WEBVTT - Bonus Episode: How Lynda Resnick Became “The Pom Queen” 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:09.680 I'm Katie Kurk, and this is Next Question. My company, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:12.440 Katie Kirk Media, wouldn't get to do all the cool 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.600 things we do, like bring you this podcast if it 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:19.880 weren't for the really innovative, smart and forward thinking companies 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:22.759 were lucky enough to partner with. One of those is 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.480 The Wonderful Company. Based in Los Angeles. The Wonderful Company 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.200 is one of the biggest privately held businesses in the 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:34.120 United States. You probably know their famous healthy products, including 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:41.520 iconic brands like Wonderful Pistachio's, Wonderful Halos, Wonderful Seedless Lemons, Palm, Wonderful, 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:47.600 Fiji Water, Justin and Landmark Wines, and Teleflora. On this 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:51.040 episode of Next Question, I'm sharing a conversation I had 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:55.720 with The Wonderful Company's vice chairman and co owner, Linda Resnick. 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:58.800 Every time I get a chance to sit down with Linda, 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:02.680 it's a real tree. Her genius in marketing comes from 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:06.320 her unique and very clever way with words. I mean, 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:10.360 who else would be crowned the palm Queen. But more 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:13.520 than that, Linda and her husband Stewart, who together co 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:18.160 owned The Wonderful Company, are deeply committed philanthropists, starting with 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.280 their wide ranging efforts to enhance the lives of people 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:25.480 in California's Central Valley and communities where many of their 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:29.800 employees live and work. The Residus are also major supporters 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:32.560 of the arts and of champions supporting the health of 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.800 the planet by funding major climate change initiatives. Over the 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:41.399 past several years, their philanthropic gifts have included seven hundred 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:45.280 and fifty million to the California Institute of Technology, fifty 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:49.000 million to the University of California Davis, and fifty million 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:53.040 to Technion University in Israel, all to further research on 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:58.000 environmental sustainability across the globe. Since its Women's History Month, 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.480 we could all benefit from hearing from this extraordinary, self 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:05.320 made woman who today lives her life with one mission 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:10.480 to give back. And by the way, if you want 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.840 to get smarter every morning with a breakdown of the 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:16.400 top news stories and fascinating takes on health and wellness 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:20.040 and pop culture, sign up for our daily newsletter Wake 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:24.480 Up Call by going to Katiecuric dot com. Now let's 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:29.880 get to it. Linda. First of all, thank you for 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:34.720 inviting us into your magnificent home. I don't think we've 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.480 ever been treated so well. We're in this beautiful library 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:45.240 or office your office, yes, surrounded by incredible art, little 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:51.040 sandwiches on trays, on tea trays, and all sorts of suits. 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.480 So thank you so much for inviting us here. It's 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:58.080 a real treat. It's my pleasure. Of course. I wanted 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:02.079 to start by talking about you and how you became 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:08.560 the woman you are today, because you built this insane success. 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:13.200 And I'm always interested in people's origin stories because I 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:17.320 think they explained so much what motivated you and the 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.480 people who shaped you. So I want to go back 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:23.240 to your childhood in Philadelphia. Okay, your dad was a 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:27.000 film distributor. He was, and he moved your family to 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:33.600 LA after he produced the now classic horror film The Blob. Exactly. Yes, 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:37.760 daddy moved us here in nineteen fifty nine or sixty, 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:42.000 I think, And I was a young teenager, but I 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:47.280 was in twelfth grade. And so how was adjusting to 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:49.600 life in La How did your mom adjust to it? 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:52.280 I think it was difficult for my mother to leave 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:57.440 her parents and her support, and for me it was 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:01.640 a beautiful adventure. You wanted to go to art school, 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:06.040 I did, and instead you decided you were going to 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:09.120 start your own ad agency. Well, I did go to 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:13.240 college for a year. My father felt that it wasn't 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.520 worthwhile financially to send me to art school because he 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.560 had to pay and I couldn't get a scholarship. And 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.960 when I asked why I couldn't get a scholarship, they said, 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.400 there's two Rolls Royces in your driveway. We don't feel 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:28.400 so sorry for you. So I couldn't go to art school, 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.040 which was a blow. And I went to Santa Monica 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:35.560 City College, which by the way, is still a magnificent college. 