Building A Brand That Feeds Connection with Erin Meskers of Brami
Some people work in marketing to sell products. Erin Meskers builds brands that sell lifestyles.
This week on Above the Fold, I sat down with Erin Meskers, Director of Brand at Brami, to talk about helping introduce Americans to a new era of Italian food, one that’s about slowing down, eating well, and rediscovering joy in the everyday meal. With every campaign, Brami isn’t just bringing Italy to the U.S., it’s helping people rethink what good food (and good living) actually means.
Before joining Brami, Erin built her career across some of the most recognizable names in consumer brands, Supergoop, Aviva, and Cadence, and even ran her own consultancy. Her throughline? Every brand she’s touched has carried a deeper lifestyle message. Supergoop was never just about sunscreen; it was about habit change and skin health. Aviva was about creating a safe, empowering community for women’s health. And now, Brami is about bringing back quality, simplicity, and connection to how we eat.
Creating Community Beyond the Product
Erin’s approach to brand-building has always been rooted in human connection. At Aviva, she helped lead a women’s health forum where thousands of women wrote in with deeply personal stories. Erin described her job as “being their best friend”, not to diagnose or fix, but to listen and reassure. That same empathy now shows up in how she approaches community at Brami. Whether it’s engaging with customers on social media or designing campaigns around family meals, her mission is to make people feel seen, understood, and part of something larger than a grocery shelf.
A Lifestyle, Not a Label
What makes Brami unique is its mission to redefine Italian food in the U.S. The brand sources directly from Italy, where every ingredient is crafted using traditional methods, stone-milled, bronze-cut pasta, and lupini beans packed with protein and nutrients. But the bigger goal is cultural: to help Americans embrace a slower, more intentional way of eating.
As Erin puts it, “In Italy, people don’t eat pasta with guilt, they eat it with joy.” Brami’s job is to bring that mindset across the Atlantic. That philosophy comes to life in everything from their packaging design to their in-store demos and social storytelling.
The New Age of Education and Accessibility
Lupini beans might be unfamiliar to the average U.S. shopper, but Erin’s found creative ways to make them feel approachable. “We see how people use them, kids love them, families pack them in lunchboxes, and they’re the first thing to go at parties,” she said. Brami uses that organic feedback to shape its content, leaning into family moments, charcuterie spreads, and recipes that feel easy and fun.
It’s not just about nutrition; it’s about normalizing good food in everyday life. The message? You don’t have to fly to Italy to enjoy real, quality ingredients.
Lessons From a Multi-hyphenate Marketer
XAfter years working across brand, community, and growth, Erin has learned that the best marketing is never siloed. Her time at Cadence taught her to see the full picture, from acquisition to retention. “You have to understand your entire customer journey,” she said. “It’s not about one channel or one moment, it’s how everything connects.”
That same mindset now drives her work at Brami, where she leads across retail, digital, and experiential. Her latest challenge? Launching Brami in Costco, which meant rethinking packaging, pricing, and even content for a new audience. It’s her first foray into the world of big-box retail, and she’s diving headfirst, working with Costco influencers (yes, that’s a thing) and learning what it means to scale without losing soul.
From Brand to Belief
What makes Erin stand out as a brand leader is her ability to tie strategy back to purpose. Whether she’s launching a campaign or planning a dinner event, she starts with emotion: what should this make people feel? The answer, almost always, is warmth and connection.
At the heart of Brami’s storytelling is a simple mission, to help people eat better, live slower, and enjoy life the way Italians do. “You don’t need to be in Italy to have a good meal,” Erin said. “You just need to create the space for it.”
Erin’s career is a reminder that marketing isn’t about metrics alone, it’s about creating meaning. When you build with empathy, curiosity, and care, your brand doesn’t just sell products, it creates culture.
