want to make but might not know exactly how to accomplish this big dream. You may have heard the old phrase “a vision without a plan is just a dream.” Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares her simple (but not always easy) 5-step process for accelerating towards making your vision a real...2021-10-2717 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands95. DTC Ecommerce Tips for Food Brands with Adam PollackSelling direct to consumer can create new sales opportunities for your food brand, but it can still be hard to stand out with the marketplace as crowded as it is. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Adam Pollack, Head of Content at Rodeo CPG, who has some practical tips for how to set up your DTC eCommerce website and what metrics you should be looking at along the way. In This Episode: How Adam’s experience founding two CPG businesses led him to...2021-10-1330 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsBrand Strategy FAQ: Setting Priorities and Building Your TeamAfter you invest time developing your brand strategy to position your brand to stand out then you’re ready to put your plan into action. You see all the opportunities to make changes but there are so many opportunities that it can be intimidating. So the big question at this phase is typically what “what should I do first and who can help me?!" Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva addresses one of the most frequently asked questions during the Activation phase of her one-on-one work with food busi...2021-09-2922 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsREPRISE - 4 Common Brand Strategy Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)This week, we’re revisiting episode 49 from last year that is still super relevant today. We’ve been talking through brand strategy our last few episodes, and this refresher on common brand strategy mistakes and how to fix them is worth a second look. Enjoy! Brand strategy is an essential part of building a business that will grow, but we see a lot of food businesses make the same mistakes when it comes time to actually put it into action. On this episode of the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva goes over the...2021-09-1520 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsDoes Your Food Brand’s Personality Shine Through?If your food brand were a person at a party, what sort of person would they be? The loud, bold life of the party? Or the more relaxed, reserved, and clever person? Just like with people, our brands can take on personalities based on our vision and positioning in order to connect with the right people. It’s important to let your brand’s “true colors” shine through to help set your brand apart. Having a clear idea of what personality you want for your brand and how your brand will show up consistently in the world is a key deli...2021-09-0119 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsThe 3-Step Brand Strategy Streamlined ProcessIt can be hard to know where to start when you’re thinking about how to set your food brand apart. You believe in the potential for your product to turn into a strong brand but, as the saying goes, “a vision without a plan is just a dream.” That’s why we spend so much time on brand strategy: to give you the framework you need to put your vision into action. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva walks you through her three-step process to streamline your brand st...2021-08-1827 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsMy 2 Favorite Market Research QuestionsOne of the best things you can do for your brand is to talk to people. But how do you know if you’re asking the right questions to the right people? Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares a trick she normally reserves for her 1-on-1 clients: the two best questions you can ask when you’re talking to current or potential customers. In This Episode: Why talking to consumers is so valuable for brands. How to create space for consumers to d...2021-08-0426 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow to Get Past Feeling Stuck in Mid-AirEvery time we take a leap—whether we fly to the level we want—we are strengthening our wings. But we don’t have to just wait and see what happens when we leap because it’s never good to feel like we’re stuck in mid-air for too long. The resources, tools, and people we surround ourselves with make an enormous difference in terms of how likely we are to fly to a new level. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains why now is the time to get sta...2021-07-2112 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWhen Is the Right Time for Brand Strategy?Developing your brand strategy helps you get clear about how you can stand apart in your category and reach the people you need to speak to in order to grow. But when should you do this work? Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva illustrates why the best time to get started on your brand strategy is right now, and how this work has made a difference for her clients no matter where they are in their food business journey whether starting up, optimizing or scaling up. ...2021-07-0719 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands3 Things That Brand Strategy Does NOT CoverA potential client once asked a really good question as he was reviewing his proposal from Katie: what is not included in the scope of the brand strategy work we will be doing together? Not only is this is a great way to be clear with collaboration in an area of your business that you are less knowledgeable about, but it also helps you understand more precisely what something is by defining what it is not. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains 3 things that brand strategy does...2021-06-2316 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsDeveloping Your Food Brand’s Growth Hypothesis with Elliot BegounWhen you start a business, there can be a lot of pressure to find instant success and rapid growth. The truth is, however, that you can build sustainable long-term success without needing to be the next unicorn brand. