Military-Inspired Snacking: Launching Tactical Snacks for First Responders with Greg Potapenko

About this episode

This episode features Greg Potapenko discussing his journey from military service to launching Tactical Snacks, focusing on performance marketing and e-commerce strategies.

Performance marketing, affiliate media buying, and e-commerce brand building collide in this episode exploring how Tactical Snacks was built for military and first responders. ABOUT THE EPISODE ⸻ In this episode of The Truth About Social Ads, Jason Smith sits down with Greg Potapenko, a Canadian Army veteran and performance marketer who transitioned from affiliate marketing and paid media into building Tactical Snacks — a military-inspired better-for-you snack brand. Greg shares his journey from immigrating to Canada from the Soviet Union, serving more than two decades in the Canadian Army, competing in national marksmanship competitions, and building an affiliate marketing agency focused on Google Ads and direct response marketing. The conversation dives deep into the realities of affiliate media buying, the collapse many marketers experienced after iOS 14 updates, and how Greg leveraged his experience in e-commerce, paid ads, and consumer psychology to launch Tactical Snacks. The episode also explores startup validation, crowdfunding-style product launches, TikTok Shop strategy, and building a niche CPG brand for military, law enforcement, and first responders. ABOUT THE GUEST…

People in this episode

Host: Jason Smith

Guest: Greg Potapenko

Topics covered

• performance marketing
• affiliate media buying
• e-commerce
• military-inspired snacks
• startup validation
• crowdfunding
• consumer psychology

Keywords

• Tactical Snacks
• performance marketing
• affiliate marketing
• e-commerce
• military snacks
• consumer packaged goods
• TikTok Shop
• crowdfunding
• Google Ads
• first responders

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tactical Snacks

Places: Canada, Soviet Union

More episodes of The Truth About Social Ads

• Product Innovation: Scaling Unique Home Improvement Solutions with Lori Machiorlette · June 6, 2026 · 46 min
• Supplement Entrepreneurship: Building a Zero-MOQ Brand Model with Spencer Livingston · June 1, 2026 · 49 min
• Clean Tequila Branding: Building additive-free female-focused brand strategy with Mara Smith · May 27, 2026 · 32 min
• Better-For-You Desserts: Scaling a Clean Ingredient Bakery with Addison LaBonte · May 26, 2026 · 42 min
• From Portraits to Corporate Campaigns: A 20-Year Creative Journey with Jason Gilmore · April 22, 2026 · 47 min
• Mission-Driven Product Design: Creating Safer Baby Essentials Through Hands-On Innovation with John Westerhaus · April 15, 2026 · 48 min