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Michelle Mazzara is the Founder and CEO of Luvafoodie, a website that connects people who share a passion for food and beverages. Michelle has an extensive background with large CPG firms and was inspired to start her own brand, Luvafoodie. Starting as a dating website, she later added other products to the site, most with a mission based on her own medical experiences and her pet. Since then, the Luvafoodie brand has expanded beyond confections to spices and iced tea.
Michelle is also a recent survivor of heart disease and a local brand ambassador for the American Heart Association. With the American Heart Association, her mission is to help increase awareness of heart disease and stroke in hopes to inspire other women to take charge of their own health.
How Michelle transitioned Luvafoodie from a dating website to a food website—and why the new website was more successful locally than nationally
How Michelle started selling her food products and her process for getting Luvafoodie products into big retail stores
Luvafoodie's entry into the spice market
Michelle talks about being diagnosed with heart disease, getting involved with the American Heart Association, and starting a salt-free spice line
Luvafoodie's cat and dog lovers line of spice blends, Michelle's cookbook, and her recipes
Michelle talks about her TV appearances, her cooking show, and the company's new iced tea products
The biggest challenge Michelle had to overcome growing her business
Steve talks about how the pandemic has shifted people's habits and decisions, how ECRM had to pivot because of canceled live events due to COVID-19, and the future of digital purchasing
Michelle shares her advice to fellow entrepreneurs on building a business
When Michelle Mazzara started an online social website, her mission was to create a dating site where other foodies could meet. After some time, she decided to start selling homemade food items—and had to completely pivot her brand.
However, Michelle's journey into entrepreneurship wasn't short of challenges. She had to face capital related issues, deal with her products' shelf life, expand into retail stores, and battle heart disease.
In this week's episode of the NexxtLevel Podcast, G. Steven Cleere chats with Michelle Mazzara, Founder and CEO of Luvafoodie, about transforming a dating website into a healthy food destination. Michelle also shares her experience with heart disease, finding a healthy spice solution for her aging pet, and expanding her company's product line.
Luvafoodie Cat and Dog Lovers Spice Blends
Steve Cleere's episode with Brandon Leong and Vir Satyan from RangeMe
Steve Cleere's episode with Joseph Tarnowski from ECRM
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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