The Food Mentor

I was lucky enough to work with Leanne White at BP Australia between 2006-2009 during a transformational period. We were both with Coles at the same time also. Leanne is very talented and it’s absolutely no surprise she has enjoyed a fabulous career with Coles having looked after 6 different categories prior to being appointed as General Manager Grocery Merchandise almost 4 years ago. In this chat...

This really is a fabulous thought provoking  chat with Tima Elhajj which challenges the norm for entrepreneurs and CEO’s when it comes to their personal brand and purpose.  Tima says that when you are clear on these two pieces it is then much easier to create content to stand out, connect and engage with your audience and customers.  Amazingly only 1% of LinkedIn users post on linkedin so the % of...

In 2023, the clients we work with will have achieved 50mil in retail sales from products and brands we have helped develop in the prior 12-24 months. How? Because we know where to play and then how to pull the pin on the differentiation hand grenade. In a crowded market place, if you don't understand your consumer and aren't different you have no chance. In this podcast we are talking tr...

Cubbyhouse Canteen is Australia’s favourite Children's lifestyle brand which since 2010 has promoted kindness, community and connection to young people and their families through the Union Street Park Café in Armadale, a suburb in the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. Join sisters Narelle and Bec on this exciting next chapter as they launch the Cubbyhouse Canteen retail brand into the marke...

In this episode we chat with Tim and Liam about their 4 year journey from idea to  raising capital and kicking off in the USA. This really is a perfect example of the optimal path to take when it comes to developing, growing and then scaling a new, unique product and brand. I hope you enjoy this episode of The Food Mentor Podcast. Meet David J Burns https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tZKvu9FOjMw David...

In David's view, a great product is entry to the start line and a great brand is what will bring success. After listening to this podcast please check out our downloadable "7 secrets to developing a great brand " PDF in our Creme Design link here https://www.cremedesign.com.au/#Guidedownloadbanner Crème Design - Ideas that rise to the top. We are Australia's only dedicated food...

In this episode of the Food Mentor Podcast we are chatting with Josh Klein, the founder and managing director of Social Status. Social Status is a Melbourne based social media agency developing fabulous unique content for local and international brands. Josh and I chat through all the detail of what makes a great social media strategy along with how best to get noticed out there in a very crowded...

Today we are chatting with Steve Plarre the CEO and generation number 4 of Fergusson Plarre. A fabulous listen for any cafe, bakery, retail store, food brand or manufacturer!  This is great story of rich family heritage dating back to the first bakery in 1901. This chat is a great lesson on how to navigate change through this great companies 120 year history. I hope you enjoy this podcast. Meet Da...

Today we are talking with David Burns about the fast paced 12 month journey of Australia's first dip range in a paper tub with no preservatives - NUFFIN. Haydn Scott, the founder, worked with David over the last 24 months to develop this great purpose led brand and dip range which launched in March 2022 with Woolworths supermarkets. The last 12 months hasn't been without its challenges,...

Welcome back to the Food Mentor Podcast. Today I’m chatting with Sinead Kavanagh the product manager for the upcoming Naturally Good show which is happening on 5th and 6th June at the ICC, Darling Harbour in Sydney.  The Naturally Good Show is Australia’s sole B2B trade show for the natural, organic and better for you brands.  Sinead and I chat through all exciting events happening over the 2 days...

In todays episode we chat with Ashwin Ahuja, the founder of the international snacking brand Karma Bites Popped Lotus Seeds. I stumbled across Karma Bites in October 2019 at the Anuga Trade Show in Cologne, Germany and brought the brand to Australia in September 2020 (right in the middle of Covid). It’s been a roller coaster ride for Ashwin with the brand now trading in 15 countries. Ashwin talks...

I was lucky enough to work with David around 2017/18 and this award for David and Naked Life doesn't surprise me in the slightest. In 2022 the Australian Financial Review rated Naked Life as the Fastest Growing Company in Australia. David's vision is to remove as much sugar from everyone's diets as possible, kicking off with all natural sugar free soft drink and then morphing into s...

Everyone loves a laugh when it comes to April fools day and that includes the team at DJB Food Group. In this chat our Food Mentor podcast host David Burns fakes an interview with his sister in law Lana making out she was a journalist from Air News. Nosh Air - the worlds first airline offering world class culinary delights for all passengers including a tapas bar on the top floor of all air buses....

I guess its always nice to understand some detail and context about a podcast host! In our 1st episode, The Food Mentor host David Burns introduces himself so you can hear his background and understand his very interesting and unique career. David's view is that there is actually no such thing as a logical career path.  Do what you love and are good at and everything else will fall into place...