When asked about her company's innovation strategy, Rachel Drori, the founder/CEO of popular direct-to-consumer food brand Daily Harvest, highlighted the concept of "co-creating."

"When our community asks, we deliver," she said in an interview included in this episode. "We don't walk, we run and move fast when innovating."

That "co-creating" process involves a constant and thoughtful dialogue with its customers and has supported Daily Harvest's rise to one of the fastest growing food companies in the U.S. In just four years, it has amassed hundreds of thousands of subscribers and attracted several high-profile investors, including Goop founder and Oscar-winning actress Gwenth Paltrow and tennis icon Serena Williams. In 2017, the company raised $43 million in a Series B round to help it scale its direct-to-consumer model.

As part of our conversation, Drori spoke about Daily Harvest's mission and rapid growth, the sophisticated way that the company uses social media to rapidly innovate and iterate and why the team "celebrates failure."

Show notes:

2:33: Interview: Rachel Drori, Founder/CEO, Daily Harvest -- Drori spoke with NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg about her work experience prior to launching Daily Harvest, why she "had to kiss a lot of frogs" before finding the right investment partners for the company and why she chose a direct-to-consumer model. She also explained why "we don't see ourselves as a food company" and how a former role in hospitality taught her that customer service "is not just about meeting needs, but anticipating them." Later, she discussed why social media is "not just a one-way relationship," and how "data is just part of the story" in understanding consumer needs. She also spoke about Daily Harvest's "Filling Station" pop-up store, why the company employs a "squad model" and why she believes that hiring is "as much art as it is science."

Brands in this episode: Daily Harvest