This week, my simple Instagram post about Swedish Fish unexpectedly reached more than 160,000 people...and counting!

Now, that might be a normal day for some people on Instagram, but it certainly wasn't for me.

While it was fun to watch the views climb, not all the comments were as fun to read. Not that I took it personally, but I don't understand the need to be so negative.

With that in mind, what I found most interesting were the lessons that came from the experience—not just about social media, but about our ideal audience and how we choose to show up when we get unexpected attention.

In this episode, Clint interviews me about what happened, what surprised me, and what business owners can learn from finding themselves in a similar situation.

In the episode, you'll hear:

 * Why attention doesn't always equal growth
 * The difference between reach and relevance
 * How to respond when the internet wants you to react
 * Why not every audience is your audience
 * How to use the algorithm without losing your personal programming (ie values)
 * How to find the sweet spot between your strengths and your audience's interests
 * What a viral post can teach you about your brand, your audience, and yourself

Resources Mentioned

📌 View the Instagram post here [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZfjn-IOx0D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==]

📬 Join the Real Food Brands newsletter here [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZfjn-IOx0D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==]

And until next time, let's go shake up shopping carts.

Katie Mleziva – Host & Food Brand Strategist

Clint Matthews - Host, Co-Founder at Start Right Foods, & Food Business Strategist

191. What a Viral Post Taught Me About Reach, Relevance, and Response

As we approach episode 200, we're inviting you to help shape what's next for the Food Business Marketing Podcast.

We've been working to make strategy more actionable, more valuable, and...more fun. As we think about what's next for the podcast, we'd love to hear directly from you.

👉 Take the short survey here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtEfBt75DTicl_ZuF_D0i2Ft_Yb9FJSTMPS8I4_BFYYpd9JA/viewform?usp=publish-editor]

We've got some exciting ideas in the works, but before we make plans for the next chapter in the coming weeks, we want to make sure we're building something that's truly valuable for you.

Thank you for being part of this community, for spending your time with us each week, and for helping us build what's next as we help YOU build what's next!

- Katie & Clint

PS--Make sure you're on my newsletter email list. Most weeks I'm helping you turn your ideas into action, but this week I'm asking you for your ideas to help US take action - and we appreciate every single reply. Access the survey here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtEfBt75DTicl_ZuF_D0i2Ft_Yb9FJSTMPS8I4_BFYYpd9JA/viewform?usp=publish-editor] or sign up for the newsletter and get it in your inbox on Friday: Weekly Email Newsletter [show/episodes/view/wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ] or at www.realfoodbrands.com [http://www.realfoodbrands.com].

190. Help Us Build What's Next

Have you ever finished strategy work, felt excited… and then thought, "Okay, but now what?" Your brand strategy being done isn't the finish line. It's the starting line.

In this episode, Katie Mleziva (Real Food Brands [www.realfoodbrands.com]) and Clint Matthews (Start Right Foods [www.startrightfoods.com)]) talk about what happens after the strategy work is done and how to activate your brand so it becomes part of your everyday decisions—not just a PDF sitting on your computer.

Building on recent conversations around defining your strategy, aligning your team, and creating clarity, this conversation focuses on activation: what happens next, how to avoid overwhelm, and how to keep moving forward to build momentum as you build a strong brand and business.

From prioritizing what comes first to testing and learning in the market, this episode will help you think differently about what it means to bring your strategy to life.

➡️ In this episode, you'll hear:

--Why strategy work often feels exciting at first—but overwhelming when it's time to implement

--How to prioritize what happens next instead of trying to do everything at once

--Ways to think through 30 / 60 / 120 day priorities

--Why your strategy should guide agencies, partners, and vendors and not the other way around

--How to test and learn without abandoning your strategy too quickly

--The difference between evolving intentionally and changing direction because you got nervous or someone asked a question you couldn't answer yet

--Why strategy should make decisions easier—not harder

➡️ What this means for your business:

Your brand strategy should create clarity—but clarity alone doesn't create momentum.

➡️ When you activate your strategy intentionally, you can:

1) Bring more consistency to how your brand shows up

2) Make decisions with more confidence and less second-guessing

3) Create priorities that help move the business forward

4) Stay aligned while continuing to learn and optimize

➡️ What's next:

Strategy isn't the finish line. It's the starting line. Whether you've documented your strategy already or you've been piecing it together as you go, activation is where strategy comes to life—and where momentum starts building.

Stay tuned for more podcast episodes to help you bring your vision to life!

➡️ Continue the conversation:

If this episode helped you think differently about what happens after strategy work is done, make sure you're on Katie's newsletter email list. She'll share additional thoughts, tools, and resources, including the Brand Activation Worksheet. You can get access to the newsletter and find links to everything else HERE: Weekly Email Newsletter [show/episodes/view/wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ] or at www.realfoodbrands.com [http://www.realfoodbrands.com].

➡️ Let's Connect!

Connect with Katie Mleziva on LinkedIn or ➡️ Set up an intro call if you're ready to move from strategy to action and build a brand with more clarity and confidence. 🔗 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/realfoodbrands/]

Let's go shake up shopping carts, together!

Katie Mleziva – Host & Food Brand Strategist

189. Your Brand Strategy Is the Starting Line

What makes you trust a brand? It's usually not one big thing. It's the repeated experience of seeing a brand show up consistently over time — through the packaging, product, messaging, the customer experience, the team, and allll the little details in between.

In this episode, Katie Mleziva (RealFoodBrands.com [www.realfoodbrands.com]) and Clint Matthews (StartRightFoods.com [www.startrightfoods.com]) explore how trust is built through cohesive, consistent brand experiences...and why alignment inside your business matters to what customers see on the outside.

As a follow-up to recent episodes related to the "define" part of Katie's Define, Align, & Activate framework, this conversation focuses on what happens next: aligning your team, partners, and day-to-day decisions around what you want your brand to be known for… then activating that strategy consistently across the business.

Because strong brands reinforce the key thing they want to be known for over and over again.

In this episode, you'll hear:
 * Why consistency builds trust over time
 * The difference between alignment and activation
 * How cohesive brand experiences create recognition
 * Why repeated touchpoints shape brand perception
 * The role team members and partners play in your brand
 * How familiarity influences buying decisions
 * Why strong brands feel intentional
 * The connection between trust and customer experience

Key Takeaway

People trust brands that feel clear, cohesive, and consistent. And that doesn't happen accidentally! We can be intentional about how that happens when your business is aligned around what you want to be known for and reinforces it through repeated experiences over time.

Links & Resources:

• 📧 Weekly Email Newsletter [show/episodes/view/wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ]

• 🔗 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/realfoodbrands/]

If this episode gave you a new way to think about building your business, please share it with another food business owner who is working to build a brand that makes a positive impact.

Let's go shake up shopping carts, together!

188.  How to Build a Brand People Trust

If your brand is trying to communicate everything, people may remember nothing.

In this episode, Katie Mleziva (realfoodbrands.com [realfoodbrands.com]) and Clint Matthews (startrightfoods.com) talk about the power of focus — and why strong brands know what they want to be known for instead of trying to say everything to everyone.

Building on recent episodes about purpose, vision, values, and listening to your consumers and competitors to inform your market success, this conversation explores how focus helps create clarity across your products, messaging, packaging, marketing, customer experience... everything you do!

Katie also connects the conversation to positioning and brand pillars, explaining how they help guide decisions, reinforce consistency, and keep brands from getting pulled in too many directions.

In this episode, you'll hear:

 * Why clarity is the result of focus
 * How trying to communicate too many things can create confusion
 * Why consistency helps brands become more memorable
 * How positioning and pillars help guide decision-making
 * Why focus is meant to create freedom, not limit creativity

Plus, Clint shares how Start Right Foods gained traction after narrowing their focus and aligning around what they wanted to be known for in the market.

If you want additional insights and practical ways to turn your ideas into action, make sure you're signed up for Katie's newsletter (see below).

Links & Resources:

• 📧 Weekly Email Newsletter [show/episodes/view/wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ]

• 🔗 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/realfoodbrands/]



🎙️Episodes mentioned

--> 101. Brand Strategy 101: Positioning Your Brand to Stand Out [https://open.spotify.com/episode/4DW0EBsIifFF26n33atIW8?si=Le1Q4BGvTD-heqHPWrjnQw&nd=1&dlsi=a60e2e073a9a4e5d]

--> 165. Brand Pillars: The Backbone of Your Brand That Makes a Major Impact [https://open.spotify.com/episode/720x2H9hh2RiXSa84tDbwr?si=BRuFq7NlQISMK83y5Xej1A&nd=1&dlsi=fb8afb93cd904849]



If this episode gave you a new way to think about building your business, please share it with another food business owner who is working to build a brand that makes a positive impact so we can shake up shopping carts, together!