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:39.200 It really is a two year college. It's fabulous. And 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:41.560 then I went to work because I, frankly, I was 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:45.159 a little bored, as you can imagine, and I opened 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:48.640 my little advertising agency when I was nineteen. It was 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:51.919 called Linda Limited, and eventually it grew till where I 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:55.680 could get a proper office. Where did your ambition come from? 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.000 Was it your father? I mean he sounds as if 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:03.640 he was a very charisma addic, you know, good salesman. Yes, 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:05.839 And he looked like Harry Graham. I mean he was 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:11.160 absolutely a magnificent specimen, which I realized was not what 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:13.920 you look for first, it may be what you look 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.719 for third. But having said that, he had a lot 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:21.040 of other incredible qualities. Oh he did. He was into 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:26.799 the arts, he was into poetry, he loved film, and 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:29.080 we had a lot of fun together. I mean, if 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:30.800 it weren't from my father, I don't think I would 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:32.920 have loved the arts. He carried me into the Philadelphia 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:34.960 Art Museum in his arms when I was a baby. 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:41.839 So you get your outgoing personality, your kind of jazz hands, 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:44.440 if you will, from your dad and my mom and 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:50.279 your mom they both had fabulous sense of humor, fantastic. Now, 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.200 my mother couldn't speak in front of a crowd, she 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:56.479 was terrified, but in a closed circle with girlfriends, she 0:05:56.640 --> 0:06:00.440 was amazing. So both parents were kind of personality us 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:05.160 that's usually like there's one quieter spouse and one sort 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:08.000 of more outgoing one. But which is why their marriage 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:13.599 didn't last. I wanted to ask you about you wanted 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:15.719 to know where I got my ambition. Yeah, I wish 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.640 I knew where I got my ambition. And I've been 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:22.760 through therapy and mindfulness and all sorts of things to 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:26.520 find out why I'm so driven. And I think because 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:29.840 one of the reasons is my mother criticized me so 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:34.080 heavily my whole life. She did. Yeah, she never enjoyed 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:40.600 with me my success, and so the more I did 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:44.719 to try to impress her, the worst it cut. Did 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:47.240 you ever come to terms with your mom about that? 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:49.520 Did you ever talk to her? Did you ever have 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:54.440 a come to Jesus conversation? No? I never did. I 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:57.920 waited on my mother hand and foot. I was there 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:02.040 every day of my life. I took care of her financially, emotionally. 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:05.880 On her deathbed, which I was there holding her hand 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:08.279 when she died, she said I wasn't very nice to you, 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:14.200 and that's it did was it? Did she say I'm sorry? No, 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:18.760 but she acknowledged it. She thing it meant something that 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:23.080 she knew. But she had a horrible childhood, so she 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.360 didn't know how to give love because she hadn't been 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:30.840 given it. My grandmother and grandfather saved my life. They 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:38.400 made me what I am today. Their love was so profound. 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:41.360 They lived in Baltimore, but I would go as often 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:45.760 as I could. It's interesting because it sounds as if 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:49.760 you grew up in tremendous privilege. Is that correct? I 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.120 mean I wouldn't call it tremendous. This is tremendous privilege. Yeah, 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:56.040 right where we're sitting now. I mean, but this home 0:07:56.160 --> 0:08:01.360 is so opulent and beautiful, full of our and treasures. 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:04.720 And you mentioned the two Rolls Royces in the driveway 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.680 when you were younger. Yes, so I was curious if 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:12.040 your father was successful from when you were very little. 