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Neil Thomson | Laid Back Snacks
0 Playsin 14 hours
In this episode I chat with Neil Thomson, co-founder of Laid Back Snacks—a brand that’s redefining what it means to snack smarter.
I’ve been a longtime fan of their trail mixes and nut blends, so it’s only fitting that we finally get a chance to sit down and talk about how they’ve built a business that’s all about balance—nutrition meets indulgence, fun meets functionality.
From e-commerce beginnings to grocery shelves across Canada (and soon in the US), Neil and his team have navigated the snacking space with a clear vision: to make healthier choices easy, delicious, and, well… laid back.
In this conversation, we talk about the challenges small brands face when competing with big food companies, and what it really takes to scale in a crowded category.
Neil shares how Laid Back Snacks evolved beyond its initial direct-to-consumer model, why their 80/20 nutrition philosophy resonates with consumers, and what being B Corp certified means to them.
Plus, he gives us a sneak peek into their innovation pipeline (and his personal snack obsession).
To learn more about everything that Neil and his team are making for snackers like us, and everything they’re doing to be a sustainable food company, go to www.laidbacksnacks.com.
Here's a summary of this interview:
Redesigning the Food System – Neil emphasizes the need for more opportunities for small food brands, as big food companies dominate with entrenched relationships and deep pockets. He advocates for a carve-out to allow smaller brands room to grow.
Laid Back Snacks’ Approach – The brand creates fun and nutritious snacks with an 80/20 philosophy: 80% healthy ingredients, 20% indulgence (e.g., dark chocolate or exotic flavors). Originally e-commerce focused, they expanded into traditional retail for better scalability.
Personal Favourites – Neil’s current favourite snack is the Honey Habanero mix, though he admits to over-consuming it. His kids love dried mango. Corwin praises the praline almonds as a standout product.
Why Start a Snack Brand? – After business school, Neil wanted to merge his passion for food with entrepreneurship. He saw a gap in fun, healthier snacks in grocery stores and was inspired by a UK snack subscription company.
Brand Philosophy & Name – "Laid Back Snacks" reflects trust and simplicity. Neil wanted to create a brand that eliminates the stress of analyzing nutrition labels and encourages mindful, relaxed snacking.
B Corp Certification & Sustainability – Neil's experience in investment banking left him wanting to build a values-driven business. B Corp and climate-neutral certifications help Laid Back Snacks stand out in a crowded market while reinforcing their commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
Retail & Distribution Strategy – The brand sells through their website, Amazon, Costco.ca, and non-traditional retailers like SportChek and Indigo, in addition to grocery chains like Whole Foods, Thrifty Foods, and Safeway.
Future Growth & Product Innovation – They aim to expand into Costco US, tailoring flavors to regional preferences. Neil is open to pushing boundaries with bold flavors, like garlic-infused snacks, and wants to balance expansion with maintaining their existing successful lineup.
Consumer Engagement & Brand Loyalty – Neil sees direct-to-consumer sales as an advantage for testing new products. He values first-party data to gauge consumer interest before committing to large-scale retail launches.
Final Thoughts on Brand Differentiation – Laid Back Snacks aims to build a strong, authentic connection with consumers through thoughtful product development, sustainability efforts, and a fun, engaging brand experience.
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Transcript
Introduction to IL-42 and Guest
00:00:00
Speaker
This is IL-42.
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome back to IL-42.
From E-commerce to Canadian Shelves
00:00:09
Speaker
In this episode, I chat with Neil Thompson, co-founder of Laid Back Snacks, a brand that's redefining what it means to snack smarter. I've been a longtime fan of their trail mixes and nut blends, so it's only fitting that we finally get a chance to sit down and talk about why they've built a business that's all about balance. Nutrition meets indulgence. Fun meets functionality.
00:00:30
Speaker
From e-commerce beginnings to grocery store shelves across Canada and soon in the US, Neil and his team have navigated the snacking space with a clear vision to make healthier choices easy, delicious, and well laid back.
