Thirsty Thursdays @3PM EST
I'm a 20+ year veteran in the wine and spirits industry who loves innovation. I'm interviewing those who are creating it from agriculture to glass. We will deep dive into their journey and provide insights to help yours.
We will discuss their major industry pain points and outlook for the future. If my guest has an item to drink or eat we will try it throughout the podcast. Come on the journey with us!
Now On YouTube!! https://www.youtube.com/@ThirstyThursdaysat3PMEST
Thirsty Thursdays @3PM EST
🔥 Food & Beverage Trends 2024 with Audarshia Townsend 🍸🍔 Innovation, Wellness & What’s Next! 🚀
📢I talk🎙️with Ardashia Townsend about Food & Beverage Industry Trends! 👏🍷 🎇 🎉 ✨ 👏 🥂 😁 She is the Content Director, SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal. Owned by Informa
📽️ Watch on YouTube! 🎞️ https://youtu.be/xookuXBgrjA
This week on Thirsty Thursdays, Jessie Ott welcomes Audarshia Townsend, Content Director at Supply Side Food and Beverage Journal, to unpack the biggest trends shaking up the F&B world in 2024! 🍽️💥
From the growth of cold-pressed RTDs and functional beverages 🧃, to the rise in women’s wellness and clean labels 🌿—this episode is a deep dive into what’s next in food & beverage 🧠✨.
🚨 Key Takeaways:
- 📉 Supply chain & regulatory shake-ups and their impact on product innovation
- 🍹 RTD 2.0: Cold-pressed cocktails + fresh ingredient formulations
- 🧃 Better-for-you beverage trends (gut health, low sugar, functional ingredients)
- 🌱 Women’s health driving demand for nutrient-dense snacks & protein-rich beverages
- 🔥 Chicago’s vibrant food & bev scene and how it influences national trends
- 🎧 Music, fashion & culture as part of the F&B experience (hello, clubstaurants!)
👉 Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more insider convos with F&B leaders every week. Hit the 🔔 to stay updated with what’s shaking in food & drink innovation!
🎯 Drop your favorite 2024 F&B trend in the comments ⬇️
#thirsty #thirstythursdays #fnbinnovation #foodandbeverage #beverageindustry #2024trends #foodtrends2024 #rtd #betterforyou #functionalbeverages #womenshealth #guthealth #cleaneating #lowcaloriesnacks
NOW ON YOUTUBE!!! Thank you for Listening! Join us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!
Host Jessie Ott's Profile on LinkedIn
Jessie Ott (00:29)
Hello everybody and welcome to Thursday Thursday. am Jessie Ott and I have Audarshia Townsend Content Director Supply Side Food and Beverage Journal. Welcome Audarshia.
Audarshia Townsend (00:41)
Thank you so much, Jessie. It's great to be here. Thanks for inviting me on.
Jessie Ott (00:46)
Yeah, no, I'm so, I'm super stoked. You're doing a lot of great things out there and a lot of work in our industries and you cover both food and bev and, and I really wanted you to come on and kind of talk about what you're up to. I know you've been traveling a lot as well. We, we actually met through, Taylor Foxman's group. we were on a meeting together and kind of connected that way and then just kind of kept in touch and now we're able to record your podcast.
Audarshia Townsend (01:04)
Hmm.
Yes, very excited. I love Thursday Thursday. I mean, I used to have that hashtag on social media all the time and it always generated a lot of engagement. So kudos to you for naming a podcast after it.
Jessie Ott (01:27)
You're the only one that's ever told me that.
I didn't know what I was doing clearly and you know, whatever, who cares? I just, it's, the biggest, fastest decision of something I've ever made in my life. So for that, I'm kind of proud cause I'm usually one of these people that hang out and like make sure and test it and all. Anyway, I went to the first podfest and they're like, well, why'd you name it Thursday, Thursday? go, cause it's fun. And
It's a beverage podcast. Well, what do you talk about? Well, wine, beer, spirits. And he's like, showing me how you, could have named it any of those, but whatever. Thank you. I appreciate that. The Thursday, Thursday tag. It does. It does. It does. And you know, obviously, um, my heart and souls and food and beverage. we cover both, but, um, but yeah, that's kind of, that's kind of funny. Thank you for saying that. That excites me.
Audarshia Townsend (02:03)
It covers a spectrum.
Jessie Ott (02:19)
So where are you calling from?
Audarshia Townsend (02:21)
I am in Chicago.
Jessie Ott (02:24)
Chicago, the Windy City. You guys have had a fun winter.
Audarshia Townsend (02:25)
Yes.
Actually it's been a mild winter. you know we've been pretty mild since about 2019. It hasn't been crazy. Haven't gotten a lot of snow. So I'm straight. I'm good. It's gonna be the 60s next week.
Jessie Ott (02:30)
It's been miles of-
that's great. know that,
wow. Well, I guess it is kind of coming to the end of February or March, beginning of March. can be up or down. I'm from Iowa. So I remember playing basketball outside in the playground in March, wishing for it to be warmer. Cause there's ice patches all over and it's like, when is this winter going to get over? So that's a nice relief.
Audarshia Townsend (03:01)
Actually warm weather
though actually finally trickles in at about mid to late June, real warm weather here.
Jessie Ott (03:09)
Yeah, I'll tell you, my wife and I love Chicago and we've been up there a few times for a couple of concerts at Wrigley Field and they're in July. And I find myself in long sleeve shirts. It gets chilly. Yeah. Yeah. I'm from Iowa, so I'm not foreign to cold. I mean that's why I'm in the South. Anyway, back to you.
Audarshia Townsend (03:18)
Yes.
And I and I
Yes, it does.
you
Jessie Ott (03:35)
So are you from Chicago, born and raised?
Audarshia Townsend (03:39)
Um, I've been here all my life. I wasn't born here, but I've been here. Um, this is my adopted city. I've been here since an infant and I just love it. mean, I feel so lucky to be here because it's such a great place when it comes to food and beverage, whether it's the restaurant scene or whether it's a, uh, uh, food and beverage development. It is, it's just always growing, always something fantastic. So I'm definitely in the right place. And plus it's easy to get from the coast.
being right here in the middle, East Coast or West Coast.
