[EO Sacramento] Scaling Food & Beverage Brands Using AI and Innovative Marketing With CJ Bruce
Thu Feb 05 2026
CJ Bruce is the Founder and CEO of The Missing Ingredient, a marketing agency focused on helping food and beverage brands grow through strategic digital campaigns, audience engagement, and data-informed marketing. CJ specializes in simplifying complex marketing, elevating brand awareness, customer acquisition, and loyalty for high-impact food brands like Sumo Citrus, Amy's Kitchen, and Baskin-Robbins. His expertise blends research-based strategy with creative execution to deliver measurable results.
In this episode… Marketing a food and beverage brand today isn't just about having a great product on the shelf. It's about building awareness, creating genuine connections, and knowing how to use modern tools like AI without losing the human touch. So what does it actually take to scale in such a crowded space?
For CJ Bruce, the answer comes down to focus, creativity, and smart adoption of technology. He explains that brands grow fastest when they combine strong storytelling with systems that move customers from discovery to purchase, both online and in-store. CJ sees AI as a powerful co-pilot, helping teams generate ideas, automate workflows, and unlock opportunities that used to be out of reach for smaller brands.
In this episode of the Rising Entrepreneurs Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz is joined by CJ Bruce, Founder and CEO of The Missing Ingredient, to discuss scaling food and beverage brands through innovative marketing and AI adoption. They explore influencer relations, viral campaign strategy, and how AI tools are reshaping agency workflows. CJ also shares advice on building long-term partnerships that drive measurable growth.
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CJ Bruce is the Founder and CEO of The Missing Ingredient, a marketing agency focused on helping food and beverage brands grow through strategic digital campaigns, audience engagement, and data-informed marketing. CJ specializes in simplifying complex marketing, elevating brand awareness, customer acquisition, and loyalty for high-impact food brands like Sumo Citrus, Amy's Kitchen, and Baskin-Robbins. His expertise blends research-based strategy with creative execution to deliver measurable results. In this episode… Marketing a food and beverage brand today isn't just about having a great product on the shelf. It's about building awareness, creating genuine connections, and knowing how to use modern tools like AI without losing the human touch. So what does it actually take to scale in such a crowded space? For CJ Bruce, the answer comes down to focus, creativity, and smart adoption of technology. He explains that brands grow fastest when they combine strong storytelling with systems that move customers from discovery to purchase, both online and in-store. CJ sees AI as a powerful co-pilot, helping teams generate ideas, automate workflows, and unlock opportunities that used to be out of reach for smaller brands. In this episode of the Rising Entrepreneurs Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz is joined by CJ Bruce, Founder and CEO of The Missing Ingredient, to discuss scaling food and beverage brands through innovative marketing and AI adoption. They explore influencer relations, viral campaign strategy, and how AI tools are reshaping agency workflows. CJ also shares advice on building long-term partnerships that drive measurable growth.