The Startup CPG Podcast

Luca Molinari
In Argentina, my parents have a place where we used to vacation during summer called Bariloche. So that's where our name comes from. It's a war game between berries and Bariloche Baris. And so there I used to have a garden full of raspberries where we handpicked them. Eventually we got to this concept that everyone was loving so much and we decided to come here to the States, you know, because it's raspberries and chocolate and everybody here in the States know what both components are. And so we knew that they might as well also like the concept. Right?

00:43
Jaden McTaggart
We have 16 stores across seven states and really, you know, Earth Fair is all about authenticity. We source high quality, natural, organic products and ingredients and really have some of the strictest ingredient and food standards in the industry. We're the first retailer to ban high fructose corn syrup, bromated unbleached flour, irradiated spices, all of those things.

01:10
Daniel Scharff
Let's get fancy today on the podcast. We're going all in on Summer Fancy Food Show. It's coming up this June 29th at the Javits center in New York City. Today you're going to hear all about why it is one of my absolute favorite events of the year. We've got three great speakers. First, we're going to talk to the Specialty Food association and learn about what's happening at the show this year, what buyers are coming, what's the content about, and you're going to hear all about what we at startup CPG are doing at the show. We've got major opportunities and events. We are all in. Second, we're going to chat with the brand Baris, which are chocolate covered raspberries from Patagonia. We're going to hear about what was their experience like last year so you know what to expect this year.

01:48
Daniel Scharff
Lastly, from Earth Fair, we've got Jaden McTaggart. He's going to tell us what he looks for as a buyer at the show, how he engages with brands and what kind of opportunities there are. Right now with Earth Fair, I've got a special tip for you.

02:01
Leana Salamah
Actually.

02:01
Daniel Scharff
We're running a webinar on Fancy Foods 101 with the Specialty Food Association. It's coming up on April 21st. One lucky brand who attends is actually going to win a tabletop in our Startup CPG section. So check out the show notes for the eventbrite link where you can learn about all of the details. All right, enjoy the episodes and see you at Fancy Foods. All right, everybody, welcome to our special Podcast here, we're going to be talking about Fancy Foods, the summer show that's coming up in New York. We are so pumped about it. One of my favorite absolute trade shows ever. And I'm really excited. I've got today on the podcast, we've got Liana from Specialty Food association, and we also have our trustee, community and marketing director, Patricia.

02:48
Daniel Scharff
We're going to be talking through all of the good stuff that's going to go on through the lens of if you're a brand thinking about going, if it's the right show for you, I really would love for you to listen and hear about some of these really cool opportunities both offered by the show, as well as all of the cool stuff that we at startup CPG have in store for you. So first of all. Yeah, Liene, do you mind just doing a little intro so everyone knows who they're listening to?

03:09
Leana Salamah
Yeah, you bet. Thanks so much for having me, by the way. It's always a lot of fun to come on the show with you here. So. So my name is Liana Salema. I head up the marketing communications over at the Specialty Food association, which puts on the Fancy Food Show. Been doing things like this for a long time in the food service space, the CPG space, and the home and housewives retail space. So the fancy food shows are very special and I'm delighted to be part of them and to be for to have this community be part of it.

03:34
Daniel Scharff
All right, and we've got Patricia on. Patricia, maybe you can say hello. And I know you love the Fancy Food Show, I think as much as I do. Let everyone know.

03:42
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah. Hi, everyone. Well, thank you so much for having me here again. Yeah. I think the first show that we ever. I ever went for SFA was Summer Fancy Food. And it's amazing. Like, the brands love. It's a smaller show, but it's so much value, so much buyers coming. We got great feedback from brands in our section. So it's a phenomenal show.

04:03
Daniel Scharff
All right, let's do it. So, Liana. Yeah. Give us the 101. Like, people kind of know what fancy food is, but like, what is Specialty Food association and what goes on at the summer fancy food show?

04:14
Leana Salamah
Sure. So the Specialty Food association sfa, we are a nonprofit member driven organization. We support the creation and growth of specialty food makers. That's our whole reason for being, is to help folks get into the business, succeed in the business and thrive. So. And, and it's funny because specialty food can be a little bit of a nebulous. Concept, right? You kind of know it when you see it. But we really think about it as food that is in some way shape or form better. Maybe that's better quality ingredients, better environmental impact, better tasting, more authentic, less processed, all these types of things. So specialty food becomes this kind of like giant halo around things like natural, international things that achieve certain dietary needs. Indulgent in gourmet.

04:58
Leana Salamah
All of these things are showcased in the specialty food industry and very specifically at the fancy food show.

05:03
Daniel Scharff
I love it. I really like that definition because often we have to define for people as well, what kind of stuff we work with, what kind of products. And so I'm going to steal that line like well, you'll know it when you see it. Like you know, typically, you know, so I love that. Okay, so now focusing in on the summer fancy food show, what is it? How does it play a big part in your guys mission and what should brands expect from it?

05:24
Leana Salamah
Yeah, it's kind of the core of what we do, right, because it's bringing makers, it's helping them come to market and get engaged with buyers who can help them achieve the success that they're looking for. The summer fancy food show. I mean, at risk of sounding biased, it is like a fashion show for food. It's just aisles upon aisles of surprises and innovation, new ideas and concepts and a lot of joy. I mean this industry is just fantastic when it comes together. The show attracts buyers from all across the US and globally, including retailers, both your large, mid and small, food service operators, distributors and importers. So all those folks will be walking around the show floor checking out what's new in the industry. It's an energizing and inspiring experience. I think you guys can speak to that.

