[00:00:00] Speaker: you
[00:00:05] Ray Latif: Hey folks, I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of BevNET's Taste Radio podcast, and you're tuning to 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 Czar Danny Olko, who is the founder of High Touch Libations. Czar, it's so great to see you again. Good to see you, Ray. Thanks for having me. Thanks so much for joining us today. And for folks watching the video, you'll probably notice I'm not in our studio. That's because there's a blizzard in the Northeast, and I kind of wish I were where Czar is right now. And where are you, Czar?
[00:00:50] Czar Daniolco: I'm in Southern California, man, and it's a beautiful day. I hate to rub it in, but it's a nice day today.
[00:00:55] Ray Latif: Rub it in you did, my friend. Oh boy. Zahra, you and I have known each other for some time and I am a huge fan of what you do at High Touch Libations. For folks who are not familiar with your distribution company, tell us all about it.
[00:01:11] Czar Daniolco: We're a premier high-touch, literally high-touch distributor here in LA. And for folks who don't know distribution too well, we're a DSD, which is direct store delivery, hence the name high-touch. We like to say we touch the product probably 10, 15, 20 times before a customer actually buys it and consumes it. We cover all of Southern California, Nevada, and the state of Arizona.
[00:01:35] Ray Latif: You've grown, you've evolved over the years, just as the beverage industry has evolved over the years. Can you just talk about the past decade and how you've seen this industry grow and distribution along with it?
[00:01:48] Czar Daniolco: Man, that's a loaded question, Ray, or statement. Yeah, it's been a big blur to be totally honest. I think I've been in beverage in totality probably 18 years, maybe 20. And as you said, it has evolved quite a bit. I think the short of it to me is, you know, when we started this business, we were really focused on better for you. beverages. It wasn't super cool when I started this. The end user was very granola, very hippy, very yoga. It wasn't like celebrities and Hollywood A-listers and athletes weren't really in the space in terms of investment or with their own brands. I think that's been the biggest Evolution is kind of the players and the folks behind the brands. I think in terms of In terms of function and in terms of trends, I think it's a little bit cyclical. If you just pay attention to the last 10 years and if you go back even 10 years before that, you will see like in fashion, like in music, things come back around. We're starting to see a lot of that. I'm starting to see some convergence of different categories coming into one, which I'm sure we'll get into. But yeah, I think the biggest change I've seen is the people behind the brands, the people that are investing, the people creating their own brands, also the way brands are being marketed with social media and the likes. I think those have been the primary shifts that I've seen as a distributor.
[00:03:36] Ray Latif: Yeah, the halo of health and wellness has finally affected all of food and beverage and I think to its benefit. On the one hand, you are seeing better products come to market and better for you products come to market. On the other hand, there's a lot of the same and it's hard to differentiate. So we're on the cusp of Expo West when every brand is trying to stand out and differentiate. What are you looking for when you walk in that show floor? What really stands out to you?
[00:04:02] Czar Daniolco: I think for me, you know, we're looking for Definitely brands that are on trend with whatever segment or categories or functions that are buzzing. But really, we like to really focus on the jockey, not the horse. We really lean into the founders, the founder story. I've been doing it long enough where I've kind of learned one thing that's true in beverage is that every beverage brand, from start to finish, before it's ever acquired, goes through quite a few changes and a lot of evolution, right? Whether it's branding, function, messaging, or even people. The people piece is usually the piece that's most static from my lens, from all the founders, wonderful founders I've been able to work with over the years and the ones who I've seen make it to the end and actually get exit. They all possess kind of this unique founder drive that, you know, I'm always looking for that. that passion and that kind of don't quit founder, because beverage is so hard, right? You know this. And it's really easy for people to get discouraged and quit. It's also very expensive, right? It's hard to keep the run going when the competition is fierce and the money goes quick in this game. So really we bet on the founders and yeah, looking for brands that are on trend and have the right people kind of steering the ship because it's going to take kind of a lot of adaptation and pivoting to get to scale. We work with a lot of brands early, right? So I think I get the opportunity to see both, right? I get to see people in that excited startup mode. I also have really big brands that are national and well-scaled and you can kind of see the difference. in the operations, in the size of the teams and even in their budgets, right? But yeah, so just looking for that magic spark that the founder has along with a good product. And I would end with this, you know, product still has to taste good, right? Like I think at the end of the day, people are very focused on function and efficacy and buzzwords and what's on trend. And I think, you know, some brands are just better at marketing that messaging than others. But at the end of the day, man, I mean, to the name of Taste Radio, the product's gotta taste good. If it doesn't taste good, it's hard to do goodwill, it's hard to make a change, and it's hard to get noticed and get repeats if the product does not taste good. Really, at the end of the day, we're looking for cool stuff with great founders. But if the product doesn't taste good, we're going to keep walking. You know, for us, like, because I'm a buyer too, right? I got to buy products. So for me, you know, taste really has to be there. I also know that, you know, my taste buds aren't the only judging criteria and what is determined as something that actually tastes good. So we like to use as many mouths as possible when we're kind of reviewing opportunities.
[00:07:20] Ray Latif: Well, you mentioned founders, Czar, and we've got many amazing founders in this episode of Elevator Talk, and I'm really excited for you to offer some feedback and advice to all of them. Are you ready to meet our first? Let's do it. All right. That person is Vish Ramesh. He is the founder and CEO of Shift Energy. Vish, it's great to see you.
[00:07:42] Speaker 1: Yeah, it's great to see you both. Thank you so much for your time. I'm Vish, founder and CEO of Shift Energy, a plant-based, consumer-first energy drink built around synchronized mental clarity and physical performance. So historically, the energy drink industry has prioritized intensity over sustainability. And what started off as weekly or episodic consumption has now turned into a daily ritual. And the philosophy of formulation hasn't really caught up with the industry yet or evolved along with it. And energy without control isn't performance, it's chaos. So SHIFT is built around sustained control and clear cognition without the over-stimulation. And that control kind of comes from how we approach our ingredients. Each ingredient has a specific purpose with no mystery fillers or compounds. We pair natural caffeine with plant-based ingredients designed to promote focus, memory, and endurance over consistent daily use. And that idea kind of comes and carries into how we communicate our product. At Shift, we believe transparency should be a default, not a premium option, which is exactly why we clearly explain each ingredient's purpose, where it's derived from, and why it's included in the beverage. And by doing so, we aim to reset the industry standard.
[00:09:12] Ray Latif: Outstanding. You know, Vish, you're obviously not the first person to come on this show and market an energy drink brand, but I love your premise and I love the way you talk about energy as just, you know, energy that's just caffeine as being chaos, because that's true. I feel like you definitely want something more out of energy drinks, at least modern ones, than just, you know, what's been offered the past 20, 30 years. Zar, from your perspective, you know, is that the sweet spot for energy at this point is, you know, energy plus versus just, you know, energy.