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva is talking to Elliot Begoun, founder of TIG, formerly known as The Intertwine Group. In this episode, we’ll talk about why some food businesses succeed and others fail, and why there is power in thinking about being a tardigrade, not a unicorn. ...2021-06-0933 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow Well Does Your Food Brand Use Appetite Appeal?How can you get the right people excited to try your products, know what to expect, intrigue them to think about how else they can use it, AND be excited to part with their money to get their hands on what you’re selling? It’s a simple answer that applies to every food and beverage business in some way, yet many emerging brands don’t spend enough time on -- appetite appeal. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains why being intentional about appetite appeal is important and ho...2021-05-2618 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWhy Being Consistent Isn't Boring... It's Brand Building!When you’re working on marketing and promoting your food business day in and day out, it’s normal to start to feel like you’re repeating yourself and to worry that you may sound boring. However, consistency is a vital part of building a strong brand. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains why consistency is such a crucial component of a successful brand strategy. In This Episode: What Katie has learned in 3 years of consistently recording this podcast. Why consistency is one of the be...2021-05-1220 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUnderstanding the Difference Between Features & BenefitsAn old saying in Marketing is “don’t talk about features, talk about benefits.” And while many of us nod our heads in agreement, the truth is that you need to understand both, and many business owners and marketers don’t know how to get started and put that advice into action to build a strong brand. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains the difference between features and benefits and walks you through two exercises to use this concept to create a brand that will resonate with con...2021-04-2822 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsAmazon Tips for Food Businesses Part 2: Optimizing Your Amazon Advertising with Shannon RoddyIn Part 1 of this two-part series on Amazon you learned how SEO and search terms work on Amazon, and in Part 2 we’re continuing the conversation about using that information to create advertising campaigns on Amazon that convert and how to get the data that will help you optimize over time. For part two of our Amazon Series on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva is back with Shannon Roddy, Amazon Expert, founder of Marketplace Seller Courses, and creator of the Amazon Brand Success Academy. In this episode, we’ll g...2021-04-1430 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsAmazon Tips for Food Businesses Part 1: How to Use SEO Keywords to Get Found with Shannon RoddyAmazon is a growth channel for many food and beverage brands, but how do you stand out in the sea of options? And how do you improve the chances that your brand will show up in searches that will actually convert to sales? In this episode of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks with Shannon Roddy, Amazon Expert, founder of Marketplace Seller Courses, and creator of the Amazon Brand Success Academy. Together they cover why keywords are such an important part of your SEO strategy on Amazon as...2021-03-3130 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands4 Ways to Improve Efficiency and Drive Value Using Lean Principles with Alan GoodmanOn the path to build your brand, there are always new developments that force you to consider whether you should stay the course or make an adjustment. But how do you know when it’s time to make a pivot? And what can you do to make sure you stay aligned with your core brand strategy principles? This week on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Alan Goodman, a Six Sigma Black belt, Instructional Chair for the Quality Engineering and Technology Department at the Milwaukee Area Te...2021-03-1732 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow to Develop an Ecommerce Strategy That Drives Sales & Builds Loyalty with Chelsea Jones and Rachel SaulEcommerce is one of the hottest topics in the food business. However, if you try to jump straight to tactics without thinking through your goals, you’re likely to run into trouble. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks to Chelsea Jones and Rachel Saul, founders of Chelsea and Rachel Co., an Ecommerce agency and certified Shopify Plus partner. We’ll hear their top Ecommerce tips and dispel some myths along the way. In This Episode: How COVID-19 has changed the landscape for Ecommerce in f...2021-03-0328 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUsing Social Media to Inform and Validate Your Brand Strategy with Hillary HoughtonSocial media is a powerful tool to learn about and connect with your consumers. But what are you doing with those insights? Are you using them to really inform and shape your brand strategy and brand activation? If your food business isn’t currently leveraging insights from social media, you may be wondering how you even get started? For this episode of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva has a conversation with Hillary Houghton, Founder of Social HQ. We’ll cover what tools are out there, how to do rese...2021-02-1734 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsOptimize Your Brand Story Using These Brand Strategy PrinciplesOn February 5th, Katie is launching her new Brand Strategy Streamlined program, which provides content, coaching, and collaboration to define, align, and activate your brand strategy. It’s a combination of on-demand content you can move through at your own pace and live coaching and guidance to help you along the way. One of the key outcomes of a successful brand strategy is a clear brand story statement: a paragraph you can use as the springboard for how you weave your story through everything that you do. In this episode of the Real Food Brands Ma...2021-02-0319 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWhat's the Big Idea?Your consumer needs and company advantages are at the core and your brand strategy, but you need something to tie everything together into a unified front. You