Episode 512: Michael Emmanuel of MGT Foods - Jersey Shore, NJ. From Mr. Green Tea to Biddy Bites: A Family Ice Cream Reinvention and Redemption. DO THE WORK. Everybody Eats Ice Cream by the Spoonful.

How does a family-owned business survive the death of its founder, a brutal reality TV takedown, and the sudden loss of its biggest manufacturing contracts, only to reinvent itself as a nine-figure snacking powerhouse? In this fascinating episode of the JUSTIN AND THE [FOOD] ENTREPRENEURS Show, host Justin Bizzarro sits down with Michael Emanuel, the third-generation leader of MGT Foods (formerly Mr. Green Tea). This is a masterclass in resilience, engineering, and the art of the pivot. Michael shares the rich history of his family’s business, which began with his grandfather, a WWII bomber pilot, delivering green tea ice cream to New York City’s burgeoning Japanese restaurant scene in the 1960s. He recounts the lean years when his father drove the delivery trucks himself to keep the legacy alive, and his own decision to leave a Department of Defense engineering job to join the family fold. The conversation dives deep into the turning points that defined the company’s modern era. Michael opens up about their appearance on the reality show The Profit with Marcus Lemonis, which—despite a rocky start—led to the investment that built their first state-of-the-art facility. He details the engineering breakthroughs they pioneered, specifically the Vacuum Form Seal (VFS) technology that revolutionized mochi ice cream manufacturing by eliminating costly stainless steel molds. But the real story is about grit. When COVID-19 decimated their food service business and a massive contract with Yasso evaporated due to a Unilever acquisition, MGT Foods didn't fold. instead, they leveraged their manufacturing innovation to launch Biddy Bites, a clean-label, bite-sized cookie dough ice cream snack that exploded onto shelves at Wawa, Costco, and Trader Joe’s. This episode is packed with lessons on navigating supply chain disasters, the importance of "clean label" ingredients, and why sometimes the best way to grow is to stop waiting for permission and build the solution yourself. It’s an inspiring look at how a legacy brand can stay relevant by combining old-school work ethic with cutting-edge innovation.   IG: @mr_green_tea Address: www.mrgreentea.com    Entrepreneur interested in being on the show: https://calendly.com/justin-bizzarro/podcast   Hosted By: Justin Ryan Bizzarro (IG: @justinbizzarro and LinkedIn: FOLLOW ME )   Who is Justin Ryan Bizzarro? – Justin Bizzarro is a serial food, restaurant, technology, media and marketing entrepreneur, who helped build a 24-year-old group of food and restaurant related businesses, he created with his father and business partners out of his family’s basement, in 1998. He is a highly desired business management, personal and athlete growth, free market, food diversity, and entrepreneurial leadership speaker. Justin’s expertise are in human growth, motivation, leadership and management development, health foods and beverages, global lean manufacturing facilities, vertically integrating businesses, food marketing and advertising, supply chain creation and management, direct to consumer fulfillment, transportation and distribution, personal brand building, restaurant development and construction, and entrepreneur acceleration. Justin received his BA in International Business and Management from Dickinson College, in 2002, and his MBA from University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, in 2014. He is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity in Leadership from Denver Seminary. His leadership and entrepreneur podcasts have positively impacted millions of people across the globe.   Our [ELITE] Food, Farming, Hospitality, Nutrition, and Beverage Entrepreneurs Community: Under [NEW] Construction Blog Anyone?: GorillaBrave Blog On Instagram: GorillaBrave on Instagram GorillaBrave Group on Whoop: COMM-473D96   Free Podcast.  No Advertisements.  The stories of Food, Beverage, Farming, Hospitality, and Nutrition Entrepreneurs and how their failures led to the successes in their lives and in their business.  What does the future have in store for the food, beverage, and nutrition entrepreneur?   JUSTIN AND THE [FOOD] ENTREPRENEURS Email: [email protected] Instagram: @justinandthefoodentrepreneurs ( #foodentrepreneurs )   All music is scored by host or royalty free.