NexxtLevel Brands Podcast

Dinesh Tadepalli is the Co-Founder and Chief Spoon Seller of IncrEDIBLE Spoons by Planeteer. He is an engineer, angel investor, entrepreneur, and sales wizard who loves to find the best (and most frugal) ROI-based sales and distribution approaches to improve results. Dinesh also loves hiking and adventure with an immense passion and important mission: to leave the planet with the single goal of pr...

Kellie Lee is the Creator and CEO of Rowdy Bars. She is an active and avid backpacker, runner, and outdoor enthusiast—which led to the creation of the health food brand. Like many entrepreneurs, the company’s genesis came about after a personal health crisis. After many hours in the kitchen, Kellie found herself perfecting an energy bar with the hopes of developing a snack she could take on backpa...

Jeremy Day & Alexandra Carone are the Co-Founders of The Honest Stand. After meeting at college in 2009, Alexandra was diagnosed with celiac disease and a dairy allergy just one year later. The diagnosis led the friends to pay closer attention to one detail of their daily lives in particular: what ingredients were in their favorite foods? Alexandra and Jeremy wanted to do better for themselves...

Michelle Mazzara is the Founder and CEO of Luvafoodie, a website that connects people who share a passion for food and beverages. Michelle has an extensive background with large CPG firms and was inspired to start her own brand, Luvafoodie. Starting as a dating website, she later added other products to the site, most with a mission based on her own medical experiences and her pet. Since then, the...

Michael Movitz is the Founder and Managing Partner of The Movitz Group, an advisory group of industry experts that help early-stage conscious brands raise capital and build go to market strategies. Michael is also one of the founding partners of Brandjectory, a one-of-a-kind relationship-building platform for early-stage CPG founders and investors to help discover each other. He has spent 30 years...

Kara Goldin is the Founder and CEO of Hint Inc., a San Francisco-based healthy lifestyle brand best known for producing an award-winning unsweetened flavored water called Hint. More recently, the company has released a scented sunscreen—and it’s oxybenzone and paraben-free. Kara has been an operating entrepreneur, growing Hint into a multi-million dollar brand while simultaneously focusing on crea...

Robert Koenen is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Boxed Water Is Better, the first national company to offer a sustainable alternative to plastic water bottles. Robert is charged with expanding Boxed Water's core message in empowering consumers to make a statement that sustainability matters. In his role at Boxed Water, Robert leads the brand’s trial and awareness efforts, digital opportunitie...

Tyler Noyes and Brett Johnston are the Co-Founders of Kalahari Snacks. The company was started after an adventure of a lifetime in South Africa after an encounter with biltong, an indigenous dried meat snack—and no, it’s not jerky. Tyler and Brett realized that the simplicity of the ingredients and the tenderness of the product would be a total game-changer for US consumers. So, they embarked on t...

Lizzi Ackerman is the Co-Founder & CMO of Birch Benders, the number one natural waffle mix and fastest-growing frozen waffle brand in the U.S. Under her leadership, their diverse portfolio has expanded to include pancake and waffle mixes, frozen waffles, snack cups, and sweetened syrups. Birch Benders products are available in over 15,000 locations including Walmart, Costco, Target, Whole Food...

Cynthia Tice is the Founder of Lily’s Sweets and got her start in the natural foods industry before green juice was even cool. As supermarkets realized the staying power of natural organic foods, she began consulting retailers on how to launch or build out their natural and organic offerings. She also started advising brands about looking into launching natural and organic products. As a longtime...

Dave Hirschkop is the Founder and CEO of Dave's Gourmet. He started an off-beat taqueria in Maryland called Burrito Madness where he created the “hottest hot sauce in the universe” as a way to control unruly drunk patrons—and ended up garnering national attention as a result. He knew he was onto something when customers started coming in droves for the exceptional flavor and heat. And so: Dave's G...

Candice Crane is the Founder and CEO of Petal Beverage. She is a visionary founder who plays supermom to two rosy-cheeked rebel girls, wife to her soulmate, and lady boss in the workplace. Although raised in Chicago, Candice’s roots take her back to her birthplace, South Africa, where she spent summers surrounded by the beautiful landscapes and her amazing family. The idea for creating a line of s...

