Hosted By
Andrew Suzuka is the Founder of Otamot Foods, a brand that makes organic and veggie-filled tomato sauces. Otamot Foods was launched in 2019 after adding some veggies to a pizza sauce he was making for his daughter, Evelyn. The brand's sauce is now sold in over 1,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Kroger, Fresh Thyme Market, and others. If the name looks familiar, that’s because it is: “Otamot” is “Tomato” spelled backwards.
Andrew is a results-driven entrepreneur focused on building meaningful brands with the help of amazing people. He joined the food industry with 20 years of experience in advertising.
How Andrew Suzuka came up with the idea for launching a CPG product
Andrew talks about his agency background and what he learned after moving to the CPG world
How Andrew started his business, his co-packer search, and the types of ingredients used to make his sauces
The distribution strategies Andrew used to enter retail stores and his approach for driving direct-to-consumer sales
How appearing on QVC has impacted Otamot Foods and how the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the brand
Andrew explains how he works with agencies to build his brand and how he balances his day job with growing the company
Andrew’s future expansion plans for Otamot Foods and how they plan to raise funds for the business
Andrew shares his advice for growing a successful CPG brand and explains how he came up with the name, Otamot Foods
Where to find Otamot Foods online and in retail
To grow a successful CPG brand, founders have to work smart and ensure that they are scaling the right way. What does this mean for you? Simple: you have to work with the right employees, partners, and agencies.
Andrew Suzuka has been growing his CPG brand over the last couple of years by ensuring that he works with the right partners and agencies. He works with a PR agency, a social media agency, and brokers. He finds people with experience who will guide him and provide good feedback on the decisions he makes.
Andrew Suzuka, the Founder of Otamot Foods, joins Steve Cleere in this episode of the NexxtLevel Podcast, to talk about how he has been growing an organic, veggie-filled tomato sauce brand. Andrew also explains how he works with different agencies and brokers to build his brand, how his QVC appearances have had a positive impact on his business, and his future expansion plans.
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.
Andrew Criezis is the General Manager for small and medium-sized businesses at NielsenIQ. Before joining NielsenIQ, he was the Chief Product Officer during the...
Steven Cleere is the Founder of NexxtLevel Marketing and he has helped consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies for over 30 years with their marketing...
Keith Belling is the Founder and CEO of RightRice, the breakthrough vegetable rice grain that launched nationally one year ago with Whole Foods and...