Katie Mleziva

Food Brand Strategist

187. What Do You Want Your Brand to Be Known For?

Too many choices (or unlcear choices) can create friction for people to make a decision. So, the brands that win are often the ones that make decisions feel easier.

Sometimes being clear and easy to choose means knowing what to say… and what NOT to say.

In this episode, Katie Mleziva (RealFoodBrands.com [www.realfoodbrands.com]) and Clint Matthews (Start Right Foods [www.startrightfoods.com]) unpack the concept of decision fatigue and how it impacts things like shopper behavior, packaging, product assortments, and buying decisions.

You'll hear:

• Why more choices, words, and icons are not always better

• The Cheesecake Factory "decision overload" example

• How shoppers make different decisions throughout a shopping trip

• Why packaging has to work so hard...even after popping on the shelf

• If Clint or Katie could better handle judging 25 cheesecakes in a contest without decision fatigue setting in

• The importance of communication hierarchy

• The famous "jam study" and what it tells us about consumer behavior

• How products move from shelf → cart → pantry/fridge/freezer → repeat

• A course Katie is taking through Texas A&M called Advanced Behavioral Economics -- she's loving it!

Katie also shares details about her free live Brand Strategy Q&A happening May 20, 2026.



Links & Resources:

• 🗓️ Sign up for the free Brand Strategy Q&A [https://calendly.com/kmleziva/officehours]

• 📧 Weekly Email Newsletter [wR2B8TmMfREusjCjPzKFNLrsvrD5hV8s_aem_Kmvtb36Wnzjgzg26dhR3BQ]

• 🔗 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/realfoodbrands/]

• 🎙️Episodes mentioned

--4Ps of Sales Series Spotify Playlist [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5d6FlQHSOWMThblysvaG23?si=ITX3XkJESP6S0jYE-Aa25Q]

--Ep 114. Intentional Marketing: Getting ON the shelf, IN the cart, and OUT of the pantry/fridge/freezer [https://open.spotify.com/episode/5u2peoAJewzwOBitKDrtkW?si=51811ff6e6ab442a]

• When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing? [https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/345/345%20Articles/Iyengar%20%26%20Lepper%20(2000).pdf] (aka "The Jam Study")

If this episode gave you a new way to think about shopper behavior, packaging, or brand clarity, please share it with another food business owner who is working to build a brand that makes a positive impact.

Let's go shake up shopping carts!

186. Make Your Brand Easier to Choose: The Cheesecake Factory Factor

You might be a good listener, but are you a strategic listener?

In this episode, Katie Mleziva (Real Food Brands) and Clint Matthews (Start Right Foods) explore how to use listening as a strategic tool—not to collect more ideas, but to gain clarity and guide your brand decisions as you optimize and grow.

Building on recent episodes about defining your version of success and clarifying your purpose, vision, and values, this conversation shifts outward—focusing on how to better understand your market through what you're already hearing and also where to listen more intentionally.

From buyer conversations to consumer feedback to observing the competitive landscape, this episode will help you think differently about where insight can come from and how to use it.

In this episode, you'll hear:
 * Why listening is about understanding and making decisions, not just collecting opinions or adding to your idea list
 * How buyer conversations can reveal what's happening in your category
 * Ways to "listen" to consumers beyond direct conversations
 * What you can learn from competitors—without copying them
 * The difference between one-off feedback and meaningful patterns
 * How to use what you're hearing to guide your brand as you grow

What this means for your business:

As you're working to build clarity in your brand, listening becomes a way to proactively understand your market—not just react to it.

When you start paying attention to patterns, language, and real-world feedback, you can:

 * Refine how you show up as the brand you want to build
 * Spot some opportunities you might have missed
 * Move forward with more direction and confidence

What's next:

Once you begin to understand your market more deeply, you can start to define what you want your brand to be known for—and how to consistently bring that to life.

Continue the conversation:

If you want a simple way to capture what stands out and turn ideas into action, make sure you're on Katie's newsletter email list. She'll share a quick recap in writing and help you apply what you hear on Ep 185, and every episode! You can get access to the newsletter and find links to everything else at www.realfoodbrands.com [https://www.realfoodbrands.com].

Let's Connect!