Joseph Tarnowski is the Vice President of Content for ECRM. He has been an editor for various retail and CPG trade media publications for over 20 years, having worked for Progressive Grocer over the course of 14 years. He has written for Gourmet Retailer, Convenience Store News, Retail Leader, and FoodService Director. Joe also contributes to industry publications like Drug Store News and Chain Dr...

Shannon Roddy is the Founder of Marketplace Seller Courses, which provides online courses, resources, and tools for brand owners selling on Amazon. He started working with Amazon in 2012 as both a seller and a consultant. Now, Shannon works with brands, inventors, and startups to help them launch, grow, and protect their sales on Amazon. The first company he was hired to work with as a consultant...

Jamie Valenti-Jordan is the Founder and Owner of Catapult Commercialization Services. He founded the company in March 2018 in response to the industry-wide trend of cutting the talent needed to bring new products to life.  Jamie has a passion for finding new and interesting food challenges that combine scientific tools, engineering/operations realities, and business drivers to find unique, optimal...

Entering a new market or launching a new product is always a difficult process. The task is made even more difficult when taking a brand to a new country.  Matthew Parry is the founder of The Good Crisp Company, an Australian brand of canister chips with a focus on healthy, natural ingredients. Parry and his company has experienced a meteoric rise and they are already breaking into major American...

Hugh Thomas is the Co-founder and CEO of Ugly Drinks, centered around New York & London in the UK. He attended the University of Warwick and was the Student Brand Manager for Unilever before moving to HJ Heinz where he worked in marketing. He later went on to Vita Coco in the UK and before co-founding Ugly Drinks. Hugh wanted to create a healthy, relevant, and affordable product that would rep...

Chris Kirby is the Founder and CEO of Ithaca Hummus . He grew up in the Baltimore area in the late 80s and early 90s, and despite the popularity of processed food at that time, he was drawn to the concept of real food at a very early age. He ended up attending culinary school where he developed a strong passion for influencing people through his food, which fueled a subsequent seven-year career as...

Brandon Leong is the Vice President of Marketing and Growth at RangeMe. He brings with him a unique blend of CPG industry experience along with expertise in high technology growth startups. He has held senior marketing roles for over a decade in companies such as Quri and Aria Systems. Currently, Brandon leads a talented and energetic team focused on the growth of the RangeMe marketplace. Vir Saty...

Katie Thomson is the CEO and Co-founder of Square Baby, a nutritionally designed all natural line of baby foods. As the first professional nutritionist for Starbucks, Katie played a pivotal role in the evolution of the Starbucks menu by introducing healthier options like oatmeal, bistro boxes, and egg white options. She is responsible for creating clean ingredient standards and acted as the health...

David Lemley is the President and the Chief Strategist at Retail Voodoo , a Seattle-based brand strategy firm that helps specialty food and beverage brands gain market share by addressing their toughest growth challenges. David is armed with a passion for ideology-driven companies and has over 25 years of industry experience. He has worked with some notable clients such as Essentia Water, REI, Kin...

Loren Brill is the Founder and CEO of Sweet Loren's , a food company that is redefining what it means to be delicious, clean, and convenient. Sweet Loren's ranked number 114 in the 2019 Inc 500 fastest growing privately owned companies in America and it is also the number 1 natural cookie dough brand in the market. It is also number 3 in the US offering products from simple non-GMO, gluten free, a...

Michael Panara Jr. is the President and CEO of Pretzel Man Bakery , an artist and pretzel company founded as an extension of Michael's family baking business. Since 1808, many of his family members have been twisting soft pretzels that have been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of hungry consumers.  Several years ago, the family decided to create a new pretzel classic taking the twist and turning...

Ashi Jelinek is a Los Angeles based mother of three who found that the market lacked innovative, health-conscious children's products. Before becoming a stay at home parent, she had started her career in Theater in New York and attained an undergraduate degree in Theater Communications at the California Institute of Arts.  By founding The Luving Company in 2017, Ashi brings her personal experience...

Adam Brown is the Founder and President of Sircle Media , a social media strategy firm based in New York City. He has worked in and around digital marketing since 1999 and has held various positions on both the client and vendor side. This has given him tremendous insights into how those relationships work best and has developed a keen understanding of what businesses really need. At Sircle Media,...