Ep. 217 – How to Commercialize an Invasive Fish with Michael Mitchell, co-founder and CEO of Acari Fish

After the pandemic hit, I started to post in a few food startup groups if they’d like to be interviewed. It was my impulsive way of giving back. My Food Job Rocks now does have a bit of a barrier of entry just because I get so many PR inquiries so this was an opportunity to ask businesses who might not have made it, about what’s going on in their world. So I have a couple of interviews where I talk to businesses that are a bit new and interview them. This is one of them and I learned a ton from this. I think it’s always refreshing interviewing people who’ve just started because the idea of how they started and what resources they use is just so fresh in their heads. Today we have Michael Mitchell, from Acari Fish. This is a bit of a short episode but it brings some interesting perspectives. How do you turn trash into treasure? In this case, Michael shares with me the devil fish of Mexico and how he found an opportunity to turn it into Jerky. Properly named, El Diablito Jerky. I also found it fascinating the global political confusion when it comes to selling catfish products. Enjoy! Sponsor for the Episode: WeStock Grocery is changing daily due to the current environment and we know it is an uncertain time for your brand. At WeStock we are working to help our brand partners continue to grow even now. WeStock streamlines the request process providing your brand with consistent retail leads and gives you the insights needed to grow your business. Learn more at WeStock.io and use promo code MyFoodJobRocks for 25% off your first year. Show Notes El Diablito Jerky Armored Catfish Big Ideas Social Venture Competition Global Social Venture Competition Vietnamese Catfish FDA controls all seafood USDA actually controls catfish How did the pandemic affect your sales?: It canceled sales plans usch as demos but luckily we have a shelf-stable products We're also trying influencer channels: We’re testing keto/gluten-free fitness influencers What advice would you give someone in the CPG industry?: Keep battling. There’s a lot of challenges. The community for the Startup CPG community is extremely well-connected Naturally Network Webinars Acarifrish.com Follow us on Instagram and Canada Article at the end of the episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices