[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 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 Chuck Casano, who's the founder and CEO of High Touch Libations and the founder and CEO of Pattaya Foods. Chuck, it's so great to see you again. Always good to see you, Ray. Thanks for the invite. Well, thank you so much for spending your time with us. I know how busy you are with two very distinct businesses that are both growing quite quickly, High Touch Libations and Pattaya Foods. You and I have known each other for going on 15 years, and I first met you when you were just starting out in Pattaya. You had a Pattaya drink called Pattaya Plus, and you were one of the two top brands in our very first New Bedford Showdown competition. Things have evolved, should I say, from there. Tell us a bit about yourself, your background, and your two businesses.
[00:01:14] Chuck Casano: Yeah, got into the natural food industry with Pattaya Foods, right? Started working down at a nonprofit down in Nicaragua and it was my first taste agriculture and kind of my aha moment down there was Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and a lot of these farmers couldn't afford pesticides. So I saw Nicaragua as a huge untapped resource for organic raw material and didn't really know what it was, but kind of planted the seed. My time with the nonprofit ended, went back to New York City, and coconut water was exploding, and acai was exploding, and I was wondering where my red dragon fruit smoothie was not available. I was having it every day in New York and couldn't find it anywhere in New York. Went back down to Nicaragua, realized they've got the best red dragon fruit in the world and went down there with a mission to promote organic farming. Started with 10 small family-owned farms. We've gotten over 1,000 farms or helped over 1,000 farms get USDA certified organic. We started shipping the product up in five-gallon pails. We built the frozen supply chain down there. We were the first ones to export it, and it went to a beverage. We thought, okay, we made it and started launching in this juice. It's kind of got all my gray hair from the beverage industry. We were fortunate enough to launch with this distributor called Green Shoots at the time. They were growing rapidly within Whole Foods. This was back in 2011. Every time they launched us, they got us authorized in Whole Foods out in the Rocky region, me and my partner and my girlfriend, now wife, went out to the Rocky Mountain region. We demoed every store every day, sometimes twice a day. Really, that was earning my stripes in the beverage industry. We continued to grow. The problem was that we just were not getting turns off the shelf. Whole Foods loved the mission that we did. The product tastes awful. It was just a rough go. While we were doing this, we were looking at the Whole Foods portal, or at the same time, we started selling just the frozen fruit to these juice bars around San Diego. We're looking at our sales and we were lucky to sell one or two bottles of juice at a Whole Foods in La Jolla during the day, but these juice bars were calling us every day, hey, we just sold 50, 60, 100 units of these in one day, can you come back? Really pivoted the business to to frozen fruit. At the same time, I invested in green shoots as a hedge against Pattaya, thinking they were going to be a huge national DSD. Unfortunately, long story, they went down. They were undercapitalized, growing too fast. I was fortunate enough to become really good friends with Czar Danny Olko, who is the operator in Southern California. And as they were going bankrupt, I was looking at the P&Ls and Southern California was healthy. So I said, you know, Czar, why don't we just try and be the ones to go to in Southern California and forget around the rest of the country? And that was 15 years ago and probably, you know, 300 brands later that we've launched. Some big ones, you know, we were the first distributor for Vive and Mush, you know, handful of others that are now in national powerhouses. We helped elevate Poppy down in Southern California. We've seen a lot of brands come and go. We see a lot of brands on our desk every day. Battaglia Foods is my other frozen fruit business. They were a national brand from Whole Foods to Walmart and Sprouts. We just did a national rotation with Costco. I wear these two hats as a distributor and a brand, and I think it's good as a distributor, right? Because as a brand, I've seen over a thousand distributor contracts, right? And so we try and take what's best. We try and be brand friendly and really help put brands in the best position to succeed. We are full service DSD. We walk into our Retailers, we write our own orders, we merchandise it. So it is that full service. And we kind of dominate the natural food chains. Mothers, Lassen's, Air Ones, Jimbo's, everyone you want to be in in Southern California. And we've recently started to diversify into some Hispanic markets. So we picked up about 100 superior foods in Northgate markets. And I think I'll kind of end it here. But what's been interesting is, the portfolio that we have at Whole Foods is starting to win in these Hispanic markets. So you're seeing like the proliferation of like food is the medicine, like even high income households are still spending a lot to take care of themselves. And so that's, we haven't had to create a whole new Hispanic portfolio for these customers. We're taking the same stuff that we're selling to Whole Foods and selling it to Northgate. And it's been great to see.
[00:06:22] Ray Latif: It truly has, and it's been so great to see the evolution of high touch and the impact that you've had on early stage brands. You mentioned a few, and I want to get to the founders for this episode of Elevator Talk, but just quickly, Chuck, when someone pitches you, and you're going to hear five pitches today, but when someone pitches you, what really resonates with you in that pitch? What are you looking to hear from that person?
[00:06:45] Chuck Casano: I want to know what they're going to be doing in Southern California. What have they done so far on their own? I don't want to be their first phone call. I want to know that they've hit the streets on their own. They've already been told no a hundred times and they're still at it. This is not this business is not for the faint of heart. It takes hustle and capital and, you know, it takes a lot of both. Right. And so if you can show me that you're you're walking the walk and talking the talk and you've got some war stories and you're showing up to a bodega and your Honda Civic on ice and like you're willing to do crazy shit in the beginning, like those are the people we want to pair up with and just. We want to work with good people. We see a lot of crazy entrepreneurs and we try and do our best, but there's a lot of crazy out there. And then listen, every distributor is going to love you if you show up with a customer. If you're like, hey, we're We're already in mother's market. Everyone wants us. We just need a distributor. That gets us going. That gets the product in the warehouse. That helps us distribute to our other locations and stuff like that. We got to get some business going. We're not going to be your initial sales rep. If you show up and you're like, hey, I landed a distributor. It's game over. That's not how it works. It is a team effort, but you got to be leading it.
[00:08:06] Ray Latif: Well said, Chuck, and I think you're speaking from the perspective of a distributor in Southern California, but I think your advice is just as applicable to someone who's trying to land a distributor in New York City or Miami or Seattle. Everyone wants and respects folks who have the persistence, who have the hustle, who have the drive to build businesses. and to be a straight shooter. Because as you said, I think this industry has a lot of folks in it, and I'm not just talking about entrepreneurs, who think other people are gonna do the work for them. And that's not the case. This is a tough business, as you pointed out. But I do think the five founders who we're gonna be speaking with today all have that drive and determination to do well. I'm excited for you to meet them. Are you ready to meet the first person of this episode? All right, that person is Lindsey Frederick, who's the founder and CEO of Tarte. Lindsey, it's great to see you again.
[00:09:05] Speaker 1: Yes, good to see you too. Thank you for having me.
