Food Chain Wars – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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Food Chain Wars

Brooks Hitzfield

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/28d. Total Eps: 56

The war for the food dollar is upon us and the future of the small family farm is hanging in the balance. But there's hope... Recently, a growing group of ambitious producers have found a way to stay competitive through direct marketing and this show is the frontline resource to equip them take the fight to the next level. Each episode you'll hear industry experts breakdown proven growth strategies that have been battle tested by true in-the-trenches experience.

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Apple

Data updated on 04/07/2026

Recent rankings

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Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - Marketing
04/04/2025
#87
🇨🇦 Canada - Marketing
03/04/2025
#48

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://www.foodchainwars.com/
4 shares
https://lilachedgefarm.com/
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 63%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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Latest published episodes

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Sales lessons from the 7-figure snack stick farmer (John Arbuckle).

Season 3 · Episode 7

Friday, December 6, 2024 • Duration 01:27:56

John Arbuckle and his wife Holly have landed their pork snack sticks in over 600 retail stores nationwide!

Their key accounts include the likes of Sprouts Market, Natural Grocers, HEB, and others.

Securing this kind of shelf space is a tough uphill battle... It's low-margin, hyper-competitive, and it feels like the buyer commands all the negotiating power.

That's why we were thrilled when John agreed to join the show and share what he knows.

If you've ever wondered what it takes to scale a wholesale business, you won't want to miss their story.

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Nick Carter & the rise of Market Wagon

Season 3 · Episode 6

Friday, October 11, 2024 • Duration 01:20:54

An "online farmers market" that connects consumers & farmers within a shoppable platform is a business model many have attempted, but few have accomplished.

Nick Carter and the team at Market Wagon are one of the few!

They've hit the INC 5000 list twice during their quick expansion to serve 30+ markets across the Midwest & East Coast.

Marketing, tech, and logistics are typically the most difficult parts of the supply chain for farmers to solve, and this is where Market Wagon shines.

Nick is a friend, and this industry needs more innovative people like him.

That's why we invited him on the show to share his fascinating journey from farm kid, to serial farm-to-fork entrepreneur.

If you're serious about growing your direct marketing business, I'm confident you'll benefit from this episode.

Today, Nick has transitioned from CEO to the board of Market Wagon and is now the managing partner of 9Strong Holdings, which is buying businesses in the meat-to-consumer ecosystem.

It's an inspiring concept and in the episode, you'll hear Nick share about the portfolio that currently includes a raw meat pet brand, a processing facility, and a cold fulfillment center in Indianapolis.

This all made for a 90-minute episode that's worth listening to twice.

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7 figures in agri-tourism with Ryan MacKay

Season 3 · Episode 5

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 • Duration 59:21

Ryan MacKay is the owner of Lilac Hedge Farms. Their primary sales outlet is DTC eCommerce, but they also operate a 7-figure agri-tourism enterprise consisting of:

A cozy farm store & ice cream bar.
A full-service kitchen & stage for live music.
Multiple Air BNB rentals.
A giant inflatable jump pad for the kids.
And of course, they host farm tours & all kinds of community events.

While this is a lot to manage, there's a reason Ryan has been able to scale his eCommerce business with a hyper-regional customer base.

Even as they expand to serve customers states away, the on-farm activity will still build trust & authenticity for the consumers who will never visit.

Why? Because these experiences are something Omaha Steaks and ButcherBox could never recreate.

Feel like you're in a good market for agri-tourism? You won't want to miss this episode with Ryan.

Learn more about Lilac Hedge Farms at – https://lilachedgefarm.com/

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The farmers co-op that's scaled beyond 8-figures!

Season 3 · Episode 4

Thursday, August 22, 2024 • Duration 01:21:43

Cody Hopkins is the CEO and founding farmer of GrassRoots Co-Op, and has led the company to become one of the more successful D2C farm-to-fork brands sourcing regenerative products from farms in the US.

