Meenakshi Trehan’s Full Episode Transcript:

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Question Everything, a podcast all about learning from the successes and the failures of those who dared to, well, question everything. This podcast is part interview, part therapy, and part Price is Right. We even have our own game board stacked with questions that'll make even the most successful CMO sweat. I'm your host, Ashley Walter, CMO and partner here. curiosity. On today's episode, I sit down with Meenakshi Trehan, Chief Growth Officer at Just Born, the century-old company behind iconic brands like Mike and Ike's, Peeps, and Hot Tamales. We dive into the strategy behind Mike and Ike's new campaign, directed by Kenan Thompson, and explore how one of America's oldest candy companies continues to think and grow like a challenger. On this episode, you'll learn the four rules every legacy brand needs to stay relevant, how family-owned companies outmaneuver shareholder pressure, how NBA star Josh Hart earned a promotion from influencer to president of candy operations, and what it really was like on set with Kenan Thompson. So crack open a box of Mike and Ike's and calm your anxieties. This episode has a lot to chew on. Let's get started.

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: Meenakshi introduction

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

00:01:22

Meenakshi Trehan is the chief growth officer at Just Born, the company behind iconic brands like Mike and Ike, Peeps, Hot Tamales, and Goldenberg Peanut Chews. Before becoming one of Candy's biggest growth leaders, Meenakshi drove innovation and strategy at Campbell's and Organic Valley. One of the architects behind Mike and Ike's 'We Got You' campaign, which was directed by SNL legend Kenan Thompson, whether it's finding unexpected growth opportunities, outplaying competitors, or helping a brand win the Super Bowl while saving $7 million, Meenakshi has built a career on making new audiences fall in love with established brands. Meenakshi, welcome to the show. Thank you, Ashley. I'm so excited to be here. Oh my gosh, I am so excited too. What an exciting time we are in right now.

00:02:15

Just yesterday, you just dropped, we just dropped an incredible Mike and Ike campaign. Congratulations. Thank you. You know what? I've been on my social media the whole morning, just like reading reviews, and I'm so excited. For the campaign and what's to come. I am too. I mean, the reviews have been incredible. Variety magazine, you had Ad Age covered it, Muse covered it. I'm like, I just I love like popping in to see who's commenting on it. And Kenan. Like, huge story there. He's sharing the love, which is incredible. Yeah, it is, you know, I can get into like, you know, a little more about the campaign if you'd like. I mean, sure. I'm sure there's a question on the game board about it too. But yeah, I'd love to like, let’s get to the game board.

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: How legacy brands should use their heritage

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

00:03:09

You want to go straight to the game board? Yeah, let's do that all right. Let's do that to your questions. All right, well, you know how this show works. I have a game board stacked with 12 spicy questions. You don't know what's behind each number, but that's kind of the fun in it. So you get to pick first where you want to go. Ooh, I'm nervous, but I'm going to go with five. Okay. Number five, don't be nervous. This is a safe show. All right. Legacy brands love to say they have heritage. But when does heritage become an excuse for not changing fast enough? Good question. So as I think about heritage. I think it can be a huge asset. If you don't think about it as a constraint, but as a foundation.

00:03:57

Okay. So it's not about, you know, it's not about saying that, you know, I'm going to continue doing what I did in the past, but it's like truly understanding, you know, what really made that connection, those memorable connections your brand had with your consumer. And then bringing those truths forward, but in a more relevant way. Right. As I think about brands—those that confuse, you know, I'm always like looking at brands, heritage brands who actually confuse, um, consistency with sameness, right? So I always ask myself and my team the question, like, what is going to stay the same? You know, it's our purpose, it's our values, and then what's got to change—right? Packaging innovation. As I think about Mike and Ike, we've done a lot of work together over the last nine months, and obviously, Mike and Ike has such a strong equity.

00:04:52

You know, consumers have told us repeatedly, and it like brings a smile to my face and a huge shout out to my R&D team. You know, we have the best flavor in the category, and, you know, consumers love that chewy aspect of it. And it's not about giving that up, right? It's about bringing that and then bringing innovation, bringing that in a new form for a new occasion, connecting with consumers differently. And the other thing I was thinking about is that, you know, when you have heritage, you know, like brands like us, right? Just Born, which is the maker of Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales and Peanut Chews and PEEPS, has been there for 100 years, right? I respect that history. I really do.