06:09
Leana Salamah
You know, whenever this industry comes together in person, it's always a bit of a celebration.

06:14
Daniel Scharff
I love it. And I think if were playing Supermarket Sweep, but at a trade show, I think fancy food summer show would be the one where I would choose to play it and just get a big bag and run out with a lot of absolutely delicious stuff. So it is a great time. Okay, so now if you're a brand and you're making your plans for the year, you want to do what you're talking about, which is get in touch with buyers, with distributors, really figure out how to grow your brand, have the impact on the world through food the way you want to do it, which is by getting into all those stores, what should you expect?

06:45
Daniel Scharff
Like how should I look at fancy food show versus some of the other stuff that's out there, the other ways I could grow my business, how should I think about it?

06:53
Leana Salamah
Yeah, I think one of the things that we really like to talk about when it comes to our show is the variety of buyers who are there really create opportunities for people at whatever place they're at in their business life cycle. Right. Some folks aren't ready to get into a national grocery, you know, or mass merchandise store like Walmart, but they're ready for a smaller regional player. And we really focus on bringing all of those different groups together. But I think it's important for brands to really think about what they're ready for, what kind of retailer they should be talking to. Because it's sounds great to get a national order right out of the gate, but if you're not ready to scale at that rate, it can be really challenging.

07:32
Leana Salamah
So understanding where you're at in your business life cycle and understanding, you know, the right types of retailers to look for I think is a huge way to ensure success.

07:41
Daniel Scharff
I like that. And you know, the kind of two most common go to market strategies we see from brands is to either go really hard in a specific region, like maybe it's where they are or where their branding is the best fit, or a strategy where they start going with a lot of high end natural chains kind of across the board. So it seems like it could be a fit for both of those kind of brands if it's for example, going to be a lot of buyers from a region that they're pretty interested in. So like you want to grow a lot in the Northeast. The New York show is going to have a lot of those buyers who can, you know, just drive or train in.

08:14
Daniel Scharff
But there are also going to be a lot of national buyers that are coming from all over just given the significance of the show. And then that natural more one we see because brands that are doing a better for you product, they like those natural chains from around the country where they can have higher velocities, get in with, you know, really high value consumers. So it sounds like it could be a fit for those kind of approaches. Maybe not as relevant for like hey, big mass brands that just kind of want to go big everywhere really fast.

08:40
Leana Salamah
I mean, we've got those retailers as well. Right. You know, they're certainly walking the show floor and they do find things that they're interested in. But you know, when you talk about some of these other smaller guys, what I love about. And the big guys do this too in some pockets of Their organizations is they take chances on new brands. They're not sitting around waiting for all the data to come in that says, you know, this is going to deliver XYZ roi. Those are the retailers and the buyers who they know their customer, they know what their customer wants and they're willing to take a chance on a really exciting product and give it an opportunity to thrive in their store and with their customer base.

09:14
Leana Salamah
And I think that's one of the most effective ways for, you know, folks, you know, in the startup CPG community and in some of our community to really come to market.

09:21
Daniel Scharff
I love that answer. And I did a panel at the fancy food winter show in Las Vegas and it was with a lot of those really first to market type retailers. And so I remember I had James Ren on there and Darren from Bristol Farms and we had Whole Foods on there. And it just was a really interesting discussion around innovation. How do they really get on the cutting edge of innovation and how each of these buyers personal curiosity plays such a big role and how they're out there discovering new to market kinds of brands. Just so interesting to hear from them. It plays a huge role.

09:57
Daniel Scharff
Like they know this industry very well, they know their buyers very well, and they are really willing to take a chance on a new brand that they feel like hits for whatever reason, whether it's a proven trend or just one that they're seeing a lot and they're really interested in and they want to take a bet on it. So they are there, they are doing that. I love to hear that.

10:14
Leana Salamah
Yeah. And one of the things I really love about these retailers and of course James Ren is one of our board members, so he participates in the direction of SFs say in general. But a lot of these retailers are really willing to not only take an initial chance with these brands, but to give them the opportunity to kind of find their way. You know, they don't disco them after six months on the shelf if they're not moving fast enough. They'll really give them, you know, the opportunity to thrive and grow and get their legs underneath them.

10:39
Daniel Scharff
I love that so much because having run a brand myself, that is your greatest fear. Like, all right, I did all the work to have a nice brand and to meet the buyer and now I got on shelf and oh no, it's like not immediately just flying off the shelves because people don't know about it and oh my God, is the buyer mad at me? Are they going to discontinue me really soon? I already told my investors about this. So it's a really beautiful empathetic thing for those buyers to look at you like, well, I wanted to take the chance on you, which means I'm also going to support you and give you the time to really grow this brand.

11:13
Daniel Scharff
Because yeah, I mean, you know, people like James and you know, Dwight from Town country, like been around long enough that they know it, they get how this is going to go and like if you're out there telling them it's going to be a million units per store per week immediately, like they know it's actually going to happen. So that's really awesome. So speaking of any other retailers you see really heavy usually circulating the show floor. I know, I mean I just was talking to the Whole Foods team. I know they're coming, they're excited about it. I always see them there. Our friends from Fairway are always there. We like tons of the New York people. I know happier groceries coming. We're so excited about them. Who else would you say brand should look out for?

