My Food Job Rocks!

The name of the game in this episode is food service, an area that’s not well talked about yet it dwarfs retail space. Think about it, lunch spots, schools, universities, and prisons all use the foodservice channels to feed people and this channel has its own challenges. That’s where Stephanie Lind comes in. Stephanie Lind has a good understanding of the food system and I like to say I do too so we get into some really complex discussions about supply chain in the foodservice industry. So you will learn a ton about the complex world of foodservice and I hope this interview helps you discover this whole new world right under your nose. About Stephanie Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Elohi Strategic Advisors Stephanie Lind is the Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer of Elohi Strategic Advisors, a firm she founded in early 2015.  She works closely with emerging natural and sustainable food and beverage companies as well as their venture capital and private equity investors. Elohi acts as a full service commercialization engine and provides holistic Go-To-Market strategies, outsourced sales execution, robust product innovation road maps and B2B marketing services. Prior to returning to Elohi Strategic Advisors in January 2019, Stephanie lead the global sales initiatives for Impossible Foods which included sales strategy for all channels (foodservice, industrial and retail), sales operations, B2B marketing and product innovation.  She has over 25 years of experience across Sales, Marketing and Supply Chain working for Fortune 500 companies including PepsiCo, Sysco, McDonald’s supply chain partner Havi Logistics as well as smaller, privately owned businesses including those started by her parents. Stephanie earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Washington and Lee University and her MBA in Marketing from DePaul University. She is a member of the National Small Business Association (NSBA) Leadership Council, Women’s Presidents Organization, the Plant-Based Food Association and acts as a mentor for the Big Idea Ventures accelerator.  Outside of work, Stephanie and her husband enjoy spending time with their three dogs and four cats, exploring their new community in Half Moon Bay, California and volunteering. Sponsor We’re excited to be partnering with Smart Kitchen Summit {SKS}, the leading food tech event bringing together leaders across the food and cooking ecosystems. Now in its fifth year, #SKS2019 is *the* conference shaping the future of food, technology, and the kitchen. Well-known leaders within the food tech industry will all be speaking on engaging topics such as food robots, alternative protein, and connected kitchen devices such as smart refrigerators. Trust us, you’ll want to be there. Use code FOODJOB15 to get a 15% discount on tickets and I’ll see you there on October 7-8 at in Seattle. Just go to smartkitchensummit.com to register. For easy access, just click on our link for this episode’s show notes. Show Notes What are the cultural differences between Chicago and the Bay Area?: There’s a surge of new brands in the Chicago area. There are a ton of big food companies in that area. For the Bay Area, you have the money. Good Food Business Accelerator I teach emerging sustainable brands how to navigate the world of food service What is food service?: Commercial and Non-commercial. Basically those that choose to feed people and those that need to feed people We have a bootcamp that funnels our clients through the food service channel Hidden Cost: Distance, Freight Charges, Booking trucks, lack of data Does food service price lower?: It depends What would you tell a new person who wants to distribute their product?: You have to make your product in your backyard. Not only literally, but also figuratively (as in local). Have B2B marketing, especially in the ingredient end. The consumer isn’t walking in expecting your brand. For restaurants: Does it increase traffic? Does it increase the check? Does it decrease labor/waste costs? How do you market B2B?: It’s not sexy. A lot of B2C marketers hate food service marketing. Does my website answer the questions? Can I sample the product in the industry? For chefs, they use Instagram and that might be an angle for B2B. There are a ton more foodservice institutions than retail institutions The steps it took to get to where you are today: I graduated in college during the recession and started with being a truck driver for Pepsico. Then worked as a supervisor at a distribution center Nabisco Mass Drug Club Convenience (ALDI, for example) Went back to pepsico Laid off, then went back to Distribution Elohi – Cherokee word for Earth or Mother Earth How was working at Impossible Foods?: Money doesn’t solve every problem, but it gets you there faster They are great for PR