Future-Proofing the Family Business with Matt Nielsen, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas

Welcome to Building Unbreakable Brands, the podcast for business leaders with a generational mindset, hosted by Meghan Lynch. Meghan, a brand strategist and advisor to generational family businesses, interviews the stewards of enduring brands to uncover what makes the difference between fleeting success and a lasting legacy.

In this episode, Meghan welcomes Matt Nielsen, a fifth-generation steward of Nielsen-Massey Vanillas. Matt sees his role as a caretaker of the family business, ensuring its prosperity not only for the current generation but for future ones as well. They delve into the importance of stewardship versus ownership, emphasizing the long-term care and sustainability of the business, and a "6th generation" mindset and strategy.

Matt shares how Nielsen-Massey has implemented unique governance structures, such as an independent board of directors and a non-family CEO, to bring in external perspectives and challenge the status quo. This approach helps the company avoid complacency and maintain a dynamic, forward-thinking strategy. He also discusses the critical lesson of articulating a distinct shareholder vision that aligns yet remains separate from the corporate vision.

The conversation touches on diversifying beyond a reliance on vanilla while maintaining strategic guardrails on diversification efforts. Matt talks about learning from other family businesses and his interest in creating a structured program for onboarding the next generation.

In a special segment, Meghan's son Henry asks Matt about working with siblings in the business... and about his favorite recipes to highlight vanilla!

Tune in to hear Matt's insights on stewardship, governance, professionalization, diversification, and preparing the next generation.

Key Points Discussed:

• The distinction between stewardship and ownership in a family business.
• The benefits of an independent board and non-family CEO in bringing fresh perspectives.
• Articulating a distinct shareholder vision separate from the corporate vision.
• Strategies for diversification while maintaining focus.
• The importance of learning from other family businesses and developing next-generation leaders.
• The dynamics of working with siblings.

Learn more about Nielsen-Massey Vanillas
Follow on Instagram: @nielsenmassey
Watch on YouTube: @NielsenMassey
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattnielsen/

Building Unbreakable Brands is hosted by Meghan Lynch
Produced by Six-Point Creative

Creators & Guests

Host

Henry Lynch

Co-host of Building Unbreakable Brands

Host

Meghan Lynch

Co-founder and CEO of Six-Point

What is Building Unbreakable Brands?

The podcast for family business leaders with a generational mindset. Meghan Lynch and her 8-year-old son Henry interview the stewards of enduring brands to uncover what makes the difference between fleeting success and a lasting legacy.

Meghan Lynch [00:00:00]:
We are cooking up some delicious treats today on Building Unbreakable Brands. Our guest is the steward of a premium vanilla extract brand that is over a century old. He'll be sharing his insights on how to make sure a legacy brand stays relevant and strong for many more generations. Plus, Henry joins us as that voice of the next generation, asking questions about what it's like to work with siblings in a family business. All this and more is coming up on this episode of Building Unbreakable Brands. Welcome to Building Unbreakable Brands, the podcast where we talk to business leaders with a generational mindset. I'm Meghan lynch. I'm an advisor to family businesses and founder of Six-Point, a brand strategy agency that helps generational brands honor their past while evolving for the future.

Meghan Lynch [00:00:54]:
Today, my guest is Matt Nielsen, third generation steward, shareholder, board director and managing director, Europe of Nielsen Massive, a global food flavoring company. Welcome, Matt. So excited to have you on the show.

Matt Nielsen [00:01:09]:
Thank you, Meghan. I'm happy to be here.

Meghan Lynch [00:01:11]:
That intro that I just said was one that you actually submitted to us, but you used one word in it that I love, and that word is steward. It's a word that, like, I don't know, I have a lot of feelings about personally, but I'm curious, how do you consider yourself a steward of Nielsen-Massey?

Matt Nielsen [00:01:30]:
Yeah. Really? It comes from a couple different areas. One, we've always talked about our desire to continue to perpetuate our family business and to be able to pass it on to the next generation. So in that sense, we're a steward of the company. Right. It's not just ours, it's previous generations, it's future generations, we hope. And so that's where that word comes from. And then there actually was another family.

Matt Nielsen [00:01:57]:
I didn't used to use it as a description like, I used to talk about being a steward, but I didn't really use it as like a title description. And there was another actually non family executive who used that word, and he was very passionate about how he was a steward for the family's business. And it just really connected with me. And I decided that, yeah, I need to include that because I talk about being a steward, but I don't really use it as a descriptor of who I am. And it is really who I am.

Meghan Lynch [00:02:26]:
Yeah. Why do you think it's important to make that distinction between stewardship and maybe ownership or other words that people might use to describe themselves?

Matt Nielsen [00:02:34]:
Yeah, I think it just has a different mindset when you are, when you're focused on taking care of whatever it is, an entity in this situation. It gives you a different mindset when you are thinking about it for future generations. And within our business, we have with our board and our non family executives, we have a G6 kind of strategy. So, meaning that everything we do, we are looking out generations ahead of ourselves to a generation where I won't even be here, most likely. And so just that belief that you have to have this long term view and you have to have this care for what you're doing, and that's what then influences the governance decisions you make and what you invest in from the business standpoint and how you spend the money and things like that. Right. It all just comes down to that stewardship.

Meghan Lynch [00:03:29]:
Now, the company has been around for over 100 years, since the early 1900s. And you've pretty much been focused through the whole time in flavoring. Maybe not exactly the iteration that you guys have now of being really focused on vanilla extract, but it's been pretty consistent through the whole history of the company, which also feels a little bit unusual. So I'm curious, is there anything about the history of the company and how that plays into this concept or the longevity that you see coming forward or that focus?

Matt Nielsen [00:04:08]:
Yeah, we have evolved a bit in our, in our business and we started as actually an aroma company and then we evolved and shifted pretty early on into food flavorings. And we used to do all kinds of flavorings, artificials and naturals and all that kind of stuff. And my dad actually made the decision around 1979 to focus just on pure vanilla. It was really what we were known for. It was the biggest part of our revenue was driven by vanilla. And so we did that for a long time. And then we actually, in the early two thousands, came back and reintroduced some of the flavors that we used to do to be to broaden our product portfolio. But I think for us, obviously, it's what we've grown up in and it's what we're really good at.

Matt Nielsen [00:04:55]:
Also, you have to recognize what you're really good at and the other benefit to it and why we haven't shifted. When I talk about our family business and kind of what our strategies evolving and we look at broadening and diversifying what we do, but I say, I use the example of we're not going to go into it to be a trucking company, right? That's just not a core strength of what we do. We don't do fulfillment like that. But food and flavorings is what we do as our core strength. And we're lucky in that category within the industry is a real strength because ultimately everybody's got to eat and, and their food's got to taste good and we can do that for them.

Meghan Lynch [00:05:38]:
Yeah, that's great. As you think about keeping the company strong and being able, having that g six mentality, do you see these core competencies that you're building and strengthening now? Do you see them as being flexible to be able to pivot into other areas as the industry evolves?

Matt Nielsen [00:06:07]:
Yeah, definitely. With the connections we have, particularly with chefs in the food service industry, and then also the food manufacturers that we sell with and the retailers that we sell to, there's a lot of different opportunities that we could look at as we continue to grow and evolve the business. And there's strengths that we have in, say, for example, extraction that could play a part in a lot of different areas that aren't necessarily something that people would think about normally. And so that's part of what we're working through now, is what is the evolution of the business and where do we feel that our strengths and our brand allow us to play in in the future and trying to solve that question?

Meghan Lynch [00:06:56]:
Yeah. Yeah. Do you see, knowing that you have a really broad team, not just in the US, a global team, how do you talk about stewardship with people who aren't necessarily in the family or haven't grown up in the business? Do they also consider themselves stewards of the company? You mentioned somebody else using that word. There's at least a couple other people who are feeling that definitely in our.

Matt Nielsen [00:07:28]:
Leadership team, people will utilize that word, or a similar right meaning word, for sure. And there's no doubt that because of the culture that we have and how we're so focused on family in a broader sense, meaning all of our team members, we consider to be part of our family, not just the nuclear family. There's definitely that sense of pride and ownership among our team, and it's really what allows us to continue to be the brand that we are and produce the quality of products that we do offer in the marketplace. So it's a huge part of what we do. And we certainly, as family owners, we certainly talk about that as it relates to our values and things with our team members, but also even people outside of the business, with prospective customers and current customers. And stewardship also plays a big part in our supply as well. We source raw materials from developing countries that don't have access to everything that we're accustomed to here. And so we do a lot to help support those farmers with things like clean water and education and better transportation and things like that.

Matt Nielsen [00:08:43]:
And that also plays a stewardship role as well, that these are other people that are connected with us and can benefit from our relationship. And so we feel that that bond with them that we get from that stewardship.

Meghan Lynch [00:08:58]:
I would imagine that also plays into that long term mentality of if we want to be in this, in the generations to come, then we need a supply chain that's strong. We need an environment that can, especially dealing with a natural product like vanilla. You need a healthy environment. You need the ecosystem that you're working within in a lot of ways to be, to also endure that it's not just about your company, but it's about everything that touches it and that it plays into. Do you guys have conversations about those longer term issues and how you touch them? I know you're also only one small piece of this ecosystem, what influence you can have on it.

Matt Nielsen [00:09:46]:
Yeah, no, most definitely the sustainability, both economically, agriculturally, environmentally, all those things are important to us. And we were actually one of the founding members of an organization called the Sustainable Vanilla Initiative. My brother actually sits on the. And so that's a collection of manufacturers like us, end users, so people that are buying the product to use and produce in something that they're making, as well as growers and exporters in Madagascar. And it's really just focused on how can we make this supply chain better and how can we make it better for the growers, how can we make it better for the exporters? And then, and then how does that translate into companies like ours being able to attain the quality that we want at a sustainable price as well? And that's super critical for the, for the marketplace as a whole.

Meghan Lynch [00:10:41]:
You're listening to Building Unbreakable Brands, the podcast all about brand stewardship and crafting an enduring legacy. I'm here with Matt Nielsen, board director and managing director, Europe of Nielsen-Massey Vanillas. Matt is also an advocate for family businesses. So Matt, I've heard you speak at family business conferences. We've been. I feel like I know you better than I probably do for some reason. I don't know why, but I know that when you speak at family business conferences or you get interviewed, it's often around governance, which is not a, it's not a super interesting topic because it's really about the structure of the business. But I think one of the reasons why that tends to be a topic that you're asked to talk about is that Nielsen Massie has a somewhat unusual structure for a family business and a family business of your size, with both an independent board of directors.

Meghan Lynch [00:11:37]:
And then also you appointed a non family CEO, both of which are like, unusual moves. I'm curious, first, why do you think this kind of structure is uncommon?

Matt Nielsen [00:11:52]:
Yeah, I think for a lot of family businesses, they struggle with, really, what it comes down to is giving up what they feel is control. So by having an independent board, they feel like they're giving up control over the strategic direction of the company and even some of the decision making. And then certainly with a non family CEO, they feel like they're giving up that day to day decision making. And part of what makes my story interesting is the journey that we took to get there, but also the fact that I can be a living example. That is the furthest thing from the truth.

Meghan Lynch [00:12:31]:
So how does I think that piece of control, especially when you're trying to build something that will last and endure, holding it tighter can be a way to make it feel like, ooh, if I keep control of this, then that will help ensure its longevity. But it seems like you guys are. You're thinking longevity, but this has become part of the strategy for longevity. So how do those two pieces work together?

Matt Nielsen [00:13:01]:
Yeah, completely. And I think I would challenge that mentality by holding it tighter. Meaning keeping that circle of who's involved with it smaller, I would suggest, is a risk, because if it for our business, if it came down to, say, my brother and I and then my sister, who are the current shareholders, we predominantly know the Nielsen-Massey way of doing things. And what we did 100 years ago, 50 years ago, 20 years ago, five years ago, doesn't necessarily apply to the future. So we want to be challenged as shareholders by the board of directors and by the non family management on how we think about things and how we look to the future of the business. And it also helps open our eyes to the possibilities. Right. Our board, I.

Matt Nielsen [00:13:54]:
I still remember early on with our independent board, them coming in and being so excited to share their expertise with us, and knowing that our focus was on growing this business, to be able to perpetuate it to the next generation. And honestly, they came in with all kinds of ideas. Right. About. Did you think about this? Have you thought about this? Your brand is this, and help us kind of frame what that future can look like differently than we might have been thinking. And I think our mindset was much more conservative than where they can push us to. To think a little bit more outside of the box. And I think that's really been one of the key benefits of the independent board and the non family CEO and management that are involved with our organizations.

