Expo East 2018 Video: DrinkSimple on Rebranding and Diversifying

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Earlier this year, Vermont-based maple water maker DrinkMaple rebranded itself as DrinkSimple, a move to accommodate and better define a growing product portfolio that included new types of plant-based beverages such as watermelon water.

Natural Products Expo East 2018, held earlier this month in Baltimore, was the company’s first trade show appearance under its new name revised products are rolling out to stores now. We spoke to DrinkSimple co-founder Kate Weiler who talked about the difficult but necessary process of redefining its brand identity, how it is branching out to draw new consumers, the continuing need to educate consumers on maple water, and how it established an early presence in the emerging plant-based waters space.

“When we first launched if people were looking for a maple water then they knew we were a maple water,” Weiler said. “The problem is when we first launched people didn’t know they were looking for a maple water, so it was a very small amount. Whereas what we’ve seen so far [now] is that consumers know what we’re about and it’s about simple, pure ingredients.”