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Wade Brooks is the CEO of LivBar, a USDA-certified organic superfood and nutritional bar founded in 2012. Wade has 25 years of executive management experience running multiple companies. He founded his first company during his college years, which became the first Apple Computer VAR in the US. He has a BS and MBA from Willamette University as well as executive education and management training from Harvard Business School.
Wade was an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice at Willamette University's Graduate School of Management for eight years and earned the Faculty Member of the Year award in 2016. Among his many accolades, he founded the world's first university angel investment fund and had his entrepreneurship class ranked in the top 10 in the US by Inc. Magazine.
Wade Brooks explains his entrance to the food industry and how LivBar was started
How LivBar has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and what the brand did to pivot
The challenges many CPG brands have been facing due to limited sampling and demoing
How Wade's background in academia has helped his entrepreneurial career
Steve and Wade talk about the trend with entrepreneurs who transition from the tech industry to the CPG industry
The six characteristics of a viable brand that’s worthy of investment
The first things Wade did after joining LivBar and what he learned from the experience
How Wade's teaching methods have changed since earning an MBA
What are the benefits of having an omni-channel strategy?
Wade talks about his company's future expansion plans and where to learn more about them
Wade's advice to fellow entrepreneurs on winning investors
According to Wade Brooks, every viable and investable brand has six key characteristics. If a business is feasible, reachable, and valuable, it’s considered a good lifestyle business. This means that the brand understands what its customers want, knows how to connect with them, and can satisfy their needs by offering them value for their money.
On the other hand, if a business is scalable, durable, and sellable, then it is considered worthy of investment. These characteristics mean that the brand has the potential to grow into the future, increase its value and maintain a good position to compete with large brands.
In this episode of the NexxtLevel Brands Podcast, Steve Cleere is joined by Wade Brooks, the CEO of LivBar, to discuss how CPG brands can best compete in a crowded category. They talk about the six characteristics of a viable and investable brand, how companies in the snack bar category were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how new brands can grow faster by selling on the Amazon marketplace.
Our podcast today is sponsored by Kitchen2Shelf, the educational arm of NexxtLevel Brands. Kitchen-2-Shelf provides online and in-person courses and workshops for CPG entrepreneurs at any stage of growth.
Whether you're an early-stage startup, a local growing business, or if you want to just expand your distribution to a national level, Kitchen-2-Shelf can help you learn what you need to know to grow.
Visit their website to get access to some free tools that can help you understand where your business stands.
Contact them today to find out how they can help you grow your brand and expand your business to reach its full potential.
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