Challenges and Scaling for Small Brands
00:00:43
Speaker
In this conversation, we talk about the challenges small brands face when competing with baked food companies and what it really takes to scale in the crowded category.
Brand Evolution and B Corp Certification
00:00:52
Speaker
Neil shares how laid-back snacks evolved beyond its initial direct-to-consumer model, why their 80-20 nutrition philosophy resonates with consumers, and what being B Corp certified means to them. Plus, he gives us a sneak peek into the innovation pipeline and his personal snacking obsession.
Redesigning the Food System
00:01:09
Speaker
Okay, here we go. The future of food starts now. Neil,
00:01:16
Speaker
This conversation has probably been a long time coming. I've been a consumer of laid back snacks for a while. So I think it's only fitting that we finally get a chance to talk and not just in passing, but in aisle 42 fashion, I want to welcome you to the show with a big question. It's the new one thank for season two. Yeah, it is this. If you were given a magic wand and could redesign the future of the food system, what's one change that would inspire you the most?
00:01:44
Speaker
Quality. I feel like the incumbent big food companies are just so entrenched and they have such deep pockets and those relationships that they carry with with distributors and retailers and things are just so well established. And you know, I'm i'm sure over time that they've been hard won. But um for for little food companies, I think there does need to be a bit of carve out where the the distributors and the retailers, it feels like there's often a bit of a mindset where we're going to
00:02:17
Speaker
treat the little guy just the same way as we try to treat the big guy or or even try and recoup some of the costs that the big guy has leveraged from us with the little guy. And being a little guy, it would it would really be nice if if there was that that carve-out where we were we were given a little bit more space to breathe, i mean knowing that our resources are so limited. Yeah, very true and well said. So good answer. You get an A+. plus So Neil, before we go any further, why don't you walk listeners through what it is that you guys make. And most importantly for me, I want to know which of your products is your favorite.
00:02:55
Speaker
Okay, right on. Ask Greg all of these questions. So we we are ah um a healthy and delicious snacking brand. I mean, a lot of the stuff that we do looks like traditional trail mixes. And ah typically, we we put a spin on it with making sure that we we maintain the nutritional integrity that people are looking for when they choose these healthier food products.
00:03:16
Speaker
And then add a little bit of fun to it. We have 80-20 nutritional philosophy, 80% untouched, and then 20% what we just call fun. And that might be some dark chocolate chips or some probiotic yoga chips, and then some exotic flavors and spices. And um we started off thinking we're going to be a ah complete disruptor in the space, and we're just going to be an e-commerce first business. We're going to go the subscription model route.
Realizing Retail Benefits
00:03:40
Speaker
And in 2014, when we launched, that was it. That was our reason for being.
00:03:44
Speaker
And over time, we realized, okay, hang on. you know the internet ah Two things came through. One, the internet is a very noisy, very expensive place. And to scale this thing just in that one channel is going to going to cost us a lot of money. And two, there's a reason why these traditional distribution channels exist.
00:04:02
Speaker
hey, they're set up there, they're well established, and we can get a lot of scale pretty quickly. Well, we've got customers and distributors and people asking for us in those traditional channels. you know In the beginning, we were saying no. And I think it was it was just that kind of lofty religious belief in our e-commerce dogma that had us stay there. But over time, we just were like, we have to open up these other channels. So today, we've got ah five different main channels that we serve.
00:04:30
Speaker
And most recently we launched a snack called Honey Habanero. And that's my favorite. i have this this That's my favorite at the moment. I do have a bit of an issue, an overconsumption issue, where when I find something that I like, I just hammer it. And I'm getting to a point where I've hammered Honey Habanero so much that I need to move on to the next one. But for my kids, I pick up my kids ah from their daycare. They're two and four, so they're tiny.
