Building a Successful Brand Strategy with Katie Mleziva
Meet Katie Mleziva
Katie Mleziva is a Food Brand Strategist with 20 years of experience in Brand & Marketing Strategy working across a range of brands from Fortune 500 companies in her corporate days, to smaller food startups and farms as the founder of Real Food Brands. Katie is the host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast and creator of Brand Strategy Streamlined™ where she’s working to shake up shopping carts and help more people get access to real food by guiding food producers to go from making a great product to building a strong brand.
Episode Highlights
During this episode of The Food Means Business Podcast, we discuss:
The importance of a strong brand strategy in the natural food and beverage industry
Which factors to consider when creating a successful brand strategy
How conducting a competitive analysis can help to differentiate your brand
Ways to incorporate your vision, skills, and competitive advantage into your brand
How remaining open to new opportunities and connections can bring joy into the journey
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00;00;00;04 - 00;00;05;25
Katie
All right, Katie, Katie, welcome. Welcome to the Food Means Business podcast. Thanks so much for being here.
00;00;06;12 - 00;00;07;23
Katie
Thank you so much for having me.
00;00;08;16 - 00;00;13;08
Djenaba
So I would love for you to just introduce yourself and tell our listeners a little bit about you.
00;00;13;28 - 00;00;39;09
Katie
Yeah, well, I am Katie Milosova, so I live in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area and my business is real food brands. It's really rooted in my passion to help everybody get access to real food. And so by way of profession, you know, I happen to be in marketing and brand management. And so that's the way that I, you know, I'm working towards helping more people get access to real simple.
00;00;39;09 - 00;00;45;03
Katie
But my heart is really, you know, rooted in the same place with a lot of good business owners are. I'm just doing it in a different way.
00;00;46;19 - 00;01;01;16
Djenaba
That's great. So tell us a little about how you got started, your family. Like all all the things because you are, you know, like a lot of listeners of this podcast started in a corporate environment and decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship. So we'd love to hear your story.
00;01;01;28 - 00;01;28;28
Katie
Yeah. You know, it's not it's not easy. And as much as I know, you know, a lot of people listening are like me. You want it to happen all overnight. And I just had my ten year anniversary of leaving the corporate world, which is very exciting, but it's just funny how the things that if I would have gotten quote unquote, there right away, you know, things unfold and I love, you know, finding the joy in the journey, but it's just not always easy to do that at the time.
00;01;28;29 - 00;01;53;24
Katie
So I started in brand management at Kraft Foods that are Kraft Heinz and Kraft Foods and loved my time there and learned all sorts of classic marketing and strategy work. Then when I got married and was moving out of the Chicago area to Milwaukee, then I started working for a health insurance company doing the same kind of work, but in the health care space.
00;01;53;24 - 00;02;16;07
Katie
And as much as I loved my time in the corporate world and the health insurance company was a really great way to apply the concepts that I learned at Kraft. Because as you may or may not be surprised to hear consumer driven health care was not always, you know, an evolving field that that the insurance companies are thinking about the people behind the policies.
00;02;16;07 - 00;02;36;18
Katie
So but it just wasn't you know, there was something missing. And around that time, my husband and I, we had two little kids and my son was sick all the time. And, you know, just personally, it was really hard. And both of us constantly being like, who's going to miss work today? You know, And it's just super stressful.
00;02;36;18 - 00;02;53;05
Katie
And it was an added stress on our family that we just had to figure out. And I had already had the entrepreneurial spirit. So it was it was a good time to say, okay, I'm going to go out on my own. My skills and interests fit really well for running my own business. And so, you know, it's not easy, no matter what.
00;02;53;12 - 00;03;16;13
Katie
You're not easy, but it's I love having I loved and still love having the flexibility. You know, you're you're running the ship and you if you're working all hours of the day and night, it's because you're choosing to versus somebody telling you some big project to do. So that's that's kind of how I got from the corporate world to entrepreneurship.
00;03;16;13 - 00;03;24;20
Katie
And I don't think I don't I never look back as much as it's you know, I think the two things I miss are benefits and an I.T. department.
