#181 - Buyer Spotlight: John Lane, Category Manager at Raley's
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 4 February 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Daniel Scharff is joined by John Lane, Category Manager for Snacks & Commercial Bread at Raley's, a division of The Raley's Companies (formerly Pantry buyer), to explore the evolving grocery landscape and the secrets behind Raley's success as a trusted grocery store chain for nearly 90 years. John shares his journey from bagging groceries to leading category management, insights into Raley's health-focused initiatives, and strategies for balancing legacy brands with emerging market entrants.
Discover actionable advice for startups on standing out in the crowded grocery market, the importance of passion and planning in brand pitches, and how Raley's is shaping the future of healthy snacking.
Don’t miss this insightful conversation—tune in now and follow the Startup CPG podcast for more episodes like this!
Listen in as they share about:
- Overview of Raley’s
- Health and Wellness Initiatives
- Industry Trends and Snack Innovations
- Balancing Legacy and Emerging Brands
- Supporting Brands at Raley's
- Success Stories in Product Launches
- Networking and Trade Shows
Episode Links:
Website: https://www.raleys.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlane-raleys/
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Show Links:
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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey folks, are you ready to boost your e-commerce sales and profitability? |
| 0:05.9 | When I ran a brand, the hardest bill to swallow was money wasted on a bad performance marketing strategy. |
| 0:11.6 | Meet the team from Pennock Digital Marketing. |
| 0:13.9 | They're strategists, media planners, and SEO experts who can't stand seeing emerging brands struggle with inefficient marketing spend. |
| 0:20.2 | They create tailored solutions for brands who generate over $25,000 in monthly e-commerce revenue |
| 0:25.6 | to help them achieve profitable growth. |
| 0:28.4 | But wait, there's more. |
| 0:29.9 | Pennock is offering qualifying startup CPG brands a special deal, |
| 0:33.5 | either $15,000 in ad spend or a full quarter of SEO services. |
| 0:38.7 | To see if you qualify, head over to Pennock.co.co slash startup CPG. |
| 0:43.5 | That's P-E-N-N-O-C-K.com slash startup CPG. |
| 0:48.7 | It's in the show notes. |
| 0:53.6 | The We've got multi-generational shoppers. |
| 1:06.5 | They've been coming here with their grandma, their mom, and then now themselves. I know personally, |
| 1:12.8 | I was a kid and I was shopping at Raleys and it was actually the produce team lead at the time who kept, |
| 1:18.3 | you know, trying to get me to apply to come work at the store. So they just kind of see you grow up. |
| 1:22.8 | So we have all those shoppers that just been around for a very long time and very loyal, dedicated base. And then the other cool thing is we also have a whole lot of new shoppers that's just been around for a very long time and very loyal, dedicated base. |
| 1:28.5 | And then the other cool thing is we also have a whole lot of new shoppers that come into our |
| 1:31.8 | market. They're just looking for stuff that they can trust. They're looking for, you know, |
| 1:35.6 | brands that they know are going to be better for you. And that's kind of what Rayleigh represents |
| 1:39.4 | is that better for you option versus some conventional grocers out there. |
| 1:45.1 | Hello, startup CPGers. |
... |
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