One of the best parts about writing this newsletter is using it as an excuse to meet and talk to interesting people.

A while back, I sat down with Jason Scher - he co-founded VÖOST vitamins (which later sold to P&G 🤑) and today owns and operates a bunch of successful brands in the food and pharma space.

Jason is a wealth of knowledge in FMCG and took the time to share with us lessons on spotting gaps, building hype and working with retailers.

There are loads of ‘experts’ who know the theory, but Jason is someone with real experience that truly walks the walk.

Here are three lessons every challenger brand should think about in their own journey.

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Put down the spreadsheet.

One of the things that strikes me most about Jason is how practical his advice was.

No jargon, no frameworks, no six-figure insights budgets. His approach is built on a few simple moves repeated over and over - moves that explain how he’s managed to build successful brands across vitamins, coffee, potatoes and pizza. Distil it down and you get three lessons that matter for every challenger brand.

Insight one: The aisle is R&D

Jason doesn’t commission focus groups or sit behind dashboards. His first step is walking stores. It sounds almost too basic, but that’s the point: most of the opportunities are sitting in plain sight.

What he looks for:

• Monotony. In Germany he saw effervescent vitamins dominating as a format and occupying significant shelf space - colourful, playful, a world of choice. In Australia, there was just one brand. That disconnect became VÖOST. They introduced the same format, but positioned it as an everyday wellness product with theatre and variety.

• Formats that haven’t landed yet. Italian-style gelato is wildly popular around the world, both in hospitality and retail environments. But there was an obvious gap here in Australia - no genuine Italian Gelato. Jason and his team launched Destination Italy, genuine ice cream in transparent packaging - it looks as amazing as it tastes.

• Stale incumbents. Frozen potatoes were controlled by McCain, Bird’s Eye and private label. Same SKUs, same positioning, year after year. Jason saw the shelf and thought: why can’t this be premium? Potato Utopia launched with products that looked and tasted like restaurant shortcuts - gratins, crunchies, seasoned fries - sold in black packs that signalled quality in freezer lighting.

• Shopper behaviour. He doesn’t just scan products; he watches people. What’s going in baskets? Where do they hesitate? Which sections are invisible? That tells you more about category health than any data set.

The thread running through all of this is speed. Big brands are paralysed by risk. They sit on their hands, analysing. That creates gaps - obvious to anyone in the aisle, invisible to anyone stuck in the boardroom.

Insight two: The social engine

If the aisle is how Jason finds opportunities, social is how he builds demand.

He’s unapologetic about spending heavily on Instagram. Not with generic ads, but with content that makes people hungry:

• Food porn. Instead of lifestyle fluff, their brands focus on close-up, craveable product shots.

• Deconstruction. Positioning frozen potatoes not just as a side, but as an ingredient you can build a meal around.

• Chefs. Bringing real chefs into the fold creates content that’s both aspirational and credible.

• Influencers. They partner with people for the long haul, not just one post and ghost. Have a scroll through Destination Italy’s reels page and you’ll get it.

The payoff is real. Potato Utopia has tens of thousands of followers, dwarfing the majors. McCain and Bird’s Eye might spend more on TV, but in the social space, a small Aussie company looks bigger and sharper than the incumbents.

That presence isn’t an accident. It’s how Jason and his crew position their brands as modern, premium and relevant to how people actually engage with food culture today. And it’s a reminder that you don’t need a huge above-the-line budget to look serious - you need consistency, taste and a clear visual world.

Insight three: Retailers want partners, not passengers

Most founders pitch retailers with entitlement: we met the range review criteria, why didn’t we get in? Jason’s view is blunt: meeting the criteria is the minimum bar.

Buyers aren’t there to validate your hustle. They’re there to grow categories. If your story doesn’t show how the category gets bigger, why should they care?

Jason frames every pitch as a partnership. It’s not “please list me.” It’s:

• Here’s how we’ll drive incremental shoppers into the category.

• Here’s how our pack will disrupt the shelf.

• Here’s the marketing plan that brings traffic to your store.

That shift matters. Instead of walking in as another founder begging for shelf space, you’re walking in as a collaborator. Someone who can make them money.

Entitlement kills deals. Partnership thinking gives you a chance.

Why it’s worth paying attention

None of this is rocket science. That’s why it works. There are no silver bullets or secret answers, just hard work.

• Innovation isn’t hidden in reports - it’s staring at you from the shelf.

• Marketing isn’t just campaigns - it’s how your brand shows up in feeds, every day.

• Retail isn’t a gatekeeping exercise - it’s a collaboration where you only win if they win too.

Jason Scher just happens to be someone who’s lived these truths across multiple categories. But the point isn’t his career arc. The point is that anyone can apply the same principles: get into stores, create content people want to engage with and treat retailers like business partners, not obstacles.

It’s unglamorous. It’s practical. And it’s exactly how challenger brands beat the big guys.

If you’re in Australia, go and buy Destination Italy at Coles and Potato Utopia in Woolies - seriously good food.

And check out Tumme, their new Pharmaceutical venture in the gut health space.

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