Meghan Lynch [00:14:37]:
I remember you saying at one point that you were a little bit surprised at the caliber of people who wanted to help your family and your company. Do you think that's also a piece of why maybe other companies don't go here sooner? Is it like, who would we get? Who would care? It's just our little corner of the world.

Matt Nielsen [00:15:03]:
Yeah, I certainly think that could be in the mind of people for sure. But I would suggest even with the caliber of the people that we got being so great, and we utilize outside resources to help find those people. So I would certainly recommend that. But I think people will be surprised at those that want to help them and that are just interested in sharing their experiences and their expertise to help family owners and businesses develop their strategy for the future. It's something I enjoy doing, and I've been involved with board work as well outside of our business, but certainly within our business. Obviously, that's what I get up for every day, is to think about the future of our business. But I think people will be surprised at the quality of the individuals that will be interested in helping them, the diversity of the people as well, which is super critical to opening up everybody's eyes to other possibilities based on their experiences. So it's been a really fun journey.

Meghan Lynch [00:16:08]:
Has there been anything in particular, kind of looking back that you feel like was a real lesson learned or like learning moment for you or for your family in the process?

Matt Nielsen [00:16:20]:
Yeah, I think probably one of the most. And this might be one of those kind of dumb moments per se, but one of the things that the board challenged us on early was for us to be able to articulate what our shareholder vision was separate from what the corporate vision is. Right. This is the vision of the shareholders. And what are our goals as shareholders for the future of the business? And I think for us, it was just a matter that there were three of us. We were all engaged in the day to day of the business. We were all on the board. So there was a lot communication and face to face time among the three of us.

Matt Nielsen [00:16:57]:
So we all knew that. But for us to actually sit down and put it to words was a really interesting process to go through and helped provide clarity for us, certainly as shareholders and as well to see that we were aligned on what that was. But ultimately, what's most important was it gave the board, and therefore the management team that north star of what they needed to be looking at for the future so that they can develop the strategies and the operational plans to attain that kind of vision.

Meghan Lynch [00:17:32]:
Yeah, I do feel like it is one of those steps that is so easy to skip, number one, because you are, everybody's just working so hard in the day and it can also feel, I feel like sometimes you can do those visioning things and it's, are we just wordsmithing here mean anything? But I do feel like when you can get it right and you really do get to the essence of where you want to go and you can articulate that it is that North Star that turns a bunch of people who are all have great skills, but would otherwise be wandering around doing the best that they can, but not necessarily going in the direction to actually saying, okay, this is a mountain we can climb, we can help do this and we can put our skills to use. I think that's really interesting. And to do it specifically from the viewpoint of shareholders versus the company must have been a really interesting piece. Yeah. Was there anything, any theme that came out of that for you guys, that you and your siblings were all saying the same thing in different words?

Matt Nielsen [00:18:39]:
Yeah, I think probably one of the biggest things that came out, as I said before, we're very focused on quality of our product and the culture of our business and things like that. So that's certainly a part of our vision. But I think the big thing that really came out, that opened the eyes of the board and the management team was our desire to diversify our business. We are a food flavoring company, but within that food flavoring portfolio, we are very reliant on vanilla as a single ingredient, and there's inherent risk to that. So we have a tremendous amount of interest in diversifying both the product portfolio as well as maybe even the holdings of the corporation to help alleviate some of that reliance just on one class of product. And that, like I said, I think that was really eye opening for the board and the management team and did provide a kind of a shift right in how people were thinking. And therefore, we need to start thinking a little differently on how we're going to be doing some of these things. And maybe when product innovation, we're not going to just talk about innovating vanilla, maybe we're going to start talking about innovating other things or going through and doing acquisitions and things like that.

Matt Nielsen [00:19:54]:
So it definitely opened up people's minds to other possibilities.

Meghan Lynch [00:20:00]:
When you're talking about that kind of diversification for a company that is very focused, which can be a strength, how do you put appropriate guardrails on that to make sure that people don't hear that and all of a sudden and go way out into left field, go.

Matt Nielsen [00:20:19]:
Buy a trucking company, something like that.

Meghan Lynch [00:20:21]:
Exactly.

Matt Nielsen [00:20:22]:
We're still doing that, to be honest. We're putting those parameters in place. But I think the team recognizes that we have a core strength in ingredients, first off, and that we're able to get a lot of market knowledge and insights, particularly from the chef connections that we have on. Really what it comes down to is what can we do to help fill a need or a pain point for somebody. So whether that's a different ingredient, a different format of an ingredient, a different packaging, whatever it may be, that's ultimately, I think, what's going to be successful for us. But it's also looking at, we do look at and say, we're not going to go too far outside of our space as a retail, as a CPG retail focused company. For one of our channels I can look at the baking aisle and say, okay, what else is in the baking aisle that either is an interesting brand to acquire or a category that we could get into. So that were still talking to the same buyer.

Matt Nielsen [00:21:23]:
So were not shifting to a whole, were not doing a frozen product that has a whole different buyer but also has a distribution channel that we dont even know. So its those kinds of things. And working with exports to help us frame what that looks like and what those parameters are. So that were nothing. Getting ourselves distracted by something that really doesn't fit our corporate culture.

Meghan Lynch [00:21:48]:
You're listening to Building Unbreakable Brands, the podcast all about brand stewardship and crafting an enduring legacy. I'm here with my guest, Matt Nielsen, third generation steward, shareholder, board director and managing director, Europe of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla's a global food flavoring company. So Matt, I have a feeling that one of the reasons why I feel like I know you so is that I feel like we both share a love of learning, that we tend to run up against each other in conferences, or I see you posting things on LinkedIn or getting involved. And this kind of like love of learning and love of evolving and really continuously rethinking is this is how we're doing it now, going to serve us in the future? I see it as a strength because I love to do the same thing. But I'm curious if you ever think that can be a weakness, learning and evolving.

Matt Nielsen [00:22:45]:
And I don't think of it as a weakness. I think I'm super passionate about it and I'm addicted to learning. And learning is not just from reading a book or from taking a class. It's from the people you meet and the shared experiences that you have and how you can share what your best practices are. So I love that kind of network, particularly within family businesses, of how people are looking to share. And I'm also an individual that kind of hates to feel like I'm on a plateau. So that evolution is really important to me. I don't feel like I am the smartest person in the room and I don't feel like I know everything.

Matt Nielsen [00:23:27]:
So I'm still striving to continue to develop areas that I think I need to develop in, but I think where it can become a weakness in the distraction that it could provide. Right. So it would be very easy for me to just constantly go to conferences and go to, there's enough within our family business kind of area that I could literally go to a conference probably almost every week or go to some educational institution and take a class almost every week. But I have a full time job also. Right. And a family. So that's not, that's just not in the realm of possibilities. So I think it's important to, if you're going to go down that road, which I highly recommend for everybody, because nobody knows everything and everybody still has things that I think that they need to work on.

Matt Nielsen [00:24:18]:
And having that curiosity, I think, is super critical. But just making sure that you prioritize. Right, what areas you want to focus on and try not to go overboard on it because you can get into a. Almost a paralysis as well. So there's the distraction, but there's also this kind of paralysis that if you get so focused on one thing and then you just can't move because of it.

Meghan Lynch [00:24:42]:
Yeah. And I think that, again, when you surround yourself with smart people with great ideas, I guess I'll speak for myself. So I feel like sometimes I can almost lose myself in it. I'm like, ooh, that's a good idea. That's a good idea. And then all of a sudden I have to come back to, oh, what am I trying. Goes back to that kind of north Star. What am I trying to do with this information? Where is this going? Because it can be so easy to just, oh, you're smart.

Meghan Lynch [00:25:09]:
Oh, that's interesting.

Matt Nielsen [00:25:11]:
Yeah, that's very true.

Meghan Lynch [00:25:14]:
When it comes to leadership and business, you mentioned that it's not all books, that there's this kind of networking, human aspect. How do you like to learn and develop yourself? Or how do you like to come up with ways to evolve either yourself as a leader or the company?

Matt Nielsen [00:25:33]:
Yeah, I'm a very experiential learner, so I like to go out and actually see things. One of my favorite things to do is to go see customers factories, or just go to other factories, because I love to see how things are made. Right. That's my curiosity, is to know how that's made. There's also things I can learn from that I can take back to our team and say, I saw this company, they were doing this in this way. That was really interesting. Maybe we should think about something like that. So there's definitely things to learn that way, but experiential and then just having conversations.

