[00:00:00] Speaker 1: BevNET Live New York City is June 10th and 11th, and if you haven't registered yet, now is the time. It's two days of conversations with the people moving this industry forward. Founders, buyers, investors, all talking about the challenges and opportunities shaping the beverage industry right now and in the future. Head to BevNET.com to grab your spot. And if you're already registered, post about it. Tell people what you're looking forward to, what you're bringing to the show, or what you're doing to get ready. Tag us on Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok. Add BevNET as a collaborator, and you might just end up on our feed before the show even starts.
[00:00:46] Ray Latif: Hey folks, I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of BevNET's Taste Radio podcast, and you're tuning into the latest episode of Elevator Talk, the series that profiles early stage and disruptive brands from across the food and beverage industry. Today's episode will focus on five beverage brands whose entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to hear feedback and advice from our co-host for this episode. That's Nicholas Williams, the founder of Innovation CPG. Nicholas, it's great to see you again. Great to see you, Ray. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, it was great to connect at the Taste Radio Austin Meetup, which was a raucous and really fun networking and podcasting event. I assume you had a great time as well.
[00:01:32] Speaker 2: Absolutely. I've been to so many CPG meetups over the years and sometimes they just kind of feel like an empty room. And that was really a happening event full of people. who know what they're doing and know how to help and wanna help move the industry forward.
[00:01:48] Ray Latif: Yeah, great way of putting that. I think it was the antithesis of an empty room. I mean, it was loud, crowded, fun, exciting. We got some great interviews with people who are taking the next steps for food and beverage and applying the trends that I'm assuming we're gonna hear a lot about today from our five entrepreneurs. So for context, you have been involved in CPG for some time. Just give us a bit about your background and tell us about the origins of and development of innovation CPG.
[00:02:27] Speaker 2: Yes, I've been in the business a long time. I've done a little bit of everything. So I've walked into thousands of stores in more than 30 states and done some type of retail execution. I've led field marketing teams doing more than 100 events per week. I've called on and done business with most conventional and natural grocery retailers in the U.S., sold food products to hospitality and convenience, helped design about 20 different food products across seasoning, salsa, frozen food, beverage, coffee, and teas that have achieved some type of national distribution. And I've helped raise millions of dollars for various different ventures. What I'm doing now at Innovation CPG is a little bit different than anything I've done before. It's a fractional C-suite provider. So whatever you need for innovative products or technology solutions, we can help you find the right person to help move your company forward. So a great example of that is my client, Fadeen. And Fadeen is a really interesting technology solution. It's a software that seeks to get integrated throughout the entire supply chain, from the vendor or the farmer, to the distributor, to the retailer, all the way to a consumer-facing app. And there's going to be efficiencies and cost savings for everyone across the way. And for the consumer, there's going to be a way by reducing waste to potentially decrease your total grocery bill by more than 20 or 30%. And also some kind of breaking news here, just a little sneak peek. In the next 30 days or so, we're going to be releasing our own technology solution for operators. Really excited, it's in testing right now and I have people testing on it who are new to the business and people who have been in the business for decades and everybody is finding it useful so far. So we're really excited about that. So stay tuned.
[00:04:37] Ray Latif: So based on what you just talked about, it seems like your experience in CPG is pretty limited, you know, not much experience at all. Obviously I speak in jest. It feels like you've touched every aspect of CPG. And I think what's most interesting is that at this stage of an entrepreneur's career, they really need advice on everything related to the business. So it's great to have you on Nicholas. You know, again, for someone who's had as much experience as you have had here today in 2026, what do you think is the most challenging part of CPG for an early stage brand and how are you addressing it? How are you helping entrepreneurs get over that hurdle?
[00:05:23] Speaker 2: I think the hardest thing is there's so many different voices in the room, all pitching you on what to do, and it's all a different story. And then there's the financial pressures that every brand faces. Everybody wants to go take a brand from zero to 100 million in three years. But really, the overwhelming percentage of successful brands you see over time are the ones that took their time. And so I think the biggest challenge is not getting caught up in the competition with your rivals and having a 10-year plan to actually grow your Brad Avery time and your brand awareness rather than just trying to sprint to the finish line. Because what happens a lot of times when people try to do that is the screws come on loose and they don't make it more often than not.
[00:06:14] Ray Latif: Yeah, it's interesting. It's hard to sometimes to think about the future when you're just starting out, but those brands that do eventually succeed and get acquired, you're right, are not overnight successes. They're typically 10 years in the business and have proven themselves and have that kind of distribution, have that kind of profitability that acquirers really do want. So I think that's really good advice, Nicholas. I'm sure you're going to have a lot more great advice for entrepreneurs that are going to be joining us today. We have five fantastic brands and founders who are ready to tell their story. Are you ready to meet our first? Can't wait. Outstanding. Well, that first person is Shelly Garg. She's the founder of Wave Kids. Shelly, it's great to see you.
[00:06:58] Speaker 3: Hi, Ray. Good to see you. Thanks for having me.
[00:07:01] Ray Latif: Thanks much for joining and thank you so much for bringing innovation to the kids beverage category. This is a category that I feel like has been lacking for so long because it's a difficult one. At the end of the day, it's parents who make the decisions and parents who you typically need to convince to spend their hard-earned dollars for their children. And I think what Wave Kids is doing is pretty darn interesting. So please tell us all about your brand.
[00:07:26] Speaker 3: Sure. Thank you again. So Wave Kids is the world's first kids lifestyle beverage brand. We launched about 10 months ago, nine, 10 months ago at the end of July 25. And we've really been focusing on building our D2C business first by growing our community, listening to our customers and really expanding our social footprint as we now look to grow and scale. We've started with a very simple question. Why is it so hard to find a tasty, fun and healthy kids drink. I am a mom of two and a practicing FDA attorney, and my husband and co-founder, Sachin, is a practicing physician. We created Wave Kids because kids were being offered sugar and additive laden drinks at birthday parties and playdates and more, and frankly, we wanted something better for our kids and yours. But healthy should still feel fun. You know, there's been a constant tug of war between parents who are trying to limit the number of sugar juice boxes to avoid sugar spikes and inevitable meltdowns, and kids who are trying to reach for the brightest bottle that isn't exactly good for them, in part because those drinks are provided on a limited basis. Again, birthday parties, sports practices, and playdates, and more. And so we made Wave Kids to really be a very intentional brand for kids by kids for real. So our cans are 8.4-ounce, kid-sized, really geared towards ages like five to 12 and intended for kids to finish in one sitting. It features kid-drawn artwork and color-changing ink. So we actually have a cold-activated can that changes color when it's chilled and a sun-activated can that changes color in the sunlight. The idea behind that is to create a moment of magic for kids to build better habits around something that's better for them. We found that authenticity really matters. Kids really know when they're given mom's drink that's slapped with the word kid on it, But it's really made for mom. And so I think other brands have unsuccessfully gone this route in the past. But we've kids is really very intentional again about being a brand just for kids. As you know right. The kids beverage market is huge. More growth is happening on the better for you side is really parents look to move away from sugary options. And there's now more awareness about the contribution of sugary drinks to childhood obesity, juvenile onset, type two diabetes and dental issues. So we're starting as a better for you option with the goal of really becoming synonymous with kids beverage at large as we grow.