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:16.080 He wasn't enormously rich, but he was successful. I would 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.400 say we were upper middle class. He just cared about 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:22.760 Rolls Royces. I've never owned one, okay, and I never 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:27.080 will because it stands for my college education to me 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.559 that I didn't have. But my life turned out great, 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:44.520 So why am I complaining. We'll be right back. Let's 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:47.200 talk a little bit more about how you were really 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:51.080 a woman ahead of your time, Linda. I mean, most 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:55.680 women at the time you started your ad agency, they 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:59.480 were pretty traditional, right. They were getting married, they were 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:05.520 raising families, they were homemakers. What was it like to 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.280 be in the work world? And what year was that? 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:11.720 That was right in the heart of the Madmen era? 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:19.280 Absolutely so, it was sixty sixty two, sixty three. All 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:23.080 the way through the sixties. Running the ad agency was 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:27.200 fabulous because I'm very creative, and so the creative spirit 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:31.040 that I would have put into fine art parentheses. I'm 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.360 not that great an artist. I'm doing much better than 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:36.720 in business that I would have as a fine artist. 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:42.720 But that creativity was expressed every day in the copywriting, 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.640 in the art direction that I did, and eventually I 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:49.720 could hire staff and I tried to get better people 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.320 than me, and so that the agency did grow and 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.199 it did extremely well. And you were a single mom. 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.360 I was a single mom. It was very expensive. My 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.719 ex husband was a deadbeat and he wouldn't I had 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:05.000 to take him to court. I had no money, and 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:08.720 quite frankly, when I married Stewart, it was he had 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:11.880 no money either. He just seemed like he was going 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:16.439 to someday be successful and he would understand my drive 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:19.920 to be successful and not be outshined by me. I 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:22.440 know when you first met Stuart, you said he was 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:24.960 cute but kind of a jerk. He was kind of 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:27.920 a jerk, because I can't imagine Stewart being a jerk, 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:31.560 like you can't, well, let me enlighten you. So what 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:36.680 happened was someone recommended me to this job. He needed 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:40.000 someone to do some advertising for a men's clothing store 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.240 that he bought. I said, I'm not going on that 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.760 meeting Doug. You go. So Doug Spellman when he was 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.320 my head of new business, and he went like three 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.360 or four times. He said, this guy's amazing, he's so fabulous. 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:53.120 I said, we'll sign the deal. He said, he won't 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:57.160 do it unless he meets you. So I go. Now. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:01.440 I was provocative and adorable. I must to admit I 0:11:01.640 --> 0:11:06.000 had on boots that went above my knee, brown leather divine. 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:10.760 I had on a lovely little tunic with nice lung 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:14.000 sleeves and a high neck. So I think we went 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:16.840 out to dinner for like three months and I said, 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:18.760 are you going to give me the business? And he said, 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:20.920 I'll give you the business, I'd rather have a meaningful 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:24.400 relationship with you. And that's how our love affair started. 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.640 And it was pretty amazing. And all these years later, 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:33.080 you're still happily married. Yes, except for this week. You 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:37.000 are working together, and you've been phenomenally successful, and I 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:40.160 think you compliment each other in terms of your skills, 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:45.040 and you have said that together we make one perfect person. Right. 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:47.440 We're like salton pepper shakers. Can you explain that and 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:50.839 sort of what qualities he has and what qualities do 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.320 you have, and why it's worked, not only in a 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.640 marriage but in a business, which isn't easy. It's not easy, 0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:59.800 you know, it's so hard to be in partnership with 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:03.800 your husband. First of all, he's the boss. I figured 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:08.080 that out about forty years ago. He's the boss. So 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:11.320 that's fine. I understand that. But I do what I 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:16.280 want because I have circuitous roots that I've managed to discover. 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:22.640 He is a genius in business. He sees the potential 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:27.440 of every company that he looks at for acquisition, and 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:30.880 he knows what you're going to do well and which aren't. 