Ep.24 / Dejan Rankovic, Co-Founder, Man Cereal
The Anti-Marketing Marketing Approach:
As soon as I saw Man Cereal I was interested in chatting with Dejan. It reminds me of a brand concept that my team would develop and then change as it progressed. Dejan’s vision for Man Cereal is "Serious Nutrition" with an "Unserious Name". This creatine-infused cereal is low carb, high protein and offers a nutritional profile that has been lacking in the cereal aisle.
I was impressed by Dejan’s clarity of intent and ambition. He shared insights into his career path at high-growth environments like Netflix and Dr. Squatch to becoming a first time founder, his advice on fundraising during economic shifts, the mechanics of brand authenticity, and the "gray area" of functional foods.
This conversation included:
The Power of "Anti-Marketing": rejecting traditional category norms to create differentiation and authenticity, inpsired by brands like Liquid Death.
Solving the ‘creatine problem’ of bitterness and chemical instability that has meant that unlike protein and fiber it has not "maxed out" in food innovation.
Advice on the getting through the rollercoaster of the fundraising process that ultimately started with friends and family
His approach to leadership that is influenced by his time at Netflix, where "action is usually more valuable than strategy".
Dejan is professionally jealous of Becca Millstein, the co-founder of the tinned fish brand Fishwife. He admires her for taking a "stagnant, boring category" (tinned fish) and transforming it to attract an entirely new consumer with thoughtful and elegant packaging and branding.
Check out https: https://eatmancereal.com
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