Jessie Ott (04:09)
Yeah.
Yeah. You're just a few hours, you know, Dallas, LA, New York. Yeah. Or even in, you know, Canada for that matter. Yeah. Yeah. That's really, yeah, that's a good point. Cause a lot of times we have to go through Chicago to get to somewhere. So you are certainly a big hub. So how did you get involved in the food and wine business?
Audarshia Townsend (04:12)
Mm-hmm.
Yes, god yes.
Yes, I love it.
Jessie Ott (04:35)
Start from the beginning, all the way back.
Audarshia Townsend (04:36)
Okay, so all that, that far back, well, I was always into fashion and so that was like always my thing. I went to school to become a fashion illustrator, but then I was always really good at writing. So my mom was like, put the two together, write about fashion. So I moved to New York for a couple of years, had an internship, a couple of internships, but they...
Because there was so much interest in those internships for fashion at these publications And there was very little interest in food They put me in the food section because everybody was fighting to be either an entertainment or food or fashion So okay food. I don't really know anything about food especially coming right out of school and this these were not the days This is the ancient days. We're talking 30 years ago. This isn't when everybody was like a foodie and everyone was clamoring
Jessie Ott (05:14)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
Audarshia Townsend (05:28)
with their blogs and being an influencer. Right, no one was doing any of that. Everybody was about
Jessie Ott (05:28)
Everybody had brunch.
Audarshia Townsend (05:33)
fashion and sports and entertainment and of course, and music, of course, very, very music centered then. So I was lucky enough to at the kind of like the dawn of food, really food, interest in food when nobody was really feeling it. And so when I moved back to Chicago,
people started hiring me to be either a copy editor, columnist, and then eventually writing just about food. And it was just always so interesting. There was always so much great history behind every dish, behind every beverage, behind every chef or sommelier or bartender, et cetera. And it just kept growing to where I am now. And it's like, I can't see myself doing anything else.
Jessie Ott (06:14)
I love that. So what was the first place you worked at and writing about food? You were in New York City?
Audarshia Townsend (06:21)
Yes, Essence Magazine, it is a magazine that targets black women globally. And so my job was to write about chefs and restaurants, black owned restaurant chefs and the restaurateurs and even home chefs. People would send in recipes all the time. And my job was to fact check when people were fact checking before Google. Yes, I had the hand fact check it.
Jessie Ott (06:44)
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (06:46)
We had to go into the test kitchen and test all those recipes because people making their little dishes at home and trying to translate them to a magazine, completely different. So that was my job there. just meeting just really interesting people who were interested in food, but on a completely different level than the people I interviewed today.
Jessie Ott (07:07)
Yeah, yeah. Well, like you said, it was the building stages of what it is today. And so how long did you do that for?
Audarshia Townsend (07:11)
Yes.
I did that for in New York. did that for a couple of years until I came back home, wrote for and edited the Chicago Defender, which was at the time it was the longest running African-American daily newspaper. I think it's only online now, but at the time it was coming out five days a week. And I was there for a year and a half before I went to the Chicago Tribune.
Jessie Ott (07:29)
Nice.
Audarshia Townsend (07:38)
where I really got to write about music and food and sometimes I would combine the two because that was the beginning of people calling it a clubstorat or you know, it was the hybrid of the restaurant and the nightclub or the restaurant and the lounge. And so people were really trying to merge really great dishes with music and DJs or live music. And it just had this whole vibe. And so because the
Jessie Ott (07:46)
Nice.
Audarshia Townsend (08:08)
the restaurant critic at the time, it's Chicago Tribune, he didn't want to go to these clubby restaurants, clubstaurants or whatever. So he'd send me. And so I would learn stuff. He'd come sometime and he'd say, you need to look out for this, you need to look out for that. And I wasn't a critic, but it was more about the cultural experience, what's going on, what are the trends that you're seeing with the food, the beverages, the whole vibe. So I would just write about that whole thing.
Jessie Ott (08:13)
you
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (08:33)
And so that continued after I left the Tribune, wrote for Playboy, wrote for Esquire. sure, absolutely.
Jessie Ott (08:36)
Can we back up for just a second? You used
a term that I am not familiar with. Clubstaurant?
Audarshia Townsend (08:43)
What's that?
clubstaurants
We kind of coined it, you know, a club and a restaurant together. So it's a hybrid and all these places were doing this because the music was such a vibe in the, in the late nineties, early two thousands. Everybody had a DJ, everybody had a DJ and they will play like these really groovy, lousy music and or house music. Deep soul Chicago is like,
Jessie Ott (08:48)
That's cool! Yeah.
Yeah. I was going to say that's a time frame that I remember it. Yep.
Audarshia Townsend (09:11)
you know, a place where all the DJs, a lot of people get their footing in becoming a DJ here. So you'd be, you'd have a DJ playing like the really good music. wasn't a place where everybody was dancing or anything like that. You're just like really vibing. We had dessert lounges, sushi lounges, and there was always a DJ. And so I'd write about the scene and the food. it was fun. It was fun.
Jessie Ott (09:26)
Yeah.
That, how cool is that?
Yeah. And you were at the right age for that too.
Audarshia Townsend (09:39)
Yes, yes
I was today. Today I still go to those type of places. So was a great thing about that is that everybody loves music and everybody has to eat. So you would always see a great range of people from, because most of those places are 21 and over. So you would see people on the younger side all the way up to senior citizens. So it was a great merging of cultures and different generations. And I really, and I always wrote about those, how those.
Jessie Ott (10:02)
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (10:07)
different generations and people with different ideas merge. I've always loved to write about the great diversity in Chicago. And that was the other thing I would write about, you know, what the Indian community was doing as far as nightlife and doing these clubstaurants as well as Caribbean communities, African, as in Africa, like different West African and South African communities, what they were doing in Chicago and so forth.
Jessie Ott (10:34)
that is cool. That is one thing, you know, when I first got out of college and I moved to New York City, I read The Economist and I just loved it because you learn so much about all the different cultures. And, you know, I always thought I'd be working for the IMF just because I wanted to just study those cultures of people.
and understand, you know, their food, their music, their all, all the things. So I've done that on my own through list buying, different music that I have in my collection, Putumayo Records. don't know if you've ever heard of them, but they have a great collection of, music from all over the world. And that's, that's, that's been my connection. Small. Yeah. Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (11:08)
Nice.