[00:09:45] Ray Latif: Well, I have a ton of questions. I'm sure Nicholas does as well. Let's start with a pretty easy one. You launched about eight months ago. Where are you sold and what's your price point per pack?
[00:09:57] Speaker 3: Thanks, right? Yeah, so we're currently selling online. We're D2C. We sell a pack of 10. It's 10 pack for $19.99. Obviously it's a premium product at a premium price point, but we believe that as economies of scale and supply chain efficiency shift that that cost will be brought down. So it's about $1.99 per can.
[00:10:18] Ray Latif: It's a sugar sweetened drink, right?
[00:10:21] Speaker 3: So our first, our original SKU rate is plain water. I mean, there's nothing in it, no sugar, no dyes, no caffeine, and that is really triggered by extensive surveying and polling of our target demographic about two, three years ago now. When we first were kind of coming up with this, we really observed just the constant tug of war between parents, again, who are trying to give their kids limited sugar and kids who were trying to have something fun at a birthday party, soccer game. And so by and large, all parents and kids really consumed was water. And so we did surveying and so we started with that product first.
[00:10:59] Ray Latif: Okay, so just to be clear, this is water in a can with some really cool graphics and clearly designed for kids. Yes. So Nicholas, I don't know if you have any kids, but it feels like there's a huge opportunity here to reach younger consumers, kids more specifically, with attractive packaging that they enjoy, that they want to carry around, that says something about them. What do you think about this opportunity?
[00:11:29] Speaker 2: I think it's a great idea. I think it's always smart to really know your consumer and focus in on them. So many people try to be everything to everyone and they end up being nothing to anybody. I think the packaging's great. It totally fits your customer. It kind of reminds me a little bit of what Liquid Death did for adults. They made water cool for adults. That was the goal. And what you're trying to do is make water cool for kids. And then you can potentially expand under that brand into different types of SKUs and flavor profiles and things of that nature. So I think you're definitely on the right track here with your identity and your packaging.
[00:12:11] Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks, Nicholas. Yeah, and our goal, Likely Q4, is based on kind of ongoing feedback and surveying. We're looking to launch a flavored and a fizzy line in short term here. And just, you know, our goal is to be a beverage option for kids for all occasions and to really create like a lifestyle brand for kids, because I think kids are outgrowing the juice box. Like that's, you know, that's usually ages like two, three, four, but between the ages of four to 10 or 12, there's nothing that speaks just to them. And I think there needs to be, it's time. So I think there's a real need for a beverage option that kids desire and that parents approve. And I think there's issues with microplastics and plastic water bottles and plastic waste, not good for the planet. And WAVE is recyclable aluminum. Obviously we avoid the plastic issue entirely. And so it's better for the kid, better for the planet. I think beyond that, I think there is a huge shift away from juice boxes, energy drinks, or electrolyte drinks like Gatorade, et cetera, that really still contain quite a bit of artificial ingredients, whether it's color additives or, again, synthetic ingredients. And so I think parents just want the kids to be happy and to have something that is for them, but that's good for them. So I think that there is a real interest in creating this category of, again, lifestyle kids beverages that kids desire. Like I said, we're working on the price point to bring that down. But our competition is not, you know, Costco water bottle, which to be frank, you know, I don't know if you have kids or nephews, nieces, but no kid at a birthday party is gravitating towards a little bottle that, you know, it's hard to open twist cap. It's not appealing. And so what ultimately ends up happening is they're gravitating towards a sugary. junk that is not good for them, and then they ultimately result in a temper tantrum. So I think to kind of bridge that gap, that's where something like WAVE really is going to just address the gap. And we're going to continue working on our price efficiencies to make sure we're available to all kids.
[00:14:13] Ray Latif: Yeah, the microplastic angle really speaks to me for sure. And I do agree that given different beverage options, that less kids are going to be gravitating toward that small bottle of water versus other sugary drinks out there. You know, it's really interesting because I think there's a lot of ways that you can go with the focus of your pitch when you're talking to retailers, when you're talking to investors. Nicholas, based on what you've heard from Shelly, what do you think the primary focus of her pitch should be as she goes forward, as she continues to talk to folks in this industry?
[00:14:50] Speaker 2: Well, for retailers, I think it should be that you have a focused consumer base. And when they look at their shelf full of water right now, it's all the same. It could practically all be private label other than a brand or two. And almost none of them are appealing or marketing towards your customer. So right there, they can offer their shelf or offer their customers something different. Not having duplicative SKUs on the shelf is a way for them to have more sales at the retailer. Also, I think it's going to be really important going forward that you're able to show from a data standpoint that kids are demanding this product. They're throwing those temper tantrums. And because of that, it's getting purchased and kids are actually drinking more water and it's driving more customers to the shelf.
[00:15:38] Speaker 3: Sure. Yeah, I appreciate that. Thank you.
[00:15:39] Speaker 2: And same thing for investors that you're going to have the story that this is a targeted consumer base that other people aren't appealing to yet. And you're already building momentum with them. I would look to do digital marketing, targeting kids also on the platforms they're using.
[00:15:54] Speaker 3: Yeah. Great. Thank you.
[00:15:57] Ray Latif: Shelly, with the limited seconds that we have left, you mentioned that you don't see your competition as private label bottled water. And I think if you had your choice of merchandising opportunities, where your brand is actually gonna be placed on shelf, I would think maybe it's next to other kids' drinks, whether they are water or otherwise. Could be juice, could be soda. Where do you see Wave Kids as best merchandised in store? Where's your dream shelf?
[00:16:26] Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. Right. You're spot on. I think it's obviously in the kids beverage aisle. It's not next to water. That's not our, again, our competition. Our competition is kids, is the kids beverage space. So absolutely next to, next to the juice boxes, you know, um, I think to have more options for kids where parents and kids can make an informed decision or a conscious choice, um, about what, you know, what beverages they want to consume is important. Again, as a parent and as an FDA attorney, I've seen so much that's in, in products marketed towards kids that frankly shouldn't be there. And so this is just something we're super passionate about to bring another option that's hopefully fun and meaningful for families.
