JJ Rademaekers's guest appearances

JJ Rademaekers

INspired INsider Podcast

Brand Builder

Tom Bilyeu

Tara Bosch

Jim Simon

Greg McKeown

Peter Rahal

Eugene Levin

Danny Kole

David Feinleib

Elan Amir

Joseph Abitbol

Nick Araco

Bill Byrne

Troy Vosseller

Lee Firestone

Greg Hayes

OwlTail

JJ Rademaekers is the founder and CEO of JJ’s Sweets. The idea for this company came to JJ in a dream he had one night in 2009. Inspired by the dream, JJ began experimenting with making delicious, natural sweets made from sustainably sourced, organic, healthier ingredients. What started as a candy stand at Boulder’s local farmer’s market has since grown into a thriving natural candy brand, with Cocomels occupying shelf space in more than 2,000 retailers around the country. In 2014, JJ’s Sweets further expanded our reach in the natural candy market with a line of Chocolate Covered Cocomels. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:  [0:44] JJ Rademaekers joins the podcast to talk about Cocomel. [2:45] What inspired JJ to create a candy business? [4:40] JJ talks about the product development process. [7:50] Challenges that JJ has faced along the way. [9:15] Some proud moments from JJ’s journey.  In this episode… What comes to mind when you think of dairy-free candy? Does it conjure up images of your favourite snack or an image of something found in the diet foods aisle? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from entrepreneur and business leader, JJ Rademaekers. In his conversation with Jeremy, JJ explains why he started JJ’s Sweets, what led him to focus on dairy-free candy, the development process, challenges they’ve faced along the way, and much more. You don’t want to miss a minute of this fascinating episode featuring JJ’s unique story! Have you ever had a dream so large that you couldn’t help but follow it? JJ Rademaekers was minding his own business touring with his band when he had a dream he couldn’t shake. In the dream, he saw all kinds of candies that he had never heard of before - when he woke up, he knew that he had to make them a reality. Drawing on his science background, JJ went to work creating and developing a line of dairy-free candy. The dream soon became a reality - today, JJ’s Sweets is a thriving business with a ton of potential. You can find a link to JJ’s website located in the resources section at the end of this post. As you’ve advanced in your career, can you think of a moment when you felt like throwing in the towel? Or are you one of those “Crazy” go-getter types who thrive on challenges? As he began developing JJ’s Sweets, JJ Rademaekers found that each step along the way was like peeling back the layers of an onion. The process wasn’t easy to develop dairy-free candy, but JJ and his team were up to the task. Eventually, they were able to hone in on a formula that worked well for their packaging and their target market. What can you learn from JJ’s story? Resources Mentioned on this episode  www.Cocomel.com Intro Music by Kidd Russell  Sponsor for this episode Rise25’s mission is to connect you with your best referral partners and customers. We do this in 3 ways…  Our Done for you Media - We help your company completely run and launch your own podcast. we distribute your show across more than 11 different channels including a dedicated blog post and social media. You simply show up and talk and we do everything else. Our team has been working with podcasters since 2009. I personally credit podcasting as the single best thing I have done for my business and my life. It has allowed me to connect with the founders/ceo’s of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars, and many more. Besides making best friends and finding my business partner..podcasting has led to relationships with countless customers and referral partners.   Our Done for you Lead Generation- We manually send a consistent flow of customized outreach messages to your ideal clients and referral sources that you want to connect with to generate more business and clients - this is not paid traffic by the way.   Our Done for you VIP Events - We do live in-person VIP Days and receptions. These are 100% outsourced VIP days for software companies and conference organizers so we can help you serve your highest level customers.  It may or may not involve Elvis costumes - See video  Rise25 VIP Days have a proven track record of helping companies to get more referrals, increase retention with their VIP customers, and get more engaged new customers without adding extra work to that company’s plate. Rise25 has hosted VIP events in cities such as Austin, Chicago, Santa Barbara, San Diego, New York, Sonoma, and Las Vegas to name a few. Since these each require a lot of humans to do the work we have limited bandwidth and only want to work with the right company. so if any sound interesting to you go to Rise25.com and contact us or email support (at) rise25.com. If your company wants to attract and connect with your highest level customers and referral partners then you can learn more and contact us to find out if your company qualifies at Rise25.com.  Rise25 was cofounded by Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran.