00:05:35

You know, there's respect, but I don't live in it. There's a difference. You respect it, but you don't live in it. And you bring that history into the future. And that's what's going to keep us iconic. Because I know we are iconic, but that's going to keep us iconic for the next generation versus just being remembered by the past. So my guidance is, you know, respect the history. But then don't live in it. That's really good advice. Did you set out to have a career like only working with heritage and iconic brands? Because when I think about iconic brands and heritage, like Campbell's, it's just a beautiful brand. I mean, everybody knows, you know, did you did that same philosophy live at Campbell's as well? Absolutely.

00:06:22

I think, to me, is, you know, brands like all these iconic brands have so much history and so much love. And, you know, yeah, I think, like, when I reflect on my career, it's about bringing these brands into the future without losing what makes us iconic. Yeah, yeah. And that's the balance. I think that's the balance for even ad agencies too. Like we also have to respect the heritage, but then you know, help. Push you and push the team and the thinking to continue to make it relevant in the future so great that's good advice I'll make sure our team hears that too I appreciate that All right. Let's go back to the board. Where do you want to go next? This is not that bad. Told you. Okay. Okay. Okay.

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: How MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity arrived at the new We Got’Chew Campaign

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

00:07:07

We'll go with one. All right, let's see what's behind number one. Oh good, a Mike and Ike question. So why does Mike and Ike need a new brand platform now? And what truth about the audience unlocked this new approach? So I think this is like a continuation of my previous answer, right? So think about Mike and Ike, right? Mike and Ike. People love the brand. It's been there for generations. So it was as we did a lot of consumer work. People loved a lot of parts of our equity, the taste, the flavor. And so the opportunity ahead of us was not necessarily change the brand or reinvent the brand. It's about how we connect with the next generation of consumers, right? Big proponent, one of my big, I would say, philosophies of leadership is truly, truly understanding the consumer.

00:08:02

So over the nine months, together as partners, we spent a lot of time really talking to this next generation of consumers. What became pretty, pretty apparent to me actually caused a shift in our strategy, right? So these consumers, young consumers, are living a fully connected or fully always-on life. Right. I mean, I, I mean, I don't envy them, but they are constantly like bombarded with messages. Social media, they have these awkward moments, you know, they face the social pressures. And, you know, in talking with them, right, we spend a lot of time with them, they don't expect brands to really solve those big, big problems. It's more around understanding the world they live in. And then how can, you know, you make those small moments like really fun and enjoyable and bearable, I would say through humor.

00:08:57

And that kind of changed the question we asked, right? When we started this journey, you know, we knew our equity. We knew that it was, you know, great flavor, you know, great taste. So the question we asked ourselves was not how are we going to market that functional benefit of great taste, but then how are we going to really, really fit into our consumers' lives? What is the role we're going to play? And, you know, that. The We Got You campaign, which just launched yesterday, is actually bringing that strategy to life from a creative standpoint, right? I truly, truly, me and my team really believe that that's a brand platform which has legs across our marketing activations and it's a long-term play for us.

00:09:40

You know, it's about when I think back, like, you know, where we landed and why we landed and why this really resonated with us was because it is helping us build this emotional relevance. You know, I started this conversation around saying how important it is for legacy brands to be relevant. And this is about like truly building emotional relevance. And, you know, Kenan, like you kicked it off saying, you know, Kenan helped us direct those spots. Right, right, right, right. You know, partner to bring it to life. Right. Because he does such a great job of using humor to, you know, bring these small everyday moments to life in a relatable manner. And, you know, this 'We Got You' campaign, as I see it, It is really giving us this canvas of great storytelling, which can evolve with culture, because I want to be relevant in culture.

00:10:28

That's what I want to do. So, you know, all the audience work clearly gave us an opportunity to understand our consumer better and then clearly define the role we play in their lives. And that's what the 'We Got You' campaign is. Small stresses of life, we have your back. Just chew through them. That's right, right. And chewing is actually culturally, it's part of like how people reduce stress, right? Like we talked about chewing on your nails or chewing on your. Drawstring or things like that, and the chew is just part of what makes my Connect so unique. So I just, I love how it's just so like carefully fabricated— like into the DNA of who you are, you know? Exactly. Yeah. It's like we are known to be the, you know, the chewy, fruity candy, right?

00:11:16

And, you know, people, again, you know, that's why you walk in the shoes of your consumer. That's super important. And, you know, that's when, you know, when we talked to these young folks, it was pretty apparent that. You know, these small stresses— of about, oh, you know, somebody, I sent a text, and nobody responded to me. You know, you overthink it, but this is the chew which will help you get through it. You know, it resonated with them. And I'm looking forward to seeing, you know, where we take it. Because as I said. huge canvas for storytelling for us. And we build that emotional relevance, which is what I'm set out to do. Yeah, something that doesn't happen very often. And this might, for anyone listening, be like a little fly on the wall, but this was actually pitch work.

