Nick Ajluni’s Post

Milton Hersey 🍫 We all know the amazing milk Chocolate we all love and use s’mores with, make all kinds of goodies with, and enjoy! Funny story: HB Reese, aka Reese’s peanut butter cups. He worked for Hersey, as a dairy farmer, experimenting with many ways to complement Hershey, and eventually, he got popular in the area. Word got back to Milton Hersey and a couple of the guys said hey, aren’t you going to sue HB Reese? No , this town is big enough for two chocolate owners, eventually, they merged as partners, Milton saw the potential of partnership, and Reese’s Cup is now a popular candy we all love. Seeing the potential in partnership and future collaboration, instead of taking a different route and suing Reese. Look into the potential of partnerships you never know how working together can blossom for both of you, this world is big enough for us to work together. #partnermarketing #partnerships

A lot has been written on the Sazerac Company acquisition of Buzzballz, LLC / Southern Champion. Important takeaway here for founders is that BuzzBall built a business that: -was based on sustainable business growth rather than building a business only for exit (i.e. raise cash, burn cash, repeat) -had a committed and engaged founder willing to put in the work -was not "on trend" when they launched but "ahead of the trend" -brought something truly unique relative to what was available https://lnkd.in/gw_xuRX6

Bloomin' Brands, Inc., the owner of Outback Steakhouse, has announced a 0.98% increase in its stock value and appointed two new board members as part of an agreement with activist investor Starboard Value. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eN6zDpBS #marketing #innovation #technology #socialmedia #hospitality #investing #venturecapital

For many companies 1000 Followers on LinkedIn doesn’t sound like all that much. Our Sales Director, Alex, alone has twice that number! What makes this milestone so special for us is where we’ve come from. Since our foundation, as Bryopin in 1988, right up to announcing our rebrand to Meyer Food Co. in July 2022, we’ve been very much a “behind the scenes” company, helping other food businesses thrive and letting them enjoy the limelight. Since rebranding, we’ve started to step out more. We’re still the old reliable company we’ve always been, we’re just putting ourselves out there a bit more and we’ve had great fun doing it. So if you don’t know us, hi, we’re Meyer Food Co., we might just be your secret weapon to get ahead in the food business. So, let’s connect before the word spreads too far! 🤫 #FoodIndustry #BusinessGrowth #Networking #MeyerFoodCo #FoodBusinessSuccess #LetsConnect

Vanilla anyone? Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, we weren't part of the American mainstream. Like many regions of the United States, we had our quirky local brands that we were proud of: Fred Meyer, Thriftway, Taco Time, Levitz, Olympia Beer, Rainier Beer, White Stag, and so many others that were unique to our region. But, as with the nature of all things in our country, the smaller companies found themselves targets of larger ones. To "penetrate" a market, the larger companies would often acquire small, local brands. But there was always a cost - sometimes it would be the actual cash purchase, but more often it was the loss of the brand's unique identity, perhaps its connection to the community or the loss of jobs at the headquarters - certainly the less sensitive companies would not honor the spirit of the former company's leadership. The loss of local is the loss of variety. With that loss, I noticed a creeping sameness. Instead of traveling to one part of the country and finding some national brands, Coke, McDonald's, Charmin, etc, I would find the same things there as I would back home. Indeed, some of the things I really liked were turned into shells of their former selves because the name remained but the quality of the item was different. The new owners of the brand started cutting costs and consolidating manufacturing. The loss of local companies resulted in a "vanilla-fied" business landscape. Portland is weird, but a lot less weird in 2024 than in 1974. Seattle is still grunge, but now it has every major label represented vs. hundreds of little clubs and garages. Those big companies made it easier to find things you like consistently, but also made it harder to find neat, quirky things too. It is to our loss that so few companies control so much of our consumer and producer choice (don't get me started on how many small and large restaurants all buy from ONE company for their main ingredients...ahem...Sysco). Consolidation creates bland choices. Because Fortune 500 companies control about 2/3 of US GDP, they've made their operations leaner and more efficient. They've, therefore, reduced choice. When you look at who the major shareholders are of the F500, you find out that they've actually killed competition - how much rivalry can there be between Ford and GM when each company's largest shareholders are the same? Yeah, local brands were often frustrating. But man did you get the best jams and breads. You got some stuff that you would remain loyal to for generations. Today, we find ourselves stuck in a world with fewer local choices and companies that are making us different shades of vanilla (as much as Madagascar vanilla differs from Indonesian vanilla, they're still both vanilla). Good for a few but bores the many. As a consultant, my job is to create the next disrupter, and boy do these big companies make my job a lot easier - everybody is getting tired of the same ol' things no matter where you are.