[00:09:47] Czar Daniolco: Yeah, I think it is, Ray. Even with what I'm trying to consume on a daily basis, I think, you know, I mentioned it earlier, we're seeing a lot of categories kind of come together, right? And so you're seeing hydration with energy, you're seeing protein with, you know, with everything. But yeah, I mean, I think energy with nootropics, energy with, you know, you know, the irony of like an energy drink that has a calming effect is actually, I think it's the function that everybody wants that they don't know they want. It's that balance, right? Because you don't want to be burning rubber, as Vish kind of pointed out. You don't want to just have 500 milligrams of caffeine and just running into walls really fast and hard. I think people want to be able to be focused and they want to be able to operate at their highest level. I think a little caffeine helps, but not too much. And so, Vish, I'd be interested in what's in the blend, right? And how effective is the current blend? And I think the challenge that I've seen from brands trying to hit that blend of energy and focus is how you sweeten it and the blend of the different you know, ingredients.
[00:11:21] Speaker 1: So we basically split our ingredient load in half. You know, half of our ingredients work for energy, endurance, blood flow. And the other half are ingredients like Bacoba Monieri and Rhodiola Rosea, which help improve endurance under stress, working memory and focus. So the thing I was trying to attack was, you know, Energy drinks now, they're being used for studying along with going to the gym, just late night working, just any type of daily activity. So the idea is you don't need to compromise. You don't have to just drink it for energy or just drink it to focus. You can be able to do both or multiple things at once and carry through with your day.
[00:12:07] Ray Latif: Vish, I'm curious, you know, to Zara's point earlier, you know, there's two sides to this beverage story. Sometimes it's really about the marketing. And you know, a lot of energy drinks are a lot about the marketing. And then a lot of times it's about what's inside the can, including the ingredients and, you know, what it tastes like. There's that kind of thin line in terms of how you promote what you're doing. I know you're really early stage and haven't yet come to market, is that right?
[00:12:36] Speaker 1: Yes, that's correct.
[00:12:37] Ray Latif: Okay, so still pre-launch, but what is going to be your promotional plan when you decide the time is right to launch the brand? Do you lean in a little bit more when it comes to ingredients and function, or do you go more heavily on marketing? I mean, it sounds like it's the former, but you tell me.
[00:12:55] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's absolutely leaning into the ingredients and the functions and kind of just being as transparent as possible, improving consumer literacy as well. You know, a lot of consumers, when they pick up an energy drink can, they can't, they don't understand half of the ingredients on the back. So it's kind of being able to show ourselves as, hey, like, you can understand what you're drinking and you can, you understand what's going into your body.
[00:13:22] Ray Latif: Zar, how do you walk that line? Obviously, you want customers to come in and say, wow, this is a really great looking, and I'm talking about retail customers, this is a great looking can, I think it's gonna bring a lot of incremental value to our shelves, but how is that brand getting the word out? I mean, is it harder? you know, to get consumers educated about ingredients and function? Or is it, you know, easier to get them more excited about, you know, a brand's marketing and its packaging?
[00:13:54] Czar Daniolco: I think you got to be slick with it, Ray. I mean, that's the real hard answer. I think you got to, you have to sort of get engagement. However, the marketing pros do it. I'm not a marketing person, but I think you have to get engagement that leads to trial, right? And you got to get liquid to lips. You got to get people tasting product. I think then you sell them on the functionality and on the ingredient stack, right? Because I think the other way around, It's hard, right? It's like standing on the corner with a sign trying to convince people to do something. It's very, very hard. I think the easier, more organic way is to, for lack of a better explanation, I think kind of to have fun and be excited about sharing your, you know, your project and, you know, Vish, you seem pretty young. So I'm kind of interested in like how you even decided this is what you want to do. I know that's kind of going off a little topic, but that that I think kind of the I'd love to understand what what what kind of got you here, because I think it is hard. Right. And Ray Ray Ray is asking a very important question, right? Like how do you, cause really what he's saying, Vish, if you're not picking up is like, how are you going to spend what little money you have? Right? Like, are you, is it demos or is it promos or is it, is it, is it, is it, you know, social media? Is it, is it influencers? Like there's, there's a few, there's a lot of different ways you could go with this. I think that's what Ray's alluding to Vish, so.
[00:15:29] Ray Latif: Well, I assume that Vish had $50 million to start, because that's kind of what you need in this game, right?
[00:15:36] Czar Daniolco: You need a lot. But yeah, Ray, you're right on, man. I mean, it's a question that Vish is going to have to really decide how he markets and gets trial on Shift, because That's the next step. It's the development, R&D, and then you got to now get to work. You got to get people's feedback. You can't get that without without some outreach, without some sort of marketing.
[00:16:11] Ray Latif: Thank you so much. And Vish, in my notes here, I have that you're working on a campus sampling campaign, partnerships with athletic and creator communities, which I think those are two great ideas and great paths for an early stage brand, but could you expand on exactly what you mean by that and your approach to getting people aware of and excited about your brand?
[00:16:32] Speaker 1: Yeah, so I think the biggest thing is kind of going around on around college campuses with the Gen Z consumers and kind of promoting it in that aspect of sampling understanding you know how well does it work not only just for energy, but going to libraries and. testing out and seeing how well it works for focus concentration. And as you know, we you guys talked about before, taste is a very, very big thing. So kind of understanding how the flavor profile is viewed by consumers.
[00:17:04] Ray Latif: Campus libraries, that is a new one, and I kind of love it, actually, because, you know what, I mean, when you're in the libraries.
[00:17:11] Czar Daniolco: I was thinking the same thing.
[00:17:12] Ray Latif: Yeah, I mean, like, when you're studying, especially for those midterms and finals, and you need that boost, and you don't want to just stay up all night, you need that focus. I mean, I love that idea. Can you drink beverages? First of all, what colleges are you talking about?
[00:17:27] Speaker 1: I go to NSU, it's in Florida. But yeah, you're allowed to drink like, you know, energy drinks, beverages during in the library.
[00:17:36] Ray Latif: Okay, well, I really want to hear about this. This would be a crazy, amazing focus group to like, or at least a case study for beverages, which is, you know, sampling in libraries and getting people excited about and interested in your brand while they're studying. That's really interesting. Actually, I love it. Vish, we're out of time, but I've enjoyed every second speaking with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us on today's episode of Elevator Talk. Please stay in touch. Please let us know if we can help with anything. You know, I've said this on every episode of Elevator Talk. A lot of people look at DevNet CPG Media as a media company first and foremost, which, you know, we are a media company. There's no people there, there's no humans there. We do have a lot of people, to Zahra's point, and we always love to write about stories of successful brands and we love to be a small part of that in any way that we can help. So if it's introducing you to a distributor like Zahra or somebody else, maybe locally in Florida, a co-packer, what have you, just let us know how we can help and we'll do what we can. But please, like I said, stay in touch and let us know how things are going on your journey. Yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity. Thank you.
[00:18:50] Speaker 2: Better-for-you ingredients can help a product stand out, but turning those ingredients into a business that grows is the harder part. Join Nombase for a free webinar on July 28th with Tom First, founder of CulturePop, and Heather Wood, SVP of Marketing at Goodall's. They'll talk about what it really takes to build clean label brands that drive trial, repeat purchase, and sustainable growth, from formulation and sourcing to branding, retail, and operations. Sign up for free at Nombase.com slash podcast.
[00:19:20] Ray Latif: All right, onto our next guest for this episode of Elevator Talk. We have DeeDee Short and Shane Bidler, who are the founder and chief operating officer, respectively, of DrinkH2O. DeeDee, Shane, it's great to see you.
[00:19:36] Speaker 2: Thanks for having us.
[00:19:38] Ray Latif: Thanks so much for joining us on Elevator Talk today. Shane, how you doing? I'm doing great. Thank you. Thank you. Drink H2O. I don't think there's going to be a lot of education required with this brand. I could be wrong. But Dede, tell us all about it.
[00:19:52] Speaker 2: Well, I'm Deedee Short, proud founder of Drink Age 2.0. Here's the reality. In America, we use about 50 billion plastic bottles every year. And at the same time, 2.2 billion people globally still do not have access to clean drinking water. We have more water than we know what to do with, and parts of the world are still walking miles for it. That disconnect, it should bother us. So we built Drink H2O to prove something. The beverage industry doesn't just move products, it moves outcomes. We package crisp water and infinitely recyclable aluminum because hydration should not create permanent waste. And every 26 pallets that we sell funds a clean water well through our partner, Charity Water. Volume builds wells. Think about that for a second. If one small disciplined company can turn pallet movement into infrastructure, what could happen if the entire industry decided to align profit with measurable hope? We don't need new inventions, we need intention. And we don't need louder marketing, we need disciplined execution. We exist to turn everyday hydration into measurable hope. And I believe if we choose to, we could make clean water inevitable. Join the movement and check us out at www.anyonethirsty.com. We are offering water, offering hope. Cheers.
[00:21:22] Ray Latif: Cheers indeed, I love your social focus and I think water in cans is definitely something that we're seeing more of on the market and being able to differentiate from one versus the other is difficult, but having a social mission could be a good way to get people interested in your brand versus others. Just in terms of your size and development, where are you? When did you launch? Where are you sold?
[00:21:49] Speaker 3: Yeah, we launched in 2024 in June, and we are winning our backyard. We're sold all over the north Idaho area into kind of eastern Washington, and then also we just. got a little bit distribution down in LA and San Diego. We currently also have a government contract that we're working on out of Texas. So we're kind of trying to just put cans in hands and get people hydrated.
[00:22:24] Ray Latif: And price point per can?
[00:22:28] Speaker 3: It's around $1.69 to $2.69.
[00:22:32] Ray Latif: And these are for 16 ounce cans, is that right?
[00:22:35] Speaker 3: Yes.
[00:22:36] Ray Latif: You know, Zar, I was traveling last week and I found myself going into convenience stores and at the airport retail stores and I was thinking, why am I buying this plastic bottle? And then when I saw the option to buy one that was in aluminum, an aluminum bottle or an aluminum can, I was reaching for that one instead. I feel like there's a trend shift happening right now. Do you see that as well?
[00:22:59] Czar Daniolco: I mean, we got retailers, some here in LA, really took their water aisle and got rid of anything that was plastic. And obviously, I love glass personally, you should see my recycle water bin, man, it's a bad habit. But I have made the choice myself, and when I can, refuse to drink out of plastic, if I can help it. But yeah, we're seeing that shift. in most retailers where they can. Plastic bottles though, it's a big undertaking. I mean, I'm a distributor. It's even hard for me to look at my business. So we have a lot of awesome products in plastic still, unfortunately. But where we can make the change and where we could vote with our dollars, I think people definitely will trade up to better packaging.
[00:23:56] Ray Latif: Well, what would give you confidence? What would get you excited about a brand like Drink H2O such that you would swap perhaps a bottled water that brand that you have that's in plastic and say, hey, you know what, we're going to give Drink H2O a shot?
[00:24:10] Czar Daniolco: I mean, I think, you know, for me, water is one of those interesting ones where like, you know, people don't, I think people don't think that water has a specific taste and it actually does, right? Like the different kinds of water taste different. And so for me, I like natural water personally. I like natural spring water. I like mineral water, but that's my preference. I'm not saying that, you know, I wouldn't purchase other types of water, but I like, I start my quest there when I'm looking for hydration in water. I like to know that it's naturally sourced. I like to, I think there's great wells across this world with very life-giving water. I love Deanne's like hope in a bottle story. And I wish nothing but success to you guys because it's crazy. What was it, 2.2 billion people without water? Is that, or have a hard time getting access to water? That's wild. That's a wild thing.
[00:25:17] Speaker 2: It's wrong. It's really wrong. It's 2026 now, and you're like, wait, how is that possible?
[00:25:24] Czar Daniolco: I mean, when you spoke about your project here, I think what I was hearing was we don't need new equipment. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. I think there's a lot to that. But yeah, I think At the end of the day, water is everywhere and it shouldn't be that people don't have, you know, can't get access to it. And then when you talk about plastic, that, you know, that's a whole, it's like, it's almost like there's two missions there.
[00:26:01] Speaker 2: It is, but it's like the perfect circle, you know, I think it's, you know, we want it, we consume water, so let's give water back. And then, you know, we have a responsibility for this planet, you know, to take care of it. the next generations get to enjoy it the way we do, you know? So, I don't know. And I believe like, man, if one company can make an impact, you know, I believe others would follow suit and we'd have a little bit of a better world.
[00:26:28] Czar Daniolco: The good life, that's what we're looking for, right? Where's the good life?
[00:26:33] Ray Latif: Shane, when you're out there selling the brands to retailers, what's getting them excited? You know, how are you, what part of your message, what part of your pitch is really resonating with them?
[00:26:44] Speaker 3: A big part of it is the message of hope that we bring, offering water, offering hope. But also the fact that Zahra kind of touched on this, that it's water from a well 600 feet deep, reverse osmosis, charcoal filter, and then put in a can. It's simple, it's clean, we don't have to educate people on what good water should be. But yeah, we'd have to, because often the water that's in the ocean.