and excellent In communicating their brand. Strategy: going towards innovative chefs Blitzscaling Food service is very unforgiving. Build slowly and cater to the customers you have. If you run out, you’re screwed Any advice for anyone in sales?: You have to listen. And you have to approach them to help them solve their problem. What type of food trends are exciting you?: Food is medicine ZOLA – Cannibis industry How do you focus without the hype? (Cannibis industry): Keep your emotions out of it, and think of the what-if scenario planning. If big companies move, you’ll go from fad to trend What about plant- based meat?: iternations will focus more on fat or less processed. PDCAAS What in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: The marriage between science and innovation, marketing, sales, etc. I’d love to understand the science. Favorite Kitchen Item: Bunn Single Serve Coffee. I also like Mugs The ritual of coffee Do you have a favorite meal?: A meal at home. Do you have any advice for anyone in the industry?: Get as much cross-functional training as you can. If you want to start your own business, it’s really hard and will take a long time. Sometimes you have to fail to learn something How do you reflect being fired?: You have to learn from it. The higher you go in an organization, the bigger the risk it is to be fired because there’s bigger risk. If you see someone let go at a senior level, you never know what’s happening in an organization. Also, there is a difference between organization versus background. The Hard Thing About Hard Things. Find Stephanie on LinkedIn or her email here: Stephanie@elohi.us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coca-Cola has probably the most ubiquitous and well-known branding in the entire world but they need scientists to do it. Scientists that help innovate in multiple countries Wendy Zhang is one of those scientists who works on Coke products to bring them internationally. She works with teams from China and Japan to get innovative coke products onto the market while still maintaining that delicious coke brand. Learn about the interesting nuances in communicating internationally and the different techniques to understand flavors and customs when bringing product to different nations. You’ll also get perspective on the value of a PhD and an MBA, because Wendy has her PhD and is getting her MBA after work. Another fun part about this episode is Coke’s initiative on sustainability. Sponsor We’re excited to be partnering with Smart Kitchen Summit {SKS}, the leading food tech event bringing together leaders across the food and cooking ecosystems. Now in its fifth year, #SKS2019 is *the* conference shaping the future of food, technology, and the kitchen. Well-known leaders within the food tech industry will all be speaking on engaging topics such as food robots, alternative protein, and connected kitchen devices such as smart refrigerators. Trust us, you’ll want to be there. Use code FOODJOB15 to get a 15% discount on tickets and I’ll see you there on October 7-8 at in Seattle. Just go to smartkitchensummit.com to register. For easy access, just click on our link for this episode’s show notes. Show Notes Where is Coke?: We operate in 200+ countries with over 700,000 people Coke owns: Core sparkling (coke products, Fanta, Sprite, Minute mAde, Monster, Honest Tea, Odwalla, Suja, Zico, etc) STA- Short Term Assignment. I had an Opportunity in Shanghai When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do?: I make coca-cola products They ask oh cool but then they ask – What do you need to develop? 5 flavors of diet coke Orange Vanilla Coke What products do you work on?: All coca-cola trademark We have multiple R+D satellites all over the world US and UK have different perceptions on chocolate. Is that the same with other products? Peach we eat in the US is different from the peach in Japan What’s the difference between working in China vs the US?: Access to consumers How much autonomy is in Coca Cola?: Not that much Did you know you were going to work in food science?: No. But I got in via college entrance exam. I wanted to do a foreign language job but was put in food science. As I studied more, the more interested I was in food. What’s fundamentally different between US and China?: China is more competitive and focuses more on multiple-choice. US is more focused on critical thinking? For PhD, I’m supposed to solve a specific problem but the training is about focusing on curiosity and gives you the method of solving a problem Why did you get your MBA?: I’ve always been interested in the business side. Though I’ve always been in the technical side, I don’t know how people sell products. An MBA really helps me connect the dots. Most companies have financial aid to get advanced degrees Is it hard to balance your MBA and your job?: Yes, after work at 5 or 6 pm, and then 3 hours of class, and then you have to read 30-40 pages of case studies. What are some tips on improving the product development process?: Understand the whole business. Food Safety, food chemistry, and sensory, know all of this. Be involved, and understand the trends Who do you follow for trends?: BevNet, Food and Beverage, and a lot of suppliers. We have access to Mintel and Nielsen Where do ideas happen?: Depends on the project. Some come from marketing, the science projects are from R+D Why does your food job rock?: I have the opportunity to work in one of the biggest brands in the world Coca Cola Japan What’s a popular product in Japan?: clear products such as milk tea, beer, coffee, and transparent coke (Coca Cola Clear) What type of food trends and technology is really exciting?: High-pressure processing. My dream is to work on a product that does that. HPP is the alternative Retort What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: packaging. The food industry has to use packaging Coca Cola’s Word without Waste Sustainability Report What in the food industry would you like to know more about?: Consumers are hard to predict and how do you understand them better? Coca Cola is an indulgence Anyone who inspired you to get into food: My advisors from graduate schools Favorite Kitchen Item: Phillips Pasta machine Favorite Food: Cheese! I’ve just started to get into cheese Gary Danko Any advice for anyone who wants to get into the food industry: Understand yourself and what you’re good at Where can we find you for advice?: LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might have heard of Salt of Earth because they sponsored our podcast So David Hart was a native in California but more to Israel on a scholarship and kept on coming back. Now in Israel full time, he’s worked for companies, started his own company, and recently heads a company within a company. You see, Salt of the Earth is actually a parent company where they sell well, salt. However, David is exploring selling the Mediterranean Umami brand, a salt reduction solution to lower sodium content. So this episode has a lot of tangible tips to become an intrapreneur, but also some really good sales tips on how ingredients can be sold to big and small companies. Though the timelines are different, the process is the same. Learn from David’s variety of experiences and how each trial made him better and better throughout his career. Sponsor We’re excited to be partnering with Smart Kitchen Summit {SKS}, the leading food tech event bringing together leaders across the food and cooking ecosystems. Now in its fifth year, #SKS2019 is *the* conference shaping the future of food, technology, and the kitchen. Well-known leaders within the food tech industry will all be speaking on engaging topics such as food robots, alternative protein, and connected kitchen devices such as smart refrigerators. Trust us, you’ll want to be there. Use code FOODJOB15 to get a 15% discount on tickets and I’ll see you there on October 7-8 at in Seattle. Just go to smartkitchensummit.com to register. For easy access, just click on our link for this episode’s show notes. Show Notes When someone asks what you do, what do you tell them?: I sell new natural products to the industry What’s the difference between a sales director and the business unit director?: I’m in charge of everything in that business unit. At the end of the day, I have a business Mediterranean Umami How did this hotdog company find out about Mediterranean umami?: Where did you go to college?: I went to UC Davis for BS and MS. BS in agricultural economics FFA Fellowship to study in Jerusalem Ranchman Foundation Spent a semester in college in Washington DC Spent 5 years in cultural absorption – You work in a dairy and serve in the army. After you’re done, you have to find a  job. Went back to California to work on a lycopene Lycopene Lycored Frutarom Ori Yehudai – head of Frutarom IFF Cannabinoids Qualitas Health No Business Plan Survives First Contact Israel as a startup nation Drip irrigation and micro-sprinklers – Israel invented that Mantra Silicon Valley: Move fast and break things Israel trends: cultured meat – Aleph Farms ,Artificial Intelligence/machine learning, Food Safety IFTNext Competiton NEXTY Finalist IFT Innovation Awards 2017 Advice: Life is too short to work for an asshole DavidH@salt.co.il Davidshart1@gmail.com Call: 2132610088 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode's main focus is talking about the legal nuances of starting a food business. Everything you’d like to know about NDA’s, patents, and copyright, it's is all here. But Abe Cohn also does a great job talking about the fun stuff like LLCs, stocks, and fiscal cliffs, you know,  the fun stuff.  