The ECRM Podcast
By Joseph Tarnowski
The ECRM PodcastApr 15, 2020
127. How Hunting Discomfort Drives Breakthrough Results in Business & Life (Sterling Hawkins)
ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski and entrepreneur, speaker and author Sterling Hawkins discuss how we can drive breakthrough results in business and life by regularly seeking activities that bring us out of our comfort zone, a topic Hawkins writes about in his new book, "Hunting Discomfort: How to Get Breakthrough Results in Life and Business, No Matter What."
They cover several topics from the book, including:
- How avoiding discomfort and limiting beliefs hold us back
- Why it’s important to be wrong on occasion
- Why persistence and grit are not always the answer
- The power of commitment (or "getting your tattoo")
- The negative impact of non-committed statements & self sabotage (where indecision becomes your decision)
- Why some self doubt is healthy
Sterling also outlines how we can incorporate discomfort into our lives to drive growth, and invites you to join his #nomatterwhat community of like-minded individuals actively hunting discomfort. Learn more at https://www.sterlinghawkins.com/
126. The Intersection of Beauty & Wellness: A Q&A with CVS' Andrea Harrison
Over the past couple of years, consumers have broadened their view of wellness to one that is more holistic and includes both physical and mental health. Not only are they more aware of the ingredients in the products they put on and in their bodies, but also the social and environmental impacts of the companies that manufacture those products and the retailers that sell them.
CVS has been on the forefront of addressing these consumers evolving beauty and wellness needs through its supplier partnerships, unique and innovative retail concepts, and a finger on the pulse of trends that impact its shoppers.
In this recent webcast, the first of a series of ECRM Beauty Talks fireside chats, Wayne Bennett spoke with Andrea Harrison, VP of Beauty and Personal Care at CVS, about the retailer’s vision, strategy and opportunities it sees around the intersection of beauty and wellness. They also discuss best practices for suppliers looking to do business with CVS.
125. How Healthy Snack Brand Solely Is Pushing All the Right Buttons with Buyers
In just three years since launching, healthy snack brand Solely Inc. has grown its distribution to more than 30,000 locations by checking off all all of the boxes that grab buyers attention these days. It makes healthy, organic products with minimal ingredients. It’s vertically integrated and controls its entire supply chain (translation: no out of stocks). It has a low carbon footprint and minimizes waste. Plus, it takes exceptional care of those farmers who grow the fruit for its products.
In this interview with ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski, Solely CEO Simón Sacal and Chief Revenue Officer Michel Algazi discuss the company's mission, products, business practices, and how it leverages virtual sessions and RangeMe to successfully engage the buyer community.
124. Bringing Speakeasy Style to Retail, Without the Alcohol: Blind Tiger Spirit-Free Cocktails
With the growing popularity of zero-ABV cocktails, it's no surprise that Blind Tiger Spirit-Free Cocktails was among the first wave of brands to receive a wholesale order on RangeMe shortly after the service became available on the platform. According to NielsenIQ, off-premise sales of non-alcoholic grew 87 percent versus last year. And a survey by CGA - Americas revealed that 11 percent of consumers have recently tried a non-alcoholic cocktail at an on-premise location.
ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski spoke with Founder Rebecca A. Styn, Ph.D. (who also owns the Room 33 restaurant in Erie, Pa.) about the origin of her brand, the growing no-ABV trend among consumers, and how she works with buyers to determine the optimal placement and assortment of this growing segment of the adult beverage category.
#business #retail #cpg #cocktails #spirits #ecrmrangeme
123. From Product Launch to Retail Shelves in Less Than a Year: Fichi Fig & Nut Bites
A 12,000-unit order from a major retailer, just months after launching. That's what Fichi Fig & Nut Bites Co-Founder Steven Tripoli experienced at ECRM's Plant-Based Foods session last year. Here's why he crushed it at our meetings:
First, the products: Fichi Fig & Walnut Bites: Ingredients: Figs, Walnuts. Then there are Fichi Fig & Almond Bites: Ingredients: Figs, Almonds. Clean, simple ingredients. Beautiful packaging. A delicious, plant-based snack. Nailed it on the product front. It was hard to resist eating the whole bag at once.
Second: He's got his biz squared away. Knows his numbers inside and out; has his supply chain locked down, test-marketed his products at local retailers for feedback.
Third: He crushed his ECRM virtual buyer presentations. Conducted deep research for every retailer on his appointment list. Selected the 5-minute meetings and kept his presentation concise: only 5 slides that covered the products and how he would help buyers drive category sales as a partner. Left most of the meeting time for buyer engagement and questions. The result: In addition to the initial 12K unit order, that retailer already re-ordered, plus Steve also has a few more opportunities in the works!
View the website here: https://fichisnacks.com/
122. So You've Landed on the Shelf... Now What? 3 Steps to Retail Success with Alli Ball
Once you've landed ON THE SHELF, you have to move your products OFF THE SHELF, and into shoppers baskets. In this presentation, Food Biz Wiz founder Allison Ball shares a 3-step plan to boost sales once you have secured that coveted shelf space.
This was one of the supplier workshops from ECRM's Global Market: Spring Buying Days, which took place last week, and includes the very engaging Q&A between Alli and the supplier participants.
Among the topics she discusses are:
- Developing a successful launch plan
- Engaging retail staff and shoppers to build excitement around your products
- Leveraging promotions, in-person and digital marketing
- Nurturing of key partnerships for long-term success post-launch.
Tons of practical insights for every emerging brand who has recently landed a retail deal!
121. Dr. PAWPAW: From Self-Funded Beauty Startup to International Success
Dr. PAWPAW has grown from a small emerging self-funded brand from the UK into an international success in some of the largest markets in the world, including USA and more recently, China.
Hear directly from Founder Johnny Paterson himself on topics including key successes and learnings when tackling new markets, their focus on the emergence of Gen-Z consumers, and as a loyal participant of ECRM programs, how they have utilized ECRM programs in the past to assist in their growth as an indie brand.
120. No Travel Required: How Green Global Foods Wins Retail Deals Virtually
Green Global Foods CEO Santiago Urti discusses how he has found success with retailers and foodservice operators worldwide in the face of adversity caused by the pandemic and supply chain issues. He also provides insights on how he prepares for and executes successful buyer meetings.
Urti is a regular ECRM program participant, a RangeMe Premium member, and has participated in the previous two ECRM Global Markets. He'll be at Global Market: Spring Buying Days this coming March.
119. The 'People' Factor: Why Relationships Matter in Leadership
In this episode, Sean Georges and John Buford, Ph.D., Co-Founders of On Mission Leadership and Co-Authors of "On Mission, Your Journey to Authentic Leadership, discuss the importance of building authentic relationships with your teams that are based on mutual trust as a key element of leadership.
Among the topics discussed are:
- Why relationships matter when it comes to leadership.
- Empathy and getting to know your team (and allowing them to get to knw you).
- Leading with love.
- The importance of honoring commitments.
- Why it's worth the time and effort required to build relationships.
John is a certified Leadership Coach, retired Marine Corps officer, Professor Emeritus, and professional wilderness guide with decades of experience developing leadership competence in young adults and adult professionals in business, higher education, the military, the nonprofit sector, and outdoor education.
Sean is a former Human Resource executive and General Counsel for a national, publicly-traded retailer. He previously served as an Officer of Marines for 13 years, to include duty as a Marine Judge Advocate. His TEDx presentation, The Essence of Authentic Leadership, has more than 24,000 views on YouTube.
118. Transparency & Candor are Critical for Successful Retailer-Supplier Relationships
Relationship and partnership blind spots can do more than hurt you; they can put you out of business.
These days, our industry is facing increased costs, looming inflation, limited face-to-face interactions, and an evolution in consumer behaviors, making strong retailer-supplier relationships more important than ever before.
“Partnerships are under more pressure than ever,” says Dan Mack, Founder and Managing Director of Mack Elevation. “They are under duress because of the pandemic, digital transformation, hyper-competition and a lot of additional factors.”
During his presentation at ECRM’s Global Market: Fall Experience, Dan Mack, Founder & Managing Director of Mack Elevation, discussed insights from his interviews with 25 CPG sales VPs as well as 10 leading retailers on how today's fast-evolving retail landscape has impacted their relationships, and how they can best work together. This podcast includes his full presentation, as well as the audience Q&A with Wayne Bennett, ECRM SVP of Retail, who moderated the session.
Click here to read the blog post summary of this presentation.
Click here to view Dan Mack's profile on LinkedIn.
117. How Embracing Discomfort Enhances Health, Happiness & Performance: Michael Easter Interview
Have you embraced discomfort today? For our latest blog post, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski spoke with Michael Easter, Author of "The Comfort Crisis," about how intentionally adding discomfort back into our lives can revive the mental, physical and spiritual vitality we are meant to have, and help us grow personally and professionally to levels we may have thought previously impossible.
Easter’s journey to understand our evolutionary need to be challenged takes him to meet the NBA’s top exercise scientist, who uses an ancient Japanese practice to build championship athletes; to the mystical country of Bhutan, where an Oxford economist and Buddhist leader are showing the world what death can teach us about happiness; to the outdoor lab of a young neuroscientist who’s found that nature tests our physical and mental endurance in ways that expand creativity while taming burnout and anxiety; to the remote Alaskan backcountry on a demanding thirty-three-day hunting expedition to experience the rewilding secrets of one of the last rugged places on Earth; and more.
Along the way, Easter uncovers a blueprint for leveraging the power of discomfort that will dramatically improve our health and happiness, and perhaps even help us understand what it means to be human. The Comfort Crisis is a bold call to break out of your comfort zone and explore the wild within yourself. Since publication, The Comfort Crisis has become a bestseller and been adopted by Major League Baseball teams, top-ranked NCAA D1 football programs, top-tier universities and law programs, major corporations, tier-one military units, and more.
Purchase the book here: https://eastermichael.com/book/
View the ECRM Blog post summary of the interview here.
View the interview on YouTube here.
#performance #wellness #personalgrowth #business
116. How Zot Organic’s Consultative Approach Landed Deals at ECRM Global Market
Zot organic's Todd Kite landed two retail deals from his six meetings at ECRM's recent Global Market: Fall Experience, and is close to closing another. In this interview with Joseph Tarnowski, he discusses his approach to buyer relationships and how it has driven retail success for this organic licorice supplier.
Kite is all about servicing the buyer. He takes a consultative approach to sales, presents with the buyer's needs in mind, and is fully transparent about the company's capabilities. “I would rather walk away from the table than get a black mark on our reputation by not being able to supply somebody,” he says.
Indeed, his focus on slow and sustainable growth, along with incredible service, has led to the company continually exceeding the targets it sets every year..
In this post you'll learn about Kite's philosophy when it comes to retail sales, how he presents during meetings, and how he develops long-term mutually-beneficial relationships with retail buyers.
#retail #sales #business
115. How Authentic Leadership Builds Unbeatable Teams: Sean Georges, On Mission Leadership
Authentic leadership is what builds high-performing teams, forged by mutual trust and accountability in service to one another in support of their organizations mission. And it's not limited by title or rank. EVERYONE can lead.
But what makes an authentic leader?
According to Sean Georges and Dr. John Buford, co-authors of "On Mission: Your Journey to Authentic Leadership," authentic leaders influence others in the direction of a shared mission by serving them, providing them with the support and resources they need. In some cases, this even means sharing leadership responsibilities.
ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski spoke with Georges about authentic leadership, how it works, what makes an authentic servant-leader, and why relational leadership develops far more powerful teams than transactional leadership.
This is the first in a series of four interviews in which the authors will cover a variety of leadership topics from their book, which will e released April 2022.
#leadership #leader #personalgrowth #business #ecrmrangeme
114. How Frost Popsicles Crushed its Virtual Buyer Meetings
113. How to Make Better Observations & Communicate More Effectively in a Virtual World
112. Power Trends that are Shaping the Natural Products Industry (Kate LaBrosse, Kate LaBrosse Consu
111. Breaking Into the U.S. Market: Best Practices for International Brands (Galvanina)
International brands looking to break into the U.S. retail market face many challenges, such as connecting with the right buyers, setting up a distribution plan, and determining the right strategic marketing mix to drive consumer demand in locations that have different trends and cultures than their home markets.
Galvanina, an Italian beverage supplier which produces and bottles mineral water, organic carbonated soft drinks, mixers and iced-teas, has cracked the code to success in the U.S., which is among the 50 countries in which it’s products can be found. The company launched nearly a century ago, taking its name from a mineral water spring near the hills of Rimini, and since 1987 has expanded distribution of its branded and private label beverages among the largest U.S. retailers.
In this episode, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski with Galvanina's Ronan Noonan and Greta Pagliarani about the brand and its products, and how the wellness trend is impacting the beverage industry. They also do a deep dive on best practices for international brands looking to enter the U.S. retail market. And since they are veterans of ECRM's programs, they also provide tips on how international brands can get the most from their buyer meetings on the ECRM Connect platform.
ECRM connects buyers and sellers of fast-moving consumer goods in category-specific, highly curated face-to-face meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
110. Driving Restaurant Revenue with Pop-Ups (Cheryl Niman, For Your Table Consulting)
However, with a little creativity, marketing savvy and salesmanship, restaurant operators have opportunities to generate some extra sales, expand their markets, and keep staff on payroll by opening up pop-up locations.
Cheryl Niman, Owner of For Your Table Consulting, is a 30-year Kroger veteran who has also worked at Gordon Food Service, and she combines her retail and foodservice expertise to help restaurants build successful pop-up locations, primarily by partnering with food retailers, but also with other retail channels and venues as well.
In this episode, Niman takes us through the restaurant pop-up concept, and how to successfully market and execute pop-ups in partnership with local venues. This is definitely something that restaurant operators participating in ECRM’s March Foodservice Program should consider exploring.
ECRM connects buyers and sellers of fast-moving consumer goods in category-specific, highly curated face-to-face meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
109. Ahold Delhaize’s Commitment to Sustainability Success
108: Driving Trial with CBD Products: How Betterment Retail Solutions Does It
When it comes to selling CBD to mass retail consumers, generating trial is critical if you are looking to tap into the vast swath of shoppers who are new to the segment. But it’s far from easy. Retailers must drive awareness of the segment, furnish a wealth of information quickly and in a format that’s easy-to-understand, have a product assortment that caters to a variety of needs and tastes, and a price-point that is not too prohibitive.
Successfully executing on this, however, can open a wealth of opportunity among the millions of mass retail shoppers that peruse the aisles each day. Betterment Retail Solutions, a wellness distributor based in West Des Moines, Iowa, has developed many such successful programs for the retailers and brands it serves (Yesway and Kwik Chek among them), and from this work has gained a ton of insights on what drives CBD success at the shelf.
In this podcast ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Betterment President Dorsey Sparks about some best practices that retailers and brands can implement to drive the trial of CBD products and to get these new CBD consumers coming back for more. As Dorsey is a regular buyer participant at ECRM CBD sessions, she also discusses how CBD brands can best engage with buyers during our ECRM Connect programs.
ECRM connects buyers and sellers of fast-moving consumer goods in category-specific, highly curated face-to-face meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
107. Successful Goal-Setting for Brand-Owners (Alli Ball, Founder of Allison Ball Consulting)
Happy New Year everyone! For most people, the start of the new year involves setting goals, and so for our first podcast of 2021 our focus is exactly that. In this episode, I speak once again with Alli Ball, a former grocery buyer and founder of Allison Ball Consulting, which works with emerging food and beverage brands to help them succeed at retail. She's also the host of the Food Biz Wiz podcast, in which she shares all kinds of helpful advice for brands on how to effectively run their businesses and get their products on the shelf and into consumers' hands.
Alli takes us through the steps and strategies brand-owners can take to set and achieve effective goals (and common mistakes to avoid in doing so). She then shows us how to reverse-engineer those goals into tactics and timelines that will deliver optimal success without overwhelming you. Alli and I also go off on a fun tangent about productivity hacks that we each do and how these can be applied to your goal-setting practices. I really enjoyed this interview, and I know you will too!
ECRM connects buyers and sellers of fast-moving consumer goods in category-specific, highly curated face-to-face meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
Read an overview of these tips on ECRM's blog.
Here are links to some of the books we discussed:
Free to Focus, by Michael Hyatt
The One Thing, by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.
Indistractable, by Nyr Eyal
My column on "Boundaries: Creating Work/Life Balance in a Remote World"
106. B2B Virtual Sales Success: Mojo Skin & Haircare
One could say that Paul Adrian, Founder & CEO of U.K.-based Mojo Skin & Haircare, had a successful experience at ECRM’s recent European Personal Care Virtual Program. Not only did his company win the Buyers Choice Award for its Hair Molding Clay, but his products were picked up by the Ideal World TV shopping channel just days after his meeting with them, and his products were featured just last weekend. Plus, he’s in the midst of several follow-up conversations with buyers from the program, and is expecting a few more wins to come out of them.
Mojo is a premium men’s grooming and styling range, and currently offers four products that cover most men’s hair types and are sold in more than 3,000 stores in Europe and Australia. In this episode, I speak with Paul about the origin of the company, how he approaches retailer relationships, and his experience meeting with buyers at his recent ECRM session. He also discusses his upcoming skincare launch, and his plans to leverage ECRM's virtual platform to launch in the US next year.
ECRM connects buyers and sellers of fast-moving consumer goods in category-specific, highly curated face-to-face meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
105. Stephensons Online: Helping Brands Expand E-Commerce Globally
The company buys and warehouses the products, and manages everything from set-up to day-to-day operations, including product listings, storefront design and management, brand registry, messaging, returns, and even language translation. It also handles global distribution to both B2B and B2C customers.
And where does Taylor go to find many of these brands? ECRM, of course! He's been to more than a dozen in-person and virtual sessions, and listed more than 50 brands from this year's sessions alone. In this episode, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Taylor about the types of brands he works with and how they help them to succeed with third-party ecommerce sites around the world. We also touch on his ECRM virtual experience, and how virtual has helped Stephensons expand into new categories.
ECRM connects buyers and sellers of fast-moving consumers goods in category-specific private, prescheduled face-to-face meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
104. Hint, Inc. Founder & CEO Kara Goldin on Becoming 'Undaunted'
In this episode, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Kara Goldin, the Founder & CEO of Hint, which is best known for its beverages, but also has a line of personal care products too. She's a groundbreaking entrepreneur who has received a ton of accolades during her career, including EY Entrepreneur of the year for Northern California, InStyle's Badass 50, Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, and Fortune's Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs. The Huffington Post listed her as one of six disruptors in business, alongside Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
And now she can add Wall Street Journal bestselling author to her accomplishments as well, having just made the list with her newly-released book, Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts & Doubters. In this interview, we cover several key learnings she wrote about in the book from throughout her varied career, which spanned Time Inc., CNN, and AOL before launching Hint.
They discuss the value of creating your own opportunities and just getting started without overthinking things, the concept of building the airplane while flying it, and how to transform setbacks into opportunities.
SHOW NOTES
- What 'Undaunted' means to Kara (02:55)
- Creating your own opportunities (08:18)
- New York City & Time Inc. (10:33)
- Just show up every day and try to learn something (15:20)
- If I just go try, I can ultimately do these things (17:54)
- Entrepreneurship is really solving a new problem (18:44)
- The cold call that led to AOL (22:35)
- Just get started! (26:40)
- Own your mistakes and learn from them (30:17)
- Launching Hint at Whole Foods, having child No. 4 and selling out every case -- all on the same day (36:09)
- Expanding to New York (41:04)
- Building the airplane while flying it (41:55)
- Making time for everything (49:09)
- The Starbucks de-listing and transforming setbacks into opportunities (50:38)
- Taking a chance on direct-to-consumer (55:43)
- Nobody can solve your problems for you (61:01)
- Failure as a part of success (1:04:32)
- Be okay with not having all of the answers (1:07:49)
Lots of great anecdotes and insights from the book, which I highly recommend you pick up if you haven't already read it!
Click here to order Undaunted: http://www.drinkhint.com/ECRM
103. 5 Steps to a PERFECT Virtual Buyer Pitch (Alli Ball, Allison Ball Consulting)
If you want to CRUSH IT in your next virtual buyer meeting, well then this podcast is for you. Alli Ball, Founder & Principal of Allison Ball consulting lays out five steps to creating a perfect virtual buyer pitch. And Alli knows a thing or two about pitching buyers. She's a former buyer turned wholesale consultant who has helped hundreds of emerging brands understand what it takes to get their products on the retail shelf.
She's the creator of Retail Ready, an online course for producers of packaged food products seeking to succeed at retail, and the host of the Food Biz Wiz podcast, where she shares behind-the-scenes secrets and thought processes of buyers as they asses new products for their retail operations.
Prior to launching her consulting business, Alli was essential in the development of the Bi-Rite family of businesses in San Francisco, sourcing products and consulting with hundreds of up-and-coming food businesses for years.
Lots of great information here for all emerging brands, particularly those participating in ECRM Virtual Programs.
ECRM holds more than 80 category-specific virtual sessions in which brands can have private, prescheduled face-to-face virtual meetings with buyers in food and beverage, health and beauty care, general merchandise and pharmacy and medical markets. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
Check out Alli's Retail Roadmap, 9 steps to building a brand that flies off the shelf: www.alliball.com/roadmap
Alli Ball's Retail Ready Online Course
102. Growing Up in the Candy Business: Alina Morse, Founder and CEO of Zolli Candy
And while Alina is only 15 years old, she's the real deal. I've seen her at our Candy Planning sessions every year since she was 10, meeting with buyers, networking with other partcipants and getting business done. She's actually closed a lot of business with retailers she's met at our sessions.
In this discussion, we talk about how she has both literally and figuratively grown in the business with ECRM. We cover how she came up with the idea for the candy, how she approaches her buyer meetings, and how she develops custom solutions based on buyers' specific needs. We also chat about life as a teenage entrepreneur, and how she finds a balance between work, school and recreational activities.
Great insights here from a rising star in the industry, and entrepreneurs both young and old will enjoy this one!
ECRM connects buyers and sellers of fast-moving consumers goods in category-specific private, prescheduled face-to-face meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com
101. Michele Deeves, Retail & Marketing Lead, Medicare Pharmacy Group (South Africa)
In this episode, I speak with Michele Deeves, Retail & Marketing Lead for South African pharmacy chain Medicare Pharmacy Group. Michele is a veteran ECRM session participant, attending in her first in-person session more than a dozen years ago, and has recently participated in both our Euro and U.S.-focused Virtual Sessions. In her role as retail lead, Michele heads up the front-end buying across all categories, and takes us through how the pandemic has impacted shopper behavior in the South African market. She also discusses how the retailer has been sourcing and merchandsing various categories as country-wide restrictions and consumer demands have varied widely over the past few months. She wraps up with details of her experience with ECRM's Virtual Sessions, and how they have enabled her to find trending products from suppliers around the world -- all from the comfort of her home office. Lots of great South African market insights in this one.
