The Hospitality Hangout
The Hospitality Hangout
Join Michael Schatzberg aka Schatzy (The Restaurant Guy) and Jimmy Frischling (The Finance Guy) on The Hospitality Hangout as they explore hospitality, food service, and investment trends while connecting with industry leaders. Each week, receive insider insights and funny stories that shape the hospitality landscape. They live at the intersection of hospitality, food service, technology, and investment, connecting the biggest players and boldest ideas shaping the industry. Each week, they serve up funny, informative, and wildly entertaining conversations with the insiders who are leading a new era of hospitality. From emerging brands and breakthrough tech to industry trends and restaurant success stories, no topic is off the table. It’s where the who’s who of hospitality hangs out – packed with expert insights, laugh-out-loud moments, and must-know trends that keep you ahead of the game. 🍽️ Tune in, grab a drink, and let’s talk shop! 🚀
Choose your favorite podcast player
Apple Podcasts Spotify Youtube Music Amazon Music iHeartRadio PocketCasts
Aug. 27, 2026

The 2 P.M. Snack Brand Taking Over Grocery Shelves

The 2 P.M. Snack Brand Taking Over Grocery Shelves

Jake Karls of Mid-Day Squares joins Hospitality Hangout to talk about the chocolate bar built for the 2 p.m. crash and the content strategy that made the brand impossible to ignore. From a condo kitchen to thousands of grocery stores, Jake shares how Mid-Day Squares used storytelling, social media, founder drama, Hershey buzz, food influencers, and loyal fans to turn functional chocolate into a movement.

Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Apple Podcasts Apple Podcasts Spotify podcast player icon Spotify Spotify Youtube Music podcast player icon Youtube Music Youtube Music Amazon Music podcast player icon Amazon Music Amazon Music iHeartRadio podcast player icon iHeartRadio iHeartRadio PocketCasts podcast player icon PocketCasts PocketCasts
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Apple Podcasts Apple Podcasts Spotify podcast player icon Spotify Spotify Youtube Music podcast player icon Youtube Music Youtube Music Amazon Music podcast player icon Amazon Music Amazon Music iHeartRadio podcast player icon iHeartRadio iHeartRadio PocketCasts podcast player icon PocketCasts PocketCasts

Jake Karls, co-founder and rainmaker of Mid-Day Squares, joins Hospitality Hangout for The Food Fluencers series to talk about the chocolate bar built for the 2 p.m. crash and the founder-led content strategy that turned a better-for-you snack into one of the most talked-about brands in CPG.

Jake shares how Mid-Day Squares started with Lezlie Karls making a cleaner afternoon chocolate snack for Nick Saltarelli, how the three founders began making bars by hand in a condo kitchen, and how they hand-delivered product while documenting the entire journey online.

Jake also talks about using social media as a competitive weapon, hiring a videographer before most people thought it made sense, turning a Hershey moment into a viral diss-track-style music video, building fans who fix shelves in grocery stores, and why the future belongs to brands that can earn attention and get customers to come back.

From functional chocolate and protein-packed snacks to Target, Whole Foods, Costco, offices, coffee shops, nostalgia flavors, food influencers, and the future of midday snacking, this episode is a look at how Mid-Day Squares turned a chocolate bar into a movement.

Episode Credits:

  • Produced by: Branded Hospitality Media
  • Hosted by: Michael Schatzberg, Jimmy Frischling
  • Producer: Julie Zucker
  • Creative Director: Adam Levine
  • Show Runner: Drewe Raimi
  • Post Production: Three Cheers Creative

www.thehospitalityhangout.com


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.