[00:09:07] Ray Latif: Thanks so much for being on the show. I met you at the Winter Fantasy Fair in San Diego, and I was struck by your brand because I am a big fan of Tarte cherry juice, and hey, it's in your name, essentially. Tell us all about your brand.
[00:09:24] Speaker 1: Yeah, so I launched TART. It is a healthy lifestyle beverage focused around TART cherry and mineral water. TART cherry is a superfood, so it has over 50 health benefits, and we only have five ingredients in TART. All organic, no additives, no preservatives, and yeah.
[00:09:43] Ray Latif: Well, Chuck, you know something about single-ingredient or at least ingredient-focused beverage brands, your own, and of course you've seen many since. What do you think about the idea of being singularly focused or at least a single-ingredient brand leading with that as your point of differentiation?
[00:10:01] Chuck Casano: Yeah, I think it's good in the beginning, right? I think it can get you 12, 24 months. I think you can probably get to one, $5 million worth of sales, and then people are gonna start really asking you, like, where else can this brand go, right? Like having like one or two SKUs, we launched as a one SKU wonder, and it was really tough. So been there, but, you know, I think, I think cherries are like, they are powerhouses, right? And so like, how do you communicate that story? Everybody knows cherries, right? It's not like a super exotic, unknown thing. So like, how do you communicate, like, is there a sourcing story? Like, are these born in the USA cherries? Like, are these, like, is there something you can get behind there? And I think how you play with your social media is gonna be really important. Who else, who are you gonna get to adopt this and be some like real, brand ambassadors for you in the early stages. But yeah, I think it's possible in the early stage to lead, but you're gonna have to quickly evolve and expand once you get to those thresholds.
[00:11:10] Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that feedback. I started making tar on my own in my college kitchen at Michigan State because I wanted to drink tart cherries for all of their health benefits, but I hated the taste. So it was a very organic integration into my life. And then in turn, an organic integration into building the business. I love the idea of creating more flavors and keeping tart the main focus of each new flavor, but adding other things that are really healthy for you like ginger, turmeric, blueberries, things like that, to differentiate the other options that we have. And I think so far, the thing I love talking about most when pitching tart to someone is the reason that I love to start drinking it, which was anti inflammation and muscle recovery. And this is something I've done with taking it to fitness studios near stores that we are in and getting people to try it from fitness studios. Obviously, you're going to a yoga class, Pilates class, things like that. You're focused on muscle recovery, anti-inflammation, being healthy. And we've had a lot of feedback with that, positive feedback.
[00:12:19] Ray Latif: I can imagine as you have, because I've tried this product and it's delicious. I have a question about your package type. You're an 8.4 ounce cans and certainly there's a number of different packages that you could use for this type of beverage. Did you feel like the can format speaks to the consumer that you're targeting? Is it intended to be more of a soda or sparkling water type experience and the can really fits that occasion?
[00:12:49] Speaker 1: I think it can fit in a lot of different categories. And we've seen that as more people are trying it and have their own ideas of how they want to drink it. I wanted to go for the 8.4 ounce can because you can only have a certain amount of tart sherry per serving. And we're right around that number. And if we were to go up to 12 ounce, it would be much more diluted. And I love this strong taste of the cherry in tart. So I think that we've had some pretty good feedback with that and people really like the smaller can for that aspect.
[00:13:21] Chuck Casano: What's the limitation on the serving of tart cherry?
[00:13:24] Speaker 1: It's about four ounces is what's recommended per serving.
[00:13:30] Chuck Casano: You said there's like a limitation, like is a person not supposed to drink more than two of these cans a day?
[00:13:38] Speaker 1: So for us, you can have more than two cans a day. We're like in that number where it's recommended to have four ounces a day. I would say if you're having four cans a day, that's when it would get a little much, but that's the reason that we didn't want to go up in size because we wanted people to be able to indulge when they want.
[00:13:59] Chuck Casano: So the four ounces, I just want to be clear, is what is recommended for peak performance out of Tart Cherry.
[00:14:08] Speaker 1: Yes.
[00:14:08] Chuck Casano: You can't hurt yourself.
[00:14:11] Speaker 1: No, it can't hurt. When you look at research studies on tart cherry, they are recommending four ounces for peak performance. Now, we're under that by a little bit, so that way, if you do overindulge in multiple cans of tart, then you're not going to have an unhealthy amount.
[00:14:29] Ray Latif: Got it. Chuck, how would you advise Lindsay to position this product in terms of category? Again, I think you can sort of go the sparkling water route. You could look at soda. You could, I call it a functional beverage, sort of fits in that set. But what do you think is the best approach in terms of talking to retail buyers, talking to distributors about where this would best fit in stores?
[00:14:56] Chuck Casano: Yeah, that is the number one question. I guess maybe you could look at some previous brands like Cherry Bundy. Where were they winning? Where were they set? Where were they losing? Does that brand even still exist today? I think they do.
[00:15:11] Speaker 2: It does, yeah.
[00:15:12] Chuck Casano: You're going to get some feedback. They've already pitched to every retailer, right? And so you're going to have to answer what's different between you and Cherry Bundy and what sets you apart. I think maybe you could be like, hey, we're a modern, younger glow up to Cherry Bundy and we're we're going after and bringing a new customer to your set. As far as like positioning, like that's the question every new innovative brand has, right? And I think when you work with distributors, we get that question all the time and we don't always have the answer, but I think we can always like put you in multiple categories and then look at that data and see what's working. I think you got to know who your customer is. So if you're doing post recovery workout, like maybe this sits with like sports hydration or something like that, like, or recovery, functional beverages is a large, large scope, but yeah, it could be in there as well. But yeah, where do your customers want to see this? Is this shelf stable?
[00:16:18] Speaker 1: It is shelf-stable for a year, and we've seen the highest sales when it's positioned next to kombucha in the grab-and-go fridge. And I would say that's very in line with our target customer as well.
[00:16:33] Ray Latif: Okay, that's fair. And Lindsey, what's the price point per can, when it's sold at retail?
[00:16:39] Speaker 1: Per can retail is $4.35, and we also have four packs that are $16.99.
[00:16:44] Ray Latif: I think that's a fair price for what you're selling, especially for an organic beverage like this. When I saw your packaging, when I saw the four-pack, it actually made me wonder about the potential as a non-alcoholic cocktail, as an A&A. We're seeing huge growth in that space as well. I don't know, walking that line or at least trying to tackle two fronts as an early stage brand can be tough. How would you advise Lindsay, Chuck, in terms of taking two different paths for this brand for Tarte?
