NexxtLevel Brands Podcast

In our previous episode, we talked about having a great idea for a food product and how to consult the Food Innovation Center about creating it, but Greg Vetter of Tessemae's simply brought in a tub of lettuce with his secret dressing on it and walked out of a Whole Foods buyer meeting with an order. After selling 600+ bottles in five days simply doing in-store demos, Tessemae’s dressing became an...

Do you have a prize-winning recipe that you think could make a great product to sell at retail? The Food Innovation Center is ready to help you convert your grandma’s secret sauce recipe into a retail-ready, safe, scalable product that’s ready for the grocery store shelf. My guest today has been called the million-dollar palate because she is leading that team that is able to transform your next b...

This show originally aired in April of 2021. It was a great interview worthy of another listen.  Howard Kaufman is the Co-Founder and CEO at ORL, an emerging organic and natural oral care brand. ORL toothpastes, mouthwashes, and breath sprays are formulated to achieve a perfect 7.0 pH balance, which allows your mouth to naturally remineralize, clean, and refresh with organic and natural ingredient...

My guests today are Ani Collum and Doug Siegel, the co-founders of Zolt, a company that offers “plant-powered super drink” powders with amazing functional ingredients like reishi mushrooms, ashwagandha root, green and black tea, guarana, and many more.  Each formulation of adaptogens, antioxidants, and terpene botanicals is tailored to key areas of human function like sleep, immunity, energy, bala...

99% of people agree that food waste is a problem.  The pandemic has accelerated many trends around the world, and reducing food waste is now at the forefront of the movement to reduce greenhouse gases and global warming.  Thousands of major CPG brands and companies worldwide have “sustainability” goals that need to be met.  One way they can meet these goals and increase profits is by using upcycle...

Whether you are a decades-old brand or a start-up, there are do’s and don’ts to building your brand.  Paul McDowall and Catherine Clark, founders of ClarkMcDowell agency, are here to share their insights on a few brands they’ve worked with through the years. Clarkmcdowall has three approaches to brand building: creating from scratch, transforming, and amplifying. We’ll hear about the transformatio...

Did you ever think to yourself, “I could make a better smoothie than this!”?  Our guest today had the same thought.  Ted Volz is the founder of Clean Energy, a one-man operation that began producing clean label, fully organic, shelf-stable, one serving smoothie packets.  He did all the research, ran the numbers, found a co-packer and 3PL provider, and put out a terrific product that is getting rav...

Do you want to know how the health and wellness trends of your customers may impact your business as the industry evolves?  Join us for a discussion of the Murphy Research “State of Our Health Overview” that reports how we define health and wellness, how important are they in our daily lives, and how attitudes towards fitness and nutrition affect purchasing behavior, technology adoption, and perso...

My guest today has already given us one inspiring and insightful episode, and I’m excited to welcome him back for an update. Jim Simon from JiMMYBAR! is a gifted serial entrepreneur who has built JiMMYBAR! into an innovative powerhouse in the CPG sector. In this episode, we’ll discuss some of the challenges JiMMYBAR! faced during the early days of Covid, and how they were able to turn a dire situa...

Udo Erasmus is the Co-founder of Udo's Choice, a health brand that can be found in Whole Foods and other health food stores nationwide. He began his natural food career by designing the machinery for making oils with health in mind and pioneering flax oil, which is now a billion-dollar industry.  Today, Udo is an acclaimed speaker and author of many books including the bestseller, Fats That Heal,...

Elizabeth Edwards is the Founder and Managing Partner of H Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in science-based consumer products brands. She has been in the venture capital space for over 17 years. Before launching H Venture Partners, Elizabeth invested in over 45 companies including Peloton, Freshly, and Roots. Today, H Venture Partners has led brands to become household names...

Andrew Criezis is the General Manager for small and medium-sized businesses at NielsenIQ. Before joining NielsenIQ, he was the Chief Product Officer during the creation and launch of a new best-in-class CPG platform called Byzzer, which helps small CPG manufacturers win more market share with actionable retail data insights. His track record of success is best exemplified in global operations and...

Sean Lake is a Co-founder at BUBS Naturals, a line of collagen peptides and other all-natural supplements. He is a former professional snowboarder who went on to Burton Snowboards, worked as Shaun White's team manager, and landed a spot as the Director of Sports Marketing at DC Shoes. After decades in action sports marketing, Sean co-founded BUBS Naturals. BUBS was named after Sean's childhood bes...

