After 1,600+ interviews across 9 countries, hosting the #1 Restaurant Podcast in Canada and sitting in the top 5 in the US, I've learned a few things about what actually works in B2B podcasting. Specifically in our industry. Foodservice and hospitality.

And I can tell you right now. Most of what you've been told about podcasting doesn't apply here.

There are roughly 4.5 million podcasts in existence right now. Of those, nearly half were abandoned after fewer than three episodes. Only about 4% are actively producing content on a weekly basis. That's not a crowded market. That's a graveyard with a few survivors. The barrier to entry in podcasting isn't talent or equipment. It's showing up. And in B2B foodservice, that problem is even worse because most people who launch a show in this space have no idea what game they're actually playing.

B2B podcasting is a completely different animal than consumer podcasting. In the consumer world, downloads are your currency. That's how you sell ads. That's how you measure success. But in B2B foodservice, the metric that matters isn't how many people are listening. It's who is listening. Research shows that 83% of senior executives listened to a podcast in the past week. Business leaders are spending an average of 54 minutes a day on audio content that directly influences their strategic thinking. And 53% of weekly podcast listeners participate in purchase decisions at work. Now apply that to our industry. Canada's foodservice sector is worth $124 billion. It employs nearly 1.2 million people. If I have 500 restaurant operators listening to an episode about labour strategy, that audience is more valuable than 50,000 random consumers listening to someone talk about their favourite restaurant meals. Those 500 operators are buying equipment. Signing contracts with distributors. Spending real money every single week to keep their businesses running. You are building a room full of decision makers. The size of the room matters less than who is sitting in the chairs.

Here's where most foodservice podcasts fall apart. They treat every episode like a press release. The guest comes on, talks about their new menu or their new concept or their award, and the host just nods along asking questions that a chatbot could generate. Nobody cares. Operators don't tune in to hear someone's highlight reel. They tune in because they want to learn something they can use Monday morning. They want the real stuff. The failures. The margins. The staffing nightmare that almost shut the place down. The decision that saved the business. The data backs this up. Podcasts consistently deliver completion rates around 70%, while video content struggles to hold 12% of its audience to the end. That kind of attention is earned, not given. People stay because the conversation is worth their time. A great B2B foodservice podcast creates a space where the guest actually says something honest. That's on the host. You have to know enough about the industry to push the conversation past the surface. You have to be willing to ask the question nobody else will. Not to be confrontational. But because that's where the value lives.

And that brings me to the part that most people skip over. You have to know this industry. Period. This is non-negotiable. It's the reason most podcasts in our space don't last more than 20 episodes. If you're hosting a B2B foodservice podcast and you've never worked in the business, your audience will smell it immediately. Operators are sharp. They've been sold to by vendors and consultants for decades. They know when someone is faking it. I spent 35+ years in this business. I've been in kitchens. I've been in boardrooms. I've sat with independents doing $800K a year and chains doing $800M.

That context shapes the questions I ask, the topics I choose, and the way I talk to guests. There is no shortcut for it. Right now, 82% of Canadian restaurant operators say they're optimistic about the future, but they're dealing with food costs up 13%, insurance up 14%, and labour costs up 11% over the past two years. That's the reality. If your podcast isn't reflecting that tension between optimism and pressure, you're not serving this audience. You're just filling airtime.

Consistency is the other piece that separates real shows from dead ones. The industry data on this is brutal. About 90% of podcasts never make it past episode three. Of the ones that do, 90% of those quit before episode 20. If you simply show up past episode 21, you're already in the top 1% of all podcasts ever produced. In B2B, there is no viral moment that changes everything. That's a consumer game. Trust is built slowly. Episode after episode. Week after week. B2B companies that run podcasts see 20 to 30% higher engagement on LinkedIn and other digital platforms compared to those relying only on written content. But that only works if you keep showing up. Operators are creatures of routine. They listen on the drive to the restaurant. They listen during prep. They listen on Sunday nights when they're planning the week. If you become part of that routine, you own a piece of their attention that no ad, email, or social post can touch.

Every piece of content I produce goes through one filter. Does this help the operator? If the answer is no, it doesn't get made. That means I'm not chasing topics just because they're trending on LinkedIn. I'm covering the things that actually affect the people running restaurants today. Food costs. Labour. Lease negotiations. Technology that works vs. technology that's just raising money. Delivery platform economics. Mental health. Succession planning. Right now, 74% of Canadians say they're cutting discretionary spending, with dining out and takeout being the first things to go. Operators are feeling that every single day. The foodservice industry doesn't need more content. It needs better content. Content that respects the operator's time and intelligence.

The business model is different too and this is the part most people miss entirely. Consumer podcasts monetize through CPM ad rates. You get paid per thousand downloads. That barely works in B2B foodservice because the audience sizes will never compete with true crime or comedy. But the value per listener is exponentially higher.

Research shows that B2B podcasts convert an average of 10% of guests into clients. One company converted 48% of strategically selected podcast guests into pipeline opportunities. The podcast isn't the product. The podcast is the engine that powers everything else. That's exactly what we've built with Ashton Media. The Late Night Restaurant Podcast isn't just a show. It's the centre of an ecosystem that includes newsletters, webinars, events, and direct industry relationships. The podcast opens doors that nothing else can.

If you're thinking about starting a B2B podcast in foodservice, or if you're already running one and wondering why it isn't working, go back to the basics. Know your audience. Know your industry. Tell the truth. Show up every week. Stop comparing yourself to shows that have nothing to do with what you're building. This isn't entertainment. This is business media for an industry that deserves better than what it's been getting. After 1,600+ conversations, I can tell you it works. You just have to be willing to do it right.