![109. Thinking BIG and Making It Happen with Monique & Chevalo Wilsondebriano image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=640,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/9587d82c-b10d-4123-92cb-cab9fa57b935.png)
Sometimes you need to let yourself dream and think big. Instead of letting other people tell you how things work and why you can’t do something, it can pay off to look at things from a new perspective. It helps, of course, to have a great story, which is something that brand strategy work can really help with.
Today on Episode 109 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, Host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Monique and Chevalo Wilsondebriano, owners of Recipe for Retail and the Charleston Gourmet Burger Company. We’ll learn how thinking BIG took them from a backyard BBQ...to a food business idea...to a product...to a brand that’s on the shelves of Whole Foods, World Market, Costco, Wal-Mart, and more...to winning QVC’s Choice Food Award.
In This Episode:
- How Monique and Chevalo started their business at a backyard barbeque.
- How they used the Charleston Farmer’s Market as a testing ground for their product.
- Why their personal story worked so well to get them on retail shelves quickly.
- Why working on their brand early and getting it right was so important to their success.
- What people are really buying when they’re buying your product.
- How they help other entrepreneurs with their Recipe for Retail course.
Resources:
![115. Your Big Shift: From Selling a Great Product to Building a Strong Brand image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/1a9bc475-b091-41ec-9f92-ea8339fc5ba4.jpg)
![114. Intentional Marketing: getting ON the shelf, IN the cart, and OUT of the pantry (or fridge!) image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/1a9bc475-b091-41ec-9f92-ea8339fc5ba4.jpg)
![113. The Power (Struggle) of Focus...and How Your Brand Strategy Can Help image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/1a9bc475-b091-41ec-9f92-ea8339fc5ba4.jpg)
![112. Welcome Back! Doing the Right Things at the Right Time in Your Food Business image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/76ff6946-4e74-45d8-9f87-ca1dd676acbf.jpg)
![111. What to Do When Something Is Out of Alignment With Your Vision...and the Shift I'm Making image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/91e75717-be94-4da2-b995-5474da0bf2b9.jpg)
![110. 6 Copywriting Tips to Help Food Brands Stand Out with Celsea Jenkins of Grassfed Copy image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/81936ce3-c4d9-4329-982a-9389d2e94778.png)
![108. 6 Brand Strategy Tips for Small But Mighty Food Businesses (Part 2) image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/6dc261a6-16ce-464d-809d-64d4216a62a4.png)
![107. 6 Brand Strategy Tips for Small But Mighty Food Businesses (Part 1) image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/91e75717-be94-4da2-b995-5474da0bf2b9.jpg)
![106. How Riemer Family Farm is Growing a Regenerative Brand image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/9cc8d2ee-4b98-4af2-9893-e9506c6e1356.png)
![105. New Episode Index to Help Your Food Brand Stand Out image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/dc25add2-064b-453b-9cd9-fb5ebebd205c.png)
![103. How Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Food Are Shifting with Sarah Marion of Murphy Research image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/46b856ec-3964-44c6-aebb-6e1cdee8b879.png)
![102. Are you inviting people into a brand story or sharing brand history? image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/25ae6cca-4757-457d-afa2-89644074b0f0.png)
![101. Brand Strategy 101: Positioning Your Food Brand to Stand Out image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/09edc4f5-e196-476d-87a6-25b1037af7b8.png)
![100. Celebrating 100 Episodes With Gratitude, Gear & Giveaway! image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/eeb8362b-dcd9-44fa-8f3e-4e94d7b43f7a.png)
![99. Strategy Does Not Have to Come at the Expense of Action image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/5c13e781-9ac3-47aa-843c-a7e15378d138.png)
![98. Insider Tips to Get on Podcasts and Boost Your Food Brand’s Visibility image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/3b37d6e6-663a-4519-927e-046b802a5c0c.jpg)
![97. Unlock Your Best Ideas: My NEW Self-Paced Brand Strategy Course is Live! image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/0a6faac3-39f4-4889-adc7-d2065ad1268c.png)
![96. 5 Steps to Accelerate Progress Towards Your Vision image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=90,quality=85/image-files/5a9f0ad735aca700199142a7/a9e569d2-7ac4-4f14-87fe-1c7e94c5ba23.png)