Music and food, music and food, they connect people, the best.
Jessie Ott (11:17)
a hundred percent, especially in cultures where food is, where the family meets, you know? Yeah. Which I love that. My, my, mom and dad and, know, when we were growing up, you had to be home by six o'clock or my dad would find me and take me home.
Audarshia Townsend (11:21)
Yes.
Six o'clock?
Jessie Ott (11:32)
6pm, the whistle would blow.
Yeah.
I was either on my bike or my roller skates, you know? Yeah. My dad knew the two places I'd be. you know, anyway, so that was important in our, in my, in our family to do that. so what'd you switch to after that?
Audarshia Townsend (11:37)
Okay, okay, that's fair, that's fair.
basically when I left the Tribune full time, it's, and I continue, it's funny because when I left there full time, I was able to write for whomever I wanted. And I still did television because that's the other, that's a whole other story. How I've always been on television talking about these trends, these food and beverage and cultural trends and how, you know, food and culture mix. you know, how they mix and how they blend and how they rely on one another.
Jessie Ott (12:05)
Good.
Audarshia Townsend (12:19)
And so local television, national TV, you know, I've done many things there. But I just continued, you know, just writing mostly, editing mostly. And then eventually I found my way to this side of journalism, which is B2B, business to business, where the content that I'm creating and strategizing is content to help other businesses do better.
And it's not the restaurant scene, it's food and beverage production. So it's the very basics of what you need to know about developing a food or beverage product. So it's all about the supply chain. It's all about knowing the right ingredients, sustainable ingredients, just how to make something that is supposed to be better for you, how to make it taste better. That's the most important thing because you can have the healthiest.
Jessie Ott (12:57)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (13:10)
food or beverage product in the world, but if people don't like the way it tastes, then they'll buy it once and they'll just be like, okay, I'm looking for something else. So we try to help people find those solutions. These businesses find those solutions to this is the best option possible and it's still sustainable.
Jessie Ott (13:29)
Okay, awesome. And so what do you have events that you go to that are specific to what you guys are doing?
Audarshia Townsend (13:37)
Absolutely. Being at,
as you know, Supply Side Food and Beverage Journal, it's owned by a larger company called Informa, Informa PLC. And then for our division, we're Informa Markets North America. And under there, there's health and nutrition. And there's two sections. There's the Supply Side team, and that's us, the food ingredients, the development part. And then there's New Hope.
which puts on one of the biggest brand shows in the country. And that's Expo West, which is in Anaheim, California, always in the spring. And then we always have the big show, the food ingredient show, that's one of the biggest ones in North America. And that's always in the fall, that's side global. And so those two shows are mandatory. So I'll definitely be there. But then outside of the scope of the company events,
Then there's the Fancy Food Show, which is always a good show. It's very brand focused. Then there's the Black Women in Food Summit, where black women from all over the world who are in the food development, they're restaurateurs, they're journalists. They're just all throughout the food system. And they come together and think of solutions of how to amplify whatever they're doing. And that's always in the spring. And then there's an Organic Trade Association event where everything's organic.
And there's just so many events. I feel like every year there's a new event springing up, or I'm just finding out about it, but it's important. I feel like the mission for everyone is pretty much the same, that they just want to have better food out there. They want a better food system. They want to have diverse voices because it's not just one type of person putting out these products. They want everyone to be able to make some money out of it.
Jessie Ott (15:03)
Right.
Audarshia Townsend (15:23)
You
Jessie Ott (15:23)
Right,
no, absolutely. Would you say that you guys are more focused on food? Or is it pretty even split 50-50?
Audarshia Townsend (15:32)
I'd say that it's pretty even split between food and beverage and I would say that because there's so much white space in with functional beverages. I feel like every day there's someone sending me something about, here's something you should consider writing about as far as the ingredient or, you know, what's going on with non-dairy products that are drinkable or the span is so wide for
non-alcoholic beverages. That's a big one as well. And so I just feel like there's just so much white space there. But at the same time with food, because so many people are in these GLP-1s and they're not eating as much, people are coming, trying to come up with solution on finding nutrient dense food products that people that people were on these GLP-1s will want to eat. And that's mostly snacks and bars and those sorts of things.
Jessie Ott (16:20)
Yeah.
You know, for people that are doing that, do, I am concerned they're not getting enough nutrition. So anything that they could get that's low Cal or whatever they might be able to eat. mean, I guess in some senses, a lot of people do, fasting. And even in that sense, I worry people aren't, I mean, getting enough nutrition.
Audarshia Townsend (16:31)
Mm-hmm.
Agreed.
Well, that's why the beverage space is so wide open right now because a lot of people would rather drink their calories because it doesn't fill as dense. So we cover that a lot about nutrient dense beverages that they should be considering. They have a lot of nutrients in them that could help them with gut health and just, yeah, gut health and as far as probiotics, the fiber, the protein that they really need.
Because sometimes once that muscle's gone, it's gone in your body. It's hard to recover.
Jessie Ott (17:13)
Yeah. Okay.
That's so funny you say that because my best friend from Texas was just here for my birthday and she comes every year for a week or so. We just have so much fun, but her husband's been basically using his body as a testing ground and he started doing a two day, no, 55 hour fast and like...
Audarshia Townsend (17:33)
Mm.
Jessie Ott (17:38)
The end result was, well, I don't know how to keep my muscle. I mean, I'm learning through my V Shred is that I don't eat enough protein and protein helps, I guess, burn fat. don't know. I'm learning through it, but, but, you know, I would rather eat and have enough nutrients and stay healthy and not get sick and all the things, but I know everybody has their own thing and it's not a judgment on my part. It's just, that's for me. You know,
Audarshia Townsend (17:41)
Hmm, see?
Okay.
I'm glad you
brought that up because, you know, illness is possible if you're not getting those correct nutrients, if you're not getting, putting that in your body. I'm not a scientist or a doctor or a nutritionist or anything like that, but it just makes common sense. If you're not putting the right nutrients in your body, you're susceptible to illnesses. And so we're, try to find solutions all the time. We're talking about all of these experts. talk.