11:49
Leana Salamah
We get folks from all over. We get buy, right, we get Aldi. These are folks I have registered today. National Co Op Grocers. Certainly Kahey and Unfi are there. Albertsons, Publix, Sam's Club, Costco, Market of Choice, Williams Sonoma is coming. They're coming in from San Francisco for the New York show. So that's exciting. And you know, and I don't want, I want to make sure your audience also, you know, we talk a lot about retailers, you know, as the buyers and that's the core of the folks you're going to see at the Fancy food show. But don't underestimate the opportunity that exists in food service.

12:17
Leana Salamah
You know, so we work with a lot of, you know, the food service directors from colleges and universities and a lot of them have really, I mean I'm doing college visits with my daughter right now and the food service offerings at these colleges and universities are bonkers. I mean they're nothing like when I was at school and it was like, well, there's food that's good enough. But these folks really go out of their way to source high end products that a lot of times have a great story behind them that they can tell. You know, there's a ton of opportunity in the non commercial food service spaces.

12:44
Daniel Scharff
Well, I love it. And the volume at those places is crazy. I've seen the data on it. So those are really good accounts when you can get them. And yeah, and you're also right, it's not Just about retail buyers. There's food service there, and there also is some really interesting media. New York is such a media hub. Last year in our startup CPG section, we had tons of reporters. We had Ruth Simon from the Wall Street Journal walking around. She reports on a lot of small business news, like Good Housekeeping. Really cool stuff going on. So speaking of, you know, retailers and cool stuff that's gonna be going on with the show, Pat, we had such a good time at the show last year.

13:18
Daniel Scharff
We got to do so much and we're going to be doing a lot of cool stuff with some of the retailers that Liana just mentioned. Maybe can you talk a little bit about what does startup CPG have in store this year?

13:30
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, for sure. A lot of exciting things. So starting with our own section with 24 booths in the debut district. So, yeah, 24 brands. They get a discount to be there. We bring all the buyers and everything in really innovative and cool brands. So definitely stop by. And then still during the show, we are hosting our Further Lounge, which is an initiative from startup CPG to elevate female founders. So you're gonna have a fundraising panel and we're gonna have a retailer panel and then a shark tank 101. So we are gonna launch those soon. So make sure if you're a female founder, you stop by. It's gonna be amazing. We hosted that during the winter events. Feedback, food and the feedback we got, it was massive.

14:19
Patricia Menegoto
It was just so amazing and beautiful and, you know, buyers and media that were there with us really take the time to, like, after the panels to connect with the brand. So it was very nice.

14:30
Daniel Scharff
I love that. I'm especially excited about our further female founder events. So we have an afternoon of content that we're going to do. Yeah, that fundraising panel you mentioned, we've got incredible people coming in. We've got PepsiCo, Z M and a group who obviously they're very active these days. You know, Poppy. Anyone heard of it? And a bunch of other people coming in for that one. The retailer panel is going to be incredible also. I know. I mean, Happier Grocery, I think, is going to join for the female founder 1 and Whole Foods and a bunch of other awesome retailers. And then, yeah, The Shark Tank 1 is going to be nuts. We've got the head of casting for Shark Tank coming, as well as one of the brands that was on the show last season. And it's going to be incredible.

15:10
Daniel Scharff
I mean, this is the casting director who makes it happen, and she's going to come for a really fun afternoon panel with us. And then we also have that main stage retailer panel going on. And I know we have a bunch of awesome people coming in. We've got Fairway for that ncg who Jeanette Bloss is joining us for that one. She is incredible. Just, she covers so many different categories. She has such a wealth of knowledge. One of my favorite guests that we've had on the podcast over the last year, Patricia, what about the parties? What's going on?

15:41
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, well, you mentioned Faraway. So we do have a grocery run on Sunday with Fairway where we're gonna have bread sampling. Yes, more sampling and of course buyers coming and attendees from like all around, you know, the us that are attending the show. And then on Monday we are gonna have the Summer Fancy Food, which is our main party during Summer Fancy Food show. We're also gonna have, you know, brand sampling buyers coming, all the amazing opportunities. And then Tuesday we are aiming to do a founder dinner where only CPG founders can come and network with each other. So it's going to be really special.

16:24
Daniel Scharff
This is awesome. I'm so pumped. For anyone who doesn't know, Grocery Run is our national event series where we get into markets and do really relevant events with the retailers and they're looking at brands, they're trying to bring stuff on. We've got a really incredible one that we're doing in partnership with Specialty Food Association, April 10th, which, you know, as of today is eight days away. We're super pumped about it. Every SF buyer is coming to it. It's at a distributor warehouse. So then we'll be doing a New York one with Fairway Market at their store. It's incredible. We're going to have 200 people there, tons of brands sampling and they like to pick brands from our events to give distribution to. We love that about them. Glenn and Fidel and Mark, those guys are legends.

17:06
Daniel Scharff
And then, yeah, Monday night, our flagship summer of startup party that we love to hold during Fancy Food, we'll have just tons of brands there. It is really just a celebration of all of the incredible brands and energy that we have. Love to do it in New York City. And then yet Tuesday, that founder dinner that you mentioned, this is a new event format that we have which really tries to just, you know, draw on this very special energy for what it means to be a founder in this space and put everything that you have into coming up with something new and provide a very special event for them to especially connect with each other.