But another hidden gem in this interview is talking about networking. Whether you're an introvert who has a grand invention or an extrovert with a grand vision, Abe gives multiple scenarios on how bright minds can meet each other. So maybe next time, you can use these tips to find your next cofounder. About Abe Abe Cohn is an Intellectual Property Lawyer at Cohn Legal Group, a specialty group of a larger law firm, designed specifically to provide a boutique and highly individualized experience for entrepreneurs and startups. Though we cover legal here, what about technical? Well my friend Rachel has something for you.  Sponsor People have been saying My Food Job Rocks is a great food business podcast. If you’re a food entrepreneur or want to become one, I highly suggest doing your research. Luckily, my friend Rachel Zemser has the perfect resource for you. She has a book called the Food Business Toolkit that will help you understand everything about starting a food business from formulation to regulation. Use the code MYFOODJOBROCKS at the checkout for 10% off not only the book, but it also applies to an hour of consulting. As someone who’s started their own food business, acquiring knowledge is super important. You can find the book here: https://alacarteconnections.com/shop/ Money will come and go, but you’ll always run out of time so it’s very important to get the knowledge necessary to move forward. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I’m an Attorney for Intellectual property and startup law Intellectual Property – At its core, it’s an idea. Not only recipes but logos and slogans (trademarks) and copyright law (screenplays, movies, songs, literary things) Provisional Patents Utility Patent Design Patent Copyright Trade Secrets Non-disclosure Agreement When does an NDA take effect? What are the options available for starting a company? First, write down a narrative. Are you having cofounders? Are you raising? Do you have any proprietary technology? Depending on what you write down, is what you should set up LLC C-Corp Preferred Stock Common Stock Board of Directors If you’re going to a VC firm, just get a C-Corp S-corp Any other advice: Choose your cofounder wisely. Your cofounder needs to fill a need. Fiscal Cliff 4 year vesting schedule with a  1 year cliff Why does your Food Job Rock?: I get to work with these amazingly passionate people Pilot Works Kenny Lao In Manhattan New York, you can hop place to place and meet people Equinox Hot Tub Business Area Book Recommendations: Oscar Wilde (Dorian Grey). Entrepreneur Circle Scholarship ENDS SEPT 30 What would you do for a $1000?: Register my company and use the rest to cheaply make a logo. The rest, you need to hustle out. Instagram: cohnlegalgroup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think of High-Pressure Processing, you might think guacamole, or hummus, or juices, but can you do it for a snack bar? Brenden Schaefer has spent the last three years developing a fresh-tasting fruit and vegetable bar that’s sold in retail such as Whole Foods, etc. Brenden knows his stuff, and there’s a reason why. He worked for one of the biggest food company in the world, Pepsi! He advised the CEO Indra Noori directly making tough decisions based off of data. He took this experience and brought it to marketing emerging brands such as IZZE and ONE coconut water With this experience in tow, Brenden started Bright Foods and has been doing super well. Find out not only about the technology of High-pressure Processing but also about how Brenden switched from one expertise to another and how he progressed through the food industry by starting out, loving music. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by TraceGains! Why not speed up new product development with TraceGains. With 25,000 suppliers, 200,000 ingredients and items, and a million supplier documents like an organic, allergen, non-GMO at your fingertips, sourcing and supplier approval is a snap. Plug in and go faster with TraceGains. Talk to a TraceGains representative to receive a demo and discount just for listening to this podcast head over to https://www.tracegains.com/npd-podcast today for more information! Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do?: I’m an entrepreneur and I started my own food company about 3 years ago. Bright Foods is a new, organic refrigerated bar that uses High-Pressure Processing Naked Juice What were you doing for college?: I was a musician at first and at a difficult time in my life, I just cooked and started to develop a love for food. I spent a summer working at Berkeley California, Food PR firm. I starting loving food more than music. After college, I bought a one way ticket to Paris to try and meet this bass player I worked for a small food company in New York, wasn’t for me, and then someone told me to get into management consulting. I did my research and learned how to read case studies Management consulting answers big strategic questions After a while, it hit me I wanted to create a food company and I got in the strategic position where I gave advice to the CEO directly How did you jump completely into different roles?: painting by numbers and going through the motion. Thinking methodically really helped me break down problems to solve solutions. What’s the best way for me to go here from there. Propel Naked Juice ONE What didn’t you know when you started Bright Foods?: The whole manufacturing side What did having a corporate background teach you?: There’s a big difference between managing teams at a high level versus stressing about fixing a machine to get your order in soon The Hard Thing About Hard Things Creativity Inc How to Meditate Tools of Titans Vipassana Meditation Advice to start your own food business?: Connecting with people who are qualified and well-informed and ask them how to figure it out. The more specific you are, the better Where can we find you for advice?: @eatbrightfoods, @bhschaffer, Sometimes I post on LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you are looking at the field of sensory, then this is the episode for you! This is probably the most technical sensory episode we’ve had so far as we learn about new sensory techniques, what type of groups should do what type of sensory and also, great tips on how to sensory test for kids! Emily Kimmins from KraftHeinz does a great job explaining the purpose of sensory, and how focusing your testing parameters and delivering compelling data allows you to convince a global organization that everything will be alright: that you can do a global launch for a product. But even if you aren’t a huge company, Emily and I still discuss great tips for small businesses or one-man sensory teams. You’ll also get to hear about Emily’s first sensory job, which involved working with Dentures, and how she got into the food industry. Like many, it’s usually never a straight path. Sponsor People have been saying My Food Job Rocks is a great food business podcast. If you’re a food entrepreneur or want to become one, I highly suggest doing your research. Luckily, my friend Rachel Zemser has the perfect resource for you. She has a book called the Food Business Toolkit that will help you understand everything about starting a food business from formulation to regulation. Use the code MYFOODJOBROCKS at the checkout for 10% off not only the book, but it also applies to an hour of consulting. As someone who’s started their own food business, acquiring knowledge is super important. You can find the book here: https://alacarteconnections.com/shop/ Money will come and go, but you’ll always run out of time so it’s very important to get the knowledge necessary to move forward. Show Notes What do you do for a living?: I’m a sensory scientist at Kraft Heinz Kraft Mac and Cheese Canadian pushback Type II Error For sensory, we need to make sure to mitigate risk using data Tetrad Method – a more statistically robust method How much data does someone need to be convinced that something is fine?: It’s not about data or the amount, it’s if you have enough 3 different types of consumers: Internal or sensory acuity – discrimination testing or technical evaluations for product development Professional tasters – Come in 2 hours a day 4 hours a week. Trained panelists to describe and quantify tastes Consumer testing – Huge amounts of people but very simple answers All employees go through sensory tasting View on Supertasters – When they discovered it, it was very helpful to our field because it introduced a new scale PROP paper The easiest way to describe the taste is to compare it to something We do a lot of “always like something else” Background: Emily has a degree in biology and went to pre-pharma. I switched mindway and just said I wanted a science job I asked a temp agency to get me any science job First Job: Proctor and Gamble products and worked with their Dentures. Next job was the flavor industry Givaudan Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to switch job roles?: Explore and talk to different managers. Explore early! Any advice for kid sensory testing: Separate genders, or do take-home/home-use tests How big’s your sensory team?: 4 food technologists and 4 food technicians What type of food trends and technologies are happening right now?: We want more reactionable data. For example, facial recognition and Tinder sensory We need to reduce the amount of thinking time What is one thing you’d like to know about the food industry?: Food supply chain. I’d like to spend more time with the farmers What’s your favorite kitchen item?: a 4-quart pot that I use for everything (I call it the everything pot) also a kitchen pot. I'm currently using the instatpot What’s a recent favorite