Cheddar News Reports that These Two Companies Have a Sweet Deal on the Horizon! Yesterday, jelly behemoth The J.M. Smucker Co. announced that it plans to purchase Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion. The deal, which is set to close at the end of January 2024, is worth about $2 billion more than Hostess’s current market value. Here are some highlights of the pending deal: * According to Circana Group, the snack business is booming—up 11% last year * Between 2019 and 2022, Hostess’s revenues skyrocketed 50% * Sugary treats like Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Ding Dongs have grown 20% faster than healthy ones in the last three years, according to CEO Mark Smucker On the business and employment front—let's hope that the deal creates opportunities for stable good-paying jobs offering competitive benefits. On the moderation side—let's hope that there isn't an uptick in sugary and obesity-related diagnoses like diabetes. #life #business #community #deal #humanresources #mergers #buyout #snacks #retail #employment #health

Last week, I posted Part I of my latest interview on BNN Bloomberg’s “The Street” with Paul Bagnell. It’s now time for Part II where I talk about investor lessons from the turnaround of Hostess Brands. Paul started the interview by asking me what I thought of the takeover from The J.M. Smucker Co.’s point of view, especially considering that consumers now have a preference for healthier food. “What a difference 10 years makes,” I told Paul. “Back then, nobody wanted Hostess and today everybody wants the company. It’s been a sea change in the demand for Twinkies and other sweet snacks, which is against the prevailing healthy food trend.” Paul then made the point that a corporate takeover is a decent outcome for a company that’s twice filed for bankruptcy. That’s right, I said. “You’re in stronger hands once you’re part of a portfolio with J.M. Smucker. “But a lot of interesting things happened to Twinkies along the way. It’s interesting how loved the product is. When the company went bankrupt for the second time [in 2012], people would flock to the stores to buy Twinkies because they weren’t being produced anymore.” You can watch the full interview, which includes my take on what Smuckers will do going forward, @ https://bit.ly/3Lzm0iM  📺🧁   #mediacoverage #takeover #acquisition

Why Is Fawn Weaver’s Uncle Nearest Whiskey Approaching Unicorn Status? Uncover the Trailblazing Success Story. Fawn Weaver #UncleNearest #WhiskeyUnicorn #BlackOwnedBusiness #SpiritsIndustry #InvestmentStrategy #FawnWeaver #WhiskeyLovers #DiverseInvesting #PremiumWhiskey #EntrepreneurSuccess

🍾⭐ Celebrity Liquor Brands Losing Luster After Acquisitions 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gN4eiawf 📌 George Stroumboulis sits down with Steve Kriaris of Kolonaki Group of Companies on the Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis Podcast to talk about his business, being a leader in the alcohol and specialty food distribution game, wine production and so much more. Stream on Spotify, YouTube and Apple. 🗣 Do you think, once talking about liquor brands, casamigos, george Clooney, right Jay-Z selling his brand when they actually sell the brand? Do you think people? leave the brand? I don't think I know. Okay, so explain that. Both brands have. Because I roll my eyes now where I'm like okay, what celebrity is launching which tequila brand? It's just the market's flooded. It's out of control. Out of control. So what is it? The minute someone drops it does it lose its luster? Well you lose the street cachet for starters, and typically it's some big corporation that's buying the brand because they're the only ones that have the money to buy the brand at those dollars and cents. And then sort of what ends up happening is that you lose the emotional connection to the product, right? So if you look at Armand, the brand that sales now, they're down like 50% right, and sliding even further down, sort of thing. Right, bel Air is down 40% Once it left from our hands and it was no longer the street brand that we're getting out there and selling to people and whatnot. And now it's become this big corporate brand. I can just buy any Corbin I want at this point, sure, this brand more, right. So no one's attached the brand anymore, sort of thing. Right. And then when that happens, the sales do go down. 🎙️ Follow 'Invigorate Your Business' for more updates. We appreciate the support by commenting, liking and sharing with your network. 🙏 #stevekriaris #wine #expert #business #celebrity #alcohol

Bloomin' Brands, Inc., the owner of Outback Steakhouse, has announced a 0.98% increase in its stock value and appointed two new board members as part of an agreement with activist investor Starboard Value. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eu3UUKt4 #marketing #innovation #technology #socialmedia #hospitality #investing #venturecapital