The Startup CPG Podcast

This episode was sponsored by Hummingbirds. Go to www.hummingbirds.com
This episode was sponsored by Simply Depo. Go to www.simplydepo.com

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, join Daniel Scharff as he dives into the world of foodservice with Lizz Ingrassia and Allie Cotter of Fresh Time Market. Delving into their journey from restaurant dining to packaged retail meals, Liz and Allie share their expertise on the importance of flavor, customer-centricity, and understanding consumer needs in product selection. With foodservice comprising a significant portion of store sales, they discuss the role of branded and non branded items and much more.

Discover the challenges and triumphs of launching new products smoothly, working with suppliers, distribution strategies, and balancing labor issues with innovation. Learn valuable collaboration tips, including understanding store operations and 
delivering proposals aligned with customer expectations.

Tune in to gain actionable strategies for enhancing brand credibility, fostering successful partnerships, and creating memorable experiences for consumers!

Listen in as Lizz and Allie share about:
  • Vendor Relationship and Negotiation
  • Product Testing and Quality Assurance
  • Inventory and Distribution Planning
  • Marketing and Promotion
  • Monitoring and Feedback
  • Support and Promotions for Brands
  • Sampling Tool and Distribution Strategies
  • Successful Brand Examples
  • Contractual Issues and Operational Efficiency
  • First-to-Market Advantage
  • Consumer Shopping Behavior, Recalls, and Product Issues
Thanks to our episode sponsor, SimplyDepo (simplydepo.com). SimplyDepo is a super sales and merchandising platform designed to help emerging brands win independent stores. Powered by the technology, they help you find potential customers, digitize all ordering and merchandising activities, and get all the store insights you need to scale your business. Get in touch at info@simplydepo.com or visit simplydepo.com and make sure to mention hearing this message on the Startup CPG Podcast

Episode Links:
Fresh Thyme Website
Allie’s LinkedIn
Lizz’s LinkedIn

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Episode music by Super Fantastics

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Creators & Guests

Host
Daniel Scharff
Founder/CEO, Startup CPG

What is The Startup CPG Podcast?

The top CPG podcast in the world, highlighting stories from founders, buyer spotlights, highly practical industry insights - all to give you a better chance at success.

Lizz Ingrassia
I really love good food. I love bringing good food to people, especially when it's like new brands or new product. You know, I just really think that flavor always wins and a good tasting product is king in our world.

00:24
Allie Cotter
But more importantly, how food brings people together. I think there's a really strong connection to food, and I love to hear people's stories. I love to share stories, and I just love food. It's on my license plate.

00:36
Daniel Scharff
Check, check, check on the microphone. Oh, hey there, CBG ers. Welcome back to the podcast. I am your host, Daniel Scharff. Today's episode is a doozy. I am really excited for you to hear behind the scenes with two amazing food service buyers from fresh thyme market. It's not so often you get to hear what really goes through their minds. So I think this is a super cool listen. You're going to hear a lot about Liz and Allie and their favorite brands, how they discovered them, how their categories work. Enjoy. Check on the microphone. Woo. All right. Welcome to the startup CPG podcast. Today's guests are Liz Ingrassia and Allie Cotter, our first food service buyer duo from one of my favorite grocers, fresh time market.

01:28
Daniel Scharff
I recently met up with Liz and Allie at Fancy Foods Las Vegas, and I thought it was high time we dove into the mind of grocery food service buying. Liz has a pretty epic career. In addition to her six years at fresh time leading up to her current role as senior category manager for food service, she's also worked at Lucky's Aramark and even as an executive chef. Allie, who is the category manager for deli and prepared foods, has done it all at fresh time. She previously worked on dry grocery, frozen dairy, beer, and wine, and seems to be almost everybody's favorite coworker. So welcome, both of you, to the show. I'm really excited to have you here. Thank you for having us.

02:08
Allie Cotter
We're excited as well.

02:10
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah. Thank you.

02:11
Daniel Scharff
All right, so just to get us started, I think maybe, Liz, we could start with you and then ask Allie the same question. What do you both love about the world of food service? Yeah.

02:22
Allie Cotter
So the food. But more importantly, how food brings people together. I think there's a really strong connection to food, and I love to hear people's stories. I love to share stories, and I just love food. It's on my license plate.

02:34
Daniel Scharff
All right, Allie, same question for you.

02:36
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah, probably a similar answer. I really love good food. I love bringing good food to people, especially when it's, like, new brands or new product. You know, I just really think that flavor always wins, and a good tasting product is king in our world.

02:54
Daniel Scharff
All right. Both of those answers resonate with me. I do also love food, and I like good food. So, Liz, maybe coming back to you, I gave some of your intro in the podcast intro that I just did, but I think it's always better for everyone to hear it from you. Do you mind just telling everybody, how'd you get your start in this crazy industry? You know, what were some of those experiences that you had?

03:16
Allie Cotter
Absolutely. So I actually started in foodservice at 15, one two as a server at Bob Evans, so dating myself a little bit there. So my best friend's mom was an AGM, and we thought, hey, this sounds like fun. Let's get jobs. And once you get into food service, specifically restaurants, you're just hooked. It's such an incredible world. So I have. In my career, I have held the role of executive chef in various food service formats. I've worked in corporate dining, bars, restaurants, catering, senior dining, but then I got into retail. So it's been a wild ride, but a lot of fun.