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.840 And we have made very few mistakes in acquisitions. He 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:41.320 obviously and you have become just built an extraordinary business 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:45.760 and a really slate of businesses that encompass everything from 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:50.959 pomegranates to Pistachio's water wine. I'm sure I'm leaving many 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:56.800 of the product Teleflora, Yeah, Teleflora oranges. I love my 0:12:56.840 --> 0:13:02.280 little Kalos. What is his business? And your business philosophy 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:06.559 been from the get go? Well doing well by doing 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.600 good has certainly been our philosophy for the last twenty 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:14.400 five years. We care about our employees. We know that 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.200 without our employees, or in the case of tell Aflour, 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.800 without our florist, for instance, we wouldn't have a business, 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:25.920 and so we do concentrate on making sure that they 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.960 have a healthy, happy environment. We do our best to 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:33.960 do that. Everything we sell is healthy for the planet. 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.160 People will say that feeds you water, you know, a 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:42.200 single serve, Well it isn't anymore. It's recycled plastic. I 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:44.920 was so happy when we could do that. Gosh, there's 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.360 so many questions I want to ask you. From that answer, 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:51.360 you have a sort of unique sense of taste. That's 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:56.800 one of your gifts, where you're able to distinguish wines 0:13:56.960 --> 0:14:01.160 and what year they were produced. Did you always have 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:07.600 this unique ability. No. Until I would start tasting things 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:11.439 like palm. For instance, when I was in the orchard, 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:18.800 they would make pomegranate juice with a makeshift champagne press 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:22.240 in the dirt. We would be out there and I said, 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.160 I wanted to taste like this because this is what 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:28.760 it is, because what we sell is pure pomegranate juice. 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:33.760 And when they would line up the different taste profiles, 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.480 I would pick one that the taste, panel would pick, 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.920 and that's when I started to learn that I knew it. 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:43.720 With wine, it was uncanny that I could pick even 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:47.720 the shipper in some Burgundies. It was crazy. I don't 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:51.600 do that so much anymore, but I did have this 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:55.800 ability to taste, and I don't know why. It's just 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:59.440 a god given gift. Palm is your baby, and it's 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:07.160 the twenty anniversary, yes, and you shepherded the development of it. 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:09.880 And in your book Ruby's in the Orchard, you write 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:13.640 about all the marketing quote unquote geniuses around the table 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.320 and how they wanted to mix pomegranate juice with other 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:21.440 juices or juice products, or you know, they wanted to 0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:25.360 put ten percent in and they wanted to make it sweeter. 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:29.200 This is not high Sea. This is not high Sea honey. 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:32.240 But you know the Greeks and Romans knew it. If 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:34.840 you go back in history or even go to our website, 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:37.680 you'll see the history of the pomegranate and how it's 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:42.040 been revered for the centuries. The Egyptians King tut took 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:45.360 a pomegranate invase into the afterlife. Didn't do them much good, 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:48.760 but it's there now we can see it. You also 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:52.120 designed the bottle I did. I want to talk to 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:56.360 you about your marketing acumen. I know that people have 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.120 called you a genius, and very cutely in the book 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:01.440 you say I never get tired of hearing that. But 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:05.800 you're very self effacing and say you're not. How have 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.400 you been able to have your finger on the pulse 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.960 and figure out how to convince people to buy products? 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:17.640 It's a gift. So I believe the most important thing 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:21.040 in marketing is listening, and I base so much of 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:24.640 what I do not completely on research, but we have 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:31.960 a very brilliant research department where we study the consumer constantly, 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.840 and if you noticed in our products, we're very direct 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:41.400 on what we talk about, so we're honest and straightforward. 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.480 In it's called palm wonderful because palm, well, if you 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.120 wrote pomegranate, by the time you read it, as I say, 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:53.320 you'd be in the lettuce department. So the variety is wonderful. 