The Irresistible Factor

Embarking on a decade-long journey marked by triumphs in branding and relationship building, Danielle Kidney brings her wealth of experience to our conversation. As the Founder of the Creative Pack LLC, an agency specializing in early-stage Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands, Danielle distinguishes herself in a competitive landscape by infusing her agency with a relationship-focused and detail-o...

Join me for this weeks podcast, where we explore the stories behind extraordinary brands and the communities that surround them. In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Megan Klein, the visionary Founder and CEO of Little Saints, a very special nonalcoholic cocktail brand with the added benefit of functional mushrooms..Megan shares the inspiration behind Little Saints, a venture born o...

This week I got to re-interview Taylor Grant, the Co-Founder of Tribini Ready-to-Drink espresso martinis. We spoke last year in August when they were just about to launch and I’m excited to share the story of their first 18 months in business. In this episode, you’ll get to hear about what it was like to start a brand in a challenging category (aren’t they all?). Taylor and his team had a very cle...

Joining us today on The Irresistible Factor is Lori Levine, CEO and Co-Founder of Scott’s Protein Balls. In this episode, Lori tells her inspiring story about how her struggle with breast cancer in 2017 led to her launching a brand. After conquering breast cancer, she realized that it was time to regain control of what she ate and how she took care of herself. At age 52 she was determined to get i...

Welcome to another episode of The Irresistible Factor. Today, we are joined by one of the most special guests I've had on the show. Ava Faustini is the 14-year-old founder of 1023 Gelato. Ava’s story is beyond incredible. She started the brand as we were coming out of COVID because her parents told her she needed to get out and do something. Most 12-year-olds would have found friends to hang...

“I do believe [that] you’re [only] as limited as you think you are.”This short yet powerful quote is from today’s incredibly inspiring guest, Alan Cohen, the Founder and CEO of Kokomio - the coconut beverage unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Alan is a powerful entrepreneur and an incredible human being whose values serve his business and family. I’m not exaggerating when I say after our int...

Revolutionizing the non-alcoholic beverage world, our guest today is blazing through this niche market with a quality product and an incredible tenacity. You’ll want to hear this interview with Molly Fedick, the Founder of Buzzkill Wines, on this episode of The Irresistible Factor. Molly shares her journey in creating a non-alcoholic wine for those who love the experience and taste of drinking wit...

In this episode, you’ll meet Luigi Marulo, one of the men behind the most delicious, premium pasta brands I’ve ever tried (and I’ve tried them all)! I had the pleasure of meeting Luigi at the Fancy Food show in New York. After recording this podcast episode with him, Luigi invited me to visit his pasta factory in Naples, Italy and it turned out to be one of the most profound experiences this crazy...

“I don't ask any more for permission, I'd rather just apologize after.”This is the motto of our extraordinary and energetic guest on this week’s episode of The Irresistible Factor, Joseph Zeppilli, the ultimate rule breaker. Joseph’s knack for bending the rules, getting creative, and thinking way outside the box has catapulted his company, Bad Monkey Popcorn, into a nationally recognized...

Most conventional wisdom would say not to line-extend too soon and certainly not to extend to other categories without a highly successful product launch. But Katina Mountanos, the CEO of Kosterina, chose her own path. Katina started with a single sourced, high quality Greek olive oil and quickly added other flavors, a line of balsamic vinegars and truly delicious fruit flavored vinegars. But that...

Imagine you finally take that leap, buy a company, and days later, your entire factory burns down, and you lose everything. That happened to today’s incredible guest, and it didn’t stop him. Join us for an inspiring episode of The Irresistible Factor as we delve into the remarkable journey of Tony Rivas and his brand Chifles, one of the world’s oldest Hispanic snack brands. Tony’s long relationshi...

“I always like to say that [Nuts for Cheese] was a really happy accident. I don't think I knew what I was getting into. I'm glad I didn't because it's been an amazing journey.”Kristi is thrilled to have Margaret Coons, Founder and CEO of Nuts for Cheese, on the latest episode of The Irresistible Factor. Nuts for Cheese is a premium vegan cheese brand that sells really high qual...

Starting a business is no easy feat. We hear a lot about people’s success stories, but not enough about their intense challenges and failures, and more importantly, the invaluable lessons they have learned. On Today’s episode of The Irresistible Factor, Kristi’s guest August Vega bravely opens up about the struggles she faced with the very well-known company she founded, MALK Organics. Being a fir...