00:11:57

So 'We Got’Chew' was something that we came up with during the pitch. When you're looking for your next agency of record. And I remember, like we all fell in love with it, and it made so much sense strategically, but you never know. You never know if the client, when you're going to go back to them, is going to feel the same way. So I just, I love when something is kind of created in that way, and it's celebrated, and then you get to see it all the way to fruition, which. From an advertising standpoint, that doesn't always get to happen. But when it does, it's pretty special. Ashley, I'm just going to give, like, you know, take a moment to actually give you guys a lot of credit here. Right.

00:12:31

So, you know, we had done a lot of consumer work. Then, you know, as you pitched, I think there was a deep understanding of the consumer. Oh, yeah. Marco. You didn't lead with creative, right? You started with, like, really understanding the consumer. And during the journey, we pivoted, right? Because, you know, we learned more and we said, you know, this is a better way to connect with them. So huge kudos, you know, during the pitch process, I think, which is what stood out. That you really led with strategy and not just creative and a deep understanding of the consumer. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. You spent the time and it took the time to do that. Yeah. Yeah. It's important. Well, and then you get work like this, which is incredible.

00:13:10

So congratulations. What's the vibe internally? Are people excited to see it out in the wild? Oh, people are so excited. So we had a launch party. So, you know, we had a pre-launch party, which was last week. And, you know, it was for the internal employees. You know, we had, oh, one thing I forgot to mention that as part of this campaign, this is. The first time we've actually brought Mike and Ike as characters; we're introducing them as characters. How can I have forgotten that? I know it's kind of a big piece. Yeah, it's like, you know, and again, the reason we did that, right, that was, again, intentional because we wanted to make sure that, you know, the brand has personality. It brings long-term connections with our consumers, right?

00:13:52

And again, a great tool for storytelling. Yeah, and so you know, we brought these characters to our pre-launch party, and people were having the best time taking pictures and taking selfies and just like, it was very, very, it's always a pleasure to see your internal people believing in the campaign as much as the consumers. And I felt that in the building. I think that's so important. There's so many things I want to say, but I think it's often you move so fast, right? You guys have a lot on your plate, and marketing is just kind of like this: the campaign is only one. one fraction of what you're all working on. But I think we get something out into the wild, and then we've all moved on, and you're onto the other 50 things that you're worried about for that day.

00:14:36

But the fact that you took the time to celebrate the work and the effort— I think is really important. And I think more brands should do that. Agencies as well. We also had a little celebration. We had it running on all the screens here, and we had candy out for everybody. But I love that. And I think that's really good advice for CMOs. And the other thing, you know, was like, it was not just for the business associates, right? It was also for our production team. So, you know, folks in the plant, right? We brought this campaign to life with them, for them as well, because, like I said, they are the ones who are creating this incredible campaign. Like. Hands down, you talk to consumers and they'll tell you MIKE AND IKE has the best flavor.

00:15:19

They're doing it, right? There's a lot of love. There's a lot of pride that goes into it. So, you know, I just wanted to make sure that we share this with them and it was well received across the board. Incredible. I have to ask, were you ever nervous? To bring, to personify Mike and Ike, personify the candy, given its heritage, given its iconic status and the legacy that it has. To be the first chief growth officer to bring them to life in that way? Were you nervous? Did it feel risky? How did you navigate that? You know, um, we had a lot of conversations. I'm going to be honest here, right? Like, should we have characters? Should we have animation, right?

00:16:02

Like, you know, a lot of things went into play, but we, you know, knowing our consumer, it was pretty clear. That this is going to be the way to win with them, right? And one thing I'll tell you all in my career, I love taking risks, right? But, like calculated risk, I understood, like, you know, what we were going into. It was grounded in a consumer insight and not just me sitting in my office and saying, you know what, I think this is the way to go. So yeah, was I a little nervous, but I think it was more excitement than nervousness. Okay. Well, it all goes back to the consumer. So that's a full circle answer right there. Yeah. Yeah, okay all right that was great, let's go back to the board.

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: The four keys for a successful business

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

00:16:41

Okay, let's look. Uh, what about seven? All right, let's go to number seven. At Campbell's, you worked across V8, Prego, soups, sauces, and meals. What win still shapes how you lead today? Good question. You know what I say? As I think about this, you know, probably my answer will be: I worked at Campbell's, I worked at Organic Valley, and now I work at Just Born. What I would like to share is— you know— I would say my leadership tenants, which, you know, I feel like have stayed pretty consistent and I have developed them as I've gone through my career, a 20-plus year career in food. So I think the first thing for me is purpose. I think when a brand understands its purpose in consumers' life, you build strong brands.