00:04:55
Speaker
And every day, as soon as I get in the car, the first thing they say is, snack? Snack? Do you have a snack? And they're crushing the mango right now. So I'm probably eating more dried mango than than anything else. But if I was forced to choose, it would be honey habanero. There you go. Yeah, the honey habanero, I tried it in the sample pack that I got from you guys. i It was remarkable. However, ah the praline almonds,
00:05:22
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. Like those are the, I remember the first time we had them, my wife and I, and it was sort of one of those like woe moments. We both kind of stopped. We're both kind of chewing, looking at each other. We're like, wow, this is really good. i think And you to write you know what? And the,
00:05:38
Speaker
Not snacking work you know space is crowded there's a lot of brands and you see a lot of them kind of repeat in grocery stores and can you snack isles and on the strips by the checkout counter and at grocery and can be so this or snacking of nazis around but you guys are doing some really fun things and the flavor is really remarkable so well done.
00:05:59
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. coman Why did you get into this? Like what possessed you? What inspired you slash possessed you to say, you know what? This is what my life is going to look like over the next little while.
00:06:10
Speaker
Well, yeah, I'd love to say that it was as intentional as that. So I just came out of business school and I had an and and entrepreneurship itch to scratch, which was one one piece. And the second piece was just around food. I mean, I've always had a deep love of food and not just from a sort of nourishment perspective, but also from a sort of emotional attachment perspective. like that That whole imagery around comfort and um and enjoyment and indulgence and things and and mood elevation, like it's just wonderful. like Food has always played a ah huge role in my life. and I do remember I just moved to Vancouver and came out of business school and I was looking around at potential companies that I'd love to start.
00:06:59
Speaker
And I do remember being sort of head over the head in business school, like you've got to find something that's a mad passion that you're going to love, love, love. And I couldn't really think of anything bigger than food. And I do remember at the time I'd met my my wife and she said to me, Hey man, Neil.
00:07:14
Speaker
Like, you eat so much junk and i I really did eat a lot of junk. And so I looked around in the grocery store and I looked at a bunch of the, you know, it's it's it's easy now to in 2025 to look at the snacking category and and see all these wonderful options and see people moving away from those traditional ah sort of sugar-filled confectionery into healthier options.
00:07:37
Speaker
But as recently as 2014, you know, I remember walking around Savon and not seeing much in the middle between sort of the bulk stuff and then the the heavy confectionery stuff, traditional confectionery stuff. And the stuff that was there.
00:07:53
Speaker
I found to be pretty lame or oh uninteresting. It was like sort of super healthy, sprouted, really virtue-filled food. And I just thought, man, this space has got to be fun. If we're going to attract people to make healthier choices, we've got to have a brand that's fun and playful and younger people in particular can engage with because they're the ones who want to eat more healthily.
00:08:18
Speaker
So yeah, and i I just kind of jumped into it. And and then I also, I moved from the UK and there was a company in the UK that delivered healthy snacks directly to my office. And being a really lazy guy, I just thought if I'm going to make healthy choices, I'm not finding them at the 7-Eleven on the corner.
00:08:37
Speaker
they need to be delivered to me, and delivery is fun, and subscription is fun, because you get to build this ongoing relationship with your customer base. That appealed to me. So those things just kind of came together, and and I didn't have kids at the time, and off off I went. That's so good. And what about this brand of laid-back laidback snacks? Where did that come from? yeah that that's so weird Did it come from your laziness?
00:09:05
Speaker
Yeah, it it really came from a place of, you know, I at the time, during the course of kind of shifting my food into a healthier choosing those healthier options, I spent a lot of time looking at nutritional fact tables, and looking at ingredients. And I found myself going down rabbit holes, and then second guessing things and googling things and ah We all know that Googling health-related stuff online is is no bueno, so don't do it. And so I wanted the brand to reflect that kind of that trust, that, hey, there's an embodied trust between the brand and the consumer, and you don't need to go down any rabbit holes. Just, you know, feel relaxed. If anything, you know, the touch point with us can be something that lowers the level of anxiety
Sustainability and Differentiation as a B Corp
00:09:51
Speaker
in your life. We all live these high anxiety lives with access to too much information.
