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Transcript
00:00:00 So the US hot sauce market is estimated to be around $1.5 billion as of 2021.
00:00:05 The largest in that business is Tabasco, which is made by McElhenney, a family-owned company.
00:00:10 Second is McCormick, which is publicly traded.
00:00:12 They own Frank's Red Hot and they also own Cholula, which they purchased for $800 million in late 2020.
00:00:19 And then after that, we have Huifang, which is around 9 or 10 percent of the market.
00:00:24 So they're still much smaller than the two biggest players in the market,
00:00:28 but they have grown a lot in the last two decades or so until now.
00:00:32 So Huifang Foods is a company that's best known for its biggest product, sriracha.
00:00:37 They're based in Orindal, California.
00:00:39 They were founded by David Tran, who came to the US as a Vietnamese immigrant in 1979.
00:00:45 And obviously their biggest product is sriracha.
00:00:48 That's what everyone knows them for, the iconic rooster logo on the bottle with the green squeeze cap.
00:00:53 They also have two other products that they make.
00:00:55 One is called sambal oelek, which is very similar to the sriracha hot sauce, but it's not blended.
00:01:02 And then chili garlic, which is very similar, but also without the vinegar and the sugar.
00:01:07 So what's really interesting about Huifang is that, you know, it's never done any direct advertising.
00:01:12 It's only pretty much going through word of mouth.
00:01:14 Initially, its main customers were Chinese-American, Vietnamese-American communities, restaurants, markets in LA and Southern California.
00:01:22 And it's just spread, you know, organically since then.
00:01:26 You can actually sort of see its growth based on the factories that it's had.
00:01:29 It started out with a 2,500 square foot facility in Chinatown.
00:01:33 In 1987, they moved to a much larger one.
00:01:36 Eventually expanded that to around, you know, more than 200,000 square feet.
00:01:39 And then in 2013, they moved to what is now their main facility in Irwindale, east of LA.
00:01:44 That's 650,000 square feet.
00:01:47 They can make up to 18,000 bottles of sriracha an hour.
00:01:50 Sriracha is now everywhere, right?
00:01:52 It's really become a cult product.
00:01:53 And it's a very unique example of a product that has gone from being, I guess, fairly niche initially,
00:02:00 to being so widely used to the point that it's now the third largest hot sauce in the country,
00:02:06 according to market research from IBISWorld.
00:02:09 And it's only behind Tabasco, which has been around since 1868.
00:02:14 And then Frank's Red Hot, which is owned by McCormick, right, a publicly traded spices giant.
00:02:19 So for a company like Huifang that was only founded in 1980 to reach that level,
00:02:24 competing with a company that's got, you know, more than 150 years of history at Tabasco,
00:02:28 and then a, you know, massive publicly traded corporation is really astounding.
00:02:33 So David Tran, he's the founder of Huifang Foods.
00:02:38 He first came to the US in the summer of 1979.
00:02:42 He was born and grew up in Vietnam.
00:02:44 During the Vietnam War, he was in the South Vietnamese army.
00:02:48 He didn't fight, but he was drafted to it like everyone of his age was at the time.
00:02:52 He had actually started producing a hot sauce using the chilies that were grown on his brother's land
00:02:58 in South Vietnam after the war ended.
00:03:01 In 1978, there was a lot of pressure from the communist Vietnamese government on citizens of Chinese origin,
00:03:06 like David Tran and his family, to leave the country.
00:03:09 And so he and his son and his wife, as well as other members of his family,
00:03:14 ended up leaving Vietnam as refugees.
00:03:16 They had to leave on different trawlers.
00:03:19 He left on a freighter called Huifang in December 1978,
00:03:23 which is actually how he got the name of the company eventually.
00:03:25 All that he brought with him was a locket and 100 ounces of gold that he hid in cans of condensed milk
00:03:31 so that they couldn't be taken by the communist authorities.
00:03:35 He landed up in Hong Kong after a brief journey on the freighter.
00:03:40 In Hong Kong, he was at a refugee camp for eight months.
00:03:44 And then in the summer of 1979, he was resettled to Boston.
00:03:48 However, Boston was cold. They didn't really end up liking it that much.
00:03:52 And his brother-in-law had actually resettled to L.A.
00:03:55 He mentioned that he would call his brother-in-law,
00:03:58 and his brother-in-law had told him there were chilies available in the markets in L.A.,
00:04:03 which he was not able to find in Boston.
00:04:06 So they ended up moving to L.A. in January of 1980.
00:04:10 That's when he started looking for freshly grown chilies, jalapenos in local markets in L.A.
00:04:16 He sold some of the gold he had brought with him to open up a 2,500-square-foot factory in Chinatown,
00:04:22 started producing the hot sauce that we now know as sriracha,
00:04:26 which was similar to the recipe he had been making back in Vietnam.
00:04:29 In the first two months of business in 1980, the company brought in $2,300.
00:04:34 And he would actually sell the bottles of hot sauce out of a blue Chevy van,
00:04:39 driving around L.A. to different Vietnamese and Chinese markets to sell it.
00:04:44 So Huifang, I think because it started out as a product that was mainly used by
00:04:53 various types of Asian restaurants and Asian communities in the U.S.,
00:04:56 it sort of grew out organically from those communities and those customers.
00:05:00 It wasn't sort of advertised or pitched to a lot of different places.
00:05:04 It's used by a lot of sushi restaurants around the U.S.
00:05:07 There was actually a study made in 2015 by the NPD Group,
00:05:10 which showed that nearly one in ten households in the U.S. stock sriracha,
00:05:15 and actually higher than that if you look at households with people under the age of 35.
00:05:21 It's also kind of iconic, right? Everyone knows the rooster logo, the squeeze cap.
00:05:26 It's sort of dependable as a very spicy hot sauce you'll find anywhere.
00:05:30 And it's interesting, there was a documentary made in 2013 on sriracha by Griffin Hammond.
00:05:36 He talks to all these people who are big fans, and a lot of people don't even know that sriracha is made in the U.S.
00:05:42 If you look at the bottle, it's written in Vietnamese and Chinese.
00:05:45 People have this idea that it's more authentic because they might believe that it comes from outside the U.S.
00:05:51 It's not, right? It's a product made by David Tran and his family, he's American.
00:05:56 But obviously he came from Vietnam, he started making it in Vietnam.
00:05:59 It has that authenticity and that simple recipe and the ingredients that he's used have never changed.
00:06:05 The recipe's always been the same, and you know what you're getting when you're getting sriracha, right?
00:06:09 It's very identifiable, and they focus on that product, right?
00:06:13 They also have hasan balalek and chili garlic, but they're a much smaller source of revenue for them.
00:06:19 It's really mainly sriracha that they sell, and they're so highly identified with that product.
00:06:24 Over the years, Uyghur has had to deal with some challenges, including some lawsuits, shortages of chilies,
00:06:30 and also counterfeiters that have tried to sell their product illegally.
00:06:34 One of the first ones that sort of got a lot of news coverage was when the city of Irwindale,
00:06:38 which is where their facility is located, sued Huy Fong for basically odors that the factory was emitting.
00:06:46 And this ended up going on for a little while. Huy Fong actually opened up their factory to the whole community.
00:06:51 They started doing factory tours. Eventually the city dropped this lawsuit.
00:06:55 It's interesting, this actually got a lot of coverage around the U.S.
00:06:59 Senator Ted Cruz actually asked Huy Fong if they wanted to move to Texas to get away from Irwindale.
00:07:05 That didn't end up happening. And then another lawsuit that happened was in 2021.
00:07:09 Huy Fong used to have an exclusive chili producer up until a few years ago called Underwood Ranches,
00:07:14 based in California, and they would produce all of the jalapenos that Huy Fong needed.
00:07:19 There was a lawsuit over sort of the agreements that they'd had with Underwood Ranches.
00:07:23 The lawsuit has since concluded. And what's interesting about sort of the production process
00:07:27 is that the chili growing season is pretty short. And so if the harvest goes bad,
00:07:32 that means that they're not going to have enough chilies to produce the sauce for the rest of the year.
00:07:36 And so they had all the production with this one producer.
00:07:39 Now they have multiple producers, I believe in California and in northern Mexico.
00:07:44 So that's in the past now. But that was a major challenge for them in terms of having to deal with that lawsuit
00:07:49 and also on sort of how they were going to get their chili production.
00:07:53 More recently, in 2022, there was a severe chili shortage in the spring.
00:07:59 Huy Fong actually sent out a notice to a lot of their customers saying that it was going to severely impact
00:08:06 their ability to produce any sriracha. And so there's a lot of news articles around the U.S. about the sriracha shortage.
00:08:11 I actually spoke to an analyst who was looking at Nielsen data that showed that sales initially spiked
00:08:16 after this announcement. People were trying to hoard all the sriracha. That's passed now.
00:08:20 They've been able to sort of get back to regular production.
00:08:24 And also the fact now that they have sort of a diversified sourcing for their chilies.
00:08:29 But when there's severe weather events like happened in 2022 and there's only one chili growing season,
00:08:34 that can sort of severely impact how much you're able to produce for the rest of the year.
00:08:39 David Tran, by all accounts, is a very humble person. He is fairly press shy.
00:08:45 He has done a few interviews over the years.
00:08:47 But what's really interesting is one of his main phrases I've seen a lot of that he said to me also over email
00:08:51 is that he's just focused on making a rich man's hot sauce at a poor man's price.
00:08:56 He's not changing the ingredients. He's just trying to keep making the same product and make more of it
00:09:00 as long as more people want it. He's also said in the past that his American dream was never to become a billionaire.
00:09:06 You know, he said in the past that he's received offers over time to buy the company and he's not interested.
00:09:12 He just wants to pass it on to his family and to keep growing it as much as possible.
00:09:15 And that's what's happened over the last 40 plus years that the company's been in business.
00:09:19 Especially the last 20 years, the company's grown so much.
00:09:22 And in some years, even they've grown even by around 20 percent each year.
00:09:27 In some years, it's this phenomenal growth and a very humble backstory.
00:09:31 An immigrant refugee from Vietnam built this company, grew it organically and is not interested in selling it
00:09:37 or bringing out new products or changing the recipe that has brought the company and the family so much success.
00:09:45 Today we're going to be making the Garden Ginger Smash with Martel Blue Swift.
00:09:50 My name is Jane Danger and I'm the National Mixologist for Pernod Ricard North America.
00:09:56 First, we're going to start out with some fresh lemon juice, three quarters parts.
00:10:02 Next, we're going to be using some simple syrup.
00:10:07 And now for the good stuff. We're going to do two parts of the Martel Blue Swift.
00:10:12 I'm going to use some basil today, but whatever you have growing in your garden
00:10:16 or happen to have in the fridge from your last trip to the market.
00:10:20 We're going to ice. Give it a nice quick shake.
00:10:25 Put the drink in first.
00:10:28 Now we're going to top it off with some ginger beer.
00:10:32 We're going to do a nice lemon wheel.
00:10:35 We're going to do one of those basil leaves, give it a smack to open it up and make it smell really nice, fresh, gardeny, beautiful.
00:10:41 And so we have our Garden Ginger Smash.
00:10:44 Hey, Atlanta's home. I've been here over 20 years now.
00:10:49 Moving around like that, I had never just rooted somewhere.
00:10:52 When I got here, almost immediately, I knew this is where I was going to be.
00:10:56 So this is home. My family's from the South, so I'm naturally a Southern bore.
00:11:00 That's those are my roots. But Atlanta is home.
00:11:03 I'm a live and die here. So we've come a long way.
00:11:05 We started with one street side location in downtown Atlanta, an historic district.
00:11:11 We really didn't know that we'd end up in the airport concession space.
00:11:15 We just started opening one restaurant. We worked that business, learned the operations.
00:11:20 And we worked it to the point that it got noticed by other stakeholders around the city that were looking to bring in new entrepreneurs
00:11:25 into the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport.
00:11:28 And the more that we found out about that, the more we became interested in the airport concession space.
00:11:34 And we got an opportunity to partner with one of the companies here across 10 stores in a joint venture.
00:11:39 And we did that and we were successful.
00:11:41 And so since then, we've been growing the business as an airport concessions company.
00:11:45 And we license and franchise brands and we operate them in airports.
00:11:49 Our home base is here in Atlanta. It's never going to change.
00:11:51 They'll never take me out of here alive. But we're also in Texas, we're in Washington, D.C.
00:11:56 And we got a couple of opportunities kind of bubbling up in other markets.
00:12:00 But what we do is a full service food and beverage airport concessions operations company.
00:12:05 That's what we do today.
00:12:06 The airport space is a little bit different in that you got a captive audience.
00:12:11 Right. So foot traffic. So airlines make it easy to bring to have customers because they bring them in to you.
00:12:19 So that was that was one thing. The second thing is that often the airport would say, listen, we want we want a burger place, but we want a national brand.
00:12:26 So then again, we're going to franchise that already established and already have a system that works, which means your rate of failure is a lot lower.
00:12:34 So that was very attractive. Once we started putting those pieces together and seeing how then you could create success, it started making a lot more sense.
00:12:42 And just from a purely business model standpoint, it was something that we felt we could build.
00:12:46 So that's why we kind of kept going with it and continue to go with it.
00:12:50 It's a really high touch business. You know, you know, they have some, for example, tech companies that might be, you know, a billion dollar valuation company.
00:12:58 It'd be like 20 people, you know, in a basement somewhere running it.
00:13:03 Like to make this shake shack work. I have 40 employees on any given day to get to sell burgers, fries, waters and Coca-Cola.
00:13:13 So there are a lot of moving parts that go into this business, which means you've got to have really, really tight management and controls on everything because there are just a lot of moving parts.
00:13:24 So that was the biggest surprise to me is you really it's management intensive, which means it's people intensive and you really got to have that account for.
00:13:31 One of the things I enjoy the most is watching someone come into the business that might start as like a cashier and you fast forward and they're running multiple stores as a gentleman.
00:13:41 I mean, seeing the like personal and professional growth, I think is a real gift for me.
00:13:47 So I very much enjoyed that. Another positive surprise is that there's really you hear this all the time, but there's really no magic to it.
