What Candidates Really Think About Video Interviews In the absence of in-person meetings, most companies are now offering job interviews to be conducted virtually. Video interviews are the new normal in the current job market amid the pandemic. According to hiring managers, there are many benefits of video interviews that include: • More flexibility around scheduling the interview • The ability to […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED December 10, 2020 AUTHOR Kristin Herman
Watch Highlights From the ‘Be the Change’ Roundtable Focused On DEI in the Wine Industry Be the Change Job Fair, a joint initiative between Diversity in Wine & Spirits, Wonder Women of Wine, and other industry leaders, took place on December 2-3. The two-day event brought together like-minded companies including job technology industry leaders Brazen and ForceBrands’ specialized beverage hiring division BevForce, to enhance and diversify the wine industry. The […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED December 4, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
TikTok for Your Amazon and Walmart.com Business In this episode, Vendo’s Digital Media Buyer and Senior Marketing Strategist explain that TikTok is not just the latest craze amongst Gen-Z consumers, but it is also a refreshing way to showcase the versatility and fun of your brand. They’ll take you through various ways to build your engagement and audience so that you can […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED December 3, 2020 AUTHOR Vendo
Watch: Get to Know the Founders of ‘Be the Change’ Be the Change Job Fair, a joint initiative between Diversity in Wine & Spirits, Wonder Women of Wine, and other industry leaders, is the wine industry’s first virtual job fair focused on diversity and inclusion. The virtual job fair will be held on December 2-3 and will bring together like-minded companies including job technology industry […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED December 1, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Glenn Lawler Glenn Lawler has been named Director of Business Development at Liquor License Advisor. He had been Director of Casinos & Venues at Horizon Beverage Company. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 29, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Justin Benincasa Justin Benincasa has been named National Sales Director at ROC House Brands, a division of LiDestri Food & Drink. He had been Regional Sales Director, Northeast at ROC House Brands, a division of LiDestri Food & Drink. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 29, 2020 AUTHOR ForceBrands
How Smoketown’s Founder Ryan Pintado-Vertner Is Helping Brands Change the World It’s an exciting time to be a consumer brand, especially an emerging one with big ambitions. Chicago-based growth agency Smoketown helps entrepreneurs bring mission-driven visions to life, combining strategy, design, storytelling, and other key pillars to help build winning brands. For Founder and Principal Ryan Pintado-Vertner, he says it’s never been a better time, even amid […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED November 19, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Introducing the First True Pistachio Milk, Táche If you thought the plant-based milk category was quite literally saturated, you’d be wrong. Although it’s a crowded market, there’s white space to be found. Enter Táche, the first true pistachio-based nut milk. As a female, minority founded and family-run brand from serial entrepreneurs Roxana and Morteza (father) Saidi, Táche is cracking open the industry with its nutritious, enjoyable, […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 18, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
CPG Accelerator to Premiere SKU DFW Virtual Showcase Founders of the six startup consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands who participated in the first cohort of the SKU DFW accelerator will celebrate the culmination of the program with a virtual pitch event on Tuesday, Nov. 17. The SKU DFW Showcase will debut at 12 p.m. CST on Tuesday and will feature a video pitch […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED November 16, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
ForceForward: How Mason Dixie Foods’ Ayeshah Abuelhiga Is Winning Frozen ForceForward is a video interview series from ForceBrands that highlights what businesses and teams look like tomorrow. Ayeshah Abuelhiga describes the overnight success of Mason Dixie Foods as a ‘happy accident.’ What began as a popular Washington D.C.-based restaurant with a cult following quickly developed into a one-of-a-kind product line that disrupted the frozen category. Today, […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED November 15, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Meredith Webb Meredith Webb has been named Operations Manager at Mooala. She had been Demand Planner, Supply Planner at Lakanto. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 15, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Alex Layman Alex Layman has been named Senior Manager of Manufacturing at Birch Benders. He had been Operations Manager at Rachio. CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED November 15, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Katrina Olsen Katrina Olsen has been named Head of Operations at Pivot Coldbrew. She had been Director of Operations and Supply Chain at SZENT. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 15, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Rachel Meyers Rachel Meyers has been named FP&A Director at Swoon. She had been CFO at Happy Cooking Hospitality. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 13, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Ryan Raish Ryan Raish has been named Sr. Director National Accounts at Kitu Life Super Coffee. He had been Director of Sales, West at Kitu Life Super Coffee. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 13, 2020 AUTHOR ForceBrands
6 Skills Employees Will Need in Order to Thrive in the Post-Pandemic Workforce COVID-19 has altered nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Workplaces are no exception. As more people transition to working remotely, different skill sets are required to navigate the new virtual workforce. But having digital expertise isn’t the only skill employees should consider learning in order to thrive in the post-pandemic workplace. According to Fast […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED November 12, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
6 Reasons Why Forecasting Is Important for Your Business The needs of the market change at a dramatic rate. This means that your business must also continually change to meet those needs. To make the most beneficial changes, you must make predictions on what’s likely to happen in the future. This is where business forecasting comes into play. Forecasting is the practice of foretelling […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED November 12, 2020 AUTHOR Sienna Johns
How to Determine If Growth Hacking or Marketing Is Better for Your Business Growth hacking and growth marketing are words being thrown around interchangeably when it comes to business growth and development. Growth hackers and marketers typically have similar job descriptions, which makes it difficult to surface the differences between them. However, you must not make the mistake growth hacking and growth marketing for the same concepts. Growth […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED November 5, 2020 AUTHOR Sienna Johns