may hear it referred to as your Brand Essence, or Big Idea. It’s the singular idea or concept that you want to come to life and run throughout everything you do to bring your brand strategy to life. In this episode of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains the importance of identifying the thread that runs through everything that you do...2021-01-2018 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsThe 3 Pillars of a Successful Food Business: A Roundtable Conversation with Industry ExpertsIn this special bonus episode of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down for a roundtable discussion with industry experts Alli Ball, of the Food Biz Wiz podcast, and Sarah Delevan, of the Good Food CFO podcast, to talk about the three pillars of a successful food business. You’ll hear them talk about how brand, financials, and sales strategy are all crucial for building a successful, stable, profitable food or beverage company. Make sure to listen to the end for a free giveaway opportunity! In This Episode:...2021-01-1450 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsFrom a Good Product to a Great BrandBrand Strategy can feel like a topic that is reserved for big food businesses more than emerging food businesses, but the concepts matter to brands of all sizes and make a big difference if you take the time to get clear about who your brand is at the core, who you serve and how you meet your consumers’ needs in a way your competitors can’t, or won’t, to set your brand apart. In this episode of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains how to use Brand Strate...2021-01-0619 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands3 Steps to Start the Year Strong by Rewriting Your StoryIt’s safe to say that no matter who you are or what your goals were for 2020, things probably didn’t quite go as planned. The critical thing to remember is that with everything that’s changed in 2020, there are also new opportunities we’re not seeing if we focus only on what didn’t go as planned. For our end-of-the-year episode of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva takes us through an exercise to use the brand strategy concept of positioning (rather, repositioning) to look at things that happened i...2020-12-2320 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands72. 3 Steps to a More Effective Food Marketing PlanWhen it comes to Marketing Planning, Katie likes to say that 1+1=3. In other words, when all of your tactics are working together based on your marketing strategy, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This week on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares a three step process for marketing planning to help you better create your plan to align with your business objectives, then allocate resources to make it happen! In This Episode: Three steps to create an integrated Marketing Plan for...2020-12-0925 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow Unwrapp'd Uses Brand Strategy to Set Their Brand Apart with Maria Capecelatro and Tom MinerBrand Strategy is the “North Star” to guide everything you do in your food business, but how do you actually go about using it in the day-to-day decision making that comes with leading a business? For this episode of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Maria Capecelatro and Tom Miner, co-founders of Unwrapp’d, an energy bite company based in Denver, Colorado. Listen in as they talk about how Unwrapp’d used their brand strategy to set a course, how they knew when to stay on that cour...2020-11-2530 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsAn Insider’s Tips on Food & Beverage Distribution in Grocery with Sandra VelasquezSales is an important channel to bring your Brand Strategy to life and set you apart in a crowded market. But how do you put on your sales hat and adapt your Brand Strategy specifically to a conversation with buyers? And what goes into a successful sales pitch? This week on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks to Sandra Velasquez, the New York City area Sales Manager for Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, National Sales Rep for HiBAR and founder of DistroTalk, where she offers a course on how...2020-10-2830 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsTurn Your Marketing Plan into a Consumer Connection Plan When most people think of marketing, they think about promotion—pushing out your message to people and hoping they’ll decide to buy. But who wants to be “marketed” to anymore? Instead, what if we thought of marketing as connecting? For this week’s Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva lays out a 6-step framework for the journey our end consumers go through – from when they first hear about your product to deciding to buy it, try it, buy it again, and (hopefully) recommend it to others. We look at all o...2020-10-1424 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands5 Brand Strategy Activation Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)Now that we’ve reviewed how to create a brand strategy in the past 3 episodes, hopefully you are excited to put those ideas into action! As you work to bring your brand strategy to life and move into the brand strategy activation phase, however, there are a few common mistakes you can avoid by learning from other emerging food brands. This week for the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva explains the five most common brand strategy pitfalls she sees in her work with her clients, and how you can av...2020-09-3026 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands[Brand Strategy Series] Setting Your Food Business Apart Step 3: Company StrategyDuring this three-part Brand Strategy series, we’ve covered competitors and customers, so now it’s time to look at the final C: Company. This is where we put together all of our inputs and start to look at outputs. Get specific about these components of company strategy, and you’ll figure out how to really set your brand apart. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva finishes our series on Brand Strategy. In this episode, Katie breaks down how to synthesize your Competitor, Consumer, and Company info to det...2020-09-1618 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands[Brand Strategy Series] Setting Your Food Business Apart Step 2: Identifying Your Ideal ConsumerFiguring out your core consumers, aka the biggest fans of your brand, can be one of the hardest parts about building a food or beverage business, but it’s critical to your success. Luckily, there’s a tool to help you get specific about what you want to do: an ideal consumer profile. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva picks up with part two of our three-part series on the ins and outs of developing your Brand Strategy. In this episode, Katie walks you through the three step...2020-09-0223 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands[Brand Strategy Series] Setting Your Food Business Apart Step 1: The Competitive SnapshotWe talk a lot about how Brand Strategy is the North Star for your food business that helps you align your team and guide them in the right direction towards your Purpose & Vision. And while we already have some great episodes devoted to the topic (see below for links), we wanted to put everything together in one place to really walk you through each step and give you the solid foundation you need to succeed. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Beverage Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva kicks off a special three-part series o...2020-08-1920 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsBrand Checkup: Is Your Brand Strategy Working?As Katie likes to say, “your Brand Strategy is how you’ll meet your consumer’s needs in a way your competitors can’t, or won’t, in order to set your brand apart.” When the front and back end of your business is integrated and aligned around your “North Star,” every resource you put behind your brand is so much more efficient and effective. When it comes to brand strategy though, it’s so all-encompassing (yes, it’s so much more than your logo, colors, or marketing plan!) that it can be hard to get a handle on what you’re...2020-08-0518 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsStrategic Storytelling: Using Media Relations to Build Your Food Brand with Nikki NardickPeople need to be aware of your food brand if it’s going to get from the shelf into their shopping carts. But how do you get people talking about your brand? Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Nikki Nardick, Founder of Knack PR, to discuss how to connect with media outlets to get press coverage for your food brand – and what to do with that attention once you get it. In This Episode: What media relations looks like for food compan...2020-07-2243 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsLessons from an Uphill ClimbIn this episode of the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Natural Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva shares a story that highlights why sometimes you need to just put in the work and watch out for shortcuts, what might happen when you change directions, and why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. In This Episode: How races are won and lost on hills. Why working hard now can pay off in the future. The risk of taking shortcuts too soon. How changing directions is important but needs to be done carefully. Why we nee...2020-07-0817 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsTaking a Data-Driven Social Media Approach to Build Your Food Brand with Michael RayEvery food business should be thinking about an integrated marketing plan that pulls all of your marketing efforts together into one coordinated strategy working towards one set of goals. Implementation of tactics just won’t be as effective if you don’t know who want to reach or what you want to say. Plus, it will be harder to measure what success even looks like. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva has a conversation with Michael Ray, Social Media Director at STIR, a digital marketing and advertising agenc...2020-06-2448 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsLead with Your Values with Sadie SchefferWhether you lead a team of one or one hundred, it’s critical to think about your role as a leader and how you’re going to lead based on your values. For our guest today, that comes down to having the courage to acknowledge past mistakes and use them to learn and grow. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks to Sadie Scheffer, CEO and Founder of Bread SRSLY, a gluten-free vegan sourdough bread company based in Berkeley, CA. In this episode, we talk about how Sadie lead...2020-06-1046 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsGetting to Know Your Consumers as Real People with Britta SchellWe use a lot of different terms to describe the groups of people who buy our products and love our brands (tribes, consumer groups, personas, end users...) but at the end of the day they are each real people and we want to get to know them as much as possible so we can create products that truly solve their problems and bring them joy. But how do you get the information you need to do this? Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva has a conversation with Britta S...2020-05-2741 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUsing Your Financials to Build a Profitable Food Business with Sarah DelevanWhen your financials aren’t in order, you tend to spend more time thinking about money. How much money is in the bank right now? Can we pay the team? Can we make this investment? There’s a belief that when cash flow and profits aren’t where we need them to be, the solution is to just work harder and sell more. However, there’s a lot you can do outside of that to get a handle on your finances and increase profitability. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and food & bev Brand Strategist Katie Ml...2020-05-1350 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsMeeting Consumer Needs - What Are You REALLY Selling?Consumers need us more than ever. As their needs are changing to adapt to the "new norm,” they are building new routines and discovering new pain points that in turn create new opportunities for us to serve, support and delight. In this episode of the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Natural Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks through the Elements of Value pyramid, and how it can help you get more clarity about what you’re really selling and why it matters to your ideal consumers. In This Episode: A reminder about the thre...2020-04-2923 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow to Create a Brand Story that Converts with Anna BradshawPeople want to feel a sense of belonging. They like to be a part of something. Brands who tell a story that invites people in and offer a solution to a problem (versus just talking about themselves and what they offer) are more memorable, referable and create a sense of loyalty for all involved. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and food & bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva chats with Anna Bradshaw, a conversion copywriter specializing in brand story and ecommerce marketing for independent CPG brands. In this episode, we talk about how to create a bran...2020-04-1539 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands6 Signs You Should Rebrand Your Food BusinessYour brand strategy serves as a “North Star” to align the front and back end of your business as you scale. But how do you know if what you’re doing is working? In this episode of the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva goes over the difference between a product and a brand, the difference between a brand refresh and a rebrand, a quick 3C’s review and six signs you should rebrand your food business. In This Episode: Why a great brand strategy starts with the three C’s: Competit...2020-04-0126 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUsing Influencer Marketing to Grow Your Food Brand with Elexis SchroderInfluencer marketing is a key strategy for growing food brands large and small, but how you go about finding influences and what you do once you’ve connected with them can vary widely based on your goals. For many of us, it can be hard to even know where to start. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva gets a chance to catch up with Elexis Schroder, Founder of SchroderHaus, a Marketing Communications firm based in Denver, Colorado. In this episode, we talk about how to create an influencer marketing strategy th...2020-03-1844 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsDeveloping Your Brand's Point of Difference with Abe KamarckCreating your point of difference can be a big challenge, especially in a crowded category. Our guest today has been able to do that and more, growing a product in an incredibly popular category into a brand with national distribution. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Abe Kamarck, CEO and Founder of True Made Foods. In this episode, we talk about how he’s been able to get his all-natural ketchup product to a point where national brands are taking notice. In This Episode: Ho...2020-03-0441 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsForecasting and Demand Planning with Alex DuongWhile your marketing and sales plans are important steps to building your brand, you need to back them up with solid forecasting and demand planning if you want to grow your food business in a profitable way. Everything from efficient ordering and production planning to making sure you can properly serve your customers hinges on the work you do in this area. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks with Alex Duong, Founder – Ancient Provisions. In this episode, we talk about how to balance your sales projections with the lead ti...2020-02-1943 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsCreating a Beverage Brand That Stops People in Their Tracks with Candice CraneStopping power is everything when you’re trying to compete in a crowded category -- in the grocery store or online. How do you create a brand that jumps off the shelves and stands out from the rest? Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Candice Crane, Founder and CEO of Petal Sparkling Botanicals, a brand that stops you in your tracks when you see it. In this episode, we talk about how Petal has been able to stand out in a crowded category and grow so fast in...2020-02-0528 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands4 Common Brand Strategy Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)Brand strategy is an essential part of building a business that will grow, but we see a lot of food businesses make the same mistakes when it comes time to actually put it into action. On this episode of the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva goes over the four most common brand strategy mistakes, and what to do if you think you might be making them. In This Episode: The resources Real Food Brands is offering to help you build your brand. How to differentiate your brand in the market. The...2020-01-2221 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUsing Content Strategy to Streamline Food Business Marketing with Chelsea RaineyHaving one integrated marketing plan, versus a more ad hoc and piecemeal approach, helps make sure that all of your efforts are consistent, coordinated and focused on creating a purchase cycle that eventually turns your customers into brand advocates. Between the visuals and the brand story that you’re telling, your content is your chance to draw people in, build trust, and have a genuine conversation with your customers. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks with Chelsea Rainey, the Founder of Culinistics, which helps aspiring food and beverage entrepreneurs cr...2020-01-0836 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsAmazon Success Strategies for Food Businesses with Shannon RoddyWe talk a lot on the Real Food Brands podcast about having a Brand Strategy in place to align everything on both the front and back end of your food business to deliver on your brand’s vision. The same concept holds true within every area of your business; your strategy needs to come to life through your operations, marketing, customer service...even Amazon. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva is joined by Shannon Roddy, an Amazon expert who helps brands develop their Amazon strategy and grow their businesses on Ama...2019-12-2344 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow Soñar! Foods Brings Their Brand’s Mission to Life with Maria Garcia Brennan and Pete BrennanHaving a well-defined brand strategy in place for your natural food company helps you clarify a message that resonates with your consumers, and makes stakeholders like buyers and investors to want to learn more. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks to Maria Garcia Brennan and Pete Brennan, co-founders of Soñar! Foods, an organic grain-free tortilla chip company that brings a focus to uplifting the Latino community as part of everything they do with their business. Katie highlights Soñar! as an example of a natural food brand that is...2019-12-1143 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsThe 5-Minute Food Business Brand Strategy FormulaThere’s so much that goes into developing and documenting the brand strategy for your food business, but if you want to pare it all down to the basics to define or refine your strategy in just a few minutes, this formula will help you get you started. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva does just that, with her V+3 C formula. That stands for Vision, Competitor, Consumer, and Company - the four things that can guide your efforts to create a meaningful point of difference for your brand so you...2019-11-2716 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsBuilding a Food Category One Relationship at a Time with Amy ZitelmanFiguring out how to compete in a new, or underdeveloped, food or beverage category is a challenge -- especially if you’re a disruptive natural foods business determined to shake things up! Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva takes us back to revisit a great episode with Amy Zitelman, Co-Founder and CEO of Soom Foods, to talk about how they build relationships with influencers like food bloggers and top chefs to create excitement for a relatively underdeveloped category in the US. When thinking about marketing it can be easy to put...2019-11-1344 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWhy Being Small Can Be a Competitive Advantage with Matt ParryDo you ever feel like you’re starring in your very own David and Goliath story as you try to take on big brands for market share and shelf space? Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva has a conversation with Matt Parry, founder of the Good Crisp Company, the canister chip brand that has replaced Pringles on all Virgin Australia and Tiger flights, is stocked in more than ten thousand supermarkets across the US, and is in the top ten fastest-growing brands in Whole Foods stores. In This Epi...2019-10-3037 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsDriving Incremental Sales Through Alternative Usage IdeasThere are many different ways to grow your sales numbers. You can increase your market penetration, by going deeper within your existing market in order to reach new customers. You can focus on market expansion, moving into new geographical areas to find new people. Finally, you can increase buy rate, finding new ways for your existing customers to use your product so they buy it more frequently. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva breaks down how to think about alternative usage ideas for your brand. These are new and different...2019-10-1626 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands5 Crucial Ways to Prepare for a Food PR Crisis Before It HappensWhile optimism can get us far in the natural food business, you also need to spend some time thinking about what could go wrong. Planning for the worst-case scenario means that you can more confidently move forward with a positive outlook, knowing that you won’t get blindsided if things don’t go as planned. No matter what phase of business you’re in, it’s worth it to invest time to think ahead to what could go wrong. This could be applied to any area of your business (e.g. new product launch, distribution issues, supplier shortages, etc) but our...2019-10-0243 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUsing Email Marketing to Build Your Food Brand with Anna SonnenbergRecently many online gurus have been identifying email as the next big thing, but it has really never gone away. Social media still has its place, but ultimately, it’s something that you rent because they can completely change the game on you at any moment. Email is something you own—even with algorithms sorting you into different inboxes you can still get through to the right audience if you’re careful about your approach. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, we’re looking back at Ep #19: Using Email Marketing to Build Your Brand, where host and Bran...2019-09-1843 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUsing Strategic Mapping to Set Priorities for Your Food Business with Ainsley MoirWhether you’re just starting out or scaling your food or beverage business, there are so many things to do that you can’t possibly do them all (well) at the same time. The key is to figuring out how to prioritize so you can turn your laser-like focus into a competitive advantage. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks with Ainsley Moir, Founder and Lead Brand Strategist of the Healthy Food & Beverage Group, about how to set your priorities with a Strategic Mapping exercise, including the 8 Strategic Priorities Katie had a...2019-09-0428 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsBuilding a National Brand with Scott Demers of Scott & Jon'sOne of the most frequently asked questions is how to scale a business into a national brand. The answer definitely requires more than one podcast episode, but today we have an opportunity to talk to a food company founder who has done it and hear the lessons he’s learned along the way. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Scott Demers, co-founder of Scott & Jon’s premium frozen seafood meals. We learn how the brothers made the decision to leave their jobs to launch their business and star...2019-08-2139 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsBuilding Your Brand Through CommunityBeing an entrepreneur and building your food brand is not easy. Having a trusted circle of other entrepreneurs in your life to share your opportunities and hurdles to help you determine the best path forward can make all the difference. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva tells us why building a peer community for yourself as an entrepreneur is so important when building your food brand. Katie is going to be offering a Food & Beverage Entrepreneur Mastermind group this Fall, and she wants you to be aware of that opportunity...2019-08-0726 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow to Define, Align and Activate Your Brand StrategyBrand strategy and marketing can be really confusing for a lot of people. There are a lot of options out there, and in order to make the right decisions, you need to lay a strategic foundation for your brand. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks through her 3-step framework for developing and implementing a brand strategy to make sure that everything you do helps you achieve your business vision and objectives. In This Episode: Why a brand strategy is essential for your business’ success. The 3-step fra...2019-07-2427 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands3 Design Tools to Challenge the Status Quo with Fred HartThere’s an old saying that if Henry Ford would’ve asked people what they wanted, they would’ve said, “A faster horse.” Being a challenger brand in an established food category means you need to be willing to shake up the status quo and take the risks that bigger brands won’t. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks with Fred Hart, Creative Director and Partner at Interact Boulder, an entrepreneurial branding and packaging design agency obsessed with the food and beverage industry. We talk about what you can do to stand...2019-07-1037 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands3 Tips for Speed to Market with Emma NelsonSometimes you get a brilliant, game-changing idea and the best thing is to get it to market as quickly as possible. The problem is that it’s not as easy as coming up with a great recipe in your kitchen and then immediately scaling it. You need to source commercial ingredients, work around suppliers’ and co-packers’ limitations, and make sure you have the certifications your brand needs to reflect your values. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks with Emma Nelson, Principal at G’Day Foods. She uses her expertise in comme...2019-06-2640 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWin at Retail Using Category Management Strategies with Dan LohmanBuilding a relationship with grocery retailers is about more than just making a great product they can put on their shelf. You need to have a real understanding of who your consumer is, what else they put in their shopping carts, and why your food or beverage brand provides value to a store beyond the profit margin on an individual sale. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks with Dan Lohman, a CPG and Natural and Organic Industries Strategic Adviser. His company, Brand Secrets and Strategies, helps provide brands with...2019-06-1241 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsDeveloping New Food & Beverage Products, with Lindsay WisenerResearch and Development (R&D) is one area many brands need help with in order to bring an idea to life with new product samples or to scale your recipe to production level. In this episode of the Real Food Brands Podcast, host Katie Mleziva sits down with Lindsay Wisener, an independent beverage development consultant working on everything from baby formula to plant-based protein drinks. She’s the Owner/Principal Consultant at WiseBev, and shares with us the ins and outs of product development. In This Episode: Hear Lindsay’s path to owning her own beverage devel...2019-05-2930 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands6 Unexpected Places to Find Inspiration for Your Food BusinessWhere do you find inspiration? Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host Katie Mleziva walks us through what she does when she or her food and beverage company clients need to find new insights and innovations. In This Episode: How to prepare for inspiration when it may strike at any moment. Why getting out of your office or production facility is so important. Why traveling is a great time to find new ideas to bring back home. The best way to find inspiration in other aisles than your category. What to look for when you...2019-05-1524 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsThe 5 Mistakes Food Startups Make With Sari KimbellGetting started with your food startup, or scaling to the next level can be exciting. You get to share something you love with new people, and (at some point) make some money for your efforts. As you start making moves to make your passion into your career, however, you’ll run into some problems if you don’t have a clear idea of who you’re marketing to and how you want to grow. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host Katie Mleziva has a conversation with Sari Kimbell, Founder of Sari Kimbell Consulting and creator of Food Busines...2019-05-0146 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsInsider Tips for Working With Co-Packers From Sandro GerbiniWorking with co-packers, co-manufacturers, and everything else required to get your brand onto shelves that matter can be a daunting task for the sharpest entrepreneur. Making sure that you’re consistently delivering at the quality level you expect while staying within your budget is the secret to long-term growth. This week on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host Katie Mleziva sits down with Sandro Gerbini, founder of Gatherer’s Granola and Empire Co-Packing, to get into the nitty-gritty of how you take a product that works at small scale and make the logistical decisions you need to see wide...2019-04-1738 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsKey Insights From Natural Products Expo WestThe Natural Products Expo West show is an exciting gathering of people dedicated to shaking up shopping carts, and the energy was infectious. The convention covers 555,000 square feet of booths and brings in over eighty-five thousand people over the course of a week. Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast host Katie Mleziva is back with insights on where the industry is headed and what trends you can tap into for your brand. In This Episode: The Color Blocking packaging trend. Is CBD an ingredient or a brand foundation? How to start thinking about functional foods. Why functional...2019-04-0330 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow Brand Strategy Brings Consistency, Efficiency and Value to Your Company In this episode of The Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host Katie Mleziva talks about why your brand strategy should come first as you launch or scale your food or beverage business. Katie shares four ways that documenting your brand strategy supports your business goals: clarifying your vision and setting your north star, streamlining decision making and aligning your team, preparing for buyer and investor meetings and saving you time and money. In This Episode: The Three C’s of brand strategy: Competitors Consumers Company Why a documented brand strategy is so important Documentation clarifies your vision and helps with de...2019-03-2021 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsBuilding Trust With Brand Consistency Ainsley Moir, Founder and Chief Brand Engineer of Engineer Your Brand, joins Katie Mleziva on the Real Food Marketing Brands Podcast to discuss the value of consistency in everything you do in both the front end and backend operations of your business in order to build your food or beverage brand. In This Episode: Why Ainsley was inspired to start her own company while working in CPG at a large food company. How taking a brand management mindset will help you and your team build your brand. Why your brand is more than a logo, and your...2019-02-0644 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow to Find Your Unfair Advantage Join host Katie Mleziva as she outlines ways to identify theunique “unfair advantage” that sets your food or beverage brand apart from the rest of the market. In This Episode: Three ways of looking at your main strengths Your product: What is it that makes your food product stand out? Is it a completely new kind of product, or if it is a commodity product, what about the ingredients or the story makes it uniquely beneficial to your customers? Your people: Starting with yourself, what about your personal and professionalstory sets your brand apart from the rest of the m...2019-01-2319 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow to Fuel Growth With Your Brand Strategy Join host Katie Mleziva as she discusses the ways a clearly defined brand strategy can keep you on track to meeting your goals and help you bring more value to your customers. In This Episode: A quick overview of what should be included in a brand strategy How a brand strategy guides you towards your goals Why action does not necessarily equal progress How to refine and update your brand strategy Why your brand strategy needs to be clear to your entire team Resources: How to Start Building and Documenting Your Brand Strategy Real Food Brand...2018-12-2616 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsUsing Email Marketing to Build Your BrandAnna Sonnenberg, Owner of Sonnenberg Media, joins Katie Mleziva on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast to discuss email marketing strategy as part of your integrated marketing plan, and why email is certainly not dead. In This Episode: Why email is an important part of your integrated marketing strategy Why email is the perfect place to share your brand’s story How email can be used to drive sales both online and in brick and mortar stores How to use email to solicit customer feedback How feedback helps your customers feel invested in your brand Why email gives you m...2018-11-2834 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food Brands3 Ways to Rally Your Team Around Your Brand Katie Mleziva, Host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast offers three simple ways you can engage your team to help you build a strong brand. In This Episode: How your team plays a critical role in building your brand The origin of the word “brand” and how it’s still relevant today Three steps to help your team “ride for the brand” Define, document, and share your brand strategy Ask for input from your team Let your team know how important they are Why you should include your team in both celebration and problem solving Resources: Real...2018-11-1415 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsHow to Activate Your Brand Strategy Join host Katie Mleziva as she discusses the importance of taking a Brand Management approach to integrate your brand strategy into every aspect of your food business. In This Episode: Why it is important to be present and engage with your customers face to face Defining the term “brand management” How every aspect of your brand is tied together Ways to align your business around your brand and activate your strategy for a better customer experience This includes: Marketing Product Formulation/Ingredients Operations Packaging R&D And more! Resources to get started creating an integrated brand strategy R2018-10-0318 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWhat You Should Know From the 2018 Good Food ExpoThe annual Good Food Expo brings together thought leaders in the natural food industry. Join host Katie Mleziva as she shares key takeaways from successful brands, buyers, incubators and investors to support building a strong brand. In This Episode Key takeaways from the following sessions at the 2018 Good Food Expo: Incubators, Accelerators, and Shared Kitchens The New Breed of Millennial Food Entrepreneurs Social Media Marketing and E-Commerce Getting and Keeping Your Product on the Shelf Resources Good Food Expo Real Food Brands Marketing Roundtable Facebook Group The Levers Marketing Katie’s Full Blog Post 2018-04-1817 min
Food Business Marketing | Strategy and Planning Tips to Build Real Food BrandsWhy Real Food Brands is Launching a Podcast About Food MarketingTo say that food is important would be an obvious understatement. To say that eating the right kind of food is important is unfortunately still something that is less of a given to many people. With supermarkets and street sides loaded with options of unhealthy, unnatural, and frankly harmful options, it can be hard to rise above the noise. If you’ve started a natural food business, you have even more reason to be seen and stand out from the competition. This is why your marketing strategy is so crucial. Katie Mleziva has started the Re...2018-03-2808 min