Today Kristi is joined by the incredible and inspiring Nina Tickaradze on today’s episode of The Irresistible Factor. Today is World Refugee Day, and Kristi is honored to have had the opportunity to talk to Nina about her inspiring mission and is thrilled to have this podcast air on such a special day. Nina is the founder of NADI, an all-natural, organic, delicious drink made with rosehip from her...

“We’re not family-friendly, you can’t say the word vagina and so we fought very hard to push through those, those boundaries and just a few weeks ago actually had a billboard in Time Square run that said, “We love healthy vaginas” and that was a really big one for us…” This is an episode Kristi is really excited about they talk about the challenges of marketing a subject matter that not everyone i...

“We’ve had some opportunities in places that we had to say, “You know what? Not yet.” You know, we’ll come back in a few years when we’re ready to make that step because we want to make sure that we can support our customers and that you know, their customers are seeking a product like ours, right?”Today on the Irresistible Factor Podcast, Kristi is joined by Claudio LoCascio, the CEO and Presiden...

“I knew I wanted to meet farmers as often as I could. I wanted to learn from them, and I wanted to buy cocoa beans directly from them without a broker, without a distributor. I've done that in every bean buy I've ever made in the last 16 years.” Kristi is honored to have Shawn Askinosie as a guest on this week’s episode of The Irresistible Factor. Shawn quit his prosperous job as a crimi...

“We’re four years in and we have consistently been acting as if we are way further ahead than we are. We’ve just been caught up in internal growth which is really unhealthy when you’re not seeing commercial success and when you don’t even know if you have product market fit, who’s your customers. “Today’s guest, Sorosh Tavakoli, has big dreams of reducing the world’s carbon footprint and putting a...

In honor of all of Kristi’s new subscribers, she is bringing back one of her most dynamic interviews, Nick Saltarelli, the Co-Founder of Mid-Day Squares. Nick was one of our very first guests and since that conversation, his company has grown tremendously. Today, Mid-Day Squares is selling around 50,000 bars per day and is number 1 in their category! Have a listen and there’s no way you won’t be i...

“…The world doesn’t need more stuff. Better packaging or a prettier can is not an answer, it’s not a solution. What is the problem that currently exists in the world that your product is solving? That should be number one.”On today’s episode of The Irresistible Factor, Kristi is thrilled to be joined by powerhouse Alison Cayne, CEO and Founder of Haven’s Kitchen. Alison’s passion for sustainabilit...

"What we don’t need is more sustainable Doritos. We need total transformative solutions and this is a mechanism that I think can do that, and that’s why I’m running in this direction because we need to do it.”In this week’s episode of The Irresistible Factor, we welcome Outlaw Ventures CEO, Anthony Corsaro. Anthony tells us about how his autoimmune disease and his upbringing in a fresh produc...

“The growth that we’ve had and the response we’ve had to Chia Smash really speaks to the fact that I think consumers and grocery store buyers have really been looking for innovation in this category.”Today’s guests on The Irresistible Factor have quite an unusual brand development story, with their product evolving naturally from a home recipe to a side hustle, and ultimately a serious (and succes...

On today’s episode of The Irresistible Factor, Kristi is joined by Kimmi Wernli. Kimmi is the President and Owner of The Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter Company, and her passion for peanuts runs deep! Growing up, she saw firsthand how their family business created incredible products from the humble peanut. From candied nuts to healthy spreads, there was something for everyone. In addition to h...

Today on the Irresistible Factor, Kristi has an incredibly inspiring guest, Kenshiro Uki, president of North America and Europe of one of her new favorite companies, Sun Noodle Ramen. Sun Noodle makes easy-to-prepare (at home), fresh Ramen. Kenshiro is on a mission to bridge the cultures of Japan and the U.S. by in essence, creating a new category, restaurant quality Ramen at home. Kenshiro’s fath...

“[Bachan’s] instantly filled that purpose bucket for me. I had really big ambitions and I wanted to show my daughters what can be done in this life if you're passionate about something and you work really hard for it.”On this episode of The Irresistible Factor, you’ll hear the story of how a multi-generational family recipe turned into a national brand that grew from 1.5 million in revenue to...