00:17:33

Similarly, if you can connect your employees to a purpose, to a shared purpose. You will see outstanding results, right? Because if you can tell somebody, and this is the journey— the leadership journey I've been on— and I've seen it work time and again. If you tell people why their work matters. You know, why should they show up? I have seen them bring their best work, the best creative solutions, as well as, you know, resilience. And I think that is a competitive advantage. Purpose is a competitive advantage. For Just Porn? I'm just in my current role. Obviously, the purpose is to create these delightful moments, these joyful moments for our consumer. But we also strongly believe that we have a role to give back to the community.

00:18:23

So our purpose is very simple: create joyful moments and stronger communities, right? So everybody at work, whether it's in the plant or in the office, knows that work is also creating a thriving community in the place where we live and work, which is Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Yeah. Secondly, for me, is people. You know, you can have the best strategy. You know, listen, you can have the best strategy, the best analysis. What you really need to succeed is people who will believe in it and bring it to life. To me, that is like a non-negotiable. And as a leader, I think what really drives me is, of course, my job is to create. You know, clarity of where we're going. But then, get the right people on the bus, and then, you know, step away.

00:19:12

Let them lead, right? You know, I get a lot of joy and pleasure in like, creating leaders of the future. I really do, right? I think that will be my, that is the legacy I want to leave behind every role I take. That, you know, you have a team which can just run and create magic, right? So people, super important to me. The third thing is curiosity. And that was the reason we actually chose you, not because your agency name is curiosity, but it's about bringing curiosity to the problems or, you know, opportunities. Like, you know, ask the tough questions. Don't always assume. That, you know, let's do the things that they've always been done, right? In my entire career, whether it was at Campbell's, you know, in terms of innovation or strategy, and same thing with Organic Valley.

00:19:59

And now at Just Born, when we ask the question, you know, why should something be done in the way it's being done currently, you know, you know, really challenge assumptions. That's when magic happens. You know, that's when breakthrough happens. So curiosity is a value. It's a value of ours at Just Born. And I think you want to continue to work with partners who bring that to the table. And then the last thing, which is not very sexy, is basically all strong businesses are built on strong fundamentals. Right, understanding the consumer and customer—uh, really building distinctive brands. The third is innovation with a purpose. Clearly understanding what is the job to be done with innovation. And then lastly, execution. You know, those four things to me never go out of fashion, right?

00:20:51

So, you know, you need those strong fundamentals. So, you know, as I reflect on my career. I would say those four things are, you know, how I would define my leadership. And I see that, you know, done well, really create growth and meaningful impact, you know, create meaningful impact, basically. Yeah. Purpose, people, curiosity, fundamentals. Just keep saying it over and over and over again. That's great. Do you start to see people on your team, the leaders that you've helped raise up? Do you see them repeating that back to you or demonstrating that in the workplace? Yeah, I think, you know, it works. Like, you know, you know, if I say curiosity is a value, you know, I approach every conversation with like, I don't know all the answers and nor should you.

00:21:37

Yeah. But let's ask the right question, right? Like even with Mike and Ike, right? When we worked on this campaign, we started off with, 'Hey, let's tell them that we are the best candy because we have the best flavor.' You know, our campaigns in the past have been anchored in product benefits, right? But clearly— you know when we understood our consumer— we said, 'which was the fundamental uh, you know, that's not the approach, right?' The approach is, you know, how do we fit into their lives? You know, that's what they really care about. And so, you know, the team sees us practice that behavior and, you know, and I see them live into it. They tell me like, you know. They feel comfortable in challenging the status quo, which is what I want.

00:22:20

That vulnerability, like, it takes a level of vulnerability. For you and for them to be able to practice curiosity. So I love that you're creating a culture around that. It's great for your agency partners too. And I think the other thing is, right, curiosity. Everything you put on the table is not going to win. You know that, right? Like, you know, I know that, and I never go into something thinking it's definitely going to win. Obviously, we'll put our best foot forward, but I also want my team to be a learning organization. And I think that's where curiosity, again, comes into play. I truly understand, like, okay, these were our assumptions. They were wrong. So now what? Let's learn. Let's learn and, you know.

00:23:01

When you challenge conventions, you will get some things right and some things wrong. But, you know, I think success is like learning from them and then doing something differently the next time. That's the culture I want because that's when people put their best foot forward. And are not afraid to make mistakes. I don't want anybody to be afraid to make mistakes. Just make the mistakes. You'll learn from it. I've made money in my career. Haven't we all? I love that. Yes. 

