The truth about being a food entrepreneur

The food industry is a wild ride. It's filled with ups and downs and requires a ton of capital and a ton of work. But it's also one of the most rewarding and fulfilling industries to be in. Today, I'm chatting with Alex Messina of Just Soup and Just Sauce. Alex was born into the food business. His father Carmelo, who immigrated to Canada from Sicily, founded Mema Foods in 1989. Alex learned the business from the ground up and, today, operates the company with his brother Gabriel.  Alex came up with the idea for Just Soup and Just Sauce, a new line of ready-to-heat soups and sauces made with simple, premium ingredients and sold in recyclable glass jars.  Today, we get a real, raw, and honest look into what it's like to build a food brand in the grocery space. Here's what we talk about: - Why you need to have capital or get access to capital to scale a CPG brand - Figuring it out and doing whatever it takes - Why you need to pay a premium to get your products on store shelves - Why you should consider private labelling your products - Using social media to build a community behind your brand - How to bounce back after hearing no - The importance of having patience in building your business - Why Alex actually forgot his birthday this year - Why having a mentor can significantly improve your mental health as an entrepreneur Connect with Alex: https://www.instagram.com/justsoupjustsauce/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-messina-9ba49b56/ https://www.mema.ca/ Connect with me: https://www.nicolehaney.com/ https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney https://www.linkedin.com/in/msnicolehaney/