When I was approached to interview Susie Fogelson, I recognized the name, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. However, after researching who she was, it all came torrenting down. Susie’s marketing directive at Nickelodeon and the Food Network had influenced my childhood. She was behind many of the shows that you might recognize such as Emeril Live, or Good Eats, or Iron Chef and you might recognize her as a judge in the Next Food Network Star.
Now revving up her new strategic firm, Susie shares her amazing way of marketing for all of you.
Get ready for an interview with a lot of amazing takeaways. This episode has it all, from this new concept we talk about called food connectivity, the strategy and concept behind key shows such as Iron Chef and Chopped, and the amazing things you can do in the internet today when it comes to accelerating your personal brand.
Susie taught me a lot, and surprisingly, I taught Susie a lot! I talked to her about food science, co-packing, and sensory science. That’s the beauty of the food industry. There are so many facets and faces, and I learn from every one of them.
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Show Notes
How do you get a show on the food network?: If you know someone, that’s the best. But the truth is, if you havea concept, you should work with a production company and use the production company to leverage with the programming people
It’s very simple to see which production companies are working on the show. For example, Rock Shrimp
Who is your favorite Food Network Star?: What makes them so special and unique is that these food network stars are passionate about food. Emeril Lagasse was someone I really respect because he would cook and bring the food out. Bobby Flay is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known. The way he manages his team and how he rewards with people and deals with people matters. Guy Fieri is fun to hang out with, Ann Berelle is fierce, charismatic, etc.
You might know Susie from: She was on the Next Food Network Star and the AltonBrownCast
Now she has a: Boutique Strategic Firm and Agency
Food Marketing Path and a Celebrity Chef
Food Strategy and Storytelling
Has Foodies been extinguished?
New term: People are Food Connected
Everyone is getting involved in being food connected. It’s the Dad who loves to grill or the two dads who bake. It’s the college kids going out to eat, it’s the lawyers going to culinary food
How Susie started her Strategic Firm: I worked with food network for 16 years, left 2 years
Discovery bought Scripps, corporate shakeup
Susie left but didn’t get any offers, at least the ones she didn’t want. She realized that a lot of brands were trying to get food connected and she wanted to make a firm that was dedicated to connecting brands to food.
On self-branding and connecting: You should focus on your brand. If you’re booked all the time, you won’t have time for those 1 on 1 lunch. It’s important to think about your brand and your company’s brand at the same time.
Background: Sociology at UCLA a great foundation on how people think in groups. My first job was at an ad agency. Went into media, which ended up with me going to Nickelodeon. I’m a strategist at the end of the day.
Use data to extrapolate strategy and let people rock it
Example:
In Food Network, in the day, people liked Stand and Stir, but in the night, they want excitement and competition
An example is Iron Chef. We would market this show as a non-fiction entertainment seeker’s show.
3 shining objects. We would work as a sort of task force. We were looking to promote cooking as a sport.
This includes getting well know chefs to do this as a way to hook them in.
Iron Chef was shot on the 6th floor of Food Network. You have to have every ingredient the chef
Iron Chef as a sport and that ushered into a whole new genre
For Chopped, there are 30 professionally trained chefs in the background. They would use the Chopped Ingredients before the show aired to prove the viability.
How do I become a Celebrity Chef?: First, don’t think of being a celebrity chef.
Think of developing your brand. If you want to develop your brand, you can talk to us.
First, I ask for a video of them creating a dish
Then my partner writes a positioning document
Then we do an hour-long interview (like this?)
I won’t make a show, but I’ll help you make great content
What is your favorite social media platform?: Video. Snapchat, Instagram stories, less is more
musical.ly or Tik Tok– Gen Z app
Crushing It – Gary Vaynerchuk
Someone should get on that for cooking
App: Panna – a collection of cooking videos
Migelo does dumpling
Rick Bayless does mole sauce
Do you need the food network to be successful?: Yes, but it’s more than that. How do you get people to pay for your content?
Number one place for recipes is social media now
Content Strategy
Know your brands: The three shiny objects.
Create good content: That’s well thought through, and for your specific platform
After starting, I’ve learned that the food industry is much bigger than I thought.
Head forager for whole foods was talking to Susie about scaling up. They’ve been making it in small quanitites, but when they scale with copackers, there are a ton of things that can happen
I never thought of design, private equity, everything
Institute of Food Technologist in Chicago
Fancy Food Show
Beverage Conference
NOSH Live
Hippeas
Daily Harvest – Direct to Consumer
Food Trends and Technology
Transparency: How can brands be more forthcoming on the process. A lot of companies are very nervous about being transparent. Small brands get it, big brands are struggling
Wendys looks at Greenhouse Tomatoes
Transparency is hard, but it’s all about storytelling
Food Network has proven that storytelling is the best way to get people interested in food
Ag Tech such as vertical farm and clean fish
Blue Nalu – Clean Fish Company
Impossible and Beyond Meat – lab based protein forward foods
Plenty – vertical farms
Aerofarms – vertical farm
Fancy Food Show: Tyson Ventures has something called Up-Cycle. They take chicken waste and turn it into a chip
Food Waste
When I talk to startups, it’s all about scale. Not everything is organic or not
The Abbott’s Butcher – focuses on flexitarians
Food Network Star – Nikki Dinki – Meat on the side
For plant-based: it has to taste amazing
Taste is King
Portland Flavor Article
Adam talks about sensory science
Do you have any advice for anyone getting into the marketing industry?: The best approach is that I started at an agency. I learned how to start a deck, or how to work with clients
Start with a goal, agree on a strategy, devise the tactics
It’s hard but gives you the best foundation
All companies have a goal
PR is also a great business to be in
Food PR is really smart. You can work in a company, or freelance, etc
Rini Ader
Susie knew a guy who was really good at connecting and connecting with PR agents and that’s how we got Rini
Networking
A La Carte – a roundup
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