#140 Buyer Spotlight: Foodservice Buying with Lizz Ingrassia & Allie Cotter, Fresh Thyme

The Startup CPG Podcast · 30 Apr 2024 · 44m · Episode 34

What this episode covers

Lizz Ingrassia, Senior Category Manager for Food Service, and Allie Cotter, Category Manager for Deli and Prepared Foods at Fresh Thyme Market, discuss the nuances of foodservice buying in retail. They detail how Fresh Thyme balances labor constraints with the demand for high-quality, restaurant-style packaged meals, highlighting partnerships with brands like Kevin's, Bolani, and Wonder Monday. The conversation covers operational strategies, including the use of detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for in-store assembly, distribution logistics through KeHE, and the importance of being first-to-market with local and national brands to drive customer loyalty.

Mentioned

Companies
Fresh Thyme Market, KeHE, Lucky's, Aramark, Meyer, Simply Depo, Hummingbirds
Products
Kevin's, Bolani, Wonder Monday, Haven's Kitchen, Yaso Pop, Boar's Head, Delallo, Freestyle Snacks, Boris, Kasia's Pierogies
Also
IDDBA

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • People of Packaging · 31m

    333 - The Chasm is Real: Dragging Packaging into the 21st Century with Jamie Lo from Laibl

    Jamie Lo, co-founder and CEO of Laibl, explains how his platform uses AI to bridge the 'chasm' between legacy packaging suppliers and modern brands by automating sourcing and matching. He details the platform's 'Outcome as a Service' model, where suppliers pay commissions only upon successful transactions, incentivizing quality and responsiveness. The episode highlights how Laibl’s concierge agent vets over 4,000 North American suppliers to help brands find diverse, value-aligned partners quickly, addressing the inefficiencies of traditional RFPs and trade show networking.

  • How I Built This · 37m

    What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 2

    Becca Millstein of Fishwife, Brian Rudolph of Banza, and Caue Suplicy of Barnana discuss scaling their food brands from direct-to-consumer origins to national retail presence. They detail strategies for product-market fit, including influencer seeding, packaging design, and navigating supply chain disruptions and misinformation crises. The founders also share advice on co-founder dynamics, customer segmentation, and the importance of brand moats in the competitive CPG landscape.

  • How I Built This · 48m

    Advice Line with Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali of Chomps

    Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, co-founders of the meat stick brand Chomps, discuss the 'proteinification' of the food industry and how a recent, costly product recall reinforced their commitment to consumer safety. They advise Yari Dariz of Yadi Artisanal Empanadas on scaling strategies, suggesting a commissary model and delivery to manage seasonality, and counsel Zachary of Noble Pies on proving velocity and incrementality to break into big-box retailers like Whole Foods. Finally, they guide Josh Shrinko of Achigan on when to transition his smallmouth bass lifestyle brand from part-time to full-time, emphasizing focus on high-margin product lines like lures.

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 47m

    A Behind-the-Scenes Look into Pizza Manufacturing with Nick Fallucca of Palermo’s Pizza

    Nick Fallucca, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Palermo's Pizza, discusses the evolution of his family's frozen pizza business from a Sicilian bakery to a national brand with products like Urban Pie and Screaming Sicilian. He details the complexities of food manufacturing, specifically the challenges of maintaining consistent topping distribution and the strategic role of packaging in retail logistics. Fallucca explains how the company balances innovation with mass appeal, citing failed products like 'Three Little Piggies' and successful partnerships with retailers like Walmart and Whole Foods.

  • How I Built This · 36m

    What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 1

    Guy Raz interviews Becca Millstein of Fishwife, Brian Rudolph of Banza, and Caue Suplicy of Barnana about the early stages of building their food businesses. Millstein explains how she leveraged social media and distinctive packaging to launch Fishwife as a direct-to-consumer brand during the pandemic. Rudolph details Banza’s journey from a kitchen prototype to securing a major retail deal with Meijer, despite catastrophic manufacturing failures with chickpea pasta. Suplicy describes bootstrapping Barnana by sourcing co-packers and initially rejecting large orders from retailers like Wegmans due to capacity constraints.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Startup CPG Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.