Comparison can spark ideas… or it can derail your focus. In this episode, I share how to avoid unhealthy comparison while still keeping an eye on your competitive set.

You’ll learn how to filter competitor insights through your brand strategy so you can position your brand clearly, have stronger stakeholder conversations, and grow in YOUR lane, not somebody else's.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The pitfalls of constant comparison — including brand confusion
• Why a healthy level of competitive awareness will strengthen your positioning
• A real-world examples
• How to use your brand strategy as a filter for responding to competitor moves.

🎧 Listen to Episode 145 now and feel more grounded as a brand leader.

Don’t miss the homework dropping in my Friday email priorities -- the right opportunities! at the right time. Join my email list at RealFoodBrands.com

🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗

✓ FREE Brand Review Guide – realfoodbrands.com

✓ Real Food Brands Marketing Roundtable (Free Facebook Community to follow up on episode questions or ideas)

✓ Work with me: 1:1 Brand Review Workshop or Brand Success System

✓ Say hi on Instagram: @realfoodbrands

Thanks for listening – let’s go shake up shopping carts!

Katie Mleziva

Host & Food Brand Strategist | Real Food Brands

As a food business owner, you’re constantly making decisions—some big, some small, but all important. And when a new opportunity lands in your lap, it can be tempting to jump in without thinking it through. But that’s where brand strategy becomes your superpower and a way to set your brand apart in a consistent, meaningful way.

In this episode, I explore:

• The difference between reacting and responding (and why it matters) when opportunities arise.
• A story from a business valuation client about being able to respond versus react.
• Why brand strategy helps you filter decisions with intention
• What to ask yourself when opportunity knocks
• How this topic connects with Episode 143 on organizing your own ideas

Whether you’re being pitched a sales deal, a partnership, or even a chance to sell your business, this episode will help you lead with purpose—not panic.

🎧 Listen to Episode 144 now and feel more grounded as a brand leader.

Don’t miss the homework dropping in my Friday email priorities the right opportunities! Join my email list at RealFoodBrands.com

🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗

✓ Ep 143: Sales Tips for Food Brands – Reach Out, Stand Out, & Follow Through

✓ FREE Brand Review Guide – realfoodbrands.com

✓ Real Food Brands Marketing Roundtable (Free Facebook Community to follow up on episode questions or ideas)

✓ Work with me: 1:1 Brand Review Workshop or Brand Success System

✓ Say hi on Instagram: @realfoodbrands

Thanks for listening – let’s go shake up shopping carts!

Katie Mleziva

Host & Food Brand Strategist | Real Food Brands

Do you ever feel like your brain is overflowing with ideas—but you’re not sure what to focus on or how to make progress?

This episode is for you if you're full of inspiration, but also full of tabs open in your brain, and each has ten ideas!

You'll hear why getting your ideas out of your head and into a documented plan leads to more clarity, alignment, and confidence as well as:

• Your natural relationship with ideas - do you shine when generating ideas, planning around ideas, or executing on someone else's ideas?
• How to use brand strategy as a tool to filter and focus
• A simple analogy (cleaning out a closet!) that will shift how you think about your business
• What changes when you finally document your brand strategy
• The emotional and practical benefits of getting aligned—from writing faster to feeling lighter

You’ll walk away with a new way to think about how to make your brand strategy work for you so you can put your ideas to work as well.

Don’t miss the homework in Friday's email because it will help you organize your brand and marketing related ideas! Join my email list at RealFoodBrands.com

🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗

✓ FREE Brand Review Guide – realfoodbrands.com

✓ Real Food Brands Marketing Roundtable (Free Facebook Community to follow up on episode questions or ideas)

✓ Work with me: 1:1 Brand Review Workshop or Brand Success System

✓ Say hi on Instagram: @realfoodbrands

Thanks for listening – let’s go shake up shopping carts!

Katie Mleziva

Host & Food Brand Strategist | Real Food Brands