Jessie Ott (18:14)
either. Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (18:29)
to those experts, the nutritionists, the food scientists, the food developers who have all sorts of studies, the consumer insights experts who have all sorts of studies on what's going on there. And then we rewrite it. We make sure it's very balanced as well because there's a lot of things that are happening right now that are gonna change as far as regulation. So we make sure that we're getting all of the...
of right information.
Jessie Ott (18:56)
Yeah, especially if tariffs start happening. mean, supply chain is going to be affected. You may have to source from different places. Yeah, it is a concern. as we build our export business, obviously that's a concern we get as feedback as, well, 25 % tariffs, that's kind of high. We just don't know. And it's like, okay, well, I get it. But we'll be here if something changes.
Audarshia Townsend (19:03)
Absolutely.
Mm-hmm. We'll see what happens.
Right.
Jessie Ott (19:26)
We'll
see what happens. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's a negotiation tactic and hopefully the two parties will come to some kind of conclusion where they both win somehow and we don't lose. So that would be good. Yeah. Yeah. Which is not all bad. So what are you seeing as, you know, like the micro trend? I mean, I would say I know beverage a lot more than food.
Audarshia Townsend (19:38)
same
Jessie Ott (19:54)
And so what we're seeing over here, obviously, is these Cutwater and High Noon's and these RTDs are just, they're killing it. And the regular spirits, the tequila is slowing down, but it's still up there. And, you know, then you have all the THC, CBD kind of product, and then you have the better for you. And I really feel like those are three categories that are going to be just a regular part of our assortment. Are you seeing that as well?
Audarshia Townsend (20:19)
I 100 % agree.
Everything that you said, I 100 % agree with. And I would add to that is that when you start talking about the better for you in non-alcoholic, ready to drink beverages, there are people who consumers are looking for less sodium and less sugar, but they're looking for alternative sugars like cane. They're looking for organic cane sugar and coconut sugars.
They're not looking for the full on sugars. They don't want artificial sweeteners either, but they want some sweetener. They want to have a nice experience when they're having this beverage, drinking this beverage. So they don't want any aftertaste, bitter taste, any weirdness. So they just want to drink and not even think about it. They just want it to be like, okay, I'm having this beverage with my meal or I'm having it before dinner or after dinner or what have you, or just drinking it.
Jessie Ott (20:54)
Yeah, process.
Audarshia Townsend (21:17)
But they want that experience without even thinking about it. It just feels like, it feels like a chore or it feels like they're being forced. Like you were forced to drink medicine when you were a kid. They don't want it to taste medicinal. They want it to be a great experience. So, the most important thing is that there's nothing artificial in them is what I'm hearing for people.
Jessie Ott (21:25)
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. And I love that you talked about experience. That was my word for 2024. My wife and I went to a cocktail bar restaurant here in Lake Mary it's new and kind of has that speakeasy, you know, style to it in the bar. And I got a bathtub gin. And they literally brought out a little table with a
Audarshia Townsend (21:58)
Mmm.
Jessie Ott (22:03)
little bathtub in a rubber ducky. And then they use foam for bubbles. And it was literally a drink served in a bathtub. And so that way it made such an impact on me. I'm like that we giggled for 45 minutes, know, what's that? it was great. It was, it was really good. And, and, and so for me, I was like the L the experience is so important to, to, to branding and then.
Audarshia Townsend (22:16)
Highly taste though.
How did it taste? Okay, good.
Jessie Ott (22:30)
I felt like this year, because the competition is increasing, increasing, increasing, that you're really going to have to elevate what you're doing because there's so much competition from all over the place that you're really going to have to figure out a way to stand out.
Audarshia Townsend (22:44)
Absolutely. That's why you'll find more unique flavors out there, flavor profiles when it comes to these beverages. People want to see shorter ingredient lists. So they want to see clean labels when it comes to those ingredient lists. And they want to be able to recite whatever stories behind that product. So it's important for the brand to really tell a great story about why did I start this, whether it's an alcoholic beverage or non-alcoholic beverage.
Jessie Ott (23:09)
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (23:13)
Why did I even start this? Why am I in the game? And if you have a great backstory, people just really love that.
Jessie Ott (23:19)
Yeah, I am finding that as well. store this, it's all about the story. And I think a lot of that is propelled by Gen Z and, and Gen Y they really love just the, the whole story and the meaning behind it. Cause you know, when they are bombarded with everything all the time, everywhere they, they want to have something real. Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (23:38)
They want to have a connection. And that makes
you feel like you have a closer connection when you know the story behind it instead of, okay, here's another option. So 100 % agree.
Jessie Ott (23:47)
Yeah.
So another thing that I'm seeing, I had one company on that's no longer in business and it was literally the best premixed cocktail I've ever had and it broke my heart. And so I had another guest on and his name, Ken McKenzie with Fresh Victor. He's launching, his podcast is launching this week and...
Audarshia Townsend (23:59)
Hmm. Well.
Jessie Ott (24:09)
The reason I like both of them so much is because they are using this process called cold pressed And, it is a way to make the freshest, the most delicious drinks. when I opened up that, cocktail and poured it, was a, they, they, were doing margaritas. It felt like it had just been mixed by a bartender. When I opened up Fresh Victor, it tastes like a real pineapple juice, just so fresh.
Audarshia Townsend (24:29)
Wow.
Jessie Ott (24:36)
And you know, they have a mint one, which mint is so hard to do. Like I've not tasted anything even close to that in an RTD. Not that the RTDs aren't good. just feel like it's doing cold press cocktails is RTD 2.0. It's the next level. Are you a little bit not enough to go into it? unfortunately, but,
Audarshia Townsend (24:52)
Do you know the process behind it?
Jessie Ott (25:01)
we can, I can make that happen for you. But I think, I think I would love your opinion. mean, is anybody else doing this? Because I feel like that is such an opportunity.
Audarshia Townsend (25:12)
I feel like it's an opportunity too and I want to look into it more. I'd like to look into it more because when you start talking about something tasting like fresh pineapple and mint especially, because I imagined that when you were saying that, you crack open the can and then there's the fizz and then you sip it and you taste this burst of fresh mint. When I imagine that and I'm imagining that coming out of a can, usually that taste is really artificial.
So for them to duplicate that and being able to have it taste like a freshly made margarita or mojito or whatever beverage, whatever fresh juices, that's pretty phenomenal. So I definitely want to look into that and see if that's also happening in the wellness community. I'm going to look into it.
Jessie Ott (25:38)
It's artificial. Yes.
Yep.
Yeah, I
think you should. And I can connect you with Ken probably. He'd be great resource to talk about it. Cause he, he's figured all that out. He's got a, he's got a company he uses in California and it's a family owned business and they're kind of working on it together. I would love to get the Margarita team connected to him too. Cause he, sold four tequila brands. I think about it all the time.
Audarshia Townsend (26:05)
Fabulous.
Jessie Ott (26:21)
I would just try to figure out how to make it happen because I think it's different. No one's doing it and it'll blow everybody away. Honestly, it did me. Yeah. And they last, you know, but, it's a different type of process and, in heat it expands. And so there's a lot of refrigeration and, and certain things you have to do with it. So what I've been doing with Fresh Victor is I'll pour like a little shot and a, and a pint glass.
Audarshia Townsend (26:27)
Yes, I agree.
Jessie Ott (26:46)
with ice and just pour water on top of it. And then I get fresh fruit juice every day. And it helps me get my 36 ounces in the morning with different flavors. It's so fun. Yeah. And I think the sugar, there's a little bit of sugar. So that is a concern for people that may be, you know, not able to eat sugar, but anyway, that's kind of what I've been doing. It's been a different experience. I'm interested in...
Audarshia Townsend (26:54)
Nice.
Jessie Ott (27:10)
your thoughts on that after you try some. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Of course. Any, any other, well, any other big trends that you're seeing? I would say, one on the food side, I just interviewed, Jake Karls of, Mid-Day Squares. Have you ever heard of them? So they're doing, snack bars.
Audarshia Townsend (27:11)
I am too. Yes. Thank you.
Jessie Ott (27:31)
but instead of putting them on the regular shelf with all the other snack bars, they're putting them in the cold refrigerator. And I thought that was really interesting. Is that a movement that you're seeing on the food side?
Audarshia Townsend (27:43)
Not really. Why has he put them in the food section?
Jessie Ott (27:47)
Because there's no preservatives and cold is a preservative and they want it to be out of the busy section of all the other things and, be different. It's part of their strategy. Yeah. It's a shorter shelf life.
Audarshia Townsend (27:58)
That's gonna be a shorter shelf life.
Okay. No, as far as the nutrition bar space, everyone is fighting to be shelf stable from what I've seen. The ones that do have dairy in them, the few that I know that have the ones that are coming to mind right now, they still manage to make them shelf stable. So I'll look into that as well to see if that's starting to be a trend as well. I know
Two things, I know it's gonna be really expensive and the second thing, I said before, shorter shelf life.
Jessie Ott (28:25)
Yeah.
Yeah. They, they probably are a little bit more expensive, but they're all, raw natural ingredients. And, you know, it's, it would, I would consider it a better for you category probably, you know? but that was just their, their way of differentiating. he. Yeah. Yeah. I think they have like five or four, four to six different flavors. I have to try them. have to, they're at Target and Costco.
Audarshia Townsend (28:41)
Mm-hmm. Yes.
a lot of different flavors as well.
Jessie Ott (28:58)
No, Costco, Canada, they're in Target and I think Sprouts or.
Fresh Markets anyway, I just.
Audarshia Townsend (29:03)
Okay. In Chicago, we have
Fresh Markets and Target, of course.
Jessie Ott (29:09)
Yeah. Yeah. So might be able to find them. They're in the refrigerated section. I was just curious because he's that storyteller guy. He's the one out there telling his story. So he's, on LinkedIn. he's got a lot of followers, but he's out there telling the story, how hard it is and what they've accomplished. And, he's become a brand that people, when they, when they win Mid-Day Squares when everybody wins and we're all happy for him because we're
Audarshia Townsend (29:15)
Ooh.
Jessie Ott (29:32)
We're there with them, you know, throughout the whole process. So it's kind of, kind of cool.
Audarshia Townsend (29:36)
Okay. Okay, thank you. I'm getting the hookup during this podcast.
Jessie Ott (29:37)
Yeah, I'll connect you guys. well, it's my, it's
kind of a superpower, I guess. I'm just a connector because I feel like if there's a, a way to, you know, connect people for their, their mutual better interests, why not? Yeah. Yeah. But sorry, back to you. I'm just, yeah, I, I, I'm just so curious.
Audarshia Townsend (29:55)
That's right on. I love it.
But we're good. This is what I do.
Jessie Ott (30:04)
You know, all the time of the new products that are happening and what's going on out there, you know, it's just fun to talk to someone else. Like, you know, most people are food or beverage or whatever, and not very many people are like you and I who kind of, kind of dabbling both, although I am definitely more beverage centric than, than, than you are. So, but that's, that's okay. doesn't matter. Anyway, so,
As far as trends, we kind of talked about that. there anything else that you're seeing that you want to talk about on the podcast?
Audarshia Townsend (30:38)
Sure, women's health as a woman, as a woman who's going to be a certain age, going into that stage of being a certain age, you I have to be really a lot more careful about the foods and beverages that I eat and make sure I include more fiber and more protein. I have a personal trainer slash nutritionist now and he texts me every day and he's like, did you get the nutrition in? How's that nutrition going?
Jessie Ott (30:59)
Yay!
Audarshia Townsend (31:04)
How much fiber, how much protein? So for the first time in my life, I'm really paying attention to what's going on as far as protein and fiber and everything that I eat. And that, and I'm not the only one. There are a lot of women who are my age who are in this business who are also looking at that and they're starting to build products or they're starting to make better products, improve their products to make sure they have more fiber in them.
