Mimosas and Amazon and MORE! / Fuseneo Head of Curiosity Brent Lindberg

https://www.fuseneo.com/

What is Fuseneo and how are they innovating? 
How did Brent Lindberg start in packaging as a teenager? 
Why is this firm so important to the future of sustainable packaging? 

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Transcript

Cory Connors: 0:31

Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guest is my friend, Mr. Brent Lindberg, the principal and founder of Fuse Neo. How are you, sir?

Brent Lindberg: 0:42

Good. that's not my official title, but good.

Cory Connors: 0:44

Okay. That's what LinkedIn says. Tell us, what's the real title,

Brent Lindberg: 0:48

Brent? My title is Head of Curiosity.

Cory Connors: 0:50

Oh, that's

Brent Lindberg: 0:51

right. That's right. And so, yeah, I actually don't even remember where that came from. It came up along the way because we hate titles. Yeah. We had to have something to like put up, but yes, I am the founder and head of curiosity. Head of

Cory Connors: 1:03

curiosity is more appropriate, I think, for you. Although the other ones make sense as well. You are the founder and. Principle. So, absolutely. Well, tell us about your story. I'm really excited to learn about your background and how you got to, this, very prestigious role in your career.

Brent Lindberg: 1:22

Oof. That was, very prestigious. All right. you've earned it, sir, man. I, I have actually a couple of really incredible opportunities that, that I was given. And, honestly had to just lean in like crazy to make the most of them. So I was, I remember distinctly, I was. 17 years old. I was at a friend's house, about ready to graduate high school and head off to college. And we were talking about, Oh, where we're going to go. What we're going to do. And his dad comes home and my friend was like, Oh, Hey dad, Brent's going to school for design. And we start talking about it. I was supposed to go to Savannah, Georgia, SCAD, Savannah college of art and design. And, so we start talking a little bit about it and he's like, Oh, that's really cool. you should, you should give my company a call. I think they're hiring. I was like, great. I could use a summer gig and, so I, I called this company and man, I was a nervous wreck. I had not had enough phone experience. Like it was, it was like my first kind of real interview behind working at, the grocery store. And, I call this guy, I was like, Hey, I hear, I hear you're hiring. It's like, no. Oh, no. I was like, Oh, my, my friend, Mark said you might be, he's like, Oh, are you a friend of Mark? so and so. And yeah, I said, well, we're not, if you're a friend as a courtesy, like we'll give you a mock interview. Oh, wow. Love it. Now, I had no portfolio. I had nothing. So, we set up an interview like three, four days later and I stay up, I'm not kidding, 72 hours. I bet. Wow. Like, just cramming a portfolio, like I'm generating designs and I'm working on stuff just to like have a something to show and talk about and so I stay up. And I go and I get this interview and it was a really cool experience. And I, I meet with him, I meet with a few other guys and it was like, great. Hey, when you graduate, hit us up and we'll see if we can create a job for you. I was like, that sounds awesome. Amazing. And yeah, well, what was amazing was he called me like two days later and said, Hey, we created a job for you. If you want to come and lead design for us. We will pay for your college and give you a flexible schedule. Whoa, but you have to stay in Chicago, right? And I was like, yeah, I'm in. so I flipped my whole script. I stayed in Chicago. They paid for my college. I was working 50 to 70 hours a week and going to two colleges. I was like doing my gen ads out locally and I'd commute downtown and I was like, no sleep for like four and a half years, I was determined to prove it like that. They made the right decision. And I still don't know why they hired me. I like, I ran into him a few years ago. I was like, what the heck were you thinking? Yeah. but man, talk about an incredible opportunity. What was

Cory Connors: 4:19

his answer to that? I'd love to hear. What did he say? Why did you

Brent Lindberg: 4:23

hire me? Yeah. the reason was they saw potential. Perfect. and honestly, I was super flattered. And I've tried to maintain a similar, like, potential in people and you can't always draw it out. I found like some people have potential that you're never going to tap, but, But yeah, that's, that was his reason.