[00:17:02] Ray Latif: Well, I think you've got a great product and a great brand. I think you've got a leg up on some other competitors in your space because, well, you're an attorney. You know what's going to work and what's going to be allowed on front of PAC and in your marketing. So that definitely helps.
[00:17:18] Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, appreciate the opportunity and happy to be a resource to anyone on this call for any compliance questions. I'm always open door, but thank you, Ray.
[00:17:25] Ray Latif: Okay, well, you just put that out there. So I'm not gonna say free legal advice, but maybe, you know.
[00:17:31] Speaker 3: Whatever it is, no worries. We're here to help.
[00:17:33] Ray Latif: You're not gonna start the timer at minute one, right?
[00:17:36] Speaker 3: No, always here to help other brands grow. That's the goal.
[00:17:39] Ray Latif: Thanks so much, Shelly. And please, please stay in touch. Let us know if we can help in any way.
[00:17:43] Speaker 3: Absolutely, thank you.
[00:17:44] Ray Latif: Thank you. All right, great start to the show. Let's keep things going with our next guest. We have Isabella Hogue, who is the co-founder and CEO of OSEA. Isabella, great to see you.
[00:18:01] Speaker 4: Yeah, it's great to see you, too. Thank you so much for having me. And hi, Nicholas. Thanks for joining. Yeah, my name's Isabella. I'm the founder and CEO of the mood beverage, Osea. So Osea's line of premium spritzes are all made with real fruit juice and lightly functional herbs. So we actually have four moods that you can choose from. And they're all designed to both taste and feel like the mood they're named after. So the moods we have are bliss, boost, ease, and passion. Sorry, each SKU is designed with a unique blend of the fruits. So they're all lightly functional and truly clean. So we don't use any natural or artificial flavors. So it's a very clean label. I actually started this company because I wasn't going out, wasn't drinking, and there weren't so many options for me. So I was actually making these in the kitchen for myself and my friends and family. We officially launched with all four of our SKUs back in November of last year. which has been really amazing. And so, yeah, thanks so much for having me.
[00:19:03] Ray Latif: Well, thanks so much for making a great brand like Osea. I got to try some of your products at Expo West, and I was pretty amazed with the amount of flavor that you pack into your products, and it's all really delicious. Right off the bat, and I want to get to Nicholas, but are these designed to be alternatives to alcoholic products? Do you market them as mocktails or ANA products?
[00:19:30] Speaker 4: Yeah, no, great question. So when we launched, actually, we were marketing it as a more mocktail non-alcoholic option, but then really quickly realized that our consumers were drinking it throughout the whole day. Since mood isn't necessarily occasional, you can kind of weave it throughout your day and kind of customize your experience. But first and foremost, we just wanted to make something that was just a great drink. So, you know, it's kind of like this premium spritz in a sense. We have, you know, some more energizing SKUs, some more relaxing SKUs. You know, we have our boost spritz, which is really popular instead of an energy drink. They're all caffeine free, obviously alcohol free. And so it's just really nice to kind of choose whatever mood you need.
[00:20:16] Ray Latif: Nicholas, as we know, education and consumer education is really important. It can be expensive. And based on the positioning that Isabella laid out for Osea, what do you think about the opportunity for a brand like this, given that it is one, as it says on the website, to elevate your mood as opposed to something that is as cut and dry as, I don't know, a mocktail.
[00:20:45] Speaker 2: I think you're doing a lot of the right things with your clean label and ingredients, and especially for your brand identity. I was looking at the website. One thing I was curious about, Osea comes from the idea is the nectar of the gods, right? Ambrosia.
[00:21:03] Speaker 4: There's definitely a reason. So actually, when I started, I was making it in my kitchen for friends and family. I actually had a friend who had an art show. She wanted me to just come and help serve some mocktails, pretty much. And I made what we have, our e-spritz, and then also our booze spritz. And it was just like... insane. Everyone I sold out very, very quickly, and I met a bunch of people that had event spaces and restaurants, all of the above. I actually helped build out their NA menus, I helped build out NA bars, and just facilitated this more on-premise event space. within like the non-alcoholic section of these establishments. And we actually did over 500 events in our first year from 50 person private events to 10,000 person festivals and got a lot of feedback. So we were actually making the product itself before manufacturing for a year. And the biggest kind of response to that was this tastes like nectar. They were a little bit sweeter too. And like, obviously, scaling into, you know, the canned beverage industry from like making things in commissary kitchens. It's a lot different. But that word nectar just kept kept keep popping popping up. And so I was researching some different names for nectar came across the word ambrosia. And immediately I just drew to the last four letters, OSIA. There's four moods, so it just seemed really aligned. I told my co-founder, actually, he pulled up his notes and it was the beverage company that he wanted to start years ago, and it was Ambrosia. So it was very, the synchronicities were there and it just felt right. I love the name too because it doesn't feel so much like it's just a drink. It feels more like this world and that's definitely what we're planning and what we're trying to create right now is like the world of Osea and how you can really kind of again, choose your mood and it anyone can relate to that, you know.
[00:23:11] Speaker 2: Right. And so to raise question about educating the consumer, I think sometimes it's hard to do that with ingredients and superfoods because you can only say so much. But I think that story of Ambrosia is really smart. And I I'm familiar with that term. I'm sure a lot of people are. I would maybe consider incorporating that more into your marketing or even your packaging a little bit. Telling people that OSHA comes from Ambrosia, the nectar of the gods. And that's the inspiration because it all made sense once I saw that. But when I first saw it, I was trying to put those pieces together.
[00:23:46] Speaker 4: No, that's great feedback. Thank you.
[00:23:48] Speaker 2: And you're doing the right things with field marketing events. You have to find your tribe. And it's all about finding people who love your product, who then go tell other people about your product is the most powerful type of marketing. So I'd really hone in on that.
[00:24:04] Speaker 4: Yeah, 100%, thank you.
[00:24:07] Ray Latif: So Isabella, even though you're not directly marketing Osea as a non-alcoholic cocktail or a mocktail, it feels like the opportunity for people to consume this product is in that day part use or is in that opportunity for someone to say, no, I'm not drinking tonight, I'm gonna drink an Osea instead.