03:50
Daniel Scharff
Okay, and what are the biggest differences for you for working, let's say, the more traditional side of food service to the retail side of food service, I heard you call it.

04:00
Allie Cotter
So, you know, it's still fast paced. It's still people, and that's really where my passion is. And what I really enjoy differences would be how to go to market, you know, from plating food to a packaged meal, which is you're striving for the same goal and getting it out to.

04:16
Daniel Scharff
The customer, plating food. So, like, serving somebody a dish at a restaurant versus packaging food, meaning working with some suppliers and putting together something that could come in, like, a clamshell package or something that someone would get from, like, a deli or something like that.

04:33
Allie Cotter
Exactly.

04:34
Daniel Scharff
All right, cool. So when it comes to then, I guess, the packaged food side of food service and how it works in retail, how do you think about that? Like, how do you think about the role of that category for the overall store and those consumers?

04:51
Allie Cotter
So I think it's really important for our customer. We've got a broad consumer base in our stores. We have stores on campuses. We have urban stores. We have stores that range from value to premium. And the one thing that they're all looking for is really the best quality and an affordable price. So we're seeing a shift in meals and products that look like they're made in house. So that's where we can really take that food service and restaurant experience and bring it to our consumers in a packaged meal.

05:17
Daniel Scharff
Okay, great. And so, specifically for fresh time, do you mind, just for anybody who hasn't had the pleasure of checking out a fresh time, which really is one of my favorite grocery stores in the country, to go into, what experience do you hope that a consumer has at fresh time? And what's fresh time for people who don't know it?

05:33
Allie Cotter
So, in fresh time, you're going to find conventional items, you're going to find new items, you're going to find alternative items. So you're vegan, you're gluten free, and we really want to cater to all of those consumers out there, whatever, wherever they are in their journey, is what we say they'll find it at first time.

05:50
Daniel Scharff
Okay, perfect. Just in terms of how you operate, I'm guessing, like, so all of the fresh time stores basically have a significant food service component to it. Like, what is that? How should people think about the food service side of the business? Is it, like, 5% of the store? Is it 30% of the store? How important is food service to the overall store operation?

06:11
Allie Cotter
So we, of course, would like to think it's the most important in the operation. It does account for at least 20% of store sales. Food service in the grocery store can be anything from quick and convenient, so rotisserie chicken sushi to elaborate prepared meals, which is something that we're working on pretty closely right now. So we've got that broad customer base really looking for what they're looking for, as well as what's new in the market. You know, Ali's done a great job balancing labor struggles in stores with bringing those types of programs to life and how we get those to our customers?

06:43
Daniel Scharff
Awesome. And just before we jump in and ask the same questions to Allie, can you give everybody just a breakdown of, like, you know, what is it that you do? What is it that Allie does? And, you know, the rest of your team?

06:54
Lizz Ingrassia
Sure.

06:54
Allie Cotter
So I get the pleasure of leading the team. So we've got a deli category manager, bakery category manager, cheese, and then our purchasing coordinator. So they're really here to make the great decisions, what their department looks like, what that vision looks like for the store. So I'm here to kind of build their vision to what the operations can actually achieve and how we can bring that to life in our stores.

07:17
Daniel Scharff
Okay, very good segue. All right, Allie, you are being tagged in now. So, Allie, can you also just give us a little bit of your background? I know I mentioned a few things that you've done, but you've had a pretty awesome, interesting, varied career. Tell us about it, please.

07:31
Lizz Ingrassia
You know, Liz and I, it's kind of weird. We have very similar backgrounds. I started working service in a restaurant at 14 with my dad and my brothers. So I grew up around the food service channel. I was really excited to get out of restaurants in my twenties, and I've somehow landed back to the food service desk recently. But I've been with fresh time for almost, it'll be nine years this year, and I have really managed quite a few different categories for the most part. Most of my career has been on the center store side of the business, mostly focusing on frozen and dairy. But I have. I started category management with beer and wine. I've always worked really closely with the grocery team, so I've done a little bit of everything. And then I moved over to deli prepared foods last year.

08:20
Lizz Ingrassia
They were having a hard time finding somebody. And thank God that we've had Liz there to sit there and mentor us, because I really know how to manage CPG very well. But that prepared food piece of it, the food service side is just such a different beast. And if I didn't have her telling me how to tell a story, how to make a sandwich, you know, it would look quite different right now.

08:43
Daniel Scharff
So I would love to hear more about that. Like, what are the differences that you've been learning about?

08:48
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah, going to market is very different. You know, even just the way that you plan a promotion with prepared food in deli is sometimes it's similar to what you do on the center store side. Right. Sometimes it's just. Here's a scan. We're going to run a hot price. It's in the ad. Great. It's on the shelf. But it could be so different on our end for how to really use those promotional dollars and get the best plan for both fresh time and for the manufacturer as well. And then even just, you know, how an item comes to life can be very different. Of course, there's packaged items with UPC's that come in completely ready. But when it came to, yes, I want the stores to make four sandwiches. Right. We wanted to bring in premium sandwiches.

09:33
Lizz Ingrassia
I know what ingredients go into it, but how to tell, you know, a team member how to use their labor and how to build the sandwich exactly the same every single time is a very different plan building procedure than I've ever been used to.

09:49
Daniel Scharff
So how does that work from a shopper perspective? I have no idea. I walk up I order the thing, and then I see them make it, and they give it to me. And that's great. But, yeah, there must be some kind of training or process to make sure it fits with how you guys have designed it so it executes across all the stores. How does that work?

