The Food Means Business Podcast

What happens when you step out of your comfort zone? If you are Lauryn Bodden, you win a Netflix reality cooking competition and launch a new food brand. In this conversation, Lauryn shares how her turn as a reluctant reality tv star inspired her to launch an innovative CPG food product. She discusses starting her snack brand, S’NOODS and the challenges that she faced along the way. Lauryn also em...

Think quality bread is off the menu? Think again! Now, you can get gluten-free sourdough products delivered right to your doorstep. In this episode, I’m joined by Sadie Scheffer, the founder of Bread SRSLY — a business born of a college crush and shared gluten intolerance. Hear the story of how Sadie leveraged the growing nationwide demand for healthier and more accessible food options to grow her...

Have you ever dreamed of bringing your very own food product to market? The path to doing so isn’t always clear, and many would-be entrepreneurs might wonder how to take the first step. From research and development, to marketing and distribution, there are no shortage of factors to consider! In this episode, Crystal Ung, founder of Bowlcut, shares her transition from the corporate world to entrep...

In this solo episode, host Djenaba Johnson-Jones shares her experience with practicing gratitude and the positive impact it has had on her business, Hudson Kitchen. She discusses starting a gratitude journal and the therapeutic benefits it provides.  In this episode, you will learn… The role gratitude plays in the Law of Attraction Djenaba’s gratitude for the Hudson Kitchen community members Why s...

In this episode, Jason Bedart, the Vice President of Merchandising for Food at Thrive Market discusses his career trajectory in the supermarket industry and his current role at Thrive Market. He shares how Thrive Market is structured and its mission to make healthy, sustainable living affordable and accessible. Jason shares insights into the evaluation process for brands and products, as well as t...

In this episode, Kris Buchanan, a former Olympian and founder of nature inspired, organic food and beverage brand, GOODONYA, shares her journey from being an athlete to launching a CPG company. She discusses the challenges that she faced with product development, the importance of understanding the CPG industry, and what it takes to launch your product in a crowded marketplace.  Kris also highligh...

In this episode, I’m joined by Melissa Facchina, co-founder of Siddhi Capital, who shares her journey of working with CPG brands and transitioning into investment. She emphasizes the importance of choosing the right business partner and aligning core values. Melissa discusses her criteria for partnering and investing in CPG businesses, highlights the changing landscape of investment, and offers ad...

Join Emily Pogany, Reiki master, holistic healer, and founder of Masah, a line of plant-based caramels infused with essential oils and charged with Reiki energy to balance and support each of the seven chakras for a short, guided mediation. To get more Food Business Bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at thehudsonkitchen.com .

In this episode, I’m chatting with Emily Pogany, the founder of Masah, a spiritual confectionary company and wellness brand, who shares her journey of starting a unique food business that combines her passion for healing and love for candy.  Emily introduces Chakra Caramels, her line of plant-based caramels infused with essential oils and charged with Reiki energy to balance and support each of th...

Introducing Victoria Ho, founder of Sherpa CPG and a fearless food and beverage industry leader. With over a decade of experience as an award-winning brand strategist, clean-label formulator, and commercialization expert, Victoria is dedicated to helping emerging food, and beverage brands turn their meaningful ideas into memorable, retail-ready products. She tackles the essential work of defining...

Summer Johnson is the co-owner of Zach and Zoë Sweet Bee Farm and started the business in 2015 with her husband, Kam.  Together, they began keeping bees in their backyard to use the hyper-local honey to alleviate their son's allergies. Today, their honey is retailed all over the world, and in dozens of specialty, mass, and boutique stores across the nation. They have expanded the brand's assortmen...

Dawn Pascale, owner and creative mind behind Om Sweet Home, has always enjoyed making decadent treats for family and friends with the most wholesome, healthy ingredients. From a very early age, she was always passionate about cooking and baking. After 20+ years as an HR Professional, Dawn decided to pursue her passion full-time. And in February 2013, she signed up for the Natural Gourmet Institute...