00;03;24;20 - 00;03;41;05
Djenaba
I was that company. The thing that I missed the most is the color printer because I worked. So we would print it, we would print the presentations like just to have a backup up when you're presenting on a computer. And so we would have them. And like I always loved having access to a color laser printer, one of the better.
00;03;41;05 - 00;03;50;28
Djenaba
Yeah. And then we had it, we had an art department that was amazing. And so they would take your thing, you wrote and make it into this one beautiful, wonderful thing. And so that is what I miss about corporate.
00;03;51;29 - 00;03;54;28
Katie
That's really fun. Those are good ones. Yeah.
00;03;56;25 - 00;04;14;09
Djenaba
So great. So you launched real food brands ten years ago. Congratulations on that anniversary. That's really exciting. I love that you're like, I want to jump in and talk about, you know, you specialize in brand strategy. Let's talk about like, what is brand strategy and what do you what do food brands need to be thinking about when they're creating their strategy?
00;04;14;16 - 00;04;37;20
Katie
Yeah, Good. The biggest thing I would say when it comes to brand strategy is, you know, first even seeing what it is, because it's one of those things that people they're like, Oh yeah, they know their heads and then they'll be like, off to the side. What? What is it really? And so then the way I describe it is figuring out how you can meet your consumer's needs in a way that your competitors either can't or won't.
00;04;38;14 - 00;05;01;23
Katie
And so the way that we do that is we have to look at the three C's. So we look at your company and the vision that you have uniquely and your skills and our competitive advantages and all of those things that make you unique as a leader. Then we look at your consumers and what their needs are and you know who they are, what defines them, how we can find them, all those good things.
00;05;01;23 - 00;05;26;26
Katie
But getting to know people as people, not just an audience or or some one group of people. And then we look at the competitors and a lot of people want to skip this part because they say, I just want to have blinders on. I know what I'm doing, I know who I'm serving. I don't. But every I mean, really, almost every single time we go through this exercise, people are like, oh, you know, either I haven't looked at it in a while, they're doing something different or there's a lot of new people that have popped up.
00;05;28;15 - 00;05;45;01
Katie
It's easy to get a little bit jealous or a feeling of anxiousness that I'm not doing what I could be or should be doing. I always say, you know, this is not a comparison game. The whole point of brand strategy is for us to put these pieces together and connect the dots so that we are setting you apart.
00;05;45;01 - 00;06;01;12
Katie
Not that we're comparing you to anybody else, but when you don't look at your competitors, it's really easy to be saying the same things as everybody else is. And that's, you know, I know you're shaking your head and I know a lot of people a lot of people don't even realize that that's that that's the spot that they're at.
00;06;01;12 - 00;06;19;24
Katie
They're talking a lot about function and features versus benefits. And both are necessary to talk about. But unless you really start to tease those things out, it's hard to it's hard to differentiate yourself. You're just kind of playing a, you know, a game that often is up on price if you aren't truly differentiated.
00;06;19;24 - 00;06;40;23
Djenaba
So it's so true. Like I actually whenever I'm looking at talking to people, I'm like, I recommend that they do a competitive analysis first. Just, just so you just know what's they're like. But I understand like, there is this and I, I even I'm at fault that this as well as like I'm you're looking at out of other people and you do get that little ping of like.
00;06;41;02 - 00;06;41;20
Katie
I hear you.
00;06;41;25 - 00;06;48;18
Djenaba
I should be doing it that way or why didn't I do it this or make this decision. So it is kind of challenging, but it's such important work to do.
00;06;48;25 - 00;07;09;27
Katie
It is. And I think it's better to know than not know, right? Like if somebody if you get a little fire lit under you because, you know, you're seeing something that you could put your own twist on again, never to copy somebody else but doing things your own way or getting motivated or or, you know, sometimes you might see things that you're like, they're on a different path than me, and that's okay.
00;07;09;27 - 00;07;24;13
Djenaba
And I think I think that's true. Like, that's kind of what you end up realizing, especially as you get very long in your business. They are on a different path or meet. So yes, their their products may be similar to yours, but really it's they're so different. Right. Right. Because you're different, right?
