The 2026 eCom Trends Report
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Podcast | Episode 536
Insights from Retail, America’s Food Crisis & Crafting Great Newsletters
Curious how health-focused products carve out success in today’s bustling retail scene? Join me in this episode as I sit down with Justin Mares, founder of Kettle & Fire and Perfect Keto, venture partner at Long Journey Ventures, and CEO at Truemed. Justin shares his journey through evolving marketing strategies and investment insights that aim to reshape America’s eating habits.
Tune in as Justin delves into the importance of strategic branding and packaging design in influencing consumer buying behaviors, especially in the health sector. He’ll also discuss the evolution of his marketing tactics over the years, the significant role of his newsletter in building customer relationships, and his proactive views on investing in health and wellness startups.
You’ll learn:
- Justin’s thoughts on supplementation products. (6:00)
- How he raised money from influencers. (18:00)
- The challenges of the current U.S. food system and its impact on public health. (25:04)
- How Justin’s approach to marketing has evolved over the years. (35:40)
- The financial and strategic considerations when entering retail markets with health-focused products. (39:44)
- How to leverage brand and packaging design to influence consumer buying behavior in retail. (48:20)
- How a newsletter helped to build relationships. (50:45)
- Justin’s perspective on investing going forward. (56:00)
- The benefits of bike packing and getting back into nature. (1:00:00)
- Justin’s insights on venture capital investments in health and wellness startups. (56:00)
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Amazon
(With your host Andrew Youderian of eCommerceFuel.com and Justin Mares of KettleandFire.com)
What Was Mentioned
- Justin Mares: LinkedIn | Instagram | Newsletter
- Kettle & Fire
- Perfect Keto
- Long Journey Ventures
- Truemed
- Western Spirit Cycling Adventures
- Tour Divide
- Ibis Cycles
- Salsa Cycles
- Zipify Pages
- One Click Upsell – Increase Sales 15%+ with Pre-and Post-purchase Upsells. (On average, Shopify users increase sales 15% immediately after installing the app!)
Ideas Worth Sharing:
"I think that the best investments, in general, in venture seem to be ones that are often very misunderstood in the early days." - Justin Mares Tweet this "We're trying to introduce price stability, basically. So if you're a farmer, we're going to introduce this sort of crop insurance program and these subsidies that make it impossible, effectively, for you to lose money when you grow these products." - Justin Mares Tweet this "If the founder is right about the way that they see the world, those are the things that are often cheap in retrospect." - Justin Mares Tweet this
Post by Andrew Youderian
Founder and Chief Instigator, eComFuel
Andrew quit an early finance job to sell CB radios online — an admittedly unorthodox career path. It set him on a course to found and sell multiple businesses, host a decade-running podcast, lecture at Harvard Business School and create eComFuel, the leading community for 7- and 8-figure online business owners. Andrew is fascinated with branding, AI, building community, investing and growing meaningful businesses that don't require sacrificing what truly matters.
