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

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.