Hugh Williams on LinkedIn: How Dr Pepper passed Pepsi by marketing around football, flavor innovation (2024)

Inspired by the five amazing food-related businesses that presented at the Naturally MN Pitch Slam. They were all $500K+ revenue with strong growth with BFY and Sustainability points of difference.Vegan pizza, biodegradable toilet paper, superfood energy drinks, meatless meals for kids/schools and organic horse feed made from flowers (the winner!) they all inspired me with their innovation, passion and growth opportunity!Augie Hinnenkamp Wendy Hinnenkamp Zoë Levin (The TP Queen) Simon Solis-Cohen Mary Hartman Kayla Beyer, Esq.

39

11 Comments

Appreciated an excellent panel discussion yesterday on raising capital for startups with four Venture Capital professionals. A few of my takeaways:1. The current 'State of Funding' is not what it was a couple of years ago but there is plenty of "dry powder" out there and VC deals with appropriate risk/return profiles are still getting done from Pre-Seed 6 figure to Seed 7-figure deals. VCs are more selective now but that's not a bad thing as they have more time to talk to the founders they are interested in.2. What are VCs looking for? Founders that are obsessed with their customers and solving their problems with a clear point of difference from competition, are competing not just locally but nationally/internationally, are action-oriented and not afraid to try things or make changes when KPIs (like customer acquisition cost) aren't what they need to be.3. What are some watch-outs? Don't be too aggressive with valuation/deal structure. Business model must be "bottoms up" (customers/turns rate) not top-down (market size/share). Explain why someone else with deep pockets wouldn't be able to catch up/pass you. Always leave time for questions and the "Ask" at the end of your pitch.4. Personal Brand Building Advice (to improve chances of being funded) -- Execute (do what you sell and do it well), Referrals (generates immediate trust), Authenticity (build on what you know and who you are), Speaking (make a great in-person impression, generate personal connections).Thanks to a great panel of Stephanie Rich, Rick Brimacomb, Ryan Broshar and Adam Choe and moderator Abigail Johnson (Weber).

17

4 Comments

Thanks to Lisa Erickson for inviting me to her fabulous EuroConnect networking event at the beautiful Baaken Museum. What a great time with great people!

29

4 Comments

Great panel discussion yesterday on Foodservice, an often underleveraged side of the food business for CPG brands. Foodservice and Retail both do over $1 Trillion in revenue and while CPG products may typically do 80%+ of their revenue at Retail, the Foodservice sector can represent an early opportunity to sell products at higher margins than Retail.Foodservice (Restaurants, Lodging, Healthcare, Education, deli and cafe areas of Grocery and C-Stores) requires less marketing than Retail where price promotions, merchandising and other trade and consumer marketing are needed to keep turns moving in that highly competitive environment. In a Foodservice environment, marketing may be limited to such simple items as sticker or card signage at the point of sale.The challenge in Foodservice is that it's a different supply chain system than Retail, often with different distributors and sales brokers working those channels, as well as different packaging needs and regulatory governance. As with all business, challenges are meant to be overcome and Foodservice can represent a substantial and more importantly profitable opportunity for food brands.Thanks to Naturally MN, FINNOVATION Lab and the excellent panel of Anna Richardson, Kate Seybold, Lolly Occhino, Jean Ronnel and Erin Denham.

14

4 Comments

How cheesy are you? US cheese consumption per person has doubled since 1980 and specialty cheese bound for charcuterie boards is leading the way, along with cottage cheese.This article doesn’t mention it but the continued strong growth of inclusional categories like frozen pizza and frozen appetizers likely helps as well.https://lnkd.in/ghqJvqBi

10

1 Comment

How about a package design that was made 36 years ago and is still on grocery shelves 😮?! In 1988, Steve Aanenson (now President of Old Dutch) worked with MVP Marketing + Design to review multiple design variations for Old Dutch Foods Popcorn on a LightSpeed Design system, one of the first computerized systems that allowed for design variations to be made without having to be produced manually. The system cost approximately $160K at the time and was eventually surpassed by the first Photoshop software on Macintosh in 1990.In an era when package designs rarely last a decade and when terms like Newstalgia, Vintage and 80’s Comeback designs are fully on trend, it’s amazing to see something original that continues to have success at the shelf nearly four decades later.Thanks to MVP CEO & Founder Richard (Dick) Weinrib for this buried treasure of a story and if you'd like to chat about a packaging revitalization for your food brand that will stand the test of time, give me a shout.

20

6 Comments

While working on the Betty Crocker brand, I realized Tom's insight first hand when we did some ethnography (in-home) research. We started out by interviewing the respondents and asking about "healthy eating." They all told us how important it was to them and how they prioritized it for themselves and their families. Then we asked to go in their kitchen and look in the pantries and fridge/freezer and that's when we got the real story. Salty snacks and frozen pizzas abounded and in one kitchen I couldn't find a single fruit or vegetable that wasn't canned.No judgement because I'm sure there are some similar gaps between my own thoughts and actions, but I will always remember the lesson learned from that research. In marketing, as in life, actions speak the truth much more accurately than words.

16

1 Comment

Tremendously insightful panel discussion today on Food Distribution & Sales with Lee Wallace and Alec Davis of Peace Coffee, Molly Clark of Taking Stock Foods, LLC with Heidi Traore facilitating. My key takeaways:1.Right Fit – take on distributors and brokers that are right for your desired customers and channels of trade. Brokers especially should have relationships with accounts or geographic regions where you are trying to grow your business. Consider retailer-specific brokers as opposed to brokers who say they can be everywhere.2.Negotiate Fees – only you know your goals and your budget. Be transparent about the stage of your business, what you can afford and if they say no then they’re not a good fit for your business.3.Hold Accountable – agree on goals up front then give them time to achieve, but if goals are not being met or professional standards are not being upheld then don’t be afraid to ask for another rep or to move on from the organization as a whole.4.Price Promotions – develop a national plan around seasonal or thematic tent poles that are right for your brand (when your category is hot). Add on retailer specific promotions as needed that align with their own programs or key time periods.Thanks as always to Naturally MN and FINNOVATION Lab for this excellent event!

21

1 Comment