New Beverage Showdown 23 - Semi-finals: Leisure Project

Speaker 1 [00:14] Up next we have Alex Michaelsen who's the co-founder of Leisure Project. Come on up. Hello? Yeah, you can use either mic, and please keep an eye on your timer.

Alex Michaelson [00:30] What if I told you that selling digital cans generated 6 figures in revenue before we ever produced a physical product? I'm Alex Michaelson, co-founder of Leisure Project, and we're flipping the script on hydration for the next generation. Earlier this year, we launched an NFT powered membership program. This Web 3 native project generated over $100,000 in revenue and galvanized a strong community of brand evangelists prior to launch. But back to our story. My co-founder and I are former D1 athletes turned creative marketers, and we believe that the hydration category has fallen asleep at the wheel. For decades, hydration beverages have been dominated by products exclusively marketed to athletes in the sports community and only ever formulated to serve the needs of physical performance. But consumer aspirations are changing. Gen Zers like myself simply don't aspire to be athletes anymore. We wanna be creatives, creators, and doers, and our needs are changing too. We're more stressed than ever before, and research shows how important hydration is for how we feel and perform mentally. With 75% of Americans being chronically dehydrated, it's no wonder so many of us deal with brain fog and mental fatigue on a daily basis. So we created leisure, an all-natural mind boosting hydration drink infused with electrolytes, adaptogens, and nootropics for focus and mental clarity. Leisure is the first beverage in the hydration category, championing hydration as a tool for mental well-being. But beyond the product, we're building a brand designed to represent the creative aspirations of the younger generation. Leisure brings a new brand positioning with a sense of fun and creativity to a category that hasn't evolved its messaging or identity in decades. With only 30 calories, 5 g of sugar, and 50% more electrolytes in a serving of coconut water, leisure is the perfect all-day hydration drink for those using their minds to build, create, and work on a daily basis. Welcome to your leisure state.

Speaker 1 [02:37] Great job. Uh, Brittany, leisure projects, a lot going on here. You have, uh, mental well-being, creative community, Web 3 native. Um, are you getting all that when you are, or were you getting all that when you're tasting this products?

Speaker 3 [02:49] I

Speaker 1 [02:49] was,

Speaker 3 [02:50] and I, I, I'll say this, I'm, I love carving into this space. I think this is a really unique proposition to consumers leaning into this leisure state, making sure there's functional benefits associated with it. There is such a strong brand identity that already comes through with this product. I absolutely love on the can the visual artistry as well. Um, the one thing that I would that I would build upon here is just making sure that on the packaging there's even more of those functional benefits highlighted, whether it's just even increasing the font size, like little changes like that can really make it come through even stronger.

Speaker 1 [03:25] Alison, a lot of times it just comes down to taste. How do these taste, how do these products taste?

Speaker 4 [03:29] It tasted great. I, I liked the mineral forward taste. I know that sounds crazy, but it's that hydration like that that you want and in order for your body to be hydrated, it has to have salt, which is what a lot of, um, I think is around that, but I think it was full flavor. I, the packaging was really cute, and I think them playing in this NFT space is really forward thinking and smart and not anyone else isn't really doing that right now, so that's special.

Speaker 1 [03:55] David, um, Alex talked about the potential to improve the hydration category. Do you see Leisure Project is participating in that improvement?

Speaker 5 [04:03] I think it's really interesting how they're leading with the occasion as their brand name, so, um, that is very disruptive, uh, I would say, um, as far as what I was expecting on on the product I didn't know what to expect because I think that they're kind of first to category and they're trying to create this new um uh category. So I, I didn't know what to expect, but once I, I, I tasted it, I wasn't disappointed. I wasn't disappointed, and I think it's, it's really important. I mean, it's really smart that they started by building a community, uh, before even launching a product.

Speaker 1 [04:43] Jackie, you get the last word on leisure project.

Speaker 6 [04:45] Yeah, I think there's been a lot of innovation in hydration with tablets and powders, um, but canning it is something, you know, a little bit unique, and I think consumers and the consumers that are, you know, just going about their creative days, whoever that creative is, um, will enjoy this product, and I mean the web 3 component, NFT component is just a really great idea to tie into CPG.

Speaker 1 [05:10] All right, great stuff, great feedback.