In the Sauce

Megan Bent is the founder of Harbinger Ventures, an investment firm specializing in early-stage consumer brands led by exceptional female or mixed-gender founding teams. On this episode of ITS, Megan and Ali talk about the state of the CPG industry and what founders in today's environment can do to build smart companies with solid fundamentals, strong voices, and clear value for consumers.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.  

Jamila Owens-Todd is the owner of Golden Grocer, a natural health food store in St. Louis that has served the community for 40 years. A practicing Naturopath, Jamila took the helm at Golden Grocer after years of sending her patients there, just before COVID changed everything. On this episode of ITS, Jamila tells Ali her story, the story of Golden Grocer, and how she sees her store as a force of healing, not only for her community, and not only physically.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.  

John Foraker is Co-Founder and CEO of Once Upon a Farm and has spent more than 30 years in the natural and organic food industry, running businesses (Annie's for one) with a sharp focus on sustainability and social responsibility. On this episode of In the Sauce, John shares his hard-earned wisdom about the natural food industry: From mission and core consumers to dealing with grocery buyers and trade spend. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Monisha Khushalani is CFO at Hu Products, the better for you snacks company known for their chocolate bars and hunks. On this epiosode of ITS, Monisha walks Ali through the finance piece of the puzzle: Accounting, modeling, cash flow, and more. And Monisha should know, she has led 3 companies through aquistions by the CPG "Big Guys," including Sir Kensington's sale to Unilever and Mondalez's recent purchase of Hu. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.  

Marissa Dobbins and Courtnie Beceiro are the General Manager and Brand Director at Haven's Kitchen. With Ali on vacation this week, the two of them take over ITS to talk about their experience leaving Fresh Direct to build a start up, their management styles, and how to work with a Founder (hint: learn how to say "no" to them...).Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.   

Jing Gao is the Founder of Fly by Jing, the super popular spice and condiment company on a mission to bring premium, natural, uncensored Chinese flavors to the table. On this episode of ITS, Jing tells Ali her story, and the story of Fly by Jing. They discuss Fly by Jing in the broader context of centuries of false narratives about Chinese food in the US, and how a refresh of the brand led Jing to reclaim her name after 25 years.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.  

Alex Center is a designer and founder of the branding company CENTER. Prior to building his own studio, Alex worked at Coca-Cola, where he became Design Director, for 11 years. On this episode of ITS, Alex and Ali talk about what makes iconic brands magical, why packaging is just one part of a larger ecosystem (hint: you must also have a great product and the people are key), and why the best brands make you feel like a superhero.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.  

Adam Brown is the Founder and CEO of Sircle Media, a Social Media Strategy Firm based in New York. On this episode of ITS, Adam and Ali cover everything Social: from channel strategy to what Adam refers to as a "360 campaign." Social, according to Adam, is a paid game, so learn the rules, figure out where the secret mushrooms are, and play.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.  

Madeline Haydon is the founder and CEO of Nutpods, the unbelievably successful dairy-free creamer that launched with a Kickstarter campaign in 2013. On this episode of ITS, Madeline tells Ali the Nutpods story, shares her lessons for building a successful business, and explains why it's so critical that we know who we are, what makes us different and how we plan on challenging the status quo.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.  

Adam Epstein is VP of Growth at Perpetua, a software company that helps brands maximize their visability (and sales!) on Amazon, Instacart, and many other e-commerce channels. On this episode of ITS, Adam walks Ali through how Perpetua works, how investing in Instacart ads early can help a brand, how to maximize Amazon ads, and the massive opportunity we're all missing if we don't think of all of the ecomm channels as potential marketplaces. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support In The Sauce by becoming a member!In The Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.