Caroline Adams is a Client Project Manager at Bobsled Marketing, an agency that helps brands scale on Amazon. As a marketing expert, Caroline specializes in brand management, new product development, and marketing communications with a focus on consumer goods in both brick and mortar and e-commerce channels. She has mastered the Amazon 1P and 3P business models, driving increased sales for various...

Hector Saldívar is the Founder and Owner of Tia Lupita Foods, a better-for-you, healthy Mexican-inspired food brand that uses clean and simple ingredients in all its products. Tia Lupita is also the first brand to introduce the nopal cactus as an alternative, functional, and sustainable ingredient in the US market.  Hector was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and later earned a bachelor's degree in inte...

Andrew Suzuka is the Founder of Otamot Foods, a brand that makes organic and veggie-filled tomato sauces. Otamot Foods was launched in 2019 after adding some veggies to a pizza sauce he was making for his daughter, Evelyn. The brand's sauce is now sold in over 1,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Kroger, Fresh Thyme Market, and others. If the name looks familiar, that’s because it is: “Otamot” is...

Natasha Davis, affectionately known as “The Chief Visionary”, is a brand strategist, government contractor, strategic planner, registered nurse, and the Owner of Impact Branding Consulting. She emerged as a branding strategist and corporate trainer in 2007 with the launch of her third company, Impact Branding Consulting. Her specialty is helping executives, entrepreneurs, and companies create bran...

Maureen Mwangi is the Founder and CEO of Startward Consulting, a growth firm for product brands, and the Host of The Product Entrepreneur Podcast . Maureen is a storied brand growth strategist who has worked with some of America's most lovable brands like L'Oreal, Dove, Lay's, and Chobani. She is the Creator of Big Brand Academy and the Product Profit Lab, where she shares her expertise with produ...

Ken Ojuka is the Founder and CEO of Fiddle, an inventory platform for CPG brands and manufacturers. Fiddle helps small businesses move their spreadsheets to an innovative software that ensures visibility, accuracy, and high-growth management. Before starting Fiddle, Ken was the Founder of Webular, LLC and a Corporate Account Manager for AtTask Inc. He has a background in health and wellness, fitne...

Annalea Krebs is the Founder and CEO of Social Nature, a product discovery and trial platform in the better-for-you space. Since 2015, Social Nature has helped over 500 food and health brands launch their products into retailers like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Walmart, and more. Today, there are almost one million shoppers across North America who use Social Nature to help them switch to better product...

Michele Davis is the President and CEO of Cocacao, a healthy and delicious chocolate company based in Beaverton, Oregon. After her 26-year marriage ended in divorce and she was left with no job, Michele left her comfort zone. She headed to Portland and helped co-found Cocacao with her new partner, Jeffrey Davis. She is also a mother of four, a stepmother, and a grandmother to 13. Here’s a glimpse...

Yuval Selik is the Co-founder and CEO of Promomash, a software and services platform that helps emerging CPG brands dominate their promotions in stores and on the field. Yuval co-founded Promomash after facing various retail execution challenges with his own organic skincare brand, L’uvalla. Now, his mission is to help emerging brands thrive on the retail shelves by leveraging their technology and...

Lori Taylor is the Founder and CEO of The Produce Moms, a widely recognized consumer brand that is devoted to bringing fresh produce to everyone’s table. She has sold fresh produce to retailers for more than 10 years and often appears in the media as a produce industry spokesperson.  Lori is the host of The  Produce Moms Podcast, a seasoned keynote speaker, and a recipient of many produce industry...

Tim Angelillo is the Founder and CEO of Sourced Craft Cocktails, a craft cocktail home delivery service. The Austin-based company currently serves customers from 10 US states and enterprise clients like Tinder and Grubhub.  Tim has vast experience in running divisions of publicly traded companies and has worked with companies like Yahoo! and Time Warner. He has also founded different startup busin...

Les Hine is the CEO and Executive Vice President of Global Brand Strategy and Planning at Otsuka Nutraceutical Emerging Ventures (ONCE Ventures). He joined ONCE Ventures in 2016, starting out with a focus on corporate strategy and M&A.  Before joining ONCE Ventures, Les was the Chief Strategy Officer of Pharmavite, spent four years as the President and CEO of Mxi Technologies, and two years as...