00;07;25;01 - 00;07;47;21
Katie
That's exactly right. And if it if it is very similar, then that's where we can peel back the layers and say, okay, you know, digging deeper into your background and your vision and what that passion is that really drives you versus, you know, you have different life and experiences than anybody else. And so sometimes that can play a role in a way that people don't even see on the surface, whether it's overt or more subtle in the strategy.
00;07;48;17 - 00;07;56;05
Djenaba
So do you tend to work with new brands or are people that are more established that kind of have to go back and do the brand strategy work that they didn't do in the beginning.
00;07;56;13 - 00;08;16;12
Katie
Either, either in goals? So sometimes it's people who, you know, from the get go, they know that they want to set a strong foundation and really be confident that they're setting themselves apart. I mean, it's always test and learn hypothesis kind of a thing. You know, nothing's a guarantee, but sometimes it's because people are just starting up and they want that strong foundation.
00;08;16;12 - 00;08;46;04
Katie
It's sometimes it's because they've gone to a certain and computer setting sometimes right. That's consumer will acknowledge it and move on and and sometimes it's because they are getting to a certain level of growth where they realize, okay, they've gotten to a certain point, but that's not going to get them to the next level. They need to really be more efficient with their time and energy and resources to be able to be consistent in the messaging and the visual brand.
00;08;46;10 - 00;08;58;26
Katie
And, you know, I always see the front and back end of your business should be aligned to that brand strategy. And so sometimes it's again, people are getting to that next level and they've got to get their ducks in a row before they're really poised to scale.
00;08;59;24 - 00;09;17;02
Djenaba
So you talked about the inside and the outside of your business. How does creating your brand strategy? We know what it does on the outside. We know that it's going to attract it's going to, you know, eventually attract a consumer to you. It has a lot more to do with just what your logo and packaging look like. But from from an internal perspective in your company, how can brand strategy help you?
00;09;17;13 - 00;09;49;19
Katie
Yeah, you know, one example, this is an example that everyone can relate to because this was a farmer I was working with. But one example is the way that she was choosing to use the land. It was a fairly small farm, but the way that she decided to plant some trees and where the pasture was and the fencing and, you know, I don't know all of the ins and outs of it, but on the on the operational side of her business, she had a certain way that she wanted the farm to flow because of the brand strategy and to stay true to the regenerative farming practices that she was really committing to in the brand
00;09;49;19 - 00;10;13;14
Katie
strategy. So that is one thing, ingredient sourcing or packaging, sourcing. Not everyone can get to the most sustainable packaging that they want to right away, but if they tell their partners that that's what they're looking for, then a packaging supplier, if you have a personal relationship with them, could say, Hey, guess what, We've just got this new thing that came in and it, you know, it sounds like what you're talking about.
00;10;13;14 - 00;10;27;24
Katie
Can can we have a call to talk through it? I had a client who, you know, her co-packer ordered the wrong salts or had the wrong Psalter that they were going to substitute in. And I don't even know how she figured out that they were going to do that. Maybe they asked her. Maybe she was there that day.
00;10;27;24 - 00;10;47;08
Katie
I don't remember that part of the story, but it had fillers in that were not going to be okay. Based on her super clean ingredient positioning. And so there's these things that a consumer would they ever know that? No. But her integrity was high and she was not going to put anything in her product that wasn't listed or, you know, to her standards.
00;10;47;08 - 00;11;06;13
Katie
So it's it's you know, those are some examples of on the operational side of things how you can be thinking about, you know, anything from ingredients to suppliers to the way your team runs and your culture and your values can all align with your strategy. So how does.
00;11;07;23 - 00;11;13;11
Djenaba
I'm trying to think about I lost my question of.
00;11;13;11 - 00;11;13;26
Katie
Oh, good.
00;11;14;17 - 00;11;37;24
Djenaba
So I guess I guess walk us through so I'm going to I have a I'm or make up a brand, right? So I have brownies, let's say brownies, right. And they are all the things. They're three of the top eight allergens. They're also gluten free. And there's other brownie companies out there that are just like, what I'm trying to do.
00;11;38;17 - 00;11;53;09
Djenaba
How do I how do I create my brand strategy? Like, what am I what are questions I need to ask myself when I start? I'm just starting out and I want to create this brand strategy to be able to communicate like what we're all about. Yeah, consumers.
00;11;53;16 - 00;12;15;13
Katie
Yeah. You know, it's it's a great question. So it's funny because one of the examples that I love to use is actually Nubian. Simmons, the founder of a company called the Pink Bakery, and she is an allergy free premium baking mix. And so this is this is a real example of, you know, there are a lot of other baking mixes out there that are allergy free.
00;12;16;07 - 00;12;40;13
Katie
So what we did was we looked at the landscape and saw what everybody was saying and what nobody was saying. And so once you start to see that, everybody's saying, you know, that we want to have one snack, that everybody can eat and feel inclusive and, you know, and that's a fine message. It's a great message, but it's just not necessarily differentiated on its own.
00;12;40;13 - 00;13;09;14
Katie
You know, there's lots of elements between your packaging and your visual branding and your messaging. All these different things can differentiate you, but it really goes back to those three C's. So we think about who is the consumer that you want to serve and who who, you know, thinking about your your company, then what is your vision? So there are some allergy friendly baking good companies that are very kid focused and all about fun packaging and kits for kids.
00;13;09;14 - 00;13;36;03
Katie
And then there's other ones that are more premium and Nubians is like really high and premium focused. And so you think about your vision and what you're going for, where you want distribution, you know, what price points you have to hit back to that consumer. Are you really motivated in a for a family or setting versus more of a gourmet setting?
00;13;37;01 - 00;13;59;20
Katie
What's that end point that you're looking for in terms of, you know, kind of picturing out in the world what what do you want it to live on its own? What's its personality out in the world? And so those are things that we think about because it's really hard thinking about, you know, just taking a Beyonce example, thinking about her background and her expertise and her personal food allergies, it is really hard to replicate that.
00;13;59;20 - 00;14;26;07
Katie
Even though everybody has their own story. They have different professional backgrounds. You know, she's got an MBA in supply chain management. She's going to have some ability to run a safe production facility in a way that some people may have to go out and learn. So so the idea here is to really, really think hard about your own personal vision and what you want for your business and your skills and your competitive advantages, thinking about what those consumers that you want to serve.
00;14;26;07 - 00;14;50;09
Katie
You know, if there's a niche, maybe that other allergy friendly baking mixes aren't serving and then looking at what everybody's doing and what nobody's saying from a competitive standpoint, you could also look at different distribution channels like, is there somebody that's really owning the food service space or, you know, retail can be is, you know, a tricky path.
00;14;50;14 - 00;15;01;22
Katie
It's certainly an option, but maybe there is a different path, a market that could be you know, that could help drive your whole strategy right.
00;15;01;22 - 00;15;02;03
Katie
Cool.
00;15;02;23 - 00;15;08;10
Djenaba
So talk about what about the programs that you have at real food brands and how you work with founders?
00;15;08;10 - 00;15;38;27
Katie
Yeah. So the primary way is, well, there's a couple different ways. So my my program is called Brand Strategy Streamlined. And so there's an on demand program that people can get access to the content that I work with people one on one, but you can go through it at your own pace. So there's a 30 page workbook and modules that are sort of short so that you can either do one at a time where you can sit down and do them all if you like to, but you can go through that work on your own.
00;15;38;27 - 00;15;59;01
Katie
But then we do have monthly Q&A calls and we have a small group community within the program portal where people can ask me questions because even though it's meant to be primarily self-paced, it I, I just really care about people success and I want contact with them just like they want contact with their people who are buying their products.
00;15;59;01 - 00;16;18;05
Katie
You know, I want to make sure that I'm there for people to help guide them in the right direction. And then we can set up one on ones if they want to get more in depth. But I have I have it sort of modular like that where you can add one on one's on if you want to, to make the price is affordable as possible for people who are at different stages like we mentioned earlier.
00;16;18;23 - 00;16;39;21
Katie
So you can get the on demand program, you can add on one on ones if you want. You can just schedule one on ones like a single strategy session with me or I do offer a limited amount of one on one work where I'm helping lead the strategy work. We're going through my program, but we're doing it together and I'm taking the lead.