JJ Rademaekers is the founder and CEO of JJ’s Sweets. The idea for this company came to JJ in a dream he had one night in 2009. Inspired by the dream, JJ began experimenting with making delicious, natural sweets made from sustainably sourced, organic, healthier ingredients. What started as a candy stand at Boulder’s local farmer’s market has since grown into a thriving natural candy brand, with Cocomels occupying shelf space in more than 2,000 retailers around the country. In 2014, JJ’s Sweets further expanded our reach in the natural candy market with a line of Chocolate Covered Cocomels. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: <ul> <li>[0:44] JJ Rademaekers joins the podcast to talk about Cocomel.</li> <li>[2:45] What inspired JJ to create a candy business?</li> <li>[4:40] JJ talks about the product development process.</li> <li>[7:50] Challenges that JJ has faced along the way.</li> <li>[9:15] Some proud moments from JJ’s journey.</li> </ul> In this episode… What comes to mind when you think of dairy-free candy? Does it conjure up images of your favourite snack or an image of something found in the diet foods aisle? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from entrepreneur and business leader, JJ Rademaekers. In his conversation with Jeremy, JJ explains why he started JJ’s Sweets, what led him to focus on dairy-free candy, the development process, challenges they’ve faced along the way, and much more. You don’t want to miss a minute of this fascinating episode featuring JJ’s unique story! Have you ever had a dream so large that you couldn’t help but follow it? JJ Rademaekers was minding his own business touring with his band when he had a dream he couldn’t shake. In the dream, he saw all kinds of candies that he had never heard of before - when he woke up, he knew that he had to make them a reality. Drawing on his science background, JJ went to work creating and developing a line of dairy-free candy. The dream soon became a reality - today, JJ’s Sweets is a thriving business with a ton of potential. You can find a link to JJ’s website located in the resources section at the end of this post. As you’ve advanced in your career, can you think of a moment when you felt like throwing in the towel? Or are you one of those “Crazy” go-getter types who thrive on challenges? As he began developing JJ’s Sweets, JJ Rademaekers found that each step along the way was like peeling back the layers of an onion. The process wasn’t easy to develop dairy-free candy, but JJ and his team were up to the task. Eventually, they were able to hone in on a formula that worked well for their packaging and their target market. What can you learn from JJ’s story? Resources Mentioned on this episode <ul> <li><a href="http://www.cocomel.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">www.Cocomel.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://thesweetspotoflife.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Intro Music by Kidd Russell</a></li> </ul> Sponsor for this episode <a href="https://rise25.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Rise25</a>’s mission is to connect you with your best referral partners and customers. We do this in 3 ways… <ol> <li><a href="https://rise25.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Our Done for you Media</a> - We help your company completely run and launch your own podcast. we distribute your show across more than 11 different channels including a dedicated blog post and social media. You simply show up and talk and we do everything else. Our team has been working with podcasters since 2009. I personally credit podcasting as the single best thing I have done for my business and my life. It has allowed me to connect with the founders/ceo’s of <a href="https://www.inspiredinsider.com/tony-horton-p90x-interview/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">P90x</a>, <a href="https://www.inspiredinsider.com/nolan-bushnell-atari-brainrush-interview" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Atari</a>, <a href="https://www.inspiredinsider.com/noah-alper-noahsbagels-interview/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Einstein Bagels</a>, <a href="https://www.inspiredinsider.com/tom-kalinske-sega-consolewars-interview" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Mattel</a>, <a href="https://www.inspiredinsider.com/peter-rahal-rxbar-interview/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Rx Bars</a>, and many more. Besides making best friends and finding my business partner..podcasting has led to relationships with countless customers and referral partners.</li> </ol> <ol> <li>Our <a href="https://rise25.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Done for you Lead Generation</a>- We manually send a consistent flow of customized outreach messages to your ideal clients and referral sources that you want to connect with to generate more business and clients - this is not paid traffic by the way.</li> </ol> <ol> <li>Our <a href="http://rise25.com/vipday/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Done for you VIP Events</a> - We do live in-person VIP Days and receptions. These are 100% outsourced VIP days for software companies and conference organizers so we can help you serve your highest level customers.  It may or may not involve Elvis costumes - <a href="http://www.rise25.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">See video</a></li> </ol> Rise25 <a href="http://rise25.com/vipday/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">VIP Days</a> have a proven track record of helping companies to get more referrals, increase retention with their VIP customers, and get more engaged new customers without adding extra work to that company’s plate. Rise25 has hosted VIP events in cities such as Austin, Chicago, Santa Barbara, San Diego, New York, Sonoma, and Las Vegas to name a few. Since these each require a lot of humans to do the work we have limited bandwidth and only want to work with the right company. so if any sound interesting to you go to <a href="http://Rise25.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rise25.com</a> and contact us or email support (at) <a href="http://rise25.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">rise25.com</a>. If your company wants to attract and connect with your highest level customers and referral partners then you can learn more and contact us to find out if your company qualifies at <a href="http://rise25.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Rise25.com</a>. Rise25 was cofounded by <a href="http://rise25.com/media/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Dr. Jeremy Weisz</a> and <a href="http://rise25.com/media/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">John Corcoran</a>.