10:04
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah, typically, Liz and I come up with an idea, and I come to her and I say, how do I write an Sop on this? And then we get in the store, and we literally build whatever it is that we're looking for stores to build so that we know from a to z exactly how that item needs to be prepared. And then we write it all down in, like, a to z step list for a store to follow. And it's really as detailed as we can make it, because with 70 stores, everyone learns and executes a little bit differently. So we really want to be just as clear to every single employee that we can be.

10:43
Daniel Scharff
Okay, so you said SoP, which I believe means standard operating process or procedure. And so that would be like, step one, take out the turkey. Step two, cut the turkey. Step three. And then they would include the order of, like, what should you put on first? When do you need to put it into the toaster? When would you add the toppings? What's an example of a new product that you did an sop for?

11:07
Lizz Ingrassia
Recently, we brought in what Liz and I have been calling international meal kits because they're kind of cuisines from around the world. But we literally, you know, we got in store. So parts of that meal kit come to a store completely ready. They just open up the packaging, put it in. But then there are parts of that kit that they need to kind of collect from around our grocery store. So it gets really granular. It tells them, you know, exactly what onion to grab, how much of that onion to cut, what portion size goes into that, you know, and we're really specific about ounces and everything like that. But, yeah, that would be a recent one we did.

11:45
Daniel Scharff
And so I guess when a new team member comes on, I guess, and they're onboarding, they would flip through a book of all those sops. Or it's more just going to be training from somebody else who already kind of knows and has read through that, who's going to teach them how to do that stuff, or how does that work? I think a little bit of both.

12:00
Lizz Ingrassia
Right, Liz?

12:00
Allie Cotter
Yep, a little bit of both. So they should have them in their possession in their kitchen, but you've got a new person kind of showing and guiding the new team member yeah, I.

12:09
Daniel Scharff
Don'T feel like I've ever seen, when I've ordered a sandwich, somebody flipping through the book, which I have seen at a bar. Right. You go to a bar and you order something. If it's a newer bartender, they're like, I don't know how to make a, you know, Jin Gimlet, or I don't even know what that is. But, like, maybe let's. Maybe let's. Why don't we just google it for fun, just in case? So that is.

12:28
Daniel Scharff
So I guess that must be them doing a pretty good job then, if they already have all of it pretty down or at least making you feel like it's seamless, and then when you have a new one, then obviously there's some kind of communication that goes out to the team, and then someone will take the initiative and figure it out and probably show the rest of the people to make sure that they can all execute it. So that's pretty interesting. And then getting back to the international flavors. So how did you come up with that idea? Is that spontaneous? Is that consumer driven? Is that like, hey, we need a new idea. Okay, what's it going to be? Let's figure out what's going on in the stores. What's the inception?

12:59
Allie Cotter
Yeah.

13:00
Lizz Ingrassia
So, of course, it always depends on the item, right? Like, sometimes. And I'm completely serious, I'll get a text message from Liz in the morning that she had a dream of some new flavor and that we should get the store and test it.

13:13
Allie Cotter
She's not wrong.

13:15
Daniel Scharff
I want to be on that text chain. I'm curious.

13:19
Lizz Ingrassia
It could definitely be something like that. But I'll say for something like, you know, these meal kits, like, it's more about watching trends across, you know, even just the whole grocery store. So international flavors are really popular right now, especially as we see the consumer shift from restaurants back into grocery stores again, we know that the customer is really looking for a restaurant experience, but a value and something that they can maybe do for themselves at home. So that's really where we start, right? We figure out what trend do we want to follow? And then first step is kind of reaching out to my broker partners and asking, like, hey, does anybody have something like this? And luckily, with these kids, it turned out we did have a company that we partner with pretty closely that has, I think, like, ten different meal kits.

14:07
Lizz Ingrassia
And we just order them in, send them to the stores, and then the stores built.

14:11
Daniel Scharff
Okay. So when the idea doesn't come from, you know, Liz, who literally dreams about food and want to introduce the customers, which is great. I love the passion. Ally, you could give us an example of, you know, what are all the products that you're working with and probably the brands who are all listening to this would like to know, you know, how much of that would be opportunities for, you know, branded products? How much of that plays into who you work with?

14:37
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah, you know, so when you walk a fresh time, prepared foods deli food service set, I'll say that we are mostly branded at this point. And that's really from a shift from, I mean, really it goes back to COVID. Right. So during COVID we didn't have the labor and we really had to pull back on quite a bit, not even just labor, but there were certain things that, you know, nobody was doing in store at that point, you know, and getting back, we have a strong desire to get back to the look, the feel and the perception of in store made and created. But that's a really challenging thing for any grocery store to accomplish right now with the constraints in the labor market. So we have really gone pretty branded retail ready packaging.

15:22
Lizz Ingrassia
You know, you'll see like, we've got a huge Kevin's presence in our set because their kind of brand promise aligns really well with what our customers are looking for. And, you know, it builds out that shelf really well. So for our stores, there is quite a bit of opportunity for branded product.

15:39
Daniel Scharff
Okay. And so you're, what you manage is deli and prepared food. What are some of those branded products that you have in there? You mentioned Kevin's, but just for anyone who doesn't know what that is. And what are some of other products, biggest ticket items?

