Sep 21, 2026 · 23 min · 11 segments
Bridging the gap between fresh homemade baby food and shelf-stable convenience requires a total rethink of standard processing. Jess Sturzenegger is the Founder and CEO of Amara, a food technology…
Jessica SturzeneggerGuest
Kelly BennettHost
From then to now, what has maybe shifted the brand or become a new focus of the brand in the year 2026 when now information is everywhere but a lot of information that could be misleading or not real and true and honest? I would just love to hear how you're keeping the integrity of your brand and your business and, again, keeping it standing out as more – uh competition comes on the market
yeah i think it's like for me a brand is kind of two things um you know you have like the emotional part of the brand and the functional part the functional being like the product
you know like the packaging everything that is that i'd say we've for us we've always been product first like it's been um it's been a big focus of ours um you know if you if you look back to the founders you mentioned like we were definitely ones that like led first with product versus brand.
I'd say as we've grown, we've put more and more of an emphasis on the emotional, like that second brand tenant to like really, because we're part of such an important time in people's lives.
And I'd say when we were starting, it was just like parents talking about, there's like a halo because this time is so critical and so much has changed when you're figuring out what your kid wants and everything.
But yeah, But we've started leaning a little bit more into that versus in the beginning, it was really just product functional.
And also how we were marketing back then to how we're marketing now, right? I remember those days too.
Like literally when we started our, like our only marketing is we would just send people samples.
Like we were like, Hey, listen, the product kind of speaks for itself.
Like we are like even snacks that look like us, we are, we actually taste so much better.
And it's so different than everybody else, but like, yeah, like products goes a long way.
And then as we've grown and kind of got a little bit more mature, we've leaned in a little bit more on the brand built.
What is some of the advice that you would pass down to someone who's, again, in the early days that wants to have the integrity of a great product? They also, you know, being in the year 2026, they know that they have to have the brand piece there too.
think for me, there's probably maybe not one, but two, but they both kind of tie together for me.
From then to now, what has maybe shifted the brand or become a new focus of the brand in the year 2026 when now information is everywhere but a lot of information that could be misleading or not real and true and honest? I would just love to hear how you're keeping the integrity of your brand and your business and, again, keeping it standing out as more – uh competition comes on the market
yeah i think it's like for me a brand is kind of two things um you know you have like the emotional part of the brand and the functional part the functional being like the product
you know like the packaging everything that is that i'd say we've for us we've always been product first like it's been um it's been a big focus of ours um you know if you if you look back to the founders you mentioned like we were definitely ones that like led first with product versus brand.
I'd say as we've grown, we've put more and more of an emphasis on the emotional, like that second brand tenant to like really, because we're part of such an important time in people's lives.
And I'd say when we were starting, it was just like parents talking about, there's like a halo because this time is so critical and so much has changed when you're figuring out what your kid wants and everything.
But yeah, But we've started leaning a little bit more into that versus in the beginning, it was really just product functional.
And also how we were marketing back then to how we're marketing now, right? I remember those days too.
Like literally when we started our, like our only marketing is we would just send people samples.
Like we were like, Hey, listen, the product kind of speaks for itself.
Like we are like even snacks that look like us, we are, we actually taste so much better.
And it's so different than everybody else, but like, yeah, like products goes a long way.
And then as we've grown and kind of got a little bit more mature, we've leaned in a little bit more on the brand built.
What is some of the advice that you would pass down to someone who's, again, in the early days that wants to have the integrity of a great product? They also, you know, being in the year 2026, they know that they have to have the brand piece there too.
think for me, there's probably maybe not one, but two, but they both kind of tie together for me.
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