00:09:57
Speaker
just relax and enjoy your snack. That's so good. I have distinct memories of my childhood with a nutcracker and a big bowl of, you know, yeah like big nuts with shells, big walnuts and all sorts of nuts. I don't even know. I don't even know if I knew what kind they were. They were maybe filberts or a bunch of other nuts. And it was my dad and I or my family would have nutcracker and we'd you know smash these things and they would leave you know shells all over the living room, step on them the next morning. But nuts have always been a ah great snack in my household. In fact, when I go, I spend a lot of time camping and and sort of some adventure travel. And I feel like in always like certain amount of candy and sort of sweet snacks to sort of tie you over, but nuts are very durable. They can handle high heat or you know cold temperatures.
00:10:44
Speaker
They really do fill you up. They do a lot of good things. So even since, you know, so enjoying your snacks, I find those pouches are in my bag or in my car or in my camping gear. So it's ah it's always good to have them around. That's awesome. Thank you. You guys take sustainability pretty seriously. And I'm curious to know what is it about being B Corp certified? That's really important to you guys.
00:11:07
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there's a base kind of ideological foundation there that before moving to Canada, I worked in London, England in an investment bank. And I found it to be a fascinating work and I learned a ton, but I found it to be a pretty soulless pursuit.
00:11:28
Speaker
And when I left, this so that was through my 20s. And when I left and I ah went to UBC at 30, I really wanted it to be kind of a, I wanted my business school experience to be a bit of a sort of consolidation of everything that I'd learned in my early career. And I did find myself reflecting a lot on my upbringing in South Africa and the things that I really loved about growing up in South Africa for all of its its issues, is just the access to nature. And I find there's a similar sentiment in in Canada. you know People love being outdoors. They love being energetic and athletic. And there's this connection with the natural world that I found energized me and was so, so important to me. And so it started off being kind of an environmental thread that I wanted to weave into the company.
00:12:15
Speaker
And one of the accreditations we have is climate neutral. That's a really obvious direct feedback loop there. The B Corp was a little bit less so, but in building the company, it became so apparent to me that a company has such an awesome example or an awesome opportunity to set an example of social equity.
00:12:37
Speaker
and you know building a team, building a healthy, happy, motivated team, making sure that the customers around the company are healthy and happy and engaged. And we're showing up and and doing good in the world. So as ah as a sort of foundational element, you know that was there for us. And then also purely from a competitiveness perspective and just speaking as a business person, you know there are a lot of snacking companies out there.
00:13:03
Speaker
And people have a lot of wonderful options when they go into a grocery store and choose snacks. And so it's it's we need a differentiator and we need something that that that really helps us stand above a lot of the other options. I fully recognize that not everyone is prepared to attribute value to B Corp, but I think our people do. And it's certainly something that our customers really appreciate and like. So it's a good marriage for us.
00:13:32
Speaker
Yeah, and I think B Corp is slowly, maybe even a little awkwardly, it is starting to get that reputation where consumers have been looking for it, buying it enough, it's starting to get out there. It certainly is a bit of a groundswell kind of movement, but it has its value and you're right, there are consumers out there that feel that it is a i way for them to distinguish between one brand and another when you know when there's a lot of parity at times.
00:14:00
Speaker
Though I'd argue that I don't come across snacks that compete with yours very often, but that's maybe my, maybe I'm just a little naive. You don't mind me saying? Well, I've got a question for you on that, Colvin. So we were doing our B Corp certification during the pandemic. And I remember at the time submitting our application and not sort of hearing from the organization for a long time. And and it just took so long to kind of work through the mechanization of all the mechanics of getting to accreditation. And our accounting executive, I remember contacting me and saying,
00:14:33
Speaker
you know It's the pandemic and we have just been inundated with people applying for B Corp certification. and I remember thinking, well that's interesting. like What is it about the pandemic that is suddenly making all these people want to apply for B Corp?
