Marzetti's Michael Reda on Omnichannel Growth and Building Brands Beyond the ‘Host Food’

Plus, how Marzetti approaches discovery in a digitally influenced world.

In this episode of Brave Commerce, Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter speak with Michael Reda, vice president of omnichannel marketing at The Marzetti Company, about driving growth in categories like refrigerated dressings and frozen bread. 

He shares how Marzetti approaches discovery in a digitally influenced world and how the brand reinforces storytelling with retail media and partnerships like Instacart to support basket building.

They also discuss Marzetti’s post-2020 ecommerce acceleration, including the foundational work behind scaling digital commerce, from improving content and search to strengthening ratings, reviews, and agency partnerships. 

Michael reflects on innovation, founder stories, and the career move he considers his bravest: stepping off the traditional brand path to build a digital role early on.

Key Takeaways:

  • Not being a “host food” requires a different approach to discovery and relevance.
  • Digitally influenced sales require proactive storytelling before the store.
  • Retail media and brand partnerships can drive basket-building impact.
  • Ecommerce growth begins with strong content, search, and ratings fundamentals.
MikMak-106

Rachel Tipograph

Rachel Tipograph is the founder and CEO of MikMak, an enterprise ecommerce marketing platform. She is also the co-host of the Brave Commerce podcast.

SarahH-White-bkgd

Sarah Hofstetter

Sarah Hofstetter is co-founder and board member at 37Arc, a board director at Campbell's and Kenvue, a senior advisor at BCG and Publicis, and the co-host of the Brave Commerce podcast.