food?: Recently went to a restaurant and it has an interesting Poke dish with cubed seared rice and topped with spicy tuna Girl and Goat The Safehouse – secret restaurant Society of Sensory Professionals IFT has a great sensory division How do we find you?: Linkedin is the best way Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest today is Dr. Maya M Warren, Sr. Director of International Research and Development and the Tastemaster at Cold Stone Creamery. I’ve seen Maya twice on TV. One on an episode of the Amazing Race with Amy DeJong (a podcast guest from way back) and last Christmas at my Grandma’s house watching Dr. Oz (my grandma loves the show, not me). Anyways, I had to get her on the show so I asked Amy for Maya’s contact and we went from there. Thanks Amy! Maya is a delight to talk to as the first thing you notice about her is that she absolutely loves what she does. I mean, she has her PhD in ice cream, gets to travel the world formulating ice cream, and gets to be on TV to talk about ice cream! She lives and breathes it. Maya and I talk about the fact that she didn’t even know about food science until midway through college, and even though her college didn’t offer food science, that did not stop her from working mornings at a processing plant and doing her thesis solely on ice cream. You’ll also learn a bunch of other stuff like how Maya and Amy got on the Amazing Race, how to communicate with foreign product developers, and how Maya expresses her passion for ice cream in multiple ways. Also, you’ll learn super valuable tips on creating your own ice cream and how to optimize your home ice cream experience. By the way, if you’re listening to this in July, happy ice cream month! Sponsor People have been saying My Food Job Rocks is a great food business podcast. If you’re a food entrepreneur or want to become one, I highly suggest doing your research. Luckily, my friend Rachel Zemser has the perfect resource for you. She has a book called the Food Business Toolkit that will help you understand everything about starting a food business from formulation to regulation. Use the code MYFOODJOBROCKS at the checkout for 10% off not only the book, but it also applies to an hour of consulting. As someone who’s started their own food business, acquiring knowledge is super important. You can find the book here: https://alacarteconnections.com/shop/ Money will come and go, but you’ll always run out of time so it’s very important to get the knowledge necessary to move forward. Show Notes Winners of the Amazing Race (Season 25) Amy DeJong Interview Dr. Oz and Low-Calorie Ice Cream How do you get on Dr. Oz?: They found me because of being on the race Coldstone Tastemaster How do you describe yourself?: I make people smile Coldstone: 33 countries A big part of what I do is to modify the formulation of ice cream in different countries. How different is ice cream in other countries?: The global landscape of ice cream is different everywhere. For example, US has 10% milkfat and has to be cow milk. Some countries don’t have a legal definition. How did you hear about food science?: I never did until I saw how bacon-flavored soda was made. Carleton College Unwrapped Malt-o-meal company Richard Hartel UW Madison Coldstone was my first job. They found me on the Amazing Race Coldstone uses granite slab Skillsets in your job: Being able to formulate, work in excel and communicate especially in different countries. Sensory science is great as well Skillset for: Bench-top to scale-up: Be aware that things can change Skillset for: Communicating with people in other countries: I mainly communicate with the experts in that country’s field. The dairy and food engineers in that country. Sometimes they use outside consultants to translate. Why Does Your Food Job Rock?:  I love ice cream, and I want to share my love of it to the world. What type of food trends and technologies are exciting you?: We are embracing other people’s foods now McDonald's flavors around the world Turmeric Ube Personalized nutrition Favorite Flavor recently: Brown Sugar Texture Innovations: Gelatinized Starch and Chia textures Chia Pets Flavor is usually showcased through money and exposure Halo Top Is Halo Top actually healthy? Same with Plant-based burgers. Is it healthy? One thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Plant (or other) alternatives for milk Perfect Day Ice Cream Ben and Jerry’s CBD ice cream Ice Cream Maker – Happy Joy Batch Freezer Remember: The freezer can really abuse ice cream My ice cream is really hard and my spoon bends: bad formulation or no overrun Twitter: @mayawarren Maya M Warren Official Website: MayaWarren.