15:51
Lizz Ingrassia
So, you know, if you went and walked like one of our deli items, we have quite a bit in. So we've got like Kevin's and prepared meals. Then we have like Kasia's pierogies, one of my personal favorites. I'm a big pierogi girl. We just brought in a brand called Bolani that I love. They make really delicious flatbreads and sauces. We have quite a bit of refrigerated pasta, too.

16:16
Daniel Scharff
So wait, hold on, just on the Bolani point, because I did see your LinkedIn post about them, which I wrote down a quote I wanted to put on here. So Balani, which is a brand a lot of people love, they have flatbreads. Right, which you just recently introduced. And from your LinkedIn post, I'll quote, these are insanely delicious. And if you haven't tried them, you can't be friends with us. I love it.

16:41
Allie Cotter
It's true.

16:42
Daniel Scharff
So good. Yeah.

16:43
Lizz Ingrassia
Well, the demand for being friends with Liz and I are so huge. Yes.

16:51
Daniel Scharff
I haven't tried them, but I hope to try them soon so that I can be friends with you guys, because I would like to be. I want to be on these text chains, so I'm definitely going to run out and get some of those. I think that's a great example. So how did they get on your radar? How did it come to be that they got in your attention and got you to love them so much and then launched with them?

17:11
Lizz Ingrassia
I think originally Liz found them right before I came in to the deli prepared foods, and she had told me right away, hey, these are really delicious. She had found them, I think, in a food show.

17:23
Daniel Scharff
I think so.

17:24
Lizz Ingrassia
Probably a food show.

17:25
Daniel Scharff
Yeah.

17:25
Lizz Ingrassia
So I had ran into them and met, you know, the owners a few times at a few shows, and I knew that it was something that we wanted for our sets, but, you know, we're constantly running into space constraints. I wish that my set was three times the size, so I could say yes to three times, you know, the amount of brands that bring great products to us. But it took about a year to get them in just from a space and timing and making sure that, you know, everything was ready, because the one thing I never want to personally do is launch a product before it. Makes sense, because that's just a recipe for failure.

17:59
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, makes sense. Okay. And if your space was twice as big, let's say, what's the first category or type of product you're going to start looking to blow up? Like, man, I wish I had more space for this thing because this is what I really want to have in the set right now, or this is what people are really looking for. This is just what I personally love.

18:16
Lizz Ingrassia
This is a really fun question. I would go the refrigerated sauce route one on the market that's, like, constantly in my feed, and I would love to give them the space is haven's kitchen. So they're doing some really cool stuff over there. Unfortunately, we just really don't have the space for, like, a full, like, refrigerated dressing sauces. But, yeah, that's probably the first thing I would expand. I would bring in some refrigerated sauces.

18:43
Daniel Scharff
Okay. I'm sure she'll be really happy to hear that. I'm sure someone will tell her that she's maybe on deck. Okay. So, Liz, same question to you. If you had way more space in the overall set, you know, if it's something that you personally love or just an area you think is doing really well or a trend, is there something specific that you would love to have more space for?

19:02
Allie Cotter
So I've been sitting in as bakery category manager for a few months as that role is being filled. And I would say the one thing I would go after is refrigerated desserts. So, fancy cakes, something that a customer could walk in, pick up, and really be excited to take to a party or take to a family member's house. That's what I would go after.

19:20
Daniel Scharff
What is your favorite refrigerated dessert?

19:23
Allie Cotter
Oh, that's a tie between tiramisu and tres Leche's cake.

19:29
Daniel Scharff
Mmm. Yeah. Allie, one. Do you have one? Mine. The one that I'm on right now is actually. Is a frozen one. It's the Yaso pop bowls. I don't know much about them, but I have the poppables, which, you know, they, I think, well known for the greek yogurt like popsicles bars that are pretty good. But now they have the poppables, which is just like a little mini donut hole kind of looking thing, which has chocolate on the outside, which I'm sure is why I like it so much. And then the yogurt of the inside, which they're super good, but I always order from Amazon fresh, and it will look like anything except for a bunch of separate balls by the time it's in out of the freezer.

20:06
Daniel Scharff
You know, I don't know if it's because they deliver it or just they're sensitive, but, like, you know, by the end, it just kind of looks like a brick of little things together, but it's still good. I break them open, and then I just have a messy, chocolatey two hands to wash off after, but it's worth it. Allie, how about you?

20:24
Lizz Ingrassia
So it would probably be with. Well, it's really any dessert that has a fresh raspberry on top of it. Like, I can't say no to a fresh raspberry. So cheesecake in particular. And then if we're playing the fun game of Frozen Johnny Popsicle go to every single time. They have the best flavors. They're so good. They're clean label. They've got organic skews. Love them.

20:47
Daniel Scharff
All right, I've got to connect you, then, with the brand. Boris. I don't know if you tried them at expo, but they are frozen, chocolate covered raspberries.

20:58
Allie Cotter
Perfect.

20:59
Daniel Scharff
It's good. It's good. They'll be in our dedicated section, actually, at fancy foods. So if you're at that show, which I hope you guys will be, then you'll definitely be able to check them out there. But you should just get some samples. They're really good, and they are beautiful. It looks like you think. It looks like it's just gorgeous. And maybe we'll stand up better in my freezer than my, like, sort of Tetris. Tetris y chocolate block, where I think I need, like, I remember this one episode I watched way back when of Ali G. I think, or something, where he pitches Donald Trump, like, pretty, you know, modern trump of his business idea, which was the ice cream glove or something. So he's like, not a bad idea. All right, I gotta go eat the.

21:42
Lizz Ingrassia
Ice cream with the glove or like, to grab the ice cream out of the freezer.

21:47
Daniel Scharff
It's for a cone, so the cone doesn't drip on your hand. And it's like, I mean, everyone should watch Ali G. I think the way he does it is very ridiculous. I think he gets him to say, like, oh, it's not a bad idea, but I don't see it on market. But if anyone knows about it, then maybe send it my way for my yeses. All right, allie, maybe there's a better question for you, but let's say once you start working with Bolani or someone else like that, how does that process grow? Like, okay, yeah, I like your product. I have a good understanding of how it works on our retail side. Like, okay, yeah. Give us your pricing. Come up with a plan. How are you going to support it? Promotions and demos are going to do that. Okay, great.

22:28
Daniel Scharff
And who's your distributor? Okay, we can pull from them, or we need to figure this out. What's that like for you guys? With a brand, it can be a.

22:36
Lizz Ingrassia
Little bit different because in the food service space, promotional funds typically aren't as deep as they can be in the center store side. So we know often that building a plan for the year can look a little bit different, which actually has been really fun. It's nice to get creative about how we promote and get, you know, brands and fun items in front of the consumers without the traditional, you know, bogo tag or whatever. But, yeah, typically, I'm starting off by, I want to know for them what they've found has been most successful and kind of build off of that. I know that I typically like to urge brands and companies to sample as much as possible. I think that it's a really useful tool.

23:24
Lizz Ingrassia
It's low investment typically, but you're getting the actual product into the customer's mouth, which is, you know, the real way to get somebody to love your product.

23:34
Daniel Scharff
Okay, and then what about the distribution side? So, like, okay, let's say on the retail side, typically, I think you guys work pretty well with Kehe, and there will be some brands, right, maybe coming in through foodservice that wouldn't already be set up through Kehe. Do you still work mainly through Khee for foodservice? Do you have other distributors that would be your go to's?

23:54
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah. So Keiki is our main distributor for basically the whole fresh time enterprise. We do have our own distribution center that I will pull. You know, some of our food comes through there. It's unfortunately refrigerated only. And that's where we tend to hit some hiccups, is if it's a frozen product that's slacked, it has to go through Cahee. It offers its own challenges, just like any distribution company can cross. But, yeah, for the most part, it's Kehi or our distribution center.

24:24
Daniel Scharff
Okay, so maybe, Liz, back to you. Have you seen a brand do a really good job, like, you know, right out of the gate or just over the years working with you guys, whether it's because they did some great sampling or they had a good program or they just nailed the distribution part of it. Any good examples to call out?

24:41
Allie Cotter
Yeah, just recently we launched Wonder Monday. It's a high protein cheesecake, mini individual cheesecake. And they were with us every step of the way. So they were asking great questions even before their contract was signed with Cahi, which really led us down the right road to make sure we had the right answers and they were getting the most fair treatment they could. And then they had all of this beautiful graphics that they sent us. So were ready to launch with a plan. We sent it over to our great marketing team, who launched it with social posts, which are huge right now, you know, in our ads as well. So were able to really get ahead of it and build the plan and launch it very successfully. And it's been doing really well for us.

25:24
Daniel Scharff
And you said they asked all the right questions. What were some of those kind of smart questions that they were sending your way? Yeah.

25:30
Allie Cotter
So to be honest, at one point, they were concerned about some verbiage in the contract, and it was around spoils, and what they were understanding it or how it was being explained to them was not exactly how it was true. So I was able to get in and kind of be that middle person to say, oh, no, that's not what they mean. Here's what this means. And were able to move forward with that contract.

25:51
Daniel Scharff
That's a pretty interesting topic. Probably you can both imagine on the brand side, like, okay, we get sent a contract, and maybe from you guys, it's like, oh, yeah, we just sent them. The kind of normal thing for us. It's like we're like, oh, no, this one part really doesn't work for me, but I want to work with them. I don't want them to, if I send back a red line, be like, well, we just won't work with you, or it's going to get held up by legal for a month now. And I don't know, maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't. Like, what is it like when brands come back to you with questions, whether it's on, you know, a contract or something about the pricing? Like, does it annoy you?

26:26
Daniel Scharff
Do you feel like it sounds like the way that wonder Monday did it was, you know, actually made you have an even better impression of them?

26:32
Allie Cotter
Absolutely. Because it helped us get to the finish line. So they weren't questioning it because they didn't want to work with us. They were questioning it because they needed to understand and they needed to make smart decisions. They are a small company. This is the first. We're their first retailer, large retailer in the Midwest. They were really branching out from what their comfort zone was, and it did. It helped us get across the finish line. We'll take those questions all day long and try to support these brands, because if we're passionate about it, then we hope our customers will be as well.

27:01
Daniel Scharff
That's awesome to hear that you were the first retailer for them in the Midwest. Do you have a preference for either being first to market in the Midwest with certain brands, or, you know, you prefer more to work with local brands, which may also be in some other retailers around you. Do you have a thought process around that?

27:18
Allie Cotter
So I'll turn that to Allie. But I would say that, you know, were both pretty passionate about first to market and how we can really capitalize on that.