Jessie Ott (31:07)
you
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (31:31)
And I'm not going to call on any names, but there are a few products I absolutely love. And I'm like, it doesn't have a lot of fiber. And I only see that you have very little fiber. some, some, this particular person said that she was reformulating one of her products to include more fiber because she's a woman of a certain age as well and include more protein because people absolutely love her products, but it just, it's just a snack. It needs to be more functional.
But I will call out this name, Ginny Britton of Ginny's Splendid Ice Creams, which I absolutely love. I'm obsessed with her ice cream. She's come out with a line of nutrition bars. She came out with them in January, mid-January, and they have those flavors that people love, like bramberry and lavender in her ice creams. And she's taken those flavors, those fun flavors, those...
Jessie Ott (32:26)
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (32:26)
different
combinations that are usually known for in her ice creams, and she's putting them into fiber bars. so things like that are making it interesting. This is not the fiber and fiber bars that we remember from our grandparents and our parents. Because I go to my mom's refrigerator, or I remember going to my grandmother's and seeing all that fiber and stuff, and I'm just like, god, I'm not looking forward to those days when I have to eat that stuff. But now I look.
Jessie Ott (32:42)
Right?
Audarshia Townsend (32:53)
forward to eating, you know, these, these nutrition bars that are out here, these beverages that are out here, all sorts of snacks, you know, savory snacks, pretzels, crackers, granola. They make them fun and tasty. And that's not what, what was done. That's not what happened with my mom and grandmother today. I mean, I look forward to eating this stuff and stuff.
Jessie Ott (32:53)
No.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (33:16)
It's fun to eat and it's gonna be better for my bones as I get older. So women's health, women's wellness, I'm all over it.
Jessie Ott (33:20)
Better for you. Yeah.
I love it. I love
it so much. That's great. You know, when you talked about fiber, we, I saw, and I don't remember where, and this isn't, this is more protein side, but, I don't know if it was whole foods or where it was a few months ago when we were in Dallas, they had, chips made out of chicken. Yeah, we tried them. Yeah. I mean, they were okay. We didn't buy them again.
Audarshia Townsend (33:43)
I saw, I heard about those. Did you try them?
really salty.
Jessie Ott (33:52)
Yeah, they were salty and the texture is weird and, but I mean, what a, what a great idea to try. Right. Like if you could get that down, that would be awesome.
Audarshia Townsend (33:55)
Mm-hmm.
You
Right. You know there's a pizza dough made out of chicken, I don't, I think it's chicken breast, I'm not, or chicken skin, I don't know, but instead of, it has less carbs in it, and so I had a slice before, just a teeny, a slither at Fancy Foods a couple of years ago, and I only had the little slice, so.
It tasted fine, but I feel like if I had like a couple of slices like you usually do with pizza, it would be really salty as well.
Jessie Ott (34:34)
Yeah, that I would like to try that because I, I don't eat gluten or at least I try not to. And so that would be an alternative because the, the cauliflower is okay. Okay.
Audarshia Townsend (34:39)
That's right, was gluten free.
Okay, it's okay. And it's usually,
and a lot of times it's not 100 % cauliflower when they do those cauliflower flowers. mean, crusts, a lot of times they have gluten in them. So you have to be real careful with those as you know.
Jessie Ott (34:55)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, very true. So let's shift over to you on talking about any mentors that you, that were, you know, instrumental in any career choice that you made or move, maybe moving back home.
Audarshia Townsend (35:14)
Oh, okay.
Interestingly enough, all of my mentors have been men. They have been men, starting with, well, I mean, would have loved to have some female mentors, but they just happened to all be men. They were all really encouraging, all pushed me to the next level. And that started in college. No, actually it started in high school with Mr. Hunter.
Jessie Ott (35:22)
That's great. That's okay.
I know.
Nice.
Audarshia Townsend (35:41)
He's no longer with us, but he was the one who was like, you need to be on the school newspaper. And he was like, your talents are being wasted. You know, I'm sitting there drawing all the time. And he's the one I was like, what's journalism? You know, what is that? And he was like, that's what the school newspaper is. And I'm like, okay. This is high school now. And so I was like, okay. So he got me on the newspaper. I created with Ryan Daniels, who was my co-columnist. And we had this cool column called Info Fashion.
Jessie Ott (35:53)
you
I loved it.
Audarshia Townsend (36:09)
And so, yes, so we write about food and fashion. even, even junior senior year, I was writing about food and fashion. And it was just fun. know, we'd write about to get people to read it. We pick, you know, we pick somebody, you know, that we really like and love their style. And we would say, this is the style icon of the month. And we write about somebody in high school, we were doing this. And so, and we would say why we thought that person was fabulous. And then.
Jessie Ott (36:30)
You
Have
Audarshia Townsend (36:38)
We are high school was in an area where there were all these like mom and pop owned restaurants. And so we say, we have this condom and we'd like to write about you. And then they would bombard us with food and they were like, here's enough food for your whole newsroom or come and have a free meal, bring your family. And we did. And so we, and so we'd write like a little, you know, mini review about them.
Jessie Ott (36:56)
that's some perks.
Audarshia Townsend (37:02)
So I'm saying all this stuff about Mr. Hunter, but Mr. Hunter is the one who actually got me into journalism. So he's number one. And then all throughout in college, had Mr. Dessutter. And then in college at first for the school newspaper and magazine. And then I can't even remember their names for when I transferred schools and went to Columbia College in Chicago. I had like two or three.
And then just goes on, but it's, they've always been very encouraging and, and straight to the point was like, you could do so much better. Do this. Don't miss your words. Get in there and interview, you know, be aggressive, be yourself and look people in the eye, have a firm handshake, you know, and I've always done that.
Jessie Ott (37:51)
Yeah, that's awesome. I'm so glad that you have those great experiences because not everybody does.
Audarshia Townsend (37:57)
That's true. And I try to be the great experience for people. I've
mentored lots of young people, male and female. And I say those things that they told me to do, know, firm handshakes and look people in the eyes and have a strong voice and a strong presence because, know, why cower? There's so much competition in this industry right now. You have to stand out and you got to do, but be yourself at the same time. Don't try to be somebody else. You got to be yourself. It'll always.
Jessie Ott (38:20)
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
So do you have any resources that you, that you use, you know, whether it be industry or even on a personal level or professional, you know, leadership?
