In today's fast-paced world, snacking has become an essential part of our daily routine. However, not all snacks are created equal, and many options available are unhealthy. Fortunately, there are companies dedicated to creating and promoting healthy snacks and treats that are not only delicious but also nutritious. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing (Louise Butera).
Louise Butera, Co-founder & CEO of Join The Tryb, has over 25 years of experience in the CPG industry, starting as a package and promotion designer at Colgate-Palmolive Company and later working with or leading accounts for companies such as L'Oréal, Victoria's Secret Pink, and PepsiCo NA Beverage. While serving as Customer Success Director at Inwork Inc, she identified a gap between what early CPG founders sought—greater reach—and how consumers interacted with their brands, particularly through multipacks without the option to buy single units. She is now addressing that gap by creating www.jointhetryb.com, a platform that sells samples and single-serve products from emerging brands, providing founders with expanded reach and giving consumers the chance to try products before committing to full-sized purchases.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Thank you so much for having me and allowing me to share my story. I’ve always had a passion for creativity. In high school, I filled my free time with art classes, and later pursued that passion by attending the Fashion Institute of Technology, where I graduated from the Advertising and Package Design programs.
My first job out of college, I worked at Colgate Palmolive Company, starting in the Package Design Department before transitioning to the Promotion Design Department, where I worked on designing on-packs and sales kits (back then, everything was printed and assembled in fun folders). After eight and a half years at Colgate-Palmolive, my position was eliminated, and I found myself feeling lost, unsure of my next move since my design experience was now largely shaped by Colgate's design aesthetic. So, what next?
From that experience, I was able to pivot my skills throughout my career allowing me to do some really cool things—Print Production Manager for LTB Media, print broker, and freelance design working at some cool places like the Bronx Zoo, NY Botanical Gardens, Victoria Secret Pink and many others. I also worked at L’Oréal, and before my current role, I was an account director managing PepsiCo’s prepress business. After supporting the Pepsi redesign in 2023 and spending 6 ½ years with that company, I left to pursue a sales role, selling design services and influencer kits to the CPG industry.
That’s when I became more involved in the CPG founder community—meeting founders, trying their innovative products, attending events, and taking webinars. I fell in love with the people and the community. They were hustlers like me, and it sparked a desire to be part of that community.
When talking with founders and listening to their stories, I kept hearing the same challenge—a desire for more reach in big-box stores. As I became friends with founders, I’d buy their products online and realized that in order to try them, I often had to purchase multipacks just to see if I liked the product. Sometimes, I’d end up buying products that didn’t quite fit my needs or those of my family, leaving me to give them away to friends being out $20-$30. I figured if I was feeling this way, other consumers probably were too and were hesitant to purchase for similar reasons.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
As an Account Manager for a Fortune 500 account, I had been in my role for about two and a half years when I was assigned a new manager. After working with her for around six months, she promoted me to Account Director and informed me that I would now be part of the sales team. While I appreciated the recognition, I expressed my hesitation, saying, "I don't want to do sales." She responded, "Louise, you're already doing sales—you just don't realize it." That moment was transformative. I recognized she was right: in my commitment to delivering solutions and ensuring everything ran smoothly for the client, I had indeed been engaging in sales without realizing it.
My Key Takeaways:
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Supporting Clients Can Naturally Lead to Sales: Focusing on understanding and meeting client needs can shift your role in unexpected ways.
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Titles Evolve with Your Efforts: Prioritize creating value for your clients and don’t be overly concerned with titles; your contributions will often redefine your role organically.
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Embrace Growth Opportunities: Stay open to feedback from others, especially managers or mentors who can help you see strengths you might not recognize in yourself.
You are a successful leader. Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Adaptability: Things happen. Being able to adapt to the situation and still succeed is a quality of a great leader. One of my past clients always wanted to test their designs at the printer before launching their millions of labels and cartons. The problem was that these short runs were disrupting the client’s production runs. The printer gave them an ultimatum: either prioritize production or trials. If they chose trials, the printer would not be held responsible for any delays. I met with my internal team, knowing we had printing presses. We developed a workflow and pricing plan for the client, which resulted in about $150K in additional revenue in the first year.
