Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everyone, This is Steve Alison and welcome to this
week's edition of CEOs. You should know I'm thrilled to
be joined by Bridget Wolf, the chief marketing Officer of Mymochi.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Bridget, thanks for being here today. Thank you so much
for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
We're so excited to jump into your journey and learn
more about my Moochi too. So to kick it off,
I know you had a very interesting journey from investment
banking to leading innovation at global food giants like Mandolaz
to now steering growth at my Mochi. What inspired the
shift from finance to food and how has that really
approached your leadership.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So I love food, so we can start with that.
I'd love to eat.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
But it was really a CEO we were running an
IPO for when I was doing investment banking, and he
was so passionate about the consumers and what they care
about and who they are, and it was completely inspiring
to get into that. So CpG just became a natural extension.
And then, like any job and anything, you start learning
where your values are and how to treat people and
(00:56):
so what kind of leader I want to be and
how do I want to empower people and how do
I want to trust people and what you know excellence
do you expect of them? So it all builds from
one to the next.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
And I know you've worked at massive corporations too, nimble startups.
What were different turning points or moments that really helped
your perspective in brand building and that consumer connection.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So I was fortunate I started off on very small
brands like Stovetop, where you're like love it and the
like when was the last time you bought it? And
so we had to talk about that, and then I
got to work on signature brands like de Joorno, but
the keystone was Oreo. Everyone talks about the emotional connection
and their memories of it are the first time they
had it or who they have it with. Other than
(01:39):
that to me was pivotable. Is how do you create
such a deep, loving, emotional connection just not to the
product that everyone's like it's the best, but then to
the brand and they experienced it that there just is
nothing comparable to it.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Today's my daughter's birthday and she requested an Oreo birthday cake,
so completely understand that perspective.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yeah, and when you build something that iconic, it's how
you stay relevant over time? How do you stay current
with what consumers wanted to use you and how they
want to approach you. So it's beyond just that product.
You really are part of their lives.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yeah, absolutely, And speaking of brands like Oreo, such a
legacy brand, looking at what you might have learned there,
how did you apply those lessons to like that startup mentality?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, so I was thinking about this. It's no different
in sports. We come back to fundamentals and so we
always want to know is who is your consumer, what
do they care about? What do you offer them in
their lives? And then how do you make it better?
And so for us in Mimochi, we have this amazing
experiential like censorial thing where we've got premium skips of
ice cream wrapped in this dough.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
You chew it, you hold it.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
So how do I connect with someone that way and
explain it to them in a way that fits into
their lives and it makes them happier and they're delicious.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Speaking at Mimochi, you're not only leading marketing but also innovation,
which is so important for every brand. How do you
foster a culture that encourages both thinking creative, out of
the box ideas while obviously keeping up with the consumer
growth and the consumer consumption.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
It's always a balance because you have to say, well,
can we do it right? Like can we physically make it?
And then the question is should we do it? Because
does anyone care? Like there's a really cool hair rain idea,
but are you going to actually buy it or anyone
you know going to buy it? And then it's you know,
can we make money in it? So I think there's
that balance of kind of keeping a discipline there to
how far to stretch it, but then being playful and
(03:28):
saying what could be possible if and how might we
do this? And you know, where could we stretch the brand?
And some of it's really out there and some of
it's super close in, and so we just can play
with it and say what would give you more delight?
What would bring more joy to someone? We all are
about that eating experience and color and visual so how
do we how do we do more?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, I know that we talked about this a little
bit earlier, but you helped launch different ventures and you
work closely with startups like Snack futures and collab.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
How did that.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Experience help you as you lead teams and mentor other
talent at a brand like Mymoji.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
So you always have to remember not everyone knows everything
you're talking about. Are very privileged to have some kind
of formal training in my CpG, So one is bringing
everyone along that journey or terms. There is something incredibly
powerful about startups. They are scrappy, they're courageous, they're bold,
they move fast, sometimes chaotically. So how do we have
that discipline to say, why are we doing what we're
(04:25):
doing and checking ourselves and having some clause but be
willing to take those risks and try and test and learn.