[00:27:12] Czar Daniolco: Unfortunately, I think you have to, right? Like the, you know, the greedy corporations that are very scaled up and that are putting the plastic in our oceans and in our world, they're for profit and only for profit. And so, and they're, you know, they got the machine, the media machine. So I think there is, if people knew that it wasn't municipal water, put it in a plastic bottle, I think it helps make the choice to get well water naturally filtered, and then on top of it, sounds like you have some other filtration process to just make it taste good and keep contaminants out. I think that education is still needed, Shane, unfortunately. I want to agree with you, but I think People really need education on water. That's what I was saying. There's so many different sources of water, and water's being re-engineered as we speak. People are oxygenating, and people are doing different things to it, infusing it. And so there is a business there, and there are big businesses in water. Outside of our country, some of the water companies in other parts of the world are like the biggest businesses in other countries, which is kind of wild when you think about it. I think in China, water is one of the biggest businesses, even more so than soda, alcohol, or other categories of beverage.
[00:28:50] Ray Latif: Interesting. Yeah, I never knew that. And I would assume it's sold in multi-packs, and that was gonna be my question, you know, for Didi and Shane. By the way, is it Didi's or Deanne?
[00:29:02] Speaker 2: My Didi, call me Didi.
[00:29:06] Ray Latif: Okay, I assume people call you both, because in my notes, I have Didi on your Zoom screen here, you have Deanne, but anywho.
[00:29:14] Speaker: Yeah.
[00:29:14] Ray Latif: I think a lot of water is sold in six packs, 12 packs, 24 packs. And I certainly, when I'm buying for a group or have a party or even when I'm buying for myself, I'm usually buying more than one. How much of your business is focused on multi-packs versus single serve?
[00:29:34] Speaker 3: Multi-pack for sure. We are getting ready to drop 12 packs and single cans at events, obviously. We do a lot of events, so.
[00:29:47] Ray Latif: Yeah, and I think that's a smart move, and this might sound, I don't know, well, Zara can answer this, but selling on Amazon where a lot of water is sold, a lot of beverages are sold in multi-packs, I wonder how much that impacts awareness and trial and just getting the word out to retailers and distributors about potential success. I mean, Czar, we're out of time here, but how much does online success matter to you as a distributor or to brick and mortar stores?
[00:30:18] Czar Daniolco: I, you know, for me as a distributor, it doesn't mean a whole lot, but I think for the brand, it does mean a lot. And I think, you know, Ray with, with a project like this, I think, you know, I think the simple idea that the more cans that you can get out there, the better. you're moving the mission forward, right? And so whether that's Amazon or through retail, the idea is getting people to switch from plastic to something more sustainable. And I think that is accomplished with online sales. So yeah, however you can move that product, I think you move the chains down the field.
[00:30:54] Ray Latif: Excellent feedback and advice, Zahra. Thank you so much. And thank you, Didi and Shane, for an outstanding conversation here on Elevator Talk. I really appreciate it. As I mentioned to Vish, please stay in touch. Let us know if we can help in any way. Also, I love the URL, anyonethirsty.com. I feel like that's a great tagline. Anyone thirsty? Well, we got some BrickH20 here. Fantastic stuff.
[00:31:16] Speaker 2: Thank you.
[00:31:17] Ray Latif: Great start to the show. Let's keep it going with our next guests, Stephanie Royale and Jake Millman, the co-founders of Silly Goose. Stephanie, Jake, it's great to see you. Great to see you as well. Great to be here, thank you. And it's Silly with a P, P-S-I-L-L-Y, Goose. I love it. Tell us all about what you do.
[00:31:40] Speaker 2: Silly Goose, we are non-alcoholic beverages powered by plants and mushrooms that actually get you buzzed.
[00:31:47] Speaker 4: Yeah, we have two products so far. We're going based on feel states. We're trying to change up the game a little bit instead of focusing so much on ingredients. We want to deliver feel states to our customers. So we currently have two products. One is called Silly and the other one is Euphoria. Silly uses Kana as its main active ingredient. that you can see here. And Kana delivers this very nice euphoric, uplifting feeling. It's non-addictive. It's actually good for you. You can drink it daily.
[00:32:23] Speaker 2: And it acts on the serotonin receptor. So, it's actually mood boosting and euphoric and you can actually feel a change in your mood and happiness.
[00:32:32] Speaker 4: Right, it's not just a functional beverage. So we saw a real gap in the market between functional beverages and then alcohol, which people were trying to use functional to replace alcohol, but it just wasn't giving that effect. So we wanted to deliver feel states that actually gave you this buzz, actually gave you this uplifting feeling. And then our other product, Euphoria, it's basically the same Lion's Mane, Acana, and then Delta 9 THC as well. So we are also in the THC space, but we're not a THC company. That is just one of the field states that we deliver. Outstanding.
[00:33:12] Ray Latif: And you're based in LA, right?
[00:33:13] Speaker 2: We are.
[00:33:15] Ray Latif: Where are you sold in LA at this point?
[00:33:17] Speaker 2: So we are predominantly online. We have TikTok, Amazon, our website, we have affiliate going, we have basically every digital channel. And then we do have some online retailers as well, like Soberish and a bunch of other e-commerce marketplaces. And we are in some individual physical stores as well through AeroGoods and FAIR. And we're currently working on some different distribution potential partnerships.
[00:33:43] Ray Latif: Awesome. Just out of curiosity, well, I guess it's my job to ask, not out of curiosity, but with Silly Goose, where is your most effective online platform? Are you selling a lot on TikTok? Are you finding a lot of success on some other digital platforms?
[00:34:02] Speaker 4: Yeah, well, we did just launch about two months ago, so we are quite new. So far, Meta has been the biggest sales driver. We are actually in the process of launching on TikTok. We just launched a few days ago. So we're starting to see that get momentum quickly. We are on Amazon as well and starting to see that build momentum quickly as well. So we are actually second time founders is our second time doing this. So we knew the channels to go down, we know where we need to push on to generate that revenue to get profitable. The goal is to get profitable within our first year, and then we are going to be rapidly scaling up.
[00:34:44] Speaker 2: And we also know that in order to have true success in retail, you need to have the online brand awareness and identity so people you could help support the velocity in the stores. So we're going super hard on our organic channels as well. We're literally out in the streets doing taste testing events sampling. all those kinds of things. We actually just had our first sampling event in Miami and we were only planning on sampling the drinks and people came back to us with their bringing their friends telling us how telling them how amazing it was asking us to buy the drinks and we were actually not prepared for that. We thought this was just going to be a sampling thing. So we're like, you know, we're not going to turn down sales. So we're
[00:35:23] Speaker 4: We switched to sales and then we sold out in like two hours because people were coming back five, six times. They were bringing their friends. It was something really, honestly, incredible to witness. True word of mouth marketing. People love the brand. They love the taste. We've been told it's the best product on the market in terms of taste.
[00:35:44] Speaker 2: It tastes amazing. And you know, everyone wants to be a silly goose. The world needs more silliness, more play in the world. And we're doing that through non-alcoholic drinks that make you feel good. When you feel good, you show up better in the world. And everyone needs a little bit of that right now. So the cultural timing and relevance of this brand is very synergistic right now.
[00:36:09] Ray Latif: You know, you said a lot there, and I agree with a lot of what you said. I feel like there are a lot of people looking for this type of beverage or beverages, you know, the THC infused and non-THC infused, but at the end of the day, you gotta get someone to help you sell your product. And hey, we have a guy who's here with us today. Not just a guy, a legend in Zara. Zara, you know, what do you think of this positioning?
[00:36:33] Czar Daniolco: I wanna try it for a while. I wanna be silly. I had a question on the Kana, and you don't have to say competitors if I wouldn't, but has it been done in a beverage before? Because I haven't seen it. No, we're the first major commercial. I might leave with that if I was you.
[00:36:56] Speaker 2: Yeah, we meant to.
[00:36:58] Czar Daniolco: I was like, Ray and I have seen it all, we think. And I, Ray, have you seen, I don't think I've seen a beverage with Kana in it.
[00:37:05] Ray Latif: I believe there was a brand, I'm blanking on the name of it. I believe it's called Inner Bloom. I think that's the name of it. And they're based in San Diego. We met them last year at our San Diego meetup. But they're also pretty brand new.
[00:37:19] Speaker 2: Yeah, well, we've done a bunch of research. I think I did see one. I also forget the name, but they didn't look like they had a lot of marketing behind them. And again, you don't remember the name. We feel like we're the first to really put it out there and have a lot of drive behind the brand.
[00:37:38] Speaker 4: Yeah, we're going pretty major commercial. We're funded. We raised about $2 million. We're really trying to make this the next major category. This non-alcoholic infused category we think is the next major wave in beverage. We want to do what Liquid Death did for water in the alcohol space. We want to offer this alcohol alternative that fits in with wherever alcohol is sold. So we are positioning ourselves as an alcohol replacement versus like a functional drink.
[00:38:18] Ray Latif: And I think that is extremely important is to figure out how you want to position yourself because it's going to help you with your pitch and talking to the retailers that you want to be in about how you're marketing to end consumers. Certainly, you know, I would drink silic uses and alcohol replacement from not drinking alcohol. But I think the day part use could be a little varied. Zar, do you think that Stephanie and Jake are on the right track and sort of staying in that lane as an alcohol replacement? Or do you think there's broader opportunity?
[00:38:56] Czar Daniolco: I think they should stay in that lane. I think the adult NA category is very fragmented as alcohol licks are. I mean, there's guys that drink only beer, there's guys that are cocktail guys, there's bourbon guys. And so it's hard, there's wine people, right? So it's hard to address kind of in general, an alternative for adult NA. I think what I like about their strategy though, Ray, is that they are... stuck in THC or Delta nine only. Cause I think that has its inherent challenge. And it's, we've been watching the dam kind of for probably over a decade and it's been hard. It's been hard for the CBD guys. And so I think those are some of the challenges. Also, when I asked if it was in any other beverages, I think part of what it will be hard that you should get ready for in retail is, you know, if retailers aren't familiar, sometimes they like to wait a little bit. I mean, we're seeing this even with Kava, where it's like, you know, an old ancient, I mean, I'm from the Pacific Islands, like we, you know, but it's still like, some retailers are still uncomfortable with it. I think there's a little bit of a challenge there, but I like how you split your aces with ingredients. And again, I'm very curious on the kana and how it makes you feel.
[00:40:28] Speaker 2: Yeah. Honestly, it feels great. And we are trying to support that education with online education as well. And when we do get into retail, we want to start with specific markets and support those markets with demos and really master that. And then do it for the markets that our consumer data is supporting, go that way. And then we do the national rollout. But we've seen with our other brand, too, what it takes to succeed in retail. And it is demo support, and it is promotions, and it is having boots on the ground there. So we are prepared to do that for the markets that we enter. And since we live in LA, we would love to hit that market first, since it's such a health-conscious market. A lot of people are familiar with Kana. And a lot of people aren't. Some people still don't know what Lion's Mane is and are going to ask us if it's psychedelic. So there is going to be that challenge, but we do know how to approach it. And it is with education and just being like really out there with the brand. So we want to start in LA, potentially Miami, potentially New York after, hit it that way and then do the national rollout.
[00:41:32] Ray Latif: And what's the price point per can? You're in a 12 ounce slim can?
[00:41:36] Speaker 2: Yeah, we're in a 12 ounce sleek and we are $8 a can, six on subscription.
[00:41:41] Ray Latif: Okay, and I'm assuming when you are trying to make that and you are already in some retail stores, is it in the cold case or are you on the ambient shelf?
[00:41:49] Speaker 2: They are displaying it in their own way. So we're in some non-ALC stores that are just kind of with the different non-ALC beverages.
[00:41:57] Ray Latif: Mostly ambient.
[00:41:57] Speaker 2: Yeah, mostly ambient. I mean, it doesn't have to have cold storage. It obviously tastes better cold, but we can just ship it ambient.
[00:42:03] Ray Latif: Yeah, and I think if you can get in that cold case next to alternative alcoholic beverages, I think that's probably where you wanna be. Again, we're out of time, but Zar, any bits of advice for anyone listening and anyone participating in today's episode on how to get into that cold box? What's gonna get that retail buyer, that merchandiser excited about putting your brand in their cold case?
[00:42:28] Czar Daniolco: I think it's having something unique. I think it's having, you know, a founder that is, you know, willing to put themselves out there and demo and do the uncomfortable things and really kind of get those retailers excited about bringing in something new.
[00:42:44] Ray Latif: Great advice. Man, I hate when we're out of time because I feel like there's another at least 15 minutes where I can speak to you guys, but we'll continue this conversation.
[00:42:51] Czar Daniolco: You can contact me and we can, you guys can, you know.
[00:42:55] Speaker 2: I've already DMed you when we first hopped on.
[00:42:58] Ray Latif: I love it.
[00:43:00] Czar Daniolco: I love it. These are long conversations. Yes. Yeah, I think Ray really sets it up nicely. They're good questions, and this is kind of the playbook that you guys will be venturing to. Yeah.
[00:43:14] Ray Latif: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm glad that you guys are proactive in getting in touch with Zara, and I think anyone who's participated in this show or watching or listening should do the same. And I know Zara's going to be like, hey, Ray. I have 600 messages in my inbox now. You really did me on this one, didn't you? But no, the more people that you can talk to, and not necessarily talk to every day, but just the different kinds of feedback and advice and insights you can get from as many people as possible, the better, especially in this industry. So I'm glad that you guys are already in touch. In the meantime, please stay in touch with us. Reach out anytime. And I'd love to see how we can support you guys on your journey. But thank you so much again for joining us on Elevator Talk today. Really appreciate it.
[00:44:00] Speaker 4: Thank you so much.
[00:44:01] Ray Latif: Thanks for having us. All right, up next on Elevator Talk, we have Spencer McManus, who is the owner of Kaviva. Spencer, it's great to see you. Great to see you too, Ray. Czar, same to you. How are y'all doing? Doing well, doing well. Excited to talk about another beverage that's all about that chill, that sort of moment of sort of end of the day, perhaps. And yeah, tell us all about Kaviva.
[00:44:27] Speaker 5: Yeah, it's not too dissimilar to the Silly Goose beverage. So it's good that we flowed right into it. Zara, you even mentioned kava. That's the hero ingredient in Kaviva. So it's a non-alcoholic kava seltzer. It's functional. It's an alcohol replacement. It's a relaxer at the end of the day. In 2022, I made a list of all the good things in my life on one sheet of paper and all the bad things on the other side and every single thing on the bad list. was directly linked with alcohol, whether it was weight, exercise, money, girls, whatever it was. And I was like, there's gotta be a better solution. Like humankind has to have something better. I'm sure Steph and Jake had the same thought. And I found Kava. I was playing rugby here in Austin and my Fijian teammates. Yeah, we were mixing in like a Home Depot bucket after a match. And I was like, I want y'all to really give me the real experience here. And so had a quite a few shells. And then I stood up and was like, all right, that's that is what I want to feel on a Saturday afternoon or on a Friday evening. And so started mixing into my kitchen. And here we are two and a half years later.
[00:45:39] Ray Latif: Outstanding. And in my notes, you're gonna be in a bunch of stores and a pretty big retailer. Are you already in those stores?
[00:45:47] Speaker 5: That's right. We're not in those stores yet, but I figured today would be the day that I share that. So we'll be going into about 100 Albertsons, Albertsons, Randalls, Tom Thumbs across the state of Texas in March. And it'll roll out throughout the spring and summer. But yeah, really excited. This is our first national retailer. So it's gonna be a perfect opportunity for us to learn how to roll it out successfully. There are multiple sales that happen in this game. You have to sell it to Albertsons, and then you have to sell it to the customer through Albertsons. We're really excited for that. We've done samplings hundreds of times across over the years at different small markets here in Austin, in LA, wherever we've been, Tampa. And so, yeah, we're ready to, you know, do the nitty gritty things and chop wood, carry water, as we say, and get it done.
[00:46:41] Ray Latif: chop wood, carry water, block and tackle, liquid to libs, it's all those things.
[00:46:46] Speaker 5: It's all those things. It's all the same, yeah.
[00:46:48] Ray Latif: Yeah, before we get to Zara, I just wanna ask, in those Albertsons stores, do you know where you're gonna be merchandised and for what price point?
[00:46:54] Speaker 5: I'm gonna be in the alcohol section, so they're gonna create a non-alcoholic shelf, basically, next to non-alcoholic wines and probably some other functionals as well. We're gonna be sold as a four-pack, just like this, but it will be single-flavor four-packs at $19.99. So, yeah.
[00:47:13] Ray Latif: Yep. You know, kava is an interesting ingredient because we've seen kava over the years. And Zara, I know you have as well. Like, I remember I saw kava shots probably like 15 years ago, and there was some concern around the ingredient. And it seems like it's a little bit more of an accepted ingredient, certainly not mainstream yet, but people in the know, particularly in the natural industry, are seemingly more interested in kava. And a kava in soda? kind of an interesting concept.
[00:47:43] Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, I just I basically made what I wanted to drink. So it's sparkling. We use real fruit juice, which truly comes out in the flavor. I think if I had experience in the industry, I wouldn't have done that for margin reasons and pasteurization reasons. So I'm the only one that I know of that uses real fruit juice. Like I said, I think you can really tell. The blueberry lemonade, you can tell there's blueberry juice in there. Then, six grams of sugar. I just honestly copied what Poppy was doing at the time two years ago. I was like, they probably paid millions of dollars to figure that out. Sounds good to me. We've gotten great feedback consistently across different channels, different store types, different cities, people come back for Kaviva typically because they actually feel the buzz. They feel that mouth tingle that's very well known for fans of Kava, and then they feel the relaxation by the end of the first can. And last thing I'll say, that was really important to me when I was formulating this was, If someone doesn't get a buzz by the end of the first can, they're not going to have a second. It's not alcohol where you're going to keep drinking. I had tried a bunch of non-alcoholics, didn't feel anything, and it's pretty frustrating. We're the strongest on the market that I know of, and that's pretty consistent feedback, whether it's on Amazon or from the clerk at the market down the street.
[00:49:14] Ray Latif: Well, Zar, I mentioned this is a concept that interests me. And again, you did mention kava earlier. Is this a product that you'd reach for personally? And is this something where, you know, an ingredient that you believe in as a potential, you know, trend, or at least as a potential part of functional ingredients in the future?
[00:49:35] Czar Daniolco: Yes, I'm both, right? I mean, I'm Pacific Islander, so I'm well aware of it. And I think it's a beautiful plant. And I think it has some definite health attributes to it. I think there are some challenges around it as we've seen, right? I think certain retailers are uncomfortable with it. And I think the more brands doing the work that you're doing, Spencer, the more education that gets out there, I think that they will eventually get comfortable with it. I mean, it says a lot that Albertsons is taking a chance on this, I think, right? And so that's a huge bet and the Albertsons guys are definitely trying to be cutting edge. And I think they, by making moves like this, they're demonstrating that they are willing to take some chances. And it's good to see, it's good to hear that, actually, because I know some retailers here in LA that won't touch it still. And they're, I won't say the name, but they're the retailers that people would go looking for kava drink at. So we've seen some frustration around that, along with other ingredients that are great, right? I think that we are battling company's dollars too, right? There's the, you know, who do some of this education. And so it's a tough game. But I think leading with taste and efficacy, the two things that are really important, Spencer, in this space.
[00:51:07] Speaker 5: That's right. And we actually got in with a distributor in Los Angeles earlier this year, and we're already moving a pallet a week and seeing reorders, so we expect that to increase. And I'm not even boots on the ground there. It's actually something I wanted to talk to you all about, the balance of moving too fast or moving too slow. Kava hasn't had its moment necessarily, THC maybe has, but the whole functional industry, each ingredient is going to have their moment at some point. I want to make sure that Kaviva and Kava are ready for that when it happens. I'm bootstrapped, so I've raised about a little under $200,000 from friends and family over the last two and a half years. It's a daily internal struggle on, should I go raise a seed round or should I just drive, drive, drive at Albertsons and then raise after that? Balancing that's an interesting challenge to be transparent. Dar, wanna weigh in?
