Ep 18: Small Wins, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Getting Your ASS KICKED Disrupting Snacking with iWon Organics

Jun 29, 2020

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Today on Hot Seat we sat down with iWon Organics founder Mark Samuel. His protein packed chip replacement is on over 5000 shelves, while his direct to consumer business is booming.

Disrupting CPG food and beverage is no cake walk, and Mark's tales from the front lines of grinding out the retail game are raw and honest.

We dive into some interesting uses of LinkedIn to grow relationships that drive sales, how to grow organic influencer networks, as well as how to build a product that gets 40% rebuy rate in stores and on Amazon.

At one point Mark mentions he worries he was being too low energy, but no one watching would think that. He's a powerhouse 💪🏻

We Covered:

Intro to iWon Organics (300% Growth)
Mark Samuels Story building a snacking empire
How do you Synthesize a Snack? (Get your ASS KICKED)
Did iWon use a food scientist? No - trial and error and working with copackers
Inch wide mile deep again! Mark talks about how much you get your ass kicked as a successful entrepreneur
What’s iWon’s biggest win? They’re AROUND, and making small wins every day.
What to be most careful about? - CASH FLOW
Repackaging fuckup (But doesn’t matter when you bank small wins every day)
LinkedIn Ninjitsu - Done with Facebook, but makes a post every.single.day. being your self. Off the cuff, that minute.
Does LinkedIn work for B2B retail marketing?
Snacking psychology and changing behavior with Dave Steele
Mark’s psychology for getting snacks on shelves
Pilothouse’s angle suggestion for pre-sale content for iWon
iWon’s trajectory throughout Covid
iWon’s experience with DTC advertising - very new
iWon’s Organic Amazon Strategy (variety pack is KEY - Adding bigger bag too)
You can get as many customers as you want if you’re willing to pay
40% return purchaser rate on Amazon for iWon
Mark rips into KETO and we talk about latching onto food trends
iWon’s ORGANICALLY built influencer ecosystem, built on great product and authenticity
Where would Mark put a $50K grant right now? Trials and promotion...maybe DTC.
Free Trial idea for iWon
What’s your favorite Flavor? Korean BBQ followed by Eric’s Korean BBQ chip rant