27:26
Lizz Ingrassia
Yes, I will say I am very competitive, and if you give me the opportunity to be first to market, it's like music to my ears. I love it. But it also has to be the right product. Right? Like, I wouldn't just launch something that doesn't make sense for us based on that. So, of course, yes, we love, you know, there are some national brands like Boar's head. Right? They're one of the biggest brands that we work with in the deli. But then we also, we do really love being a destination for local customers, too. That's been a really big focus for us the last couple of years. And if you go in, you know, hopefully you're always finding that Midwest local. And we get pretty micro local, too.

28:06
Lizz Ingrassia
Honestly, there's not as many, I'll say there's not as much local in the prepared food set just for, based on. There's not a lot out there, but, like, dips, you know, we focus pretty heavy on it. And then in the bakery, there's tons of local because that's really what makes the most sense in our department.

28:23
Daniel Scharff
And so I love to hear that you like to be first to market, and probably every early brand does, too, because we want someone to help us be first to market. And that means you really like to take a chance on early brands. So I love it. From your perspective, though, why? Why do you like to be first to market? Because, I mean, for us, we're like, hell yeah. Hell yeah, let's do it, please. But is it like, because you think consumers are going to know that you guys and are first to market with stuff and have that feeling like, this is a place I can discover products that aren't available at other grocery stores, or do you just want them to feel like you have a very fresh set?

28:59
Daniel Scharff
Or is there even, I don't know, some pride about being in the industry and being like, yeah, competitors, suck it. We were first to market with that. You know, what is it? I would love to understand it better because we love it so much to hear.

29:13
Lizz Ingrassia
It's definitely a mixed bag of that. But I will say there is always a little bit of suck it. I got that first.

29:20
Daniel Scharff
Thank you for admitting that.

29:24
Allie Cotter
There's no shame. No shame. We are very competitive.

29:28
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah, 1000%. If I, you know, even Meyer is like, kind of our, like, sister, cousin, dad, and if I watch something for them, I'm like, yes, I beat Meyer, you know? But the real thing is that customers do find it exciting. If there's something that they've never been able to find anywhere else and they walked into a fresh time and they found it, and it even, especially, like, dietary needs, gluten free, plant based, anything like that, and they find this new product that they've never seen, they become loyal to our stores. Right? Like, they think then that's the destination for what they're looking for. So, plus, yeah, it is really important to keep the sets fresh. People get sick of the same old thing being the same old thing. So new product is really important just to keep everything feeling new.

30:17
Daniel Scharff
It's pretty interesting to hear and maybe I've never fully thought through this, but when you're going to do a grocery shop, how much are you there just to get the stuff that you usually get? And how much are you open to new products? And I mean, I guess just for myself thinking, yeah, like, I do actually, most of my kind of typical shopping on Amazon fresh and then right now I'm getting meals delivered from factor. I don't know if you guys have tried it, but I'm pretty lazy and it's very easy. It's a heat neat and it seems to be pretty high quality. But, you know, and so, yeah, I don't know, I guess usually I'm just like buying the same stuff that I usually get. Although how did I even decide to get that stuff?

30:53
Daniel Scharff
I don't know, probably it was new to the set at some point and I saw it or something. So how do you think your consumers are shopping? Do they have an eye out usually for the new stuff? Are they mainly in there just filling up the basket with the usual shop?

31:06
Lizz Ingrassia
It probably depends on the item. I'll say, like, when we launch something new, we'll give it like a special new tag to kind of entice that consumer over. But that alone does not mean that the item will sell off the shelf. It really has to be. It's like finding that perfect mixture of, yes, it's new, but it's also the right time. It's the right product, the branding is right, the packaging looks good. You know, I'll say for fresh time specifically, I think our customers, when they're grabbing new product, it's usually dietary needs driven. For most of the store, we do have, like, I think the number one attribute our customers look for is gluten free, you know, so for them, it's definitely, well, and also, you don't. We have so many specialty items that you can't find in other retailers.

31:53
Lizz Ingrassia
So I definitely think that's kind of what drives. I would hope that our customers find us to be like an incubator of new products.

32:01
Daniel Scharff
That's pretty interesting. And, you know, some people say, like, oh, you need to see a product seven times before you buy it. Like a consumer needs seven touch points before they pull the trigger. Do you think that's true or do you think, you know, maybe if it's a gluten free thing, they're just, if they see something that's new and exciting, they're just going to go for it first time.

32:18
Lizz Ingrassia
What do you think, Liz?

32:19
Allie Cotter
I think impulse, if it's something that they, oh, I've never tried this before, or, oh, this sounds good. They're going to pick it up. I don't think they need to see it seven times.

32:27
Daniel Scharff
All right. And by the way, I should qualify my Amazon fresh customer hood by saying if I lived near a fresh time, I would shop there because it really, I've said very publicly here and on LinkedIn, that fresh time is really just one of my absolute favorite places. It's like you walk in and it has that kind of farmer's market feel, but it's so beautiful and thoughtfully curated and just a great store. And the people who work in the store are so helpful and you can tell are very passionate about what they're working on. I think that would actually be enough to get me up out of my podcast chair, out of my house, all the way into the store, or at least I would click to collect, which I think is something that you guys are working more on as well. Right?

33:08
Daniel Scharff
Like with online orders and pickup. Is that a goal for you guys, for your department?

33:13
Allie Cotter
Oh, absolutely. The more we can get in the basket, the better off we are. So we are really working towards how the customer shops and what entices them to put something in their basket online, because they're not seeing it, they're not touching it. So how do we draw that to the consumer?

33:28
Daniel Scharff
So what do Liz and Allie have for lunch? I'm always curious. What are your go to is like, if you're, let's say you're heading to the store or you're just ordering something or you're buying something and having it at home. What's your go to?

33:42
Lizz Ingrassia
What do you have today, Liz?

33:44
Allie Cotter
I had olives and pickles and some salami and carrots.

33:48
Daniel Scharff
Was it freestyle snacks, olives?

33:51
Allie Cotter
No, it was Delalo.

33:53
Daniel Scharff
Okay. I know you carry those in the store. I've saw those when I was there. They're. They're a local brand. And I was really thinking, when I saw them in there, I'm like, yeah, if I were starting a brand, maybe I would do it in Chicago, because then you get, like, access to these very amazing local retailers.

34:07
Allie Cotter
Absolutely. Now, I do love freestyle snacks, and that's a great one to eat in the car. We call that car food. It's one of our favorites. But, yes, Allie and I, we snack a lot. We pick at things kind of like raccoons.

34:19
Daniel Scharff
Is it like, the girl dinner thing but girl lunch also, or.

34:24
Allie Cotter
That's exactly what it is.

34:26
Daniel Scharff
For anyone who doesn't know what that is, that's like this instagram meme, I guess, or trend that went very viral, I think, late last year of people just showing kind of more snacking dinners called girl dinners. How about Hallel? Are you having girl lunch or girl dinner also, or what's going on your plate?

34:45
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah, it's often some sort of. Or actually, it's nothing. It just depends on the day. Since coming to the deli, I've become a little bit bougie, and I feel like I have to eat boar's head meat now. Like, I just. I love it. You know, it's a pricey option, but. So I've got boar's head sandwiches all the time, and then other than that, if I'm in the office, I'm just hoping that someone else is feeding me, because I have not planned anything.

35:15
Allie Cotter
We are really thankful for Bianca on the GM desk because she feeds us and she feeds us well. There was a breakfast casserole this morning that was outstanding.

35:26
Daniel Scharff
All right. Sounds like for any brands that have good snacks out, there might be a good sample opportunity for you to send them our way. It sounds like they like to be taken care of with some delicious samples. Okay, so. And then, you know, Liz, one thing I wanted to ask you about is I think you really pride yourself on being a, you know, operational expert and, like, really knowing how to scale and run things smoothly all across your career. Being, like, a turnaround expert and working on operational efficiency. How much of your job is really focusing on in store and two store operations versus stuff around the assortment and customer experience.

36:06
Allie Cotter
Yeah, it's really taking the plan that the category managers have put together and taking it to the store. So it's kind of a nice mix between the two. I want them to run their business, and I want them to make their product decisions. And I take it to say, okay, do we have the equipment to execute that? Do we have the labor to execute that? Are there any food safety issues in there? Do we have to get anyone else involved? So I get to mix the two really well, which is really a great passion of mine. So I don't lean as much into the operations as much as I used to.

36:36
Daniel Scharff
So what are the metrics, let's say, you care the most about on a quarter to quarter basis or year to year, whatever it is, year over year comp sales. Okay, that makes sense. So sales first and then and, like, if you're not dreaming about the next amazing dish and instead you're having a nightmare, what's in the nightmare? What's, what could go wrong that would ruin your day very quickly?

37:00
Allie Cotter
Oh, anything around food safety issues that'll ruin a day real quick, let's say.

37:06
Daniel Scharff
If that happens, what usually could be the source of that? Obviously, one would be there's a problem with the product sell from the brand. Sure.

37:12
Allie Cotter
It could be a recall. It could be that a health department came in and found something that we need to go in and re coach to, which is never fun, and it's never a fun conversation, but it's something we want to keep our consumers as safe as possible.

37:24
Daniel Scharff
How often do you actually have to do a recall with a brand? Because I know for us, like, that's a horrible nightmare situation, that we're kind of like, we're dead if that happens. But you guys probably see it. I mean, at least every now and then.

37:38
Allie Cotter
Every now and then we're really thankful. We really have not had many that we've had to deal with. Knock on wood. This year.

37:44
Daniel Scharff
Yeah.

37:44
Lizz Ingrassia
Usually, I want to say, on average, I usually have one or two a year that I'm dealing with. But honestly, a lot of the times, they're not even, like, super serious recalls. It can be something like, you know, they spelled gluten wrong and they had to recall it, you know, because they're concerned just in case. But it's not that often.

38:05
Daniel Scharff
And what's your, let's say in that instance where it's like, okay, it's a misspelling? How pissed are you about it when you have to deal with it? It sounds like you're pretty understanding, actually.

38:15
Allie Cotter
Yeah, you've got to roll with it. I mean, there's nothing you can do. If you get angry, you're just causing gray hairs?

38:21
Lizz Ingrassia
We also know that's got to be, like a nightmare for the brand. Like, none of them want to be recalled. You know, that's got to be for them. I assume it's way worse for a brand and a company than it is for us when product gets recalled like that. So I think we're pretty understanding.

38:37
Daniel Scharff
Yes. Pretty much the worst thing that we can imagine for us. But I was pretty interested on a recent episode of the podcast I had Jamie Valenti Jordan on, who runs catapult commercialization services. He's kind of our resident ops and scaling expert, and it was interesting to hear how he talked about it. I think were talking about getting your product started and putting something out there and maybe launching before you think the product is even perfect. And he was saying like, yeah, actually some brands may launch something and you could even do kind of a strategic recall on it just to get then your perfect product out there. And then just hopefully have a nice story for the category manager that they would accept that's around. Like, hey, actually, like, the expiration date is not quite what we thought it would be.