[00:17:18] Chuck Casano: I mean, I think you can test it in the beginning, but you can't wait. mess around too long with that and then you got to pick a path. $4.35 retail, you got to get below $4. There's a huge threshold between $3.99 and $4.35. Mentally, you're going to move more units. So whatever you have to do to COGS, production, get line of sight and get there because you don't want to be in that area on that small format. It's going to be tough for you to compete. I think did that answer the question?
[00:17:56] Ray Latif: It did. And I appreciate you being straightforward about that because I think it's a good point. I think for a four pack for $16, you get to that $4 price point, but an individual cans above $4, it's a little bit of a tough sell, I think, for consumers. Lindsay, I just want to go back to Chuck's note about communication on social. I'm looking at your Instagram page right now and you're prominently featured in there. which I think is great. I think people wanna know the story and know the founder behind the brand. Is anything working for you? I mean, what are people's takeaways from the social? What's been most effective for you?
[00:18:33] Speaker 1: A lot of people love to see the story of how we're building. And I started posting on social media before we even launched. And that way, when we launched, I had a small following that was behind the brand new story and, you know, how we got there, and they were able to see the grit I put in. And so it really resonated well with everyone who we've talked with so far, and we're still growing.
[00:18:58] Ray Latif: Yeah, I mean, I love that. And I think Chuck, you agree, you were nodding your head. I mean, sometimes you can go overboard with stylized imagery or videos that are about, you know, people working out on the beach and stuff like that. And I think, again, people wanna hear the story behind the brand. They wanna see you, the founder. They wanna associate whatever you're doing with their own lives. And I think you're doing it pretty well. So they wanna see your success, but they wanna see your pain too.
[00:19:25] Speaker 2: Yes.
[00:19:26] Ray Latif: Yes, exactly. They want to see the proverbial you are, you know, struggling in the water, but like, not on the beach on the in the industry as it is. So, Lindsey, we're out of time. I can't believe I wish I could speak with you for another half hour. But you know what, when Tarte is on its way to becoming the next billion dollar brand, I have a feeling that we're going to be speaking again soon. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us today on Elevator Talk. Please stay in touch. Let us know if we can help any way. You know, I just want to mention this at the top of the show, or at least, you know, early into the show. BevNET, I think, as an organization, certainly we report on the news, but we're also here to support the community as best as we can. So if there's anything we can do, any questions you have, any introductions that we can make, just shoot a note and we'll do what we can.
[00:20:13] Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much for having me and Chuck, nice meeting you.
[00:20:16] Chuck Casano: Yeah. Thanks, Lindsay. Good luck.
[00:20:18] Speaker 1: Thank you.
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[00:20:50] Ray Latif: All right, let's get to our next guest. That's Carlin Blain, who is the founder and creator of SoulKist Elixirs. Carlin, it's great to see you.
[00:20:58] Speaker 4: Hey guys, I'm so happy to be here and thank you very much for the opportunity.
[00:21:02] Ray Latif: Well, thank you so much for joining us. SoulKist Elixirs. Just from the name, I'm not exactly sure what you're selling, but I'm excited to find out. Tell us all about your brand.
[00:21:11] Speaker 4: Yeah, you bet. SoulKist Elixirs is the culmination of over eight years of research and development. It's a multi-formula brand focused not just on bringing you true next-generation beverages, but on delivering an experience you've never had from an energy or balanced beverage. Each Elixir is meticulously tailored and designed to do one main thing, foster a powerful sense of self-connection with a core focus on mood enhancement and inspiration. we got all the bases covered, from light energy for the extra conscious consumer, zero calorie, zero carb, zero sugar formula, which I pitch as afternoon energy without the caffeine, all the way to a true performance elixir called Focus Energy, which I designed specifically to assist college students find a natural path away from Adderall, and to empower the techies to push through those demanding long weeks of deadlines. I formulated each elixir not just with cutting-edge lifestyle ingredients sourced from around the globe, but with intention. The intention to ground you, to inspire clarity, and to foster a genuine sense of connection to yourself in the moment. These sophisticated formulas are what I call true alchemy and can produce some real magic when used with intent. Whether your path is through yoga, festival culture, or anywhere in between, SoulKist Elixirs offers the most innovative, intentional formulas on the market to help you stay connected and stay inspired.
[00:22:42] Ray Latif: Outstanding. Well, right off the bat, Carlin, I'm looking at your website, and as you described, you have some energy products, and then you have a couple that are described as festival. You have one described as festival and one described as yoga. So I assume that the functionality for your different varieties is specific to a use occasion or a use case.
[00:23:02] Speaker 4: Is that right? It is, sir. It is. Like, for instance, yoga is, when I first came up with the concept, the download, I'm a yogi so nobody had done it before so I'm like you know why not let's develop recovery beverage for the yoga world well if anybody could can the feeling of what you feel like after a yoga class I think after all this time I've done a superb job a festival you know I saw I saw a need in the marketplace you go to a festival and you're stuck with high-priced water or or alcohol or the sugary energy drinks. People wanna go, they wanna be connected to the music, be connected to the scene that's there. So that's designed specifically for that and it could be the number one seller. I believe everybody wants a part of festival inside of them.
[00:23:55] Ray Latif: Yeah, I would agree, at least at certain points of the day. So just before we get to Chuck, are you sold anywhere and what's your price point?
[00:24:04] Speaker 4: Still in pre-launch, hope to be able to get it right around the $4 mark. I'll break even in retail off the beginning, no problems.
[00:24:13] Ray Latif: Okay, well, a lot of things that are music to my ears, and I'm sure would be music to Chuck's ears as well. Just from Carlin's introduction to the brand, Chuck, what are your thoughts on having a multifunction brand, again, where you have varieties that are specific to a festival occasion, a yoga occasion, light energy, or really focused energy? I mean, certainly, you have a lot going on for different consumers at different times of the day.
[00:24:47] Chuck Casano: Yeah, I think you can build a little bit of a groundswell within these communities and kind of go from there. Hopefully it doesn't cap you too much, but I'm just curious about the journey for the last eight years. How does it take years to get here?
[00:25:07] Speaker 4: like are you working another job like like what I want to know because I went on your website there's not a lot of founder information like how are you here in this moment with this brand there's gotta be a better story that's not being told great question thank you for asking it was a download it was um one day I was coming home from work I have a specialty contracting business up here in Marin County I was tired I have a hand-carved uh Buddha from Bali and I was listening to some chill You know, what can I do or create that would transform my life? And within two minutes, it came back loud and clear. Create a natural energy drink company. I jumped off my sofa. I said, that is so who I am. So I started my research. It was first with the market. And then I started alchemizing, if you will, understanding that the ingredients I'm gonna use, they need to be different, they need to be standout ingredients. So it was a big process. I dove deep into the adaptogens and understood them really well. And then smart drugs started becoming popular. I went through all of those, tested them deep myself, put everything together. with my lab power brands down in LA where we will be launching. So as the market changed, the formulas morphed, the brand morphed, and here we are today. One of the reasons it's taken a while is get the sugar content down, my calories right. When I enter the market, I'm playing to win.
