Gagan Levy is the Founder and CEO of GURU, an award-winning, Certified B Corp creative agency that helps conscious brands and purpose-driven movements grow through strategy, storytelling, digital marketing, and culture-centered design. A spiritual strategist with two decades of movement-building experience, Gagan guides founders and senior leaders through brand positioning, creative direction, organizational culture, and purpose-led growth. He is also the author of Start Your Own Damn Cult: A Founder's Field Guide.

A strong brand needs more than a meaningful mission; it also needs a clear reason for customers to care. Purpose creates depth, while research, relevance, and disciplined storytelling turn that depth into sustainable growth. How can a company expand its reach without losing the values and identity that made it distinctive?

Gagan Levy, a brand strategist specializing in purpose-driven growth and culture-centered design, believes the answer lies in balancing soul with strategy. Brands should lead with the benefit customers value most, support creative decisions with research, and introduce the impact story at the point where it can deepen loyalty rather than compete for attention. Gagan also recommends studying the deeper human truths behind cultural trends instead of simply chasing what is popular. When leadership practices, customer messaging, and organizational values reinforce one another, growth becomes an extension of the mission rather than a threat to it.

In this episode of The Missing Ingredient, CJ Bruce talks with Gagan Levy, Founder and CEO of GURU, about building brands with soul and strategy. Gagan explains how to lead with customer value, use culture-centered insights, and scale devotion without losing purpose. He also touches on regenerative storytelling and yoga-inspired leadership.

Edward (Ed) Hoffman is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the American Egg Board, the producer-funded national organization that increases demand for US eggs through research, education, and promotion. In this role, Ed directs integrated marketing across consumer, retail, foodservice, manufacturing, and export audiences while supporting industry reputation and growth. Drawing on more than 25 years in food marketing, he brings expertise in brand strategy, research, communications, product launches, and stakeholder engagement.

When nearly every household already buys eggs, growth depends less on awareness and more on inspiring new habits. How can marketers make such a familiar staple feel fresh, useful, and worth reaching for more often?

Food marketing expert Ed Hoffman says that the answer lies in increasing usage rather than simply reaching more households. By identifying consumers most likely to change their habits, marketers can focus on addressable barriers, create campaigns around new occasions, and use research to support bold experimentation. Ed also highlights the value of creator relationships, immersive media, and real-time measurement, showing how relevance and engagement can turn a commodity into a stronger platform for growth.

In this episode of The Missing Ingredient, CJ Bruce talks with Ed Hoffman, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the American Egg Board, about cracking the egg marketing code. Ed explores audience targeting, creator partnerships, and campaigns that increase consumption. He also touches on immersive media, AI, measurement, and career self-advocacy.

Jordan Pilosof is the Co-founder of SaltWater Co., a functional hydration brand creating clean, mineral-rich water infused with Himalayan salt and free from sugar, calories, and unnecessary additives. Drawing on his background as a high-level athlete and his experience in health and wellness, Jordan helps lead product positioning, retail growth, sampling strategy, and founder-led education around better hydration. His work centers on building a premium beverage brand for everyday performance, recovery, and cleaner hydration.

Hydration is no longer just about drinking more water. Consumers are paying closer attention to labels, function, and whether a product actually supports how they live, train, work, and recover. So how can a beverage brand deliver real hydration benefits without turning water into something overloaded or complicated?

Jordan Pilosof, a health and wellness founder with a background in high-level athletics, sees the opportunity in the middle ground between plain water and traditional sports drinks. His answer is simple: build around function first, keep the ingredient list clean, and make trial a core part of growth because people need to taste the product before they understand it. Jordan points to sodium, mineral sourcing, founder-led education, and retail sampling as key levers for earning trust in the crowded hydration category. Clean beverage innovation is strongest when it removes confusion, solves a real need, and makes the value obvious from the first sip.

In this episode of The Missing Ingredient, CJ Bruce sits down with Jordan Pilosof, Co-founder of SaltWater Co., to discuss clean hydration and functional beverage innovation. Jordan shares how athletics shaped the brand, why sampling drives adoption, and how clean positioning helps products stand out. He also touches on co-packing, AI in CPG, and finding the right partners to scale.