Curiosity: As demonstrated by the wide scope of jobs I’ve held in my career—designer, print broker, production manager, account director, customer success director—I love learning new things. This curiosity supports my adaptability and enables me to offer customers guidance in many areas of their business.
Self-Motivation: I am someone who always thinks outside the box. When working on a project, I don’t just focus on the current task but consider the subsequent steps as well. Working in this way helps to prevent potential problems before they arise.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Yes, I’m developing a new program called Surprise Sacs, where we curate bags filled with trending products across different categories—such as beverages, snacks, gluten-free items, "get well soon" gifts, and birthday surprises. We’ll be launching this in November, just in time for the holiday season.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What inspired you to focus on promoting healthy snacks and treats?
It didn’t actually start this way. My main focus was, and still is, to spread the word about emerging brands and give consumers an opportunity to try products before committing to the full-sized version. As I met founders, I noticed many were focused on health and wellness—low sugar, gluten-free, organic—so I embraced that direction and now love it. We still offer indulgent products to appeal to all palates, but most emerging brands are leaning toward better-for-you consumer goods across the board.
How do you ensure that your products remain both healthy and delicious?
I do not create the products, but from what I observe, these founders work tirelessly to provide better-for-you products while focusing on flavor profiles to create winning products.
What are some things you have done to educate consumers about the nutritional benefits of your products?
We continue to inform consumers of all the benefits of the products we sell:
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We created a video series, "Founder to Founder," where we introduce founders, their products, and discuss the benefits of these products.
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We also have an influencer who tries the products on video and discusses their benefits. Our website highlights the benefits of each product, so people know what each product offers.
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We attend local fairs to sell these products, spending time talking to customers and providing samples of some products.
Have you experienced any challenges in changing consumer perceptions about healthy snacks? How did you approach that?
Many people think that healthy food "tastes terrible," is "too expensive," or that they "don’t have time to eat that way." This is one of the main reasons we created Join The Tryb. By selling samples and single-serve products, we give consumers the ability to "try before they buy" the full-sized product, ultimately saving them money if they do not like the product. Our products are shelf-stable, so there is minimal work involved in managing them.
Here is our main question. What are your ”5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started”? (Please share a story or an example for each)
1 . The First Idea Might Not Be the Best One: If it doesn’t work, try, try again. I have evolved and changed up our approach many times just to see what sticks. It all does not work but you will find your way.
2 . Persistence. I am still learning this. Don’t just think 1 or 2 posts will win the hearts of all consumers. Build a schedule and keep building on it. No ideas? See what is trending. What are others doing? Is there a holiday? Use what is out there and create your own unique version
3 . Time Management. Sometimes I work and look up and the day has gone by. I have not got up to stretch or eat. Make sure to give yourself the baleens you need to avoid burnout.
4 . Self-Doubt. There are ups and downs in being a business owner. You might think why am I doing this. You are on a path as long as you are positive, you will find your way.
5 . How much I love it! If I knew how much this was a fit for me, I would have done it a long time ago.
In a constantly evolving industry, how do you stay ahead of trends to keep your offerings innovative and appealing?
We spend a lot of time doing research, meeting founders, and discovering "the next big thing." We attend consumer goods events, participate in webinars, and visit stores.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I have mentioned this before, but I wish people were less greedy. When you track every bad thing that has happened, it often traces back to greed. I stopped watching the "news" because it is very disheartening. It takes little effort to offer a helping hand. Everyone wants to win, but you shouldn’t want it at the expense of others.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-butera-1780001/
https://www.instagram.com/join_the_tryb/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-butera-1780001/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560897070617
https://www.tiktok.com/@jointhetryb?_t=8pix29rQOE6&_r=1
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