[00:24:29] Speaker 4: Yeah, and we have a lot of accounts that actually carry it as their non-alcoholic option. We just launched in a bunch of Michelin star restaurants. We're onboarding with a lot of other food service accounts, and it does really well there just because it's that really nice, light, refreshing drink that does give you that slight elevation. It's really nice because it does fit in that space, but then we also have a lot of yoga studios or coffee shops or more daytime spaces that carry maybe the boost for non-caffeinated energy. So it's really nice because there's the four SKUs, but you kind of incorporate it into various spaces.
[00:25:07] Ray Latif: And you have a real sophisticated feel. You look at a can and it looks beautiful. It looks like something that does belong in a Michelin-starred restaurant. On the other hand, if you are really about mood boosting and really committed to that lane, There are examples of other brands that have done well in that space and are continuing to expand that space. You think about a recess or trip that are really positioned to be mood enhancing. Is that who you want to be or is that what you see Osea as being or is it something else?
[00:25:43] Speaker 4: I would say that I would definitely want to lean into the more like premium spritz category, that all-day consumption. We don't want to lean too much into the functionality. The moods are kind of our interpretation of how the the moods taste and feel. And so definitely the flavor profiles, we really we lay out all three of the top flavor profiles. But as you go in, you can see that there's lots of other ingredients. So it's very complex, like you were saying in the beginning, right. And so we definitely want to lean more towards that. The light functionality is, you know, the benefits of, you know, it's called a mood beverage. So we want to make sure that's incorporated as well. But yeah,
[00:26:27] Speaker 2: People really underestimate the value of being in a venue like a Michelin star restaurant. It might just be one account, but it's an elite account where people, it's already rated as one of the most gourmet places in America where the best food and beverages are served. And so I think that's really smart and a great success that you're in those types of accounts and that will have a trailing effect as you go to grow your business in direct to consumer and retail. as a premium product. Kind of what Ray was saying, premium spritz and psychedelic mood enhancing beverage, they're two different categories a little bit. And so you will kind of have to pick one or the other or get stuck in the middle and maybe not go anywhere.
[00:27:14] Speaker 4: Yeah, 100%. And I think it's really interesting. Obviously, we're all here, we all have beverage companies, the category is very much shifting and evolving. So it's kind of us as, you know, brands kind of helping move into those different categories. I think there will definitely be a full mood category in every grocery store, liquor store, etc. I think for on premise, like all the food service, having that just non alcoholic, section within the menu is super important. I think also having a lot of different options, you know, there's a wide variety of alcoholic options. So all of us kind of going and being a part of that experience for the customer is super important.
[00:27:59] Ray Latif: I wanted to gamify one quick question for Nicholas, and you've already been on the website, so maybe you already saw the price point, but if you were, say, in a Whole Foods and you saw a can of Osea, what would you be willing to pay for this beverage in terms of the price point?
[00:28:16] Speaker 2: That's a tough question. I haven't tried it yet, but premium beverage, $5.99, $4.99. I think anything else higher than that. you're in trouble at Whole Foods even.
[00:28:31] Ray Latif: Yeah. Well, I think that's in the range, right? Is it still there?
[00:28:35] Speaker 4: It is.
[00:28:36] Ray Latif: There you go.
[00:28:37] Speaker 4: Yeah. We sell it like Total Wines, for example, for our four packets, $16.99. And then for all Grab and Go, it's all around $4.99.
[00:28:48] Ray Latif: Well, I got to tell you, I will go pick up a can at $4.99 at a total line because it's a really fantastic product that you created. And frankly, the price point is spot on for what I'm willing to pay for a product that I haven't tasted before. And I think eventually and hopefully you'll get to a point where you can even reduce that price with scale. So I'm just really thrilled for Osea and I think this is a product that really speaks to me personally. And I think we'll also speak to a ton of other people. So congrats on everything you've built to this point and let us know if we can help in any way. Please keep us in the loop when you have new retail distribution, new products that you're launching. We want to highlight everything on webnet.com.
[00:29:38] Speaker 4: Amazing. Thank you so much, Ray. Thank you, Nicholas.
[00:29:41] Ray Latif: Thank you. All right. Two outstanding brands. Let's add a third. That's Juice, J-O-U-S. The founders are Camilo Ortiz and Nico Jeffrey. Camilo, Nico, great to see you. Hey, Ray. How's it going? Hey, Ray. How's it going? Hey, Nicholas.
[00:29:59] Speaker 2: Hey, Nicholas.
[00:30:01] Ray Latif: I was first introduced to Juice in Miami at the Taste Radio Miami meetup. I don't even know if it was you guys that first introduced me to the brand. I think it was an investor. I think it was Spencer Slane from the Angel Group who said, hey, Ray, you should try this. And I was like, whoa, what is this? This is really cool. And we have some in the fridge at our office at BebNet HQ. And every time someone comes to the cooler and they're like, I want to try something really interesting. I want to try something really new. I'm like, you should try this juice. So please, for you guys, introduce juice to our audience.
[00:30:33] Speaker 5: I mean, a little backstory about Camilo and I, we grew up in Colombian households. Culturally, we were surrounded by fruit. We grew up drinking juice in Colombia. But as we got older, we placed a greater importance on health and well-being and wellness. And I mean, one of the first actions we took, and I'm sure this is what a lot of people do, is they limit their calories and sugar. So naturally, that meant that we had to cut out fruit juice. So, fast forward years later, we decided to make a product for ourselves, something that allows us to enjoy fruit juice but not face that compromise on our health. So, what we basically made is a lower calorie, lower sugar fruit drink that's filled with magnesium and electrolytes. It absolutely delivers on the experience of juice and it is a better way to consume juice. It's a healthier version of it. And on top of that, it is a delicious way to supplement your minerals, your magnesium and other electrolytes. And I think especially magnesium, it's one of the most difficult minerals to get through your healthy diet. And between 40 and 70% of Americans don't get enough magnesium every day. So we're combining a crucial mineral with an absolutely delicious product that helps people proactively incorporate that type of wellness into their life.
[00:31:47] Ray Latif: Nicholas, I wasn't kidding at the opening of the show when I said, these are the founders that are changing the face of food and beverage. And these guys are changing the way people think about juice. And I got to try this. I'm assuming you haven't had a chance to try this, but their key lime variety, which is your only variety at this point, right guys?
[00:32:02] Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, that was all strategic. We launched quite literally two weeks ago. And we have the belief of staying small, learning as much as we can, staying cheap. so that we can then expand our line. We already have our orange and passion fruit formulas done, but we're just waiting to pull the trigger on that until we start getting more signals from the market and from our consumers that we're finding market fit.
[00:32:29] Ray Latif: A different way to drink juice. I like it a lot. Nicholas, what are your thoughts?
[00:32:34] Speaker 2: I think the name is great. The second you see it, you read juice.
[00:32:40] Speaker: Yeah.
[00:32:40] Speaker 2: And so it's a great name for an alternative juice. One question I have, you answered a little bit, so the new flavors are Orange and Passion Fruit, right? Correct. And Key Lime is the current flavor.
[00:32:56] Speaker 5: Yeah, so we chose Key Lime originally because we're based out of Miami and we're interested by new flavors. And we think Key Lime is like a niche Floridian flavor that like everyone knows about Key Lime, but in Florida, people really know about it. And I think it's proven to be a great way to tap in sort of, you know, to a more curious consumer where it's a product that's familiar, but you don't often see Key Lime beverages. I mean, they're sort of popping up now here and there.
[00:33:25] Speaker 2: I think it's smart. I wonder, are you guys leaning into your Colombian heritage with the brand at all in the storytelling you're doing? In order to answer your question, because I know you mentioned orange before, and there are choice of flavors. We essentially did key lime because it was a lemonade, and lemonades are probably one of the most consumed beverages in the United States, right? Orange is coming next because we're targeting that fruit juice consumption consumer, and that consumer that left the category a while ago, that's where we see the value. Eventually after we're done with the staples, we aim to reintroduce flavors from our childhood and from Columbia that haven't been commercialized here in the United States. And we look at matcha, yuzu, ube as flavors from exotic places that totally took over the mainstream U.S. market.
[00:34:16] Ray Latif: When I think about a better for you orange drink that is primarily made up of juice, I think of a brand that a lot of folks are familiar with, which is Orangina. And if you guys can make a better for you Orangina, I think you can just name your price at this point, because that is a legacy brand that people have been drinking for a long time and people have wanted a better for you version for a long time. And so I think that's a real, real big opportunity. I think the biggest question I have at this point is, When you think about the label hierarchy, you mention fruit juice, you mention hydrating, you mention magnesium. What's really going to get someone to buy this product though?
[00:35:00] Speaker 2: Yeah, I think selling them on the enjoyment of drinking juice is the main thing, right? I think the hydration components are the reason why people will drink this beverage, right? Over water, in order to supplement their hydration and get a mineral like magnesium, which is oftentimes hard to get through a healthy diet. One of the things I would be careful about is not overengineering the ingredient list. It seems like five years ago, it was cool to kind of go food tech and put everything you could into a product. And now you're seeing functional beverages get simpler. You're also saying a rise in sales velocities of coconut water and I think that's because of the trend that people are realizing that it's a functional beverage, and it's a clean functional beverage. So as you try to be a better for you juice. You also have to not over engineer the ingredient list with new ingredients.
[00:36:00] Speaker 5: Yeah, I just want to add on the functionality of our beverage is sort of acts as that like that emotional justification to the consumer that this is something that I should incorporate daily. in my routine because of these benefits. Like Camila briefly mentioned, we have a belief that if you're not drinking water, whatever you drink should somehow contribute in a positive way to your beverage experience or even your health. That's the role it plays, but we are a refreshment forward brand that focuses on bringing the joy, like Camila said, the joy of drinking juice back to people.
[00:36:34] Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think in the hydration part of it is like we're obviously highlighting fruit and fruits have naturally occurring electrolytes, just like coconut water does, right? So what we wanted to do with magnesium is provide a complete electrolyte profile for people who seek to drink juice.
[00:36:55] Ray Latif: Can I ask about the calorie call-out and the sugar call-out? Because they're at the very bottom of the can and they're in between or on each side of the with magnesium call-out. 50 calories and seven grams of sugar seem very, very reasonable for a refreshment drink. Did you have any thoughts about amplifying that on the front of pack or making it a little bit more clear that this is a lower calorie, lower sugar drink?
[00:37:22] Speaker 5: Yeah, I think that's something we've learned with consumers. I think the biggest lesson we've learned is it doesn't matter how much thought you put into your packaging, the consumer is always right. So if they are having trouble understanding something or they're not seeing the information right away, they win that argument every time. Um, and I think, yeah, I think we're, this was our first run where, I mean, we're constantly iterating and improving. Uh, we're going to see how we can get the most out of this packaging. Cause we really like the packaging. Um, it's minimal, it's clean. Uh, it's indicative of a modern brand, uh, and a brand that innovates. Yeah.
[00:37:58] Speaker 2: Yeah. And I, and I think adding on top of that, like if you look at, um, offerings within the juice space. they all look the same, right? And even the beverage aisle in general is exploding with color. And what we wanted to do is really stand out by being, by doing less and building a wall block on shelf. Even if you look at the stores that we're currently in, in Miami, you compare us to all the other beverage options. And even if we're the smaller standard size can against sleeks, we stand out. very, very strongly. I personally like minimalist and a white label or white backdrop is known to express clean ingredients to the consumer without them even having to think about it. A lot of beverage people who have been in the business for a long time would tell you that nobody reads the label when they're walking down and so you want to put piece of fruit or something that looks tasty on there. You're sort of achieving that right now with your key lime, that the green circle looks like a lime. I don't know where you plan to go with the passion fruit and the orange, but I would just keep that in mind that don't go too minimalist because right now you, I see the lime and I kind of understand the flavor, but you don't want to get rid of that.
[00:39:22] Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I think the sun, so that's actually a sun setting on water, but that's the original concept. But the hope is for us one day to have numerous SKUs on a shelf and it is just a wall of suns and it would create sort of a projection out to the customer from the shelf.
[00:39:43] Speaker 2: And obviously the color would change with each SKU's flavor.
[00:39:47] Speaker 5: Yeah.
[00:39:49] Ray Latif: Once again, we're out of time before I even realize it. And I just want to ask real quick about price point. How much is a 12 ounce can of juice?
[00:39:58] Speaker 2: Yeah. So you can find it in retail at $3.49. Okay.
[00:40:02] Ray Latif: And where are you sold at this point? Is it just in Miami?
[00:40:04] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[00:40:05] Ray Latif: So we started two weeks ago and we're already in 15 stores and growing very, very quickly. We also opened our e-commerce and we ship nationwide. Outstanding guys. Uh, I'm really excited about this brand. I think it's, it's, it's different, right? And it's really hard to differentiate and not be a me too in beverage. And I think juice to be completely honest with you, I feel like is the definition of innovation, right? You are not coming out with a simple juice drink. You're not coming out with a water. You're not coming out with, you know, uh, Anything beyond what you are and what you are is very unique at this point. So congratulations on what you've built and really excited to see where this Brandt Gehrs from here. If we can help in any way, just let us know. We are here not only to report on the news and talk about what's happening in the beverage industry, but to support brands within it. We're a part of the community and we really wanna support early stage brands as much as we can. So please reach out anytime.
[00:41:07] Speaker 5: We'll do.
[00:41:07] Ray Latif: Thank you, Ray. This was great. Great stuff. I think we're three for three, Nicholas. How do you feel about this? Great brands and great founders so far. Next up, we have Marcel Dios, who is the founder of Cooley. Marcel, great to see you.
[00:41:22] Speaker 1: Ray, so great to see you again. I don't know if you remember, but we met back in I believe a little get together after Expo 2025.
[00:41:31] Ray Latif: It was pre-Expo. It was at the Snack Shot event. That's right. Before Expo West 2025. That's right. My colleagues and I got the first taste of Coolie and it was amazing. What is this? What is this purple drink? What is this better for you purple drink? And of course, that is the most oversimplification of what you do. Please tell us all about Coolie.
[00:41:56] Speaker 1: Yeah, so coolie essentially is a rich antioxidant quenching experience is what we like to call over here. Made with this amazing new commodity called the purple corn. Purple corn grows primarily in the Peruvian Andes. And it's used to make a conventional Peruvian drink called chicha morada. Chicha loosely translates to brew and morada is purple. And I grew up drinking this my entire life. I never saw it as a functional beverage. It was just something that we had. In fact, a lot of Peruvian households have it in place of Coke or Sprite or the traditional sort of companion along lunch and dinner, because it's also very cheap to make. You buy the corn, you boil it, and then you add a bunch of amazing good stuff to it. And so I wanted to take that concept using my mom's and my grandmother's recipe of this popular drink. And also that I'm such a lover of beverage in general. I just love to go to the aisles and just see what new exciting things are coming out and how it tastes and sort of the fascination of it all. And I didn't see anything like it on the shelves. I just kind of took it upon myself to initially was going to invest in CPG and another brand. And then when I learned about the amazing community that is CPG, like the Rays of the world and Nicholas's of the world and the Leisure Hydration guys who've been very phenomenal part of my journey, kind of guiding me through the entire process. I fell in love with it and I thought, okay, I think I can do this. And so I did it. And now we're here. We launched last year in September. So that's sort of the high-level conversation around our brand. And I'm just excited to putting something new into people's hands and lips.
[00:44:11] Ray Latif: New, absolutely. I mentioned that Juice was a brand or is a brand that seems really innovative and very unique. I would put Kool-Aid in that conversation as well. Very interesting stuff. Just quickly, looks like you've got some new retailers coming on board.
[00:44:28] Speaker 1: Yes. We just launched at Lassen's. We're about to launch at Bristol Farms. you know, the big era one question is sort of looming, but I think we've got approval of our ingredients, which is great. As you know, they care about their foot traffic. So we'll see. And our DTC is strong. I mean, I'm surprised how many people are finding out about our brand even before any kind of public outreach. I mean, I'm getting people buying from the East Coast all the way down to Oregon. It's pretty amazing to see it grow.
[00:45:02] Ray Latif: Nicholas, a super antioxidant purple corn beverage. A lot to digest there, but if you were to lead with something, if you were to lead with one phrase or one ingredient, just based on what you heard from Marcel, what might that be?
[00:45:22] Speaker 2: Well, super purples may be the next super greens is what I would say. And that's a trend that I think has been coming on slowly over the last few years. You've seen a couple of purple corn products like purple's full popcorn. But I have thought for a long time that this is a great opportunity, a great marketing opportunity. Blueberries, cherries, pomegranate, acai, a lot of their phytonutrients, their famous antioxidant fighting power comes from anthocyanins, the same purple color causing antioxidant and pigment that makes purple corn so special. And it's a new beverage, but it's an old beverage. And so it's because it's been around culturally for a long time. And so you have that trend, you have the purple trend, and it's a Hispanic beverage and Hispanic flavors, which I think is a gigantic opportunity throughout the U.S. over the next two decades. So there's a lot I like about your product. I really want to try it.
[00:46:29] Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. We feel the exact same way. After I learned about the power of the purple corn, I thought, oh man, maybe I should be investing into a purple corn farm in Peru, which is definitely a conversation that we've been having. But ultimately, our purple corn is sourced from the most organic place on earth. It just doesn't have that certification. But it's a family-owned small farm in Arequipa, which is a providence that's a little bit more inward mountain range. And yeah, I feel the exact same way. I'm very excited about what the Purple Corner is going to do over the next decades, for sure. And there's just so much There's an uptick in Peruvian-ness, I call it. You know, I used to live in New York and there would probably be, we'll say like two, three solid Peruvian restaurant options. But now you go to New York and there's like 20, 25 of them. And a lot of them fuse with other cultures because of the proximity to Japan and China. So there's a lot of exciting sort of fusions happening. And I can't wait to see what kind of doors, you know, humbly we're trying to open here as our little startup and see what other inspirations come out of it. But I'm very excited about the future of purple corn in general.
[00:48:02] Speaker 2: To my point that it's something old and something new, I think there's a lot of value there. So it's a new idea to a lot of U.S. consumers, a purple corn beverage. But the fact that it's something that's existed for centuries is something that might bring people comfort. I would consider maybe highlighting that on your can, Peruvian style super drink. So when they see it's a corn beverage, they know that, okay, it's not just a corn beverage. This is a cultural beverage. This is a type of beverage that already exists. And that might make trial a little bit easier for new consumers.
[00:48:41] Speaker 1: Thank you. Yeah, I'll take that. We're here to learn, you know. And to your point of that, you know, the sort of the superstar of the show is the purple corn for us. But we tried to formulate something that was a little bit more functional forward. Purple corn is going to be a sort of a hard sell in the beginning because nobody knows what this is. So we kind of wanted to add vitamin D and vitamin C and potassium in it and magnesium so that It actually does feel in in in marriage with the anthocyanins that you're speaking about how amazing as a anti-inflammatory agent you're also going to get the vitamin D and the C and magnesium potassium in our beverage and and Our formulator is just a rock star. We're very, very, very happy that we've found each other. So it takes a farm.
