#132 Buyer Spotlight: Chris Battaglia, Protein Category Sr Manager, Hungryroot
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 12 March 2024
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Daniel Scharff dives into the world of protein with Chris Battaglia, a seasoned expert and category lead for proteins at leading e-commerce retailer Hungryroot that aims to simplify healthy eating through personalized grocery shopping, utilizing AI to gather customer taste data for tailored meal suggestions. The company's socially responsible initiatives and commitment to reducing waste resonate with a diverse consumer base, focusing on high-quality options for various age groups and regions.
Discover the challenges faced by the meat industry, from navigating economic changes to maintaining impeccable quality standards. Chris reveals the crucial role of partnerships with suppliers who understand customer preferences and gives an overview of the role plant-based plays in his category.
Tune in now!
Listen in as Chris shares about:
- Transition to Hungryroot
- Insights from Meat Cutting Days
- Experience at Central Market and Whole Foods
- Private Label and Branded Products
- Impact of COVID-19
- Meat Industry Challenges
- Humane Standards and Supply Chain
- Engaging with Brands:
- Consumer Feedback
- Plant-Based Category
- Brand Partnerships
Episode Links:
Hungryroot’s Website
Chris’s LinkedIn
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, everybody. I am so excited to announce that startup CPG now has an official Amazon agency |
| 0:06.6 | partner we think is the best fit for emerging brands. They're called Daybreak Agency. They're led by |
| 0:11.6 | Leon Lewis, who has years of experience growing CPG brands. Based on recommendations from |
| 0:16.6 | the community, I personally actually worked with Leon and the daybreak team for my previous |
| 0:21.5 | beverage brand and I was super thrilled with the results. He is absolutely a great fit for brands |
| 0:27.0 | in the community. In my view, his team is the most affordable and most effective option out there. |
| 0:32.8 | They will fix up your listing and get you set up with the right creative. And they have a much more |
| 0:37.9 | reasonable retainer structure than most agencies I've come across. I've seen crazy retainers like |
| 0:43.4 | 5,000 a month and that's stuff that's just really not affordable for emerging brands. But his retainer |
| 0:48.1 | is super affordable and he does incredible work. He will manage your operations, advertising, |
| 0:53.2 | deal with the most challenging aspects of getting |
| 0:55.4 | you set up on Amazon. He actually also does other channels like Instacart and Crideo. Their team has |
| 1:01.5 | years of experience across all of CPG, and I'm super confident that you're going to love |
| 1:06.1 | working with them. If you want to reach out to him, you can message him on the startup CPG Slack, |
| 1:10.6 | Leon Lewis, |
| 1:11.2 | daybreak growth, or email him at Leon at daybreak. Agency. Make sure you mention startup CPG to get |
| 1:18.1 | $600 of free design credits. Overall, the meat industry is super challenging. |
| 1:33.3 | It's definitely manageable. |
| 1:34.3 | I think one of the key aspects is really having great partnerships, |
| 1:38.3 | great suppliers, knowing when to buy down, whether that's on packaging or raw materials, |
| 1:43.3 | and listening to the customers |
| 1:45.4 | on what they're looking for overall in the assortment. You've got to really love to be in this |
... |
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