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: Why Knicks player, Josh Hart was named President of Candy Operations

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

Alright, let's go back to the board. Where do you want to go now? 12. Okay, we're going to go to the end of the board. So how did Mike and Ike hook up with Nick's star, Josh Hart? And how do you guys evaluate whether a partnership builds brand equity versus simply borrowing attention.

00:23:46

Great question. So I will tell you. Josh Hart is a true, true Mike and Ike fan, right? If you have heard him you know he was on a podcast a few weeks ago right after they won uh, and his wife was like telling us that, you know, he takes it with him to bed. Right. It's like, you know, he's like chomping on Mike and Ike. Right. When, you know, he's watching TV. So, I mean, he is a true fan. He truly loves the brand, and we love him. So, you know, I think that, to me, you know, that's how we landed our partnership with him. Right. He's a true fan. And, you know, he supports the brand. And, as we look at partnership, I think for me, we're in the business of creating long-term equity for this brand.

00:24:31

So, as we evaluate partners or as we evaluate opportunities, it's more around understanding our consumer, who's like, really buying the product, and then I said, you know, we want to understand their world. So, as we think about partnerships, as we think about um, you know, collabing with brands as well. We want to make sure that, you know, it's in resonance with the world we've understood. So it's more from a long-term strategy perspective versus just. just attention seeking in the moment. Yep. Is there a brand out there that you like would dream about collabing with? Like, do you have like a list or a top one? So I think you know what's pretty interesting is that um. You know, I mean, we're in a lucky spot that, you know, a lot of brands want to collab with us.

00:25:17

Right, right. Right. You know, they're like, you know, we, you know, we want to. Have, you know, because, you know, we have equity. We have connections with consumers. You know what? Nike would be the one. Okay. Nike. All right. Mike and Ike shoes. Mike and Ike shoes. All right. Let's see if we can make that happen. Can you make that happen? I think so. I think so. One of the things that I love about Josh Hart. So when you think about influencers, there's definitely a wide range, but I'm hearing a a lot more talk about like bringing them into the brand fold, making them feel part of the organization. Can you talk a little bit about how you've done that with him in particular?

00:25:53

Yeah, so you know, you know,  Josh Hart is the President of Candy Operations, um, and you know, he is in our building, he loves the tour of our facilities, like, you know, interacts with folks who make the product on the line. Amazing. He was in our building and, you know, we had a meet and greet. So I think he truly embodies a true fan and, you know, an influencer who believes in the brand. Yeah. Did you guys give him that title, or did he like self-name himself that? He wanted that. He just says, 'This is what I love.' Does he have a business card? Thank you.

00:26:35

Oh, good question. He has a lap pad which says that? Yes, that counts. I love it. I'm like, you know, of course, you know, when I walk the floor versus when he walks the floor, people love that. Can't even imagine how cool of a day that is when he's in the building. And you know, I think just the other thing I was remembering, right, like, I think even fans know, even consumers, like little kids, they know that’s how much he loves Mike and Ike. So, you know, when they're at his game, he says that if you have a Mike and Ike box, I will autograph it. Right. So they bring it to it for him. So I think. His love for Mike and Ike is well known in the basketball community.

00:27:15

That is so cool. I did not know that he signs them. I, that's, that's really, really cool. I have heard that he eats them before games. Like it calms him down. Yeah. That little. He's chewing through his stress. We got you. We got you. That's right. That's right. All right. Back to the board. Yeah. Back to the board. Where you want to go, four four, all right, back to the top row so we talked a little about Kenan today. 

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: Kenan Thompson’s direction for the We Got’Chew campaign

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

So Kenan made his commercial directorial debut with Mike and Ike. How did his involvement influence the production? So first of all, Kudos to Curiosity! Huh? To bringing him as a partner. You know, to bring this to life, right? Marriage made in heaven is what they say, right?

00:28:02

Like, you know, we wanted humor and levity in our production, in our spots. And, you know, Keenan just like excels at that, right? First of all, this was my first time meeting him. I was not in some of the pre-production calls. So what really stood out to me was his genuine interest in the brand and, you know, wanting to partner with us. Right. So that was, that was just phenomenal. And this was his, it was his debut, right, as a director. And he took his role very seriously, I would say, you know, and so on the, at the shoot. I think obviously we got everything which we were supposed to, right? But I think we got more.

