Mark Feinberg With OTHRStore

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by onpay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a fun one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor on pay. Without them, we could not be sharing these important stories today on the Atlanta Business Radio. We have Mark Feinberg with othrstore. Welcome, Mark.

Mark Feinberg: [00:00:43] Good to be here. Good to be

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Here. Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about other store. How are you serving, folks?

Mark Feinberg: [00:00:50] Yes. So other store actually spun out of another company that I’m involved in called other source, which actually spun out of another company called High Road Ice Cream, which you might be familiar with and some of the listeners in the audience might be familiar with. So I got involved with high road ice cream as an advisor in 2010, ended up on the board, ended up running the company or helping to run the company for a period of time. We created an internal in-store support mechanism to help stock shelves and do shelf management. I spun that out in twenty eighteen into a company that became other source, which was an in-store support company for smaller brands. And then last year, when COVID hit, we wanted to be in service to our emerging brand community and give them another place to sell from. Since everybody was very scared about the future and we quickly launched other store, which is a online platform for emerging food, beverage and now really any CPG category fashion accessories nutraceutical pet to sell their products on our platform and also receive a suite of support services to help them succeed. So it really came out of a need to be in service to our community last year when things were very murky, and it’s turned out to be extremely beneficial platform for a lot of smaller brands.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:42] Now, as part of the there kind of inclusion in this platform. Are they getting to kind of learn from, you know, the folks at High Road in terms of how they were able to gain shelf space and launch and grow because there’s a lot of platforms out there to put your stuff? But is there some consulting or some advice that comes with this?

Mark Feinberg: [00:03:10] Yeah, it’s a great question. So one of my frustrations and, you know, before I got involved operationally with High Road, I was an investor and I, you know, I ended up being being part of High Road and I just saw how hard it was to do everything. And a lot of cases, the big food companies made it even harder for these smaller upstarts to succeed. And a lot of it was like not knowing where to go for anything, really. Marketing services, sales services, how do you even get on the shelf at retail, you know, supply chain, raw materials, all of it. And you know, I kind of looked at this. I was just like, These are just amazing people. You know, the schroder’s at High Road, amazing people. Everybody who starts these products, for the most part, amazing people. Yet, it was just brutal in terms of creating a business when all they really wanted to do was bring amazing product to our bellies and to our families. And so when we launched other store, I said, Listen, what I’m not going to do is just be another platform where people list their products and it’s up to them to fend for themselves.

Mark Feinberg: [00:04:40] We’re we’re going to provide marketing services. We’re going to provide access to capital advisory services. We’re going to provide access to mentorship in their specific category. We’re going to provide access to supply chain consultants, fulfillment consultants. In our case, we built the centralized drop ship operation for them to benefit from. We built a proprietary digital influencer network, which now reaches a million plus consumers and growing right. So and we’re just going to continue to layer on those value added services because again, it’s hard for these companies to do what they’re doing. It’s hard to run any business, but especially in these categories. And I wake up every day and the team wakes up every day saying, OK, what could we layer on in terms of services to make? Their lives easier for them to focus on bringing new products. You know, let them dream about whatever the next flavor is or whatever the next product is and whatever their category is, and then we’ll help them do the rest. So. Great question and definitely an area that you know we’re leaning heavily in is to provide this these added value categories to all of these brands.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:11] And as you mentioned, it’s hard enough to just come up with a great idea or great flavor or a great product that stands out. That by itself is hard. Then you layer in all of these things that people don’t know or don’t even know that they don’t know yet, right? Because they come up with something that’s great that their friends and family are all fired up about. But just to take it from just that, you know, maybe Home Chef Home Cook level to then, you know, manufacturing it at scale to sell it to a store or at a festival or wherever else they’re selling it or on a platform like yours. There are so many unknowns just in the best case scenarios layer in these kind of underrepresented brand owners and the challenges they face. I mean, there’s definitely a lot of need for services like you’re describing.

Mark Feinberg: [00:07:03] Yeah, I mean, one hundred percent. I mean, it was I mean, again, I had been involved with a number of different businesses. I came from the tech world I invested in and ended up running a tech company, you know, investing in real estate. I ended up being part of a development organization. You know, I really had a lot of insight into a lot of different companies. And then when I showed up in the in the food and beverage industry and I saw just the sheer number of moving parts and just the barriers that were created. You know, Keith and Nicky, you know, Keith being a white male and Nicky being a white female hard enough for a lot of the brands that we represent on other store, their minority brands, their female owned brands, LGBTQ brands, you take all of the challenges, you know, of starting a new brand as a as a white male. And then you layer on some of the systemic barriers, which very often just it’s lack of access. It’s not having the same access to manufacturers, it’s not having the same access to the same companies that can help with marketing and help with getting you onto the shelf. Because a lot of those companies that help with these things right now are very white, male driven. I mean, the industry of retail is still it’s gotten better and it continues to get better, but is still very white, male dominated.

Mark Feinberg: [00:08:41] And you know, for us, you know, leveraging, you know, my privilege, leveraging, you know, I’m a white straight male and I have a lot of access and a lot of networks that I’ve built over the years. And a lot of it, you know, is is from being white male is is opening up those channels and trying to keep, you know, I see it. I had a conversation earlier this morning with a with a food entrepreneur. A lot of times they just don’t know where to go, and there’s a lot of bad apples out there and you end up in situations that could have been avoided. But again, it’s things that you might not know until it’s too late. So with other store, we’re just trying to provide that access that Good Housekeeping seal of approval in terms of partnerships and people who really care genuinely about, you know, supporting these underrepresented brands because people are out there, it’s just getting into those right streams of people. And that’s really what other store outside of just being a platform to sell to. It’s it’s really getting into that right group of people who are going to help you break through some of these systemic barriers that are unfortunately in place.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:06] So then walk me through what it’s like to like, say, I have a product and I want to raise my hand to say, Hey, my good fit for other store. How does it work to get a product into your store?

Mark Feinberg: [00:10:20] Yeah, so we’ve formed a partnership with a group called Range Me, Range Me, the easiest explanation for arranged me is, let’s say you’re a a brand and you want to be found by a retailer, whether it be traditional or online retailer, you list your products on range me and then groups like other store Publix, Wal-Mart, you know, they will go to arrange me and and go shopping, say, OK, well, I’m looking for this, these types of brands and these particular categories. So we’ve done is we formed a partnership with them, and brands that are interested in being on the other store platform can go to range me. They can say we’re interested in being on the other store platform. It lands into kind of our screening area dashboard. And then we have a category review team. So, you know, we’ll get hundreds of brands that submit and, you know, we’re being mindful again. We want to make sure that it falls into the especially the minority owned brands and the female owned brands and LGBTQ brands. We do have some folks that try to sneak in that don’t fall into those categories and the team works through those. We also just want to make sure we don’t end up with like five hundred versions of soap. You know, we’re OK with with 20, but 500 is a little much so. Our team goes through all that and they go through the process and then they reach out to the brands and then they start the process of onboarding. So that’s generally how the the process works. There’s a link that they go to. They fill out all their information that they’re interested and then it kicks off the the process with our category review and onboarding team.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:32] And then you mentioned, like some categories, maybe are fuller than others. Are there certain categories you wish you had more brands in or are there some that you’re looking to actively looking to fill categories in terms of number of brands?

Mark Feinberg: [00:12:47] Yeah. So we’re we’re definitely more food and beverage focused right now, but we’re expanding into pet fashion and accessories, nutraceuticals, how home goods, baby food and baby products. So those categories health and beauty, those are categories that I know the team is focused more on. With that said, still we’re not turning away from food and beverage brands. You know, I would say probably the beverage category is is particularly crowded right now, so we’re just being very selective on beverage. But those some of those other categories that I just mentioned are definitely where the team is is focused more on expansion. But I would I would say, you know, if there are brands out there listening or if people know of brand owners, I would encourage you and encourage them to submit because again, I know the team is is looking at it both from a a a product fit standpoint. But the story matters a lot to the the mission and the purpose. And just to give you an example, one of the brands that we’re working with, formerly incarcerated black man, started a a skincare product line for men. And you know, the whole story is just, you know, just unbelievable what he’s endured to get to this point. And we definitely put value on some of these stories. So even if it’s a category that we might be oversaturated and, you know, if the story is there, it’s very hard for us to walk away from.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:51] Now are you looking exclusively for Atlanta brands or at this point, they can come from anywhere,

Mark Feinberg: [00:14:59] They can come from anywhere. Of course, we love to have Atlanta brands and we do have a handful of Atlanta brands. But yeah, we’re we’re national at this point in terms of the the brand profile.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:12] And then is this something that a good fit for you? Is somebody that their brand is exclusive to your platform or. It can be on the other platforms as well.

Mark Feinberg: [00:15:22] No, I would I would never encourage any brand, you know, to be exclusive to any platform, you know, very similar like you would want to be in a public, a Kroger and a Whole Foods. You know, I encourage brands to be on multiple e-commerce platforms as well. You know, all of us are doing different things for marketing. You reach different audiences. Our digital influencer network and our reach is different than perhaps a thrive market. Again, very similar to how a Whole Foods reaches a different customer than a Publix or Kroger. So now we would I and we would never suggest there be any exclusivity that you should be on as many platforms as you can, especially when you’re a smaller brand. Because again, it’s all about eyeballs and reaching different audience sectors and all of the platforms that are out there. We’re all reaching different groups so highly encourage you be on multiple platforms.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:32] So what do you need more of at this point? How can we help you? Do you need more brands?

Mark Feinberg: [00:16:40] You know, we’re always looking for unique brands. There’s no shortage of brands, you know? So but again, you know, for us, it’s it’s about impact if there are brands out there that fall into those category underrepresented categories. We’d love to hear from them. I could say a couple of you know, obviously all of these brands need more sales. They are there to support their families. They’re there to grow. So shop on other store. There’s some pretty good promotions going on. You know, it’s OK. Our store all all one word on store. So shop on other store that ultimately helps the brands that we’re supporting. And again, that’s what we’re all about, and we’re about promoting them and helping them reach more consumers. And you know, for us, you know, if we get this right, it’s multigenerational change for a lot of these families that are first time entrepreneurs and obviously sales for them, as is everything. So shop on other store. That’s that’s the biggest that’s the biggest thing you can do to to help them. And that ultimately helps us and we’re here to help them ultimately.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:18] Right. So you want, but you want other store to be the go to place for these underrepresented brands and the people who want to support those folks?

Mark Feinberg: [00:18:26] Exactly, exactly. That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:29] And then that’s our store is the website.

Mark Feinberg: [00:18:33] Yep, that’s right. That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:36] Good stuff.

Mark Feinberg: [00:18:36] Mark, what was that? I’m sorry.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:40] Well, I was just thanking you for doing this kind of work because it’s important because, you know, for you to achieve what you’ve achieved and have the success that you’ve had and then feel the calling to give back and to help others up to so they don’t have to kind of go through the scar tissue and pain that you went through to get to where you are. That’s very generous and we appreciate that.

Mark Feinberg: [00:19:02] Yeah. Well, thanks for saying that. I can say that, you know, I’ve been on my own journey. Know, like a lot of us, early on, it was about asset accumulation. Warren Buffett was a childhood, call it idol. And he had this saying, he said, Well, I don’t I’m not really into material things, but you know, I use money to keep score. And, you know, I kind of adopted that and then I learned that that scorekeeping didn’t really fit well with me. You know, while the scoreboard was running up, you know, my soul wasn’t really aligned. So, you know, really just set out, you know, for a lot of soul searching and had made a lot of progress in terms of recognizing that impact is more of what drives me. And then I was fortunate enough to be in the leadership Atlanta class for 2020 and was in an amazing group of folks which included Bernice King, Martin Luther King’s daughter. And I still remember raising my hand and saying, You know, I do a lot in the community and around equal and social justice, but I never feel like I’m doing enough. And, you know, she kind of said, look back at me and she said, well, you know, I’m not going to solve that for you.

Mark Feinberg: [00:20:31] Like in a lot of ways, people who look like you created a lot of the issues that we’re dealing with. And I would put it back in your court to figure out like what it is you can do on top. And, you know, after getting over the kind of the ego blow of, you know, thinking I was raising my hand and trying to get help after I got over that initial response, I kind of got to work and I said, All right, good point. You know, what am I going to do? And other store is definitely an extension of that leadership. Atlanta definitely played a role in helping me get to more clarity in terms of what my purpose and mission is. And again, you know, I’m beyond privileged and fortunate. You know, I’ve been privileged and fortunate throughout my career, and I realized that my privilege of being a white straight male could be used to really help a lot of folks. So that’s that’s why I exist today. That’s what gets me up every single day in terms of how many people we can help break through these barriers. So that’s what keeps me going now.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:53] Amen to that. I mean, that’s where you want to be able to keep score on is the amount of ripples you’re making throughout the community. So congratulations again. Thank you again for the work you’re doing. And that’s our story. Mark Feinberg, thank you for sharing your story today.

Mark Feinberg: [00:22:10] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:11] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see, y’all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.