[00:26:42] Chuck Casano: Have you done a full production?
[00:26:45] Speaker 4: No, not yet. Coming up, I'd say 90 to 120 days in LA.
[00:26:50] Chuck Casano: What's the launch plan? You don't want this collecting dust in the warehouse. How are we going to get this out in the street?
[00:26:57] Speaker 4: Great question. We've got a platform of of college athletes for influencers. I have an offshore assistant. We've data-mined over 2,000 yoga studios. I have a five-store market test down in L.A. Air One will be one of the stores. So that's the initial plan in a nutshell.
[00:27:23] Chuck Casano: Yeah, I would say stay focused, man. You gotta like, and build authenticity, right? But find some brand influencers actually have tasted this and want to get behind this genuinely. I would just be surgical with that.
[00:27:40] Speaker 4: Okay.
[00:27:41] Speaker: Excellent.
[00:27:42] Ray Latif: I think for me as a consumer, and just as an industry observer and journalist, I think the idea of better for you and clean energy is one that still has yet to be really fully won. You could talk about Bloom or Celsius, well, Celsius perhaps in the past, as being forerunners to the best next evolution of better for you energy. But I really think that is an unlocked or untapped opportunity at this point. Chuck, if you were to advise Carlin, do you think energy is sort of where he should emphasize marketing and communication about Solkist?
[00:28:26] Chuck Casano: Yeah, I think, listen, if you have a festival drink, load up a van and go to a festival and see if anyone will actually buy it. Give some away and see if anybody will buy this and get some real, we need some testimonial, right? If I'm drinking this at a festival, I need to be like, wow, this is better than the alternative. I don't want a sugary drink. I don't want just water. This is the goods, right? I just want to see some customer, real life, real world testimonial and reactions.
[00:28:54] Speaker 4: Should be easy to get. Flavor profiles are on point. They're absolutely delicious and they function really well.
[00:29:02] Ray Latif: Can't wait to try it. What's the big festival in California? It's not Lollapalooza. What am I thinking of? Coachella?
[00:29:07] Chuck Casano: Coachella.
[00:29:08] Ray Latif: Coachella. Coachella. Are you planning to be at Coachella, Carlin? I designed it for Coachella.
[00:29:13] Chuck Casano: There you go.
[00:29:14] Speaker 4: Let's go.
[00:29:15] Chuck Casano: Okay, well, make sure you have enough product on hand. I gotta ask why you're not drinking one right now, though.
[00:29:22] Speaker 4: It's my own mix, since I adapted to smart drugs.
[00:29:25] Chuck Casano: You're missing a branding opportunity right now.
[00:29:28] Speaker 4: I guess so. We could use some Instagram love. Soulkissed elixirs.
[00:29:33] Ray Latif: Well, it's not, I believe you're in California, so it's still 1039 a.m. there. I don't know if that's festival hour. I guess though festivals go on every day and all day, so.
[00:29:42] Speaker 4: Yeah, any day's festival hour. Or any hours festival. Did I say that right? Any day's festival hour.
[00:29:48] Ray Latif: Fair enough, fair enough. Carlin, so great to meet you. Thank you so much for the introduction to Sulcus Elixirs. I'm really excited for your brand. I think you have great packaging, by the way. I didn't even mention that. Thank you. Just excited to see where you go from here.
[00:30:03] Speaker 4: I very much appreciate you guys and looking forward to sharing the magic with you when it's ready.
[00:30:09] Ray Latif: Cheers, good luck, Carlin. All right, on to our next guest for this episode of Elevator Talk. That's Robert China Berry, who is the founder of Black Beverly Hills. Robert, it's great to see you.
[00:30:20] Speaker 5: Black Beverly Hills, CMOS Lemonade, 92 nutrients and minerals out of the 102 that your body needs. I met you over at the Startup CPG event. Oh my God, everything went so well over at Expo West.
[00:30:35] Ray Latif: Yes, that's where I met you for the first time. And I was so excited that I had an opportunity to try your products before this episode, because I was blown away by what you're selling. The taste, the functionality, I mean, it's just what I needed. It was honestly one of my favorite beverages at Expo West. So great job on your formulation.
[00:30:54] Speaker 5: Thank you. It has ionized water in it, natural spring alkaline water, sea moss, organic lemons, organic ginger, This is the primary thing that you need for your daily life. It has everything in it that you need. Multivitamin, this is it.
[00:31:16] Ray Latif: Let's back up for a second, Robert, because I'm curious, what inspired you to get into the beverage business, and more specifically, into creating a lemonade that is infused with sea moss?
[00:31:31] Speaker 5: Okay, so I've been doing this brand Black Beverly Hills for over a decade. I'm based out of Southern California. I've had billboards, marketing, been doing that for over six years, correct? So I started taking my health a lot more serious. I started taking shots of ginger from Erewhon. Little shot, 650, right? started taking my sea moss, drinking my alkaline water. And what I realized two years ago was that I haven't been sick at all, like, in over six years, right? So I'm like, what is it? It's the alkaline water. It's the ginger. It's the sea moss. So I added in more vitamin C so that you can actually drink your sea moss. A lot of the times you go and have a shot, not a shot, but a spoonful of sea moss, right? And nobody likes to just have to do that every single day. And then also that sea moss is going to lose its nutrients by just taking that. So that's where it started at.
[00:32:50] Ray Latif: Before we get to Chuck, he mentioned earlier that he likes to see traction in a brand that you've seen doors closed in your face, that you've heard the word no a number of times, and I imagine that's happened, but you are in a bunch of stores in Southern California. Just talk about your retail presence at this point.
[00:33:07] Speaker 5: I'm in nearly 40 locations currently. I'm in a Vallarta supermarket. It's been in there for one month so far. So they have one location, well, I'm in one location, but we're moving into all the other Los Angeles locations. They have 64 stores across Southern California and also Arizona, but I'm in Bluey's Cafe, Rainbow Acres, Co-Opportunity. Such great stores. As far as Southern California, we're the trendsetters for the whole rest of the United States, right? So we have a lot of traction. It's going really well.
[00:33:48] Ray Latif: That's great to hear. I do feel like a CMOS lemonade is right on par with what a lot of folks in SoCal are looking for. But is it something that's going to turn is the big question, right? Chuck, what are your thoughts?
