Bean to Barstool

Here's the entire Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series in one place! 
Media Relations is a critical component of your marketing strategy as a small business, but it often gets overlooked. Maybe you don't feel like you have the time, or maybe working with the media seems intimidating. Leveraging media relationships is an important and worthwhile way to connect with your existing and prospective audience, and it doesn't have to be difficult.
In this series, David Nilsen and Melinda Guerra share what they've learned from opposite sides of the relationship as a journalist (David) and publicist (Melinda) to help craft chocolate makers take easy steps to working with media.
We discuss:
- Why media relations is so important
- How to identify your company's stories
- How to find and make contact with media members
- How to create and send press releases
- How to maintain ongoing relationships with the media
- Common pitfalls to avoid
- What to do after you get media attention
- And much more
Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series:
Podcast Episodes
Why You Need a Media Plan
Identify Your Company's Stories
How to Build and Manage a Media List
All About Press Releases
How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories
How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls

Blog Posts
Why You Need a Media Plan
How to Identify Your Stories
How to Build a Media List
Adding Industry and Unexpected Outlets to your Media List
How to Write and Send a Press Release
How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories
Crisis Communications
What to Do After You Get Media Coverage
Common Pitfalls, and Easy Steps for Getting Started
Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

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One of my favorite memories of my trip to Quito, Ecuador, in 2024 was a night spent at Bandido Brewing’s cozy taproom, just a short walk from the historic district. Founder Nathan Keffer played host and invited some off the city’s other brewers as we opened bottles and talked into the night. 
Nathan and I have stayed friends since then, and he recently reached out to tell me about a new beer Bandido has developed using multiple different forms of cacao, not just the nibs or husks. We sat down recently to talk all about his new cacao beer. Along the way, we discussed the story behind Bandido, the craft beer scene in Ecuador, and how the use of local ingredients can tie a beer to where it was brewed.
You can follow Bandido Brewing on Instagram here.
You can learn more about Somos here.
You can read the entirety of the article from which the prologue of this episode was taken here.
You can read the blog post mentioned about Kitu Chocolate here.
Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

Follow Bean to Barstool on social media!
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest

Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

Bean to Barstool Redux: Vintage but still relevant conversations from the archives without all the extra narration. Just classic interviews from really cool people in craft chocolate, craft beer, and other food and beverage fields.
In this edition, we talk with Nick Davis of One One Cacao in Jamaica. Nick shares his thoughts on the good and bad of inclusions, the challenges and opportunities in Jamaican cacao and chocolate, the historical and modern impacts of colonialism on both, and how making chocolate has allowed him to reclaim some of his family’s story and power that had been taken by that colonial harm. I’m so grateful to Nick for his time and his insights, and I think you’re going to enjoy this conversation as well.
Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

Follow Bean to Barstool on social media!
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest

Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

Bean to Barstool Redux: Vintage but still relevant conversations from the archives without all the extra narration. Just classic interviews from really cool people in craft chocolate, craft beer, and other food and beverage fields.
In this edition, we talk with Max Gandy, perhaps better known in the craft chocolate world as Dame Cacao. Max was one of the first chocolate educators I started following on Instagram many years ago now when I was first getting into the scene. With her Dame Cacao website and various podcasts over the years, she’s been a calm and knowledgeable voice within craft chocolate for nearly a decade now. She’s also incredibly well traveled, and has spent time at many cacao origins. 
In our conversation, we discussed her journey within craft chocolate, the way going to origin can change our perspectives on chocolate, and what has to happen for the general public to come around to craft chocolate. We also spent some time discussing cacao liquors and other alcoholic beverages made by farmers in different regions.
Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

Follow Bean to Barstool on social media!
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Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

In this short bonus episode of Bean to Barstool, we'll hear from Kelly Campos of Dark Matter Coffee and Sleep Walk Chocolate in Chicago. Kelly talks all about the barrel-aged beer chocolate bars Sleep Walk has made in collaboration with breweries like Half Acre and Revolution. Enjoy!
You can learn more about Sleep Walk Chocolate here.
You can listen to Kelly discuss Sleep Walk's mezcal-infused bar in this episode.
Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

Follow Bean to Barstool on social media!
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest

Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.