When Koko and Karma founder Jodie Evins first attended BevNET in 2018, she did not feel like a founder. She felt like someone who had accidentally slipped into the wrong room.
"It was my first industry event in the United States. I was shy, scared, and dealing with enormous imposter syndrome. I was not a natural founder who enjoyed being out loud or building a personal brand. I was scrappy, a forever working founder, and I looked like I was. I was simply there to learn."
Inside the event halls, Evins watched confident entrepreneurs pitch, network, and negotiate with ease. "It looked effortless for them. They were made for those moments. I was quietly observing and soaking everything in."
At one roundtable session, Evins found herself seated beside two founders from a well-known better-for-you soda brand. "I had one important question for the manufacturer who was speaking. It took everything in me to finally ask it."
The reaction was immediate. "The second they realized what category I was in (coconut water), I was looked up and down and completely dismissed. It felt crushing and was evident that I was definitely not one of the cool kids in beverage."
Her early tetra paks of then named (Coco Luxe) were placed in the BevNET fridges for attendees to try. "I stayed in the background watching people pick up the cans, taste them, finish them, and place the empties on the black service trays. That was the only validation I had at the time. It meant more than anyone knew."
Then a message arrived. LA Libations, the (official cool kids of beverage), reached out asking to discuss her brand.
"That moment changed everything. It told me that maybe this idea I had at my kitchen table could genuinely work in America."
Fast Forward to Today
Koko and Karma has now become one of the fastest-growing functional coconut water brands in the United States. The brand expanded from 1,400 retail doors to more than 5,000 in only twelve months.
Today the brand is:
- Rolling out nationally with Walmart
- Outselling category leaders where they compete in retail
- Available in over 5,000 stores across America including H-E-B, Central Markets, Fresh Market, Giant, and GNC
- Surpassing three million units sold in 2025 across the US and Australia
- Winning awards on taste, brand, and performance
"What started as a very 'pink' and very personal journey has grown into a brand that I am incredibly proud of," Evins said. "I walked into BevNET years ago hoping I belonged in the industry. Now I am returning with a product that shoppers choose to take home every day."
A Full Circle Moment
For Evins, the achievement is both commercial and deeply personal.
"I never turned into the loud or spotlight-loving founder. But I did become the founder who kept going. Through a pandemic, setbacks, and moments of doubt. I am proud to finally say out loud what we have built."
As Koko and Karma prepares for further expansion across the United States, Canada, and Australia, Evins stays focused on the mission to create coconut water products that taste incredible and deliver real functional benefits.
"And I hope my story reminds the quieter founders sitting in the shadows that they belong here as much as anyone else."
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