Road Trips with People Building and Growing Emerging Brands.

Episode #:151

On today's show the Road2Retail team speaks with a returning guest- Brooks Powell. The founder and CEO of the supplement brand Cheers. Brooks shares his insights on how he and the team have rapidly grown the Cheers brand in just four years. Details on how to follow the Road2Retail podcast are below. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

The Road2Retail team today spends time with Andrew Allen- the Market Development Executive at Fresh Scents. Andrew shares his insights on how he and the team are driving growth and making decisions at this unique, 50 year old overnight success brand! Details on how to follow the show are below. Plus- give us a follow on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com. Learn more about Fresh Scents here: www.freshscents.com/pages/buyer-guideTopics covered with Andrew today include: - The challenges of working with retailers to optimize the brand's placement within their stores. Which set and why?- The skills and approach they use to work with retailers when the initial placement decision may not be optimal based on history- How they utilize data more often and in different ways to manage and drive their business. Believers in research!- How Fresh Scents utilized data and research to optimize their branding and packaging refresh- How they select business partners to complement their in-house skills- Another Green Bay Packers fan! They are everywhere.....

On today's show the Road2Retail team provides a recap of the 2026 Expo West show including show trends and best practices for attending this important show. Details on how to follow the Road2Retail podcast are below. Plus- give us a follow on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

Episode #:149

On today's show the Road2Retail team speaks with Harley Sutton, founder and CEO at Thanks! Naturals- a 100% natural + vegan self-care brand. Harley is a third-generation wellness entrepreneur who shares her insights on managing and growing several brands within the Thanks! Naturals portfolio. Details on how to follow the Road2Retail podcast are below. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

On today's show the Road2Retail welcomes Todd Johnson - the VP of Sales at Doctor's Best & Viactiv brands. We had a deep discussion about the importance of properly setting and managing pricing for an emerging CPG brand. Details on how to follow the show are below. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.Episode Link-https://youtu.

Today the Road2Retail team offers a recap of key topics and presentations covered at the 2026 Consumer Healthcare Products Association Self-Care Leadership Summit (CHPA SLS). The event took place March 16-18 at The Conrad Resort in Orlando, FL. Details on how to follow the Road2Retail show are below. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com. There was a great deal of fantastic content shared at the CHPA SLS- we encourage you to listen to the entire episode. Some of the key learnings & takeaways: - CHPA Board Chair Greg Bradley (CEO Foundation Consumer Healthcare) and CHPA CEO Scott Melville offered opening remarks highlighting both the "turbulence" and opportunity facing the industry today- 2025 Consumer Healthcare trends and 2026 insights from Circana- Susan Roddy of Perella Weinberg led a panel discussing the state of M&A in the consumer healthcare space- A fantastic discussion with three senior leaders sharing their views on leading organizations through times of change- Let There Be and Sinta discussed ways to use AI to break down the "innovation bottleneck"CHPA is a fantastic organization focused on helping companies provide excellent self-care products to consumers. If you are a brand, ingredient supplier, or offer services supporting the consumer health and wellness space- contact CHPA and see about becoming involved with this community of committed, leading companies and people. For more information about CHPA- https://www.chpa.org

Today the Road2Retail welcomes John Pinto - the Founder of the nasal stick brand Boom Boom to the show. John was an early guest on the show (episode #19) and is back to update us on their tremendous progress. Details on how to follow the show are below.

Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

On today's episode of the Road2Retail, we spend time with Hayes Reilly, Managing Partner & CPG Practice Leader at PeopleSuite Talent Solutions.

Please follow the Road2Retail podcast- details below. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

Today the Road2Retail team spends time with Andy Whitman - Managing Partner with the investment firm Loft Growth Partners.

Andy shares his experiences over the course of our wide-ranging conversation about investing in Emerging Brands. Please follow the Road2Retail podcast- details below. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

Today the Road2Retail spends time with the Founder & CEO Brian Bethke of the 'clean soda company' - Bear Maple Farms. Details below in how to follow the show. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

Today the Road2Retail goes through the specifics of how an emerging, small or challenger brand can get the most out of attending a trade show. Trade show season is upon us! Details below in how to follow the show. Plus- give us a follow on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com."How to best attend a trade show" tips covered today include: - Consider attending a trade show you are interested in as an attendee FIRST versus paying for booth space. Walk the show and see what is going on and if it matches your objectives- These shows can be very expensive to attend! Be selective, highly organized, and ready to work the show from the opening to the very end. Many times, you will come across interesting people at the end of a day when they are hoping to see things in a calmer setting- Understand the type of trade show you want to attend. Shows have different objectives- not all are "selling" shows- Once you decide to secure a booth at a trade show- don't only select location based on price. Try to locate near a high traffic area or near larger brands in your category- you will pick up some of their traffic by being in the right place!- What materials to have in your booth, how to staff, and the importance of follow up- Create activity and action at your booth- make it interesting! Samples, a game, videos about your business running in a loop on monitors, etc

Today the Road2Retail team speaks with James Pippin, VP at Good Now Foods. James shares with our audience great insight on hiring a broker or sales agent and the benefits and pitfalls of working with one.

Please follow the Road2Retail podcast on: Apple podcasts-https://lnkd.in/gs3BfXbd Spotify- https://lnkd.in/ewWcnYpY YouTube channel- https://www.youtube.com/@road2retail327. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

Today the Road2Retail team visits with Greg Vetter- Founder of Tessemae's salad dressing.

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Today the Road2Retail team speaks with Luke Schneider – CEO and Founder of Fire Department Coffee. Luke shares his journey from the military to being a fire fighter to creating Fire Department coffee and his passion to help fire fighters.Please follow the Road2Retail podcast on: Apple podcasts-https://lnkd.in/gs3BfXbd Spotify- https://lnkd.in/ewWcnYpY YouTube channel- https://www.youtube.com/@road2retail327. Plus- give us a follow-on LinkedIn. Learn more at www.road2retail.com.

Today we speak with Andrea Cherkerzian – CEO & founder of the gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brand PS I Love You. We learn that the inspiration for the brand came from her Grandma Rose! Learn more at www.road2retail.com.