Mary Delano Of Moosylvania: 5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand

An Interview With Martita Mestey

Timing can make or break a launch, so it’s essential to plan strategically. Work backward from your desired launch date, ensuring all touchpoints — packaging, marketing, and distribution — are ready. If you have flexibility, align your launch with cultural trends, key seasons, or events that resonate with your audience. For example, a wellness beverage aimed at women could increase visibility if launched around Mother’s Day or during a health-focused awareness month. The goal is to maximize impact by tapping into moments that capture attention.

As a part of our series called “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Mary Delano.

Mary Delano is a dynamic marketing executive with over 14 years at Moosylvania, a leading advertising agency. As Chief Marketing Officer since January 2017, she’s driven the agency’s growth and crafted powerful, integrated marketing strategies. Before her CMO role, Mary served as Vice President and Account Director, where she spent nearly six years embedded at Bacardi USA, leading creative strategy for major brands like Grey Goose Vodka and Bacardi Rum. Her expertise extends across spirits, retail, and food service. Based in the Greater St. Louis Area, Mary excels at building strong client relationships and executing high-impact marketing initiatives.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

My childhood dream was to become an actress and be on camera, but my mom wanted me to stay on the college track, so she pushed me in the direction of Broadcast Journalism. I was accepted to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Once I got to Mizzou and went through some introductory journalism classes, I quickly realized broadcast was not as glamorous as I’d imagined. Around that same time, the head of the Advertising Sequence (Cindy Frisby) spoke to our J-200 class about advertising, and it instantly intrigued me. It combined my interests in human psychology with creativity and strategy — so I decided to explore that path further and quickly declared advertising as my sequence. Once in the school, we had many group projects, allowing everyone to see where they would fit in more of a real-life advertising setting. I helped with design and copy quite a bit and even ended college with a portfolio — with an initial desire to be a copywriter.

However, after my final capstone project, where I took more of the account/strategy lead, I realized that role was a much more natural fit. That said, I have continued writing and doing little design projects throughout my career, as it provides a good pulse and appreciation for the creative process. I try to use this knowledge to better guide my clients and, hopefully, inspire my creative teams.

Can you share with us the story of the “ah ha” moment that led to the creation of the food or beverage brand you are leading?

I’ve worked on and with many brands during my career, including helping Grey Goose really take off in the mid-2000s. I was lucky enough to be a part of some of their most significant flavor launches, like Cherry Noir and Le Melon, where I worked with artists on bottle design all the way through to how the product hit the market. They always did a nice job of understanding flavor and cultural trends to decide what and when they launched something new.

Since then, I’ve been part of several Gallo Spirit brand launches, and a moment with New Amsterdam Vodka comes to mind as a stand-out “ah ha” moment. When my team was working on a social listening report, we uncovered that Barstool host Ryan Whitney was mixing New Amsterdam with Newman’s Own Pink Lemonade, creating his own “Pink Whitney” drink. Seizing the moment, Gallo took this organic buzz and transformed it into the official Pink Whitney Vodka. As an agency, we were able to help design the bottle and create all the go-to-market assets needed to launch. The brand has taken off like crazy, and I think it’s the perfect example of how recognizing the right moment and acting on it can lead to a cultural phenomenon, proving that timing truly is everything for brand success.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I don’t know if this is funny or embarrassing, but I made a pretty big mistake a few years into my career with a somewhat difficult client. My boss forwarded an email from the client with an unreasonable request, along with his comments, and I replied directly to my boss about the client’s request.

However, somehow, the client ended up in the email chain. I distinctly remember my response being a bit “spicy” — not career-ending, but certainly not intended for the client’s eyes. Immediately after, my boss called me and was clearly not pleased with my email. Thankfully, because my response wasn’t overly negative, the client took it as a moment of honesty and frustration in the process. I quickly followed up with a more thoughtful explanation, which smoothed things over. What I learned from this experience was:

1. Be extra cautious with long email chains, especially when you reply from your phone. (Always double-check who you are responding to before you press send.)
2. Never put anything in writing that you wouldn’t want everyone involved to read!

What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a food or beverage line? What can be done to avoid those errors?

Two common mistakes I’ve seen are:

1. The lack of achievable goals/plan
2. Forgetting about the brand altogether

Specifically, some people push ahead without a real plan or goal. You don’t need a perfect plan, but you do need to create a plan and goals. It will help keep yourself and those you are working with accountable.

That said, don’t spend all the time on the product. Keep pushing ahead, but don’t forget to think about more than just the product you are making. Be sure to think about the brand you are creating. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but having a good idea of your beliefs is essential. I mostly see people rushing the process. There is so much pressure on a start-up, especially hitting numbers and not wanting to lose time. They sometimes go too fast and don’t have the essentials figured out before they go.

Let’s imagine that someone reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to produce. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

I would ask them to think about what they are “solving for” with this product and “who” they are making it for. This will help the brand with the two most significant areas needed to answer when creating a product: figuring out a point of difference and the target audience.

Many people have good ideas all the time. But some people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How would you encourage someone to overcome this hurdle?

Yes, turning an idea into a successful business can be daunting. One thing a boss in one of my first internships told me was to “surround yourself with brilliant people” so you are always learning and pushing yourself to do better. I have followed this advice throughout my career. Make sure you have people smarter than you around you and who are part of your team. Get a team or at least one person to help you, then start small. You don’t need to be perfect to start. You just need to start. Start by trying a few things and testing them out, even just among friends, before you make your big go-to-market plan.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

It depends on where you are in the process and how much time and money you have to give to it. If you are super inexperienced in the category and have the start to an idea but are somewhat limited in terms of a network and time, a consultant could be a wise investment. On the other hand, if you have the time and are willing to really dig in and do the research and learning, make the contacts you need (or leverage the ones you have), doing it yourself could offer more creative control, cost savings and ultimately a very rewarding journey.

I recently had the incredible opportunity to work with a friend who launched his own tequila brand, Sandinista Tequila. What started as an idea based on a famous St. Louis shot called the Sandinista and a group of us recreating the drink in my kitchen turned into a full-fledged brand. For this, he leaned on friends with industry knowledge, a strong network of people he could tap into for investments, and an unwavering dedication to make it happen. He’s still building the brand, but everything he’s achieved so far has resulted from sheer passion, support from friends and investors, and a lot of grit. There’s something deeply satisfying and authentic about building a brand from the ground up through hard work and perseverance, making it even more meaningful.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

The most significant factors in making this decision are speed and control. I feel like many people starting out have a very specific vision, and they want to control that. If you are bootstrapping, you keep your independence and control, but you are also dipping into your own savings, taking out personal plans, etc. It forces you to be scrappy, creative, and efficient, but it’s also more limiting and makes it take a while (depending on your financial situation) to scale. This can be very rewarding but comes with time and risk.

On the other hand, if you connect with a VC firm, you have access to funding, expertise, and some probably great connections that will let you scale more quickly. Additionally, if you need to gain knowledge in the category, these groups can be very helpful and could potentially open some doors you would not be able to open on your own. However, with that comes giving up some control and probably being tied to more strict goals and timelines.

When making this decision, think of how you feel about the control and time aspects, as well as the stage of your business. You may try to take a more bootstrapping plan to start and “prove the concept,” build up some revenue, and then go the VC route. This would be a slower and maybe steadier approach to growth if you are OK with taking some time and taking on more financial risk. However, if you feel like you have already done the pre-work and are ready for your brand to grow quickly, or you potentially need it to enter the market fast because it’s unique and you don’t want a copycat situation, go with the VC firm. Either way can lead to success, but it’s just a bit of a different journey!

Can you share thoughts from your experience about how to file a patent, how to source good raw ingredients, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer or distributor?

