It's been almost three years since we started the show. Today we finally reached a milestone.  Triple digits!

All this time we have spent - interviewing experts, talking to listeners, and going through the trials and tribulations of a food startup ourselves - we have picked up a lot of ideas on how to succeed.

This knowledge needs to be shared. So I synthesized all of this feedback and advice into recommendations on how to get in front of buyers and sell to them over a long-term relationship. Enjoy!

Selected links from the episode:
When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man
Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers

Over the last 6 months, we have had many listener requests for a packaging/branding episode. It took a while, but I finally found the experts.

Jordan Hill and Fed Pacheco met when in the design program at the University of North Texas. Upon graduation they took separate paths as art directors in different global ad agencies, working on global and national accounts.

A move to New York in 2014 reignited the spark to partner once again, and Hungry Studio was formed over the love of a good meal and the longing to make beautiful work.

They work with large and small food companies and help them with all aspects of branding, packaging and design. Hear their story and take notes:

• What is a strong brand?
• Experience with big brands and what they learned
• Package design as it is related to branding
• How to find your story
• The role of brands in today's market
• What is the value of great packaging design?
• How to choose a designer/agency
• Case studies on successful branding/design work
• How much should you budget for design/packaging?
• Purchase decisions at the shelf
• Attention to detail - Touch points
• What is important to know about food branding
• Coming soon: Hungry Studio and Food Startups Podcast's digital guide to Branding, Packaging and Design

Selected links from the episode:
Hungry Studio
Community Coffee
Builder's Tea
Crepes and Delices
FDA Packaging Guidelines

The original title was "Growth Stories from Blue Crabs to the Bronx to Brooklyn to Boston".. full of alliteration but a bit too long.  

Sean Butler has been slowly moving north through his life, adding skills and experiences.

The current stop of his journey is VP of Growth at one of the hottest startups in New England.

Sean joined LeanBox pre-revenue, and has grown with the company as it expanded from 3 to 42 employees in two years. 

LeanBox delivers customized inventories of meals, salads, sandwiches, snacks, and beverages to hi-tech refrigerators at 200+ companies in New England, including Uber, Amazon, and Microsoft. Cold brewed coffee, organic snacks, cold-pressed juice and more.

The million dollar question: with software, hardware, sourcing, logistics, and more, how are they able to run multiple businesses at once? We go behind the scenes:

• Culture shock: moving from the country to the Bronx
• Witnessing a shooting .. and moving to Brooklyn
• On managing multiple businesses at once
• Unusual tactics to get your foot in a door at a startup
• Surviving their biggest mistakes in outsourcing and insourcing
• How to get your food product approved by their buying committee 
• Mistakes that food startup brands make
• The unique pricing model - keeping it cheaper than Whole Foods
• "We do really well in places where you’ve got to drive 15 minutes just to find somewhere to eat"
• What's next for LeanBox

Selected links from the show:
LeanBox
Uber Boston
Office Envy: LeanBox Literally Works out of a Mansion
Hunts Point Market
Kitchen Confidential
Cultivate Ventures
Eden, Maryland
Chipotle
Montreal

Pietro Guerrera and Filippo Lubrano reached breakeven in 2015 with their European venture. But they are thinking BIG. They recently launched in the U.S. with a new subscription box business model.

Eattiamo brings exclusive, gourmet Italian products to your doorstep. On the outside, the products are fantastic and the design is beautiful.

On the inside, like most startups, they are putting in serious WORK. Sourcing, importing, storage, logistics, marketing and sampling .. the hustle is on.Starting from scratch in a new country is not easy. Get the inside scoop:

• Why they expanded to the U.S.
• Life in New York
• Communicating the value and telling the story of their food
• Utilizing the international experience and diverse skill set of the founders
• Italian Food vs “Italian American Food” 
• How they plan to gain subscribers

Selected links from the show:
Eattiamo
Sourcing - The ROI Olive Oil Mill
Chef's Table

Produce going bad is no secret: 50% of the shelf life is already gone before you can visually detect that the fruit has gone bad. Fresh Surety is working on solving the problem with "real time freshness reporting anywhere in the world for a few cents per carton."

It could really change the world. As we covered in the Bluecart episode, this startup is founded on 10X thinking.

Over the past 30 years as founder and CEO Tom Schultz has guided multiple technology companies from concept to liquidity event, including IPO, NASDAQ listing, and nine-figure exit. I recommend this episode to everyone:

• Going through the process, concept all the way to exit
• Being the senior guy among the young Food X startup community
• How to correct your "bad ideas"
• What Tom learned at Dole Foods
• The concept behind Fresh Surety
• Advantages of raising venture money
• Tips for food startups after being in the game 30+ years
• The two key points that must be proved to investors

Selected links from the show:
Fresh Surety
A Simple Explanation of The Internet of Things