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.680 That's the type of pomegranate it is. So it's palm wonderful. 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.800 And if I have line extensions, I call them what 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.919 they are, blueberry, cherry whatever. I believe that if the 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.919 product is good, you think within the box. The solution 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:14.080 to the problem is within the box. But our products 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:20.280 are so solid, you know, citruses from the tree, it's unadulterated. 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:26.440 Our our pistachios are just harvested and roasted and sent 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:30.080 to you and so forth and so on. So that 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:34.679 is the intrinsic value of our products. The intersection of 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:37.960 people carrying about their health and the products you were 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:44.160 producing was very beneficial. Yes, it was, kis Met. We 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:48.000 were in the orange business since the eighties eighty nine, 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:51.320 I think and tell a flora we started in seventy nine. 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.720 But the other the almonds, the pistachios, all of that 0:17:55.800 --> 0:18:01.440 grew in the nineties and came to fruition in two thousand. 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:04.960 It was two and fifteen, though before Stewart felt that 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.080 we should have a brand for pistachios. This is an 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.280 interesting story if we have a minute and you can. 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:16.080 There was a recall in pistachios, and it had nothing 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.520 to do with us. It was a small supplier who 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:22.880 had seminell at the plant, so they cut off selling 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:28.520 pistachios everywhere. Everyone had to throw out their pistachios. So 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:33.480 I was at the airport in Washington and Stewart called 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:35.480 me and he said, you've talked me into it. We 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:39.800 need brand because if we were wonderful pistachios, our pistachios 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.360 would stay on the shelf because we had no issues. 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:47.280 And that's when the big brand push started. It may 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.760 have been earlier than that because I was on my tour. 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:55.399 I think one of your sort of mottoes or edicts 0:18:55.400 --> 0:19:00.119 about marketing, Linda, is insight. Every threat is an opportunity, 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:04.720 and so we call threats opera threats because what is 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:09.200 the opportunity within that threat? And you have face challenges 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:13.400 to your brand in the past, and you write about 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:18.200 a situation with Peter upset that you were testing on 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:22.679 mice and rats, although they they blew it up to 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:25.560 say you were testing on rabbits and all kinds of 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:29.040 dogs and dogs and you had protesters in front of 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:33.280 your home. Initially, Stuart said, it'll go away, it'll die 0:19:33.359 --> 0:19:37.480 down right, yes, And then you all realize, no, we 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:41.720 have to respond to this because you talked about things 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:48.880 proliferating online and damaging reputations permanently. So how did you 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:54.639 handle that criticism because you were testing on animals, rats 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:58.480 and mice. I know that then you stopped it later on, No, 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:02.200 not later on, we stop op it. That's how we responded. 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:06.440 They were right about testing on mice. There was no 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:08.600 reason to do it. It was just kind of the 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:14.800 way that well silence worked in those days. But Peta 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.760 was right, You for a juice, you don't need to 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:23.240 test on mice. We've learned other ways of doing it. 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:28.879 And we stopped that immediately afterwards because I realized that 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:34.080 it was wrong. Fiji water was criticized and frankly can 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.520 still be because of the plastic water bottles. Right, there's 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:42.240 not enough recycling that goes on, we know, absolutely tragically. Well, 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:46.160 I'm hoping that the money that we've given to Caltech 0:20:46.240 --> 0:20:52.920 and sustainability will find a solution for plastic. You know, 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:56.919 there are enzymes that they're testing now that just dissolve plastic. 