Joseph Tarnowski sits down with Dave Korinek, Chief Brand Officer at Pearl Resourcing, at ECRM’s Beauty and Cough & Cold Sessions in Dallas to discuss how CPG brands can determine if it’s time to refresh their brand, and what it takes to execute a successful brand refresh.

Among the topics they discuss are:
●Beyond the Logo: Branding isn’t just a "handshake" like your logo; it’s the ethos of everything – from your tone of voice and customer interactions to the unboxing experience.
●The "Purple Cow" Factor: With a "sea of sameness" on the shelf, Dave discusses how to stand out visually from 20-30 feet away to draw consumers in.
●Recipe vs. Chef: Why selling your product's "story" is more impactful than just listing its ingredients.
●Retail Readiness: How to use feedback from retail buyers to determine if your brand story and visual identity are truly aligned.
●The Strategy-First Approach: Why design without strategy is just "throwing things on a wall," and how to build "deep roots" for your brand to grow.
Korinek also shares why it’s important to pressure test your brand using consumer surveys and competitive analysis to ensure your hierarchy of messaging delivers on your product's promise, and how to find a brand agency partner that’s focused on solving your specific problems rather than offering "cookie-cutter" packages.

Harley Sutton, founder of Thanks Naturals, is all in on TikTok, using the platform to transform her all-natural beauty and wellness brand into a social commerce powerhouse. In this interview with Joseph Tarnowski, recorded on location at ECRM’s Everyday and Holiday Cosmetics, Skin, Fragrance & Bath Session in Dallas, Sutton shares the various ways in which she uses TikTok to stay engaged with customers and sell products.

This includes tapping into TikTok’s organic affiliate model, sending out 200 samples daily to real users who create authentic, unscripted content, and hosting TikTok Live where she broadcasts for hours every day to answer customer questions in real-time, build deep community ties, and drive immediate sales on TikTok Shop. She also broadcasts live from retail locations to drive traffic into the stores. Ultimately, Sutton’s goal is to host TikTok Live broadcasts 24/7/365.

Sutton shares everything brands need to know to incorporate TikTok Live streaming into their business, including equipment and setup, when, where, and how to broadcast, and different ways to engage the audience.

Bubbles & Mane,is a hybrid salon/spa concept in Astoria, N.Y. that offers a variety of beauty and wellness services in a beautiful, community-focused space. Just launched last year, the 2,500-square-foot facility spans two floors and offers a full-service Hair salon and color bar; luxurious head spa; nail, pedicure, and body wrap treatments; and a full-service spa with traditional facials and medical aesthetic procedures.

In addition, it has more than 50 linear feet of space featuring clean beauty, wellness and lifestyle products carefully curated to make the look, feel and vibe of the place. To find some of these products, Owner and CEO Michelle DeMartino worked with RangeMe on an Immediate Opportunity campaign to find local, woman-owned brands that reflected her mission as well as the aesthetics of Bubbles & Mane.

In this episode, Michelle takes us through a tour of the location and its offerings, shares details on how she worked with RangeMe to curate more than a dozen innovative brands for her retail space – one of which virtually sold out during the holidays!

She also shares some of the unique activities and community events Bubbles & Mane will ost, as well as its expansion plans into other major U.S. cities.

In this episode, Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Casey's Chris Stewart, VP of Merchandising, Phil Wilhelm, Senior Director of Center Store, and Lee Wilburn, Senior Director of Package Beverages, for an update on its 2nd Innovation Summit. This was the second Summit the 2,900+ store Midwest convenience chain held in partnership with RangeMe, during which selected brands met in-person with Casey’s category leaders for the opportunity to get on the shelves.

Among the topics discussed are:

• An update on brands onboarded from the 1st Innovation Summit
• New brands that are in the process of being onboarded from the second Summit
• Casey's 'test and learn' process with new brands
• Enhancements to the Summit process, including an earlier timeline, focus on quality over quantity and a deeper level of engagement with brands during the in-person meetings
• What Casey's looks for in brands and products
• Advice for brands looking to participate in future Summits

This is a must-listen episode for any brands looking to get on the shelves at Casey's!

This episode features the full panel discussion on the CPG Growth Journey from the recent ECRM/retailmediaIQ Founders’ Innovation Day event held December 10 in NYC.