Audarshia Townsend (38:43)
Oh, that's an excellent question. I'm gonna have to get back to you on that. Usually, yeah. I read a lot of people's content. I look at a lot of our competitors. Idea wise, I just sit and I think about what I'd like to see and what I think other people need to see.
Jessie Ott (38:49)
Don't worry.
Audarshia Townsend (39:07)
We have our own editorial board, a supply-side food and beverage journal, where those people are a great resource. It's full of food scientists. We have food scientists, CPG, brand owners, consumer insights people, and one person whose main job is to be a procurer. And so those people are great resources when it comes to what should we be doing as far as content? What are we missing?
So we talk to them on a regular basis. And so that's the resource that immediately comes to mind, those people.
Jessie Ott (39:40)
Yeah.
Well, yeah, and they're very important. And they're working on different angles of different things all the time to pitch, sure, to you guys.
Audarshia Townsend (39:48)
Very knowledgeable.
Jessie Ott (39:55)
So what about any pain points that you're seeing in the industry? mean, we know the supply chain and the regulatory environment, but is there other pain points that you're seeing, whether it be on the food or beverage side that you want to mention?
Audarshia Townsend (40:09)
The supply chain, as you said, is a really big issue. Also, just the fact that prices are going up on everything and it hasn't become a huge issue right now, but it's going to be. Excuse me.
Jessie Ott (40:23)
It will. Yeah.
I was just, you know, with the egg crisis that we tend to have going on in certain parts of the country, you know, we went to our local publics and that's fine. We've got plenty of eggs and they're not gouging us yet. But what I, what I fear is all the big, you know, companies that need eggs to buy, to make all their products.
Audarshia Townsend (40:38)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Jessie Ott (40:50)
What's going to happen to the price of all those products? Because their costs of goods are going up so high.
Audarshia Townsend (40:57)
They're going to have to look for alternatives to eggs. A lot of people are doing that, or they're going to have to use an alternative and some egg. So they're going to have to use less of the egg and then find something to make up for that. That's what food scientists do. They come up with those solutions to make it more sustainable and bring the price down too, so the price doesn't go carry on to the consumer. So I know for a fact that a lot of these companies are working on those solutions.
Jessie Ott (40:59)
Yep.
Yeah, going to have to act fast. From your position then, you have any insider information on when this egg crisis could be better?
Audarshia Townsend (41:33)
Be over?
I don't see any
end in sight. In fact, one of my editors sent me something yesterday. Yes, it was yesterday. She sent me something about this is continuing to be a crisis. That's interesting. Yes, just yesterday. she was recommending that we talk to some of the people who have alternative egg solutions. And there are quite a few of them. And it's interesting because
A lot of them are in the Middle East. A lot of startup companies are doing some really revolutionary stuff with egg alternatives. And I've tasted the product, mean, not the ingredient, but once they put that product in a pastry or a bar or a beverage, I've tasted the end product and I'm like, wow, this is pretty good. I don't miss the fact that this is an alternative to the egg.
And so they also have to figure out how to make that cost, bring the cost down of the reduction of that product. And most important is that the price won't fluctuate. So companies would know that, okay, there's an aid crisis. I'm going to have to go with this alternative. It's not going to go up as a result as the way that the aid prices are going. So there are quite a few companies out there that are looking at that solution.
Jessie Ott (43:01)
Yeah, never thought... Ugh, I never really thought we'd be here.
Audarshia Townsend (43:01)
Because there's no end in sight.
Same. I can say that about a lot of things that are going on right now in this industry. It's crazy.
Jessie Ott (43:08)
Yes.
Yeah, you're right.
That being said, what is your outlook in the next, you know, six months to a year?
Audarshia Townsend (43:19)
Again, everything is up in the air. I look at things weekly to see, it just seems like something's happening every day that's affecting our industry, especially with, I think 10,000 FDA employees were laid off within the last two weeks. USDA, there are a bunch of employees being let go. And then there are other people who federally are...
Jessie Ott (43:22)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (43:43)
or their jobs are in danger or will be in danger when it comes to the food system. And so all that, I feel like it's going to trickle down at some point and affect everyone. So that's on the business side and that's going to affect everyone, consumers, everyone. But a good note is that, I mean, there's really no positivity when it comes to that, but it does make people
think about how to be more creative and innovative. And when people are stressed out in times like this, they do become creative. And so it'll be interesting to see what kind of innovations come out of this. I'm looking forward to all the education sessions and all the upcoming shows because these types of solutions are going to be talked about a lot from Expo West to Supply Side Global.
Supply side connect, New Jersey. These are the questions that people are they want answers to. Oh, we have a ton of webinars where we'll be talking about these issues because we'll have experts talking about this because people want to know in the industry what's going on. So we look to the experts.
Jessie Ott (44:44)
Yeah.
Okay, I love that. Well, and the final, most important question is, what are your passions outside of work?
Audarshia Townsend (45:05)
I kind of gave
you a hint to that. Fashion. love, you know, going to fashion shows, looking at fashion, seeing fabulous, fabulosity on television. I have some favorite television shows and I look at just to see what they're going to wear. You know, what's going on? Some of it, you know, I'm at an age now where I dress well. I've always been in, I've always loved the classics when it comes to fashion. And then I throw, you know, something trendy in there.
Jessie Ott (45:10)
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (45:32)
but I always love looking at, know, what are the people wearing now? So I can put my spin on it because I'm not going to wear something like way out there, but I love fashion and seeing just what they're going to do with it. And then there's music. I love music. love house music and R and B and soul and funk. And so any concert that comes to Chicago and has a type of music I try to go to, or I'll travel. If they don't come to Chicago, I will go see, you know, plan a trip.
Jessie Ott (45:41)
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (46:00)
around a great restaurant or an awesome concert.
Jessie Ott (46:01)
a wonderful trip.
I love that. Do you, going back to the fashion piece, do you still draw?
Audarshia Townsend (46:09)
That breaks my heart. No, I haven't in like 20 something, 30 something years. So I just don't have time. I sat down and I tried to scribble and it just doesn't come out like it used to. It just used to be really organic. Now when I try to do it, it feels forced. So I just write. I write and say, I'm great at describing my, you know, describing something. I illustrate with my words. Maybe one day.