00:13:56 Like people, people that have created success that we think are some kind of special, they got some kind of, you know, genius.
00:14:03 But they really don't. It's folks that have leaned in and just done the work and taken the time to study and figure it out.
00:14:09 So the positive surprise is that it is true that it's all possible.
00:14:13 Like if you if you lean in, if you apply yourself, you really can get to where these other folks have got.
00:14:18 It's not it's not a it's not a mystery about it.
00:14:25 I'm a big fan of franchises. So franchises are businesses that have been around for a while, that have developed to track records, have developed a playbook, develop the system, develop the training.
00:14:37 And they give you that and tell you to copy and paste this and just do this.
00:14:41 And what that does is take all the guesswork out of figuring out how to operate a successful restaurant.
00:14:46 When we first got started, we had this this idea to build a restaurant and have a bar and figure out a menu.
00:14:52 And all of it was we were doing it from scratch. So as we opened and operated, we we caught a lot of lumps.
00:14:58 We made a lot of mistakes because we didn't know what we were doing. Well, franchises eliminate all of that.
00:15:03 So now if the airport says to me, hey, H&H Hospitality, we want a new burger place, we'll go find the best burger place we can and take their playbook and just press play.
00:15:13 And that's the magic of franchising.
00:15:21 Undergrad was management information systems. I'm a little older, so this is when the Internet and all that was kind of kind of popping.
00:15:28 So we want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of that. So I got into management for the business side, but also information systems for the IT side.
00:15:36 And then I stayed and got my MBA in microeconomics. I didn't use any of it.
00:15:40 I came out with a corporate America, worked for a big Fortune 100 company and consumer packaged goods.
00:15:46 I did some sales and category analytics and some branding, realized that corporate America just wasn't for me.
00:15:53 I'm just not designed to work for anybody else. And but while I was in corporate America, I was also investing in real estate.
00:15:59 And this is when the market was really good. 2005, 2006, it wasn't hard to buy low and sell high.
00:16:05 And I had done that enough to put some money aside and left corporate America.
00:16:11 And before I blew all my money, just being, you know, single and out in Atlanta, I figured I wanted to invest in a business.
00:16:19 And me and my business partner, because we spent so much time in restaurants and lounges, we thought we could do it ourselves.
00:16:26 So we pulled our money and decided we would open up our first restaurant business.
00:16:30 Between he and I, the savings we had, the real estate kind of investments that I made that worked.
00:16:36 And he was working on Wall Street. We put down half a million dollars in the first business.
00:16:40 Wow, I would never do that again. It was it was a restaurant downtown Atlanta.
00:16:46 It's owned by another group. Now we sold it when we got to the airport to capitalize on ourself.
00:16:50 But, yeah, we we went and we put a half million dollars into opening this shell of a of a location.
00:16:57 Had nothing in it. Red clay floors, cinder block walls and built it from scratch, which I would not do again.
00:17:03 I just absolutely would do it again. So my dad was in the military.
00:17:12 My mom, because of how much we moved, didn't really establish a career.
00:17:16 So most of the time she was taking care of us, me and my brother.
00:17:19 Now, mostly a stay at home mom. My dad being in the military.
00:17:23 I mean, I learned a lot about discipline and structure. I mean, he just you know, it was we did things a certain way.
00:17:29 We prided ourselves on a certain level of standards. I think I took that with me. Also moving around a lot.
00:17:34 Adaptability. I mean, moving from, you know, north to south, to east to west.
00:17:40 I mean, I had to learn different cultures, different ways of kind of mixing in with different communities.
00:17:44 So I learned I learned that a lot. My mom taught me, like always being there, knowing that home was a solid place.
00:17:52 Taught me the value of stability and security in that regard. So I feel like I got a good blend for both of them.
00:18:00 I just knew that I wanted to own a business because somewhere along the way,
00:18:05 it seemed like the people that own businesses had more wealth, had more access to opportunity, had more access in general.
00:18:12 And something about that was alluring to me. I didn't know that I'd be in restaurants.
00:18:17 It was more so about business and becoming an employer and being able to build something I could either pass down or lift people up with.
00:18:24 Restaurants kind of what we landed on. There is no regular day as CEO in this business.
00:18:31 I would start with that. But I'll tell you, for example, like the way I start my week, my Mondays.
00:18:36 So on a good day, I'll get up at five o'clock. I'm in the gym by five, 45, six, workout for an hour.
00:18:42 I come back to my home. I meditate, I shower, meditate, journal.
00:18:47 And that kind of primes my mind to take on the day. Then my assistant will run down my schedule for the week.
00:18:54 Like every so I can just kind of get ahead of what's coming.
00:18:57 And then I'll often either have meetings or calls or some some desk work or contracts I have to review.
00:19:03 Then I will have a team meeting where my my leadership team gets together.
00:19:07 We go over the numbers of our stores. We go over the high priority items.
00:19:11 What do we want to accomplish this week? What are we setting out to do in the next month?
00:19:14 And we'll do that kind of run through everything we have on our plate and then give the marching orders on what we're going to do going forward.
00:19:22 And then everybody kind of break and handle their responsibility.
00:19:25 And then beyond that, if I'm working on a deal or a new contract, I will handle that.
00:19:30 So it just kind of depends. But a lot of what I focus on outside of just making sure that we're hitting all the things we need to hit as a business and operations is focused on how I can grow.
00:19:40 Where where is the next opportunity? How do we get to it?
00:19:50 The best advice that I have gotten and never took was to work in someone else's restaurant for 30 days.
00:19:58 Like if you want to get in this business, just like anything, you really got to understand it.
00:20:02 And the first thing I would do is get into a restaurant and work in every position to understand on the ground level what you're getting into.
00:20:10 That's the first thing. Like do your homework, know what you're doing when you get in and start that process by getting into a restaurant and working.
00:20:17 I had no experience when I jumped out and it showed by how many mistakes were made and how many extra expenses we had and all that.
00:20:23 And the second thing is I would highly, highly, highly encourage the franchise route.
00:20:28 Again, these are proven business models. They've already figured out what works and what doesn't.
00:20:34 You save yourself a lot of headache by going that route. Just a quick stat.
00:20:38 So the SBA says that over five years, 65 percent of new businesses fail where franchises over the same time period have a 90 percent success rate.
00:20:49 So I can't stress going around and getting a proven business will save a lot of headache and increase the likelihood of success.
00:20:56 I'll say those two things. I do your homework, get in on the ground level, figure out what it takes to run a business and then borrow from other folks.
00:21:03 Some of the greatest successes are just copycats of something that's already been here.
00:21:06 I think one of the things that Atlanta is known for, not just the airport, the city, is making sure that we have minority participation, female participation.
00:21:16 So without giving too much of a history lesson, our first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, came in and said, if anybody wants to do business with this city, 25 percent of the business opportunity has to go to black folks.
00:21:28 Which was like revolutionary at that point. And that kind of set the precedent for other cities and states across the country doing the same thing.
00:21:37 And so what that means is that, you know, big players, whether it's, you know, multinational companies, multi-billion dollar companies, when they consider doing business with this city,
00:21:47 they have to be thinking of the community and the business owners they're in and inviting them to the table.
00:21:53 And if not, and sometimes it's us that's inviting the major players to the table.
00:21:58 What it does is give us a voice and give us real leverage in the economic pie here in this city.
00:22:04 And that is critically important. You talk about the great kind of equalizer in terms of opportunity, access, resources, all of that.
00:22:13 A lot of it has to do with economics. So when Atlanta is a city that says here in this town, everybody's going to have a seat,
00:22:21 it makes for different opportunity for everybody. It makes for different access for everybody, different possibilities for everybody.
00:22:26 So it's really, really special. We are a cultural center. I feel like a cultural export for the country in a lot of ways that's built on what black folks produce.
00:22:35 I think that's kind of unique. But I do think, to your question, that having that level of intentionality around how we are dividing up this economic pie is critical.
00:22:46 And it means that there's opportunity for folks like me, like on purpose.
00:22:52 And it also creates a greater likelihood that we'll be reaching back to folks like me that was where I was, say, 20 years ago and continuing that legacy.
00:23:02 So it is pretty critical. I don't know that it's everything, but it is a center point of why Atlanta is so special to me.
00:23:10 [Music]
00:23:25 Some people are just about a culinary experience. Some restaurants that want a certain atmospheric or environmental experience.
00:23:34 Like you go in there and there's a certain kind of energy about it. Some people want to go because they want to feel like they're getting good value.
00:23:41 But I think at the end of the day, operations have to be tight and you've got to be people-centric. You've got to be people-centric.
00:23:48 And if you're doing that and providing good food for what people are paying for, whether it's top notch, high end, or just kind of middle of the road, but it's quality,
00:23:57 I think you'll have a good combination for success.
00:23:59 I'm here for the BLK Summit. Know that this is the busiest airport in the world. Like, know that. That's what we do here.
00:24:06 I think a cool fact, and it's nothing to be baffled about or back away from, is that, you know, black people run this airport.
00:24:15 And I think that means something in terms of what is possible just within our community.
00:24:21 And it's not to say that that should be the case, has to be the case everywhere, but I think it's unique to Atlanta.
00:24:26 And I think that's something to kind of take note. And then we've got the best food and beverage program and operators, you know, in the country here.
00:24:33 So walk around, check out the sites, try some of our foods, enjoy it, and then get out into the city and see what we're about.
00:24:40 I'm Chris Montero. I'm the executive chef and general manager of the Napoleon House Bar and Restaurant.
00:24:45 And I'm here today to make one of our original classic Pimms Cups cocktails.
00:24:50 So a Pimms Cup is a cocktail made with Pimms No. 1. Pimms No. 1 is a low alcohol aperitif or a cordial, if you will, that is a derivative of gin, a gin-based aperitif.
00:25:09 And it is served traditionally with lemon juice or lemonade and topped with some sort of lemon-lime soda.
00:25:18 Here at Napoleon House, we make it the old-fashioned way, along with several variations of it.
00:25:24 And I'm going to make one for you here today.
00:25:26 So we start with traditionally a Collins glass, a tall, thin glass, and of course, lots of ice.
00:25:34 This is most enjoyed both here and in London during the summer, during the hot months. We sell it, of course, year-round.
00:25:45 We make a fresh, homemade lemonade, slightly sweetened with fresh lemon juice.
00:25:50 And this is Pimms No. 1. And we use equal portions of Pimms and lemon.
00:25:56 Leave a little room at the top there.
00:25:58 After equal parts of lemonade and Pimms, we finish it with a lemon-lime soda.
00:26:05 This can be done with ginger beer, with any type of soda that incorporates a lemon or a citrus flavor.
00:26:15 We use Sprite here at the Napoleon House.
00:26:17 It's garnished with a cucumber, sometimes in a long spear, sometimes in with a straw.
00:26:23 To this day, people come from all over the world to enjoy Pimms cups.
00:26:27 The one we make is the original, old-fashioned version, very simple and straightforward.
00:26:33 It's very light and refreshing, great for the summertime heat.
00:26:36 But you can find a Pimms cup in many variations in different bars.
00:26:41 Contemporary Pimms cups often incorporate gin, a higher alcohol, actual gin.
00:26:46 And many times, lots of different ingredients like fresh fruits and candied fruits and so on.
00:26:54 But we like to stick primarily with the old-fashioned version that we've been selling here for nearly 100, upwards of 80 years.
00:27:02 And we love them. And cheers, a Pimms cup.
00:27:07 Subway was founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck.
00:27:29 Fred DeLuca was then a 17-year-old aspiring medical student.
00:27:34 And he went to his family friend Peter Buck, who was a working nuclear physicist, and asked him for advice on how to pay for college.
00:27:41 The two of them opened in 1965 the first location of Subway, which was then called Pete's Super Submarines.
00:27:49 We've always known that Subway was a cash cow.
00:27:53 Fred and Peter both debuted on Forbes' billionaire's rankings in 2004 with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion each.
00:28:03 But there's a lot of questions about their wealth.
00:28:06 And we think that potentially there's billions of dollars that we didn't know about over the years.
00:28:12 One clue to that was a 2017 deposition by Fred DeLuca's personal banker, which gave some rare insight into their fortunes.
00:28:21 She claimed that Fred DeLuca was pocketing about $7 million in royalties each week in the early 2000s.
00:28:28 And that wasn't even at the peak of Subway's sales.
00:28:31 Subway switched to a franchise model about 10 years after the first Subway Sandwiches location opened.
00:28:39 And from there, it really experienced very quick growth.
00:28:43 By 1988, they had 2,000 locations across the U.S.
00:28:47 Subway's revenue peaked in 2012 at $18 billion, but has been on the decline since 2015,
00:28:55 which was the first year that Subway closed more locations than it opened.
00:28:59 Number one, they began to reach their point of no return in the United States,
00:29:09 that they had too many Subways on too many street corners.
00:29:13 And the number of stores just exceeded the demand.
00:29:17 Number two, Subway had spent the prior 15 years not developing new products and just simply discounting their products.
00:29:27 And every marketing professor and restaurant professional will tell you that if that's all you've got, you're cheapening your brand.
00:29:36 Both of the founding families of Subway are very private.
00:29:40 And for a while after they died, Fred died in 2015 from leukemia, and then Peter Buck died at the end of 2021.
00:29:48 We didn't know what happened to Subway.
00:29:51 But we recently learned what happened to half of the fortune when the foundation started by Peter Buck,
00:29:58 announced that in his will, he had left instructions to give his half of Subway to the foundation,
00:30:04 which then spends tens of millions of dollars helping charitable causes like in spending journalism,
00:30:10 land conservation efforts, and also causes in his local Danbury, Connecticut.
00:30:16 As for the other half owned by Fred DeLuca, the family has not confirmed with us what happened to that half of the company.
00:30:24 Although there are a lot of signs pointing to the fact that it was inherited by his widow, Elizabeth DeLuca.
00:30:30 Since his death, Elizabeth DeLuca has given hundreds of millions of dollars to charity from herself.
00:30:36 So that signals that the royalties that were previously earned by Fred have been redirected to Elizabeth.
