Journeys of ‘cult’ consumer brands.
Podcast from a VC group called VMG Partners who are really active in the CPG space. Mostly talking with the founders of VMG’s portfolio companies, showcasing the interesting backstories of those companies, illustrating how they validated their idea and took it to market. Strong focus on companies with a D2C model. Will appeal to those working in the CPG industry who want to learn more about ‘cult’ consumer brands.
World class retail journalism.
Modern Retail is a fantastic publication that talks a lot about D2C. The journalists at Modern Retail are really good – they always have their fingers on the pulse. With this podcast the Modern Retail team are talking a lot with founders, mostly of buzz-y startups, as well as more established companies (the COO of Mattel recently appeared on the show). There’s a strong focus about trends in retail, building companies, hiring, and other relevant retail-focused topics.
The undisputed gold standard for expert ecommerce insights.
No surprises here - The Jason & Scot Show is a favorite podcast for many retail and ecommerce professionals, myself included! The show features two super-sharp guys with decades of experience who really understand the industry. Jason and Scot continually get interesting guests, and deliver wonderful recaps and hot takes after major events such as Prime Day and Amazon’s quarterly earning reports. They speak with a lot of analysts from Forrester, Adobe and Salesforce to dig into important trends. Must listen!
Deep expertise and razor-sharp insights.
A new-ish show, which only started up in June 2020. I’ve been fortunate enough to recently appear as a guest on this one. The hosts, Sri and Peter, have decades of experience between them and facilitate really insightful conversations. They’ve managed to snag great guests from big retailers and large brands alike. I particularly appreciate the fact that Sri comes from the world of big CPG (J&J, Revlon, Pepsi) but now runs a start-up, so his experience really spans the gamut, meaning he offers some truly unique insights.
Fresh ‘big picture’ perspectives.
I enjoy Future Commerce because it’s a more esoteric listen compared to more nuts-and-bolts ecommerce podcasts. The hosts discuss loftier, ‘big picture’ long-term trends, as well as retail and consumer behavior more generally. It’s an aptly named show – the hosts, Phillip and Brian, explain how shifts in the way people are behaving will impact ecommerce brands in the immediate and long term future. Future Commerce also does lots of features and studies around community building and sustainability, differentiating the show in a big way from other podcasts out there.
Showcases ‘scrappy’ tactics that bring big results.
At the other end of the spectrum, eCommerce Fuel is really tactical, providing very specific advice around topics such as content development and email newsletters. The host, Andrew Youderian, and his guests largely talks about growth strategies from the perspective of small business owners, but this show is also really useful for marketers from larger brands, because it gives them ‘scrappy’ ideas about how to scale their business.
Powerful takeaways from strong female leaders.
I love a new podcast called BRAVE COMMERCE because it features two really great female execs, MikMak Founder & CEO Rachel Tipograph and Profitero’s President Sarah Hofstetter, talking about big trends in consumer goods. They get great guests – reps from brands like Hersheys, ELF, Kimberly Clark. The show only started in September but it’s already found its way into my regular rotation!
Tactics and strategic insights from subject matter experts.
Shameless plug! If you’re not aware, I’m the host of the Ecommerce Braintrust podcast which has been around for a few years now. I’d like to think my show has a nice mix of both tactical and trends commentary. I like to bring on a mix of brand reps, solution providers and thought leaders to talk about trends that have piqued my interest. For example, recently I spoke with an influencer who got paid by a brand to run a live video stream, and I dug into what the experience was like from her perspective.