00:14:48
Speaker
yeah i yeah I don't know exactly, and but I could guess. And that is, first off, the pandemic brought about a reset for a lot of brands. There were a lot of brands doing overhauls. Especially if there was other, whether they had a bunch of cash because people were buying food like crazy. So a lot of food companies had a little bit more money than maybe they had had in the past.
00:15:12
Speaker
as well as a lot of people started food companies at that time. So it was sort of it was sort of the race you know to kind of get into the mix. I also think that that differentiation, you know you're you're in good company and that a lot of brands that can manage it feel like that level of transparency does help them connect to consumers that are maybe a little bit more, I don't want to say that price capable. i've I'm just made up a term, but they're just, you know, there may be a little bit more affluent or a little bit more mindful or mindful or conscious of what they're buying. Again, that's a segment that is, you know, but is a segment that's growing. And I think what's interesting to me is that more and more consumers, regardless of their, you know, extreme leanings or not, you know, people are looking for ways to be responsible.
00:16:00
Speaker
and they understand transparency and they start to look to companies that are being thoughtful and considered about, you know, people or planet and they are being rewarded with loyalty. And so I think that in the pandemic when B Corp sort of got its really big push, it was, uh, you know, add to a little bit of a maybe a rainy day project where brands sort of felt like, Oh, we'll get to that later epidemic. Why not? But, um, I do think it kind of came down to the consumer.
00:16:28
Speaker
that brand sort of fell and businesses felt like they wanted to really communicate something of value and of meaning went in a world where everyone was afraid and worried and there was so much anxiety, B Corp sort of brought a um little bit of calm maybe to elements of of the business, of the value chain, yeah.
00:16:47
Speaker
And I liked that idea of having a pause to stop and think and then, you know, dust off the, the old B Corp ambition. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Purchase Channels for Laid Back Snacks
00:16:59
Speaker
So where can people find your snacks? Uh, I see it in, I think my local thrifties carries it here in South Surrey, uh, white rock South rock, nice no one but, uh, what are some of the banners and and places and spaces that people find laid back snacks?
00:17:16
Speaker
So the most obvious one is LaybackSnacks.com. And we ship throughout North America. And it's not just personal snacking that we do on LaybackSnacks.com. We also have gifting programs, whether it's personal gifting or corporate gifting. And we've most recently started selling through Costco. Costco does CA. So not in stores yet, but you know that's aspiration. It's on the on the roadmap.
00:17:43
Speaker
So Costco the.ca, Amazon, folks can find us on Amazon as as they can find every single other thing on the planet. SportCheck for your listeners who are in Canada. SportCheck is a wonderful retail partner for us. So so we're actually enjoying sort of non-traditional retail quite a lot. SportCheck, Indigo, those stores. Mountain Equipment Co-op. Did I see you guys in Mountain Equipment?
00:18:09
Speaker
We've been chatting with them for a while and um it's a slow burn. So we've we've still got some work to do there. ah so So the non-traditional retail is going qui pretty nicely. The grocery is going pretty nicely too. So yes, Thrifties and Safeway and Sobies. Those are big partners. In the West, we've got we do more business out West than we do out East. IGA, in terms of national banners, Whole Foods.
00:18:37
Speaker
We are in discussion with a couple of folks, and then out east, we're sort of making inroads into Ontario with with our new ah new broker. We've got a national distributor, Tree of Life, who handles us at at the national level. And then regionally, we've got east and west distributors.