[00:52:11] Czar Daniolco: Yeah, I mean, you see it, it's a hard balance. I think you have the authorization with Albertsons. If it was me, I would probably look to that test to help maybe raise some capital around that. I think you're gonna get some trial, you're gonna get some awareness. It is one of the biggest retailers in the country, although you're not going into all the banners. It's a big test for you and for the brand and for Kava. I think it may lead to, you know, you raising some capital or may help you raise some capital with that activation, with that approval.
[00:52:51] Ray Latif: You know, you talked about LA and Texas or Austin more specifically. Are there any other parts of the country where you feel like there's a thirst for kava, that there's enough awareness and interest in the ingredient where Kaviva, you know, could be a brand that people are interested in?
[00:53:07] Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely. So Tampa, Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, that area is just a huge just kava centric city. It's fairly saturated. I was there in January and checking out the market. There are other kava brands down there, so I don't want that to be a city where I enter the market without my full force and full effort behind it. There are other markets that I'm more willing to step into without making a huge investment. Those might be Miami, Colorado, so Denver, Salt Lake City, Utah, and then Brooklyn, New York, back to what you were saying, Ray, does have a little bit of a hippie connotation to it, and I've heard that Cava brands can do quite well there. So those are the places that I'm looking, but at the same time, if I can dominate Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, you're going to, we're going to be just fine. Right. That there's a ton of Tam there. Of course, San Diego is close to LA, similar customer and San Francisco as well. So those are the big cities on my mind. It's just about doing it smartly and responsibly, um, yet not slowing down my, my product. Like it, it's just, it's selling off the shelves wherever it goes. So, um, yeah.
[00:54:33] Ray Latif: Let's use another overused line in the beverage industry, inch wide, mile deep, right? You wanna go deep where you currently are for sure and not be distracted by all the other cities out there. But it seems like there is a real desire for and excitement for cava in multiple parts of the US. I would love to try your product. I can't recall if you've sent samples to our office. Have you, Spencer?
[00:54:57] Speaker 5: I don't think so, but you can consider them on the way.
[00:55:01] Ray Latif: Okay, thank you very much. Maybe Czar would like to sip on a can or two. It certainly sounds like he'd love to try the product.
[00:55:08] Czar Daniolco: Would love to, Spencer, if you could send me some.
[00:55:10] Ray Latif: Absolutely, let's do it. Fantastic. Well, Spencer, thank you so much for taking the time. I'm really excited for your brand, and I'm really excited that Czar is excited, because he's definitely more influential than I am. And so, I think you're onto something here, my friend. Thank you, much appreciated.
[00:55:27] Speaker 2: Taste Radio meetups are continuing in Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, and London. Come hang out with the food, beverage, and beer community for live podcast recordings, CPG networking, and sample sharing. Want to attend or partner with us? Head to Taste Radio.com slash meetups. Quick pause to let you know that the leading event for the beverage industry is headed back to Los Angeles this December 6th through 8th. BevNET Live brings founders, investors, retailers, suppliers, and operators together for product discovery, high-value conversations, and partnerships that can shape what comes next. Early registration pricing is available now. Head to bevnetlive.com to register. Mark your calendar. Nosh Live is back December 3rd and 4th in Los Angeles. Join packaged food founders, buyers, investors, and operators for two days of product discovery and conversations focused on what's next. Early registration pricing is available now. Head to noshlive.com to register.
[00:56:22] Ray Latif: All right, on to our final guest for this episode of Elevator Talk. We have Corey Davis, who's the founder of Pink Palm. Corey, it's great to see you. Thank you. Great to be here. Thanks so much for your patience. But you know what they say, you save the best for last. And Pink Palm, I'm excited to hear about your brand. Tell us all about what you do.
[00:56:41] Speaker 6: So Pink Palm is a tequila brand out of the Midwest. The goal was to actually have a tequila brand without the harsh firm. of when you have tequila or when you have a mixed cocktail that it doesn't overpower the mix that you actually have. So that was the goal in making Pink Palm.
[00:57:02] Ray Latif: In terms of what you sell, I'm seeing, the note in my notes is it's not just tequila, it's a destination in a glass designed to pair through spirits, mixers, and bold cocktail finishes. So exactly what is Pink Palm? Is it a mixer? Is it a brand platform or a product platform?
[00:57:23] Speaker 6: So no, we are a tequila brand. We have Blanco, Reposado, Rosado, and Inejo. We will be launching cocktail mixes later on down the line, but right now our goal is focused on strictly the tequila itself.
[00:57:40] Ray Latif: Gotcha. You know, it's interesting when you talk about tequila brands and, you know, just alcohol in general, it feels like the opportunity is at least based on what we're hearing from, you know, mainstream media that less people are consuming this, these types of products. So you really have to stand out in a differentiated way. How do you feel like, you know, you're able to get the word out or how do you want to get the word out about Ping Pong, you know, and how it's different from other brands out there?
[00:58:10] Speaker 6: Well, it really goes, really boils down to that taste exactly. You know, some people want to have it strictly over ice, but, you know, having that harsh burn behinds it may deter some people with it. And then again, having it with a cocktail mix where it's too strong and it's so strong that you can't even enjoy the cocktail, even if it's mixed. So that's the goal of Pink Pond, to be able to have it Either way, but to still be able to enjoy it to the fullest, whether it's a celebration, whether it's you're on vacation, but you can still go back to ping pong and think about that great drink that you had during that time.
[00:58:50] Ray Latif: And you just launched, is that right?
[00:58:52] Speaker 6: So we are in active conversations with retailers. We're trying to figure out what's going to be the best retailer for us. We don't want to just jump out and be so national and oversaturated where we're lost amongst all the tequilas. So the goal is to kind of be the little engine that could, as you would say.
[00:59:14] Ray Latif: Zahra, I know, you know, obviously your focus and specialty is in non-alcohol, but since we talked about, you know, a lot of non-alcohol, excuse me, alcohol alternatives, I feel like, you know, the advice for up and coming and emerging alcohol brands is kind of similar in that you got to figure figure out a way to reach that consumer, that legal drinking age consumer, where they are in terms of their life and lifestyles. You know, with Pink Palm, I feel like it's sort of a beachy kind of vibe, sort of like that Caribbean kind of feel. But going back to, you know, how to market a brand and how really to get interest and excitement from that end consumer, is it about the marketing? And, you know, in your experiences in general, For a brand like this, how much do you lean on the marketing versus this just tastes better or tastes different than what you've already experienced?
[01:00:05] Czar Daniolco: I think you start with the taste because it seems like that's their main differentiation is a smoother tequila. And curious how you make that smoother, Corey, that was one of my questions, but I think to answer Ray's question, I think you lean on taste and you start where you have the most captivated audience, I think, Corey, like whether that's your hometown, your your backyard or like the other brand that was on earlier, you know, in the library, he's a student, right? So kind of start with your community, I guess, and then, you know, and sort of turn the marketing on there. One, I think it's a little bit more tangible, right, than like, I think alcohol is, you know, the alcohol brands are, most of them are very, you know, well-established and well-funded, right? So a new entrant into the tequila space is definitely a huge undertaking and a huge challenge. It sounds like Corey's up for the challenge, but yeah, I would lean into what community you have, Corey, and lean really into the taste and try to use that that crowd, that audience to as the sounding board for your marketing.
[01:01:27] Ray Latif: In terms of your social presence, I see so many new brands, you know, come to market every day and a lot of new alcoholic beverage brands come to market. And a lot of times it's really flash over substance and you can kind of see through some of the, you know, marketing that is, you know, just about the party or, you know, good looking people at a bar or what have you, but. When it comes to your social marketing strategy, how do you want to communicate what you're all about to that audience and to that target consumer? And I guess I should ask, who is your target consumer?
[01:02:05] Speaker 6: So when it comes to putting a word out and a message, it's definitely going to be heavily relied on the partnerships that we have. So with us working with retailers, it'll be the in-store activations as far as the tastings and getting that feedback and, you know, making sure that people really understand why we're actually there, as well as in the bars, you know, with the bartenders, we want to make sure that they actually have a good story to tell. And then it's a true story as far as the actual drink itself. We don't want it to just be like a one hit wonder. We don't want it to just be a one drink and go. We want it to be something very lasting as far as memories. We don't want it to just be a one and done. We want someone to continue to come back and say, hey, do you have that on your shelves? You know, that's the goal, longevity.
[01:02:56] Ray Latif: And going back to your target consumer, is it folks who are, I assume, already familiar with tequila, but are they sort of on the younger side of legal drinking age or a bit older?
[01:03:08] Speaker 6: I definitely would say someone is a bit older, but it could still refer to those that are just turning 21. they're on spring break and so they're having that drink by the pool or what have you. So it's, I think it's kind of all across the board. Anyone that loves tequila, that's the major part of it. If you're a tequila drinker, you're definitely gonna enjoy it. Maybe if you're a different type of connoisseur as far as alcohol, maybe not so much.
[01:03:38] Ray Latif: One of my favorite times in the Boston area is not necessarily the time I'm in right now, which is mid-February when there's a blizzard outside, but in June or July when you were able to get out on the water and everyone's having a good time and you have a cannon. in your hand. Zara, you think it might be sort of taking your eye off the ball at this stage of Pink Palm if Corey were to say, hey, let's test out a canned cocktail, a tequila and soda.
[01:04:22] Czar Daniolco: Do you think it's too early for that? No, I don't. I think, Corey, since your whole premise is a smoother tequila, I think there may be another product line that raise, you know, kind of hinting to an RTP potentially. I think what it does is it throws a bigger net, Corey. And, you know, that's usually not a bad idea, Ray. A lot of times you don't know where the consumers really looking, right? And we have seen a lot of people like go to non-alcohol, but the people that are continuing to consume alcohol, we're seeing a lot of that cocktail that cocktail hour, that cocktail occasion being made more portable and ready to drink, especially at venues and outdoor events and places where you can't have glass and places where, quite frankly, you can't put a full bar and start mixing stuff. So I think it's not a bad idea, right? And I don't know if Corey's considered that, but I think it's something to, in the never give up world, Corey, if you hit roadblocks with straight tequila and the aged and the regular forms of tequila people are used to, I think it's not a bad idea actually to consider an RTD, because you may be able to get that smooth experience that you're wanting to put out there. in an RTD, maybe how you would enjoy it or how people around you are enjoying the tequila. Maybe take a look around that and see if you can't come up with a recipe for an RTD.
[01:06:19] Ray Latif: Yeah, is something like that in the works, Corrie?
[01:06:21] Speaker 6: Down the line, it is. I'm not sure how further down the line, but that is something that I have taken into consideration.
[01:06:29] Ray Latif: Well, Corey, I'm excited to try your tequila and would love to try some whenever you're available to share it with us. Consider it in the mail. Oh, okay, good, good. Just make sure you spell Ray correctly. Otherwise, you know, somebody else is gonna be like, no, that actually says David on it. You know, this stuff gets stolen all the time in the office by my colleagues. So yes, just please remember, you know, R-A-Y-L-A-T-I-F. That's all you need to know. Corey, thank you so much for joining us today. Really appreciate you taking the time. Really appreciate you sending samples. And if there's anything we can help with, just let us know.
[01:07:06] Speaker 6: Thank you so much for your time today.
[01:07:08] Ray Latif: Thank you. Zar, another action-packed episode of Elevator Talk. I just love the breadth of diversity in every which way in this episode. We're seeing a lot of different products that are using interesting ingredients, a lot of different approaches to categories that are big and established, and a lot of different excitement or ways that these brands and these founders are exciting the community. It's so fun to be part of this industry. I know it's really, really tough, but the enthusiasm is what keeps us coming back, I think.
[01:07:52] Czar Daniolco: That's right, Ray. No, I feel the same way. And I would just say this never gets old, man. Even if the ingredients have been done, even if categories have had success, I think we continue to see people challenge status quo. We continue to see new variations, new iterations. Like we said earlier, categories and ingredients coming together to create new categories is something that keeps me waking up and keeps me excited and keeps us on these calls. I guess it gives us something to do, right? I really appreciate you having me on this. This was fun. Again, I'm sure like you, this is kind of the funnest part of my job, so anytime, glad to be on. Thank you so much, it absolutely is.
[01:08:44] Ray Latif: You're gonna be at Expo West, right? Absolutely, we'll be there. Okay, terrific. Well, for folks listening or watching, and for obviously everyone who's joining us as an entrepreneur on this episode, what's the best way to get in contact with you and the team at High Touch Libations?
[01:08:59] Czar Daniolco: I would say LinkedIn, hit me on LinkedIn. Just my name, Czar, Czar Daniolco on LinkedIn, or our website, hightouchdsd.com. Perfect, perfect.
[01:09:11] Ray Latif: Well, Czar, I'm going to bug you again really soon to join us again for another episode of Elevator Talk, because you're just the best. And I really appreciate you offering as much feedback and advice as you have today. So thank you again for that. Anytime, Ray. It was fun. Thank you. And thanks so much to all the founders who joined us today. Thanks to everyone watching or listening. And thanks for our amazing team at BevNET, Nosh, and Taste Radio, the best in the business. Signing off for everyone, I'm Ray Latif, and we'll talk to you next time.