[00:34:03] Chuck Casano: Yeah, I had a couple of minutes to look at his website and look at his social and like, I think he's exactly where he needs to be, right? Like seeing, you can see there's hustle in this brand. Like I see all the logos on the belt, all the website, you know, like every time he's winning an account, he's throwing up a logo and being proud of it and driving it. And you know, that's the hustle you need in the early stage brands. I really appreciate the socials of him just, just getting online with people and getting their gut reactions, you know, you know, opening a bottle and tasting it and getting some live, live responses are good. I think, I think making it into a lemonade makes it CMOS a lot more approachable. What's it retailing at Vallarta for?
[00:34:46] Speaker 5: Vallarta, they're doing $6.99, but the majority of the other accounts, they're at $7.99. Okay, where are you processing this? Where are you bottling this? Well, we have a co-kitchen that we're currently working out of, but we're waiting on the big distribution in order to really think about where we're gonna manufacture in the future. So I figure I can run this, I'm doing self-distribution currently, 40 locations. But the manufacturing is all done by us, distribution, and I just believe that Once we get that big account, like a pallet, 10,000 bottles, then that's when we can start thinking about. where else we're going to copack, right?
[00:35:38] Chuck Casano: Yeah. I think you got to start looking at that sooner rather than later. Is this pasteurized at all?
[00:35:47] Speaker 5: So that's the hard thing about this right now. This is an all organic product. And we have a 30-day shelf life, but I'm looking into doing HPP. Yeah, but I don't want to lose any of the nutrients. This is, I want to stay true to the product, to the brain, right? So if we go HPP, then the CMOS, it's not going to work out. You guys heard of true CMOS? Bruce, CMOS now. Yeah. All right. So they're in sprouts. They were in like a lot of the whole foods. They had a big recall a couple of months ago. They started pasteurizing and adding preservatives to their CMOS and It's a no-go.
[00:36:35] Chuck Casano: The FDA requires pasteurization, right? There's gotta be a kill step. And dude, I made this exact same mistake myself. When I started selling frozen fruit at Whole Foods, we were not pasteurizing our smoothie packs. And we thought we were great. We're like, we're telling everyone, dude, this is the fruit, this is raw, it's unpasteurized. And then the government came knocking and be like, you're not allowed to sell. And because it was a puree, You're just not allowed to sell unpasteurized juice.
[00:37:06] Speaker 5: So adding this label on the bottom about it not being pasteurized, that doesn't cover you? No.
[00:37:16] Chuck Casano: I mean, you got to just be careful, man. Like you can get away with it when you're small. But like when you go to these big retailers, it's There's got to be a kill step in the process to sell any type of juice and distributors will know that too.
[00:37:33] Speaker 5: So then the only way that this can actually operate better is by going to HPP.
[00:37:40] Chuck Casano: Yeah. which is a pasteurization. There's multiple types of pasteurization. There's a septic or, you know, hot heat flash or flash pasteurization, which you just raise the temp for a couple seconds and bring it down. And then the HPP is you're pressurizing it. So HPP, you're not cooking it. That's probably your, you know, you're already in plastic so they can HPP plastic bottles. So just, start looking at your cost structures, taking those into account, make sure you're getting your 40% margin. And that's, you know, if you want to scale this thing, that's where we got to be focused right now.
[00:38:13] Speaker 5: Okay, that makes sense. I've been looking at the HPP process for a while now. I'm just concerned with losing the nutrients.
[00:38:22] Chuck Casano: Yeah, dude, I hate pasture. I was bummed too. I was like, damn, I thought we could sell this raw, but we got slapped up for it, and I would hate to see that happen to you.
[00:38:31] Speaker 5: So what do you guys think about if, Once HPP happens, having 60 days, it's probably gonna be like more of a 45. I'm thinking like that's naked juice, right? 45 days. How does this thing get across the globe? How does this work with having this?
[00:38:54] Chuck Casano: For sure. Worry about Southern California, man. You got millions and millions of dollars in opportunity in Southern California.
[00:39:00] Speaker 5: We have gas stations, convenience stores, supermarkets. It's everywhere. As far as the CMOS beverage. Nobody else is, there's nothing else like this in Southern California. We have more accounts of a CMOS drink than anyone.
[00:39:19] Chuck Casano: Let's win in Southern California. If you win in Southern California, you're gonna attract investors, you're gonna attract, like, you don't have to go to New York right now. You can sell millions and millions of dollars in Southern California.
[00:39:32] Ray Latif: That's right, that's right. And I think you're, make sure that you're speaking to and selling in retailers that understand what CMOS is. Their consumers are looking for products like this too. I think CMOS has got probably pretty low mainstream awareness at this point. I think in Southern California, there's certain parts of LA, there's certain parts of San Diego where CMOS is a more well-known ingredient, but Chuck, would you agree?
[00:39:59] Chuck Casano: I mean, really look for places- Yeah, start at the natural channel, right? Find out who your customer is and where they are, and I would guess that they're in the Air Ones, they're in the Mothers, Lassons, Jimbos, stuff like that.
[00:40:10] Speaker 5: How important do you guys think having the USDA organic stamp on there? Because that's, I'm fresh at this, but 40 stores, it's amazing, right? Right.
[00:40:25] Chuck Casano: Yeah, no, it's great. I mean, you gotta be certified. You can't put organic on your label if you're not certified by the USDA organic certification process. I think if you're selling a premium beverage in the $6.99 region, people are gonna want organic. If you can get rid of organic and sell that thing for $4.99, that might be a good play too.
[00:40:47] Speaker 5: But organic is the way to go. I feel like having the powerhouse of nutrients, having clean ingredients, it's what matters. You don't want to give your customers something that isn't good for them, right?
[00:41:05] Chuck Casano: Yeah, man. That's your Brandt Gehrs to decide and live by, right? And that's a great way to take, path to take.
[00:41:16] Ray Latif: Robert, I can't believe we're out of time. I always ask our producers if we can get more time in these episodes, but it's been so great speaking with you, and I'm really excited to continue the conversation. If you have more questions, if you wanna just bounce ideas off of me, please just reach out. I'm happy to speak with you anytime. And I think Chuck might be available for a chat as well. But in the meantime, I just gotta say, you're making a great beverage. I really enjoyed what you, what I tried. So keep at it and definitely stay in touch. Hey, it's the road. It's the road. Yes, it is. Yes, it is, sir.
[00:41:50] Speaker 5: We're going to the top. Like Beverly Hills, Seamoss Lemonade. Let's go.
[00:41:57] Ray Latif: Let's go indeed.
[00:41:58] Speaker 5: Thanks, Robert.
[00:41:59] Ray Latif: Thanks, Robert. Cheers, buddy. All right. Great stuff. On to our next guest for this episode of Elevator Talk. We have Kim Dickinson, who is the founder of Boop. Kim. It's great to see you.
[00:42:12] Speaker 6: Hi, Ray. Hi, Chuck. How are you guys?
[00:42:14] Ray Latif: Hey, nice to meet you.
[00:42:15] Speaker 6: Nice to meet you both.
[00:42:17] Ray Latif: Nice to meet you as well. And I was wondering when we'd get to protein. You know, it's protein seems to be the ingredients of the moment and maybe the last two years for sure. And you market a protein beverage or more specifically a protein shot. Tell us all about boop.
[00:42:33] Speaker 6: So Boop is a three ounce clear whey protein shot. It has 15 grams of protein, zero sugar, only 70 calories. It's designed to be gone in two sips. It's just super quick, fast protein. It's really built for everyday women who are busy on the go. Juggling a lot, just trying to keep up with protein, but struggling. To be honest, I'm in my 40s. I was on a GLP-1. Biggest issue was just not having an appetite and not getting enough protein, where it really mattered most as we age. So for me, shakes were just too big and heavy. I would have the bars, just chew a little bit and kind of forget about it. And protein powders were just really messy and a lot of cleanup, and it just felt like it was more work than it should be, so. And I'm really busy working full time, building this brand and always on the go and I thought protein shouldn't feel like a chore. So I created what I couldn't find. And instead of going bigger and heavier, I went smaller, simpler and faster. three ounces, two sips, and you're done. So Boop is designed before meals, between meals, on the go. It's light, refreshing. It's not thick, not chalky. It drinks more like a juice or a sports drink. It's intentionally tart to balance the protein taste and makes it easier to drink fast. We do currently have three flavors right now. Clementine, Redberry, and Fruit Punch. The Fruit Punch does have green tea in it, so it's a little light boost of energy. All three flavors do have B vitamins and L-carnitine. And we launched in January of this year, so we are currently direct-to-consumer, strong connections with customers right out of the gate, and learning fast and strong, good, early signs. So here we are.
[00:44:21] Ray Latif: Outstanding. Kim, you have a couple varieties. I'm on your website. You have a protein shot. Do you have a protein and energy? Is that right?
[00:44:29] Speaker 6: Yeah, so the Fruit Punch has green tea in it, and so it adds that extra energy in there.
[00:44:34] Ray Latif: Well, Kim, I'm like you, I love functionality in small formats. If I want turmeric, a juice shot is the perfect delivery method for me. And I think protein, if I need some protein, to get 15 grams in a three-ounce shot would be the ideal way for me to consume protein as a beverage. And I think shots are an undervalued, package type in our industry, because I think, again, a lot of people are looking for functionality, but don't want 16 ounces of liquid or 20 ounces of liquid. The question has always been, how do you merchandise shots? Where do they fit inside the store? Chuck, if you were to pick up a brand like Boot, how do you, and you've worked with these shop brands, you mentioned Vive earlier, is there a thirst? Are retail buyers looking for products like these?
[00:45:23] Chuck Casano: I mean, we love shots. Like we were the first distributor ever to put a shot on the shelf at Whole Foods. So Vive was the first shot and everyone was kind of nervous. But, you know, there was a lot of hustle in that brand and people adapted to it very quickly. Distributors love you too, because they're small, they're expensive, they don't take a lot of space on the truck, the reps make a lot of money off them. So behind the scenes, you'll get a lot of love if you've got a shop that moves. I haven't seen too many protein shots, which is kind of surprising, but I think it's good. One question, what's the name Boop?
[00:46:05] Speaker 6: So boop is honestly exactly what it sounds like. It's kind of like a little boop on the nose, just like quick, playful, not that serious. I just, that's really what I wanted the brand to feel like. I feel like protein today can feel really intense and very like gym focused. And so I just want it to be something more approachable and a little fun and it makes me smile. So hopefully it makes other people smile.
[00:46:26] Chuck Casano: Fair enough. No, but to answer your question, like merchandising it, all these retailers have shop sections now, right? And so everyone's kind of hip to it. Part of the challenges, for an example, for Whole Foods is they still market it in whole body, and there's not a lot of beverage space in that whole body section. So we've been able to bleed that out into the grocery sets, into the refrigerated sets, and that's kind of where it lives now. when these things go on sale or the start of the new year, these things fly off the shelves.
[00:47:01] Speaker 6: I'm really excited about it. It was something that's been two years in the making and I was really hoping it wouldn't... I know I'm not the first to coming out with a protein shot, but there is not a lot on the market like this at all.
[00:47:15] Chuck Casano: I was really excited about it. I think what you've got going for you is like authenticity, right? Like you're telling us that you've used this, this has helped you. You've been through this process and GLP one is only getting bigger. And so, you know, that market is growing. And so maybe you can, hopefully you can find your sweet spot. Absolutely.
[00:47:36] Ray Latif: I'm on board with everything about Boop. I think it's the right product and right brand at the right time. My question is about positioning and this being a brand, as you mentioned, Kim, for female consumers. I think there's a wider audience. I think that you could probably market to more folks. I mean, being hyper-focused on women I think is a good strategy at the outset, but do you see this as appealing to more consumers beyond year one or year two?
[00:48:06] Speaker 6: Absolutely, and I say we do not discriminate at boot, but I have a lot of male customers and repeat customers as well, and so it is really catching on for a lot of people because it is something that doesn't really exist for people to just grab and have. So I think that it is something that it really is catching on with a lot of people, both male and female.
[00:48:30] Ray Latif: In price point per shot.
[00:48:32] Speaker 6: I'm kind of working through that right now. It's challenging because when you have bundle prices and subscriptions on top of that, with bundles, it's about 388 per shot.
[00:48:43] Ray Latif: Again, probably an appropriate price point for a functional shot. And you're selling, are you selling quite a bit online? I know you just launched in January, but how are you getting the word out online and what are you seeing in terms of repeat rates and feedback on the brand?
[00:49:01] Speaker 6: Yeah, so we are selling just online. I'm also going into like Orange Theories and Pilates and yoga and setting up little sampling stations to sell there. So we're selling in person as well. But yeah, it's definitely something we have a upcoming place in New York where people will be going to New York on retail space in April. So really excited about that.
[00:49:27] Ray Latif: Chuck, for you as a distributor, how much does the e-commerce, the digital sales revenue data impact your decision to bring a brand on to your trucks?