Connect with Katie Mleziva [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-mleziva-8b75844/] on LinkedIn or ➡️ Set up an intro call here [https://calendly.com/kmleziva/intro30] if you're ready to talk about prioritizing your ideas as you work to build a strong brand.

Let's Go Shake Up Shopping Carts!

Katie Mleziva – Host & Food Brand Strategist

185. Listening to Understand Your Market & Guide Your Food Brand

What does success actually look like for you—and are you building your food business around it?

If you haven't clearly defined your own version of success, it's easy to end up chasing someone else's without even realizing it.

For the first part of our lives, success is defined for us—the next milestone, the next step. Good grades, good performances. But as business owners, that structure disappears… and we're left to figure it out on our own.

In this episode, Katie Mleziva (Real Food Brands) and Clint Matthews (Start Right Foods) unpack how making sure you're defining your own version of success will impact how you make decisions.

They also share how their own definitions of success have evolved over time—and how those definitions directly shape the decisions they make in their businesses today.

Because success isn't one-size-fits-all. But when it's undefined, it leads to comparison, second-guessing, and misalignment.

And when it's clear? Your brand, your strategy, and your decisions start to fall into place.

In This Episode, We Cover:
 * Why success feels clearly defined when we're younger—and why that changes as a business owner
 * How your definition of success influences your daily decisions
 * Real examples of how evolving priorities shift business direction
 * The difference between building a business that looks successful vs one that actually fits your life
 * Why defining success is the foundation for a clear, aligned brand
 * Katie's recommendation on where to start

Key Takeaway:

If you don't define success for yourself, you'll default to someone else's definition, and that's where misalignment starts.

What's Next:

If you're ready to define YOUR version of success and start building a brand around it, Katie put together a simple way to get started with your purpose, vision, and values.

👉 Join Katie's weekly newsletter list to get access here. [https://realfoodbrands96684.ac-page.com/email-list?test=true&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnSzskKazO2Fc8ekY6raWDkio8DLQTL94sf6FxVaqxc_dFsvf47ungaCJGA7E_aem_gXZgBDWtz83AbC2PaeYKfw]

Every week Katie walks you through putting these insights and your ideas into action...becuase you don't need more ideas, you need to prioritize them based on your goals so you can make more confident decisions in your business.

Note: if you're listening after 5/1/26, just send Katie an email katie@realfoodbrands.com, and she'll share the newsletter issue with you.

184. What Is YOUR Version of Success in Your Food Business?

How preparedness, alignment, awareness, and resilience lead to luck.

It's easy to look at other brands and assume they just got lucky.

They met the right person.

They were in the right place.

They caught the right opportunity.

But when you take a closer look, that's usually not the full story.

In this episode, Katie Mleziva (Real Food Brands) and Clint Matthews (Start Right Foods) talk through why two businesses can have similar opportunities but very different outcomes.

This isn't about pure luck, it's it's about how prepared, focused, and aligned you are when those opportunities show up.

In this episode, you'll hear:
 * Why luck is often a reflection of preparation and past experience
 * Why CLARITY and ALIGNMENT help you recognize and act on opportunities faster
 * How setbacks actually build readiness for future opportunities
 * The role of curiosity, relationships, and follow-through in creating momentum
 * Why "the greatest thing since sliced bread" didn't happen overnight.

💡 Key takeaway:

Opportunities happen—but what happens after that isn't random. When your brand is clear and aligned, it helps you recognize the right opportunities and people, make better decisions, and follow through in a way that ultimately leads to growth.

🗣️ Continue the conversation

Follow along on Instagram and let us know —> Do you think of success in business as luck, preparation, or something else?

📝 Apply What You Heard - Get the Newsletter

If you want to work on building a brand that's clear, aligned, and adds value across your business, join Katie's weekly newsletter list at RealFoodBrands.com.

Each week, you'll get a short, strategic reflection to help you think more clearly and take aligned action as you grow.

183. Is Luck Random or About Being Ready?

Looking for ways grow your natural food or beverage business? Find actionable tips and insights from industry experts regarding why building a strong brand strategy matters not only to connect with your ideal audience but also when building relationships with external stakeholders like buyers, suppliers and investors. Continue the conversation by joining the Real Food Brands Marketing Round Table group on Facebook! Brought to you by Real Food Brands (www.RealFoodBrands.com) and hosted by Katie Mleziva.

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