Food Business Marketing Podcast | Brand Strategy, Sales, & Growth for Food Brands and Farms

192. Stewarding the Land and Building a Brand - Scaling Regenerative Agriculture with StarWalker Organic Farms

Some people are skeptical that regenerative agriculture can be scalable, but our guests are proving it can be done while they build a strong brand as well. For Jason and Christina Walker of StarWalker Organic Farms, success started with a series of everyday decisions—and a few pivotal fork-in-the-road moments that shaped everything. StarWalker Organic Farms introduced the first Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) pork and beef in the United States and is working to help more farmers transition to regenerative agriculture through a scalable, farmer-focused model. In this episode, we explore the choices, values, risks, and long-term thinking that shaped their journey from a multi-generational family farm to a growing regenerative agriculture brand with a vision that extends far beyond their own acreage. Along the way, we discuss what it means to steward the land, build a business, create a brand, and leave something better for the next generation. In this episode, you'll hear about: * The family decision that led StarWalker Organic Farms down the path of organic farming decades before it became more mainstream * The pivotal choices that shaped the farm's growth, from launching a direct-to-consumer business to purchasing their own USDA processing facility * What it means to produce the first Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) pork and beef in the US * How regenerative agriculture, soil health, and nutrient density are connected * The challenges and opportunities of building a vertically integrated food business * How our life experiences that seem unrelated today may actually be preparing you for what's next * How the business is helping other farmers transition to regenerative agriculture without having to build a brand. * Their vision to create regional networks of regenerative farms and make high-quality food more accessible locally across the country * What the brand will be known for...their answer wasn't about the products they sell. Listen to hear more! Whether you're a farmer, food business owner, entrepreneur, or someone who cares about where your food comes from, this conversation is a reminder to keep grounded in our purpose every single day. Resources Mentioned StarWalker Organic Farms [https://starwalkerorganicfarms.com/] Join the newsletter here [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZfjn-IOx0D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==] RealFoodBrands.com [https://www.realfoodbrands.com] And until next week, let's go shake up shopping carts! Katie Mleziva – Host & Food Brand Strategist Clint Matthews - Host, Co-Founder at Start Right Foods, & Food Business Strategist If you are interested in clarifying what you want your brand to be known for and making your brand easier to choose, please email me at katie@realfoodbrands.com [katie@realfoodbrands.com]. We'd love to hear what you are working on and see if we might be a good fit to work together...or at least share a few resources with you!

191. What a Viral Post Taught Me About Reach, Relevance, and Response

This week, my simple Instagram post about Swedish Fish unexpectedly reached more than 160,000 people...and counting! Now, that might be a normal day for some people on Instagram, but it certainly wasn't for me. While it was fun to watch the views climb, not all the comments were as fun to read. Not that I took it personally, but I don't understand the need to be so negative. With that in mind, what I found most interesting were the lessons that came from the experience—not just about social media, but about our ideal audience and how we choose to show up when we get unexpected attention. In this episode, Clint interviews me about what happened, what surprised me, and what business owners can learn from finding themselves in a similar situation. In the episode, you'll hear: * Why attention doesn't always equal growth * The difference between reach and relevance * How to respond when the internet wants you to react * Why not every audience is your audience * How to use the algorithm without losing your personal programming (ie values) * How to find the sweet spot between your strengths and your audience's interests * What a viral post can teach you about your brand, your audience, and yourself Resources Mentioned 📌 View the Instagram post here [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZfjn-IOx0D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==] 📬 Join the Real Food Brands newsletter here [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZfjn-IOx0D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==] And until next time, let's go shake up shopping carts. Katie Mleziva – Host & Food Brand Strategist Clint Matthews - Host, Co-Founder at Start Right Foods, & Food Business Strategist

190. Building What's Next

As we approach episode 200, we're inviting you to help shape what's next for the Food Business Marketing Podcast. We've been working to make strategy more actionable, more valuable, and...more fun. As we think about what's next for the podcast, we'd love to hear directly from you. 👉 Take the short survey here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtEfBt75DTicl_ZuF_D0i2Ft_Yb9FJSTMPS8I4_BFYYpd9JA/viewform?usp=publish-editor] We've got some exciting ideas in the works, but before we make plans for the next chapter in the coming weeks, we want to make sure we're building something that's truly valuable for you. Thank you for being part of this community, for spending your time with us each week, and for helping us build what's next as we help YOU build what's next! - Katie & Clint PS--Make sure you're on my newsletter email list. Most weeks I'm helping you turn your ideas into action, but this week I'm asking you for your ideas to help US take action - and we appreciate every single reply. Access the survey here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtEfBt75DTicl_ZuF_D0i2Ft_Yb9FJSTMPS8I4_BFYYpd9JA/viewform?usp=publish-editor] or sign up for the newsletter and get it in your inbox on Friday: Weekly Email Newsletter [show/episodes/view/wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ] or at www.realfoodbrands.com [http://www.realfoodbrands.com].