00;16;39;21 - 00;16;49;28
Katie
I'm doing some of the research and recommendations and things like that, so I'm not able to do as much of that is I used to, but I still do enjoy doing that from time to time when when there's a need.
00;16;51;05 - 00;16;56;04
Djenaba
I have to imagine that's a popular option just because as a founder you just want to talk to, you.
00;16;56;06 - 00;17;20;01
Katie
Know, it is what it is. And that's why I actually love doing the work. There's just, you know, only so many hours each workday to be able to do that option. But that is why I've added on the one and one option to the program as well, so that those nice people buy a package of three or five one on ones to add on to the program so that they're working through it at their own pace because, you know, I don't know if you do this.
00;17;20;01 - 00;17;36;26
Katie
I know I do. Sometimes you work at funny hours and, you know, it might not be with it might not be when there's a group here by. But I've started my it might not be with this group. There might not be when there's a group program available. And so but then we could schedule calls to work through it together.
00;17;36;26 - 00;17;54;16
Katie
You know, I'll push on ideas a little bit to figure out how to get them to that next layer of thinking. So it's possible through the on demand program by adding on one on ones. But you're right, certain people do really appreciate the the one on one work where we're going through it more consistently together.
00;17;54;16 - 00;18;10;23
Djenaba
Yeah Yeah. So when I was doing a little bit of research on you, I noticed that you actually have a life and you say you have a family and you actually like do things outside of work and you have a nonprofit. So can you just talk a little about what you do personally? Because I think it's really interesting.
00;18;10;23 - 00;18;34;20
Katie
Oh, gosh, I think you're right. I do. I do try. I'm working on it. So the work in progress. But yes, Sunbeam Kids is another passion of mine. Volunteering and community service has always been really important to me and when I had kids, you know, this was all around the time when things were moving with my corporate world, too.
00;18;34;20 - 00;18;54;18
Katie
I just left the corporate world and started consulting, and I really wanted to be active volunteering, but I didn't want to actually this was I guess it started brewing before I left the my my job because I didn't have a lot of time to volunteer. And when I got home, I didn't want to be leaving my kids again because I didn't see them that much.
00;18;54;28 - 00;19;19;27
Katie
And so it just felt like that, combined with the fact that I wanted to be raising good, little loving human beings, that I wanted them to have a view of the world, even an age appropriate view of the world, just that the world went beyond our, you know, suburb of market. So I heard other parents saying the same thing, and I happened to be on a retreat where it hit me like a ton of bricks, where I'm like, okay, this is this is me.
00;19;19;27 - 00;19;42;19
Katie
Like, this isn't happening. You need to do it. And I'm talking, let's make it happen. So I got a few friends together, an attorney and a teacher, and we started the board and ten years later we are almost ten years later, we are going strong. The board has changed over over the years, but we plan about 3 to 4 different projects a month to make it easy for families to volunteer together.
00;19;43;01 - 00;19;55;18
Katie
And really the goal, you know, serving the community of course. But then also we want our kids of all ages to really know that, you know, have confidence that they can make a difference in their actions, whether big or small really do matter.
00;19;55;18 - 00;20;08;21
Djenaba
That's so great, because if my kids were small, I was like, I think they're too little to take them somewhere. And like, we didn't end up doing anything with them until they were much older. And so it's really great that you've created an environment where the families can can all participate and make a difference.
00;20;08;21 - 00;20;27;03
Katie
That's fantastic. Yeah. Good. Well, thank you. It is. It has been a labor of love, I'll be honest. You know, just like running any business or nonprofit, it's it's a lot of work. But then you sit back and you hear the stories about kids who will reference their favorite thing at school is Sunbeam Kids. Or, you know, I'll give an example of that being a Sunbeam thing, kids thing to do.
00;20;27;03 - 00;20;34;06
Katie
You know, it's just you're like, okay, this is this is working. So, yeah. Good. I'm glad to hear that you volunteer with your family, too. It's good.
00;20;34;13 - 00;20;35;16
Katie
Yeah.
00;20;35;16 - 00;20;42;14
Djenaba
So incentive in a business for ten years, I'm sure you have had a lot of learning. So give us a piece of advice that you would give to an entrepreneur.
