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L I F E S T Y L E L U X U RY 5 Q U E S T I O N S W I T H A V I C T U A L S V I S I O N A R Y 34 www.thejewelrybook.com Jon Sebastiani of KRAVE and Sonoma Brands talks innovation in the consumables category, how he made jerky high end, and what jewelers can do to better connect with consumers. 5 Questions with a Victuals Visionary BY JENNIFER HEEBNER Jon Sebastiani can teach lessons about risk and reward, especially in the retail sustenance arena. As the founder of KRAVE, a maker of culinary- style meat and poultry snacks that sold to Hershey in 2015 for a reported $220 million, and Sonoma Brands, a $200 million growth equity fi rm that helps bring healthy food and wellness products to market, his experiences are a rich source of inspiration. Here, the onetime vintner dishes on differentiation, unique stories, and categories that are ripe for reinvention. "We want to help create brands that drive change in thinking about health, wellness, and ingredients," he explains. Edited excerpts of the conversation are below. The Jewelry Book: How did growing up in the wine business in Sonoma, Calif., prepare you for your career today? Jon Sebastiani: There is a romance to the wine business. It's intergenera- tional—my family has been in the business since the 1800s. I grew up in the vineyards, in the tasting rooms, so I always knew what I was going to do. Plus, I've always been fascinated by consumer behavior and how brands get built. I would save for months to buy Prada shoes or an Audemars Piguet watch, and the wine business is that way. From Harlan Estate wine for hundreds of dollars a bottle to less-expensive brands grown in the same soil, there's a consumer science in that there's so much drama and romance involved. TJB: What were your goals when you created KRAVE gourmet jerky? JS: I was a marathon runner and preparing for the New York City mara- thon and eating jerky. I saw that the category was stale. So I thought, "Could I take it out of the gas station, elevate it from the convenience channel, and get it onto the premium shelves of Whole Foods?" It had to have specifi c benefi ts like better sourcing, ingredients, low sodium, no high fructose corn syrup, and all-natural organic ingredients. It shouldn't be a gut stuffer; we should be able to explain the benefi ts of it alongside Cliff Bars and Chobani Greek yogurt. So my cows were grass fed, there were no hormones, and we tried to follow every fair farming and animal treatment practice. Jon Sebastiani Audemars Piguet Harlan Estate

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