[00:49:41] Chuck Casano: It's not like a decision maker, but it's proof of concept. If people can find your website and buy this from you, there's some movement and that's a good signaling sign. I think all retailers are looking at socials now and checking engagement to see, does anyone care about this brand? If you can prove that, and you've got real people, you know, clicking in and engaging and none of these bots or anything like that, or paid influencers, like people are, inauthenticity gets sniffed out pretty quickly. So I'd say like, even if you're struggling on social, just like really keep it authentic. Don't like fall into temptation of like, nobody cares about followers, people care about engagement. And like, if you display that and listen, if you could say, you know, I think what's pretty cool is with, selling online, if you can show that we're getting thousands, hundreds of customer orders from New York and you're selling to a retailer in New York, like, hey, these guys are paying too much for this online. They can much rather go to your stores and pick it up. That's telling.
[00:50:50] Ray Latif: Yeah, well, quick plug for BevNET Live New York City in June. If you want to sell to some bodegas and get that experience of getting your brand on shelf there, not only are you going to attend a great event, you're going to have the opportunity to see your product out there in the wild and see what it takes to sell to some of these veteran and grizzled operators of bodegas across the city. So one other thing, Kim, is this intended to be refrigerated? I mean, can you drink the shot warm, cold? I mean, not warm, warm, but can you drink it at ambient temperature?
[00:51:24] Speaker 6: Yeah, so what's great about it is it's shelf stable. So you, I mean, I took it with me through TSA and had it on the airplane. So you can have it, I prefer it refrigerated and cold, but you can absolutely drink it at room temperature.
[00:51:36] Ray Latif: I mean, I think that's a huge boost for, you know, for shots, because a lot of the wellness shot brands out there do need to be refrigerated. So this is a good way to get your brand on the shelf where there are places that are more available for brands that don't need to be refrigerated, so.
[00:51:55] Speaker 6: Yeah. Start in your purse, start in your gym bag, and you're good.
[00:52:00] Ray Latif: Well, Boop, once again, thank you so much, Kim, and I really appreciate the time. Please, please stay in touch.
[00:52:05] Speaker 1: 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.
[00:52:44] Speaker 3: 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.
[00:53:00] Ray Latif: All right, onto our final guest for this episode of Elevator Talk. We have Garrett Quigley, who's the co-founder and CEO of Area 51 Energy. Garrett, so happy to see you.
[00:53:13] Speaker 7: Nice to meet you, Ray and Chuck.
[00:53:15] Chuck Casano: I like how it looks like you're dialing in from like a secret location. Very own brand.
[00:53:25] Ray Latif: Indeed. Well, I described the name of the brand as Area 51 Energy. Do you describe it that way, or is it just Area 51, Garrett?
[00:53:36] Speaker 7: I go back and forth. Sometimes I just call it Area 51.
[00:53:39] Ray Latif: Okay. Well, we know what you sell, or at least I think we know what you sell, which is energy drinks. Tell us all about the origins of the brand and your development on the market.
[00:53:48] Speaker 7: Yeah, so we created Area 51 to be an all-in-one energy solution. We got ingredients to support your mind, gut, and body. We really wanted to create something that, you know, when you drink it, it has all your bases covered and tastes amazing.
[00:54:05] Ray Latif: Outstanding, and according to my notes, you launched your four course queues this month, and you're gonna be in three major retailers in Texas later this year. Can you reveal any of the retailers that you're gonna be in?
[00:54:17] Speaker 7: Yeah, so right now we're in a couple of quick trip stores, doing a test there, and then we'll be launching an LSBA in the next two months or so. We just signed with a major Anheuser-Busch distributor here locally, and then we'll have a couple more announcements to come soon.
[00:54:36] Ray Latif: Fantastic. Well, differentiation is really important. Certainly branding helps and can get your name and voice out there. But if you were to talk about the ingredients in your brand, is there something specific that really separates Area 51 from other energy drink brands?
[00:54:53] Speaker 7: Yeah, so we have 500 milligrams of Lion's Mane. We have one gram of prebiotic fiber. We have 150 milligrams of L-theanine. And then we have some nootropics thrown in there as well.
[00:55:07] Ray Latif: I like what you're doing. And I think that it's a tough, tough business, but I think Area 51 has some differentiation that will speak to some consumers. Chuck, you would know better than anyone, energy is probably the toughest category, but what are your thoughts on Garrett's start here with Area 51?
[00:55:28] Chuck Casano: Yeah. Listen, I'm kind of more curious about, again, kind of what I asked one of the other entrepreneurs, what got you here? What's the inspiration behind the brand? What's the motivation? What were you doing previously that you were like, I got to go all in on Area 51?
[00:55:44] Speaker 7: Yeah, so basically my entire career I've worked in the CPG space, distribution, sales. Back in the day I was merchandising cases of Rockstar and Pepsi and those sort of things. Later at Celsius and Alani New. I've just kind of grown up and seen how these companies operate and who they are. I think what I see a lot in the category is people give themselves kind of a generic name, throw some B vitamins in and then call themselves this groundbreaking energy drink. But, you know, we know how competitive the space is. So we wanted to make something that truly, truly stands out that, you know, when you see it on the shelf, you can't help but look at it. And then when you pick it up, the taste is just is amazing. So I've worked really hard at that. I firmly believe it's the best tasting energy drink. Obviously, I'm a little bit biased here, but yeah, we just want to make something super unique and different.
[00:56:43] Chuck Casano: Well, dude, I think that experience will serve you very well. You've already got a foot ahead or whatever you want to say. You know what it takes to get things on the shelf. You don't have any naivety here. You know how hard that hustle is. So, the fact that you're knowing all that and you've got that conviction that this is the brand, I think speaks a lot. So, I think that story is helpful. I'm glad I asked.
[00:57:10] Speaker 7: Appreciate it.
[00:57:11] Ray Latif: Yeah, Garrett, I wonder who this might appeal to. Do you see gamers? Do you see just everyday energy drink consumers? I mean, is it for athletes? Who's your target consumer for Area 51?
[00:57:25] Chuck Casano: Conspiracy theorists, no? It's a growing population.
[00:57:30] Speaker 7: Yeah, so when we created this, my co-founder and I, we've been best friends since high school. We worked at all these companies together. We've kind of bounced around together and stuff. We've been playing video games our entire life. We're huge gamers. And I think that space specifically, what we see a lot of brands do is they call themselves gamer drink this, gamer that, and it's so on the head that it comes off a little bit cringy. I don't go around calling myself a gamer really, unless I'm explaining it to somebody who doesn't know maybe. To me, gaming is just an extension of the mainstream, so if you create a brand that kind of calls back to some of those things that are popular within that space without calling it, you know, gamer fuel or whatever it is. You know, I think people really resonate with it. But we really try to marry kind of all of our favorite things like gaming, energy drinks, fitness, a little bit of the conspiracy theory stuff, and a little bit of a tongue-in-cheek way. You'll kind of see with our next flavor launch that'll kind of come to a head and make a lot more sense. Super unique ideas there. But yeah, we're having fun with it.