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You are listening to a bonus episode where I talk about my actual day job at the Concept to Consumption podcast. I talk with Gary Nowacki, the CEO of TraceGains! So you’ll learn mainly about how I think about things and my thought process on innovation. I talk a lot about growing Better Meat Co and the steps it took to do so. A big portion of the interview is also about analyzing the current plant-based meat landscape, and how the players, both the restaurant and the manufacturers are differentiating themselves. Enjoy this one, I love to talk shop and I appreciate Gary’s team for letting me do so. No ads this time, this one’s a freebie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today you are listening to episode 180 with Alexander Zox, New Business Development Lead and Dianna Rogers, Director of Account Services and New Business Development at BrandFirst Creative Agency. BrandFirst Creative Agency specializes in branding food companies form confections to food tech. They were the main creative agency behind the Alt Protein Show and I bumped into them at Expo West This episode was recorded a bit earlier, but the main reason was that I wanted to coincide with BrandFirst’s newest podcast, Innovativeness. You can find that in the show notes with their first episode with Victor Santos Director of the Cellular Meat, at JUST who I met at the Cultured Meat Symposium. This podcast is a great overview of the landscape and language in the food tech world. We talk a lot about how the current food tech players are communicating right now, and how language is a huge thing to consider when communicating something new. About Dianna As Director of Brand Strategy and New Business, Dianna is a strategic thinker with over 12 years of experience in developing cohesive brand experiences. Driven and detail-oriented, Dianna is inquisitive and analytical by nature with an ability to think creatively and find unconventional solutions to tough challenges. She is also a multi-tasker who is responsible for account leadership, project management and new business initiatives. About Alex As the Strategic and New Business development lead at Brand First Alex tries to focus on forward thinking and finding unique and successful solutions for our clients. He grew up in NYC among a family of fine artists. He would watch his father, an abstract painter, and mother, a textile designer, constantly create and debate creativity. His love of all things culinary and his passion for science all help to connect him to his passion for communicating with some of the industry’s leading innovators. His ability to challenge the conventional and push the boundaries leads to different perspectives that can yield new and exciting results, both conversationally and in a practical sense. Show Notes Expo West Expo West Brand First Article Sprouted ventures What do you say in a sentence or less?: Dianna: I work for a branding agency. We work on naming and branding and packaging for upcoming brands. Alex: I work for a design studio but research what is going on in the food space Alternative Protein Show Brand First specializes in: Food and Beverage, Healthcare, Confections and others. It's a 30-year-old company We started with working with M and M’s Mars and went from there Olivia Fox Cabane We started podcasting in December. (Eventually, we created our own podcast) Abbott’s Butcher Cow with the Cape Beyond Meat Impossible Foods cartoon Elmhurst Milkadamia Good Catch Silk Rebrand Hippeas Smashmallow Instagram Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today: Diana: In Brand First, I started as a proof reader and copy writer. I evolved account manager and then business development Alex and I actually worked together in the entertaiDiscussionnment industry Alex: My Father was a painter, my mother was a textile designer Sara Lawrence College: Studied Liberal Arts Alsace Restaurant: Alsace in between France and Germany How was the booking agency?: Cover bands have big egos Science Needs a platform JUST- Victor Santo – Moderated a panel with him Cellular Agriculture CRISPR GMO Sally Squires Vegan baggage word Adding eggs and calling it plant-based What is the biggest challenge the food industry is trying to face: plastics and packaging General Mills – Regenerative Agriculture Joseph Robertson Paul Shapiro’s book Clean Meat War and Peace Modern Meadows Favorite Book: Thomas Monds Budden Brooks – a quarter of the book is depicting a meal Kitchen Confidential Michael Pollan’s Book How to Change Your Mind Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire BrandFirstnj.com Range Me LinkedIn: Dianna Rogers and Alexander Zox Food Marketing Institute Emerge   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zachary Lones started working as a cashier at Sam’s Club (which I didn’t know was owned by WalMart) and rose through the ranks from a business associate to multiple levels of managers and landed in the director’s seat 8 years later. I saw his story