NexxtLevel Brands Podcast
The “NexxtLevel Brands Podcast’ brings thought leaders and vital information and opinion to the Entrepreneurial Food, Beverage, and CPG Industry. Our audience is aimed at up-and-coming entrepreneurs in the CPG industry and people who have an idea for a product or service that fits in that realm. The show’s emphasis is on disrupters and thought-leaders, but also tips from veterans and key suppliers that would help fellow CPG professionals achieve their goals. NexxtLevel Brands Podcast touches on all aspects, from retail, to production, sales, and marketing. We interview industry leaders, large CPG veterans, disrupters, and other movers & shakers in both the product and services areas surrounding CPG.
Episodes
Encore Presentation
Brian Tate is the Founder and CEO of Oats Overnight. He studied at the Grande Valley University for two years before leaving to pursue professional poker. After more than a decade of playing high-stakes poker, he took his passion for risk, analytics, and game theory and applied that expertise where it was needed: the crowded breakfast foods industry.
As a health and fitness enthusiast, Brian had already spent ye...
Encore Presentation: In this episode, we’re welcoming back Alex Bayer, Co-Founder and CEO of Genius Juice for an update. Genius Juice was featured on Shark Tank, they received Bevnet Smoothie of the Year, and Alex is now the host of two podcasts –15 Minutes of Genius and Friday Vibes, and he’s here to tell us about the latest news and progress around Genius Juice.
Encore: Today I’m welcoming back Michael Movitz, of the Movitz group, and co- founding partner of Brandjectory, a one-of-a-kind relationship-building platform for early-stage CPG founders and investors to help discover each other. We last spoke in October of 2020, so we have plenty to hear about Brandjectory and its journey since then.
Michael's career includes 16 years with SPINS at various senior-level positions in the Natu...
Encore Presentation: Najwa Khan is the Founder of dalci, a line of gut-healthy brownies. Najwa started the company after struggling to find healthy snacks that could satisfy her craving for sweets. She has over 10 years of experience in the health and wellness space, having worked in various roles for nonprofits, market research firms, healthcare and technology startups, and DTC wellness brands. She also has a master's degree in pu...
Matt Weiss is the Founder and CEO of RIND Snacks, a better-for-you snack company focused on whole fruit nutrition. After a nearly two-decade career in finance, Matt launched RIND Snacks in 2017 and returned to his family's health food roots. His passion for whole foods snacking was inspired by lessons he learned from his great-grandmother, Helen Seitner, a health food pioneer who operated a well-known natural food store in Michigan...
In this Encore episode we are following up with one of our previous guests, Will Nitze, Founder and CEO of IQBar. We last spoke to Will before the pandemic, so our discussion will cover the last few years and what’s been happening at IQBar, the pandemic and how it affected the company, and future ideas for new product categories.
IQBar’s mission is to empower doers with superior brain and body nutrition. IQBAR mak...
In this Encore Podcast episode, I speak with Dave Zilko, Co-Founder of Skinny Butcher. You’ll hear the amazing origin story of the “plant poultry” brand that was founded after Dave and his partner Jack built and sold Garden Fresh salsa to Campbell Soups for $231M.
Dave shares his passion for Skinny Butcher’s sustainability focus, hopes for a global flexitarian society, the fun marketing and branding st...
Encore Presentation: My guest today is Austin Kelly, CEO at Willamette Valley Pie Company in Oregon. I speak with Austin about how Willamette is growing their business– carefully self-financing, planning their expansion slowly and naturally. Their products occupy a premium, artisanal spot in the frozen pie category, and continue to be hand-crafted from berries grown and frozen in their family-owned, vertically integrate...
Today we’re speaking with David Cisneros, co-founder of WES and Origo Brands, and taking an enlightening journey through the world of Hispanic food brands. David shares his transition from attorney to successful food brand entrepreneur. You’ll hear about David’s travels to Latin America and how he is shaking up the US market with new and authentic flavors. In the discussion, David imparts valuable insights o...
