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Episode 324: Nikki Seaman – Olive Reimaginer, Freestyle Snacks Founder

Nikki Seaman, the Founder & CEO of Freestyle Snacks, joins the show to share her journey from avoiding olives to reimagining olives in delicious snack form. Hear why olives are so polarizing, how to get customer feedback early on, how to differentiate your food brand, The Brineusual of fun facts about olives, and olive the puns. This episode covers everything from Kalamata olives to Delta Air Lines. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• When did Nikki become an olive lover
• #Olives
• Where does Freestyle Snacks get their olives from
• How do you keep that grit
• What’s the best filling to stuff an olive with

Connect with Nikki at FreestyleSnacking.com and on LinkedIn.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Olives
  • [0:31] Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:40] Connect with Nikki at FreestyleSnacking.com and on LinkedIn
  • [2:03] Why are olives so polarizing
  • [3:05] When did Nikki become an olive lover
  • [3:50] @Freshmen15 Food Instagram
  • [4:42] What type of posts did Nikki do on @Freshmen15

• The Freestyle Snacks Story
  • [5:39] Where did the idea for Freestyle Snacks come from
  • [5:58] PepsiCo
  • [8:01] What did the interviews look like with early customers of Freestyle Snacks
  • [8:23] #Olives
  • [9:05] Where does Freestyle Snacks get their olives from
  • [11:08] How do you differentiate your food brand
  • [11:18] Whisps
  • [12:45] How did Nikki land Delta Air Lines as a customer
  • [14:10] How did she react when she found out her olives would be eaten in the sky
  • [14:48] Ethos vs. Pathos vs. Logos
  • [15:05] What’s driven the growth of Freestyle Snacks
  • [16:22] This is true!
  • [16:36] How do you keep that grit
  • [17:48] What advice does Nikki have for aspiring food founders
  • [18:25] Margin, CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods)
  • [18:48] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Nikki
  • [18:50] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • [18:51] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23

• The Brineusual: Olive Fun Facts
  • [19:21] What’s Nikki’s favorite color of olives to eat
  • [19:45] Lemon Garlic Green Olives
  • [20:36] What’s a fun fact about olives
  • [21:25] What’s Nikki’s favorite way to eat olives
  • [21:55] How do you turn an olive hater into an olive lover
  • [22:46] What’s the most unique use of Freestyle Snacks Nikki’s ever heard
  • [23:24] What’s the best filling to stuff an olive with
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [24:05] The General Hot Seat
  • [24:16] Spanish River High School
  • [25:08] What’s the most underrated part of living in Atlanta
  • [26:19] What’s a fun fact about Whisps
  • [27:34] Connect with Nikki at FreestyleSnacking.com and on LinkedIn
  • [28:24] What are Nikki’s Final Thoughts
  • [29:07] Follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [29:18] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Nikki
  • [29:19] Check out the Wild Business Growth podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [29:20] Connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and Threads @MaxBranstetter and TikTok @WildBusinessGrowth
  • [29:22] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [29:30] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more Wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding and professional-looking podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Nikki Seaman on the Wild Business Growth podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about it. And feed each other olives. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!