jobTopia with Tony Moore

"Franchising is king!" There is a misconception that huge conglomerates own all their stores but in reality, many have opted to franchise the business to small business entrepreneurs. In this episode, I explore with Brady Lee, the positives and negatives of franchising and how to get started.  Misconceptions Liabilities What is the magic # of stores, the gold standard of expansion goals? Operation...

Welcome to food entrepreneurship! You have a great-tasting family recipe, and all your friends love your home-cooked masterpiece! Expanding to the farmer's market is a great first step, but are you prepared to solve the complex problems of a commercial kitchen and beyond because you can't produce enough product? Jamie Valenti Jordan is the perfect food expert to show all you home chefs how to scal...

In America, recycling is a massive failure. The low-value plastic which permeates seemingly every purchase is either buried or shipped elsewhere, but you can be sure it is still with us.  No Evil Foods CEO, Sadrah Schadel shares just how difficult it is to remove plastic from the supply chain, and why they chose to become a plastic-negative company.  Connect with Sadrah on LinkedIn: https://www.li...

WARNING! ~ Red Pill Ahead~ The majority of our food supply is produced within an industrial ecosystem.  Industrial animal agriculture produces nearly $108 billion lbs. of animal meat annually. Chicken meat contributes $50 billion lbs. - nearly half of all the meat produced. In order to achieve this volume, chicken brands use contract chicken farmers and meat processors to raise and harvest million...

Special first-time ordering discount code: Winningatwork15 Attracting consumers and converting them into loyal advocates is every marketer's dream! They obsess over tactics, channel performance, clicks, and conversion rates. Jennifer Versacci has built a career consistently achieving double-digit revenue and earnings growth and building brands across multiple categories, markets, and consumer segm...

By now you have heard about regenerative farming, permaculture, and sustainable supply chains. The Biggest Little Farm movie showed us what a complete ecosystem looks like, and how it all works together.  Today you will meet a mission-forward company that built a business around a similar mission. Zane Adams, Co-CEO of FedUp Foods joins me and Kevin Scott, the CPG expert to discuss their brand, Bu...

Consumers want science-backed functional products. It's not enough for your F&B product to taste good. It has to have health and wellness benefits. Are there unique challenges in growing a science-backed product? Matt Kovacs, the President of Blaze PR joins me with one of his clients, Afif Ghannoum, CEO of BIOHM Health to discuss his business strategy. Connect with Afif on LinkedIn: https://www.li...

Finding the whitespace in the market to carve out a niche is the first step to differentiating your brand.  What attributes do consumers want in an F&B brand? Will the consumer adopt your differentiation? Is it valuable to them?    Do you think you can start something from scratch? Do you have a great concept? Could you enter the most competitive and cutthroat city in the world (I'm talking about...

Consumers are disconnected from their food.  Farmers might as well live on Mars. For most Americans, we have no idea what it takes to deliver fresh fruit and vegetables. We simply show up at the grocery store and expect the food to be fresh and taste good.  I am on a journey to change this! I have been looking for more Agriculture businesses to interview on the podcast and learn about the food sys...

Phil Cox, the CEO of Legacy Food Storage, has a brilliant, straightforward approach to building a business through deal-making. He adheres to a few principles that guide him.  Phil makes this process seem so simple. His competitive advantage is HIS infrastructure and key partnerships. Now he can add additional businesses to his portfolio. I challenge all my friends and entrepreneurs out there to r...

I tend to shy away from podcasts about culture and leadership as they drift into soft and fuzzy feelings and are light on facts and practicality. So for those reasons, I was hesitant to interview Michael Kiolbassa, President of Kiolbassa Smoked Meats, about this topic.  I am not too proud to admit that I was dead wrong! What you are about to hear is one man's personal journey into vulnerability, h...

Eric Schmitt, VP of Rapids and Affiliates, joins me to discuss the news and trends affecting the Foodservice / QSR space for June.  We cover the news so you don't have to! Articles referenced here: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/nekter-juice-bar-enters-doordashs-ghost-kitchen https://fesmag.com/topics/the-latest-news/20297-smart-care-acquires-texas-service-agent https://fesmag.com/topics/the-lat...

