Brands As An Agent of Change: Seth Goldman on the NexxtLevel Brands Podcast!

Today’s guest is Seth Goldman, Co-Founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change®. Seth is also the Co-Founder of PLNT Burger, Honest Tea, and Chair of the board of Beyond Meat.

Seth has been widely recognized for his “serial” entrepreneurial success and impact, including Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Greater Washington, the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame, Beverage Industry magazine’s Executive of the Year, Beverage World’s #1 Disruptor and Partnership for Healthier America’s CEO of the Year.

Join us as we talk about Seth’s path to Honest Tea and what happened when Coke acquired them (and then discontinued the product), the plant-based meat industry, and the potential of the “cultured meat” concept, the “snackification” of U.S. diets, and he’ll also share some tips and lessons learned for other entrepreneurs just getting started in the natural food and beverage space.

Eat the Change® is on a mission to create chef-crafted and nutrient-dense snacks that are kind to the planet. With planet-based commitments, they are expanding the possibilities and the impact of planet-friendly foods. Eat the Change is inspired by, and committed to, expanding the possibilities of what a more sustainable food system could look like through avoiding sugar, corn, rice, wheat, potatoes and soy, using fungi and plants, supporting organic farming, democratizing planet-friendly foods, and minimizing waste.

The “NexxtLevel Brands Podcast’ is hosted by G. Steven Cleere, Founder and “Chief Pot Stirrer” of NexxtLevel Brands. This show focuses on disruptors and thought-leaders from the Entrepreneurial Food, Beverage, and CPG Industry, but we also share tips from veterans and key suppliers that may help fellow CPG professionals achieve their goals.

Discussion Points

• Seth’s career before Honest Tea
• The New York run in Central Park that led Seth to discover, “There’s nothing to drink”
• Placement in Whole Foods Mid-Atlantic stores
• Coke’s new venture group inquired about acquiring Honest Tea
• What went wrong? Honest Tea may have been too small for Coke to scale
• Seth didn’t relax after selling Honest Tea
• The pandemic and its effect on Seth’s businesses
• Meat alternatives – plant-based is efficient and growing, “cultured meat” – how do you market it?
• Mushroom Jerky
• Stats around lack of vegetables in the U.S. diet are staggering
• “Snackification” of our diets, school meals
• Balancing “mission” with product
• Entrepreneurs cannot offer a “me too” product - it’s too competitive
• Eat the Change is trusted to be family friendly, nutritious, planet-friendly, organic, and responsibly sourced food
• Even with supply chain interruptions, the consumer can still get 98% of what they want, when they want
• Words to Grow by: Fat Albert/Bill Cosby, “He who throws mud, only loses ground”

Resources:

Seth Goldman LinkedIn

Eat the Change Website

NexxtLevel Brands Website

1. Steven Cleere LinkedIn