ECRM hosts category-specific face-to-face virtual meetings for retailers and brands around the world. For more information, visit ECRM.MarketGate.com.
View the blog post of this interview on the ECRM Blog.
View the video interview on YouTube.
100. Lorena Acosta, Founder, Be Busy Being Awesome Agency
For our 100th podcast, I wanted to do something a little special, a little different. So we're going to teach you how to sell without selling by building a powerful personal brand. My guest on this podcast is personal branding expert Lorena Acosta, the Founder of Be Busy Being Awesome Agency, who coaches business leaders on how to develop and engage an audience of followers who share their values and beliefs, and to create content that builds trust and creates meaningful, long-lasting relationships.
We discuss what personal branding is (and what it's not), how to build your tribe of engaged followers, and how to leverage social media -- and LinkedIn in particular -- to make this happen. And Lorena knows a thing or two about LinkedIn, as she recently surpassed 1 million followers on the platform. Lots of great insights in this one, and I certainly learned a few things to apply to my own personal brand building efforts, and I'm sure you will too.
Click here to view the blog post.
Click here for the YouTube video interview.
Click here to see ECRM's full list of category-specific virtual sessions.
99. Food & Beverage Innovation: Barb Stuckey, Chief Innovation Officer, Mattson
98. Conor O' Farrell, Buying Manager - Positive Healthcare, Boots Ireland
97. Virtual Presentation Tips from a 3-Time Emmy Award-Winning Journalist
This episode is a great one for anyone who participates in virtual meetings - which is basically everybody these days. I had the opportunity to chat with Wendy Saltzman, CEO of Philly Power Media about how to effectively communicate and engage with people in a virtual setting. Wendy coaches executives, entrepreneurs, celebrities and sports figures about how to deliver strong presentations, whether in-person or virtually.
And she definitely has some credibility in this area. In fact, she's won three Emmy Awards during her 23-year career as a broadcast journalist, so she knows the ins and outs of working in front of a camera. She provides a variety of practical and easy-to-implement tips on how to put your best foot forward on screen, and we cover areas such as framing your visual space, lighting, camera angles, the importance of smiling, and -- how to even avoid mumbling. I certainly walked away with a lot of things to apply to my virtual meetings.
Now we do have this interview in video format, and if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend watching that version, as you'll get to see some helpful visuals - including the two of us making funny faces as she walks me through a couple of exercises. But, and there is no surprise here, she is very descriptive in her explanations, so you'll get a ton just from listening. Watch the YouTube video here.
ECRM has more than 80 category-specific virtual sessions where buyers and sellers of products in food and beverage, health and beauty care, general merchandise and pharmacy and medical markets can connect in private, pre-scheduled virtual meetings. For more information, visit ECRM.marketgate.com
Visit the Philly Power Media website.
Email Wendy: wendy@phillypowermedia.com
96. Mastering the 5-Minute Buyer Pitch: Shirley White, OTC Beverages
95. Bringing the In-Person Experience to Virtual: How Herbally Yours Does It
94. How Clark Food Service Equipment is Helping to Make Dining Safer (Becky Smith, Project Exec.)
Foodservice operators have been innovating ever since the outbreaks in March to accommodate these requirements as best as they can, helped in no small way by their supplier partners, who have done much innovating themselves. Clark Food Service Equipment, based in Lancaster, Penn. and a recent participant in ECRM’s Foodservice Virtual Session, is a great example of this.
In this episode, I speak with Becky Smith, Project Executive at Clark Food Service Equipment, on how they are working with foodservice operators to enable them to keep their business going safely and successfully during the pandemic, as well as prepping them for a post-pandemic world. We also discuss her experience at the virtual foodservice session, and how virtual will play a role in Clark's future.
93. EATING BUGS: A Q&A With Entosense Founder Bill Broadbent
92. Hecky’s Barbecue: Food, Family & Philanthropy
This past May, Powell, who founded the business in 1983, was featured on NBC’s Lives Well Lived series when he passed away due to complications from the coronavirus. In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with three members of the Hecky's team, including Hecky Powell Jr., Kathryn Boatright, and Carl LaMell about the company's origin, its products, and its recent participation in ECRM's Efficient Supplier Introduction for Black-Owned Businesses. A great story about a brand with a huge histroy of giving back.
91. Q&A: Brandy Alexander - Senior Buyer, Health & Beauty Care, 99 Cents Only Stores
Brandy Alexander is the Senior Buyer for Health & Beauty at 99 Cents Only Stores, which has more than 350 locations across four states. And while the company's name might be 99 cents only, their products are not only 99 cents. In fact, over the years they have evolved to a retailer that delivers amazing value compared to the rest of the market, even at price points around twenty-five bucks.
In this episode, I speak with Brandy about how the pandemic has changed the way consumers shop the retaler's stores, and how Brandy herself has adapted her day-to-day activities working remotely. She also talks about her experience participating in ECRMs recent Personal Care, Health Care and Sun Care virtual sessions. And while she was initially reluctant to participate, after about 100 meetings using the ECRM Connect platform, she can probably explain the benefits it delivers buyers as well as any of us on the ECRM staff can.
We wrap up with a discussion on the future of virtual in retail and CPG, as well as some advice for suppliers when they are pitching virtually to Brandy.
Click here to see ECRM's full list of category-specific virtual sessions.
90. Giant Eagle's Brain Ferrier: Turning Adversity into Opportunity with Virtual Tools
89. Staples’ Brian Coupland: Building Solutions for the ‘Remote & Ready’ Consumer
This is a part of everyday life now, and from the looks of things, will be the norm for the foreseeable future. And all of it requires products, tools and solutions to help optimize your efficiency and safety in this new world. And Staples is looking to provide them, reinventing its assortment to help us be “remote ready.”
In this podcast, ECRM's Wayne Bennett speaks with Brian Coupland, SVP of Retail Merchandising of Staples about the needs of today's consumers and businesses as they adapt the way they work, learn and communicate in a world of restricted travel, social distancing and sanitization, and how Staples itself is adapting its stores and assortments to accommodate these needs.
88. Walmart’s Scott Gutche on This Year’s Virtual Open Call
The event kicks off Walmart’s celebration of U.S. Manufacturing Month and will include similar programming to previous years. In addition to one-on-one pitch meetings with Walmart buyers, participants will have an opportunity to hear directly from Walmart executives and learn from company leaders during smaller breakout sessions designed to inform, empower and encourage supplier-hopefuls.
In this podcast, ECRM’s Wayne Bennett speaks with Scott Gutche, Senior Director of U.S. Manufacturing and Sourcing for Walmart, about this year’s Open Call program.
The deadline to apply to participate in this year's Open Call for U.S.-manufactured products is Aug. 10. The application and additional information about the event are available below.
Suppliers can submit their application here: engage.walmart-jump.com/article/submit-items
87. Today's Consumer Needs an 'Empathetic Ear' From Retailers & Brands (Larry Levin, IRI)
86. Success at the Shelf: Color-Blocking Strategies for Packaging Design
To show you how this is done, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski spoke with Emily Page, CEO of Pearl Resourcing and a packaging design and product branding expert, who will take you through the steps on what you need to do.
Side note: This was originally recorded as a youtube video with a ton of visual examples, so if you get the chance, definitely check out the video with the link below. However, knowing that this would be a podcast as well, we did use a lot of descriptive language to make it as visual as possible for those of you just listening. Either way, you'll get a lot out of it!
YouTube video link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvu2V53tNP0
ABOUT EMILY PAGE:
Emily has managed and launched multiple 7-figure brands in Costco, Williams-Sonoma, Kroger, and Amazon. She’s bringing you the expertise, resources, and mentors you need so that you can develop products and make them sell. Work with her as a business growth consultant at emilyannepage.com OR subscribe to her Start To Sold YouTube Chanel for more product development advice youtube.com/c/starttosold/. Or add her on LINKEDIN to broaden your network: www.linkedin.com/in/emilypage/. To hire her packaging design company visit pearlresourcing.net.
#ECRMrangeme #PackagingDesign #PackagingDesignStrategy #colorblocking #packagingdesign #SalesStrategy #RetailStrategy #RetailLaunch #PrivateLabelProducts #FoodIndustry #BeautyIndustry #VitaminIndustry #BuyerEducation #PearlResourcing
Joe Tarnowski
ECRM | VP of Content
Office: 440-528-4207 (Eastern)
Mobile: 917-446-7192
ECRM.MarketGate.com
RangeMe.com
85. Back to Business: How Bars & Restaurants Can Navigate Re-Opening Challenges
Now bars and restaurants beginning to reopen. Well, kind of. The country is really a patchwork of different phases of re-opening, with some places allowing limited indoor seating, others, like my home city of New York just recently allowing outdoor dining. Then you have other areas that opened up earlier that are now shutting down due to spikes in Covid cases, many caused by reopening too early, or doing it improperly – or both.
So during this interview Joe, Art and Ashley discuss the current state of the industry as it pertains to opening back up for business, and some best practices bars and restaurants can deploy in order to provide a safe operation for guests, while at the same time maximizing revenue opportunities. As you’ll learn from the interview, these two things are often closely tied together.
84. Enstrom Candies: Bringing the In-Person Experience to Virtual Meetings
83. Retail Reset: Best Practices for Engaging Cautious Consumers (WSL Strategic Retail)
As retailers are beginning to open up for business, these scouts have been checking out how they have adapted their stores and operations to this new environment, where shoppers are cautiously starting to make their way into stores again, whether to browse the aisles or to pick up an online order.
During this interview, I speak with WSL Senior Consultant Elizabeth Gretkowski and Consultant Analyst Kaci Floyd about what they and their scouts have witnessed among retailers and some restaurants located in Texas, Florida, London, New York and New Jersey. One thing is for sure: Everything that retailers have been working on – convenience, store-experience, e-commerce, services -- have new definitions now compared to just three months ago, something WSL refers to as the "Retail Reset."
We wrap up the conversation with seven recommendations from the WSL team, based on this feedback from the field. on how to make your operation the place consumers feel confident to shop.
82. Virtual Sessions, Real Orders: Earth Friendly Products's Craig Harlan & ECRM Connect
In this episode, ECRM VP of COntent Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Craig about his company and the products they offer, and how the pandemic has impacted their business – both from a sales and supply chain perspective as well as how it changed the way they engage with buyers. He also provides details on his ECRM Virtual Session experience and the benefits that virtual meetings will bring to the industry moving forward.
81. What's Trending in the Pet Category (Maria Lange, VP of Pet & Cannabis Verticals, Nielsen)
80. Q&A With Bartell Drugs' Gemeral Merchandise Category Manager Howie Cohen
During the initial phase of the pandemic, essential items were considered to be things like food, hand sanitizer and of course, toilet paper. But as the stay-at-home orders began to span months, the definition of what was essential has shifted. Now it includes products that keep us occupied, that help us to work and learn from home, things that help us to prepare meals, and many of these products fall under the general merchandise umbrella.
In this podcast, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Howie Cohen, General Merchandise Category Manager for Bartell Drugs, about how their consumers' shopping activity around general merchandise has changed over the past few months. They also discuss how the stay-at-home orders hae impacted Howie's day-to-day activities as a category manager, and the role virtual has played in them. And since he also participated in ECRM's recent Pet Virtual Session, we talk about his experience using the platform, and the opportunities it presents for him in sourcing products in other GM segments, as well. This is actually Joe's third interview with Howie, who is just an all-around awesome guy, and you'll not only find this discussion informative, but very entertaining, as well.
Click here to read the blog post
Click here to watch the video interview on YouTube
Click here to see the list of ECRM's category-specific virtual sessions.
79. The New Retail Mindset & What it Means for Suppliers (Dan Mack, Founder of Mack Elevation)
One impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is that it has changed the mindset of retailers and the way in which they view thier supplier partnerships. They have new expectations when it comes to supply chain capabilities, innovation, and consumer engagement, and trust is now more important than ever.
In this episode, ECRM's Wayne Bennett speaks with Dan Mack, Founder & Managng Director of Mack Elevantion Forum, they discuss this new retail mindset and provide some insights on how suppliers can best engage with them moving forward.
Dan is a strategist, advisor and performance coach to numerous companies in the consumer package goods industry. He is the founder of the Elevation Forum Leadership Group and he hosts thought leadership events bringing together retailers and suppliers to discuss higher level partnerships and the future of the industry. He researches and advises executives on the practices of elite growth companies in his first book, Dark Horse: How Challenger Companies Rise to Prominence.
Mack was a sales and training leader at GlaxoSmithKline, served as Vice President of Sales at GOJO Industries (the creator of PURELL) and Vice President of Sales at Dentek Oral Care. He as a passion for coaching leaders on creating high performing sales cultures.
https://mackelevationforum.com/
Read the blog Q&A here: https://ecrm.marketgate.com/Blog/2020/06/The-New-Retail-Mindset-What-it-Means-for-Suppliers
78. ECRM Virtual Platform a 'Game Changer' for Hy-Vee's Todd Gean
Todd Gean, Candy Category Manager for Hy-Vee, who was originally a bit skeptical about participatng in ECRM's Virtual Session for Easter & Valentine's Day Candy Planning. After all, he had been working remotely for a couple of months now and had been setting up virtual meetings with suppliers on his own. So he figured, why would he need us to do it? But that all changed once his meetings began, and he saw the value delivered by the people, process and platform behind ECRM's virtual sessions. In this episode, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski chats with Todd about his experience with our virtual platform, and why he thinks it's a game-changer for buyers and suppliers.
Click here to read the blog post.
Click here to watch the video on YouTube.
Click here for the list of ECRM's category-specific virtual sessions.
#retail #cpg #candy #virtualmeetings #categorymanager #sourcing