Recipe to Revenue: The Founders, Formulas, and Forces Shaping Food & Beverage
- Nov 18, 2025
- 3 min read
By Leah Messina
The grocery aisle and the endless digital shelf are battlefields of beautiful packaging and bold claims. So how does a new food or beverage brand do more than just survive? How does it actually thrive? That’s the central question driving Recipe to Revenue, the podcast digging into the real ingredients of brand-building in one of the world’s most cutthroat industries.
Hosted by Leah Messina, an organic marketing strategist and CEO of Sinuate Media, the show skips the fluff and gets straight to the strategic heart of the matter. This is about the nitty-gritty: the business frameworks, the tough decisions, and the market forces that separate a flash in the pan from a household name, both online and in-store.
Each episode brings you candid conversations with the food and beverage founders, executives, and experts who’ve navigated the trenches. You’ll hear what worked, what bombed, and what’s coming next, directly from those with the results to prove it. The goal isn’t just inspiration; it’s about delivering clarity on how smart brands win over their audience, attract investment, and stay agile in a multi-channel world.
Who’s Pulling Up a Chair?
So, who is this for? It’s for the entrepreneur launching their first direct-to-consumer store. It’s for the brand builder wrestling with their first retail pitch. It’s for the established leader rethinking their innovation pipeline. Recipe to Revenue is built for the thinkers and doers of the food, beverage, and hospitality worlds who are obsessed with building lasting value.
Guests aren’t just figureheads; they are architects of growth. The lineup showcases the full spectrum of the industry, from the founders of franchised concepts like Wrap City Sandwiches to the Mike Hennesy, the VP of Innovation at cannabis powerhouse Wana Brands. Listeners also get C-suite perspective from titans like Bruce Schroeder, the former President of Moe's Southwest Grill and now CEO of Crave Kitchens, who shares career-defining lessons in scaling a brand. The conversations are a masterclass in execution for anyone who builds brands for a living.
Why Insiders Are Listening
In a world of hype, listeners tune in for intelligence. With 25 years of experience shaping digital strategy for both scrappy startups and global giants, host Leah Messina guides each conversation with the sharp insight of a strategist and the relentless curiosity of a builder.
Episodes tackle the real-world challenges: How do you manage investor expectations without losing your vision? What’s the secret to scaling a DTC operation without breaking the bank? How do you align your brand’s purpose with performance metrics? The conversations are refreshingly direct and business-forward—a space to learn from your peers without the sugar-coating.
The Mission: From Idea to Impact
Recipe to Revenue is on a mission to help founders turn powerful ideas into profitable, sustainable businesses. Through her agency, Sinuate Media, Leah has spent years helping CPG brands and restaurants launch powerful e-commerce channels, expand their digital reach, and build organic marketing systems that deliver real ROI. The podcast is an extension of that work, democratizing the knowledge needed to move from a test kitchen to a true market contender.
Your Invitation to the Table
Think you have a story that can help others navigate the path to growth? Recipe to Revenue is always looking for guests who bring a unique perspective on scaling, pivoting, or redefining what success looks like in their corner of the industry. Visit https://recipetorevenue.co/podcast/ to learn more.
Connect With Leah
Comments