[00:49:38] Ray Latif: Marcel, I would drink this because it's interesting. The average consumer obviously needs a reason to drink this, and maybe some of them are going to buy it because it is interesting. But there's a lot of elements to Cooley that I think are attractive. If you think about the packaging or label design, it's fun, it's playful. You've got a llama with a mustache. Is that right on the front of the can? Am I getting that right? The color scheme is very attractive. You've got quenching experience at the top of the can. You've got super antioxidants. It's relatively low in calories and sugar. So there's a lot of different reasons why someone might be interested in picking up a can of Coolie. But what is the primary reason? If you're making a pitch, if you've got 10 seconds to talk to a new consumer, what do you think is really gonna grab their attention?
[00:50:32] Speaker 1: We believe in the power of the purple corn. Purple corn sort of per serving against something like a blueberry, it contains 11 times more antioxidants. And that's an exciting place to be and to be able to put that Use our can and our brand to use that as a vehicle to educate people about purple corn. Um, and, uh, yeah, that that would be our that is our main focus. It is exciting. We wanted to put fun and exciting and. you know, the brand, we put a lot of, there was a lot of R&D placed into this branding process, as I'm sure you can imagine. I even think you guys had a little bit to weigh in on, because I had shown you guys, I think, earlier on, like, design of the can, and I think I had, like, the Apple very version of our drink was named, like, Apple, something like Summer Apple, you know, excitement, something like a movie title, and you guys were like, No, you should probably name it after something that people know. Appleberry, they already know where to go. I think all of these nuances really helped put the can. We've got so much to learn and grow from. I'm going to take everything that Nicholas mentioned and what you're saying. I take criticism well, so.
[00:52:02] Ray Latif: I think leading with functionality is a good idea, especially because people aren't necessarily familiar with the benefits of corn or purple corn more specifically. And so getting that education down is really important. As a secondary benefit, quenching and fawn is certainly those. I think you're spot on with that. Marcel, thank you so much. I think Cooley is a really, really interesting brand and one that I want to see on store shelves across the U.S. and it sounds like you're already off to a great start in L.A. Thank you. Yeah, with new distribution, new retail, please let us know so we can highlight what you're doing and talk about Cooley on WebNet.
[00:52:37] Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll see you. I'll be in New York, so I'll see you there and hopefully I'll see you there as well, Nicholas. Would love to get you guys more samples. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
[00:52:46] Ray Latif: Thank you so much, Marcel. And what Marcel is referring to is BevNET Live, New York City, 2026. That's happening on June 10th and 11th. You got to be there because it is quite the event. Hundreds and hundreds of people from the beverage industry going to be attending, and they're the people that you want to meet. So once again, BevNET Live, June 10th and 11th. Marcel's going to be there. I'm going to be there. So hopefully we'll see a lot of you guys there.
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[00:54:01] Ray Latif: On to our final guests for this episode of Elevator Talk. We have Dante Zambrano and Kavit Orton, the co-founders of Amarcura. Dante, Kavit, great to see you.
[00:54:13] Speaker 7: Great to see you guys. Nicholas, Ray, thank you for the opportunity.
[00:54:17] Speaker 8: Thank you guys so much. Kavit, how are you? Doing great, Ray. Great to see you again. We had a terrific time at the Taste Radio event last month in Times Square. Excellent, excellent event.
[00:54:26] Ray Latif: Thank you so much. It feels like we've been talking about the meetups throughout this episode. It's because they are awesome and they are really great networking podcast events. But I think we talked about all three this year. We talked about Miami, New York City, and Austin. So I think we covered all our bases. We've got Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, and London coming later this year. So stay tuned for all that. I was really impressed with what you guys were doing because you carved out a little corner at the event space. And when I got an opportunity to try all of your products, I was like, this is the way to do it. And I was really, really happy with what I tried and impressed with a brand that seems really polished to this point. So tell us all about what you do.
[00:55:08] Speaker 7: Absolutely. So imagine that you have the chance to impact other people's life in a positive way, inspired by your heritage, with a notion that you only live once. That's Amor Kura. I mean, Kyle and I, we're friends for a long time. I'm from Peru, and he's from a town in Vermont called Peru. Our wives are best friends from high school. As you see, we always talk about Peru. We travel several times. And we always talk about these drinks that we have in Peru. We're selling every corner, every market. Peru is full of super roots, super fruits, super herbs. So I was like, hey, we have to come out with this concept. I know New York City is full of amazing drinks and colors and flavors, but I think there's something here. As Nicolas was saying, this is something old that we need to bring here. So we brought it. At first, we started as a functional drink. We got crazy with all the superfruits, Jack Kong, Cat's Claw, but the supply chain was a little bit complex. We decided to stay with the energy category, since it's something that you can feel right away, and it's the category that keeps growing. Super, super, super challenge, we know, but it's the one that keeps growing. So we decided to focus on the brand. We wanted to make something that resembles Peru in terms of amazing value with ingredients, amazing taste. I don't know if you've tried Peruvian food. Everything in terms of Peruvian food tastes amazing. So you can't have an energy that is the inspiration of Peru that tastes horrible. So Amor Kura tastes amazing with 36% of fruit juice. That's why, how come we make it like that. And super fruits like Maca, Yerba Mate, and Guayusa. We wanted to make it, we didn't hire an agency. We went to Peru to our good friend, Elliot Tupac. He's like, hey, he does murals all over the world. And he's like, hey, there's any way you can help us create this branding? You know, we're thinking, oh, what we were thinking. It took a year, but he came out with this beautiful can. I think it resembles everything we showed, the hummingbird. You have like 320 types of hummingbirds in Peru. It's kind of what we do. We go around the geography of Peru and we collect the best nectar, the best ingredients. Maca from the highlands of Peru, guayusa from the rainforest, and yerba mate from all South America. So we wanted to come up with an energy drink that It's, first of all, tastes great. It is safe to drink every day. 120 milligrams of caffeine. We just don't want you to use it as a pre-workout or after the gym. We want it to be part of your life, like something to ignite your inner energy, something for a father or a mother after a long day of work. They need energy to pick up their kids. So we want to make something safe to drink every day, like any drink that we have in Peru. I remember our friend Elio Tupac, when he was doing the branding, he's like, you guys are like Red Bull meets Patagonia. So that's Amorcura.
[00:58:14] Ray Latif: I love that. Red Bull meets Patagonia. Nicholas, that should be the, well, I guess you can't say Red Bull, right? But like, essentially that could be the tagline.
[00:58:25] Speaker 2: Yes. I think it's really smart, and I love the brand name, Amarkura, the English translation, love heals, and healthy ingredients heal the body too, so it kind of speaks to that. Maca is a very approachable adaptogen. It's been around in the US space for a long time. It's not as strange as something, let's say like a chaga mushroom, or even, it's even probably more well-known than ashwagandha. And also I like that you're sweetening with real fruit juice, which I think is kind of what I was saying earlier about functional beverages. That's where the trend lines are going. Cleaner sweeteners, things like fruit juice. And so this does feel like something you could really drink every day or even knock back a couple and feel good about it. But then I can eat.