00:18:57
Speaker
who we work with on the ground, because they're just a lot of independent stores and smaller unaffiliated stores who really want to carry snacks that that typically aren't found in a Walmart, for example. So we find that to be a sweet spot for us that works pretty nicely. Where else? I mean, we've we've got a food service channel that's growing quite nicely at the moment, and and that'll, you know, some folks might see us in their local, if you play golf, you know, maybe at your it's your golf course,
00:19:27
Speaker
You know, I think I actually came across laid back also at the Sea to Sky gondola, ah just north of Vancouver. And it was at the kiosk at the bottom of the tram. You know, we were waiting in line with 150 other people.
00:19:41
Speaker
pressed ninety ninety nine your bag It was maybe a little steep. So we only got one bag of praline almonds instead of a two. but yeah okay thank it
Innovation and Expansion into Costco
00:19:53
Speaker
So what's next? Are you guys scheming up, ah you know, ah flaming hot kimchi cashews? What's next on the innovation radar for you guys?
00:20:05
Speaker
I think we've, we've, we're an interesting place right now where we've got to a a size and a scale and I guess a level of kind of credibility. I definitely, when I started the company, I had a ah good amount of imposter syndrome, Colin, where I just felt like.
00:20:21
Speaker
you know I'm some guy who's come from a finance and tech background and now I'm suggesting to people that I know something about food and and they should they should buy these lovely snacks from us. and ah And it always felt for the longest time, it felt like there was a, there was a you who who do I think I am kind of dynamic going on.
00:20:42
Speaker
But, you know, we're a decade in now. We lost it it launched in December 2014. So we're a decade in and the growth for me has been fantastic. The growth for the company has been fantastic too. And we're at a level now where we have these different channels that are going and and some you know really important partners and customer relationships going where we're being quite selective about chatting to different folks and saying, well, you know, what would you like to see and what would work for you?
00:21:07
Speaker
Certainly from a flavor perspective, having conversations with with Costco in the U.S. And Costco U.S. is split into all sorts of different regions. And I think they have, I'm going to get this number wrong, but it's it's sort of 35 different buyers for the different regions in the U.S.
00:21:24
Speaker
And the amazing thing is the sort of microcosms that exist within those different catchment areas for each of the regions. And one thing that will play really nicely in upstate New York is not going to play nicely in ah Southern California.
00:21:41
Speaker
And so a big hairy audacious goal for 2025 is to hopefully open up at least one Costco region. And so some of those conversations are very specific to product development for that that that customer, that potential customer.
00:21:57
Speaker
But within the broader kind of grocery channel in Canada, we feel pretty good about where we are with with our products. you know We've got five different flavors across 10 SKUs, and there isn't a lot of daylight in the sales data in terms of popularity.
00:22:16
Speaker
We've got the hearty tamari and the praline almonds and the honey habanero, which are heavy on on the nuts. And then we've got the wholesome yogi, which is a more typical traditional trail mix, which is a nice kind of entry point for someone who says, well, I like trail mixes, but I don't know anything about this brand. They can they can kind of look to that. And then for for folks who are nut free,
00:22:37
Speaker
We've got the Wasabi Mee, which is what I think the only all-natural Wasabi product on the market. I haven't seen anyone else who's offering an all-natural. And when I say all-natural, that's no green artificial colorants. That's no artificial Wasabi flavoring. Our peas look a little bit less green, but um that's the trade-off for having this this beautifully natural, delicious product.
00:23:01
Speaker
And so, I'm very happy with that. It's not free. That's not to say anyone's going to buy it with Sabi Peas and put them in a kid's lunchbox because it's... Pretty spicy. I would love to do that. Actually, that you've just given me an idea. i'm goingnna My daughter deserves a ah lunch kit surprise, I think. I think that's what what's coming up next. Yes. So i don't i don't know to answer your question, Colin, I don't know what we would take out. I mean, it would be a case of addition. like what would What would we add? And then the question is, you know we've already got 10 there. Do we really want to add something else that's within a similar
00:23:39
Speaker
space in the store or do we want to look to a different space? Well, you've opened Pandora's box by doing the Wasabi play, right? So you're like, it's not a nut play. So you're kind of, you're you're tinkering with, with already sort of the boundaries of your approach. So I think, yeah, your category. So I think that's exciting. You know, like you said, you kind of roll into Costco and do some special formats or special sort of configurations of what you know, people would love. And then you'll, you know, lean into other areas later, but it's sure as exciting as it goes. So what would you recommend? What's your recommendation? Oh man, that's, that's tough. I find myself, I get excited about the, about the savory stuff.