[00:58:42] Chuck Casano: I gotta ask you about impressive numbers on your WeFunder campaign right now. It looks like you've raised close to over $300,000 and only 50 investors. That says a lot that you've got 50 people willing to throw down five, $6,000. Is that purely organic?
[00:59:04] Speaker 7: Yeah, so the feedback on that has been amazing. That's purely from our community. So, you know, we haven't thrown a lot of money into ads or anything like that. It's just been from people seeing the brand. A lot of them haven't even tried it themselves. They just think it's really cool. So, yeah, their fundraiser is going really well. If you want to check it out, it's wefundr.com slash Area 51 Energy. But yeah.
[00:59:30] Chuck Casano: I mean, I think that's really impressive. How many of those 50 people have even tasted it?
[00:59:40] Speaker 7: Maybe like 10 of them, honestly.
[00:59:45] Chuck Casano: I mean, that says a lot to your marketing ability. I took a couple of minutes on the brand. One thing I think your website lacked is the founder story. There's nothing really of where this brand came from. And I think early stage, people want transparency. They want to know that AI didn't create this brand, that there's a real human behind it. And so, that's my only comment on the marketing.
[01:00:12] Speaker 7: Yeah, I appreciate it.
[01:00:14] Ray Latif: I mean, it feels like there was a time when no one could crack the energy code, and it was just Monster and Red Bull, and Rockstar sprinkled in there. But we've seen the emergence of certainly Celsius, Elaninu, Ghost, C4, and I think there is room for another brand like this. But what's gonna get there? I mean, what does it take to really create the next great energy drink brand? And I think, Certainly capital is going to be a huge part of that. But Chuck, in your opinion, what else? What is another component that's going to be required of Garrett and his team to get to that level of interest and awareness among mainstream consumers?
[01:00:57] Chuck Casano: If you're lucky, this thing can go viral on social media where you can save a lot of marketing bucks. But if not, you're going to have to have some capital behind you.
[01:01:07] Ray Latif: Yeah, and I think you bring up a good point. That's no secret. Yeah, I mean, I think virality can go a long way in terms of getting your name out there. I mean, I was on your Instagram page, Garrett, and I saw this interesting mix of sort of gamer lifestyle, but also just, you know, I think Gen Z lifestyle kind of as well. I mean, what's really hitting with consumers? What's really hitting with your social audience?
[01:01:31] Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean, honestly, today our social media is myself and our accountant doing some stuff, just making funny videos, doing some cool edits. We work with a lot of like VFX artists and stuff that do some really cool art for us. So it's been, it's kind of a mixture, but I would say like from a virality standpoint, people really like those, you know, sort of skit type videos that we've done here and there.
[01:02:00] Chuck Casano: I gotta check out the Insta now, now I'm curious.
[01:02:04] Ray Latif: Yeah, it's Instagram drinkarea51 is the handle. And I think, is that, you said you're an interior accountant?
[01:02:12] Speaker 7: Yes, my accountant and my girlfriend, so she has a few jobs there.
[01:02:17] Ray Latif: We're gonna have to dub in Anne Girlfriend at the beginning of when you mentioned that because I don't know if she's gonna be very happy that you just referred to it as your account. No, in all seriousness, I mean, I think you're right. I think the behind the scenes content, and Chuck referenced this earlier, you know, building a brand and what it takes, and people wanna see, you know, all the heartbreak and the heartache and the hustle that goes into building this brand. But I think he's 100% right, especially when it comes to the WeFunder. about the founder story and your backgrounds and the fact that you have been in the energy business, I think goes a long way to give you credibility that you know this category and that you can build upon this category. And in fact, some of the folks that have invested in your business have referenced the fact that you have experience and that you're hardworking folks, you and your co-founders. So I would agree on that front. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, Garrett, I'm so excited that we had this opportunity to meet you. Thank you so much for the time. Thanks for sending samples to our office, by the way. I'm really looking forward to trying it.
[01:03:19] Speaker 7: Yeah, I'll have to get your feedback on them.
[01:03:21] Ray Latif: Yeah, we'll talk about it in an upcoming episode of Taste Radio, so stay tuned for that, and maybe we'll do some conspiracy discussion as well. Yeah, let's go, let's do it. I'm ready. All right, Garrett, thank you so much again for joining us on Elevator Talk.
[01:03:35] Speaker 7: It was great talking to you, Ray and Chuck. Hopefully I see you guys at Bed, Night, Live. Absolutely.
[01:03:40] Ray Latif: Well, Chuck, another great episode of Elevator Talk. I think we saw a really nice mix of different brands that are competing in different categories. And I think the through line to everything was, you know, innovation, whether it be in terms of ingredients or packaging or just format. Again, you just think about a protein shot and we haven't seen many of those out there. So I'm really excited. Every time we do this show, it feels like I'm really hopeful for the future of this industry and what new founders are bringing to it.
[01:04:14] Chuck Casano: Yeah, huge variations of founders and kind of even early stage differences. Yeah, it'd be cool to just look back in a year, set a calendar reminder for a year and see where these brands are.
[01:04:27] Ray Latif: Yeah, well, hopefully these brands will be in touch with you sooner than that. And I have a feeling folks in our audience are going to want to get in touch with you and Zara pretty soon. For folks who do want to reach out to you in high touch, what's the best way to do that?
[01:04:40] Chuck Casano: Just contact at HightouchDSD. We answer every single email that goes into it. If you want to be proactive, you can ship samples to our warehouse in Santa Ana. Just Google search Hightouch Libations. We're in Santa Ana. And if you ship samples and then follow up with a contact email, we'll follow up a call. We usually like to try the product first before setting up a call. If you contact us on the email, we're just gonna tell you to ship samples anyway, so we will review everything that comes through our door.
[01:05:12] Ray Latif: You are good people for doing so. One more time on that email address.
[01:05:16] Chuck Casano: Contact at HITOUCHDSD.com. H-I-T-O-U-C-H-D-S-D.com.
[01:05:25] Ray Latif: Chuck, I know how busy you are, and we're over time. We started a little late. You are a gentleman and scholar, and you're a very generous contributor and member of this beverage industry. Thank you so much for all you do, and thanks so much for being with us on Elevator Talks. I sincerely appreciate it.
[01:05:42] Chuck Casano: Thank you so much, Ray. Always fun.
[01:05:43] Ray Latif: See you soon. Thank you. And thank you once again to our amazing founders who joined us today. Thanks for everyone listening or watching, and thanks for our amazing team at BevNetNosh and Taste Radio. The best in the business. Signing off for everyone, I'm Ray Latif, and we'll talk to you next time.