The panel, moderated by ECRM’s Joseph Tarnowski, featured three brand-owners, each at varying stages of growth: Obi Linton, Co-Founder of Nicobi Foods, a 5-year old brand that is growing fast; Luke Schneider, Founder of Fire Department Coffee, which launched about a decade ago and now has national distribution; and Hector Saldivar, Founder of Tia Lupita Foods, which successfully exited this year with a sale to Vilore Foods.

The founders shared insights about each stage of their brand’s growth journey covering the following topics:

• Early-stage funding: Creative ways to secure capital and resources to support growth
• The value of patience and perseverance for early-stage brands
• The value of taking a focused approach to growth
• When, why and how to pursue an exit strategy

This was a fun and engaging discussion, with a ton of takeaways for brands looking to successfully navigate their growth journeys!

In this episode, Joe from ECRM sits down with Kiowa Kavovit, founder of Eco Bandage, to discuss her journey of creating a waterproof, colored liquid bandage and skin protectant that "seals, heals, and conceals." What began with a Shark Tank appearance at age six has evolved into a decade-long formulation process to create a sustainable, flexible liquid bandage that replaces traditional sticker bandages.

Kiowa shares her first major retail success with Meijer and details how the brand recently secured a Golden Ticket at Walmart's Open Call. The conversation also covers the critical pivot from minimal eco-packaging to retail-ready boxes to combat theft and improve shelf presence while still keeping to Eco Bandage's mission of sustainability.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Product Innovation: How Eco Bandage offers a cellulose-based, flexible alternative to "crusty" liquid bandages, available in various skin tones and fun colors.

The "Bleeding Thumb" Pitch: The story of how Joe accidentally sliced his finger before a meeting, allowing Kiowa's mom to demonstrate the product live and secure an order from Meijer.

International Retail Expansion: The brand’s growth trajectory, from winning the ECRM Buyer's Choice Award in 2024 to launching internationally in Canada’s Sobeys stores.

Packaging Strategy: Why the company shifted from loose bottles to a "two-pack" box design to solve shelf-footprint issues and offer better value, and how it leveraged ECRM's Contract Manufacturing events to do so.

Future Innovations: A sneak peek at upcoming product lines, including liquid pimple patches that can be worn under makeup and clinical applications for hospitals.

Throughout the conversation, you'll gain insights on how to best engage buyers and category managers, and what it takes to grow your CPG brand!

How do you successfully launch an international brand into the competitive U.S. retail landscape?

In this episode, Taylor Schaly, shares how she did it for Trainers Choice, a Canadian orthopedic support brand that can be found in most of the major pharmacy and grocery chains in Canada, including Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharma Choice, Loblaws and Metro, as well as in many independent retailers.

Taylor discusses the company's unique "clinic-to-shelf" origin story, its commitment to sustainability using eco-friendly material for its supports and braces, and the strategic meeting that landed them a major deal with Ingles Markets via ECRM.

In this discussion you'll find a masterclass in buyer meeting best practices, with actionable advice on pre-meeting research, tailoring your pitch, and the critical importance of follow-up for any CPG brand looking to expand distribution.

Molly Blakeley, the dynamic founder of Molly Bz Cookies shares the secrets behind building an unforgettable brand and scaling a CPG business.

Molly, who has been a serial entrepreneur since her teens, began her CPG journey as a single mom with only $150 to her name, to now having her gourmet cookies, known for their "weird" combinations like Hot Cheetos and Boba, sold in thousands of stores across the U.S.

In this podcast, you'll learn:

• The Power of the Pivot: Learn why pivoting is the "best skill" and how turning a "no" into a "yes" is a serial entrepreneur's mantra.
• The importance of resilience: How to embrace failures as valuable lessons
• Building retail partnerships: Molly shares her key advice on getting your foot in the door with a retailer, and the critical need to never make a move until the purchase order's ink is dry.
• Scaling production: Discover how Molly manages rapid growth by working with eight different co-packers across the nation, specializing in everything from indulgent cookies to R&D.
• How to Be UNFORGETTABLE: Get tips on standing out at buyer meetings, from creating a unique "shtick" to utilizing QR codes that link directly to a video about your brand.

Molly also discusses major wins through RangeMe and ECRM, her divinely-inspired flavors, and her phenomenal success with an exclusive cookie for Walmart, The Founder, which was developed in under 24 hours.