0:20:57.280 --> 0:20:59.440 And if we can get that up to scale, because 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:01.720 we're never going to get the recycling of the sapping 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:06.600 is it doesn't get recycled, No, it doesn't. So but 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:10.280 this bottle has probably you know, the recycling of this 0:21:10.400 --> 0:21:13.080 plastic has gone on and on and on. I don't 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:15.199 know if we're the endgame or not. That depends on 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:19.040 whether it's being recycled or not. Twenty four seven, we 0:21:19.119 --> 0:21:24.159 are looking for a biodegradable container for Fiji water. But 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:27.080 we keep looking, and if anyone's listening to this podcast 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:30.360 and wants to send me some ideas for a biodegradable 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:33.960 good data, I'm all for it. The cardboard containers that 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:36.480 you see with water, you are fooling yourself. They're lined 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:42.800 with aluminum, and aluminum is not biodegradable. The first aluminum 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:45.840 that was ever mind is probably still in existence, so 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:48.000 that's a good thing if they remind it. But I 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:50.679 think it goes to the landfill, so the paper product 0:21:50.720 --> 0:21:54.080 will disappear, but the aluminum will stay forever. So you're 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:57.919 still trying to figure this outlasts the worst why because 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:02.919 it's so heavy. So if you're shipping glass from Fiji 0:22:03.200 --> 0:22:06.800 to America, it costs like four times as much. The 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:10.640 other thing is that if you get a glass container, 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:13.600 it has to come from France to Fiji. It's got 0:22:13.600 --> 0:22:16.560 to be cleaned three times with water. You see all 0:22:16.560 --> 0:22:19.800 the water we're wasting. We'll be back right after this. 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:33.760 Let's talk about your philanthropy, because you and Stuart you've 0:22:33.760 --> 0:22:36.199 given away two and a half billion dollars in the 0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:40.960 last five to seven years. What is your philanthropic philosophy? 0:22:41.080 --> 0:22:44.480 Because there are a number of causes that you support, 0:22:44.880 --> 0:22:47.480 and I know you're a huge fan of the arts. 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:51.480 You've been very generous to the Aspen Institute, and I'm 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:54.439 on the board of that institute, so I know firsthand 0:22:54.440 --> 0:22:58.080 the impact you all have had there. So when you 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:01.359 have so much money, how do you decide where to 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:07.239 give it? Well, our employees' lives come first. I had 0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:13.120 an epiphany eleven years ago that I had to give 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:16.960 back in a really meaningful way, and that meant going 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:20.359 to work to do it. Besides my day job, I 0:23:20.440 --> 0:23:23.760 have a philanthropy department that is dedicated to giving back 0:23:24.160 --> 0:23:27.760 to the Central Valley and to the Fijian Islands. That's 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:32.480 what they do. We also give big gifts to our institutions, 0:23:32.480 --> 0:23:35.399 but other people do that. We like to give to 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:40.040 places that nobody else is interested in. Let's start with 0:23:40.119 --> 0:23:42.960 wonderful giving. I don't know how long it's been fifteen 0:23:43.040 --> 0:23:46.359 or twenty years that we've given every employee that works 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:51.159 for us between five hundred to one thousand dollars to 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:54.520 give to the charity of their choice. As long as 0:23:54.520 --> 0:23:57.639 it's a five O one C three and to date 0:23:58.000 --> 0:24:01.560 fifty seven million dollars are employ always have given to 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:06.879 their local area. And so that is a very powerful 0:24:07.000 --> 0:24:10.359 thing to teach philanthropy to the employees. Well, not only 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:16.840 that you have provided educational opportunities and all kinds of 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:21.199 things to the people who work on your farms, the 0:24:21.320 --> 0:24:26.199 people who work in your factories. Talk about that because 0:24:26.280 --> 0:24:29.639 that is changing lives. Yes, So it was a pivotal 0:24:29.680 --> 0:24:32.480 moment in my life where I realized that I had 0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:36.919 to give back. So I looked at places that I 0:24:37.000 --> 0:24:40.119 cared about, and I ended up at home in the 0:24:40.160 --> 0:24:42.399 Central Valley. It's one hundred and forty five miles away, 0:24:42.720 --> 0:24:45.119 but my employees, I have five thousand employees in the 0:24:45.160 --> 0:24:49.600 Central Valley and their families. And I started in Lost Hills, 0:24:49.720 --> 0:24:55.440 this little unincorporated town, and about half of the people 0:24:55.440 --> 0:24:57.760 in that town had someone in their household that worked 0:24:57.760 --> 0:25:03.440 at the wonderful company, and they didn't trust me. It 0:25:03.480 --> 0:25:06.720 was really hard. I did a lot of research to 0:25:06.760 --> 0:25:09.000 see what they wanted and what they felt they needed. 0:25:09.000 --> 0:25:10.920 And the first thing we did, which we thought would 0:25:10.960 --> 0:25:14.960 benefit everybody, was to redo the park. And today we 0:25:15.080 --> 0:25:19.840 have two beautiful buildings at the park, and I fell 0:25:19.880 --> 0:25:22.120 in love with these people because I realized that I 0:25:22.160 --> 0:25:26.480 am no different from those mothers except for the fact 0:25:26.560 --> 0:25:29.680 that I had luck and privilege. I had the luck 0:25:29.720 --> 0:25:31.560 to be born in a family that would put a 0:25:31.640 --> 0:25:34.960 roof over my head, that would educate me at least 0:25:35.040 --> 0:25:39.760 up through high school and feed me, and they didn't 0:25:39.800 --> 0:25:45.159 have that. And so we started with the park. Eventually 0:25:45.160 --> 0:25:49.119 we built a school, and so today we have a 0:25:49.119 --> 0:25:55.200 beautiful Priest School. Through graduation, a hundred of those kids 0:25:55.200 --> 0:25:59.320 have come back to work at the wonderful company, which 0:25:59.480 --> 0:26:01.600 is the thing that I wanted to do to end 0:26:01.640 --> 0:26:05.440 the cycle of poverty in the Central Valley. By bringing 0:26:05.680 --> 0:26:09.080 educated minds to the valley that didn't have to work 0:26:09.080 --> 0:26:14.040 in the fields, that could change the dynamic there. We 0:26:14.119 --> 0:26:19.000 give free healthcare to every employee and their entire family. 0:26:19.640 --> 0:26:23.120 They never pay for meds. We triosh if they need 0:26:23.440 --> 0:26:29.840 cancer or other dangerous diseases. We save lives every single day, 0:26:30.800 --> 0:26:35.520 and we have free therapy. We have wonderful gymnasiums where 0:26:35.560 --> 0:26:39.080 people can go after work and work out. Every bit 0:26:39.080 --> 0:26:41.720 of food that is served. You will not find a 0:26:41.800 --> 0:26:45.640