Matt Nielsen [00:26:04]:
I'm not so much a book learner. I can sit and read books, and I like to read, but. But usually I like to read to distract myself from work as opposed to reading for work, and just. Cause I have limited time to be able to do that. But. So for me, it's really that hands on and that talking back and forth and gaining inspiration from what others have experienced and accomplished is what drives me.

Meghan Lynch [00:26:30]:
Do you have an example or a story of an experience that you had that kind of change the way you were thinking about something?

Matt Nielsen [00:26:38]:
That's a really good question. Put me on the spot there.

Meghan Lynch [00:26:42]:
It's easy to think about if I didn't ask the question.

Matt Nielsen [00:26:45]:
I think, let's see. There's a few examples that come to mind. I think one of the things that stands out for me in an area that we were struggling with as a sibling leadership team was how do we best manage that dynamic of being siblings and being leaders in the business together? And I had the opportunity, through an educational connection I had made, to go speak to a team of brothers, three brothers that were running their family business together. And they all had very distinct kind of areas of focus that they were working on, as did my siblings and I. But they also. I think what opened my eyes is a bit, as they were closer in age than my siblings and I are, so they had a lot more shared experiences together than my siblings and I had. Right. So the relationship dynamics were much different among the three of them than they were with the three of us.

Matt Nielsen [00:27:46]:
And I could see how that could create some challenges for our sibling group in having a shared, shared. Excuse me. And having a shared leadership model like we did. That's part of what drove us to looking for a non family CEO to come and run the business for us.

Meghan Lynch [00:28:08]:
Oh, interesting. Yeah. So seeing that kind of an alternative relationship and then reflecting on what's the same about our relationship and then what's different and seeing some of the difference. Yeah, that's really interesting. Is there anything that you're, like, really into right now, in particular, that you're learning about or curious about?

Matt Nielsen [00:28:27]:
A lot of my focus right now in relation to family business is thinking about how to orientate or onboard the next generation. So we have a pretty diverse range of ages right now, from one year old up to 32 year old in our next generation. And I think it's really critical that we make sure that we don't just let one family of the kind of the three branches that we are now, that we don't let people just do that on their own without some structure. Just because it's hard to know. I have the youngest kids, and it's hard for me to think through and figure out, like, what am I going to teach them about the business at what age? Right. So what I teach them at five is going to be different than I'm teaching them at 13 and 18 and 22, and trying to think through that and see if there's a way to put some structure behind that kind of a program that will help the next gen recognize that being part of the family and being part of a family business isn't just employment in the business. And particularly as we get get bigger as a family, that's not always going to be possible as well, potentially. And that there's a lot of different ways that they can engage with the family and the family business and the different entities that we have in addition to employment.

Matt Nielsen [00:29:46]:
But I think that all starts with kind of education, again, on the business, on family business in general, I think obviously, and then obviously our business, as well as to what makes our business unique and the channels that we sell into and the customers types that we have and things like that. But I'm not exactly sure when I start those conversations with my kids, and that's why I'd like to put some structure there.

Meghan Lynch [00:30:10]:
Yeah. How old are your kids?

Matt Nielsen [00:30:12]:
I have a one year old and a ten year old.

Meghan Lynch [00:30:14]:
Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Matt Nielsen [00:30:16]:
And then we also have a 16 year old and a 28 and a 32 year old and all in that fourth generation.

Meghan Lynch [00:30:23]:
Fourth generation. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. It's fun when it's.

Matt Nielsen [00:30:27]:
Yeah. And there's two fifth generations that are older than my one year old, so that, that are close in age but older. So there's gonna be a lot of that needs to happen around family business and our business with those generations.

Meghan Lynch [00:30:39]:
Yeah. Does your ten year old is at all interested in what you do.

Matt Nielsen [00:30:44]:
Or I think he's intrigued by it. He understands things. I think he sometimes gets embarrassed by some of the things that I might talk about or the fact that I'll point out to him a particular product that has our vanilla in it as an ingredient and that if we're at the grocery store, I might tell him, no, sorry, we cant buy that product because it doesnt have daddys vanilla, but this product does. So lets buy that one. But hes also done, hes done some fun things where weve been in a retailer. And when I go into a retailer, I have a tendency to be pretty low key. I dont walk in and tell them that Im Matt Nielsen from Nielsen-Massey. But I like to walk around and see what theyre selling and see our product on shelf.

