by Jeff Slater | Jul 5, 2026 | Marketing Advice, Personal Stories
It has been 30 years since my maternal grandfather, Poppa George, passed away. But there isn’t a day that I don’t think about him and his journey as an immigrant to the United States. As the country turns 250, I want to honor and memorialize Poppa...
by Jeff Slater | Jun 28, 2026 | Foodpreneurs, Marketing Advice
How Kirsten Maitland and Fred Zwar built something the food industry said couldn’t be done Everyone in the food business had the same advice for Kirsten Maitland and Fred Zwar. It was delivered with authority, sometimes with pity, always with the same basic...
by Jeff Slater | Jun 21, 2026 | Foodpreneurs, Marketing Advice
The Surprising Origin Story Behind One of Specialty Retail’s Favorite Popcorn Brands Some of the best brand origin stories start with a memory, not a business plan. For Ginger Frank, it was popcorn. Growing up, popcorn wasn’t a snack. It was a...
by Jeff Slater | Jun 14, 2026 | Foodpreneurs
How the founder of Nana Joes Granola learned to trust her own instincts and quiet confidence as she built something. There is a black-and-white photograph on every bag of Nana Joes Granola. It shows two young people laughing after a home-cooked meal, taken in...
by Jeff Slater | Jun 7, 2026 | Interesting Brands, Marketing Advice
How Don Sazon Turned a Family Spice Company into a Multi-Million Dollar Brand There is a moment in every great brand story where the product and the person become inseparable. Where the thing being sold is really just the container for everything the founder has lived...