I honestly don’t have a ton of experience filing patents, but I have worked with several companies through the development and launch process. To hit on all these questions, I’d say:

1. The Patent — I feel like patents make more sense when you have something unique or different, like a very different bottle shape or package design you don’t want other brands to copy. When it comes to forming your food or beverage, I believe many companies don’t patent them. They just keep them secret. No matter what, it’s probably good to contact a patent attorney if you are unsure, as it can be complicated, and they can point you in the right direction.
2. Sourcing Ingredients — I’ve worked with several flavor houses and different supplier groups over the years. I have noticed that companies usually find a supplier they like and stick with it. Building a relationship with suppliers is good for keeping your product consistent. So, I’d suggest visiting their facility and ensuring it meets your needs — high-quality ingredients, organic, sustainable, etc.
3. Manufacturer — Again, visit their facility to ensure you fully understand their quality standards and capabilities and see if they can meet your production needs as you scale. I’ve seen some groups find a bottling facility, for example, that is great when they are small but can’t scale with them, and if you plan to grow, it’s best to prepare for that.
4. Retailer/Distributor — Most start-up brands I have worked with like to start with smaller, local retailers and distributors. This lets you test a few things and helps you build credibility to pitch to national partners later. In terms of finding national partners, I recommend networking and going to industry and trade shows to make those connections.

What are your “5 Things You Need to Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand” and why?

Assuming you’ve developed a great idea for a new food or beverage — perfecting its taste, ensuring shelf stability, hitting all the legal requirements, nailing the key benefits, etc. So, what’s next? Now it’s time to transform that product into a brand, which means going beyond the functional attributes and making it mean something to consumers. To build a successful food or beverage brand, consider these essential elements:

First and foremost, understand and identify your brand’s unique value proposition. This may seem like Marketing 101, but you’d be surprised how many brands don’t have this figured out and are ready to launch their product without fully thinking through how they fit into the marketplace and what makes them unique.

At Moosylvania, we like to go through a “discovery phase” with clients that allows us to dig into the overall category and competition fully. This will enable us to map out the potential white space and the areas we could look into to position their brand to stand out amongst the competition. This is an integral piece in crafting the brand’s identity, but it also helps us to figure out who we are targeting, which is one of the most crucial parts of the process.

That brings me to step #2 — articulating a clear understanding of the target consumer. Many brands have developed their products with a specific consumer in mind, so this could already be figured out, but it’s good to make sure this ideal consumer is very clearly defined. This is more than just giving the sex, age range, and maybe ideal income — that is NOT enough.

For this, we encourage digging deeper and creating a complete consumer persona that includes the demographics but also provides insights about these consumers’ lifestyles, values, preferences, etc. You want to go beyond surface-level characteristics and figure out how to connect with your audience on a more emotional level. This should ground everything you do moving forward — from the brand’s identity to how and where you promote it.

This brings me to step #3 — developing a strong brand identity. For this, I mean your brand’s visual and verbal image. This includes the brand name, logo, packaging, tagline, and overall design aesthetics. There are a lot of factors in figuring this out. Still, on the most basic level, you want to use your “discovery” findings and what you’ve defined as your unique value proposition and ideal target audience as a basis for figuring this out.

For example, if you have created a new beverage that has functional benefits that other drinks in the category do not, and you feel this will most likely appeal to a more sophisticated audience that also has a passion for wellness, sustainability, etc., you have a very clear direction to start exploring. You may lean toward a cleaner, fresher design aesthetic or work on integrating sustainable printing and packaging into your design. Your tone of voice could go in a few ways — something that feels refined yet straightforward, or maybe you want to explore something that feels more authoritative yet approachable because you found in the discovery that more education on the liquid was needed.