17:38
Daniel Scharff
Although we also know to bring some really cool VIPs to those types of events because the best thing that we can do to help them grow their businesses is make sure they're getting to meet some of the right people. So that's a pretty sweet agenda, right? What else do they get, Bob? No, this is. We've got. We've got a lot of really fun stuff planned. I just can't wait. Really. You know, I've said this to a lot of people. For me, the fancy food summer show, I think, is the best buyer to brand ratio that you can find. It's really great because, you know, it's not like a trade show where you just have tons and tons of hordes of people like completely packing the aisles, going nuts. It's like, it's a focus show.

18:15
Daniel Scharff
You have great brands there and you have great buyers there, and if you see them, they'll probably stop and you'll have a nice conversation with them. It's a really important way to get to build a relationship with those buyers. See them there's, you know, get through some of the next steps right then instead of them having to cover so much ground so quickly. Liana, what do you think? Is that fair?

18:34
Leana Salamah
Absolutely. I mean, I think that our last couple of shows, both summer and winter, were ranging up around the, you know, 66% buyers to non buyers. So just in terms of, like, if you think about the concentration of the show floor, for every three people that walk past your booth, two of them are probably buyers. And by the way, like, every now and then, that third one is going to be press. We work really hard to create a composition that is incredibly valuable to our exhibitor community.

19:00
Daniel Scharff
Well, this is amazing. I've never heard that number, but that doesn't surprise me. That's really incredible. So, Leanna, just to try to wrap this segment up, first of all, I just really want to thank you for the partnership that we have with you guys because, you know, I've always loved the fancy food show and it's so meaningful for us to get to show up in such a big way. So for anybody who hasn't been already and seen how we show up there, we basically have this, yeah, very large section as Patricia mentioned. So we're going to grow it every year. We've got 24 booths this time there. It's a big, beautiful banner over the section and it's already a great show. But then when, yeah, when buyers arrive to our debut district startup CPG section, they know they're somewhere special. The brands.

19:43
Daniel Scharff
I mean it. We have this section, it actually is very competitive to get accepted in it because we love working with you guys. Also to have the tabletops in the section, which are just one of the best entry level ways to be at the show. And then the buyers are all coming to our section. They know when they're in the debut district, there's good stuff to find and the section just looks so beautiful. The brands from our community are so amazing and just business is happening there. It is cracking.

20:08
Leana Salamah
Yeah. And you know, I want to give a lot of credit to, you know, the startup CPG team and to your brands because I will say when you know, to be successful as an exhibitor at a trade show, I mean you have to be on, right? You have to be energetic and you have to be excited about your product and you have to be in the moment. Right. I can't tell you know, my whole career I watch people sit on their foot looking down at their phones as people are walking by and then they say they didn't have a good show. You know, you need to be engaged and engaging and man, the startup CPG community brings it. You know, I never see anybody distracted or, you know, not having a good time and demonstrating. They are a joyful bunch to work with.

20:44
Leana Salamah
So, I mean, kudos to you guys. I don't know if that's a training session you guys do before the show or if that's just the natural inclination of your community, but we love it.

20:52
Daniel Scharff
We feel very seen. I can see Patricia also appreciates that because that is the energy that we have and that is what we see from our brands as well. This is their dream and they're at the show to accomplish their dream and it's always going well. And yeah, I mean, you're never going to see a buyer walk by one of our tabletops without us noticing and you know, like, hey, it's good to see you. I've been try to hit you up on LinkedIn for a month. So don't you remember, you know, we're out there, that's the big shot, right? You know, we do, we and Patricia especially does a really great job of preparing all the brands.

21:23
Daniel Scharff
So we do training sessions with the brands in our section which, you know, can just be about the important logistics stuff that you just, if you haven't been, you just don't know the answer to a lot of it. But then really we do a lot about how to show up at the show, how to do the work ahead of time that is going to make sure. You create that moment of getting to talk with the most important buyers at your booth about your product. You know, really get the time with them. So it's definitely no coincidence that they have, I would say, the best experience of even everybody at the show. That's what we want for all the brands in our. In our section, and seems to be the case, so we love it. Great.

21:57
Daniel Scharff
Okay, so I'm very excited to have had you here on the show today, Liana. I'm also really excited for everybody to get to hear from a few other perspectives for people who have gone to the show. Because, you know, our perspective is just one, but we really want for everybody to understand from kind of the 360 approach. So make sure you stay tuned. We're going to have some cool other segments here. Thanks, everybody. And also, if you haven't already applied for our section, you should have, I think, just a couple weeks left to do that. And if you don't get into our section, we really apologize. You know, it's just 24 booths and we get hundreds of applications. But SFA is really amazing.

22:30
Daniel Scharff
They also offer an opportunity to be adjacent to our section, which is very cool because the buyers, if they're coming to our section, will go around our section also. And we really put in a lot of effort to making sure we get everybody. There is kind of a starting destination at the show, so definitely you can reach out to their team. Check the show notes for instructions. If you want to take advantage of one of these entry level, especially opportunities like near our section, you'll have a great time and we're going to be doing tons of stuff, especially retailer meetings. So I think the best thing that we probably do for brands when we're actually at the show, we contact every retailer that I've ever known in my life and every distributor and invite them to hold meetings with our brands at our booth.

