Andrew Abraham, founder and CEO of Orgain, discussed the creation and early development of the pioneering protein brand, the importance of building a sustainable business infrastructure and how maintaining a positive and steadfast belief in the company’s mission and a focus on meaningful innovation have been key to its success. This episode is presented by Flavorman, the beverage architects.
In this week’s episode, we’re joined by former NFL star Matt Light and Bill Dessel, the co-founders of sessionable spirit brand Keel Vodka. As part of our conversation, Light explained why despite ruthless competition as a professional football player, entrepreneurship “is more challenging than it ever would be on the playing field.” He and Dessel also discussed how they overcame initial regulatory hurdles, the benefits of a local distribution strategy, and why “living the lifestyle” is critical for brand ambassadors.
New York-based Monfefo produces organic and raw cold-pressed shots in two flavors: Ginger and Turmeric. Previously sold in plastic bottles pasteurized via high pressure processing (HPP), the products have been relaunched in glass packaging that the brand is supporting as more eco-friendly.
Chad Hazen, founder of Sofee, is focused on developing refreshing beverages, but his approach is not that ordinary. Hazen combines the two popular categories of cold brew coffee and soft drinks to create a curious offering that hasn’t quite hit the mainstream consumer yet, but he’s ok with that. To create the product Hazen is leveraging his relationships with breweries across the U.S. to employ the “gypsy brewing model” common in the beer industry.
Kalo is a line of flavored sparkling waters enhanced with full spectrum hemp extract. The lineup features four flavors that are lightly sweetened with cane sugar and contain only 15 calories per 12 oz. can.
Gail Becker, founder & CEO of Caulipower, discussed the swift rise of her vegetable-forward frozen food brand, including why she left a successful career behind to start the company, the value of taking risks, how she identified and partnered with early-stage investors and why humility is critical for success.
In this presentation from BevNET Live Winter 2019, Tyler Ricks, operating partner at Continental Grain and and Arlon Investments, spoke about how investors can add value beyond actual dollars and cents, and how entrepreneurs can attract and effectively work with those who do so.
In this episode, Matt Weiss, founder/CEO of RIND Snacks, discussed his approach to incubating the skin-on dried fruit brand while maintaining his full-time job. Weiss spoke about how he assessed the financial and opportunity costs of entrepreneurship, the importance of open and honest communication with his employer while incubating RIND and why he believes in “relentless networking.”
Poppi is the relaunched version of Mother, which appeared on the ABC series Shark Tank and was also the winner of the New Beverage Showdown 12. The revamped line features a slick, bright design and is being positioned as a prebiotic soda with apple cider vinegar.
In a video recorded at BevNET Live Winter 2019 in Santa Monica, California, Dew and Perteet Spencer, VP of CPG & enterprise sales at market research group SPINS, examined Health-Ade as a case study for effectively integrating data to scale in a fast-growing category, offering insight into how the kombucha brand was incubated in the natural channel and how analytics have helped it target the specific needs of health and wellness consumers.
Ash Crawford is the co-founder of Quivr, a nitro coffee and tea brand that aims to fuel health conscious and active consumers with plant-based energy. The company sources whole leaf teas from around the world and fresh locally roasted coffee beans to power its lineup, keeping it simple without any added sugar or sweeteners.
In this video of his presentation at BevNET Live Winter 2019, Brew Dr. Kombucha founder and CEO Matt Thomas discussed how beverage entrepreneurs can adapt and thrive as they face the challenge of scaling, sharing the importance of adopting a mindset that embraces constant growth and reflected on his day-to-day work building the company over the course of 14 years.
Josh Zad, founder of trendsetting cafe chain Alfred Coffee, spoke about how the brand’s appeal is derived from its foundation as “a creative platform” focused on customer experience, why he believes that Alfred isn’t “doing anything groundbreaking” and how he’s attempting to replicate Alfred’s success with Calidad Beer, an upstart brand of Mexican-style lagers.
Plant-based protein shake brand Koia is expanding its lineup again with the launch of Koia Coffee, a three-SKU line that features coffee (and 200 mg of caffeine) as well as 5 grams of MCT oil.