However you decide to proceed, this will come to life in all your marketing elements (website, digital presence, packaging, ad campaign, etc.), which brings us to step #4 — building a comprehensive go-to-market strategy. This is where you determine the most effective ways to create awareness and drive trials for your brand with your target consumer. A few critical elements for this are:

• Channel Strategy — This is where your product is going to be sold — direct to consumer, online, on-premise, retail, etc. You may also combine efforts here, which is fine — you just need to be clear on where you want to go to ensure you have the strategies and partnerships in place to get there.
• Sales Strategy — Make sure you have the right retail or distribution partners to get your product into the channels you selected and ultimately into the hands of your ideal consumers. You also need to think about the materials you may need to help support it (POS, sell-in materials, etc.)
• Marketing Plans — Here, you decide on the most effective channels for reaching your audience. We typically like to understand the budget a client is willing to spend to understand the channels that make the most sense. Still, we’d most likely consider social media, digital/programmatic, influencer partnerships, PR, sampling, experiential, and awareness-building tactics like out-of-home, TV, etc.
• Timing — Timing can make or break a launch, so it’s essential to plan strategically. Work backward from your desired launch date, ensuring all touchpoints — packaging, marketing, and distribution — are ready. If you have flexibility, align your launch with cultural trends, key seasons, or events that resonate with your audience. For example, a wellness beverage aimed at women could increase visibility if launched around Mother’s Day or during a health-focused awareness month. The goal is to maximize impact by tapping into moments that capture attention.

Now that you’ve established your brand’s look, feel, and strategy, it’s time to dive into the fun part: step #5 — creative development and ongoing optimizations. This step brings your brand to life by creating the essential assets for a successful launch and continued growth. Everything you create will shape how your brand is positioned and interacts with consumers, from designing your packaging and building your website to developing social media content and point-of-sale materials. At Moosylvania, we emphasize not just creating these assets but continuously refining them. You gain valuable insights by consistently testing how your content resonates with your target audience, especially on social media. Are your assets organically reaching the right people? Is your target audience engaging with your content? Are they sharing content? These learnings allow you to stay flexible and adjust, ensuring your brand remains relevant and impactful.

Can you share your ideas about how to create a product that people really love and are ‘crazy about’?

That’s a great question. To create a product that consumers genuinely love and are passionate about, the brand needs to play a meaningful role in their lives — it must feel like a trusted friend. As Norty Cohen, the owner of Moosylvania, discussed in his book Join the Brand, successful brands today aren’t just about products — they’re about creating experiences that make people feel good, look good, and stay entertained. This idea is still incredibly relevant.

In the past, the burden was on brands to create all the engagement themselves, but now, thanks to the rise of social media, they can leverage fans, influencers, and partners to build deeper connections. While some brands, like Liquid Death, have mastered this organically, others can and should lean on external partnerships to amplify their personality and become the kind of brand consumers want to align with.

We’ve seen significant growth by aligning our brands with consumer passion points — whether through fashion collaborations with Coogi and Karl Kani for E&J Brandy or tapping into cultural moments with soccer platforms and VICE for Camarena Tequila. Partnering with media outlets to tell authentic stories has been crucial in driving engagement. Ultimately, successful brands connect with what consumers care about in authentic, innovative ways.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I wouldn’t say I’ve done anything monumental, but I continually try to use my understanding of marketing to contribute where I can. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with several non-profit organizations, like Ronald McDonald House, and I’ve donated time to educate younger generations about the industry. For the past four years, I’ve partnered with Kirkwood High School’s marketing program, helping enhance its curriculum and providing guidance on student marketing projects.

As an agency, we prioritize sustainability, both in our operations and in the work we do for clients. We’ve even taken on pro bono projects with sustainability-focused brands to gain more experience and exposure in this area. Ultimately, I’m always looking for ways to push myself further and do better to make a more meaningful impact.

You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire 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.

Wow, there are so many impactful movements — picking just one is hard. However, in recent years, I’ve become intensely focused on mental health and overall wellness. As a working, single mother of two young daughters, I know firsthand how easy it is to put your own needs on the back burner. But I’ve realized how crucial it is to make time for mindfulness, mental health support, and physical well-being.

There’s been a growing awareness around mental health, and I’m glad to see the stigma slowly lifting. The pandemic, in a way, gave us all a collective pause to reflect on our own mental health and reassess the balance in our lives. If I could inspire a movement, it would push for better access to mental health care, encourage mindfulness practices, and promote a more balanced lifestyle here in the U.S. — something many other countries already seem to have figured out.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.