Based on Snaxshot founder Andrea Hernández, the publication subscription platform Substack was like handmade sourdough bread in 2020; everybody was doing it.
So when she shouted into the web void, she by no means anticipated it could shout again. However her tweets through the pandemic in regards to the new children within the pantry aisle, similar to non-alcoholic drinks, attracted a “cult” of CPG lovers; tens of hundreds of subscribers tune into Hernández’s Substack for her candid, straight-shooter tackle the meals and beverage business. And though she comes from 10+ years of promoting expertise, her progress technique is all the pieces that may make CPG bigwigs cringe; she has dedicated to no promoting and no PR pitches whereas remaining group funded.
The self-titled “cult chief” of Snaxshot sat down with ADWEEK to speak the early beginnings of the now globally acknowledged Substack; the recipe for achievement behind her activations, like a séance to revive nostalgic snacks; and the current and way forward for the meals and beverage business.
Her phrases have been edited for size and readability.
Curiosity began the Substack
[Snaxshot] is form of me attempting to undo my complete indoctrination into advertising and promoting. I used to be sitting in one in every of my promoting courses and I bear in mind saying, “Wow, this sort of feels a villain origin story.” Like we’re attempting to trick individuals into doing issues. Which, in all equity, that’s what [advertising] is. Even with numbers and knowledge. All the things may be skewed and circled. I used to work in PR, so I exploit my expertise to develop into that filter.
The repositioning of non-alcoholic drinks was one of many issues that made me go, “Oh. Why?” It was the very first thing that I wrote about [for Snaxshot]. There’s nothing new about non-alcoholic drinks; they exist inside a spectrum. These manufacturers are beginning to decide up on what made the alcohol business so profitable, which is making issues horny to the purpose the place you’ll be able to actually flip a depressant and affiliate it with completely happy hour. That’s all carried out by means of advertising. I used to be fascinated by the commodification of wellness, the “goopification” of all these items that looks like inherent human data. One thing that claims “ginger is nice on your immune system” however being slapped with fairly packaging and resold to you at a premium.