And you don't have to do everything, You just have
to do enough where you learn something and then move forward.
So there's really a beauty in the small that the
big learn from, and then the big that can help
the little.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Let's go back to innovation. We know that sometimes innovation
could be seen as risky or resource intensive, right, what's
been your approach to balancing those breaking through innovation with
the commercial visibility?
Speaker 3 (04:55):
It is about how can I do it small? If
it's really out there? How can I manage the investment
and the cost. Can we fail really quickly? Can we
test it in a marketer or with the consumer group,
and then being willing to pivot. You may have an
amazing idea and an amazing product and either we're not explaining
it right or something in the delivery of that bundle
is wrong and we need to go there. And then
(05:17):
sometimes you have to just say we love it, but
we can't do it. And that's okay too, you know,
saying no, it is okay.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Absolutely, Maybe it's not right now, but down the line, yeah,
I know. Something you say that I love is tasting
the joy and that's core. I know it's the Mimochi brand.
How do you ensure that that translates through your marketing,
through your product development and the entire consumer experience.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
You need that red thread through everything that you do,
every touch point, and we are now really assessing that
from our packaging, our communications, our Instagram, the product. I mean,
if we are not joyfully chill. And I was even
in the airport with my sweatshirt and somebody asked me
what does that mean? And he's like, are they the same?
I'm like, well, when I chill, I kind of feel joyful.
So we have to make sure that we rebring smiles,
(06:02):
whether someone's on their own or with a bunch of people.
And how do we elevate every interaction. Every day you
deserve a little moment of joy and we can.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Help you do that. I love that.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, I know that the frozen food category in particular
is a very competitive category. How do you prioritize in
the CML role long term brand equity versus that short
term growth?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
It is always a tension of whether it's for investors
the market that you want that growth. But the truth
is without long term equity, you just have a cool
product and you don't have a brand and something more.
And ultimately we have a really cool product. Other competitors
come in and they mimic you, and there's any too.
So the question is how do I have a defense
(06:45):
to say, well, I'm not only the original and I
made be the best, which we are in our opinion,
but we're also the one that knows our consumer is
the best. And no one love you until you can
trust us to do right by you. And that to
me is where the loyalty is. Because they're willing to
try things, they're willing to advocate for us, like nothing
is better than a consumer is like this is the
(07:05):
best thing in my day. And I'm just going to
tell everyone that I know. That is when you've got
equity and then it pays back to the product.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And you're bringing them that joy. We talked about bring
them that joy. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I know you have such a big retail footprint and
you do have a diverse flavor portfolio. How do you
ensure that my mochi is still both accessible and also
different in the crowded marketplace. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
The first thing was actually when we launched Mimochi nationwide,
it was really to democratize it and make it approachable
and accessible. It's kind of funky, right. It has its
roots in Japan. No one knows how it is. We
talk about how do you pronounce it right? It's different,
so it's mimoci and some people are hesitant on that,
or they see it and they think, like it kind
of looks interesting, and we know it tastes delicious, but
(07:47):
am I going to really enjoy it? So it's really
making it colorful, playful, and in our flavors. It's kind
of like one foot in the familiar and one foot
in the unknown. You may not know what mochi is.
It's that done. You know this soft we do that's
actually pounded for good luck historically. Yeah, and then our
ice cream flavors are like cookie dough and cookies and
(08:08):
cream and strawberry and mango, So they're not so scary
birthday cake like. We can go on and on about
our flavors, but they really are something that someone can say,
I understand what that is, and now I just get
to experience in a totally cool new way.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
That's awesome. Yeah, so let's talk a little bit about you.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I know that one of the most challenging moments you
faced in your career was either a brand or business perspective.
What would how did you navigate that and what did
you learn from those different experiences?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
You gotta be kind to yourself, and we'll talk about
that in a little bit. I think with everything is
what can I learn from it? So I don't like
pointing fingers. So the question is if something goes wrong,
the question is, well, how did I get there? And
then how do I not repeat that again? Or how
do we avoid it in the future. And sometimes that's
a question, like I thought I did everything right and
clearly somewhere along the way, I either did something wrong, misspoke, misles,
(09:00):
I confused, right, And that's part of just being human
and learning how to just figure out okay, like there's
only so long you can wallow in that one, move
on and let's fix it and go on.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
That's great advice instead of beating yourself up, like how
do you grow? How do you evolve from that?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Always?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I know you mentioned that your ethosis is rooted in
simplicity in humanity, right, how have those values allowed you
to make tough decisions? Especially being in such a high
stakes leadership role.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
It's really important. The simplicity piece is what are we
trying to achieve? What is our focus? And being able
to prioritize within that and being simpler helps explain some
of those harder decisions versus the convoluted, long winded answer
them like I've just given you a nothing answer. So
simplicity to me is really connected to also transparency and authenticity.
(09:48):
I know they're really big buzzwords, but it's how do
I tell you what I think is really going on?
And how do I do in a way that I
would want to be spoken to and explaining to others.
So that's always important to me with every manager leader
I've had, is how what if I wanted to be
treated on this and then I get the opportunity to
see if I can walk that talk now.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Yeah, I think that's a refreshing point of view, too,
right to have that personal connections.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I don't know you relateing that message.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Yeah, I always love asking this question for everybody that
comes in. If you were to give advice to anyone
that's tuning in that is thinking about creating a brand
new product with an innovation, or they're thinking about entering
into the marketing profession.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
What advice would you give them?
Speaker 1 (10:26):
What advice do you wish you had when you first
were starting out.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
It's okay not to go as fast and have everything
happened as much as you want. You know, we all
joke about our plans and our promotions and everything we
want to achieve in life, and it really is a
long journey. So being kind to yourself when stuff doesn't
go as quickly as you wanted or didn't go the
way you wanted to. For those that are creating new
brands and businesses, God bless you, it is courageous and
(10:53):
it's hard, and it's it is a uphill thing, and
there are days where you will feel victorious and days
you will feel so alone, but reminding yourself of those
wins that you can do this and you show up
to do it every day and again, like my career
now has been long, we're now in decades that we
can talk about and I don't think I appreciated how
long that is, and that how you can really enjoy
(11:15):
the ride.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
That's awesome, great advice. So what is next for Mymochi?
Are there any exciting developments or expansions you could tell us?
Speaker 3 (11:23):
We're not going to at launched, but we got new
flavors and we have our seasonals coming out, so go
check them out. From our We've got an amazing caramel apple,
and our spice and our chocolate. We can go on
on about those. We are working through innovation pipelines right now.
How do we stretch those possibilities for Mimochi and bring
more joy? And then on our marketing and communications is
(11:44):
how do we elevate consumer experiences and touch points So
we will be at different events next year and this
year literally handing out my mochi and hopefully elevating these
points in your day.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Hopefully it's some iHeart events.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yes, So, what is one thing you want our listeners
to take away about my Mochi's mission?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
What would that be?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
It really is about sharing joy, spreading the joy and
tasting the joy. And you can do that every day
by just trying a little bit yourself and you know,
pass it on to someone almost so we can pay
it forward. We need more smiles and joy in the
world and we can all joyfully chill a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yeah, we covered a lot. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Is there anything you feel like we might have missed
that you want our listeners to know?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
No, I think you know our brand is to make
you feel good and if we're not delivering that told
me accountable.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
I feel that way with our employees and my team,
our partners here. You know, we are supposed to make
every interaction with us better and make you feel better
for it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
If someone's tuning in and they want to learn more
about my Mochi or maybe try my emoji, what should
they do?
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Go to Mymochi dot com and you can see where
to buy any flavor that you want in the country.
You can follow us on Instagram or on TikTok Facebook,
We're everywhere.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Well, I'm excited to try those seasonal flavors. They sound delicious, Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Well, Bridget, thank you so much for coming in.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
You could tell by your passion enthusiasm that you love
what you do, and I think that's one of the
most important things. And I'm excited to see what's next
for mymochi and your journey continuing.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Thank you so much, Thank you for having me absolutely.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
And thank you all for tuning in. Tune into next
week's edition of CEOs.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
You should know