00:30:43 The DeLuca family, through multiple attempts, did not respond to a request for comment.
00:30:56 So the announcement of the gift comes as Subway confirmed that it is considering options for sale.
00:31:01 The Wall Street Journal reported that the price could be as much as $10 billion for Subway.
00:31:07 The timing of this gift means that Peter Buck's heirs avoid a pretty hefty tax bill.
00:31:13 If he didn't donate his half of the company to the foundation,
00:31:18 then his estate would owe 40% estate tax on the fair market value of Subway upon his death.
00:31:26 In 2018, Peter Buck was engaged in a legal battle with the IRS
00:31:33 over his gifting of some of his land that he had accumulated in the North Maine woods to his two sons.
00:31:41 Peter Buck started buying timberland in Maine in 2007,
00:31:46 and during his lifetime became one of the largest landowners in the state with over 1.3 million acres of timberland.
00:31:53 So he gifted some of that to his sons at a discount from what he paid for it,
00:31:57 and then got penalized by the IRS.
00:32:00 And he saved millions of dollars on taxes by doing that.
00:32:04 It seems that the family still owns this land.
00:32:08 His two sons likely own the land, which is valued anywhere from $300 million to $1 billion,
00:32:14 and that doesn't appear to have been included in the gift to the foundation from earlier this year.
00:32:22 The Buck family, through their representatives, did not respond to a request for comment.
00:32:28 Peter Buck was long charitable.
00:32:41 We calculated that he had given away more than $500 million before his death to his foundation.
00:32:49 As for Fred DeLuca, there was less charitable giving before his death in 2015,
00:32:54 but since his death, his widow, Elizabeth, has been giving away money at a very fast rate.
00:33:01 She's given away more than $400 million, according to an analysis of public documents,
00:33:07 and that doesn't include gifts made in 2021 or 2022, as the filings haven't been made available yet.
00:33:14 She's given more than $400 million to the Fred DeLuca Foundation since his death in just a few years.
00:33:21 She also incorporated her own foundation, the Elizabeth DeLuca Foundation, in 2020.
00:33:27 I spoke with one woman who runs a nonprofit that received a donation from the DeLuca Foundation in 2021,
00:33:35 and she described them as very purposeful in their giving.
00:33:39 "You actually can't apply for a grant from them like you can from any other foundations,
00:33:44 and instead they come to you," is what this person said.
00:33:47 And they're known to have a big impact, targeting the people who need help the most in some local communities in Florida.
00:33:55 As for the Bucks, Peter Buck has a lasting legacy in Danbury, Connecticut, where he spent the later years of his life.
00:34:02 According to somebody I spoke with, he helped transform the city, which has a population of about 90,000 people,
00:34:09 and he was just very generous. They're both described to be very generous people.
00:34:15 Since 2015 and 2016, when Subway's revenue started declining and the location started closing,
00:34:23 it's been tough to run a Subway franchise, according to the franchisees.
00:34:28 In 2021, a group of over 100 franchisees wrote a letter to Elizabeth DeLuca
00:34:34 outlining a whole host of issues with the ownership of Subway that they alleged was making their jobs a nightmare, in their own words.
00:34:49 Their average store revenues went up and down like a ladder, somewhere in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, okay?
00:34:59 And that's very hard to make any money on.
00:35:02 The other sandwich sector competitors, Jersey Mike's, Firehouse Subs, they are all running in the $800,000 to $1 million range.
00:35:14 And that hurts, you know, because you can make money at $800,000 or $1 million per shop sale,
00:35:21 but at $400,000 to $500,000, it's very difficult.
00:35:26 Mr. Chidsey has noted in interviews that what they want to do is they want to consolidate out and kind of drive out,
00:35:35 force out the smaller franchisees, the mom and pops, if you will.
00:35:41 This is not a surprise.
00:35:44 They have been trying for the last couple of years to try to find bigger franchisee operators to come in and take over whole states of franchisees.
00:35:57 The issue is that the store level profit has to be higher for these bigger franchisee groups to be interested in coming over and taking over blocks of Subway.
00:36:11 And so the charitable donations have some Subway franchisees kind of annoyed.
00:36:17 I spoke with one who said that, you know, the owners get to look good on the backs of the Subway franchisees who have been struggling,
00:36:25 who have lost their businesses in recent years, and that really those profits should be more in their pockets than in the owners' pockets.
00:36:32 That's something that has been exacerbated as the sale nears.
00:36:36 Subway responded to questions from Forbes and said that it is improving its relationship with its franchisees,
00:36:45 that has made multiple steps to do so over the past few years,
00:36:49 and that it needs a good relationship with its franchisees to thrive and is doing everything it can to do that.
00:36:57 [Music]
00:37:07 What's up, y'all? McClane Hedges here from Yacht Club in Denver, Colorado.
00:37:11 I'm making a cocktail today that I feel like is pretty well known around the world in homes, as bars.
00:37:18 We all love to make them. We all love to drink them.
00:37:21 But we're kind of looking at an opportunity to maybe stretch it out and enjoy a little more of them.
00:37:25 So this is a Vesper cocktail, but reimagined as a highball.
00:37:30 And this is one in our bar that we serve, probably one of our top three cocktails that we serve on the menu.
00:37:35 And it's something I love to make it. It's very simple for both us and fast volume service,
00:37:41 but also just something that is very simple to make at home, something very, very delicious and super classic.
00:37:47 The idea behind the Vesper, splitting up vodka and gin a little bit, adding some Lillet,
00:37:53 making a martini out of that, the classic Bond drink, something debated between shaking and stirring.
00:38:00 And we said we'd just kind of cut all of that out and just add some soda water and do it as a highball instead.
00:38:05 We're taking the classic recipe and not maybe making it as traditionally.
00:38:09 A little bit of sugar, just as that water comes in, you need something to balance it out and give a little bit of palate.
00:38:14 We're also adding a touch of Bourjou for acidity.
00:38:19 We want all of the notes of a great balance cocktail to happen.
00:38:23 And one very short. I shouldn't say short. I should say tall cocktail.
00:38:30 So a little bit of Bourjou, a little bit of sugar and then the classic ingredients of that Vesper.
00:38:37 So we like to bring a little fortified wine into the mix.
00:38:41 Vodka, we've got a half ounce of vodka in there.
00:38:44 Vodka of choice today is Kettle One, but anything you got on hand will work.
00:38:50 Ford's Gin, our house favorite at the bar and just one that I think hits all the right notes that you're looking for.
00:38:57 Big citrus pop, a lot of juniper, good strength behind it.
00:39:01 We do an ounce of gin in this cocktail as well.
00:39:05 Again, no shaking, no stirring, none of that needed in this.
00:39:08 We're going to add maybe two ounces of soda water, two and a half.
00:39:16 Fill this glass up, kind of let it do its thing.
00:39:19 We want to make sure we have enough ice in there to kind of get full glass worth.
00:39:27 And then a big lemon twist over the top, more for aromatics, something refreshing again.
00:39:34 Transport your mind somewhere and just know that you're going to enjoy something classic but refreshing.
00:39:42 Ayesha Khare, thank you so much for being here.
00:39:56 Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
00:39:59 It's like we're in Abu Dhabi.
00:40:00 We're in Abu Dhabi. You're an under 30 alum. You made the list in 2018.
00:40:04 A lot has happened since you made the list. Can you tick through 30 seconds greatest hits?
00:40:08 Oh my goodness. This is great because I've never taken the opportunity I think to step back and think about it.
00:40:13 But I opened a second restaurant location in Las Vegas, had a second cookbook come out, started my brand Sweet July.
00:40:28 My husband and I launched our foundation, finally Eat, Learn, Play.
00:40:32 And we started a magazine publication with Sweet July.
00:40:38 And now we have a media publication with our Sweet July books and our production company.
00:40:45 And so just like so many platforms to tell people's stories.
00:40:48 So I think that's been like the most exciting thing coming off of the joy of making that Forbes 30 under 30 in 2018.
00:40:58 You have a very distinct brand within the food industry, within the food market.
00:41:03 It is a crowded space. There are a lot of people trying to do what you do.
00:41:06 How do you carve out a niche for yourself?
00:41:08 You know what's so interesting? I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones because I started a decade now ago.
00:41:15 And at the time I feel like there really wasn't much representation.
00:41:20 And so I was able to fill that space that was there to sort of I feel like pave the way for other people like me.
00:41:31 And so I feel like for me it's just been about being authentic, coming from an authentic place.
00:41:37 And really from a food space leaning into where I'm at at that moment with my family.
00:41:43 And so like what's working for me right then and what's not.
00:41:47 And then sharing that with my little world. And I feel like that's worked for me.
00:41:52 So it's really just Aisha. That's the secret.
00:41:56 Yeah, I guess so.
00:41:58 You have written one of my go-to weeknight recipes.
00:42:01 It's a sheet pan dinner. It's chicken. It's chickpeas. It's tomatoes. It's a spice rub.
00:42:06 Not to get too deep into the food science, but is the recipe creation process for you also tapping into your inner Aisha and your authenticity?
00:42:15 How did you come up with that?
00:42:17 Yes, absolutely. I feel like that is my creative niche.
00:42:20 That's where I get to flex those creative skills and kind of free my mind a little bit.
00:42:25 And so for me it could be something as simple as going to the farmer's market on a Wednesday morning
00:42:31 and seeing what's in season and what's fresh and taking what's the most beautiful of bounty at that time
00:42:39 and being like, "Okay, we're going to try and figure out something with this."
00:42:42 Or realizing the past two weeks have been crazy with the family and we didn't cook very much.
00:42:50 And I want to change that.
00:42:52 And so how can I come up with 15-minute recipes that are going to make the next two weeks easy for me?
00:42:59 So it just, again, comes from a place of authenticity and filling the gap of what I need in that moment.
00:43:06 Your recipes are good for that. I go through those periods too.
00:43:09 And it's when you can cook for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, it sometimes restarts the creative juices.
00:43:14 Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:43:16 I want to switch to your foundation because that's something relatively new.
00:43:19 Tell us about Eat, Learn, Play.
00:43:23 So my husband, Stephan, and I launched Eat, Learn, Play in July of 2019.
00:43:29 So right before the pandemic hit.
00:43:32 And we were such a baby of a foundation, still are, but we had to act quickly once the pandemic hit.
00:43:40 Our focus is on the full child.
00:43:44 And that comes down to nutrition, quality education, and safe places to play.
00:43:50 And we focus on kids in the Oakland community because there's huge disparities there.
00:43:55 And so for us, we had to be boots on the ground and figure out how to show up for people very quickly during the pandemic.
00:44:03 And we quickly realized that there was a huge gap when it came to nutrition.
00:44:10 And so we were able to partner with people throughout the community, with restaurants throughout the community,
00:44:16 with organizations that were doing amazing work already like World Central Kitchen and feed the community during that time.
00:44:23 But what we found during that time was that there was this whole ecosystem that could exist to uplift the community
00:44:31 and get restaurants back open, get people back working and still feed the community in turn.
00:44:37 And I feel like we were able to come up with a really great model that other organizations are now using.
00:44:43 So that was exciting for us. But yes, eat, learn, play, focus on access to quality education, quality nutrition, and safe places to play for kids.
00:44:53 What is the connection between nutrition and education? And I guess that could be a college thesis.
00:44:59 So what's your 30 second?
00:45:00 Absolutely. That's what I'm like, where do I begin?
00:45:02 What's the elevator pitch for why people should be thinking about those two issues in tangent?
00:45:07 If you're hungry and you're not well fed and your brain and your body aren't nourished,
00:45:11 you don't have the ability to function and learn in class. And so the two go hand in hand.
00:45:16 You can't have one without the other. And so, you know, when it comes to nutrition and education,
00:45:22 they just they're their sisters and one isn't going to work without the other.
00:45:27 And you've I don't have all the numbers at the top of my head,
00:45:31 but tens of thousands of meals have been donated through eat, learn, play. You've affected many, many people.
00:45:38 What's next? So for us right now, we've really leaned into activating our learn pillar,
00:45:45 specifically with a focus and an emphasis on literacy and reading.
00:45:51 You know, in the Oakland community, only 20 percent of public schools have a library for kids to access books.
00:45:59 So for us, we've been working with Littletown libraries to put 150 small libraries across the community
00:46:05 so that kids have access to free books anytime they want, because just like food,
00:46:11 if you know, literacy is at the forefront of determining somebody's entire future.
00:46:16 So for us, that's our focus right now. You're doing a lot.
00:46:21 We've talked about cookbooks, restaurants, foundations. It's been five years since you made the under 30 list.
00:46:26 If we talk in another five years, what do you want to tell me you've accomplished?
00:46:30 Oh, my goodness. I think for me, you know, eat, learn, play is really, you know,
00:46:35 at the forefront of my passion and what I want to be the most important work that I do.
00:46:43 And so for me, I would love to see the numbers just shift.
00:46:47 And I would love to, you know, uplift the community and the kids in the Oakland community
00:46:52 and just see more kids going to college and thriving, or whether it's just vocational skills
00:46:58 and they're going into the workplace just to help, you know, foray these kids into having a great life,
00:47:04 I think would be the most important for me.
00:47:07 So I think that also means, you know, advocating for more policy change on a bigger level.
00:47:15 So I'd love to see things shift in that sense.
00:47:18 I'd like to see that, too. I look forward to your report.
00:47:20 Aisha, thank you so much.
00:47:22 Thank you so much.
00:47:23 We're going to start with an absolute delicious cocktail, the Hendrix Salted Cucumber Gimlet.
00:47:29 We'll start here. We're going to chill our glass.
00:47:36 I'm going to take a few slices of cucumber, come back here with a little bit of salt,
00:47:42 a tiny bit of ice, two parts Hendrix gin, three quarters of a part of simple syrup,
00:47:53 some fresh lime juice. We want about one part of this.
00:47:59 Add a little more ice.
00:48:01 Let me shake.
00:48:05 I'm going to do a double strain here.
00:48:09 We're going to come back with a very simple garnish. Again, cucumber in the gin.
00:48:14 Cucumber as a garnish. Just like that, we have our Salted Cucumber Gimlet with Hendrix.
00:48:20 No one grows up thinking, "I want to be a great non-alcoholic beer producer."
00:48:26 Non-alcoholic beer had never really crossed my mind as any sort of thing that would be a big part of my life
00:48:31 prior to being in the business of non-alcoholic beer itself.
00:48:35 My lifestyle was an intense one. I've never been someone to go slow at anything I do,
00:48:41 but it was wake up early, work out, very intense day job in the financial world
00:48:46 in one of the most intellectually challenging environments there is at Point 72.
00:48:50 And then go out to work dinners, really burning the candles at both ends,
00:48:54 and wake up and do it again the next day.
00:48:56 It was everything about high performance in my workouts, my job, and everything I do.
00:49:02 [music]
00:49:06 I grew up, as most people did, with all the jokes around the existing category and why would you drink it,
00:49:12 kind of the decaf coffee jokes.
00:49:14 It wasn't until I was living this high performance modern life that it occurred to me.
00:49:18 Beer and adult beverages in general have not adapted to the modern lifestyle,
00:49:22 and there was an enormous gap here.
00:49:24 About only 50% of adults consume alcohol on a regular basis.
00:49:28 And the breadth of non-alcoholic options at on and off premise places for high performing adults
00:49:34 was super limited.
00:49:35 And that struck me, and once the wheels started turning, I couldn't turn it off.
00:49:39 Because I was drinking five or six nights a week, not in huge amounts most of the time,
00:49:44 I assumed everyone drank with regularity every time they went out to a bar, restaurant, anything.
00:49:49 And it took me stepping away from drinking for performance lifestyle reasons,
00:49:53 to realize that not that many people actually consume a lot of alcohol with regularity.
00:49:57 It's actually a very small percentage of the population that consumes a majority of the alcohol.
00:50:01 So as I was in these places, bars and restaurants, and in pain looking for better options,
00:50:07 I realized that there were a lot of people like me.
00:50:09 And it didn't start out as I was researching a business idea,
00:50:14 and I didn't necessarily know I was going to do this,
00:50:16 but it became a passion that I just couldn't turn off.
00:50:18 Before I knew it, I was working on it nights and weekends,
00:50:20 waking up at four in the morning before I went to work.
00:50:22 I found myself in a spreadsheet working on the business plan on Saturday,
00:50:25 when it wasn't even my full time job.
00:50:27 And that's kind of when I knew that this was something I was really passionate about
00:50:31 for the first time in my life.
00:50:33 I expected when I started talking about non-alcoholic beer,
00:50:37 all my friends, family, and colleagues would think I was absolutely insane.
00:50:40 And they were all like, "Yeah, if it tastes like beer, it's probably not alcohol."
00:50:44 And that's when I was like, "Whoa."
00:50:46 If there were better options, I think almost everyone would drink a great non-alcoholic option
00:50:51 with some regularity.
00:50:52 And then I started running actual surveys and got big data behind that.
00:50:55 The non-alcoholic beer market in 2016 and '17 was 0.3% of the overall beer market in the US.
00:51:02 But as I ran surveys of thousands of people,
00:51:04 55% plus would say they would drink great non-alcoholic beer.
00:51:08 And I was like, "Wow, that's crazy."
00:51:10 And I ran surveys of thousands of people, 55% plus would say they would drink great non-alcoholic beer
00:51:15 with regularity if it didn't come with the bad taste and the stigmas attached to it.
00:51:19 But then when you talk to people in the industry, everyone would very nicely say,
00:51:22 "Hey, be really careful how much you invest here.
00:51:25 There's no demand for it.
00:51:27 There's no evidence that this is going to be a thing."
00:51:30 And I think it just wasn't a thing because there wasn't great options that got people excited.
00:51:36 I teamed up with an incredible co-founder of Brewmaster in John.
00:51:40 And he was by far the most talented person who had ever turned his attention on this category before.
00:51:44 John had won every alcoholic craft beer award under the sun.
00:51:48 And we started brewing at super small scale on Gatorade jugs,
00:51:52 just making tweaks, dialing in that process,
00:51:54 and getting the real award-winning craft beer that just happened to be non-alcoholic.
00:51:58 The first batches were kind of fun and kind of terrifying.
00:52:02 I had been brewing for seven years at that time,
00:52:04 but we really had to deconstruct brewing as it was
00:52:08 and think about the ingredients in a much different way.
00:52:11 And so it was the first time I had experienced those same ingredients in a different format.
00:52:16 And so it was a great learning process for me as a brewer.
00:52:19 So really I was starting from scratch.
00:52:21 It really started with the product at a super small scale, hundreds of trials,
00:52:26 and then the same kind of grassroots attention out in the world.
00:52:29 We went door to door, taste testing retailers,
00:52:32 meeting people at finish lines or races when they were sweaty and having a good time,
00:52:35 putting a non-alcoholic beer in their hand and telling them a little bit about it.
00:52:38 I think we created thousands and thousands of super fans face-to-face that first summer.
00:52:43 And then we just have kept doing that, building our community authentically,
00:52:46 talking to people, getting people excited along the whole way.
00:52:49 The biggest difference between brewing traditional and non-alcoholic beer is food safety,
00:52:55 primarily because you don't have ethanol as a preservative.
00:52:58 And we want to create a shelf-stable product that will be good for six months or a year.
00:53:02 And in order to do that without a preservative,
00:53:05 you have to be really careful about your entire process through and through
00:53:09 until it's a finished product in a can and pasteurized.
00:53:12 What makes us unique and not unique at all at the same time is that we don't ever remove the alcohol.
00:53:18 So we don't require that single unit, that single machine that strips everything out.
00:53:23 We brew a beer that is fully fermented to under 0.5 percent,
00:53:27 so we don't have to add a step. We don't have to remove anything or add anything back.
00:53:31 It's a really exciting time for Athletic as we take on Kerg Dr. Pepper as a new partner.
00:53:42 They led our Series D with a recent investment.
00:53:45 In that, we're getting a really scaled partner who operates at the biggest of the beverage industry
00:53:49 and a great advisor in our corner.
00:53:51 Building a manufacturing business is expensive.
00:53:53 We've built two of the biggest non-alcoholic beer breweries in the world in Connecticut and California.
00:53:58 And that investment allows us to get those facilities up and running profitably
00:54:03 and puts us on a really good sustainable financial future for all of our teammates.
00:54:07 Being commercial hasn't always been cool in the beer industry,
00:54:11 but from John and I's perspective, there's nothing cooler than providing great jobs,
00:54:15 great opportunity for teammates, and that comes with financial stability, especially in this economy.
00:54:20 One of the biggest learnings I found in developing Athletic and our brewing process
00:54:25 was that it wasn't alcohol I was after, it was all the ingredients.
00:54:29 And if we can just find a way to showcase those same ingredients in a different format,
00:54:33 people are going to like it just the same.
00:54:35 Humans have been drinking beer for 5,000 years,
00:54:38 and we think it's got a really important place in society.
00:54:40 And so we wanted to give people options that fit their life anywhere, anytime,
00:54:44 no matter what their preference is.
00:54:46 By giving people the full social and taste experience of drinking beer without the alcohol,
00:54:52 it just allows us to take beer where it's never gone before.
00:54:55 Today we are making a cocktail called a Rancher Water.
00:55:02 My name is Haley Traub. I am the general manager at Atta Boy in New York City.
00:55:09 We're going to start with some firewater bitters.
00:55:12 We're going to do three quarters of an ounce of lime juice.
00:55:15 And then we have some watermelon puree.
00:55:17 Half an ounce of Lillet Blanc.
00:55:20 And then of course the star of this cocktail is going to be our absolute watermelon.
00:55:25 So once we have everything in the shaker, now we're ready to shake it, add some ice.
00:55:28 So we're going to put some fresh ice in a Collins or a highball glass.
00:55:32 And then some fresh ice to shake on.
00:55:42 Put a little splash of soda water.
00:55:45 And then strain over our fresh ice.
00:55:47 And we're going to garnish it with a fresh lime wedge.
00:55:50 And there you have your absolute watermelon Rancher Water.
00:55:53 I feel like anybody I talk to who does this kind of job is anxious.
00:55:59 And if they're not, they're sociopaths.
00:56:02 Top of the morning to you laddies.
00:56:05 Top of the morning to you laddies.
00:56:06 Top of the morning to you laddies.
00:56:07 Top of the morning to you laddies.
00:56:08 Top of the morning to you laddies.
00:56:09 Top of the morning to you.
00:56:10 Top of the morning to you laddies.
00:56:12 I'm Sean McLaughlin. I go by Jacksepticeye online and I make YouTube videos.
00:56:24 It's kind of a mixed bag.
00:56:26 I started off playing video games on my channel and just reacting to those.
00:56:31 And it blew up out of nowhere and then I just kind of branched off.
00:56:36 Now I do everything.
00:56:37 I just react to content. I do games. I do sketch comedy.
00:56:41 I've made short films. I've done interactive media.
00:56:44 So for now it's kind of like whatever's creative and whatever's fun.
00:56:47 I don't really tie myself to one genre anymore.
00:56:51 Yeah, I started kind of very, very end of 2012.
00:56:55 My plan initially was to do imitations or like impersonations
00:56:59 and then do content around that and kind of be that character.
00:57:03 And then I did it once and was like, this is terrible.
00:57:05 I shouldn't upload this.
00:57:07 So I was just watching a lot of people who would play games
00:57:11 and kind of react to them and have fun that way.
00:57:13 And I thought that that was really cool.
00:57:15 I just tried it out for myself to see if it would work.
00:57:18 And I really liked the sort of editing process and kind of curating it
00:57:21 and getting in, okay, what's my idea?
00:57:23 What's my line to go through?
00:57:25 And obviously it's all pretty bad when you start off,
00:57:28 but it was kind of fun to have a project to do every day.
00:57:31 And I was kind of aimless in my life at that time.
00:57:34 So I was like, I need something to kind of like attach myself to.
00:57:37 As I got better at it, more people started watching it,
00:57:40 it kind of snowballed really quickly.
00:57:42 And then I was kind of in it before I realized I was in it.
00:57:45 I didn't really have any time to think about it or overthink.
00:57:49 March, May, I kind of set myself right.
00:57:53 I'll hit 1,000 subscribers before I go back to college in September.
00:57:57 And it's mid-July right now, and we already hit that goal.
00:58:02 I just hit 2,000 subscribers on YouTube.
00:58:04 Can you believe it? We just hit 400,000 subscribers.
00:58:09 I can't believe I'm here sitting doing another subscriber milestone video
00:58:12 two weeks after hitting 600,000.
00:58:15 The channel is now at 700,000 subscribers.
00:58:17 Congrats on getting the channel to 3 million subscribers.
00:58:21 As of right now, the channel stands at 4 million people strong.
00:58:25 Thank you guys so much for 11 million subscribers.
00:58:28 Here is the one trick that I used to get 25 million subscribers on YouTube.
00:58:34 And you can do it too.
00:58:36 Alright, are you listening? Get closer.
00:58:38 I have no idea.
00:58:41 I was in college at the time, and when I finally started making, like, a decent living off of it,
00:58:47 I started to earn enough to, like, pay rent and pay for amenities every month.
00:58:52 And I was able to, like, rent a place on my own.
00:58:55 I really started to be like, "Oh God, this is, like, my job now.
00:58:57 I don't actually have to find work and actually do this full time."
00:59:02 And I think that that was the big moment where I was like,
00:59:04 "Okay, I don't know how long this will last. It could all fall apart in the morning."
00:59:08 Because it's so volatile. It can go either way.
00:59:10 And especially at those lower numbers, I didn't really know what was going to happen.
00:59:14 I think people think it's easy.
00:59:17 Because you sit down and you play games.
00:59:19 But I think there's so much more to it.
00:59:20 Because when I started off, I'm like, I edit, I Photoshop, I record all this stuff.
00:59:25 I do it multiple times a day.
00:59:27 I did it five and a half years without skipping a beat twice every single day at the exact same time.
00:59:33 And I think that sheer amount of effort that goes into it, like, it is really, really hard work.
00:59:38 But also comes the emotional side of it, which is a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress.
00:59:43 And trying not, you're like, there's no training for it.
00:59:46 You kind of, you're your own brand.
00:59:48 If it grows quick and big like mine did, you kind of have to navigate that yourself
00:59:52 and hope that you're dealing with it properly.
00:59:54 And early on, I wasn't because there was a lot of, like, stuff that I had to work out about burnout
00:59:59 and trying not to overwork myself.
01:00:01 And there's no one telling you to pull yourself back a little bit.
01:00:04 I've always been quite a social person.
01:00:06 I like hanging out with people and I like talking with friends and playing games together.
01:00:11 And I think when I was growing up in Ireland, there wasn't a whole lot of people that thought the same way I did
01:00:15 and didn't play games the same way I did.
01:00:17 And I thought I was some sort of a weirdo that, like, why am I playing games for so much time?
01:00:21 So when I was online, there was more people that did that.
01:00:23 And when you meet other YouTubers who are doing the same job, they all kind of get you
01:00:26 and there's, like, an unspoken bond between you.
01:00:29 Kind of like, yeah, say your truth. I get you.
01:00:32 I would love to be that guy.
01:00:37 I'd love to be like, I wake up 6 a.m. every morning, I meditate, I get my coffee in,
01:00:43 I drink my top of the morning, and I just, I comb my hair a thousand times
01:00:48 and I just read my mantra to myself and then write down all my ideas
01:00:52 and every one of them is great, so I have to just pick.
01:00:55 But I'm not. I'm just like, I don't know, I didn't sleep well, my back hurts.
01:00:59 And then I just roll into it.
01:01:02 It's surprising that it's worked for as long as it has, because I keep waiting for it to not work.
01:01:06 But people still watch and I have that, like, imposter syndrome where I'm like,
01:01:10 they're going to find out eventually that I don't know what I'm doing.
01:01:13 I'm in a fortunate position where if I attempt to do anything, I already have a built-in audience for it,
01:01:20 which is what most new companies are trying to get, is how do we spread this to as many people as possible.
01:01:26 And I'm just lucky enough, I have a platform.
01:01:28 I try not to take on the things that I'm not really excited about,
01:01:31 and I think if I have a passion for it and I'm excited about it and I really want to do it,
01:01:34 I think that shows a lot and people kind of follow along in the journey and it's kind of fun for them.
01:01:39 And I think that's what people react to, because they can tell that it's kind of coming from a good, decent place
01:01:45 and you're not trying to just pull the wool over the rise and kind of like sell a product to them.
01:01:49 But it's finally time to announce Cloak,
01:01:52 which is a clothing company and a clothing brand that Mark and I have come together to try and create.
01:01:58 Me and my friend Mark, or Markiplier as he's known on the internet,
01:02:01 we came up with that idea together to...
01:02:05 because we've done merch before and kind of like put our faces on stuff,
01:02:08 but we were like, what would it be like if we went that extra step further
01:02:12 and we kind of created something that had its own identity.
01:02:15 And I think both of us kind of have an interest in clothing and fashion and that sort of world
01:02:21 and how can we put our spin on it, how can we add our voice to it and kind of make it fun.
01:02:26 It was something really creative and fun to do and I think both of our strengths kind of play to that aspect
01:02:33 when we kind of get in a room together and we bash out ideas together.
01:02:35 We've done some cool, fun stuff with it and people have responded really well to it
01:02:40 and the clothing is really high quality and we try and make it actually like really decent stuff for people to be able to get.
01:02:46 I personally never want to do that thing where I'm just kind of like selling something and then never think about it again.
01:02:51 And I think Mark is the same way where we're both sort of proud to put our names on it
01:02:56 and kind of work on stuff together.
01:02:58 Especially with YouTuber starting brands, there's a sort of misconception about it sometimes
01:03:04 and we legitimately just wanted to make really, really good coffee that you could drink day after day.
01:03:09 [Music]
01:03:18 I made my own coffee company, my own coffee brand and it is called Top of the Morning Coffee.
01:03:26 I was just sitting down and I was like, I like coffee so much and I'm like, can I make a coffee brand?
01:03:31 I was like, I don't know if I can, like is that something that I'm even able to do?
01:03:34 Do we know people that can make that happen?
01:03:36 And then I thought of the name Top of the Morning Coffee and I was like, oh, now we have to do it.
01:03:40 That name is way too good not to do.
01:03:42 And the more we did it, the more I was like, oh, we could do something actually really cool with this and have fun with it.
01:03:48 And it was, the more I got into it and understood how everything worked, the more potential I saw in it
01:03:54 and I thought it was really cool.
01:03:55 So then I just kind of ran with it and I was like, if this fails, it'll be, at least it's like a cool thing to kind of experience and get into.
01:04:04 We tried really hard to make it like a cool identifiable brand and got really into it.
01:04:10 But I think the more we did it, we started to realize like there's not much of my personality in the branding
01:04:16 and I'm quite like an energetic, lively person and try and be positive about a lot of things.
01:04:21 So we re-branded it.
01:04:23 We kind of looked at it and stood back and we're like, okay, it kind of looks like other coffee brands,
01:04:27 but we wanted to stand out on its own.
01:04:29 That's why we came up with like the yellow bags and the new logo to kind of like be a bit punchier.
01:04:34 And our mascots, like a sun character, so we're like, what if the bag looks like a ray of sun sitting on your shelf?
01:04:39 And the more we talked about it, we sat down with an agency and they kind of like asked me a whole bunch of questions
01:04:45 and they were like, oh, so you're all about this.
01:04:48 And it was all about like absurd positivity.
01:04:51 And I think they captured that quite well.
01:04:53 I don't pretend to be like a business mogul where I'm going out and trying to be like a billionaire or anything like that.
01:05:00 I just try and make fun things that people can react to and kind of have like an emotional attachment to as well,
01:05:07 instead of it just being like, yeah, I buy it because it tastes good.
01:05:10 Like it's so much more than that. It's kind of like an experience and a lifestyle for people at this point.
01:05:21 I want to do it all, baby.
01:05:23 Um, no, I have tons of ideas.
01:05:25 I want to like, like make comic books.
01:05:28 I want to do narrative podcasts.
01:05:30 I have like movie ideas.
01:05:32 I have TV show ideas.
01:05:33 I want to do more voice acting.
01:05:35 I want to do more like mainline acting because I'm in a very fortunate position that I get to like put my fingers in a lot of pies.
01:05:41 I get to try out a lot of different things that a lot of people can't.
01:05:45 So I don't want to take that for granted and I want to take advantage of it wherever I can.
01:05:48 I think anybody that wants to be a creator should try.
01:05:52 Um, it certainly afforded me a lot of great things in my life.
01:05:56 And I, all the people I know and the person that I am today is all because of that kind of stuff.
01:06:00 So I'm not going to say don't try it.
01:06:02 I think it's really cool.
01:06:03 It's, there's not one way of doing it.
01:06:05 There's a million different ways to do it.
01:06:06 And people are really clever and really funny.
01:06:09 And I think if they get to show the world that in a short form or a long form or on Instagram, on Twitter, wherever you want to do it, I think that's cool.
01:06:17 I'm going to make you guys a La Louisiane cocktail.
01:06:20 I'm Chris Hanna and I'm a partner at Manolito and Jewel of the South and I'm head bartender at Jewel of the South.
01:06:28 First, I'm going to add a couple of dashes of Angostura.
01:06:31 And there's a half ounce of Benedictine.
01:06:35 Then I'm going to add a quarter ounce of Herb Saint, which is our city's favorite Anisette.
01:06:41 You can use Absinthe if you'd like.
01:06:43 And then a little Vermouth, three quarter ounce of Sweet Vermouth.
01:06:47 And then whiskey, ounce and three quarter.
01:06:50 There we are.
01:07:02 Lemon Peeled La Louisiane.
01:07:09 [Light, fun music]
01:07:11 Josh, so great to be here with you today.
01:07:17 Thank you for having me.
01:07:18 Of course. So let's start by telling me, what does your company do?
01:07:21 Slate. We sell high protein chocolate milks and lattes.
01:07:25 Ooh, delicious.
01:07:27 Yes, of course. Taste is number one priority.
01:07:29 And we say we sell strength. So the high protein gives people strength.
01:07:32 And we create products that are not only better for people, but better for the planet.
01:07:36 So we have an environmental mission too.
01:07:37 Very cool. I'll dive into sustainability later, but I first want to hear about your founding story.
01:07:42 Sure. So my co-founder, Manny Lubin and I are both from the greater Boston area.
01:07:46 And we grew up playing a ton of sports.
01:07:48 After games, after practice, our moms would always give us chocolate milk.
01:07:51 And it was always great protein, good electrolytes.
01:07:53 I didn't realize that chocolate milk actually has more electrolytes than most sports drinks, just naturally.
01:07:58 So we drank it all the time. We got older, it became lactose intolerant.
01:08:01 We couldn't drink it anymore.
01:08:03 And had to start drinking these name brands that basically screamed to the world that we were the guys with tummy issues.
01:08:08 And so that was where Slate was born.
01:08:10 We just wanted to create a chocolate milk for us that we could actually drink every day and feel comfortable with.
01:08:14 So what made you think then that you could take this leap into entrepreneurship and have a successful business?
01:08:21 A lot of people talk about it. They're like, "Oh, it's amazing that you guys were able to do this."
01:08:24 And I, first of all, my family has been incredibly supportive.
01:08:28 Before this, we actually worked for a real estate tech company.
01:08:30 And I remember when I was leaving to start the world of chocolate milk, my dad was like, "How many wealthy people do you know in real estate?"
01:08:37 I was like, "A lot." He's like, "How many wealthy people do you know in milk?"
01:08:40 And I was like, "Dad, that's the opportunity. That's not the..."
01:08:43 So that was kind of that big jump.
01:08:45 But for me, I knew that worst case scenario, if I fell on my face, my parents were there to catch me, could move in with them.
01:08:52 I don't know if they would like that or not, but very, very lucky to have that support system behind me.
01:08:56 I tell everybody too that going into something alone is very, very hard.
01:09:01 Inception of the idea to actually launching our first product was two full years.
01:09:05 I don't know if I was alone. I've been able to kind of like push through and do it.
01:09:08 Now, part of the things I love about your story is that you guys went on Shark Tank.
01:09:14 We did.
01:09:15 Tell me about how that experience was for you.
01:09:17 Besides the 55-page NDA that I can't say a lot of the things that happened, it was honestly an incredible experience.
01:09:23 As an entrepreneur, no matter what happens on that stage, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done.
01:09:27 Being out in LA and doing it and meeting everybody.
01:09:29 For us, we did a Kickstarter video and the casting team reached out to us.
01:09:34 And so when we went out there on the show, we had no final product.
01:09:37 There were lab-made samples. We had no sales. All we had was the Kickstarter.
01:09:40 And so we definitely were a little bit early before wanting to kind of be ready to go out there.
01:09:45 But we were like, "You know what? This is an opportunity to get in front of people, potentially find a great partner for the business."
01:09:49 And we got destroyed on national television.
01:09:52 It was definitely brutal on our egos.
01:09:54 As we say, great for the brand, tough on the ego.
01:09:56 And it aired about a year later.
01:09:58 And when we look at it now, they run it every two months.
01:10:01 Like, it's on all the time.
01:10:03 Which, again, great recognition. People still tell us.
01:10:05 But my mom is still pretty upset.
01:10:07 She's like, "You've got to let them know how good you guys are doing now."
01:10:09 And I'm like, "Well, maybe if they read Forbes, they'll find out."
01:10:11 There you go. Exactly.
01:10:13 You talked about sustainability earlier, so I want to circle back on that.
01:10:16 How is that such a big part of your brand?
01:10:19 It's really important to us.
01:10:20 I mean, I think for us, it's not only important to us to have making humans better,
01:10:24 but we've got to take care of the planet that we're on.
01:10:26 And so we wanted to figure out a truly authentic way.
01:10:29 I think sometimes companies get a little bit too involved in the world of they need to do something
01:10:34 because they think they have to or have some sort of ESG goal they need to hit.
01:10:37 And so for us, it was starting with the aluminum can.
01:10:39 So we're a 100% recyclable aluminum can where a lot of things are in plastic bottles.
01:10:43 We learned a lot about how a lot of the waste that doesn't end up getting recycled in North America ends up in the Indian Ocean.
01:10:49 So we actually partnered with a group to be a plastic neutral certified business
01:10:53 and have plastic neutral certified products.
01:10:55 And on the other side of that, throughout our entire supply chain, find ways to continue to make things better.
01:11:00 So we do come from dairy. We are from cows.
01:11:03 So we have cows that we're using the milk that, again, we make lactose-free.
01:11:07 But we have methane machines on the farms to help convert that into energy to power the farm.
01:11:12 So it's not just wasted methane or hurting the environment.
01:11:14 So anywhere that we can kind of bring that in, we want to.
01:11:18 And one last question for you, Josh.
01:11:20 What would you like your legacy to be?
01:11:22 Personally, I've always been really into health and fitness.
01:11:26 And somebody like my dad and my parents, actually, both, we've all tried to be as healthy as we can.
01:11:32 And my dad has a nasty sweet tooth. He loves his chocolate chip cookies and anything sweet.
01:11:36 And so for me, being able to now give him a product that tastes really good to him that's sweet,
01:11:40 but also is not sacrificing his nutrition,
01:11:43 if we can keep coming out with more and more products like that for even just him,
01:11:47 help him live a little bit longer, be a little bit happier and healthier.
01:11:50 If we can do that for more people, that's really the goal.
01:11:52 So just leave a little bit of an impact as best we can.
01:11:54 If you're thinking about what's a good whiskey,
01:12:03 it's thinking about who you're drinking the whiskey with,
01:12:05 why you're drinking it, how you're enjoying it.
01:12:07 It's a way for us to be able to share a great moment in time and enjoy an amazing whiskey as well.
01:12:12 I'm Dr. Emma Walker, and I'm the Johnny Walker at Mass Splendor.
01:12:15 [Music]
01:12:21 My career journey so far started at school, at university, studying chemistry.
01:12:25 So I studied chemistry at Edinburgh University, then did a PhD at the University of Sheffield.
01:12:30 Worked as a process chemist, including at GlaxoSmithKline,
01:12:33 before I saw a job advertised for a project scientist for the Agile.
01:12:37 Applied for it, came along for the interview, and was interviewed by Dr. Jim Beveridge,
01:12:41 Caroline Martin, Maureen Robinson, all these great names of the whiskey world,
01:12:47 and I had that realisation that you could be a whiskey scientist.
01:12:50 I lead a team of 12 whiskey blenders or whiskey makers for Johnny Walker and for Diageo.
01:12:55 And we're responsible for all of our Scotch portfolio.
01:12:58 So we blend, we put together the liquid that goes for bottling for our blended Scotch whiskeys,
01:13:03 our single malts and our single grains.
01:13:05 To become a Mass Splendor, to be able to blend whiskey,
01:13:08 you need to be able to, not just a glass of whiskey, be able to talk about the flavours, the aromas,
01:13:13 the textures, when you try it as well, be able to talk about that.
01:13:16 As a chemist, that helps me, because it helps me to almost break down an idea.
01:13:20 So if I get asked to look at either creating a new liquid or figuring out how we're going to create a different style of flavour,
01:13:27 you can almost use a scientific process to break it down of what do you want to achieve, how do you achieve it.
01:13:32 It just helps you to understand what are the compounds, the flavour molecules that are created.
01:13:37 So there are now whiskeys made all around the world, Scotland, Ireland, America, Japan,
01:13:42 and lots of other places in between as well.
01:13:44 Each of those whiskeys will have their own rules, regulations,
01:13:47 and they are very much a product of the country that they're made in.
01:13:50 Within Scotland, there's a number of different whiskeys that can be created within Scotch regulations.
01:13:55 So you have whiskey that's only created at one single grain distillery, it's a single grain whiskey.
01:14:00 Whiskey that's created at one single malt distillery, it's a single malt whiskey.
01:14:04 You can have blends of malt whiskey, so that's a blended malt Scotch whiskey.
01:14:08 And if you put grain and malt whiskeys together into one whiskey,
01:14:12 that's where you open up the world of blended Scotch whiskey and Johnny Walker.
01:14:16 At Diageo and Johnny Walker, we've got nearly 11 million casks of material in whiskey to pick from,
01:14:21 and they're created from 30 or more different distilleries.
01:14:24 We've got a whiskey that suits every preference, every flavour profile.
01:14:27 There is something there in Scotch whiskey that you will enjoy.
01:14:31 So Scotch whiskey has to be made in Scotland, it has to be matured in Scotland,
01:14:36 and it has this amazing range of flavours that you get that are made from decisions from generations of people
01:14:41 from the four corners of Scotland where it's made.
01:14:43 So it has this unique, wide-ranging palette of flavours that, for me, can only be achieved in Scotland.
01:14:49 I still don't think of myself as being a trailblazer.
01:14:56 Moving into the role of Johnny Walker Master Blender for me was such an honour.
01:14:59 Being able to follow in the footsteps of Dr Jim Beveridge, someone I'd worked with for years,
01:15:04 and being asked to take on that mantle was huge.
01:15:07 It was such a massive thing, I was so proud of that.
01:15:09 Thinking about it as being the first female to do that job was something that probably wasn't at the forefront of my mind,
01:15:14 it was just about getting that role.
01:15:16 But as I've got to talk to more and more people over the past year from different parts of the world,
01:15:20 and they're talking about the impact that has on when they're talking to their customers,
01:15:24 when they're talking to their families, and how important it is for them to see a woman in this role,
01:15:29 it really does strike home how much of a change it is.
01:15:33 But for me, I'm just really proud to be the Johnny Walker Master Blender.
01:15:36 If I think back across my career, my PhD, all that time,
01:15:40 I think some of the advice that was always really important to me was,
01:15:43 "Keep hanging on. If you're having a bad day, it gets better."
01:15:46 But I think the advice I would give is, be yourself, but just try and learn as much as you can.
01:15:51 Try and absorb as much information, as much knowledge from all the different people you're working with
01:15:56 and you get to interact with, because it just all sparks ideas about what different roles,
01:16:01 different opportunities are out there.
01:16:03 Hi, I'm Simon Ford, and I'm the Global Marketing Director of Ford's Gin.
01:16:08 Today, I'm going to make a classic gin martini,
01:16:12 just because I think that gin martini is the truest cocktail that really showcases what a gin can do in a drink.
01:16:19 It's also the cocktail of cocktails, really.
01:16:22 To make a gin martini, of course you need gin.
01:16:25 What I'll say is a martini always should be made with gin.
01:16:29 The vodka martini came a lot later, and you call it a vodka martini,
01:16:32 but when you say the word martini, it should indicate gin.
01:16:35 And how much gin you use is how dry your martini is.
01:16:40 So we're going to go four parts gin.
01:16:47 A martini is essentially the coming together of two great ingredients.
01:16:52 Gin, which is made up of botanicals, and vermouth that's made up of botanicals.
01:16:57 And all those botanicals put lots of complex flavors,
01:17:00 and together they make this really rich, smooth, silky drink that we know as the martini.
01:17:05 And we're going to do one part vermouth.
01:17:12 I prefer to stir my martini to get it chilled,
01:17:17 and keep my glass as chilled as possible as well.
01:17:22 And today we're just going to add a little accentuating flavor from Regan's Orange Bitters,
01:17:27 which the original martini recipes actually often had bitters added to them.
01:17:32 So just two dashes.
01:17:34 This helps open up the citrus in the gin.
01:17:37 And then stir.
01:17:40 Stirring it kind of keeps it silky smooth, keeps the liquid very clear,
01:17:45 doesn't break up the ice so you don't get shards of ice on it.
01:17:48 And sometimes because of those essential oils that are found in both gin and vermouth,
01:17:53 it would cloud the appearance as well.
01:17:55 So I like the martini to look good, clear, and crisp and clean.
01:18:01 Strain that.
01:18:05 Into a cocktail glass.
01:18:08 And then we take a lemon twist.
01:18:11 Now I like to put a lemon twist on my martinis.
01:18:14 Olives are perfectly brilliant as well because the flavor of olive goes very well with juniper,
01:18:18 and so that's why olives work.
01:18:19 But lemon puts these oils across the top that really sort of opens up
01:18:23 and gives this sort of refreshing spritz to the beginning of the martini.
01:18:28 So, get a nice big drizzle.
01:18:32 So, get a nice big lemon peel.
01:18:37 And then here we go.
01:18:42 The magic moment of the martini.
01:18:45 I want to say voila now but it's cheesy.
01:18:50 Here you go.
01:18:52 Voila.
01:18:55 [music]
01:18:57 Kendall, it is so wonderful to be here with you today.
01:19:10 Thank you for joining me.
01:19:11 Thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here.
01:19:13 Of course. So, you are a household name.
01:19:15 Everyone I think knows you've had a successful modeling career.
01:19:18 What made you want to take the leap into entrepreneurship?
01:19:21 I think I always felt a really strong passion for it.
01:19:25 Obviously, I come from a family of a bunch of entrepreneurs,
01:19:28 so I think it felt really natural for me.
01:19:30 I felt like I was in a place in my modeling career as it was like coming up on maybe nine,
01:19:35 almost ten years where I was just really ready for something new.
01:19:38 And obviously, I was a fan as a consumer of tequila.
01:19:41 My mom and my dad drank it all the time growing up.
01:19:44 And then, you know, as I got older and I would start drinking it,
01:19:47 I kind of was like tasting different tequilas, loving different tequilas,
01:19:50 kind of just loving the space, again, as a consumer,
01:19:53 not knowing too much about the ins and outs of it,
01:19:55 and found myself really passionate about it.
01:19:58 I found partners and founders that also really wanted to be a part of the space.
01:20:02 We then grew, obviously, we didn't know much about making tequila,
01:20:05 so we had to find the experts and bring our team from there.
01:20:08 And my hand is pretty much in every aspect of the business.
01:20:11 A lot of first-time founders, the thing I hear the most often is like,
01:20:15 "I feel this imposter syndrome as a young founder."
01:20:18 For you, I feel like it's times 100 because you're in the public eye.
01:20:21 Did you ever feel like, "Can I be this founder?
01:20:25 Am I going to be judged? Can I step into this?"
01:20:27 I think there's a lot of pressure being one in the spotlight,
01:20:31 but then also, obviously, running a business of your own.
01:20:33 I'm a big affirmations person, so I'm always trying to talk up to myself
01:20:37 and talk kindly to myself.
01:20:39 And those affirmations genuinely helped me get through
01:20:42 those moments of imposter syndrome.
01:20:45 How do you stand out, and what is the Kendall brand that you're trying to go for?
01:20:50 I feel like since I was a kid, I kind of always was a little different.
01:20:53 I was always kind of sportier, and I just think that my path led me here,
01:20:57 and I think that it feels really fitting for me, and I really enjoy it.
01:21:00 Your family is really synonymous with business.
01:21:08 How do you navigate that dynamic?
01:21:10 It's so funny you ask, because obviously my mom is my mom,
01:21:13 and she's also my manager.
01:21:14 So we have moments when we're talking on the phone,
01:21:16 and we're talking about business, and we're maybe having a heated conversation
01:21:19 about something, and then all of a sudden, she's like, "Okay, I love you.
01:21:22 How are you feeling today?"
01:21:23 And I'm like, "Oh, my God. Yeah, you're my mom, too."
01:21:26 And then we'll go talk about something else, like a bad day or whatever,
01:21:30 very mom stuff, mom-daughter related things.
01:21:32 So we have our moments, but at the end of the day,
01:21:35 I think we're really good at compartmentalizing.
01:21:37 I think all of us are.
01:21:38 We're all pretty pro, not to toot our horns, but we're pretty pro,
01:21:42 and I think we get the separation between work, fam time, and business time,
01:21:46 and all those things.
01:21:48 That makes sense.
01:21:49 Famous families, they come and go, but none has really had the viral staying power
01:21:53 that your family has.
01:21:55 Why do you think that is?
01:21:57 I don't know.
01:21:58 I guess there's something.
01:22:01 It's hard for me to answer that question, but we're wild, and we're funny,
01:22:05 and we're crazy, but at the same time, I think the main energy behind it all
01:22:08 is love, and we just have so much love for each other.
01:22:10 We stand by each other, and I think that maybe that's it.
01:22:13 I can't really fully answer the question.
01:22:16 No, that's a good thought.
01:22:18 I guess that's what I try and equate it to.
01:22:21 818 is definitely your big business, but the other business, I think,
01:22:25 is you as Kendall.
01:22:26 How do you decide which brands and posts to be sponsored,
01:22:30 or who do you decide who to work with?
01:22:32 I find myself to be a very intentional person, so anytime I'm working with a brand
01:22:36 or creating a brand or just doing something that is genuinely me,
01:22:41 obviously everything has to feel super authentic to me,
01:22:44 but again, super intentional.
01:22:46 I don't want to do anything that doesn't align with my vibes or my morals
01:22:51 or my feelings and things that really make me feel good
01:22:54 and make me feel like getting excited to wake up in the morning.
01:22:57 I had to work to get to that place.
01:22:59 It wasn't always that easy.
01:23:01 I can't just say yes and no to everything.
01:23:03 I'd say no to a lot of things, especially 10 years ago when I was starting.
01:23:06 It was a lot of yeses and a lot of not only feeling grateful to be in that position,
01:23:10 but just feeling like I wanted to build up my portfolio and my career
01:23:16 and all the things, but now I think I have the blessing of being able to say,
01:23:19 "Okay, does that align with me?"
01:23:21 And I wake up a really happy person because of that.
01:23:23 If you could go back in time and tell your younger self something
01:23:30 before Keeping Up with Kardashians premiered,
01:23:33 what would you say to the Kendall then?
01:23:35 What advice would you have?
01:23:37 I think advice would be stop and smell the roses when you can,
01:23:43 as cheesy as that sounds,
01:23:45 but I would also tell her that enjoy the ride.
01:23:49 It's going to be a beautiful one.
01:23:51 I think the adaptability is the key for a startup business
01:23:57 because the market, the competition, the technology is changing every day.
01:24:03 But if we focus more time to make a very clear vision for our company
01:24:09 and develop the best strategy, hiring the best talent,
01:24:13 then we can solve all the problems every day.
01:24:16 I'm Eric, the founder and CEO of Hungry Panda.
01:24:20 I started the business five years ago when I graduated from Nottingham University in the UK.
01:24:26 Hungry Panda is an online food and grocery delivery platform
01:24:29 that serves the Asian community.
01:24:32 We do the business because they have some cultural and language barriers.
01:24:36 It's very difficult for the user to find the authentic Asian restaurant in the local platform.
01:24:43 We have a Chinese version, Japanese version, Korean version,
01:24:46 and we also supply the delivery service
01:24:49 and also have a wide range of restaurant selections to our users.
01:24:54 We already launched 80 cities across 10 countries,
01:24:58 including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, North America, and Asia.
01:25:05 I have never considered to be an entrepreneur.
01:25:10 I just found that they have very high demand in the Asian food delivery industry,
01:25:15 but they have never had one plan done very good in this part.
01:25:20 And so I invited some friends to develop the software
01:25:24 which tells the service to the Asian community overseas.
01:25:28 We launched the business in the university,
01:25:30 and we made the profit from the business,
01:25:33 and we also used the profit to launch more cities in the UK.
01:25:38 The foundation for Hungry Panda is not easy in the beginning
01:25:43 because we launched in the niche market.
01:25:46 When I graduated from the university, I was very young,
01:25:49 and I also didn't have networking in the venture capital,
01:25:54 so it's difficult for me to respond at that time.
01:25:57 But I used a lot of time to try to contact some venture capital,
01:26:02 and we are also very lucky to be seen by investors in the Chinatown.
01:26:08 I think the capital is very important for the startup company
01:26:14 because even your business model is a very great business model,
01:26:19 but if you want to grow your business very, very quickly, you need enough money.
01:26:23 So at Hungry Panda, we raised the first round, 4.5 million.
01:26:28 So in the past few years, our team also grew from 5 full-time employees to 1,200 employees.
01:26:37 Now we already serve nearly 3.5 million registered users.
01:26:42 We have nearly 40,000 riders and 50,000 restaurants.
01:26:47 With the development of our business, and until now in 2023,
01:26:52 we are trying to reach profit in this business,
01:26:56 and our GMV is close to $1 billion this year.
01:27:00 I want to be remembered as a person who believes nothing is possible,
01:27:08 as long as you trust your vision and work hard in your business.
01:27:14 And there are lots of people who trust your vision,
01:27:17 can help you achieve your dream together.
01:27:32 Ms. Patti LaBelle, you are the godmother of soul, a Grammy winner,
01:27:38 a cookbook author, and an entrepreneur.
01:27:41 And you are here for the Forbes and Know Your Value 50/50.
01:27:44 Thank you so much for sitting down with us.
01:27:46 Thank you for thinking of me.
01:27:47 Oh my goodness.
01:27:48 I'm so happy to be here.
01:27:49 I want to talk about your food line. It is doing very, very well.
01:27:53 How long have you been cooking? Do you remember when you learned how to cook?
01:27:56 I learned to cook when I was about 10, watching my mother and father.
01:28:00 I would go to the garage and make up hot sauces and ketchup.
01:28:06 And I would add mustard to the ketchup and make another taste.
01:28:09 Like, it had a spicy, I had a mild, and I had a sweet.
01:28:14 Ketchup and hot sauce, real hot, hot sauce.
01:28:17 And then you were performing, and I understand that you have cooked for some musical legends,
01:28:23 including Elton John, Prince.
01:28:26 Elton John was my piano player in London.
01:28:29 He had a group called Bluesology, and his name was Reggie Dwight back then.
01:28:35 And so they had no pounds, you know, money. They had no money.
01:28:39 And after the shows, I would take them to our loft, and I would make dinner for the band.
01:28:45 And they would always want to take something back because they had no money.
01:28:48 They were hungry. And so I let them take my Tupperware.
01:28:51 So anyway, Elton called me one day.
01:28:54 He said, "Patty." I said, "How are you, Reggie?"
01:28:57 He called me as Reggie. That's the way it was.
01:28:59 He said, "I would like for you to come to the Spectrum tonight. I'm performing."
01:29:02 I said, "Who are you opening for?" He said, "I'm Elton John."
01:29:06 I said, "You're who? You're Elton John, my piano player?"
01:29:10 And the first thing I said to him was, "Now you can afford to give me my Tupperware back."
01:29:15 And I didn't get the Tupperware back. I got a diamond ring.
01:29:18 Upgrade.
01:29:19 Yeah, upgrade. And he was performing in Vegas, so we recorded a duet for my album.
01:29:26 And as he was playing the piano, he had to take his rings off.
01:29:29 So when he finished, I said, "Elton, there's your jewelry."
01:29:32 He said, "No, that ring is yours for the Tupperware."
01:29:35 You know, and that was my story with Elton.
01:29:38 And Richard Pryor, the Rolling Stones, came to Philly and begged me to cook some food to send to the Spectrum again.
01:29:46 And so I said, "As long as my name is on all of my aluminum foil tops."
01:29:52 Because we always have caterers in every city we go.
01:29:55 Different people cook for the artist.
01:29:57 I said, "Make sure my food is separate from the caterers."
01:30:02 And they separated my food, and I was viral after that.
01:30:06 People were saying, "Patty LaBelle can cook. She cooked for the Stones."
01:30:10 And just so many different people in the industry just love my cooking.
01:30:15 You cooked for the Stones, and you said, "Make sure the tinfoil says Patty LaBelle."
01:30:21 Why was it so important for you to put your name on what you provided for the Spectrum?
01:30:26 Because with my heart, I cook.
01:30:28 And my food is so good, I don't want anybody else taking credit for it.
01:30:32 I mean, I cook my face off. I've always cooked.
01:30:35 And I've always wanted people to realize it's me cooking that.
01:30:39 Because a lot of entertainers who would come into my house back in the day, they said, "We want to see you cook."
01:30:44 Questlove had been begging me to cook for him.
01:30:47 So it was a Thanksgiving, and this is when I was living in my other house.
01:30:51 And he would come over, and he brought some of the band members.
01:30:54 He said, "I want to see you cook."
01:30:56 So he watched me make potato salad.
01:30:58 And I made, I think it was branzino, sautéed branzino.
01:31:03 And he said, "You really cooked that."
01:31:05 I said, "Look at my stove. It's all dirty. I don't take out and pretend that I made it."
01:31:09 A lot of people would do that, but he saw that I really cook.
01:31:13 I love to cook.
01:31:15 If I do something for you, you better put my name on it.
01:31:18 You know, that's a no-no.
01:31:20 If you don't put Patty's name on her food.
01:31:22 Yeah, I love to cook.
01:31:24 So you want credit for your work.
01:31:25 I have to get credit, yes.
01:31:27 You deserve credit for your work.
01:31:28 I sure do.
01:31:29 So Martha Stewart invites you on her show during the holiday season, during busy times.
01:31:34 Yes.
01:31:35 And you realize there's an audience for your food.
01:31:38 And all of the friends of mine would always say, "Why don't you open a restaurant or start your own line of food?"
01:31:44 And Zori sort of quietly bragged, my son, but he knew that I could really throw it out.
01:31:50 And Alex, all the guys that are working for me now, they started me thinking about how good my food was.
01:31:57 So was that the beginning of Patty's Good Life?
01:32:00 That was the beginning of Patty's Good Life.
01:32:02 What made you want to do Patty's Good Life?
01:32:04 What made you want to start the company?
01:32:06 Because I have great taste.
01:32:09 Because I design, I decorate my house, I have the bedding at Macy's because I love beautiful sheets and spreads and drapes and just everything.
01:32:20 I'm all about good-looking stuff and things that will be affordable to the normal person.
01:32:28 And so it's like with the food line.
01:32:30 My food is very affordable.
01:32:32 And I don't put my name on anything unless it's 110% perfect.
01:32:38 And so I knew I could cook.
01:32:40 It's no joke.
01:32:41 I mean, I'm not bragging.
01:32:43 It's like I said, I knew I could sing.
01:32:45 I'm not bragging.
01:32:46 Certain things you know you do well.
01:32:49 And sometimes you pat yourself on the back.
01:32:51 And so far, this food line has done so much wonders for me.
01:32:55 Just things are just happening.
01:32:58 You make it sound like magic, but I think it's the result of good taste and hard work.
01:33:03 It is. It's not magic.
01:33:04 It's definitely not magic.
01:33:05 No, it's hard work.
01:33:07 And my team, they were like--I gave birth to all of them.
01:33:11 I mean, they're my babies.
01:33:13 And they believed in me more so than I believed in myself.
01:33:16 Because it took a while for me to say, "Oh, well, that pie is great."
01:33:20 But I had to test it about ten times before I said yes to the pie.
01:33:24 You actually started with hot sauce and barbecue sauce.
01:33:28 Yes.
01:33:29 And then the sweet potato pie came.
01:33:30 And then the sweet potato pie came in 2015.
01:33:32 Yes.
01:33:33 2015, and that's when Walmart wanted my recipe and my pie.
01:33:39 And, yeah.
01:33:43 And that, yeah, covers a viral video of one pie every second.
01:33:48 The video from James Chanel, that was awesome.
01:33:51 And we were in London, and somebody sent the video of his commercial to Zuri.
01:33:56 I said, "Who is that?"
01:33:57 And we had no clue, but this guy was loving the pies.
01:34:01 And thank God they were selling before he made that video.
01:34:04 But after the video, it went viral.
01:34:06 And people started buying those pies like crazy.
01:34:09 But Patty's Good Life is not just sweet potato pie.
01:34:12 You have a breakfast line.
01:34:13 I have a breakfast line.
01:34:15 I have some things that I can't tell you yet.
01:34:17 I have wine coming.
01:34:19 I have a bunch of food, a bunch of desserts, a bunch of skews of frozen foods.
01:34:26 So if you have your dinner, if you buy the turkey, I have all your sides.
01:34:30 You don't have to make anything.
01:34:32 And then after the sides, you can do the desserts.
01:34:34 But in the morning, it's so important now we have this breakfast line coming with pancakes and waffles.
01:34:40 And whenever my grandkids would come here, I would always make them breakfast.
01:34:45 And they love waffles.
01:34:47 And so their faces are on my box of waffles, their little cute faces.
01:34:52 I say, "Grandma, we love these waffles."
01:34:54 So I have a line of powdered pancake mix coming, syrup for the waffles and pancakes.
01:35:02 And all that is coming soon.
01:35:05 How do you choose what food to offer through Patty's Good Life?
01:35:10 How did you decide on pancakes?
01:35:12 How did you decide on wine as the next?
01:35:14 I decided on pancakes because of my grandkids because they love breakfast.
01:35:19 And I have the wine line coming.
01:35:20 And it's going to be affordable, like $14.95 or something like that,
01:35:24 that people can afford to eat my food and know they're getting quality food,
01:35:28 and you didn't spend your last dollar for it.
01:35:31 So that's important to me so that I can help someone have a decent meal.
01:35:37 You know, because times are hard.
01:35:39 Times are hard.
01:35:40 I was going to ask, it seems like affordability is a big goal for you.
01:35:43 Why is that so important to you and to Patty's Good Life?
01:35:47 Because friends always love my food.
01:35:49 They say, "Why don't you put out a line?"
01:35:51 I said, "Okay, when I do put this line out, it's going to be affordable,"
01:35:54 because some of my friends didn't have much.
01:35:57 And so when the line came out, I mean, they just--they were loving the fact
01:36:02 that they could afford a great meal.
01:36:05 And so it's important to me to make things affordable to anyone.
01:36:08 Inflation has been high, and budgets have been tight.
01:36:11 I think a lot of people are feeling the need to find the most affordable option
01:36:16 but still have a really nice meal.
01:36:18 And they know with Patty LaBelle that I'm not going to cheat them.
01:36:21 I'm not going to lie to them.
01:36:22 I'm not going to say it's great when it's awful.
01:36:24 My food is phenomenal and very affordable.
01:36:28 So it's very important to me to keep my line affordable.
01:36:32 Like with the wine, you know, gosh, Camas costs about $80 or $180 a bottle,
01:36:39 and mine tastes like Camas, and you get it for $15.
01:36:43 How did you do that?
01:36:44 By tasting, sending it back, sending it back.
01:36:48 We have a Cabernet, we have a Rosé, and we have a Sauvignon Blanc.
01:36:53 I take it you're not a Sauvignon Blanc drinker.
01:36:55 No, I'm not. I'm a Camas drinker.
01:36:58 You know, dry red wines. I don't like anything sweet.
01:37:01 But I have those three options for those who would like to try a Patty LaBelle wine.
01:37:07 How is being a successful entrepreneur different than being a successful musician?
01:37:14 How are the challenges? How does it compare?
01:37:17 Oh, God, they're totally different.
01:37:19 Because with the music, with the song, I know when I sing it what it's going to be.
01:37:23 I don't have to test that.
01:37:25 With the food, I have to test everything that I put out.
01:37:28 Ten, 20 times, sometimes one time, and I know it's great.
01:37:32 But when I go in the studio or on stage, I know what's going to come out.
01:37:36 It's going to be good.
01:37:38 I have to test those foods to make sure they're great before they go into the stores, you know, into the markets.
01:37:44 So that's the difference.
01:37:46 I have to do a lot of tasting with the food to make sure you're going to get a great meal.
01:37:51 All of your business partners--I've talked to a few of them--have said that you're very hands-on and that you like to test.
01:37:56 What are you looking for, and how many times do you test something before you say, "Okay, this is good for Walmart"?
01:38:03 I would test something 10 to 20 times.
01:38:05 It was--what item was that?
01:38:08 I tested the macaroni and cheese about 12 times.
01:38:13 Wow.
01:38:14 Oh, honey, that cheese has to be right--and it has to pull.
01:38:17 You know when you have a pizza or a macaroni, you know how that cheese pulls when you bring it to your mouth?
01:38:23 Mm-hmm.
01:38:24 That macaroni was tested about 12 times.
01:38:27 Wow.
01:38:28 And it's so good. Yeah.
01:38:30 One of the people who told me that you like to test a lot is one of your co-packers, one of your manufacturers.
01:38:36 Nancy?
01:38:37 Nancy.
01:38:38 Oh, she's been over here.
01:38:39 So it got to the point where I said, "Baby, this is not working."
01:38:42 I said, "Can you come to Philly?"
01:38:44 And so she said, "Sure."
01:38:45 So she came, and we went to the stove and tested many, many times of the macaroni.
01:38:50 We tested a lot.
01:38:52 And until that cheese was pulling properly--because if it's not going to pull, I'm not going to sell it.
01:38:57 How did you choose her and your other partners?
01:39:00 Because to make a successful business, you have to have successful partners.
01:39:03 What do you look for?
01:39:04 I have successful people working with me who believe in me, like my sons, Zuri, Charles, and Alex.
01:39:11 I mean, it's all Patty and nothing at all.
01:39:14 It's just Patty, and they know that whatever I present and whatever I send them out to do, they're going to do it
01:39:20 and bring it back to me to taste and make sure it's great.
01:39:23 So whenever you see my name on something, know that I've tasted it all as far as food.
01:39:28 And whenever you hear me sing, you know that I didn't have to test that.
01:39:32 It's a given.
01:39:33 It's a given.
01:39:34 But sometimes that food could trick you.
01:39:36 It might not taste great all the time.
01:39:38 It's like I've been cooking every day this week, and everything I cooked to me was gross.
01:39:43 I said, "Patty, where's your touch?"
01:39:46 And I've been out on the road a bit, and I came home and lost my cooking skills.
01:39:50 It happens even to the great Patty LaBelle.
01:39:52 My friends who tasted it said it's great.
01:39:55 I said, "No, it's not. That's not it," because I know when it's not great.
01:39:59 Now, you had a line of clothing with HSN in the early 2000s.
01:40:04 What did you learn from that business experience that you've applied now?
01:40:08 I learned from that business experience that you can't lie.
01:40:12 You can't pretend something's good to you when it's really not.
01:40:16 I didn't really love everything, but I had a perfume.
01:40:20 I had dresses. I had hats.
01:40:22 I said, "I would never wear that hat. Why am I selling it?"
01:40:26 And I said it on a show, and my son got so mad at me.
01:40:29 "Mom, why did you say that?" I said, "Because it's true."
01:40:32 And it's embarrassing, too, because I say yes to something that I wouldn't wear.
01:40:38 Like yes to the dress when you know you won't.
01:40:41 You know, I learned to be honest.
01:40:43 Everything you see with my name on it, it's coming from my heart.
01:40:47 It's coming straight from my heart.
01:40:49 There are so many people who like what I didn't love with my clothing line, like big hats.
01:40:57 I don't like them.
01:41:00 Certain types of dresses I wouldn't wear, but somebody else would.
01:41:05 But I still sold those items, but not feeling as if I could wear them.
01:41:11 So what it really is, I make things for others.
01:41:15 With that line, but with Patty's Good Life, you're making it for yourself and your family.
01:41:19 With Patty's Good Life, it has to be perfect or it's not going into stores.
01:41:24 Like that pie would have never made it into Walmart if it wasn't perfect.
01:41:29 And it was like the pies that my mother made back in the day and my grandmother.
01:41:33 And they tasted just like theirs when we finished with the process.
01:41:37 And that's always so important to me that things are lovable to me.
01:41:41 Like I love my products, all of them.
01:41:44 I would use everything that I produce.
01:41:47 The HSN deal, that was an endorsement deal as well, right?
01:41:50 Yes.
01:41:51 That was a licensing deal, whereas Patty's Good Life, you are an owner.
01:41:55 It's me.
01:41:56 It's you.
01:41:57 It's me, and I'm the boss.
01:41:59 It's awesome.
01:42:00 They work for me, these guys.
01:42:02 What does ownership mean to you?
01:42:04 What does it mean to own this brand?
01:42:06 It means something that I never thought would happen to me.
