ContenderCast with Justin Honaman

With just six simple ingredients, these cookies were designed for purists. They use the best quality peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup to create a cookie that is somewhere between fudge and cookie in texture. Meet Mightylicious! CEO Carolyn Haeler joins Justin to discuss this fast-growing brand.

ShipLab is a San Diego based fulfillment center that is focused on providing simple and effective order fulfillment and inventory management to help entrepreneurs focus on growing their business, not just maintaining it. Co-founder Alan Silberstein joins Justin to discuss launching and growing the business.

Jamie and his sons were sitting around the campfire having a few beers and talking about beer, naturally. His oldest was about to leave for college, so Jamie encouraged him to think for himself when it came to drinking alcohol, regardless of the peanut gallery's opinions. Making a rational choice feels pretty damn radical...so why not screw the rules, make that radical choice and own the moment? T...

AMC Global delivers insights from real consumers in real markets to help you optimize your launch strategies. Shira Horn, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Innovation, joins Justin to discuss market research, insights and analytics that power product innovation and launch.

Pickytarian, an e-commerce brand that creates stylish, sturdy, and compostable tableware for special occasions. Pickytarian stemmed from a desire to elevate an experience that is often riddled with single-use plastics, outdated designs, and subpar offerings. Pickytarian creates dinnerware products that are beautifully designed, elegant, sturdy, compostable, and disposable. Their tableware products...

What do you do when you want your Bloody Mary but can't carry along all of the ingredients to mix the drink? You grab a MaryCan! Premium canned cocktails – cocktails on the go – are a fast-growing category and the team at Bar2Table is working hard to introduce your favorite cocktails, with great taste, the highest quality and in great packaging. Charlton Gronlund joins Justin for a "Part 2" to dis...

Razer Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company that makes, develops and sells consumer electronics, financial services, and gaming hardware. The brand was founded in 1998, then re-founded in 2005 by Min-Liang Tan and Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, although the business originated in 1999 in the US. Bob Ohlweiler, SVP of Global Sales & Marketing, joins Justin to discuss this...

As a mom, Dionne Laslo-Baker wanted to show her kids that real food can be delicious without adding malic acid, artificial colors, or artificial flavors. So she brought her PhD in Medical Science from the lab to the kitchen and created products she would be proud to give her own family. She also wanted to prove that business can be a force for good—helping to create a more colorful world filled wi...

Baijiu (pronounced bye-j'yo) means "white spirits" in Mandarin. It is a diverse drinks category that includes all traditional Chinese grain spirits. Most baijiu is distilled from sorghum, but it can also be made from other crops. The techniques deployed in baijiu production vary greatly by region and style, and different styles of baijiu can be as distinct as whiskey is to tequila. Baijiu is the w...

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, also referred to as Tropical Smoothie, is a restaurant franchise in the United States that operates more than 1400 locations nationwide. Tropical Smoothie began as a smoothie shop in 1993 along the panhandle of Florida. Tropical Smoothie Franchise Development Corporation was founded in 1997 in Destin, Florida, and the first franchised store opened in 1998 in Tallahassee, Fl...

Fresh Press Farms are the makers of homegrown, cold pressed cooking oils. Crafting oil like this means they capture the best of the olive...or peanut, pecan, or sunflower seed because they make those oils, too! CEO Frederic Lebourg joins Justin to discuss this fast-growing brand.

Crisp Power. Your go-to for functional food with just 6g of net carbs and a whopping 28g of plant based protein per pack [1.75oz (50g)]. It's not just a snack; it's a revolution! Gilad Zilberberg joins Justin to discuss this fast-growing, innovative snack brand!

It all started when Diane's sister took a trip to India over 15 years ago, where she learned about the health and taste benefits of sprouted almonds. When you soak almonds in water for a long period of time, they "sprout". The result is easier to digest + more nutrient dense + crunchier almonds! Inspired by these health benefits + the "sprouted-nut-crunch", Diane began sprouting almonds and then d...

