Culinary Connections: Distribution Dialogues

Connecting with Jessie Koing

Episode Summary

Jesse Koenig, co-founder of Jesse & Ben's, shares insights into the food industry journey, highlighting challenges like brand building and distribution. He stresses the significance of crafting a brand with authenticity to stand out in a competitive market. Jesse & Ben's prioritize quality and personalized customer service, aiming to provide a unique experience. Koenig discusses specific hurdles faced, such as selling frozen fries and addressing objections regarding limited freezer space. The conversation delves into the frozen food industry's challenges and opportunities, emphasizing the importance of relationships, flexibility in distribution, and storytelling in brand building. Additionally, they touch on issues like potato industry consolidation, advocating for innovation and quality in the food sector.

Episode Notes

Takeaways

• Building a brand with personality and authenticity is crucial in the food industry.
• Having a personal touch and being able to connect with customers sets smaller brands apart from larger corporations.
• Solving problems for customers and providing a unique experience can help build a loyal customer base.
• Building relationships with distributors and understanding their incentives and challenges is key to successful partnerships.
• Overcoming objections related to limited freezer space in distribution centers requires creativity and collaboration. The frozen food industry presents unique challenges due to constraints around freight and freezer space.
• Building demand with restaurants and end users can help pull a brand into distribution.
• Being understanding, flexible, and focused on win-win scenarios is key to building and maintaining relationships in the food industry.
• Storytelling and content creation are powerful tools for building a brand and engaging with customers.
• The potato industry is highly consolidated, making it difficult for new entrants to innovate.
• Focusing on quality ingredients and techniques can set a brand apart in the food industry.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

10:29 Building a Brand with Personality and Authenticity

15:14 The Power of Personal Connection in the Food Industry

26:27 Building Relationships with Distributors

31:47 Overcoming Objections in Distribution

33:35 Challenges in the Frozen Food Industry

35:55 The Power of Storytelling and Content Creation

56:21 The Consolidation of the Potato Industry and the Need for Innovation and Quality