How Ilana Rubin Dvir Helps Drive Growth for Today’s Buzziest Food and Beverage Brands Through Thoughtful PR A seasoned lifestyle, luxury, food and beverage, and entertainment media specialist, Ilana Rubin Dvir leads the fast growing lifestyle division at Jennifer Bett Communications (JBC), a media relations firm approaching PR in a way that speaks directly to consumers with meaningful narratives and elevates brands and founders through strategic thought leadership. Since JBC’s launch in […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 5, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
5 Must-Have Items a Brand Needs Before They Launch on Amazon Deciding to take your business to the next level and opting to sell your products on Amazon can be both exciting and a bit overwhelming. Have no fear, Vendo is here. We help numerous brands grow their brand presence on Amazon by providing guidance and overall support, acting as an extension of their business (excuse […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED November 3, 2020 AUTHOR Vendo
Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities with the Founders of Square Root Ellie and Pat O’Brien are the founders of Square Root, a Nutnola and Nutnola Butter company that was inspired by Ellie’s litany of autoimmune diseases. Frustrated by constantly feeling left out with dietary restrictions and by the notable absence of any similar products on the market that checked all the necessary boxes, they set out […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED November 3, 2020 AUTHOR Ellie and Pat O'Brien
Christopher Papas Christopher Papas has been named National Account Manager at Twelve5 Beverage Company. He had been National Account Manager at Deschutes Brewery. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 1, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Stephen Weller Stephen Weller has been promoted to Vice President, Market strategy/National Private Label at Crystal Geyser Water Co. He had been Director, National Private Label. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 1, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Richard Hubli Richard Hubli has been named Vice President of Operations at Reed’s, Inc. He had been Senior Vice President of Operations at Harvest Hill Beverage Company. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 1, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Todd Richman Todd Richman has been named National Sales Director at Overproof. He had been Sales Manager at Progress Wine Group. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 1, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Darren Buckland Darren Buckland has been promoted to Director of Retail at Elmhurst 1925. He had been National Account Manager. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED November 1, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
‘Be the Change’ Hosts the Wine Industry’s First Virtual Job Fair to Promote Diversity and Inclusion Be the Change Job Fair, a joint initiative between Diversity in Wine & Spirits, Wonder Women of Wine, and other industry leaders, announced on Thursday the wine industry’s first virtual job fair focused on diversity and inclusion. The virtual job fair will be held on December 2-3 and will bring together like-minded companies including […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED October 30, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
How ‘Project Potluck’ Is Cooking Up a More Diverse CPG Community It’s no secret that the teams powering today’s consumer brands do not reflect the diversity of American consumers. This disparity is largely attributed to the inherent bias in hiring, lack of access to capital for diverse founders, and “the networking gap,” just to name a few. Enter Project Potluck, a professional community founded by People of […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED October 29, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Inside HighKey’s Culture That ‘Challenges the Status Quo’ and Lands Top CPG Talent Company We Keep is an ongoing series that offers an inside look at the people and teams who power great brands How did an Amazon guru convince a General Mills exec to join his startup? Hint: it involves a Slack channel dedicated to cats. When co-CEO Joe Ens first joined AJ Patel and the HighKey […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED October 29, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
6 Easy Ways to Manage a Team in Different Time Zones With technology at our fingertips, team members no longer have to work in close proximity. Technology has made it possible to collaborate with individuals spread across different time zones and still have projects completed in a timely manner. One big advantage of having people from different time zones is heightened creativity and innovation. Each person […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED October 29, 2020 AUTHOR Sienna Johns
How Ferm Fatale’s Founder Julie Cielo Quite Literally Brought the Brand Back From the Dead Some predict trends, others use AI to foresee what’s ahead for the industry. For Julie Cielo, the Founder & CEO of Ferm Fatale, the world’s first zero net sugar probiotic mocktail in classic cocktail flavors, she takes a different approach. She’s not your typical beverage entrepreneur. She doesn’t come from the beverage industry and launched […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED October 28, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
SKU Opens Applications for Its Ninth Austin Cohort Austin-based SKU, the nation’s first accelerator focused on consumer products, is accepting applications for its ninth Austin cohort through Nov. 15. Companies can apply here. The 12-week program consists of programming that covers a wide range of topics invaluable to CPG entrepreneurs, including channel strategy, positioning and branding, packaging, labeling and safety, operations, and fundraising […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED October 27, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
4 Ways Executives Can Improve Diversity Hiring From better morale to a better bottom line, Forbes Coaches Council reports that there are several major benefits for businesses that increase diversity and inclusion in their organization. Although this initiative is long overdue, organizations may still not always know where to find the resources they need to succeed. As the development of a more […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED October 23, 2020 AUTHOR Stefanie Schwalb
Whole Foods Releases Top 10 Food Trends for 2021 It’s that time of year again when Whole Foods releases its annual top 10 predictions for the food industry for the coming year ahead. So what will drive real change in the food and beverage space in 2021? “There have been radical shifts in consumer habits in 2020,” said Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Chief Marketing Officer […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED October 22, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Worker Confidence Booms in These Overlooked Cities In 2020 especially, optimism is in high demand and in short supply — except in these cities. According to a LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index that surveyed more than 33,000 U.S. professionals from July through September, there are 10 metro areas across the country where employee confidence is soaring. So what are the top 10 U.S. […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED October 22, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
How Did You Find Your Last Job? Survey Reveals This Strategy Is Key While searching for a new job may look a lot different today than it did at the beginning of 2020, candidates are still relying on traditional strategies to find work. According to a poll from ForceBrands’ LinkedIn page, with an audience of 100,000 professionals, the majority of people (49 percent) found their last job by tapping […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED October 19, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer