163. Brand Pillars: The Backbone of Your Brand That Makes a Major Impact
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
Release Date: 12/17/2025
169. Can you say yes to help? How the right help can lead us to our goals
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
As entrepreneurs many of us are quick to offer help—but far slower to ask for it. Can you relate? But why NOT ask people who have been there or have the right tools to help us unlock the next level of success we’re working towards?
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168. What is a Brand Strategist, Anyway? Plus, Marketing vs Branding vs Brand Strategy
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
Clint puts Katie in the hot seat to ask a question many food business owners are wondering: what is a brand strategist, anyway?
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167. From Transaction to Tradition: How Food Brands Can Become the Go-To Choice
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
How food brands earn a place in everyday routines, go-to gifting, and meaningful traditions — and what it really takes to move from a transaction to a trusted, automatic choice.
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166. Profit, Margins and Cash Flow...OH MY! A Mini Masterclass in Food Business Financials with Sarah Delevan
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
A mini masterclass in food business finances with Sarah Delevan. We're covering margins, growth scenarios, and why "scale" isn’t a financial strategy.
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165. Choosing Your Word of the Year: Lean Into Who You’re Becoming as a Leader
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
How choosing your Word of the Year can help you lean into who you were meant to be....a benefit to your brand, your business, and beyond!
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164. Curating Holiday Traditions & Year-Round Food Rituals
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
In this fun episode, Katie & Clint swap stories about holiday traditions—and close with a simple idea about how brands become part of year-round rituals.
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163. Brand Pillars: The Backbone of Your Brand That Makes a Major Impact
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
A simple framework to help you review where you’ve been, regroup your resources, and refocus your next 12 months anytime you want more clarity and alignment. Great for year-end, or any time of year to reset!
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162. Review, Regroup & Refocus to Align With Your BHAG
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
A simple framework to help you review where you’ve been, regroup your resources, and refocus your next 12 months anytime you want more clarity and alignment. Great for year-end, or any time of year to reset!
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161. Should You Go? Choosing Events & Shows That Will Move Your Food Brand Forward
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
If your message feels messy, it’s likely not that you’re bad at writing...it’s because your brand strategy needs more structure. In ep 159, Katie shows how a strong foundation makes your messaging clearer + more consistent everywhere.
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160. Are You Using “Expedited Cautiousness”? Smart Growth for Food Brands
Food Business Marketing - Brand Strategy Tips to Build a Business You Love
If your message feels messy, it’s likely not that you’re bad at writing...it’s because your brand strategy needs more structure. In ep 159, Katie shows how a strong foundation makes your messaging clearer + more consistent everywhere.
info_outlineHow brand pillars turn strategy into structure — and help your brand stand out.
If you’ve ever felt like your brand is harder to explain than it should be — or like you’re doing all the right things to grow but still operating at a “product” level, you might be missing brand pillars!
Brand pillars are often talked about as a content or messaging tool, but that’s only part of the story. In this episode, Katie Mleziva (Real Food Brands) and Clint Matthews (Start Right Foods) zoom out to show how brand pillars fit into the bigger picture of brand strategy — and why they’re one of the key ways brands move from making a great product to building a strong BRAND that stands out.
You'll hear a real-life example of Clint's food business pillars, and you can visit @realfoodbrands on Instagram to see Katie's pillars for Real Food Brands — along with how she actually uses them day to day.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- Why brand strategy and brand pillars are about aligning your entire business — not just your messaging
- Where brand pillars fit in the Define → Align → Activate framework (and why they’re not the first step)
- What brand pillars actually include
- How brand pillars help you move from product-focused to brand-first thinking
- A practical example of how structure unlocks clarity and productivity
- How brand pillars act as filters for decisions across marketing, sales, and growth
Want to go deeper?
Get the free weekly worksheet that goes with each episode by joining the newsletter.
👉 Follow @realfoodbrands on Instagram and tap the link in the bio to sign up.
Looking for clarity on your next steps?
Katie & Clint help food business owners review their brand & sales strategy, cut through noise, and move forward with a clear plan. Reply to the Weekly Newsletter or use the private scheduling link included each week to book a session (only available to newsletter subscribers!).
Episodes Mentioned:
Ep 135. Is a Great Product Enough to Grow Your Food Business?
Ep 143: Ideas Spinning in Your Head? Here's How to Use (Or Lose) Them Strategically.
Ep 122: Start Standing Out with These 4 Steps
Ep 83: Understanding the Difference Between Features & Benefits
MORE OPTIONS
1. 📧 Katie's Friday Newsletter includes a Weekly Worksheet to help you apply these ideas directly to your food business. Sign up here.
2. 💬 Join the Conversation! Tune in to the podcast, then join us in the Real Food Brands Marketing Round Table - a free food & farm business owner community - to ask questions and meet other people who love producing real food as much as you do!
3. 📞 If you're ready to talk about building a clear, cohesive brand or integrating your brand + sales strategy, you can Request an Intro Call to discuss the ways we work with food, farm, and natural product brands.
Thanks for listening – let’s go shake up shopping carts!
Katie Mleziva
Host & Food Brand Strategist | Real Food Brands