23:10
Daniel Scharff
So we let all the brands apply for that. The retailers or buyers select which brands they want to meet with. And we hold like three to five minute meetings at the show right at our booth during that. And it's hyper efficient because they already know they like you. If they selected you for the meeting goes fast and furious. They can get back out on the show floor, you can get back on the show floor and just so much distribution happens there. So even if you're not in our section, if you're just attending the show, if you're just near our section, you'll be able to apply for all of that. So stay tuned in the slack for those opportunities. All right, Liana, Patricia, thank you so much for joining me today.

23:42
Leana Salamah
Thank you.

23:43
Daniel Scharff
All right, now let's hear from a CPG brand. Luca, my friend, thank you so much for joining us today. I'm really excited for everybody to get to hear about you and especially your delicious product. Do you mind introducing yourself and telling everyone about your brand?

23:56
Luca Molinari
Yes, of course. I'm Luca. I'm the co founder of Paris. In Paris, we hand pick raspberries from Patagonia. We cover them in chocolate here in the States. And so it's frozen treat, right? Easy to share, delicious. Better for you. And so we do different chocolates, but always with raspberries from Patagonia.

24:13
Daniel Scharff
That maybe is the most delicious introduction to a brand that I've heard anyone say ever. We handpick raspberries in Patagonia and then cover them in chocolate here in the United States. Okay, well, now I'm hungry. Perfect. So, Luca, how did you decide to go on this journey originally, you know, from Argentina with these delicious products? How did you decide to create the brand and enter the market here?

24:37
Luca Molinari
Absolutely. So in Argentina, the region called Patagonia, that is within Argentina and Chile. In Argentina, my parents have a place where we used to vacation during summer called Bariloche. So that's where our name comes from. It's our game between Varis and Bariloche Baris. So there I used to have a garden full of raspberries where we handpicked them, actually. And we've been doing different desserts with them for many years. Eventually we got to this concept that everyone was loving so much, and we decided to come here to the States, you know, because it's raspberries and chocolate and everybody here in the States know what both components are. And so we knew that they might as well also like the concept. Right. So we launched two years ago, we received an investment from the founders of Talenti Gelato.

25:21
Luca Molinari
That's a very well known ice cream company here in the States. These are not only our active investors, but also mentors of us. So we connect every week. They're very actively helping us the concept. They think that we're doing something similar to what Talenti did with the ice cream category back in the days. So there's a lot of the synergy between the two teams is great. And so, yeah, we launched in the market a little bit over a year ago. We first launched in Foxtrot market in Chicago. That's where we manufacture Foxtrot, then files into bankruptcy. So were like with zero clients. But since then we started growing and now we are in over 700 points of sale. We're getting into. There's going to be some good news coming soon and also what other place we're going to be launching.

26:05
Luca Molinari
And yeah, so the ride is being amazing. We're doing innovation also in parallel and so yeah, we're in a good spot right now.

26:13
Daniel Scharff
Hey, all right. We love good news. I can't wait to hear about that. That doesn't surprise me at all that you got so much distribution that quickly. It's, it's such a product. Everybody that I know has tried it just completely flips out over it. So can you tell me about, you know, going back to before Fancy Foods New York show last year? First of all, like, why did you want to go there? What part of your journey did you see it playing a role in?

26:35
Luca Molinari
Yeah, so before going with you guys, went as backpackers the year before, but we didn't have a finished product and we saw it's called Fancy Food Show. Right. For a reason. They, they do have a lot of elegant products. New York is one of the capitals of the world also. So there's so many things going on there and for us it was a no brainer. At least we wanted to give it a try. And were actually very well surprised on how well we did last year and last year show together with startup cpg. We were in this section, you know, where were next to other startups and this was a magnet for, you know, buyers to come in. And actually we did several other shows. Right.

27:13
Luca Molinari
But this one in particular really called our attention on how, and the quality of, you know, business wise of the people that came in to, you know, to talk to you. So when I say the quality is because maybe you get so busy sometimes you just want to have, you know, conversations that really will contribute to your business. Although you always enjoy conversating around your product, you know, sometimes you want to make use of that time and the money invested in the project in the, in the show. So in that sense it was really fruitful for us. The Fancy Food show together with startup cpg. I'm really glad about it.

27:46
Daniel Scharff
Thank you. Fruitful pun. Enjoyed it. Thank you. So okay, that makes a lot of sense because you had backpacked probably before you had even met us and checked out the show for your kind of a product. That really also makes sense because I mean, it's a very deluxe kind of indulgence. I mean, I don't think the price is crazy or anything but like it's a beautiful package. The fruit is very high end, the chocolate is delicious and you know when you eat it this, it is fancy food for sure. So. And then you were, yeah, you were looking to then show up there the next year. I remember we had met, I think earlier that year I had gotten to try the product and just it was really obvious we needed you in the section.

28:23
Daniel Scharff
I really, I appreciate you saying that about our section being a buyer magnet because I believe that also they do come, they know they're going to find some awesome stuff in our section and it's because we have brands like you in there. I'm just showing them some really interesting innovation and that's what's up. If you're wondering about like, oh, how do you end up with like interesting innovation as a show? Is it there? This is it. It's people like Luca who went for the first time to the show and really blew the buyers away.

28:49
Luca Molinari
I mean we have a story of a actual buyer that met us for the first time there in the tabletop we have with you guys since then we closed their account with more than 100 stores, so we have a couple of them. And then there are other stories of different scales. Probably that's the biggest scale we got out of the show. But also it was really surprising for me because we only had a tabletop. Right. You're used to seeing such big booth and everything and only with a tabletop in the fan in the startups CBG section that was more than enough to close, you know, such big deals. So yeah, for us it was definitely a memorable experience that we will never forget in that way.

