How I Built This: Advice Line with Tariq Farid of Edible Arrangements

Host: Guy Raz | Guest: Tariq Farid, Founder of Edible Arrangements
Date: November 6, 2025
Episode Focus: Calling in legendary entrepreneurs to advise early-stage and growing founders, with a spotlight on adapting legacy brands, category creation, and staying true to company values while scaling.

Episode Overview

Guy Raz welcomes Tariq Farid back to the Advice Line for a live Q&A with entrepreneurs. Farid shares updates on Edible Arrangements, insights on brand evolution and category education, and answers pressing questions from founders in food, eco-tourism, and B2B apparel. The episode dives into how to modernize a “granny” brand, navigate unfamiliar product categories, name positioning, and sustain high-touch customer service at scale.

Tariq Farid: Edible Arrangements & Brand Evolution

[03:26–08:18]

• Family and Company Update:

  • Moved the company’s base from Connecticut to Atlanta pre-pandemic.
  • His daughter, Somia, now CEO, focuses on modernizing the brand.
  • Expansion with acquisition of Roti (modern Mediterranean food) and new ventures into health/wellness “edibles,” leveraging their trademark and domain (edibles.com) to explore CBD/THC markets.

• Adapting to the “Granny Brand” Perception:

  • Guy observes that Edible Arrangements is sometimes viewed as “outdated” or a “granny brand.”
  • Farid affirms the need for evolving relevance, not chasing trends:

    “It’s not that the next generation won’t accept that product. You have to kind of make it relevant for the next generation. And that's what the next generation is doing… She [Somia] takes a totally different approach.” (07:26)

  • Brand evolution is natural, mirroring personal growth and generational change.

Caller #1: Filipino Food Brand Fila Manila – Founder Jake De Leon

[08:23–22:37]

Business Context:
Fila Manila offers Filipino-inspired products like banana ketchup and ube yam spread. Jake asks how to educate the American market about a largely unfamiliar cuisine.

Key Discussion Points

• Industry Position:

  • Fila Manila is one of the only Filipino-American food brands made and branded for US consumers.
  • Available at Walmart, Whole Foods, Kroger, Meijer, Amazon, DTC; appeared on Shark Tank.
  • 80% of customers are non-Filipino; Filipino-Americans serve as excited brand advocates.

• Challenges & Goals:

  • Creating a category while building a brand.
  • Want Fila Manila to become the “default” Filipino food brand in Americans’ minds.

Advice and Insights

• Brand Ownership & Margins:

  • Tariq:

    “The only thing I would be careful on that I've seen other brands do is they'll spend a lot of money… You're going to spend a lot of energy introducing the product, but then you're not making the margins because of cost.” (16:37)

  • Protect intellectual property and production processes to avoid commoditization by imports.

• Product Focus:

  • Guy & Tariq agree: focus on the most distinguishing product (“banana ketchup is your sriracha”).

    “That's your hot sauce. That's the one.” (Guy, 21:54, Tariq echoes it)

• Sampling, Channel, & Storytelling:

  • Get products into the hands of curious customers (e.g., Costco, food service, online influencer sampling).
  • Storytelling is crucial; connect the product to its cultural history (“write a story behind this, man”).

• Community as Ambassadors:

  • Leverage Filipino-American pride and advocacy as “cheerleaders,” even if they aren’t the primary buyers.

Notable Quotes

• Jake (on community amplification):

  “It’s that 20% [Filipino-American customers] that tend to be our cheerleaders.” (15:14)

• Tariq (on opportunity vs. risk):

  “Opportunities [are] what you go after, risk is what you mitigate. A lot of people...are so hung up on risk that they've totally missed the opportunity.” (06:09)

Caller #2: Minimal Impact Cruises – Founder Heather Thorkelson

[28:32–40:41]

Business Context:
Premium, eco-focused polar expedition cruises (36-passenger, wind and solar powered, launches 2026). Heather questions whether “Cruises” should be in the name due to negative connotations in the adventure travel space.

Key Discussion Points

• Unique Selling Proposition:

  • 90% more carbon neutral than traditional ships; luxury pricing (€18k–€42k per person).

• Industry Context:

  • The word “cruise” is “cringe” among expedition travelers, evoking large, sedentary ships (Heather, 33:05).
  • “Cruise” retained for SEO and memorability.