[00:59:18] Speaker 8: Our goal really, as you point out so well, is that we wanted to create something that we ourselves would use every single day. We were already energy drink users, but it's hard to find really high-quality, clean, great-tasting energy drinks that are effective, that lift you, that elevate your mood. lasts a long time, and it tapers off. It doesn't crash, right? We're all wary of highly caffeinated products that just drop off and leave you feeling worse than before you had it. So it's something that we felt works very well, not just as a morning beverage, but early afternoon, late the day at work. To that point, we actually have quite a few office buildings amongst our accounts where you have giant populations of workers that are, you know, they're stressed out, they're low on energy all day long, they're pounding coffee or other big name energy drinks. And so that was a natural opportunity for us to start servicing those populations.
[01:00:17] Ray Latif: And Cabot, it seems like or it sounds like you've got another big opportunity, retail opportunity coming your way. According to my notes here, you're launching nationwide and one of the largest natural retailers in the country. Tell us all about it.
[01:00:32] Speaker 8: That's right. We were really excited to win the Sprouts Pitch Slam at the beginning of the year. We'll be rolling out through the Forager program nationwide later in the season, getting ready to ramp up for that. We've also begun discussions with some other mainstream retailers. I can't disclose yet, but we're poised to have large-scale distribution to support that. Earlier, you mentioned that we took a lot of steps really to get a good sense of whether or not this had potential. And we felt the only way to do it was to put it out there in the market and let the customers decide for themselves with their wallets what they thought of it, what they liked. Did any one flavor do better than the others? Was the price point in the right space? And as it turned out, the more that we sold, the better the feedback. and we let the wallets do the talking. So we started with the three flavors that we have, the prickly pear, the mango maca and the passion fruit. We have four more ready to go and we'll keep rolling out additional flavors, styles, but it feels very, for us, very fulfilled at this point, ready to scale.
[01:01:46] Ray Latif: I would agree. I mean, I mentioned that your branding is really polished and it feels like you're a brand that's been in business longer than 18 months. My only question and my only, I guess, feedback on the front of pack is about the energy drink call-out, which if someone saw this on shelf, would they recognize it as a better for you energy drink? Nicholas, based on your experience, does energy drink need to be called out a little bit more? Should they be focusing a bit more on this notion of clean, healthy, better-for-you energy?
[01:02:24] Speaker 2: It's never a bad idea to highlight clean. I see on your case on the website, it says plant-powered clean energy, at least on the image of the 12-pack case, but on the actual can, I don't see it on the front. I don't think it would hurt to put clean energy on there, but if someone really digs in and they're going to see it at Sprouts, they're going to understand that energy drinks aren't inherently unhealthy. A lot of people, you know, I think of coffee and black tea when I think of an energy drink also, not just Red Bull. So I think that you could really go either way with that one.
[01:03:05] Speaker 7: Thank you for the feedback.
[01:03:08] Speaker 8: To your point, it's hard because you want to make sure people understand what the product is in a second's glance. You don't have much time, but also to really give them the value proposition that you're hoping they understand. That's great feedback.
[01:03:21] Speaker 7: We always go over that, any adjustments that we can do to the CAD. win that battle on the shelf. It's very overwhelming, the amount of drinks that you can find on a shelf. And part of our strategy is just the demos. One of our strongest points is the taste. So once we start in a supermarket, we do demos, we push it, we try to taste it, and then, you know, that help us with the whole standing out among all those brands.
[01:03:53] Speaker 2: If you can taste good and have good ingredients, that pretty much always wins. It's hard to do, but it's a winning ticket.
[01:04:01] Speaker 8: Super hard to do it. It took us a long time to formulate, to iterate, to get the right mix of energy function, along with excellent taste, and of course, cost efficiency. You can't have unlimited expenses and thrive, right? You have to make a margin, as we all know. But we use 36% fruit juice is ridiculously high by industry standards. Nobody does that. And it's why we don't have to add sugar. It's why it tastes so puckery and fruity and tangy. great mouthfeel. And we noticed that people would pick it up, have a sip, not intend to have another sip. And the next thing you know, they finished the whole can and then they feel the energy effect. And we think of that as the ultimate expression of formulation. It's getting them to drink the whole thing and then be ready for the next one.
[01:04:47] Ray Latif: I can vouch for the beverages. They all taste amazing. The Mango Maca was just out of this world when I tried it in New York. So fantastic stuff. Guys, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today on Elevator Talk. Hope to see you at BevNET Live New York City, 2026, happening about three weeks from now. Well, actually, two weeks from now. So I'm really thrilled for what you're doing and really just want to continue to follow your development and what you're doing with Amarpura.
[01:05:17] Speaker 8: Thank you so much, Ray. It's great to see you both.
[01:05:20] Speaker 7: Yes. Thank you for the opportunity, guys.
[01:05:22] Ray Latif: Nicholas, as advertised, fantastic brands, fantastic founders, the new face of beverage, and a lot of really interesting concepts that I think all have legs in different ways. Of course, nothing is guaranteed. It doesn't mean that because we saw some really interesting concepts and love their stories that they're all going to be successful, but if there's one thing that you saw from the five brands today that you really think gives them a leg up or gives them an opportunity at least, to scale further? What is it?
[01:05:57] Speaker 2: I would say it's, I'd probably go back to Wave and having the really clear understanding of who, what customer they're targeting. That's half the battle right there. You're already not competing with 90% of the products on the shelf. Even though that consumer base is larger than the 10% that you're missing there. So I would say focusing in on a consumer base, knowing who your consumer is and trying to make them loyal. Don't try to be everything to everyone.
[01:06:30] Ray Latif: That's a great point and great insight. And I'm so happy that we had this opportunity to have you join us as a co-host for today's episode of Elevator Talk. We're going to have you back soon. Can we get you back? Absolutely. Anytime. Fantastic. For folks who want to get in touch with you, Nicholas, what's the best way to do so?
[01:06:48] Speaker 2: LinkedIn or nick at innovationcpg.com.
[01:06:52] Ray Latif: Outstanding. Well, Nick, thank you so much again for joining us. And thanks to all of our entrepreneurs who joined us today. Thanks to the amazing folks at BevNET, Nosh, and Taste Radio. And of course, really appreciate and thank our listeners and viewers for tuning in. Signing off for everyone, I'm Ray Latif, and we'll talk to you next time.