29:24
Daniel Scharff
So that's awesome. That's what we want. And I do actually tell people that I'm like, I don't know if you, I mean it is just popping in our section and you know, I think Patricia from our team who really is responsible for the design of the section, it's, you know, it's not a coincidence that it feels the way that it does, like very special and clean and like a community. That's what we go for. We don't have, you know, a lot of like pop up banners interrupting the space. We want it to be like, oh, these brands are all here together. What's going on here? And there's a beautiful sign above us. And so yeah, those kind of buyers. And by the way, they are all there. They want to discover early stuff, you know, and so they are there looking for you.

30:00
Daniel Scharff
So that's awesome. And yeah, it's not a big investment, honestly. That's why I just love the fancy food shows so. Well, the New York one is incredible. So what is your strategy for distribution? Are you focused on like particular regions or channels?

30:14
Luca Molinari
That's a good question. So first of all, we launched, as I mentioned, a little bit over a year ago. We've been targeting mostly the natural channel, so. And we do a frozen product. So doing direct is quite difficult when you're starting. And so we partnered up with Unifi which is also, you know, at the moment for us. We heard things from a wide range of things about Unifi but our experience has been so far very positive. So we work with them and we've been opening different theses with them. Of course there are some diseases that are quite slowly but we figured out that we better at the beginning. I rather have more disease than fewer diseases. Until we get some traction. Now we do have some clarity which are the best performing disease and where we want to put all of our energy into.

30:57
Luca Molinari
And so, and in that way were also, you know, not only the shows but also we've been working with the green boom sales brokerage which is also a good way to get into meeting with buyers. I don't know if necessarily green spoons, but typically, you know, someone helping you out is a great way. But then also a lot of cold emails. You know, we get tired of cold emailing. I think the best way of cold emailing is Daniel has always offered his help in that way and we, you know, with his introduction we got a lot of people that easily answer you instead of, you know, letting the email go by. And when I say a cold email, you need to ensure that it's, you know, not written by ChatGPT nor any other system. You want to write it from your heart.

31:40
Luca Molinari
Try to be as sincere and, you know, personal as you can. And that's what has been the best way to gain traction in distribution for us. Absolutely.

31:47
Daniel Scharff
Yeah. I like how you say that. And also, I mean it's easy to write a kind of more personalized email if you have some experience with the person. If you've been at a show and you've seen them or you'd got to talk to them or you saw them on a panel, like that's a good thing to mention in the email. And then they know it's not just some chat GPT thing coming at them like, hey, yeah, remember, like hey, you came by in my booth. You like this thing. I just want you to remember you liked it. And now I'm emailing you.

32:09
Luca Molinari
Absolutely. And then if you can do some research, let's say, you know, get into Google Maps and check out their stores. How many reviews do they have, understand which are the best performing stores and that can also convince you wanting to write to them. Whenever you find out more of a, an account, you want to contact them. And if you're writing the email, it's because you want them and there's a reason for that. And you better say that reason. Right.

32:30
Daniel Scharff
I like to hear that a lot. So it seems like you guys are on a pretty good overall trajectory here. So it seems like your experience at fancy food is you got to talk to some pretty big time buyers even just very fresh in the market. Right. Just one of your first times out there with the product at you know, high quality conversations, which is great. So I mean, you guys are doing great. What would you recommend to other brands to be on a similarly good path and have a good experience at the show? Let's say somebody else is like, all right, I mean, I'm going to the show, you know, they're in our section or they're somewhere else at the show. What do they need to do to make the most of it?

33:02
Luca Molinari
Honestly, we didn't have to do much. That's the first thing if I want to make a recommendation because were just standing by there giving out samples with the best energy, helping everyone without expecting anything in return. Fellow startups, founders, CPG people, startup CPG people, everybody out there with a great energy. You just need to contribute with that energy and be ready to show your product and have your speech ready. And I think we didn't do much more than that. It was plain simple. And that's why I'm saying the startup CPG section was a magnet for us. We honestly, I'm trying to think for an advice, but were just standing there and that was from the beginning to the end, that's for sure. You never need to leave, not only, not even for a minute, you know, be the last man standing always.

33:47
Luca Molinari
And, and that's probably my best recommendation.

33:50
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, I really appreciate you saying that. That is how I feel about our section. I'm like, if I were a brand, I would be in our section. It's amazing. But also like we, you know, we can't accommodate everybody. But also we actually at both shows now we've had a lot of brands who unfortunately weren't in our section but then got overflow booths around us. It was pretty Similar because, you know, they're great brands. They're near us, the buyers, they come to our section, they're still at the show looking for brands. So they I think had a pretty awesome experience as well. And as you know, we're doing a lot like we are walking media around, we're coordinating meetings at our booth. So, you know, everybody at the show can participate in those kinds of things.

34:27
Luca Molinari
As a matter of fact, as I was already with Stardust CBG last year, this year we're going to go on our own because we are no longer the first time exhibiting with them. And we booked booth next to the group of Stardust cpg. We want to be close and always team up with the team of Stardust cpg. It's the best thing we can do. Absolutely.