on LinkedIn and I thought, Zachary would be a great podcast guest. A lot of people want to get promoted, especially in a large company and Zach has done it so many times and I wanted to distill the method on how he did it. This is great episode about climbing up the ranks, but I think the heart of this episode is what Zachary’s mission in life is, and how being promoted allows him to accomplish it. He empowers and showcases people through media the people at Walmart who love their jobs. From the cashier to the janitor. About Zachary 11 years ago I began as a cashier at Sam’s club, climbed the store ladder til I was running stores at Walmart, today I am the Local Social & Walmart World Director. My aim is to use my job to do work that makes the world a better place. My current role let’s me connect the dots of our past with our future in a way that helps Associates grow as individuals. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Salt of the Earth. During IFT, I went to their booth. They were serving vegetarian meatballs and mac and cheese using Mediterranean umami. I would say, it was probably the best meatball made of pea protein I’ve tasted. Mediterranean Umami brings a rich, savory component while being clean label and reduces sodium and made with simple ingredients such as tomatoes, sea salt, seaweed, and mushrooms. Ask my friend David for a bottle of Mediterranean Umami any time by emailing  info@salt.co.il Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I’m trying to improve the world one customer, one associate, one person at a time. What is your official title?: Director of local social media and associate magazine I started as a Cashier at Sam’s Club (owned by Walmart) then I was a business associate department manager assistant manager co-manager store manager Director Any advice on climbing the ladder?: If you’re doing a good job and working hard and someone’s asking you to do more, you should do it and say yes. Why did you decide to go into management?: I could impact more people being a manager How does structure work?: Hourly positions, then there’s different levels of management. Supervisors, managers, support managers, assistant managers, co-managers What was the story from switching from Manager to Director?: Every Walmart has its own Facebook page. I took charge of their facebook page and it was one of the best. The CMO noticed this and challenged me to teach other people to do social media Zachary Lones post about social media Social media has a tremendous amount of reach for my area and can let them know about the people who work there. It boosts moral for the associates and they can serve more customers Servant Leadership Comic: If you go to school, you’ll never have to end like that guy: If you go to school, you’ll make a better place for that guy What’s wrong with the guy cleaning up the road? What’s the value of a magazine?: to showcase amazing people and improves the company culture It’s plain ordinary folk that change the world If the company doesn’t celebrate the people and the culture, the people might be looking into other stories and Why does your job rock?: You can be anyone in the world and there is a job for you in this company and you can give people real opportunity to change the world What kind of cool technology is happening right now?: There’s services where you can text someone to find a perfect gift for a customer. How do we digitally serve the customer and give the same WalMart experience? What have you noticed in terms of buying things in different generations? We purchase things through Instagram We have Walmart groceries delivered to our house We do go to the store but mainly to get out of the house and have our daughters be immersed outside We don’t shop because we have to, but because it’s the experience Retail might be more experience focused now Bruce Willis Surrogates We might be living in a world where we stay in our home forever Favorite Quote: Tupac Shakur – I may not change the world but I guarantee I may spark the brain that will change the world. Favorite Book: I commit to read about 25 pages a day. I like books because I can write in it. I went to college for Jewish Studies and read the Bible a lot A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger My Book List for Creative People The Coaching Habit Any advice for anyone who wants to climb the career ladder?: There’s an entrepreneur culture of running off and live your passion and whatnot. You can also do this as an Intraprenuer. I can have a purpose in a company as long as I change my mindset My Personal Mission Statement: How do I change the world one person at a time? Into The Spiderverse Where can we find you for advice?: I’m on instagram@zacharyelones and LinkedIn: Zachary P Lones or Zacharyplones@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices