Taste Radio

Grocery store aisles are inundated with claims, benefits and buzzwords. Amara has taken a different approach: start with whole-food ingredients, use proprietary food technology to make them snackable, and let consumer needs drive what comes next. 
Launched in 2017, the organic kids' food brand is best known for its superfood smoothie melts and also markets fruit bites, breakfast oat melts and baby food. The products are distributed across the U.S. at Target, Whole Foods, Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Sprouts and Publix.
In this conversation, founder and CEO Jess Sturzenegger explains how Amara evolved from DTC into a national retail brand, why disciplined innovation matters more than launching a constant stream of new products, and how she's used everything from one-on-one customer calls to formal consumer testing to shape the business. 
She also gets candid about retail readiness, operational scaling, sourcing, fundraising, protecting founder control and adapting her own role as the company grows. Most importantly, Jess shares why listening to consumers—and then actually acting on what they tell you—has been central to Amara's growth.
Show notes:
0:20: Jess Sturzenegger, Founder & CEO, Amara – Jess Sturzenegger discusses how her personal interest in food quality and preservation technology led her to launch a brand focused on making whole fruits and vegetables more accessible in convenient snack formats. She explains how Amara evolved from baby food into toddler and kids' snacks, why educating parents about its products required translating nutritional benefits into practical everyday advantages, and how consumer feedback has guided its innovation strategy. Jess shares how the company leveraged D2C traction and customer reviews to secure its first natural and specialty retail placements before expanding into Target, Walmart and Costco. She also details the operational changes required to support that growth, the importance of building experienced teams, maintaining strict ingredient and quality standards, and developing close supplier relationships to manage costs. The conversation also explores what attracted investors to Amara, how fundraising priorities change as a company matures, protecting founder equity and control, and the importance of adapting as a CEO. Jess closes with a look at Amara's focus on serving children ages zero to seven, developing products around specific eating occasions, and building a brand that reaches more households.
Brands in this episode: Amara

One misleading social post can spark a frenzy – but can brands keep playing with consumer trust? We unpack the curious ruse of a beloved emerging brand and the growing debate around "rage bait." 
We also dig into Whole Foods' latest LEAP cohort and what its emerging-brand picks reveal about the next wave of CPG. Plus, we sample functional freeze pops and flavored dried mango, and hear  from the founders of three fast-growing brands about building community, creating better-for-you products and turning retail distribution into sustainable growth.
Show notes:
0:20: London Calling, Buyer Bingo, LEAP Year, Creamed. Functional Freeze Pops, Better-For-You-ish – The hosts preview the October 21 London meetup at TRIP HQ, along with Nosh Live, BevNET Live and Brewbound Live in Los Angeles in December, highlighting speakers and one-to-one opportunities with Whole Foods buyers and Venable. They then examine Whole Foods Market's 2026 LEAP cohort and what the selections suggest about CPG, including global flavors, cultural heritage, convenience and food-based functionality. The conversation turns to Pistakio's social post suggesting the brand was ending, which was later clarified as the sunsetting of an earlier product version. The hosts consider the engagement and potential trust risks of "rage bait" and misleading framing. They also point listeners to a Nombase interview with Whole Foods buyer Charlie New, then sample Sleet Pops' freeze pops and discuss functional ingredients and cold-chain flexibility. Finally, they taste Chici Mama's flavored dried mango bites and debate whether they are better viewed as dried fruit or a better-for-you candy alternative, exploring what "better-for-you" really means.
27:08: Interviews from Taste Radio's San Francisco Meetup – Ray sits down with San Francisco Brewing Company founder Josh Leavy, Rotten founder Michael Fisher, and Bakeful founder and CEO Tony Davis for conversations about building brands, connecting with consumers, and navigating growth. From creating community around craft beer and leveraging founder-led social media to winning national retail distribution and driving repeat purchases, the interviews explore the opportunities and challenges facing emerging CPG brands.
Brands in this episode: TRIP, SmartSweets, Snackish, The Coconut Cult, MALK, Rachel's Good Eats, Nowhere Bakery, Honey Mama's, Midday Squares, Mason Dixie Foods, Alavi, Olipop, Garage Beer, Hellbent Cocktails, Bonny, Cotto, Folkland Foods, HEYDOH, HOL Health Club, Joon Pistachios, Sababa, Tea with Tae, Ya Ya Ya, Sleet Pops, Jous, Chici Mama, Sweet Tarts, Nerds, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola, S.F. Brewing Co., Rotten Candy, Bakeful

In the latest episode of Taste Radio's Elevator Talk, leaders from five emerging CPG brands -- Nirvana, On the Brightside, Pini Sparkling Cider, Wook Water, and Brica -- introduce their businesses, share what's changed since launch and offer a look at where they're headed next.
Joining regular host Ray Latif, editor and producer of Taste Radio, is Rifle Highes, the co-founder of Integral CPG, who brings sharp questions, candid feedback and an investor's perspective to each pitch.
Want to put your brand in front of experienced CPG operators and investors? Applications are open for future episodes of Elevator Talk. Participation is free, interviews are conducted remotely, and founders get the chance to pitch their products, share company news and get unfiltered feedback from industry leaders.
Apply now to be featured in an upcoming episode.

How do you repair an industry that's steadily lost relevance with younger consumers? If you're the founders of Wonderwerk, you go where they live and breathe – and throw a party.
Founded in 2017 by longtime friends Issamu Kamide and Andrew Lardy, Wonderwerk was built around a simple idea: make wine that speaks to how millennial and Gen Z consumers actually drink. Now, following a national relaunch and with a growing portfolio of flavor-forward natural wines, Issamu joins us to share how Wonderwerk has challenged category conventions, used culture and community to build the brand, and turned consumer behavior into a roadmap for innovation.
Show notes:
0:20: Issamu Kamide, Co-Founder, Wonderwerk – On location in San Francisco, Issamu discusses the brand's origins at a Los Angeles rave and Wonderwerk's focus on flavor-forward wines, playful packaging and one-liter bottles. He explores what wine can learn from craft beer, RTDs and brands such as Fishwife and Graza, the opportunity he sees between BuzzBallz and Caymus, and Wonderwerk's $20–25 price sweet spot. Issamu also discusses the company's music festival and event strategy, including its participation in 10–20 events per month, and how direct consumer engagement informs product development. He explains the thinking behind the brand's "Big Orange" wine and why Wonderwerk focuses less on ratings and appellations and more on whether a wine looks good, tastes good and is affordable. Issamu closes with Wonderwerk's recent growth, including nearly 40% year-over-year growth, and his perspective on the future of natural wine and the need for wine brands to better understand changing consumer culture.
Brands in this episode: Wonderwerk, Fishwife, Graza, BuzzBallz, Caymus

Kroger is drawing a line on pricing — and some of the biggest brands in CPG are finding themselves on the wrong side of it. We dig into the retailer's standoff with Red Bull, the removal of Boar's Head products from select stores and what Kroger's growing embrace of private label could mean for brands negotiating with major retailers.  We also discuss HopLark's recent bankruptcy filing, recap our San Francisco meetup and recap our spirited San Francisco meetup.
Show notes:
0:20: S.F. Standouts, Retail Rumble, Hop Trouble, Product Parade – The hosts share highlights from our San Francisco meetup, including the founders, brands and products that stood out, and discuss the value of bringing together founders, investors, retailers and service providers in an informal setting. The conversation then turns to Kroger's increasingly firm stance on pricing and its decision to stop carrying Red Bull across its stores following a dispute over pricing and trade spending. The team examines the implications for competing brands and retailers, as well as the potential impact on distributors, co-packers and consumers. They also discuss Kroger's removal of Boar's Head products from stores in several regional markets and the retailer's growing emphasis on private label, considering what these moves reveal about the changing balance of power between major retailers and branded suppliers. Next, they turn their attention to HopLark's Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing and what it means for the hop-water pioneer and the broader hop-water and non-alcoholic beverage segments. Finally, the hosts sample and discuss a range of new products, including Alec's Culture Cup probiotic ice cream made with A2 dairy milk in collaboration with Purely Elizabeth; Sodi's five-calorie sodas; and a lemon olive oil cake protein bar from BTR Nation and Kosterina featuring 15 grams of plant protein and seven grams of fiber.
Brands in this episode: Soupies, Golden Disco, Calligraphy Wine, Mindful Drops, Hero Bread, Nutty Hazel, Rotten, Bakeful, Mammoth Bars, San Diego Bar, Philosopher Foods, Loha, Red Bull, C4, Ghost, Monster, Alani Nu, Bucked Up, Reign, Boar's Head, Murray's, HOP WTR, Hoplark, Brooklyn Brewery, Alec's, Purely Elizabeth, Sodi, BTR Nation, Kosterina