In this Encore episode we are following up with one of our previous guests, Stephen Caldwell. Stephen fell in love with Swiss Röstis in his travels and brought this delicious Bern tradition back home. He and his wife Lory have been perfecting the recipe and serving them to family and friends ever since.
Rosti Stuft Spuds have been on a white-hot trajectory since the company started in 2019. For 2023, Stephen has forecast...
Encore Presentation: Did you know that humans are hard-wired to crave calorie-dense foods at bedtime? This traces all the way back to prehistoric times. Currently, over 80% of Americans snack regularly at night, and every week, over 700 million nighttime snacks are consumed resulting in a weekly spend of over $1B. The most popular nighttime snack choices are known to be unhealthy and also disru...
Caroline MacDougall is the Founder and CEO of Teeccino Caffe, a unique line of herbal roasted coffees and teas with several wellness benefits. She is also a natural products industry pioneer with over 40 years of entrepreneurial experience in developing herbal teas for top companies such as Yogi, The Republic of Tea, and Organic India.
Caroline began her career with Celestial Seasonings, sourcing herbs from around the globe as the...
Encore Presentation from early 2020 - Amy Lacey is the Owner and Founder of Cali’flour. Amy set out to re-imagine her favorite foods and created a no-mess no-stress, cauliflower pizza crust to satisfy her cravings without sacrificing her health.
No longer able to enjoy pizza night with her family, Amy set out to re-imagine her favorite foods and created a no-mess no-stress, cauliflower pizza crust to satisfy her cravings with...
Encore Presentation - Kelly Egan is the Co-founder of True Salt, an all-natural, unprocessed sea salt serving hospitality and grocery accounts nationwide. He is a marketing and venture development veteran with experience in Fortune 100 companies as well as high-growth startups.
Brian Pierce is the Co-founder of True Salt. He has decades of expertise in hospitality, owning his own restaurants, and operating elite hospitality g...
Encore Presentation
‘Get Your Brand PR Started!! – Gloria Chou on the NexxtLevel Brands Podcast!
Steve’s guest this week is Gloria Chou, Consumer Products PR expert, mentor and pitch expert. Gloria talks today about how important Public Relations is; how it is different than advertising and also, how Founders and small team members can actually do their own PR.
Steve starts off by making the claim th...
Encore Presentation: Daniel Smith enjoyed healthy snacks while studying at school. He loved flavored almonds - but what a mess! I’m sure you are familiar with that salty, greasy hand scenario when you finish off a package of Blue Diamond nuts, for instance. That’s how his idea for infused almonds came about. As founder and CEO of Recipe 33, Daniel set out to innovate a largely...
Encore Presentation - My guest today is Chris Smith, Co-Founder of Humblemaker Coffee. Its mission is not just to create craft premium coffee, but to shape an incredible future for children living with autism through opportunities to experience surfing, music, and the great outdoors. Humblemaker is on a journey to create coffee products and beverages for wellness-minded people who share a passi...
Encore Presentation. Is there a food or product that you wish you could find in the grocery store or your local health food market? Why not try creating it yourself?
Juan and David, the co-founders of ChipMonk Baking, did just that. ChipMonk is a specialty baking business that focuses on creating low-carb, no added sugar desserts. Their mission, which orig...
Encore Presentation: Corwin Heatwole is the Founder and CEO of Farmer Focus, the number one exclusively organic chicken farm in the United States. As a sixth-generation family farmer, Corwin grew up working on his family's farm. He founded Farmer Focus almost 8 years ago with a dream of creating a financially viable farming business he could pass down to his own children.
Today, Farmer Focus has partnered with over 70 indepen...
Encore from April 2022 -The biggest trends we’re seeing in the natural products industry (as evidenced at the recent ExpoWest 2022 in Anaheim this past March) are plant-based, regenerative, and upcycling/reducing food waste. Cool Beans’ whole food, plant-based, minimally processed frozen wraps are right on target.
In this episode, I&rsquo...
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