39:20
Daniel Scharff
We want to swap that out for a new product. And the way he was so much more, like, calm and confident about it, whereas for me, I'd be like, please don't kill us. Like, can we still have a business, please? Is it okay if we have to swap these out? So I don't know. It sounds kind of like from your reaction that you might be understanding in that kind of a scenario and not end our world, which is what it does feel like when somebody we're so desperate to have a good relationship with, like, fresh time, it hangs in the balance of a recall. I think actually, those were the main questions that I was hoping to get through with you guys. I've really learned a ton.

39:55
Daniel Scharff
You know, Liz or Ali, any other messages or guidance you think would be really helpful for any brands out there to hear from either one of you, whether it's about how to get on your radar or how to, you know, come correct with a good plan if they get your. If they hook your attention and, you know, are trying to move the conversation forward or how to just really crush it when they're on shelf in the.

40:16
Allie Cotter
Future, I always say, go into a fresh time. Tell us how we really will partner together. Not just we think this is going to sell well in your store, but tell us how that's really going to come to life.

40:27
Daniel Scharff
I think that's a great point. And I learned so much when I was in the store. I think I mentioned this on the podcast that I did with the VP of Center store, Jonathan Lawrence. But yeah, because I went into the store and I looked at, when I was running a beverage company, I looked at the beverage set, and then I came to the category manager with like, hey, I think actually, if you could add or please add these two new skus that we have, and then I think you could move the set around so that they're here. I think these products could go better here. And she was totally open to it, and I think she really liked to hear that. I'd been in there and talking to the store managers about it, and it makes all the difference.

40:59
Daniel Scharff
When you have something kind of actionable. Right. I guess it can be hard for somebody who's not in the region to do that. But I don't know, probably there are creative ways to do it. You know, phone a friend with an iPhone, facetime your way in.

41:11
Allie Cotter
It's a great idea.

41:12
Daniel Scharff
Yeah. Allie, how about you? Any other final tips and tricks?

41:16
Lizz Ingrassia
Yeah, I would say, you know, if you're cold calling, make sure that you're reaching out to the right buyer. You know, if you can imagine, on LinkedIn, we get. I probably get ten new messages a day, and I'd say, like, 80% of those aren't anything that I would ever buy. So it makes it a little bit difficult to even sort through to the brands that are applicable to our categories. And then, you know, I just always say patience. Like, you know, sometimes it just takes a while for the timing to be right. You know, if we like your product, if we say we like it, you know, just keep following up. I'll say follow ups are so big for us because we do just have a huge book of business sitting in front of us. It's not just about product.

41:58
Lizz Ingrassia
It's also, you know, about a million other metrics. But, yeah, follow up, be patient, and, yeah, knowing our stores is a huge thing. You know, make sure that it's a right fit for us and for you.

42:09
Daniel Scharff
All right, I'd love to hear it. And then for anybody hoping to catch you guys at an upcoming trade show, what are the ones for the rest of the year that you think you might be at or will definitely be at?

42:20
Allie Cotter
So we will definitely be at Iddba, and then we should be at the Cahi winter show.

42:26
Lizz Ingrassia
Winter.

42:27
Allie Cotter
Summer show. Winter show.

42:28
Lizz Ingrassia
It's in the summer. For the winter.

42:30
Allie Cotter
For the winter. There it is.

42:31
Daniel Scharff
I always get that one backwards, too. All right, perfect. Well, hey, thank you both very much. I hope you don't mind. If our listeners are interested, maybe they can give you a follow on LinkedIn and just stay up to date on your content and learn about new brands that you're excited about. And I just want to say thank you again, because I love fresh time so much, and your whole team is so nice and even, you know, the one, the few team members, I think, that I don't already know at this point, like, Liz, I just, like, I think got your attention at fancy foods, and you were so nice and chatted to me, and then I probably gushed about how much I like your whole team.

43:05
Daniel Scharff
And it sounds like it would be a really fun place for anybody to work and that you guys have a good time, as evidenced by this podcast also. So thank you. We really just appreciate how good of a friend you guys are, I think to all emerging brands. And it's very evident if you just walk into a store, you can see it because of how many of the brands, like freestyle snacks are just sitting there looking pretty. They look great in the store. They have good assortment. You really highlight those brands. They all love working with you. And so thank you for propping up the early brands in the community and giving us a better shot. We really appreciate it.

43:39
Allie Cotter
Well, thank you for having us. And we do have a lot of fun. I have the best team in the store. I can't say enough to great things about Ally and the rest of my team, so I'm very lucky.

43:50
Daniel Scharff
I can see it. All right. Okay. Thank you both so much. It really has been a pleasure.

43:56
Allie Cotter
Thank you.

43:56
Lizz Ingrassia
Thank you, Daniel.

43:59
Daniel Scharff
All right, everybody, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast today, it would really help us out if you can leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I am Daniel Scharff. I'm the host and founder of startup CPG. Please feel free to reach out or add me on LinkedIn. If you're a potential sponsor that would like to appear on the podcast, please email partnershipstartupcpg.com and reminder to all of you out there, we would love to have you join the community. You can sign up at our website, startupcpg.com to learn about our webinars, events and Slack channel. If you enjoyed today's music, you can check out my band it's the super fantastics on Spotify music on behalf of the entire startup CPG team, thank you so much for listening and your support. See you next time.