Cory Connors: 4:43

I think that's my favorite reason to hire somebody. I think that's so cool to, to look, into the future and say, this person could be great and, add a lot of value to our company. that's exciting. Yeah. Well, I know your background a little bit better now, but I'd love to hear about Fuse Neo. Am I saying that correctly? You are. Yeah. you're firm that you're not principal and founder of, but head of curiosity.

Brent Lindberg: 5:13

Yeah, so that was another kind of really cool story, how the whole thing even started, because I didn't want to start a company. Honestly, I was not. On my radar at all. I was working, so that first job that I got was actually in packaging. it was a company that manufactured plastic bottles. so I was in blow molding and it was the most incredible experience. I would design something and they were like. We don't think it's going to work. I was like, well, I think it's going to work. And they're like, well, if you're that confident about it, we'll do it. But you're going to go out into the plant and you're going to run it. You're going to process it. You're going to listen to those guys. Swear at you. If it doesn't work, it was great. Like it was just this incredible experience where you really learned how to communicate with the plants, where you learned how to, work through manufacturing, you just, you learned. All of these weird nuances that you don't get behind a desk. But, so I worked there for almost a decade. and yeah, it was amazing. we were, it was like everything from converting Folgers and like just doing all these really cool projects with large brands and,

Cory Connors: 6:15

My understanding of blow molding is it's very difficult. It's super challenging. There's a, it's one of the most difficult things to do in packaging. there's a whole bunch of nuance there that people don't understand.

Brent Lindberg: 6:27

It's a black art and even honestly designing for it is more challenging than people think. and understanding that process. So like, yeah, that's super cool. But while doing that, built a lot of relationships, really understood the process and Like years later, I was there, and a friend that I'd worked with at the beginning of my career there called me and said, Hey, I need your help. This wasn't something that it was in a competing space, but it was still bottle related. I was like, yeah, absolutely. Help that. So I helped him out. And the next night he calls me. He's like, it was perfect. Can you make some revisions? Great. Well, like, a week later he calls us, Hey, the guy next to me needs help. And then like a few days later, Hey, the girl next. to him and he's like, and it just turned into pretty soon. I was helping an entire team at night. and after a few months of this, they brought me in and they said, Hey, you should start a firm. And I was like, I don't really want to start a firm. he's like, you're not funding this. Are you? He's like, no, we'll give you work. We'll make sure we throw you some projects, you should start a firm. And so my wife and I, who had been married less than a year and had just bought a house and, We wound up saying, yeah, sure, let's make a leap and started a firm, raised enough cash to start with no debt. And it was a really cool, it was a really neat process. and then, yeah, so that was our first client was PepsiCo. Oh, a little small company, which is not a bad first client to have. and then as, as engineers and marketers would leave and they'd go off to Dana and they'd go off to, Starbucks, they'd like all these other companies that they'd go into, they'd bring us with. And so we became this really super word of mouth. We didn't have, I didn't even have a website for years. Then when I did, we had a splash page with like a paragraph of text because some procurement groups said we needed to have a website. I was like, I don't know. So this super kind of underground word of mouth firm, amongst large brands for years, And honestly, we didn't even get really publicly known until probably six years ago. And that was Amazon's fault. Amazon had brought us in as well. And we were acting as an extension of their team. And there was some conferences coming up and they're like, Hey, we can't speak, you need to go talk for us. So, right. you want me to just go. Like, yeah, you can, you're not us, you can say stuff and you can be a little more open. And it's like, all right. So I did. And, that was what opened our doors to the rest of the world. We were super, kind of word of mouth before that. So cool.

Cory Connors: 8:55

I've been trying to get Amazon on the podcast for two and a half years and they just refused. So yeah, they were just, they're not allowed to, I think is a lot of PR. That's, and I understand that they're not a small

Brent Lindberg: 9:07

company. No. And honestly, the frustrating thing, probably be allowed to speak more. And I've seen this so much. In fact, just go look at their Instagram and it's like people like my order didn't show up on time and it's like, well, it's Instagram. Like, what do you want customer service from Instagram? I don't know. And so, yeah, people just ask like, well, what is your PR? What's your legal policy on international? It's like, I'm the packaging guy. Like, so people just don't really have a filter on what questions they ask. And it's very true. Very

Cory Connors: 9:35

true. and, I would like to know the impetus of the name fuse Neo. What would, how did that come about? I'm assuming new fuse. Is it something like that? Something cool.