Lauren McNamara, the Vice President & Assistant General Manager SunOpta, walks us through the strategic process of expanding and scaling a food brand in today's chaotic environment.  SunOpta - publicly traded on Nasdaq The business model includes ingredients, co-manufacturing, private label, retail, and foodservice Oat alternative dairy has advantages over Almond 5 growth strategies and ideas you...

Paula Costa Bravo's career arc extends from General Mills, Hersey's, and Kellogg's. These best-in-class brands taught her how to build a sustainable brand through customer and operator insights.  But her passion for people and culture lead her to Oregon Fruit Products where she combines all her talents to steer her company into new channels of growth.  Join me and Kevin Scott, the CPG expert, as w...

A culinary expert is passionate about cooking! The last thing they want to worry about is logistics, accounting, SAAS IT platforms, and sales. This is the genius behind HUNGRY's marketplace model connecting chefs to corporate catering gigs and events.  Jeff Grass, the CEO and co-founder of HUNGRY, and Jon Ebner,  the NYC market leader, unpack how HUNGRY is disrupting the $100 billion marketplace a...

The question I hear so often is "How do I" build a brand, get into retail or food service, find a broker or co-packer? These are important questions for first-time F&B entrepreneurs.  Lisa Curtis, the CEO and Founder of Kuli Kuli is the perfect interview for anyone asking "how do I" grow my business or anyone who loves a great success story.    Kuli Kuli is a native snack for many cultures around...

Hear the inside story of why one of the world's largest agricultural exporters of wheat, corn, soybean, lentils, peas, and dry beans transitioned into DTC (direct to consumer) by opening a massive supply line for more than 5,000 farmers.  Join me and Jeff Van Pevenage, the CEO of Columbia Grain International, with special guest host, Kevin Scott - the CPG expert, to learn the retail strategy behin...

Dr. Maha Tahiri has worked for the world's largest food brands: Mars, Coca-Cola, Danone, and General Mills.  As the Chief Health and Wellness Officer at General Mills, Maha managed a team of 40 international and multi-disciplinary nutrition and food scientists, dietitians, and public health experts to support business decisions.  Her passion is to help food brands, start-ups, and entrepreneurs tra...

So you want to launch a beverage brand but lack experience? Aimy Steadman, co-founder at BeatBox Beverages was in your shoes 10 years ago.  Now she is on a mission to build a multi-billion $$ beverage brand big enough to change the world.  Aimy Steadman, the COO, or as she playfully says on her LinkedIn profile, Founder and "Chief Get Sh*t Done Officer, shares her origin story and the remarkable r...

The volume of food waste and the compounded loss of resources for each and every fruit and vegetable that isn't "retail perfect" is staggering when you multiple the losses across the category. Fortunately, there is a new breed of entrepreneurs tackling food waste through upcycling, a commercial endeavor to reuse food that doesn't meet the rigorous retail standards, but by other measures is perfect...

The May F&B report Speed Shamed into losing weight Papa Johns SweetGreen Chipotle Outback Consumer trends About your Host Tony Moore and the Winning at Work podcast: Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to stay current on the trends shaping the $6 trillion food and beverage industry? My totally awesome brands featured here take us deep into the world of sustainability, plant-based,...

Chief Strategy Officer and food futurist, Liz Moskow, is an entrepreneur's dream connection. We all run into problems in business and need advice from a well-rounded expert. In this episode I want you to get familiar with her background and areas of expertise because I will invite her back to co-host a few episodes. She has opinions and isn't shy about telling them. I hope you all enjoy getting to...

Aaron Hinde, the co-founder and President of LIFEAID, explains how the 10-year overnight success came into being one of the top functional beverage brands. Functional drinks are claiming more retail shelf space and eCommerce has never been better for the category. But if you think your homemade brew is ready for primetime, STOP and listen to Aaron's authentic story of how his brand got a foothold...

First ever Food and Beverage report - enjoy 5 news articles that you may have missed. About your Host Tony Moore and the Winning at Work podcast: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/differentbetterspecialbrands/ Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to stay current on the trends shaping the $1.6 trillion food and beverage industry? My totally awesome brands featured here take us de...

Thaddeus Thorne, VP Foodservice at My/Mochi, details how to build service strategy from the ground up. Thaddeus and I discuss trends in food, inflation, and why he made a strategic job change from Sambazon.  Join us for a light-hearted podcast and don't forget to subscribe if you are loving the content. https://www.mymochi.com/   My/Mochi is a miraculous match of magnificent mochi dough with marve...