Once upon time, Alak Vasa was a Wall Street trader. Everything was going well, but there was one problem, she was missing a sense of purpose . So without much of a plan, Alak gave in to her inner voice, quit her job, and eventually launched Elements Truffles, a food business rooted in her authentic Indian heritage and passion for fine chocolate. Get full notes and a transcript at: https://www.theh...

Think quality bread is off the menu? Think again! Now, you can get gluten-free sourdough products delivered right to your doorstep. In this episode, I’m joined by Sadie Scheffer, the founder of Bread SRSLY — a business born of a college crush and shared gluten intolerance. Hear the story of how Sadie leveraged the growing nationwide demand for healthier and more accessible food options to grow her...

Does starting your food business feel like a daunting task? If you’re like most people, it’s easy to get so overwhelmed by the road ahead that you never take that first step! That’s why I want to encourage you to take action today with some insight from the expert herself. In this episode, I’m joined by Leslie Danford, the founder of Vitaminis and a true action-taker who got her beverage product l...

Every business owner wants to showcase their products in the best possible light, and never is that more true than when it comes to food! One photograph can mean the difference between a potential customer clicking over to your website or continuing on their endless doom scroll. So how do you capture food photographs that actually grab attention? Enter Four Course Media…  In this episode, I’m join...

How do you sell consumers on an entirely new ingredient? That was the question Isabelle Steichen had to answer when she launched her business, Lupii. Lupii products, which currently consist of both a protein bar and a pasta, are based on the lupini bean — a superior source of plant protein that had yet to be popularized in the United States. In this episode, Isabelle shares her journey from workin...

Have you ever dreamed of bringing your very own food product to market? The path to doing so isn’t always clear, and many would-be entrepreneurs might wonder how to take the first step. From research and development, to marketing and distribution, there are no shortage of factors to consider! In this episode, Crystal Ung, founder of Bowlcut, shares her transition from the corporate world to entrep...

Communication is really important when it comes to your food business. Getting your brand out there, promoting your products, interacting with your employees and your consumers - all of it needs to meet people where they are. Too much jargon or using the wrong tone can really throw off your message. Being able to communicate clearly and effectively with your audience, and receive feedback from the...

Food brands don’t exist in a vacuum, right? It’s not enough to create a great product, but you’ve got to refine it, pitch it, market it, sell it. And you can’t do all of that alone. Building a community of people who care about you and your product is vital in order to survive in this industry. Let people support you and shout your praises from the rooftops. Collaboration over competition is the n...

COVID was a hard time for everyone, food business owners included. There was so much uncertainty and hardship during that time. But it also afforded some people the space and the timing to innovate new ideas and products. Business pivots can be a beautiful thing to come out of that dark time. Don’t be afraid to make changes to your business model and adapt if that’s what you’re called to do. In th...

Let’s set the scene. You’ve created a food product, perfected the recipe, put it on the market, and now you’ve reached your limits on the time and capacity you have for production. So, what’s next? The answer is: find a co-packer to hand off your production. It might sound easy, but there’s some preparation you’ll need to do first. In this episode, Ashley Sutterfield, creator of Co-Packing with As...

Food waste is a big problem in the United States, but I didn’t realize how big until recording this episode. So many people have food insecurity, and with steadily rising food prices at the grocery store, this likely won’t change any time soon. So, what can we do to alleviate this problem?  In this episode, Louise Fritjofsson, co-founder of Martie online discount grocery store, shares how she is r...

This month, we’re highlighting members of Hudson Kitchen on the podcast and today, I’m chatting with Ron Holloway, co-founder of Woofbowl, a food truck for dogs with quality ingredients. Ron’s life experience and the challenges he’s faced have helped bring him to where he is today and it’s an incredible story.    In this episode, Ron how his previous life experience from the military and the finan...

This month, we’re highlighting members of Hudson Kitchen on the podcast and today, I’m chatting with Marlin Chan and Rachel Cheng of Yay’s Snacks beef crisps. The story of how Yay’s came to be (there was mistaken identity involved!) is fascinating, but even more impressive is the success they’ve found in their business with content creation, especially on TikTok. In this episode, Marlin and Rachel...