34:44
Daniel Scharff
Fantastic. Well, that's good for our team and our dessert cravings also. So we appreciate that. All right, Luca, thank you so much. What's a good way that everyone can follow along with you guys and support you?

34:54
Luca Molinari
Absolutely. Please follow us on Instagram. It's called Every Bar and at Every Bar and you can follow us there and you know, connect with us directly always.

35:03
Daniel Scharff
All right, thank you very much. All right, now let's hear all about it from one of our favorite buyers. All right, Jayden, my friend, thank you so much for joining us here on the podcast. We have been dying to get you on here and this is one of my favorite topics. So do you mind first of all just introducing yourself and telling people a little bit about Earth fare?

35:23
Jaden McTaggart
Yeah. Well, thanks for having me, Daniel. Always love chit chatting and nerding out together. So I'm Jaden McTaggart. I am the senior director of Center Store at Earth Fair and Earth Fair is a natural and organic grocer in mainly the southeast. We have 16 stores across seven states and we've been in the game for a while. We are celebrating our 50 year anniversary this year. So that's super exciting. And really Earth Fair is all about authenticity. We source high quality, natural, organic products and ingredients. It really have some of the strictest ingredient and food standards in the industry. I think a lot of times when folks think about what Natural Channel is, we really started setting those standards in the 90s. We're the first retailer to ban high fructose corn syrup, bromated unbleached flour, irradiate spices, all of those things.

36:22
Jaden McTaggart
So the things that now everyone's like, oh yeah, that's your Earth fares, your whole foods, your sprouts, we've been doing it for a while.

36:31
Daniel Scharff
Yes, that's. And that's how I know it. Like, you know, pioneer and tastemaker retailer, really strong presence in the Southeast, and just one of those chains that everybody is really eager to get into. And a few other things I think are also true. You can confirm these. So I think Infra member and also anchor account for a couple different distributors. Right. You guys work with Kahi and Rainforest and anyone else you typically like to work with on distribution.

36:59
Jaden McTaggart
Yeah, so we are actually an originating founding member of infra back in 2004. We just re upped that partnership last year, and it's super exciting to be back with those folks. And as far as distribution goes, we anchor UNFI, Atlanta, Khe GFide, Rainforest. Those are really the four main distributors we go after. Yeah.

37:24
Daniel Scharff
All right, perfect. So, Jaden, I love having you on here. We've gotten to do a lot of fun stuff together over the years at trade shows and just hanging out around the trade shows also. So, you know, I just wanted everybody to hear your perspective. First of all, of, like, what does fancy foods New York show mean to you? Like, why do you go to it? What are you looking for when you do that? Yeah.

37:45
Jaden McTaggart
So, I mean, I love fancy Food New York. I think kind of traditionally you think about it as that perimeter specialty department focus show. Right. And that's certainly what it is. It's a ton of artisan cheese and international goods. But I really feel like over the years, it's really evolved to so much more than that. And the center store presence. Now you think of your center store, grocery aisles, dairy, and even frozen has really grown so much. And it's such a great space and opportunity for those innovative and emerging brands in those spaces to have the opportunity to be in that room with some, like, really big global icons and also telling their story and getting in front of folks like us and Whole Foods and Eataly. Murray's. Right.

38:43
Jaden McTaggart
So I love it one, because I love food, and it's just like a food heaven. There's definitely something for everybody there. But it's also a really exciting show. I'm a chef nerd. So if you are into restaurants, Top Chef, you really never know who you're gonna see walking the aisles. So there's always like, kind of like celebrity chef moments that you have. And it's also just a great opportunity, one to always connect with the folks that we're already partnered with, especially. Especially in the specialty cheese space. I feel like nowadays we're all kind of remote workers, and it can be Hard to have those in person meetings and building that rapport with folks these days. So it's just awesome to like connect, shake hands, do some touch bases on current business and also discover what's coming next.

39:38
Jaden McTaggart
Like, really put your finger on the pulse.

39:40
Daniel Scharff
I love to hear that. And that celebrity chef moment you have, that's like the moment we all have. When Jaden walks by, like, oh, is that Jaden? Like, I gotta talk to, I need a selfie with that guy. So we love it. And yeah, I mean, I really like what you're saying about kind of the history of the show, but also what it's evolved to because it, yeah, it really is just a very special place. And I, I'll tell you one thing that I believe about the show is that compared to some of the other stuff out there are tons of buyers. They're really important ones. But also, like, it's not so crazy that you can't take some time and really talk to them.

40:13
Daniel Scharff
Like, I always felt like if there's a buyer there and I talk to them, I'm going to get a lot of their time or they have the ability to give me a lot of time to really sit there and have a conversation. For you as a buyer, does it feel that way? Do you feel like you really get the chance to connect with people in a way you might not at every show?

40:27
Jaden McTaggart
Yeah, 100%. And you know, obviously in just these last couple of months, we've had some other big shows. Right. You know, we're just coming off the heels of Expo west and obviously that's a huge show, but it's clustered. Right. You don't have the opportunity to have really meaningful conversations with folks that you can at Fancy Food. You're definitely not going to stand in line for 15 minutes waiting to just to like, grab a business card from someone like, oh, you were on my list. Let me just eek in here real quick. I've made some incredible connections at Fancy Food, so I'm excited to see who's going to be back this year. Who, who? The new kids are on the block and it's always a fun time. And it's in New York.