00:28:41

And I think, you know, what I saw was, you know, him really bringing to life, which you'll see when the campaign comes to life, you know, across our funnel that, you know, those were in the moment. You know, captures, which were really amazing. So I would say. He went above and beyond in really, really getting us some great, great content, which we leveraged throughout the launch and beyond. That's great. It goes kind of back to your leadership fundamentals too. Like he understood the purpose and the mission and he deeply believed in it. And then, surrounding yourself with the right people, I think. I heard a rumor that he liked reviewing every single like casting video and that he just had his fingerprints on everything from the production, which I think is really cool.

00:29:32

And then I also heard he had an ice cream truck come in on the production on the last day. He did. He did. And, you know, that was, again, very thoughtful, right? You've got to be thankful to the crew because I think everybody, you know, brought their A game, right? And you can see that in the work. And I think it was. You know, sometimes people just check the list, right? Hey, I need to get four spots in the can. I'm going to do that. But I clearly saw. You know, was going above and beyond. And I would say the same thing for our creative team at Curiosity because I didn't say this before, but for me, when we were looking for an agency, you know, we were looking for a growth partner, right?

00:30:12

I was not looking for, you know, the next vendor or the next, you know, agency. I was looking for a growth partner, somebody who believed, and understood, and shared our ambition for growth. And, you know, I saw that even at the shoot with Curiosity. It was beyond what was just in the pre-production book. That's great. That's great. Thank you. We'll make sure the team hears that too. Yeah, just let KG know that. I will. I will. Shout out. All right, let's go back to the board. Let's go back. Number two. 

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: How family-owned companies like Just Born can outperform corporate machines

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

Okay, you've worked at big public companies, a mission-driven cooperative, and now a family-owned candy company. What can a family-owned company do that the big corporate machine often can't? Great question. Great question. Like the one which you know we ask ourselves every day, what's our competitive advantage?

00:31:02

How can we be different? Right. And I'll go back. I'll go back to what I said. Right. As a family-owned company, right? So, you know, just a little bit of history. Just born—right? Hundred years, a hundred-plus years old. Right. We started in Brooklyn, in New York. And uh, people always ask me, how did you land on the name? Well, I had nothing to do with it. But the history goes that, uh, Sanborn, who started the company, would make candy every day. And then he had this sign that it was so fresh that it's just born, right? And that became who we stood for. That's a part of our DNA, right? Quality and that pride in our craftsmanship is why we're just born. But we are also third-generation and family-owned.

00:31:52

And what that means, right, I keep reflecting and, you know, we have this conversation every time as an executive team, as well as, you know, across my team, we bring generational thinking to the table. Right. Like big corporations are always, I mean, that's the nature of the beast, right? You've got to hit your number. You make decisions for the short term. Being generational gives us the opportunity to really balance growth and purpose and like create a lasting impact. So for me, you know, I think that is a competitive advantage. We can think about things generationally and make the right decisions, even if they would take slightly longer. Wow, that's so well said. I feel that even just on the agency side, I hear a lot of independent versus holding company.

00:32:40

And even though we're not a generational company, I do feel that sense of just ownership and pride and the decision-making that we have the freedom to do is very different than what you know, my, my friends, at the big holding company machines experience. That's really nice— you like the family-owned side of the world. You know, that's a question I get asked a lot, right? Because I've worked in big companies, you know. And then I worked at a, you know, at a co-op at Organic Valley, I think. It goes back to, yes, I would say I like to work at places where you know, there's a strong connection to purpose. And um, again, we challenge conventions, right? I think it's not necessarily the size of the company. But the culture.

00:33:31

And I think, yes, at Just Born, the fact that, you know, I'm going to go back to what I started this conversation. Very proud of our history. Very very proud of what got us here, but we don't live in it. Yeah, right. We know that you know, the next 100 years will need to look different, and let's challenge those conventions, but also do it in a way which is generational. So yes, I would say, you know, this is my sweet spot. After having worked for 20 years, I feel really comfortable. Thank you. Yeah, that's great. I'm not really comfortable. I'm still uncomfortable, but I've kind of felt that, you know, yeah, this is where I can make a difference and I enjoy that. Yeah, we're never comfortable. We're always, yeah, chasing the next thing.

00:34:13

But you guys do it. You have big ambition, which is awesome. So to have that— you know, the family, the support and the generational support and the generational thinking, but also the big ambition. That together makes for a really cool job and cool culture. It does. It does. And I think there's a lot, like I keep bringing back, you know, curiosity is one of our values because, you know, we, you know, if you're trying to go, if you have big ambitions, you know, it is, you're going to have some, you know, you're going to have some wins and you're going to have some losses, right? I mean, I think the culture we're building is. You know, go for the big things. I'd rather have you go for the big things and learn versus just play it safe.