Advice and Insights

• Test Naming (A/B Testing):

  • Guy suggests running parallel campaigns (“cruise” vs. “expedition”/“voyage”/“adventure”) to see what resonates/clicks (35:51–36:04).

• Story-Driven Branding:

  • Tariq recounts how “Edible Arrangements” evolved from a tagline; narrative sells premium.

    “Write a story... Because the experience from the time you step on this boat is going to be very different.” (38:01)

• Mission Authenticity:

  • Don’t worry about wearing your mission on your sleeve; customers in your price range are buying the experience.

• Partnerships & Education:

  • Guy: Link up with conservation groups, bring science and education into the offering.

Notable Quotes

• Tariq (on focus):

  “I think with all the things that you have, I don't think you're going to have any difficulty filling that.” (40:08)

• Guy (on the power of experience):

  “People will be attracted to the low minimal impact, but I’m not convinced that most people will. I think most people are going to be interested in the luxury and in the other people going on the boat and the experience.” (38:27)

Caller #3: Kong Screen Printing – Founder Ryan Burkhardt

[42:35–54:01]

Business Context:
Austin-based, 15-year-old, $3M/year custom apparel company, never advertised, wants to scale to $5M without losing high-touch service.

Key Discussion Points

• Growth Plateau:

  • Stagnated at ~$3M, survived pandemic, all growth from reputation and referrals.

• Sales Strategy Q:

  • How to find new customers and grow without losing “soul”?

Advice and Insights

• Double Down on Current Clients:

  • Tariq:

    “I think the easiest way to go without diluting all of [your values] is by going back to your customers... Maybe, you're more of a solution provider. How do you re-engage with your customer?” (47:57–48:24)

• Build Systems & Case Studies:

  • Guy:

    “Build case studies, target companies that do the same thing that are, you know, lookalike companies... Here's what we did for so-and-so BBQ in Austin and how we helped them come up with this awesome shirt and design and this is what we can do for you.” (49:40)

• Recruit Student Biz Dev:

  • Tariq suggests incentivizing college students to expand outbound and bring new creative energy (50:47).

• Codify Culture ("Brand Bible"):

  • Guy: Protect the culture as you scale with a clear onboarding process and a documented brand ethos.

• Modernize the Brand:

  • Tariq: Consider a brand refresh after 15 years; bottle and share the high-touch magic.

Notable Quotes

• Tariq (on sustaining service values):

  “You’re not a screen printing company... you’re kind of like a solution provider. If anything, you’re more of a promotion company.” (47:56)

• Guy (on company culture):

  “Help them understand why you guys are different and why you aren't just a T-shirt printing company, but you are about helping businesses express their ideas.” (52:14)

Final Reflections & Tariq’s Career Wisdom

[54:03–55:38]

• Guy asks: What advice would you give your younger self, starting Edible Arrangements?
• Tariq:
  • Wouldn’t change much—no access to capital or belief, but customers validated the idea:

    “I never really had any money and anybody I brought the idea to pretty much walked me out and said, it's not gonna work. ... But the customers told a different story.” (54:41)

  • Importance of respecting time; gives daughter the advice to view entrepreneurship as a 10-year journey and then pass the torch.

Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• Tariq (On Focus Groups and his mother’s approval):

  “I did do a focus group. I took it home and I put it on the dining room table. My mother looked at it and said, oh my God, honey, this is gonna be big. I said, yeah, so if mom says it, I think it's gonna be cool.” (55:51)

• On Rebranding and Moving Forward:

  "You go through it in personal life and the same way a brand goes through, and that's what's been happening." (Tariq, 07:26)

• Guy on How Category Creation Evolves:

  “Where Filipino cuisine is today is exactly where Korean food and Vietnamese food was maybe five years ago... Back then, no one really knew what gochujang was or bubble tea.” (14:26)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------|-----------| | Tariq Farid Interview & Edible Arrangements update | 03:26–08:18 | | Caller 1: Fila Manila/Jake De Leon | 08:23–22:37 | | Caller 2: Minimal Impact Cruises/Heather Thorkelson | 28:32–40:41 | | Caller 3: Kong Screen Printing/Ryan Burkhardt | 42:35–54:01 | | Tariq’s Reflections & Legacy Advice | 54:03–55:38 |

This episode is packed with wisdom for founders on generational adaptation, the risks of introducing new categories, clarity in branding, and upholding company values. Farid’s experienced perspective reminds listeners to keep customers at the center, systematize what makes you unique, and not get stuck on the "small things" that won't move the business forward.