01:42:09 It's like a miracle, like my owning some things that I love.
01:42:14 And people are listening to me, and they're purchasing my items
01:42:18 because they believe that Patty's putting it out there.
01:42:21 It must be great.
01:42:22 Not good, it must be great.
01:42:24 It must be great.
01:42:25 And I'm an owner.
01:42:26 Ownership is so important.
01:42:28 There are other celebrities who will license the business, but you own this.
01:42:32 And I think that is a model to some people.
01:42:36 That's a big deal because my owning my product, it's my name.
01:42:41 I'm allowed now to give jobs to others who--in all the factories,
01:42:45 making my peach cobblers and the macaroni.
01:42:49 I'm employing a lot of people, which makes me feel great.
01:42:52 Like I have that power now, which is a wonderful thing to take care of people.
01:42:56 What is your aspiration for Patty's Good Life?
01:42:59 In your wildest dreams, what do you want it to grow to?
01:43:03 I want it to grow to the best product in the world.
01:43:09 And I understand that my pies are number one around the world,
01:43:14 and I just found that out.
01:43:16 So I want everything to go like that pie is doing.
01:43:20 I mean, I want everything to be great, and that's where I can keep employing people
01:43:25 and keep on giving great food, quality items.
01:43:30 And whatever I do, it's going to be honest, and it's going to be so good.
01:43:34 You're going to say, "Oh, I want that."
01:43:36 You're building a legacy business, and I wonder, are there people who buy it
01:43:42 not realizing that it's you who's behind the box?
01:43:46 A lot of people.
01:43:48 Because my picture is on the sweet potato pie, and there's my friend, Diane.
01:43:54 She was at someone's house for Thanksgiving, and they had this pie, and she ate the pie.
01:44:00 She said, "Oh, that pie was so good."
01:44:02 And she said, "After I ate it, guess what?"
01:44:04 I said, "What?"
01:44:05 "Your face was on the box, and I didn't know that you were selling pies."
01:44:09 So, I mean, and we're best friends.
01:44:11 And so it's like a lot of people really don't realize.
01:44:14 But 50 years in the future, if Patty's Good Life is around,
01:44:18 more people might be buying it without necessarily making the connection to you as a musician.
01:44:23 How does that make you feel?
01:44:25 That would be fine.
01:44:26 That would be fine.
01:44:27 As long as they're consuming that pie and loving it.
01:44:30 Because everybody's not going to even know who Patty LaBelle is.
01:44:34 My name out there with my food, you know, after I leave this planet,
01:44:39 like my grandkids will be running the business,
01:44:41 and that's going to be a wonderful moment for them to see how Grandma and Daddy did it,
01:44:47 and now we're taking over.
01:44:49 And that makes me feel so proud to know that when I leave, that doesn't leave.
01:44:54 It stays here forever.
01:44:56 So it's a great thought.
01:44:58 You own Patty's Good Life.
01:45:01 You haven't needed outside investors, correct?
01:45:03 It's all the proceeds from your music career that's basically bootstrapping this business.
01:45:08 Yes.
01:45:09 Would you ever take outside investors?
01:45:11 Heck yeah, if they come right.
01:45:14 Yeah, if they come correctly, yeah, they're coming.
01:45:16 I'm welcoming anybody who would like to do something like that with Patty's product.
01:45:22 You want to grow it.
01:45:23 Oh, yeah, forever.
01:45:24 Like I said, and when it's left for my babies, I mean,
01:45:28 they'll live on with that wonderful thought that Grandma did this.
01:45:32 We've talked about the ownership, your personal mark, you testing everything,
01:45:37 the good ingredients.
01:45:39 What, if you had to point to one thing, has made it so successful?
01:45:44 I think the honesty of Patty LaBelle, people trusting in me,
01:45:48 and most people knew that I cooked way back in the day, like the entertainers,
01:45:53 and before 208, I never thought I would be the owner of my pies.
01:46:03 I never thought that my pie would be doing so well,
01:46:06 and I think it's because people think of me as a chef--not a chef, I'm sorry,
01:46:10 as a cook and someone who's going to give them quality food.
01:46:14 And so now they can get it at a reasonable price,
01:46:18 and it just makes me feel happy to know that I made a mark in the business of food.
01:46:26 I know what I do with my career as a singer,
01:46:29 but knowing how much this has grown as my business,
01:46:34 I am proud of myself, and I'm proud of my guys,
01:46:38 because we work hard at what--anything that's necessary to be done,
01:46:43 they're going to put 150% into it and make sure it happens.
01:46:48 So many things that I can be happy and proud of.
01:46:51 We have a lot of people watching this video who might want to start their own business
01:46:56 but might not know what to do.
01:46:59 They might want to quit their job and be an entrepreneur for the first time.
01:47:02 What is your advice to someone who wants to do what you did
01:47:06 and start a brand, become an entrepreneur?
01:47:09 Well, you really have to know what you're selling is great,
01:47:12 and believe in yourself.
01:47:14 It's like you can't come half-stepping.
01:47:17 You have to come correct, because people will leave you really fast
01:47:20 if you come with the wrong products.
01:47:22 So I believe and totally believe in myself and my team.
01:47:27 I mean, without them, I'm singing most of the time, and they're making the deals.
01:47:32 So you have to have somebody in your corner who really wants to do the best for you,
01:47:37 and it's not always good to judge the good people and the bad people.
01:47:40 Sometimes you make mistakes, but if you have a great something that you want to do,
01:47:44 believe in it and don't stop.
01:47:47 And don't let anybody tell you you can't do it.
01:47:50 I never knew I could sell that many pies.
01:47:52 But you can.
01:47:53 I had no clue, yeah.
01:47:55 As a musician, you have an audience. You have fans.
01:47:58 As an entrepreneur, you have customers. They're buying from you.
01:48:02 What do you look at? What do you call them?
01:48:05 Are they all customers/fans? Is it an audience?
01:48:08 How do you think about the people who are consuming both your food and your music?
01:48:12 As friends.
01:48:13 As friends. Why?
01:48:15 Because my friends are in the audience buying tickets.
01:48:18 I don't call them fans.
01:48:20 I call them friends because they know they're going to get a great show.
01:48:23 When you buy a Patty product, they're my friends
01:48:26 because they believe that I'm giving them the quality that they deserve.
01:48:31 And so I call them all friends.
01:48:33 Everyone's a friend.
01:48:34 Yeah.
01:48:35 And not fans.
01:48:36 Not fans.
01:48:37 No.
01:48:38 That sounds too distant.
01:48:39 Yes, it is. It's too far away from me. Fans.
01:48:42 I like friends.
01:48:44 Well, in the city of brotherly love, it's a good way to think about things.
01:48:47 Right? And I think about it like that.
01:48:49 When the audience come, they're all my friends out there.
01:48:52 Some of them never saw my show before, but they become friends as I'm--90 minutes.
01:48:58 They see who I am, and they'll come back.
01:49:00 When you buy a Patty's product, you'll see how good it is,
01:49:03 and you'll come back and buy another one.
01:49:05 Speaking of the city of brotherly love, you've described yourself as a girl from Philly.
01:49:10 Yeah.
01:49:11 How has staying here been important to you,
01:49:14 and how has it helped your career as a musician and as an entrepreneur?
01:49:18 Well, Philadelphia is the only thing I know.
01:49:21 Whenever I would go to California or London or any place,
01:49:25 I always wanted to come home to this square, quiet Philadelphia space.
01:49:30 It's quiet. There's no temptation.
01:49:33 I just love Philadelphia.
01:49:36 And I've lived in other places, but this is it for me.
01:49:40 Because Philly--I think Philly folks are kind of honest.
01:49:43 They'll let you know if somebody comes to my show and starts booing me,
01:49:47 it's because they didn't like me.
01:49:48 And I say, "That's your problem."
01:49:49 You've gotten booed at a show?
01:49:51 No.
01:49:52 [laughter]
01:49:53 But if it happened, I would just keep on singing.
01:49:56 I heard you say something really interesting last year,
01:49:59 which is that you don't necessarily feel like you've arrived.
01:50:03 When will you feel like you, Patty LaBelle, have arrived?
01:50:07 It's funny. Kim asked me that question last night.
01:50:11 She said, "What do you think of yourself now that you've accomplished so much?"
01:50:18 She said, "How do you feel?"
01:50:19 I said, "I don't really know how I feel.
01:50:23 I really don't know how I feel."
01:50:32 Because I had sisters who--I mean, it's serious for me.
01:50:38 They died in their 40s, three sisters, and I'm still here one year from 80,
01:50:44 and I'm accomplishing things like this,
01:50:48 and still performing and still bringing friends out.
01:50:52 And I don't know how I really feel because they're not here to share all of this greatness with me.
01:50:59 Thank God I have my son, I have my niece and nephew, and my grandkids,
01:51:03 but I don't have them to tell them, "Look what I did,"
01:51:07 because they always thought I was so great.
01:51:11 When they all left, things started happening greater for me.
01:51:14 And to see me now at 79 still moving along and giving out great, honest stuff,
01:51:24 I would like to share that with them.
01:51:26 But like Kim said, you're here by yourself.
01:51:28 You have your family and others, but my sisters meant so much to me,
01:51:32 and they always knew I could cook my face off.
01:51:37 So I'm so happy that I'm here in this place of success and business.
01:51:45 So, ah, God, that's it.
01:51:50 Sounds like you're doing it in their memory, in their honor.
01:51:54 Yes.
01:51:56 So many things have happened to me that are great,
01:51:59 and just to see where I am and see where they're not,
01:52:06 it makes me feel some type of way.
01:52:08 I can imagine.
01:52:09 Yeah.
01:52:10 And this success can't bring them back, you know?
01:52:14 It's like I have my little dog to talk to, and he gives me joy.
01:52:21 It's like I just lost a nephew about four days ago, and that's heavy on me.
01:52:25 And he always loved my cooking more than anything.
01:52:30 And if Michael could be here now seeing me doing an interview with you,
01:52:33 he would just be smiling so hard.
01:52:36 So I have a lot of things to think about,
01:52:39 but a lot of greatness around all of the negative.
01:52:43 You know, so somehow it's going to balance out,
01:52:48 but I have to say what I really feel.
01:52:51 How do you keep perspective?
01:52:53 You seem to have a healthy perspective on the loss and the achievements.
01:52:58 I just keep on keeping on for them,
01:53:02 because they always knew that I was this fabulous woman,
01:53:06 that I was this great cook and this great singer.
01:53:10 And that gives me a joy.
01:53:14 You know how you can have joy and sadness,
01:53:17 but the joy is there because you know what it did for them.
01:53:22 And it's doing it now for me.
01:53:24 So when Kim asks me that question next week, I might have a real answer for her.
01:53:29 You have some time to figure it out.
01:53:31 You have a lot of plans.
01:53:33 You have some wine to get out.
01:53:35 You have new Patty's Good Life products.
01:53:37 I have a lot of stuff coming out, thank God.
01:53:40 Yeah, so I'm truly blessed.
01:53:43 I am.
01:53:45 You know, I'm here talking to you.
01:53:48 That's a blessing.
01:53:50 When you were in your 20s and 30s,
01:53:52 did you ever imagine your career over the age of 50?
01:53:56 And if so, what did you think you'd be doing,
01:53:59 and how does the reality compare?
01:54:01 Oh, God.
01:54:03 Over 50, I would hope that I would have been singing with about 20 million gold records,
01:54:10 things like that.
01:54:13 Knowing back then, too, that I was going to be a chef
01:54:16 or something to do with food,
01:54:20 I had a feeling it would be great.
01:54:24 You had a feeling it would be great.
01:54:25 I had a feeling because I was making good hot sauce.
01:54:30 And then that led to roasting chickens and doing all kinds of good things,
01:54:33 and just cooking my face off.
01:54:36 So I knew that I would be a little prosperous when it came to food,
01:54:40 more so than singing.
01:54:41 Really?
01:54:42 Yeah.
01:54:43 So if someone said, "Pick one title for yourself,"
01:54:46 are you a musician first or are you a cook first?
01:54:49 I'm a musician first.
01:54:51 I'm a singer first.
01:54:53 As far as I'm concerned, my singing career is not what I want it to be yet.
01:54:58 But my cooking is going places where my singing career has not gone yet.
01:55:02 Is being over the age of 50 an advantage or a disadvantage in your line of work?
01:55:08 It's an advantage.
01:55:09 Why?
01:55:10 Because I've seen it all, I've done it all.
01:55:13 I can let younger girls like Beyonce and Mariah Carey
01:55:17 and all those little girls who ask me questions about where I've been,
01:55:20 I can give them all the info because I've been there, done that,
01:55:24 and threw away that T-shirt.
01:55:26 And I can give them quality answers.
01:55:29 I love being 79.
01:55:31 You love it?
01:55:32 I love it.
01:55:34 Because of the advice you can give to others?
01:55:35 No, because I'm still standing,
01:55:37 not because of the advice, but I'm still in my right mind.
01:55:43 That's important.
01:55:44 And that's so important.
01:55:46 So speaking of advice, I did want to ask for one piece of advice.
01:55:49 To women in their 30s and 20s who feel like they have to rush
01:55:54 to accomplish everything that they want to accomplish before the age of 50
01:55:58 or even before the age of 30, what would you tell those women?
01:56:01 That could kill you.
01:56:03 Stop rushing.
01:56:05 You're only 30.
01:56:07 You know, and you'll hurt yourself rushing for your ambition to happen.
01:56:12 And you're going to do everything, maybe the wrong things,
01:56:15 to make it happen that soon.
01:56:18 I mean, I'm doing better at 79 than I did at 30.
01:56:22 So I would say don't rush it.
01:56:24 If it's to be, it will be.
01:56:28 I have not been rushing, honey.
01:56:30 No, you've not.
01:56:31 You've been taking your time.
01:56:32 But you also don't seem to be slowing down.
01:56:35 Oh, I can't slow down.
01:56:37 You can't.
01:56:38 I can't--I won't slow down.
01:56:40 [music playing]
01:56:44 [music playing]
01:56:47 [music playing]
01:56:50 [MUSIC]

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