00;20;43;05 - 00;20;45;27
Katie
That is funny. That's so many things.
00;20;46;20 - 00;20;47;14
Djenaba
So many things.
00;20;47;14 - 00;20;51;00
Katie
Instagram does not show the whole story, right? And it.
00;20;51;00 - 00;20;51;25
Djenaba
Doesn't know.
00;20;52;16 - 00;21;25;14
Katie
Know giving a behind the scenes view, I think also. But I think my my biggest piece of advice and this is to myself too, but I really have been working on it the last, let's say six months. And it has made a huge difference of back to that point of where we started of finding during the journey and, you know, having a goal in mind and you can be just as driven, but being open to what happens along the way, not just, you know, it's this is this interesting thing because on one hand, being laser focused is so important and on the other hand being open to what happens and who you meet and who
00;21;25;14 - 00;21;43;21
Katie
can help you along the way sometimes takes you places that you never could have imagined so, you know, on your own. So I think that openness, that being driven, but that openness to those you meet along the way and picking up the breadcrumbs is is really important too.
00;21;43;21 - 00;22;03;28
Djenaba
Thank you. So I'm also I'd love to hear what you're celebrating at Hudson Kitchen. We have what we call the money belt and the four year and it's big and silver and loud and people ring it when they are, you know, take on a new retail partner or they get their paycheck or whatever happened. And so we are all about trying to celebrate there and wanted to to hear about what you're celebrating now.
00;22;03;29 - 00;22;05;09
Djenaba
It can be personal our business as.
00;22;05;12 - 00;22;24;16
Katie
Yeah well you know it's going to be a lot you can tell what's on my mind because it's along those themes actually of yeah I then really focused on time blocking my calendar more so I know it sounds like kind of a funny win, but it really does impact my personal and business life so much when my calendar is organized.
00;22;24;27 - 00;22;46;27
Katie
And so I've been really making sure that when I am done with work, I am closing my computer and I am focusing on my family. In the latest episode of my podcast, I referenced the phrase that really struck me of giving your family the best of you, not the rest of you. And when I heard that, I was like, Well, guilty here.
00;22;47;00 - 00;22;48;13
Djenaba
So yes.
00;22;48;14 - 00;23;02;15
Katie
So yes, I really like as much as I laugh about it, that is right now the phase that my kids are in as they get a little bit older and they I don't have a ton of time left when they live under our roof full time, most likely. So like I've got some work to do there also. And I need to.
00;23;02;21 - 00;23;12;26
Katie
I really owe it to them and their family to love my work just as much as I do. But then also, you know, give them the best of me and make sure that I'm focused on them as well.
00;23;14;09 - 00;23;29;22
Djenaba
Yeah, that calendaring is really important. It's something I'm I am like I've been working on for the past, having sort of kind of gotten the hang of it, but not really. But yeah, you're right. It's that cohesive because for me it's like I'll have everything blocked out and then like some email come in and I'm like, Well, should I focus on that as I focus on this?
00;23;29;22 - 00;23;41;17
Djenaba
And it's like, No, if that's not, you know, that fire and it needs to be put out, let's get ahead and keep on doing what we were doing before. And that can wait. And that's the biggest thing is like just kind of making those decisions on a day to day basis.
00;23;41;17 - 00;23;57;13
Katie
That's exactly it. It's sort of like covering strategy and all those little decisions add up on your strategy. All of our little decisions at work. Also, I know that's not a very cool sounding win, but it actually is making a really big impact on me. So I think it's a win.
00;23;57;14 - 00;24;06;11
Djenaba
No, it's very cool. It's very cool. Well, I wanted to thank you, Katie, for being on the Food Means Business podcast. Please tell everyone where they can find you and how they can. Sure.
00;24;06;11 - 00;24;25;12
Katie
Absolutely. So my Instagram is at real food brands and website is also real food brands dot com. So both of those places you can you can find out more about the programs that I mentioned and all the past podcast episodes as well and I will look forward to having you on the podcast as well.
00;24;25;23 - 00;24;28;18
Djenaba
Oh yeah, looking forward to it. Thank you so much.
00;24;28;24 - 00;24;30;24
Katie
Good. Thank you for having me. This is so much fun.
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