189. Your Brand Strategy Is the Starting Line

Have you ever finished strategy work, felt excited… and then thought, "Okay, but now what?" Your brand strategy being done isn't the finish line. It's the starting line. In this episode, Katie Mleziva (Real Food Brands [www.realfoodbrands.com]) and Clint Matthews (Start Right Foods [www.startrightfoods.com)]) talk about what happens after the strategy work is done and how to activate your brand so it becomes part of your everyday decisions—not just a PDF sitting on your computer. Building on recent conversations around defining your strategy, aligning your team, and creating clarity, this conversation focuses on activation: what happens next, how to avoid overwhelm, and how to keep moving forward to build momentum as you build a strong brand and business. From prioritizing what comes first to testing and learning in the market, this episode will help you think differently about what it means to bring your strategy to life. ➡️ In this episode, you'll hear: --Why strategy work often feels exciting at first—but overwhelming when it's time to implement --How to prioritize what happens next instead of trying to do everything at once --Ways to think through 30 / 60 / 120 day priorities --Why your strategy should guide agencies, partners, and vendors and not the other way around --How to test and learn without abandoning your strategy too quickly --The difference between evolving intentionally and changing direction because you got nervous or someone asked a question you couldn't answer yet --Why strategy should make decisions easier—not harder ➡️ What this means for your business: Your brand strategy should create clarity—but clarity alone doesn't create momentum. ➡️ When you activate your strategy intentionally, you can: 1) Bring more consistency to how your brand shows up 2) Make decisions with more confidence and less second-guessing 3) Create priorities that help move the business forward 4) Stay aligned while continuing to learn and optimize ➡️ What's next: Strategy isn't the finish line. It's the starting line. Whether you've documented your strategy already or you've been piecing it together as you go, activation is where strategy comes to life—and where momentum starts building. Stay tuned for more podcast episodes to help you bring your vision to life! ➡️ Continue the conversation: If this episode helped you think differently about what happens after strategy work is done, make sure you're on Katie's newsletter email list. She'll share additional thoughts, tools, and resources, including the Brand Activation Worksheet. You can get access to the newsletter and find links to everything else HERE: Weekly Email Newsletter [show/episodes/view/wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ] or at www.realfoodbrands.com [http://www.realfoodbrands.com]. ➡️ Let's Connect! Connect with Katie Mleziva on LinkedIn or ➡️ Set up an intro call if you're ready to move from strategy to action and build a brand with more clarity and confidence. 🔗 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/realfoodbrands/] Let's go shake up shopping carts, together! Katie Mleziva – Host & Food Brand Strategist

188. How to Build a Brand People Trust

What makes you trust a brand? It's usually not one big thing. It's the repeated experience of seeing a brand show up consistently over time — through the packaging, product, messaging, the customer experience, the team, and allll the little details in between. In this episode, Katie Mleziva (RealFoodBrands.com [www.realfoodbrands.com]) and Clint Matthews (StartRightFoods.com [www.startrightfoods.com]) explore how trust is built through cohesive, consistent brand experiences...and why alignment inside your business matters to what customers see on the outside. As a follow-up to recent episodes related to the "define" part of Katie's Define, Align, & Activate framework, this conversation focuses on what happens next: aligning your team, partners, and day-to-day decisions around what you want your brand to be known for… then activating that strategy consistently across the business. Because strong brands reinforce the key thing they want to be known for over and over again. In this episode, you'll hear: * Why consistency builds trust over time * The difference between alignment and activation * How cohesive brand experiences create recognition * Why repeated touchpoints shape brand perception * The role team members and partners play in your brand * How familiarity influences buying decisions * Why strong brands feel intentional * The connection between trust and customer experience Key Takeaway People trust brands that feel clear, cohesive, and consistent. And that doesn't happen accidentally! We can be intentional about how that happens when your business is aligned around what you want to be known for and reinforces it through repeated experiences over time. Links & Resources: • 📧 Weekly Email Newsletter [show/episodes/view/wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ] • 🔗 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/realfoodbrands/] If this episode gave you a new way to think about building your business, please share it with another food business owner who is working to build a brand that makes a positive impact. Let's go shake up shopping carts, together!