00:34:51

Yeah. And you don't just say that on this podcast. You say it in meetings too. I've heard you. I've heard you say that. Mostly to Jeff, but I've definitely heard you say that. And you know what, okay so you know I know you know we we talked about Mike and Ike right? Yeah, let's talk a little bit about PEEPS. Yes. Peeps, iconic, right? you know, Easter Peeps- everybody loves it right you know um, but as we've worked together, we said, we just don't want to be a seasonal icon, right? I don't want people just to think about us during Easter. I want them, we want to be a cultural icon, which is different than a seasonal icon, right? It's again, challenging conventional thinking.

00:35:37

And so then what does that mean? You know, we showed up at Super Bowl, right? Of course, we did not have. You know, a TV spot, which was like, whatever, 7 million for 30 seconds. We didn't do that. Right. But we showed up in a way which was, you know, which was challenging conventional thinking. Right. And, you know, we had the instant Peeps play. Right. And we used it on socials. And, you know, and it was. It was a great campaign, which like, you know, people didn't expect us to show up there. But, you know, we challenged thinking. And I think for us, it was like, if we want to be— a cultural icon versus a seasonal icon— we should think about things differently. Totally agree.

00:36:16

That campaign was, we'll link to it, but was so fun to watch in real time. All the brands chiming in and interacting with you. And they all had a point of view. And I loved that you were celebrated for not using AI and being human. And like the Bad Bunny halftime performance was so epic. I loved it. I loved it. And it's about, you know, ties into everything we've been talking about, right? It's about great brands. We're not reinventing those brands. We're just making sure that they stay relevant. Yup. In today's world. That's right. No easy feat, though. It is hard. No easy feet. Hey, that's what makes us fun. I know. That's why we're so uncomfortable. Thank you. Yes, let's do it. Let's do it. All right, let's go back to the board.

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: Balancing playful creative with meaningful business results

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

00:37:09

Let's go back to the board. Where are we going? 10. All right, number 10. Candy is supposed to— to be fun, but growth is serious business. It's in your title too. How do you balance playful creative with the pressure to prove that every dollar is working? So the way I started this journey, right? Like when I, I've been with Just Born for about two and a half years, right? And. If you go back in history and see, this is the first time we're actually supporting our brands, right? We've made the commitment to support our brands in a significant manner. So the first order of business for me was, hey, let me find the right partner. Right. So, you know, for me, as I said before, I was making sure, like, you know, as I was selling this vision to the company, that, you know, hey, we need to invest in our brands.

00:37:59

We need to make sure that the brands are. You know, are relevant; you know, we've got to make the investment. And to make those investments, you know, I had to prove, right? Hey, those investments are worth making. Right. So, you know, firstly, you know, we got the right, you know, we work to get the right, you know, I was like, all right, let's get the right agency partner in place. Right. So, you know, we had the RFP. We went through the RFP. For me, as I evaluated the RFP, or, you know, as we went through the process, but also beyond that, you know, for me. Strategy is what? Links it all together. Yep. Right. I will always, um, say, you know, great creative, great. But it has to be linked to strategy.

00:38:46

So I think, you know, a lot of focus in the last 18 months to really clearly understand who our consumer is. You know, how, you know, what is their life? How can we fit into that? And then, like, really defining that strategy, right? Because, you know, when it is anchored in strategy, it makes the most sense to me, right? So we did that, and we'll continue to do that and challenge it and sharpen it as we go along the way. And then that creative is anchored in that strategy, right? And, you know, as I'm building this case internally, there are two things. Obviously, it needs to deliver a return, right? It has to. But also, there are quantitative metrics, and then there are qualitative metrics. So quantitative is the ROI, the return on investment.

00:39:28

But the qualitative is, you know, we're saying that you know consumers see us as a great functional candy and now I'm trying to move the needle to have that emotional connection and I want to make sure that we are moving the needle there and I'll just say that in the last 12 months we've really I mean, we want new people to know us and buy us. And we're doing that. So to me, it's both, right? It's the quantitative metrics like household penetration, ROI, but also moving the needle on the equity measures, which is the long-term play. On this business. Like I said, I'm in a generational business. It's not about just the short-term wins.

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: What agencies misunderstand about a CMO’s schedule 

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

00:40:14

Short-term wins, yes, but also building equity for the long-term. So that's how I justify creative and return. That's great. That's great. All right, let's go back to the board. I think we have time for only one more. Okay, 11. All right. Hope it's a good one. Let's see. Oh, yes, this is good. Okay. Walk me through a day in the life of Meenakshi. How much of your day is actually spent on advertising? And what do agencies misunderstand about what CMOs really need to get done? And I'll tell you where this question came from. I was in Cannes just a few weeks ago, and I heard the CMO on a panel. She did a lovely job, and she said, 'You guys think that the work you're doing is like all I'm focused on, but it is like, it's a sliver of what I'm doing in a day.' And she was talking about all of these other things.