The LittleOak Company is on a mission to create products that care equally for our little ones and the world they will grow into. They believe that nothing can prepare our children for the world more than the world itself. Nature, after all, is our greatest provider. This is why they fell in love with the natural benefits of fresh goat milk and use it in our range of toddler drinks. Founder Elke P...

NYC is widely considered one of the most diverse cities in the world, with people, music, and FOOD from all over! After several years of cooking in some of the top restaurants in the city, Founder Alton But noticed that the non-alcoholic beverage pairings could have been more inspiring. NYC has some of the best Asian cuisines outside of Asia, only for the meals to be paired with the same old sodas...

Elyse and her husband and business partner, Nick, seemingly have done it all. Together, they faced the notorious Sharks of ABC's Shark Tank, sold millions of bagels on live TV, invented multiple successful lines of frozen breakfast items, and built their company into a recognized national brand. But they have also faced challenge. In pursuit of their dream, Elyse and Nick spent seven days a week,...

Miles Marmo is a failed professional athlete turned marketing agency and brand owner. As the Co-Founder of Agency Squid and Stage Seven Tequila, he brings a wealth of consumer goods knowledge to every brand he develops. Prior to starting his own agency and tequila brand, he spent years at one of the leading RTD beverage brands in the US. As a trained strategist, Miles works to blend business acume...

With the arrival of her daughter in 2018, Emily Groden (Founder and CEO) knew she would not have as much time to cook. She needed a new go-to: something that was simple, tasty, and truly nourishing. But frozen waffles? Are they simple? Yes. Tasty? Definitely. Nourishing? Uh… no. It's a classic tale of a mom, a mission, and a waffle maker. Cramming all the good stuff like fruits, veggies, nuts and...

Moss Pure was created during a startup competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June 2020, where it won First Place Startup in Track 1B: Health, Energy, and Waste Management (MIT Lebanon Challenge). It then went on to participate in the United Nations Development Programme where it won Top 10 Startup in August 2020. While most moss wall companies use preserved moss that is...

Amante, the Italian word for lover, is designed to stimulate the senses and inspire a life of passion. LA DELIZIOSA VITA, the delicious life. Hailing from the historic Il Palagio 1530 estate in Tuscany, this latest innovation in amaro offers a new take on an old classic; combining aromas of Italian citrus, ginger and honeysuckle to help you enjoy a unique bittersweet taste and a thoroughly delicio...

Based in Las Vegas, Noovo introduces two groundbreaking models in 2024: Noovo Lite and the innovative Noovo Plus, the 'First Super High Roof Camper Van in the US. Designed for the evolving needs of remote workers, retirees, travel nurses, and adventurers, these vans represent our vision of seamless integration between life's work and pleasures. These vans are ideal for full-time van living. Co-fou...

Renewal Logistics provides fulfillment solutions tailored to accommodate each brand's unique needs. Renewal streamlines the supply chain with customizable value-added services supporting direct-to-consumer, retail brick-n-mortar and ecommerce marketplaces routes to market. Founder and CEO Courtney Folk joins Justin to discuss this fast-growing CPG service brand!

Rebecca van Bergen is the Founder and Executive Director of Nest, a nonprofit supporting the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan and maker economy to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion. Rebecca leads an organization that is partnering with brand leaders such as Etsy, Madewell, Patagonia, Target and West Elm to improve transparency, social wellbeing,...

Lovers of snacks, devotees of quality food. This shared passion was met with an equally shared frustration that the snacks they loved the most often made them feel the worst. So the team at Myna Snacks set out on a journey to create the most craveable, poppable, feel-good snacks of all time. Real ingredients, sustainably sourced, vitamin D, no gluten, no GMOs, nothing artificial. Better snacks mak...

La Gringuita Cookies in Palm Beach County offers quarter pound gourmet cookies made with premium ingredients and handcrafted with lots of love. The frozen CookiDough, however, is what sets this business apart. Now you can bake these jumbo cookies in the comfort of your own home by purchasing the preformed frozen CookiDough balls. Founder and CEO Caroline McGinley joins Justin to discuss this fast-...