Taste Maker
This week I launched Taste Maker- a marketing and growth agency for early-stage packaged food and beverage brands.
Having worked alongside the food and beverage industry for the past seven years, I’ve gotten to know many entrepreneurs creating food and beverage CPG (consumer packaged goods) products. This segment of the industry includes everything from energy bars to coffees to supplements to beer. In many ways, it has never been easier to launch a CPG company. CPG entrepreneurs have access to shared kitchen spaces in which they can produce products at relatively low costs. They also have access to the internet, through which they can distribute products direct-to-consumer (D2C), circumnavigating archaic distribution models and saturated grocery retailers.
These low barriers to entry have however made the industry very competitive. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for early-stage CPG entrepreneurs to identify and engage the future customers that they know will love their niche products and brands. Many of these entrepreneurs have amazing products and powerful stories to tell, but lack the resources and expertise necessary to build their tribe.
My goal with Taste Maker is to create a replicable process that empowers these entrepreneurs to do just this- to accelerate business growth by cultivating a tribe around their brand. This process will lean on organic growth tactics that include activating influencers, crafting shared experiences, and nurturing evangelists.
I’m driven to do this not just out of desire to help these entrepreneurs, but also out of an appreciation for the role that brands will play in the future of our society.
I’ve written in the past about what I believe to be the pressing issue of our era- the meaning void that has come from our collective loss of identity, community, and purpose. This has resulted from the wide-spread abandonment of traditional work, religion, and family. We are consequently watching people unite around politics and race…a dangerous recipe for deep division.
We have however also seen people with shared interests and values unite around brands that preach and practice their values. This includes everything from environmental consciousness (Patagonia, SweetGreen) to personal wellness (Soylent, SoulCycle) to altruism (TOMS Shoes, This Bar Saves Lives). I deeply believe that there is an opportunity for CPG brands to further serve as vehicles for identity, community, and purpose. I envision a world in which people are united around food and beverage brands to nourish their bodies, delight their senses, and enrich their lives with meaning.