Brent Lindberg: 9:47

Kind of. Yeah. it was one of those things where we had to file our paperwork on a certain day, right. To start the business. And it was like January one, actually of 2008, we just celebrated 15 years or actually we had our party like last week, but we've just celebrating it this year, 2023, 2008, January 1st. And I had to have all the paperwork in by whatever, a certain day for the legal, the lawyer to get everything going. And I, My wife and I were up late. Like, why don't we name every name I came up with, like, didn't have a good URL with it. And I wanted like a good, something clean. com. Right. Didn't want. net or. org or whatever. And so every name that I was working through had like, I couldn't find URLs and the whole idea though, the fuse. So I wound up coming up with a complicated name. and we've heard every pronunciation under the sun, but it is fuse Neo, like two words. So fuse is really about merging together. And this was about bringing together, the disciplines and engineering and art. And like, it was all of this. all these different backgrounds and experiences that really lead to, to well informed decisions and then all of that to create something new. so that was the driver behind it. and then the little understory of like, I going back when I change it, man, probably something a little bit easier to say and friendlier, but it is that now.

Cory Connors: 11:10

I think it's, I think it's a great name. I think it's something you'll never forget. Speaking of that, we'll be in, packaging Europe together in, November. I'll be there. Okay.

Brent Lindberg: 11:20

I think I'm

Cory Connors: 11:20

there. Yeah. I saw, well, I saw your picture on the website.

Brent Lindberg: 11:24

All right, then maybe I'm there. Honestly, I don't know.

Cory Connors: 11:27

We can speak exclusively in Italian. Yes. That's the plan, at least. I won't last very long there, though. So, let's talk about, Sustainability Central at PACK Expo . Oh, gosh. Yeah. That was, our first meeting in person and, our friend, our mutual friend Avelio Matos, introduced us and, you were the moderator of our panel and I think you did an awesome job, as a, as someone who moderates panels, I know it's not easy, especially with the group that we had on stage, tell us about that. How did that come about? And, What is Sustainability Central all about?

Brent Lindberg: 12:04

Yeah, so sustainability is so infused into the DNA of what we do at Fuse Neo. And that's, something I think that's, that I built the firm on was this kind of process and material agnostic approach. I came from the world of bottles where The solution to every problem is a bottle and there's a lot of people in packaging come from world of boxes and corrugate where every solution is a box and it's use corrugate and I honestly, I remember conversations where clients would come in. I had a client. One time slim Jim came in and say, Hey, what should we do with our beef sticks? It was like. Put them in a bottle. I guess if you came to a bottle company and asked what I should do with beefsteak, like, that's what am I going to give you? I don't think it's the right thing to do, but you could do it. we designed some stuff. but I just, like, I, it was a struggle for me to. Really only have to represent one process in one material. And so the beginning of Fuse Neo started with, it was branching into all different formats. we've done everything from like leather to aluminum to welded, like to corrugate and papers and films, flexibles, and you name it. We've probably touched it all these, obscure formats and more new processes and materials, and we've dabbled in them, or done. And I'm, it's, and so I think our approach that's very, has a very, and it's design based, but it has a very engineering approach. Our engineers keep everything in check on the team and we make sure it's manufacturable, but so that there's that level of like reality check and sanity combined with our desire to explore and that innate creativity. And, and I think. When PMMI approached us and they approached a few others, I think, as well about it, it was just, it was a great fit. and, we were all about helping people really take this unbiased approach to trying to identify the right things for their brand. And so when we went in, it was all about, Hey, we're going to, we want to bring people in that aren't exhibiting here that can't afford to be here. So we're not going to charge anybody. This is all about like, there's no sales pitches. There's nothing like we had really clear expectations of what we wanted, both in the large exhibit space as well as on stage. and so, they gave us pretty darn good freedom, and control over, over what happened. It was

Cory Connors: 14:29

an impressive mix of people, ideas, concepts, some not even totally flushed out all the way, which I think is perfect because sustainability needs to be new, innovative, looking at. Concepts like Scrapp Sway . Mm-hmm., some of these companies. it was great to see Mikey Pasciuto from Scrap in there, yeah. Explaining how his process works and, not selling it, but advising people about it. I think you're exactly right. You had the concept was correct. I totally agree. With what you did, students all over the place, which I thought was really cool. Michigan state represented.

Brent Lindberg: 15:07

That was actually a really cool, that was such a unique part of the process. because we, there was this desire to have universities involved. And at first it was like, well, maybe it's university challenge or we do something else. And then there was this component of research and the work that they're doing. And I'm, I happen to be on the board at MSU and we get every once in a while, like presented some of the research that's happening. And I just knew there's all sorts of. Really neat work that was being done. So, the idea came down to reach out to as many schools as we could. and, really try and understand what research and what work they could present. Some of the schools weren't doing anything research based. That was fine. and then some of them were doing a lot and, And so giving them a stage and a platform to present some of that work to people and having them there to explain it, was really important for us.

Cory Connors: 16:00

Well, the students I spoke with were very impressive. tell me about that story. How did you get on the board there? I think it's a really awesome thing to, to be a part of

Brent Lindberg: 16:10

MSU. Yeah. Another one of those. I don't know why they invited me. I think my name got put in, as a disruptor, to be honest, I think, the board is traditionally alumni and I'm not an alumni. and, it's people that are typically engineers in the packaging space. And so. Let's bring in a designer, who plays an engineer on TV, and, and so it's like, I've always lived my life around designers or engineers and manufacturers. And I, I'm really heavily involved in engineering, but that bridging that gap and helping think more creatively, helping to push envelopes and processes, helping to disrupt a little bit. That's just, it's something I liked to do. So, yeah, we had a number of conversations about whether it was a good fit and, and. are they willing to move fast enough? Are they willing to make changes or, things like that. and then they invited me to be a part.

Cory Connors: 17:05

I'm totally impressed with MSU. They've done, some very innovative things recently. Aaron Tucker, one of their advisors has been on the podcast before and, some massive influx of funding and, some great opportunities for students, just. Great school. Certainly. I won't say which one is my favorite packaging school, but it's certainly one of them

Brent Lindberg: 17:30

Yeah, it's been a cool program and it's been fun to be a part of this Transformation and development over the last several years.

Cory Connors: 17:37

So is orange your favorite color? Every time I've seen you've had an orange shirt or

Brent Lindberg: 17:42

on no. Yesterday was blue. it really just depends. I love it.

Cory Connors: 17:48

That, that's the cool part of being a designer and a business owner. you can wear really cool stuff like that.

Brent Lindberg: 17:54

Yeah. My, my daughter wanted me to wear sushi cats yesterday. So sushi cats it was. Boom.

Cory Connors: 18:00

Sushi Cats. Tell me about these, these circles behind you. They're really interesting.

Brent Lindberg: 18:05

Those are drumheads. Oh! I'm a drummer. don't play a ton now, but I played a lot. and, a number of years ago, I had this crazy idea to have house shows. And so we'd, and we'd invite these bands that were coming through like out of Nashville and some other places, to come to our house and play there. And we had this really killer set up and we'd fit like 75 people in my family room, like around, it was awesome. And we put on these great little super intimate shows. And so, yeah, it was just different bands that came through. I

Cory Connors: 18:39

love that. So they would sign the

Brent Lindberg: 18:41

snare. Yeah, I'd give him a drum, I'd give him a drum head and a silver marker and just say, Hey, make art, do it. I don't care what you do with it. Just do something fun. Some of

Cory Connors: 18:49

those are pretty intricate. That's beautiful. I love it. Well, great idea. Anything else that you wanted to tell us about Fuse Neo or about what's going on

Brent Lindberg: 18:57

with you? Oh man, there's just. There's a lot of really fun stuff happening in the packaging space with new materials, all the push to sustainability, the packaging space in general is just a super fun, dynamic place to be from, I was talking to somebody the other day that like, that is. Deals in car components and then you talk to somebody else who's working in ice cream and apparel and you're like, that's something that I, to me, I absolutely love about this industry about what we do. And it really, we had 1 day, we're working ice cream and the next day we were working on, like. Servers couldn't be more diverse. Yeah. And then the next day we're working on like a marketing campaign, which are fun. we did that like a little Tropicana spritzer thing. Oh, you

Cory Connors: 19:49

did that? That was awesome.

Brent Lindberg: 19:50

Yeah. And so it's like, you just, it's, you never really know when you're in our space where it's really, we look across all those materials and we touch all those things. We get to explore just about anything.

Cory Connors: 20:03

Can you explain the spritzer to the audience? I'm totally impressed with that. But, how does it

Brent Lindberg: 20:08

work? Well, so that was a whole, marketing thing, brands, especially legacy brands that your, the product is always the same. And that then they really want to be, you don't want to change orange juice all the time. Like it's orange juice and, they. They need content. They need things to talk about. And so they had seen a viral trend, of somebody who basically made their mimosa with a whole bunch of champagne. And they put orange juice in a spray bottle and like, one little spritz of orange juice, just enough. and so, when they came to us, they're like, Hey, we want to make a, an orange juice spritzer. It's like, well, what's a spritzer mean? So we were concepting like, is it a perfume wafter, that little like bubble thing, or is it like a, an eyedropper type thing? Like we concepted all these different ways of like putting tiny amounts of orange juice into, which is a weird job. Trust me. I know. Awesome job. Yeah, it is. And, and then they landed and they're like, no, we really want this kind of like spray bottle approach. so we wanted to like use the in market approach and design a new trigger. And so we went through this whole round of it was super fast, but went through this whole round of ideation and how do we do that? And then it's like, great, we got to do that. Now we need to make, I don't even remember the number that we had to make. It wasn't a lot, but they wanted to like give some of them away. And originally it was just going to be like influencers. And then they wanted to like make some available or like, Oh, it's not really their prototypes. You can't scale up, right? Yeah. This without going through tooling and a whole bunch of process and the amount of time we couldn't scale. So we wound up pulling like in market triggers, ripping the housing off of them. We found some like food safe, actually like. Things say they're food safe, but aren't always, found some that are actually certified food safe, pulled the exterior shell off of them and redesigned that. And like, cast did these casting prototypes to, to create this whole like housing that went on top of there. And so we have this little orange juice sprayer for when you need to spray orange juice.

Cory Connors: 22:15

I think it's brilliant. Perfect. Perfect idea. I love it. I didn't know that was you guys. that's an impressive thing. Nice job. Yeah, that

Brent Lindberg: 22:24

was a fun little one.

Cory Connors: 22:26

Well, tell everybody how to get in touch with you and your company.

Brent Lindberg: 22:29

well, they can show up on our doorstep. just kidding. Don't. don't do that. yeah, our studio is outside of Chicago. but they can get in touch with us via our website fuseneo. com F U S E N E O they can hit us up on LinkedIn. they can follow me, follow the company. They can watch, that's where they'll find a lot of our unpacked videos, where we go through and dissect packaging and talk about sustainability and assembly and consumer experience, all those fun things. Right. Yeah, that's probably some of the best ways to get in touch with us.

Cory Connors: 23:02

Thank you so much, Brent. This has been awesome. I really appreciate it. Absolutely.

Brent Lindberg: 23:06

Thank

Cory Connors: 23:06

you. Thank you. Orora packaging for sponsoring this podcast. If you're listening, make sure you stay tuned for the next one and give us a review. We appreciate it. Thank you so much.