41:15
Daniel Scharff
It's in New York. I know. Yeah. Last time we got to do some really fun stuff after hours to go out for a nice meal. I know you and your team checked out some pretty epic New York restaurants as well. New York is a foodie town, so that makes a lot of sense. So, Jaden, we always get to do really fun stuff with you. We really appreciate your support of the community. Your whole team is always just showing up. I think it'd be cool for people to hear from you, like a really significant buyer in the community. How do you view, for example, the startup CPG section when you come to the show and then your our section is there? What does it mean to you? Like, what do you expect to find there?

41:51
Jaden McTaggart
Yeah, I mean, y'all do such an incredible job of really curating a selection and section of vendors and brands that are passionate and mission driven and they all have a purpose, right? Like they're like fitting, filling some niche or void or they're telling a really personal story through their branding. I love walking the section. I love doing the pitch meetings that we schedule. And it's not just elevator pitches, right. It's having real conversations with folks about vision and supply chain and scale and how all those things come together so that we might work together in the future. And I love having the chance to give feedback to those folks in those, like more intimate one one settings. You're not standing at their booth, you're kind of tucked off to the side. And you know, sometimes folks aren't quite ready yet, but they're close.

42:51
Jaden McTaggart
And I love being able to give folks those touch points to really help them get there, to set them up for their next step in their brand's evolution.

43:02
Daniel Scharff
It's a really valuable thing. I can just tell people. I've observed Jaden give a few brands pretty specific feedback on packaging or their strategy, their branding and it was amazing to watch. You know when you just like see someone do something that you don't know how to do and you're just like, how do you know all that stuff? It's really impressive. So we're definitely looking for more opportunities just to try to magnify that so more people can hear it because I think you can just learn so much from it. So. Yeah. And Jaden, just because, you know, you work with so many different brands and categories, I'm sure people would love to know, like when you're going to fancy food this year, is there anything you're really on the lookout for?

43:41
Daniel Scharff
Any particular kinds of claims or products or categories that you're really excited or just kind of business as usual, looking for just brands across the whole store?

43:51
Jaden McTaggart
I mean, it's a little bit of both. I try not to pigeonhole myself too much because in the past I've kind of tried to do that and then I end up putting the blinders on and I Feel like I'm missing things. But really what I'm interested in is to see how the trends that were kind of getting pushed at some of the other shows earlier this year, how the conversation has changed around those at all by the time we get to the summer. Or if we're just leaning even harder into like nutrient dense snacking and global flavors. Or is there going to be like a third one that nobody saw coming out of anywhere? You know, really, I just love walking the show and seeing what jumps out to me. And I feel like there's always one or two that I see it.

44:47
Jaden McTaggart
I'm just like you. Yeah. Like, let's. Let's do this.

44:50
Daniel Scharff
That's so good. And I saw that happen actually at the show a couple times last year. I know. So across, I think some of the pitch stuff that we did. And then you guys were so kind as to take one one meetings with brands. So we run this thing where brands can all apply to meet with you. You guys select ones that you think are good bet and we do like three to five minutes, real rapid fire at our booth. And then you guys came away with like a bunch, I think, that you ended up working with and some really quickly. Right? Yeah.

45:17
Jaden McTaggart
I mean, I was just thinking from last year. So Pioa is a big one. We are really their first retailer partner on the east coast. And I'm so excited to have them on shelf selfishly because it's delicious and now I can buy it all of the time. But also Ringa, obviously True Joy didn't meet Nara at fancy food last year, but through one of the other events with y'all, I met them Harken Sweets. They'll be launching with us soon. So I mean, the list kind of goes on and on. And because we are, I like to say, just big enough, right? Like, we are a substantial size retailer that we have sway, we have pull, but we're also nimble. So we can move really quickly on things that maybe some other folks.

46:10
Jaden McTaggart
It would take a long time to kind of move through all of these channels and stuff. Whereas I'm like, cool, like, let's set you up like you do dsd. Great. Let's go. That's what makes it fun.

46:20
Daniel Scharff
You know, that's what's up, man. That's what every early brand needs, is just a great chain that's really interested in the product and the person behind the product and is willing to give them a shot. And you know, just on especially products that they feel like really aligns with their mission and their kind of shoppers. So thank you, Jaden, and thank you, Earth Fair, for being that partner for so many early brands. That's such a beautiful thing. Also for pioa, which we just love them so much. It's such a good product. And just for them to be getting, you know, all of the kind of love that they're getting from the industry now and getting to be into the Southeast with you guys is really incredible to see. So, Jaden, I cannot wait to see you at Fancy Food this year.

47:05
Daniel Scharff
We have so much going on. It's going to be a total blast. So thank you again for joining us here on the podcast and I know we'll have you back soon.

47:13
Jaden McTaggart
Cool. Sounds great. Thanks, Daniel.

47:15
Daniel Scharff
All right. Thank you. All right, everybody, thank you so much for listening to our podcast. If you loved it, I would so appreciate it if you could leave us a review. You could do it right now. If you're an Apple podcast, you can scroll to the bottom of our Startup CPG Podcast page and click on Write a review. Leave your company name in there. I will try to read it out. If you're in Spotify, you can click on about and then the star rating icon. If you are a service provider that would like to appear on the Startup CPG podcast, you can email us@partnershipstartupcpg.com lastly, if you found yourself grooving along to the music It Is My Band, you can visit our website and listen to more. It is super fantastics.com thank you everybody. See you next time.

48:04
Jaden McTaggart
Sat.