Here's where we went with the interview:

Cody's journey from teaching to 1st gen farming.
Their early funding journey for launching the co-op.
The pros/cons of the co-op business model.
Their transition from wholesale to DTC. *Nerdy tactics on digital marketing tactics & data.

One other thing that's easy to admire about Cody is his knack for networking.

If you listen carefully, you'll notice how so many of his breakthroughs at GrassRoots came from a new relationship.

Want more content like this? Don't forget to subscribe to the email list.

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Can paid ads skyrocket your growth?

Season 3 · Episode 3

Thursday, June 6, 2024 • Duration 30:59

In this episode, Blaine and Brooks share their experience acquiring new customers by advertising on platforms like Facebook and Google.

With their brand Seven Sons, the brothers are acquiring hundreds of new customers every week, with paid advertising being the key strategy to produce those results.

But will their strategy work for you? The key is having the right business model in place before you start writing checks to the big tech giants.

What does that model look like? Listen to learn more!

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5 ways to increase margins (without adding to your workload)

Season 3 · Episode 2

Thursday, May 16, 2024 • Duration 26:58

In this episode, you'll hear us (Blaine and Brooks) break down their top strategies for high leverage ways to increase your product margin. We're talking about solutions you can implement once, and retain more 💰 with every order you receive, or every animal you process.

Regardless of how long you've been in direct marketing, I'm confident there's a new idea in this episode that you can take action on this week!

We are passionate about equipping small farms to reclaim market-share by implementing the business and marketing principles needed to climb the value chain and sell direct.

Each episode, you'll learn insights from our experience of scaling an 8-figure brand (SevenSons.net), as well as coaching hundreds of farms across North America.

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GrazeCart POSNation

Season 3 · Episode 1

Wednesday, February 21, 2024 • Duration 31:08

A full episode to break down the acquisition announcement of GrazeCart by specialty retail point-of-sale provider, POS Nation.

On this episode Blaine and I unpack common questions like:

Why did we decide to sell GrazeCart?
Who is POS Nation? (you'll hear from their team)
What will our involvement be going forward?
What did we learn through this process?
and what we’re most excited about for GrazeCart’s future!

As passionate founders, we're thrilled to have found a partner who is excited about the future of GrazeCart and has the expertise to expand its' position in the marketplace.

In case you're wondering, this podcast isn't going anywhere, and you can consider this episode the launch of season three!

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The perfect team meeting agenda for your farm!

Season 2 · Episode 10

Thursday, July 27, 2023 • Duration 32:54

Team meetings are tough to get right...

Whether you work with a few family members or a full-blown team, you've probably left meetings feeling more confused and discouraged than you came in.

Some of us get so fed up that we attempt to steer the organization without meetings altogether.

After all, between producing livestock and packing orders, who really has time for formal meetings anyway?

However, this only leads to more chaos and sideways energy.

So what's the answer?

In our experience, the key to having really great team meetings boils down to the AGENDA.

The right agenda helps everyone show up fully prepared, ready to make quality decisions and to stay accountable to their commitments.

Not to mention the agenda we use actually saves us time by consolidating other meetings and eliminating the need for 1-on-1 updates.

We've been using this exact same agenda for over a year and today we've broken down the entire structure for you in this episode.

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From Zero to $600M: The Incredible Rise of ButcherBox!

Season 2 · Episode 9

Thursday, June 29, 2023 • Duration 31:17

According to a few recent interviews from CEO Mike Salguero, ButcherBox has scaled beyond $600m in revenue.

In this episode, Blaine and I share our reactions to ButcherBox's remarkable growth, a breakdown of the strategies they leveraged, as well as what their market position means for the everyday farm-to-fork producer.

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Creative ways we're using AI to save time!

Season 2 · Episode 8

Thursday, June 15, 2023 • Duration 20:33

There's a lot of buzz floating around about AI and how it's disrupting countless industries.

But are there actually any practical applications to use to help run a farm-to-fork business?

We answer that question in today's episode by showcasing some of the ways we're using AI to save time while producing better results!

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Food Chain Wars – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Food Chain Wars – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other2