00:24:22
Speaker
Look how hot honey as a category, you know, across North America has really thrived over the last 18 months, especially. And I think, you know, savory and spicy and hot, uh, get really exciting. I think that there's, you know, that so many other cultures and cuisines that really lean into hot, spicy things. I think it's very welcoming for someone that maybe doesn't normally eat sweetness to be able to dive into a ah bag of Yeah, more savory. So I don't know. I I'd have to think about it a little bit here. Let me give you an example. I'm the guy that eats the garlic stuffed olives and no one eats those because they give you garlic breath at a party at a charcuterie board or in everybody else. But I'm that guy. I'm like, I will drink eat. I won't drink it. car stuff So maybe there's a garlic play for you. I'm not sure how friendly that would make you the consumer, but it's certainly
00:25:18
Speaker
you know, savory is fun. Well, I, yeah. And I do, I do like the audacity of something like that. I definitely didn't start this company to be conservative and and not have a bit of fun and and some stuff is going to work and some stuff. so And it's certainly more exciting to me if it's, if it's ah ah a bit of a risky play and it's, it's a big win. Yeah. I think so common in your category, there's the usual is there's the,
00:25:44
Speaker
you know, like the peanut butter and chocolate, you know, kind of play and there's the very, or the Oreo like play and there's, you know, there's some real standards, but breaking free of that, I think can really shake things up. And I think you can really attract an excited consumer when you lean into a flavor that, you know, they, they already know and love, but maybe hadn't attached it to that type of snacking occasion.
00:26:07
Speaker
Yeah, and and that feeds nicely into the the sort of online presence that we have and the digital dynamic, the digital footprint, putting forward something that might be controversial to people and then just seeing what the engagement is like online and how people feel about it. In and of itself, you know, there's a return there, even if the snack doesn't fly off the shelves.
00:26:30
Speaker
Well, and you lean into that first party data, that direct connection with consumers that already know you and love you. And, you know, sometimes they can give you the attaboys and the, you know, sort of the feedback that might lead you astray if you're not careful. But on the other hand, you know, you can, you can test things, you can explore things, you can get feedback from, you know, from people that, you know, if they're not willing to buy it,
00:26:54
Speaker
but they bought other stuff from you, then that gives very clear data and better to test it with them than with a national broker or national distribution. So um
Closing Remarks and Appreciation
00:27:04
Speaker
it's a beautiful thing. And I do think that brands that are really looking to kind of break out of that emerging category and really kind of hit the mainstream, they still need a groundswell of support. And it's not just going to come down to trade spending and advertising and brand awareness. Those things layer on top of what needs to be people who deeply love the product, that care for the brand, and have some level of connection or affinity to what that product means for them. Yeah, that level of authenticity that they can connect to. And that, that for me, circles back to the B Corp and the climate neutral piece as well, just really signaling to the consumer that we we are an authentic, sort of caring company.
00:27:47
Speaker
Wonderful. Well, I love what you make. Thank you for making it. Thanks for taking a few minutes of your day to to jump on on this episode, but I appreciate your time and everything you've done, Neil. Well, thank you for the invitation, Colin. It was a great chat. I really appreciate it. Have a great day.
00:28:03
Speaker
Thank you for listening to this episode of aisle 42. To learn more about everything that Neil and his team are making for snackers like us, and everything that they're doing to be a sustainable food company, go to laidbacksnacks dot.com. Okay, that's it for me. I'm Corwin Hebert from Ethical Food Group, and I'll see you in the future.