Matt Nielsen [00:31:24]:
And we were in a specialty food retailer and my son found our product on shelf and picked it up and yelled across the store, or, dad, they have your vanilla. And really embarrassed me. But it was a cute, but it was also a cute moment. And I think there was a sense of pride for him also that, look, dad, this is, they have yours right here and they're selling it. So I think that's important also.

Meghan Lynch [00:31:47]:
Yeah. Yeah. And it's also really important for a ten year old to still be able to embarrass his dad instead of ice cream.

Matt Nielsen [00:31:55]:
That's exactly right.

Meghan Lynch [00:31:58]:
You're listening to Building Unbreakable Brands, the podcast for leaders with a generational mindset. My guest is Matt Nielsen, whose family company, Nielsen-Massey Vanilla, produces the world's number one flavor, vanilla that goes into ice cream, cookies, cakes and chocolate. Before we wrap up, Matt, we are going to actually turn the mic over to the next generation. My son Henry, who's eight, has a couple of questions for you. I'm going to turn it over to him. Take it away, Henry.

Matt Nielsen [00:32:28]:
Excellent. Looking forward to it.

Henry Lynch [00:32:30]:
Hi, Matt. What's your favorite thing to make with vanilla?

Matt Nielsen [00:32:35]:
Oh, Henry, that's a great question. That's pretty hard for me to say because I like to use vanilla in a lot of things. But I think my, one of my passions is actually barbecue. And it's possible, I won't confirm or deny, but it's possible I might use vanilla in my barbecue sauce.

Henry Lynch [00:32:55]:
That feels a little family secret or something. You just, is it hard to work with your brother and sister?

Matt Nielsen [00:33:03]:
Henry, I will say that working with your brother and sister is both rewarding and challenging. It's great to be able to have people that I can trust and rely on that are family. But it's also hard when I you remember something that your brother did to you when you were eight years old and you still hold a grudge against him. And I can't say that somehow doesn't come up in dynamics of decision making or family and things like that. But I think for me, working with your family is more rewarding than the challenges. And as long as you have the right governance structures in place and the right mentality, you can overcome those challenges and be successful.

Henry Lynch [00:33:50]:
Thanks, Matt. I also have a joke for you. What's Dracula's favorite ice cream flavor? Vein-illa.

Matt Nielsen [00:34:01]:
I love that I'm gonna have to share that with my son.

Meghan Lynch [00:34:04]:
That was just for you. Thanks so much, Henry. And thank you so much for being on Building Unbreakable Brands. Matt, really enjoyed having you on and appreciate all of the wisdom stories you were able to share and just your mindset of not only being a steward and kind of thinking long term, but also really being willing to continue to learn, be curious, reinvent when needed. I think listeners are going to take a lot from this conversation. Thank you so much.

Matt Nielsen [00:34:35]:
Thank you, Meghan. I really appreciate the opportunity to share. It was such a great conversation and I look forward to seeing you at another conference.

Meghan Lynch [00:34:42]:
Absolutely. If people want to connect with you or they want to learn more about Nielsen-Massey, what's the best way for them to do that?

Matt Nielsen [00:34:49]:
Probably the best way to connect with me would be on LinkedIn. So just search Matt Nielsen and look for that steward of family business kind of tagline. And then with Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, we're on all kinds of socials, Instagram, Facebook, X now and things like that, as well as on LinkedIn. So please do check us out and give us a follow and engage with us. We love to hear from consumers and such about how they're using our products.

Meghan Lynch [00:35:16]:
Yeah. And so we'll link all those in the show notes. And people should definitely try your vanilla. It is amazing. And, yeah, add it to their favorite ice cream flavor, their barbecue sauce, whatever they can. So thank you so much. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Matt.

Matt Nielsen [00:35:34]:
All right. Thank you, Meghan.

Meghan Lynch [00:35:38]:
Matt is such an enthusiastic advocate for family businesses, and I think a real role model when it comes to what curiosity and a willingness to evolve can do to ensuring the longevity of your business. Plus, you'll notice that Nielsen-Massey has been able to evolve and grow for more than a century while still saying laser focused because they continue to make it a point to reflect and articulate their vision, vision and goals. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to share it and don't forget to rate us and leave us a review. Thank you so much for listening to Building Unbreakable Brands.