[Sweet and Snack Show Series] Innovating Dairy Free Candy with JJ Rademaekers Founder of JJ’s Sweets

Some people follow their dreams in a figurative sense. And then there's JJ Rademaekers. JJ is the founder and CEO of JJ's Sweets. Their signature candy is an award-winning, coconut milk caramels called Cocomels, and the idea for Cocomels came to JJ in a dream. For this special episode of Brand Builder, we sent our intrepid field reporter Travis Miller to Boulder, CO, to see where JJ launched JJ's sweets, and to learn how JJ went from scientist, to musician, to candy maker, and finally to candy business-maker. Takeaways  Don't cut those corners. JJ shares with us a few lessons he learned the hard way. Build the right team for your growth stage. JJ explains why he's built a hybrid team, when to make that first critical hire, and how he iterates his team as the business scales. Get your product out there. The proverbial (coconut) cream rises to the top. Share your product with taste makers for some earned media magic.  Jump to  JJ describes the dream that inspired Cocomels. 2:35 Some of the early failures JJ encountered while managing his own candy production. 6:29 Tips for rebranding. 8:27 How Cocomels ended up in Oprah magazine. 11:34 JJ’s newest creation, and the process he took to develop and launch the product. 13:13 Why networking is so crucial to building out your business. 14:41 Tips for maximizing your experience at trade shows. 18:56 How to build your team to your growth stage, and how to adapt as your business scales. 22:50 How to keep the big picture in view. 26:05  Links  Cocomels Connect with JJ on LinkedIn  Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com. Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

Some people follow their dreams in a figurative sense. And then there's JJ Rademaekers. JJ is the founder and CEO of JJ's Sweets. Their signature candy is an award-winning, coconut milk caramels called Cocomels, and the idea for Cocomels came to JJ in a dream. For this special episode of Brand Builder, we sent our intrepid field reporter Travis Miller to Boulder, CO, to see where JJ launched JJ's sweets, and to learn how JJ went from scientist, to musician, to candy maker, and finally to candy business-maker. Takeaways <ul> <li>Don't cut those corners. JJ shares with us a few lessons he learned the hard way.</li> <li>Build the right team for your growth stage. JJ explains why he's built a hybrid team, when to make that first critical hire, and how he iterates his team as the business scales.</li> <li>Get your product out there. The proverbial (coconut) cream rises to the top. Share your product with taste makers for some earned media magic.</li> </ul> Jump to <ul> <li>JJ describes the dream that inspired Cocomels. 2:35</li> <li>Some of the early failures JJ encountered while managing his own candy production. 6:29</li> <li>Tips for rebranding. 8:27</li> <li>How Cocomels ended up in Oprah magazine. 11:34</li> <li>JJ’s newest creation, and the process he took to develop and launch the product. 13:13</li> <li>Why networking is so crucial to building out your business. 14:41</li> <li>Tips for maximizing your experience at trade shows. 18:56</li> <li>How to build your team to your growth stage, and how to adapt as your business scales. 22:50</li> <li>How to keep the big picture in view. 26:05</li> </ul> Links <ul> <li><a href="https://jjssweets.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cocomels</a></li> <li>Connect with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jj-rademaekers-9a971342/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">JJ on LinkedIn</a></li> </ul> Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! <a href="mailto:Brandbuilder@snacknation.com">Brandbuilder@snacknation.com</a>. Brand Builder is a co-production of <a href="http://www.snacknation.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SnackNation</a> and <a href="https://www.forcebrands.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ForceBrands</a>.

How JJ Rademaekers Built a Thriving Candy Biz out of Pure Imagination