00:41:11

And I think— I don't know that there's enough awareness of what life is like for our clients and our CMOs and our partners. And so I would love a little peek behind what it's like for you day in and day out. So actually, like I, you know, my role is slightly different than a CMO, right? Because I lead growth. So I lead marketing as well as our sales team. Um, so you know, if your question is how much time do I really spend with advertising agencies, right? I think for me, where I spend my time is like aligning on strategy. Right? So I was very involved, you know, when you know, we landed our strategy of our pyramid. And then, you know, how are we going to bring that pyramid to life?

00:41:54

I actually try to live into my principle. Of like, get the right team on the bus. And then let them run, right? And so I would say, if I was to work a 10-hour day, I would say that, from a strategy standpoint, I would spend about an hour with an agency if you want real, real numbers. So I think, but if I had to. What does that mean one out of ten? Like and I'm not gonna do the percentage right— ten percent— but Um, Is it? Yeah. That's right. I'm just calculating my math. What I would do. I think it's more around, I spend most of my time from an agency standpoint, like working on strategy and that, you know, like working with the team when we're, you know, when we have to think about things differently, right?

00:42:46

So I'll be honest with you. Like sometimes, you know, you guys bring things to the table, which makes us uncomfortable. We hired you for that, but it still makes us uncomfortable. Right. So, you know, I think those conversations around strategy is where I spend most of the time. But then the rest of it, I let my team run it, and again I'm coming back to what I started. I hired, we wanted to hire somebody— or I, I was very particular, a growth partner and not just a supplier in an agency. So, you know, I expect my agency partners to be equally vested in the business and not just driven by creative successes, but business outcome successes. Which team do you like better, sales or marketing? I'm just kidding.

00:43:31

I won't make you answer that. No, I don't see that. No, I don't see that. I won't ask you that, but we do have a lot of clients that have a dual role. Like you say, they're, they're also over a sales team. They're also over the marketing team. Really like that because I think in so many organizations, sales and marketing are so disconnected. And I think there's a lot of power in the position that you're sitting in right now. And the more sales knows about marketing and marketing knows about sales, I think the more cohesive organization you can have and so yeah, I imagine, your day is— are you in a lot of meetings every day? Are you doing a lot of presentations? Like, and you travel all the time, right?

00:44:09

You're on an airplane quite frequently. Every week. So I travel from the Midwest to the East Coast, right? Yeah, I think, you know, one of the things I like about the structure is obviously making sure that we win with our consumers and customers and not have a siloed organization. I mean, that was the purpose of having a role, which is like a chief commercial officer versus or a chief growth officer versus a chief marketing officer, because, you know, you wanted to make sure that the strategies are cohesive. The right hand is talking to the left hand, right? And my role is to enable that and bring the best thinking to the table. Yep. That's great, well you're doing a great job. And I know your team loves working with you.

00:44:52

I know we love working with you. We're super grateful for the partnership. Thank you. This is just the start of our journey. I know we're going to do amazing things together. All right. Well, we love to end our podcast with a little this or that. So I'm going to flash up a couple of things and you just pick the one that first comes to mind. Does that sound good? Sounds like a plan. All right. Let's get to know you a little bit better. 

[H3] Meenakshi Trehan: Closing remarks

‍

Learn more about MIKE AND IKE and Curiosity’s We Got’Chew campaign

Here we go. Easter or Halloween? Halloween. Okay. I like that. A hockey mom or a boss mom? Hockey mom. Hockey mom. That's great. You can be both too, by the way. Limited edition or are you an OG flavor? OG flavor. I'm so contradictory. You would love that.

00:45:36

Yes. Wisconsin or Pennsylvania? A boat! This is the one I'll pick: boat. Alright, well then, the next one you can't. Green or pink, Mike and Ike? Pink, Mike and Ike! Pink Mike and Ike. All right. Awesome. It was so great getting to know you more, hearing your stories. Thank you for all the amazing advice you shared. What's the best way for our listeners to get a hold of you? On LinkedIn. On LinkedIn. All right. We'll link to it. Thank you so much for coming on the show. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. And I really appreciated our conversation. Yeah, me too. Did you have fun? Was it scary? What do you think? You tell me. I think you did great. It was fun.

‍