Real Talk with Tia & Jill

S3E33: What a Real Food Safety Foundation Looks Like for a Growing Small Business

In this episode of Real Talk, Catalyst Food Leaders co-founders Tia Glave and Jill Stuber sit down with someone we have worked with and genuinely love. Taylor Clarke founded Amborella Organics, a seed-bearing lollipop company she and her husband built from an idea into a nationally recognized food brand with their own commercial kitchen and real retail presence. And along the way, she had to figure out food safety mostly on her own. No big quality team. No consultant on retainer. No resources built for a business of her size. What she had was a product worth protecting and the willingness to build what she needed one honest step at a time. We are talking about what that actually looked like. What she prioritized first. What nobody told her. And what finally made it feel solid. If you are a small food founder, this one is for you. Watch Real Talk live on Mondays at 11a ET / 10a CT https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk]

S3E32 The Leadership Decision You Keep Putting Off Is Already Costing You

Every food leader has something they know they need to do. Develop themselves. Build their team. Fix their culture. And most of them have been meaning to do it for a while. In this episode of Real Talk, Catalyst Food Leaders co-founders Tia Glave and Jill Stuber get direct about the real cost of waiting: not just the dollars, but the compounding effects. The people who leave. The culture that calcifies. The next-level role that goes to someone else. This is not a cheerleading episode. It's an honest look at why smart leaders keep delaying smart decisions, and what changes when they stop. For individual leaders who are ready to stop researching and start, the next Bootcamp cohort starts September 15th - registration is open. Download the module details at catalystfoodleaders.com/programs.  For organizational leaders who are heading into 2027 planning, set up a free 30-minute Culture Gap Conversation with us.  This will be the most useful 30 minutes you'll spend before you write next year's budget. Book at calendly.com/catalystfoodleaders/intro.

S3E31 From Burden to Solutions: What Food Safety Leadership Actually Requires

World Food Safety Day is June 7. But the conversation about what food safety leadership actually requires does not start on a single day. It starts when food safety professionals honestly ask themselves: Am I just the expert in the room, or am I actually leading? Reagan Brashers is a food safety microbiologist with a PhD from Texas Tech, a fourth-generation agriculturist, and someone who has spent her career bridging the gap between science and the people who need to use it. On this episode of Real Talk, Catalyst Food Leaders co-founders  Tia Glave and Jill Stuber get into what it takes to go from food safety expert to food safety leader, and why that development gap is one of the most important conversations the food industry is not having loudly enough. Learn more about Strategic Leader and our leadership development courses here: https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/leadership-development-programs [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/leadership-development-programs] Download Making the Case for Development here: https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/making-the-case [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/making-the-case] Watch Real Talk live on Mondays at 11a ET / 10a CT https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk]

S3E30: Why Small Food Businesses Struggle with Food Safety (And It's Not What You Think)

May is Small Business Month. And here's a number worth sitting with: small businesses were responsible for 88.9% of all private-sector job growth from 2023 to 2024. In food, those small businesses are also navigating something that doesn't come with a manual: food safety. Without a dedicated team. Without a compliance budget. Without anyone who's done it before sitting across the table. On this episode of Real Talk, Kim Bryden of Cureate joins Catalyst Food Leaders cofounders, Tia Glave and Jill Stuber, ICF-PCC, to talk about why small food businesses struggle with food safety, and why the reason is almost never what the founder thinks it is. Kim has advised over 1000 food and beverage entrepreneurs. She sees where the wall is before founders hit it. Today she's telling us exactly what she sees. If today's conversation made you want to take an honest look at where your food safety foundation stands, we built something specifically for you. The Small Food Business Food Safety Starter Kit includes a foundational program checklist and a growth path guide that maps what food safety requires at every stage of your business, from farmers market to major retail. Download it free here → https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/starter-kit [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/starter-kit] And if you want to tell us where you are in your journey, reach out at hello@catalystfoodleaders.com. We're building something for this community and we want to hear from you. Watch Real Talk live on Mondays at 11a ET / 10a CT https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk]

S3E29: What I See in Food Companies That Leaders Can't See Themselves

When you've been inside an organization long enough, you stop seeing what's actually there. The workarounds become normal. The silence becomes expected. The gap between what the culture says it values and what actually happens on the floor becomes invisible — until someone from the outside walks in and names it. On this episode of Real Talk, Catalyst Food Leaders co-founders Tia Glave and Jill Stuber bring on special guest Beth Fernandes! Beth has spent over two decades in food safety and quality — including leading global programs at McCain Foods — and now consults across organizations. She sees things in the first hour that leaders have missed for years. You don't want to miss this conversation! Download your SQF / GFSI guide here: https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/sqf-guide [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/sqf-guide] Watch Real Talk live on Mondays at 11a ET / 10a CT https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk [https://www.catalystfoodleaders.com/real-talk]