Jessie Ott (46:17)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Well, maybe it'll come back later. Yeah, exactly. I mean, it would
be a, yeah. I mean, even like in retirement, it would be healthy for you to, to design and keep your brain alive and give you something to do that you don't, you're not, you're not busy over here doing all the, all the things your mind is clear and maybe you'll have different visions.
Audarshia Townsend (46:54)
Yes, and by keeping my mind clear, yoga, Pilates, weightlifting, walking on a treadmill, I love that. mean, those just keep my mind clear. And plus, just laser focus and it makes you more disciplined.
Jessie Ott (46:59)
Yep.
Yep.
Yeah, it really does. Yeah. I'm glad you said that we were just talking about that too, about how you just need to clear, get the toxins out, get your muscles going and you just, you just feel better.
Audarshia Townsend (47:17)
Absolutely.
so it better look better.
Jessie Ott (47:22)
yeah, yeah, I, we've been, we've been hitting it pretty hard this year. So we're, trying. well, we walk two to three miles a day and, or go to HOTWORX which is a hot sauna gym. It's isometric holds. And, and then we have a gym here in the garage. So I hit weights two to three days a week.
Audarshia Townsend (47:27)
What are you doing?
Nice.
Okay.
nice.
Fabulous.
Jessie Ott (47:43)
And
so, I'm trying, I'm just gotta get my diet. You seem really like hiring a nutritionist. That's awesome. I'm so happy you did that for yourself because I think it's important to learn because it's things are changing so quickly. Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (47:54)
It's hard.
It's really hard. And also I forgot spin class. I have to take my class. And I was taking before Victor, I was doing spin like four or five days a week. And he was like, you can't do that. It's hard to get these. He said, throw some weights in those days instead and walk on a treadmill more. And it's done wonder for my knees. know, I mean, he's not even 30 yet. He'll be 30. Did he just have a birthday? He'll be 30 this year.
Jessie Ott (47:59)
Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (48:24)
but he's barely 30 and he's so good at what he does. I love him. He's awesome. And he's my guinea pig because like I said, since he's a nutritionist, I'm always bringing him bars and nutrition bars and other snacks and all better for you, of course, and beverages just to get, know, like, what do you think, Victor? And he'll look at the nutrition panel.
Jessie Ott (48:25)
Nice.
That's great.
Audarshia Townsend (48:48)
And he'll say, too much of this, too little of this, too many calories. And he'll toss it. Or he'll say, this is really good. He said, put that on the good list. So yes, he's like my little secret weapon. Absolutely.
Jessie Ott (48:51)
You
Nice. I love that. It's good to have some tools in the toolbox like that.
Excellent. Yeah. That is so cool. When you're talking about fiber. So when I was writing down everything and I need to do it again and I will, fiber was something I noticed that I couldn't get close to. And what I, what I discovered was artichokes are really high in fiber.
Audarshia Townsend (49:17)
Hmm.
Mmm.
Jessie Ott (49:23)
And
so at CostCo, you can buy these giant jars there that are cut up artichokes that are in olive oil and you just throw them on your salad. don't even need any salad dressing or anything. I found that was kind of helpful.
Audarshia Townsend (49:26)
Mm-hmm.
You like artichokes? Okay. They're okay. I liked you said that they're in olive oil. So that made the taste really, that made it sound really good. Some people cook them and they're just a little too stringy. But if they're cooked properly, then I'm all about it. And if you chop them up and put them in your salad, that's the perfect way to eat them as well because they don't get all stringy. But.
Jessie Ott (49:38)
I do. You don't.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (50:03)
You know, there are times when I love some artichokes. But like I said, you know, they have to have the right flavor profile and right texture.
Jessie Ott (50:11)
Yeah.
Well, the ones that are at least that we buy that are in the, the glass jars, they have a specific flavor profile to them. so there is a flavor that they, know, between the olive oil and like spices that or whatever, but that really helped. Yeah. That really helped my fiber needs. I should probably get those back in the rotation again.
Audarshia Townsend (50:27)
That sounds delicious.
Good. I got to go grocery
shopping this weekend. I'm going to get some, I'm totally getting some artichokes and put them on, start putting them on my salad. Good idea. Thank you. Thanks, Jessie.
Jessie Ott (50:45)
Yeah, yeah,
Fresh Victor, artichokes and Mid-Day Squares. I'd love to know what your, your, trainer would say about those.
Audarshia Townsend (50:49)
Mid-Day Squares, yes.
me too. So, when he comes, he's on vacation, living it up, his birthday vacation. And I've seen the stuff he's been eating and drinking, but again, he just made 30 so he could do whatever he wants and whatever he wants. And he eats pizza. I sometimes he'll post burgers and martinis, but again, he knows what he could have. And I know what I, he knows what I can have. So do, I will not follow his diet.
Jessie Ott (51:02)
Nice.
He's 30.
He can do what everyone at that age still.
Audarshia Townsend (51:24)
you
Jessie Ott (51:24)
Well, I love that you, you, you guys have that relationship. That's that makes it makes it fun. Yeah.
Audarshia Townsend (51:27)
He's awesome. Yes, he is fantastic.
It's just that I was judging his burger contest a few months ago and I invited him to come and he was just like, look at all these burgers and there's an open bar too. And I was like, yeah, this is kind of what I do sometimes, Victor. He just looked at me and he was just like, yeah, he gave me a look like, thank God I'm in your life.
Jessie Ott (51:55)
that's so
cool. That is awesome. Well, I think we're at time here. I know we're having so much fun, but thank you so much for coming on and we'll, we'll, we'll have to do this again or maybe do something. Yeah. Maybe we'll figure out a media, something we can do together in the industry. And yeah, no, you've been.
Audarshia Townsend (52:01)
Yes.
Absolutely. Thank you so much.
Thanks so much for having me, Jesse. This was awesome. Fantastic.
Jessie Ott (52:18)
good. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did because you're amazing. I love it. I love what you're doing. All right. Well, I'll let you get back to it. Take care.
Audarshia Townsend (52:23)
You are. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Okay, have a great week. Thank you so much and talk to you soon.
