Buyer Truth: What Retailers Want from Challenger Brands | Chris Otto (ex buyer)

Buyer Truth: What Retailers Want from Challenger Brands | Chris Otto (ex buyer)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2556833/fan_mail/new] What do retailers actually want from challenger brands — and what gets you ignored instantly? In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Chris Otto, who spent nearly 20 years at Co-op in buying roles and leading buying teams across frozen, impulse and grocery. We get into: *  what “challenger” really means from a retailer perspective  *  why challenger brands matter to retailers (innovation, energy, relevance, younger shoppers)  *  what gets a buyer’s attention vs the red flags that get you filed away  *  how busy buyers really are (new supplier volume + existing supplier workload)  *  what successful challengers do operationally and commercially once listed  *  how to think beyond the first 6–12 weeks and build incrementally over time  If you’re pitching retail — or trying to stay listed — this is essential listening. Link:  www.makinmighty.com [http://www.makinmighty.com] If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

AI for Sales Teams Without Sounding Like a Bot | Craig (ex-Cheesies)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2556833/fan_mail/new] AI is everywhere in sales right now — and most of what people are doing either turns into spam, or it’s so complicated nobody uses it. In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Craig — founder of Cheesies and a commercial operator/consultant turned AI practitioner — about how challenger brands can use AI to sell more without losing their human edge. We cover: *  why sales is one of the safer career paths in an AI world (and what will actually change)  *  the biggest misuse Craig sees: generic inputs leading to generic output  *  a practical “start here” setup (Claude Pro, global instructions, connectors, and better prompting)  *  how to keep AI outreach human, on-brand, and believable  *  what Craig learned building Cheesies: focus on a single audience and spot early traction signals  *  what he’d do differently if starting a brand today with AI agents from day one  *  Craig’s new venture, The Expedition, helping FMCG leaders integrate AI properly  Link:  www.makinmighty.com [http://www.makinmighty.com] If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

How Superfoodio Drive Rate of Sale Once They’re Listed [NIRALI & JAG - SUPERFOODIO]

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2556833/fan_mail/new] Getting listed is exciting. Staying listed is the hard bit. In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Ja and Jag, founders of Superfoodio, about what really drives rate of sale once you’re on shelf. They share practical, founder-level tactics on: * why availability is the first battle (and how brands get caught out) * early retail mistakes you only learn the hard way (including a barcode issue that nearly got them pulled) * what they do first in a new retailer to drive volume * activations that actually shift units (not just look good online) * building store colleagues into brand champions when you can’t be everywhere * how packaging becomes your salesperson when you’re not in store * why improving 1% at a time through data and feedback loops keeps momentum going If you’re a challenger brand trying to win once you’re in retail, this is gold. Link:  www.makinmighty.com [http://www.makinmighty.com] If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

How to Turn a 200-Year-Old Brand into a Challenger | Josh Daly (Grey Poupon)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2556833/fan_mail/new] How do you make a 200-year-old heritage brand behave like a modern challenger — without losing what made it famous? In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Josh Daly, who helped take Grey Poupon from being “in the wilderness” to behaving like a brand with a clear point of view. We get into: * why Grey Poupon got delisted (and why that was actually useful context) * how to spot duplication and pull away from the incumbent * what was sacred (product quality, the jar) vs what had to change (tone, audience, comms) * fast, scrappy insight gathering (farmers’ markets, real conversations) * the tactics that moved the needle: a challenger campaign, relevant creators, merch, and smart use of data * what Josh would do more of, less of, and avoid completely If you’re trying to modernise a legacy brand or sharpen differentiation in a crowded category, this one will land. Link:  www.makinmighty.com [http://www.makinmighty.com] If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

What “Good Enough” Actually Means for Early Brands | Simon & Scott

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2556833/fan_mail/new] Early-stage founders often try to rush to “perfect” — perfect branding, perfect plans, perfect decks — before they’ve sold a single unit. In this co-hosted episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh and Scott Cramner unpack what “good enough” really means for challenger brands, and why perfection is often just procrastination dressed up as strategy. We cover: * why selling early beats endless planning * where you can compromise (and where you absolutely can’t) * why big brands still launch products that flop, even after loads of testing * the difference between being “rough and ready” vs being careless * a useful mental model: “precisely wrong vs roughly right” If you’re building a challenger brand and feeling pressure to look bigger than you are, this episode is a reset. Link:  www.makinmighty.com [http://www.makinmighty.com]  If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com