I’m full of words. Hello, I’m a semi-professional yapper who actually likes talking to people through a mic! In fact, it may be genetic, passed down from my attorney father who used to make up stories about woodland creatures to help me fall asleep—and can the man write a lengthy text message or what? Love you, Dad!
While life can be more fun with flowery, witty language, there is something to getting to the point. For avoiding the word salad we see so much of these days, circling real issues, missions, or purposes. That’s what I really took away from my conversation with CPG investor Nate Cooper. In fact, it’s The Perfect Bite’s first “Mini Bite” episode because the man is so good at just stating what he feels, thinks, and has experienced, without going down rabbit holes as I tend to do. So, I’m going to actually stop myself now, let you listen to and read Nate’s story, and learn how to apply brevity to your own storytelling secret ingredient repertoire below. Enjoy!
Nate Cooper’s Perfect Bite
Nate Cooper was born into the food business—and really did everything in his power to avoid it until he realized he can be helpful to founders in the space. Now, Nate heads up Barrel Ventures, focusing on investing in fixing our broken food system and leading the charge in CPG products that will change our lives for the better. One of his better risks? Olipop, now a multi-billion dollar venture. Nate breaks down how food founders should be approaching investing, the categories he has his eye on, and why niche audiences are the key to winning in the long term.
You can connect with Nate on LinkedIn or email him at [email protected]. You can learn more about Barrel Ventures and its portfolio companies at www.barrelvc.com.
Storytelling Secret Ingredient: Cut Out The Fat
Our attention spans are shorter than ever now. Just like in journalism, try to grab your audience’s attention as soon as possible with your brand storytelling!
For videos: Provide a genuine, exciting hook in the first 3 seconds—think a mind-blowing fact about your product, story, or industry.
Balance straightforward statements with creative language: Language without adjectives or imagery is just plain boring and robotic. Just make sure you’re getting to your facts quickly when writing or else you’ll lose your reader (like by the end of this bullet point!).
Edit yourself and have one other person look at your work before posting: Always start off with more and trim down from there—then get someone else’s opinion to trim the fat even more. Brain dump and cut what isn’t needed!
Storytelling secret ingredient: Don’t bury the lede—get to the point as quickly as you can with your messaging!
Statement Makers
These F&B brands grab your attention quickly and let you know what they’re all about right away:
Olipop’s story website page is a masterclass in quick explanation: three sentences at the top simply explaining the problem, the mission, and how the product does it.
Britney Ziegler of Panso is quick, clear, and upfront about what her marketing and CRM platform does to support the hospitality industry. Check out her elevator pitch here on TPB and listen to our full chat together here.
I love how Banza set up its Instagram profile description. You’re forced to think creatively and briefly given the character count and they do a great job at getting their top 3 points across in those short lines.
Thanks so much for being part of The Perfect Bite’s journey. Feel free to respond to any of these messages with thoughts on how I can improve my storytelling in the future or if you have any guest ideas!
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