#126 The Rise of HOP WTR with Jordan Bass
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 30 January 2024
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode was sponsored by Strategy Maven Agency. Go to strategymavenagency.com
Explore the success story of the innovative sparkling water infused with botanicals, offering a unique non-alcoholic alternative for beer Enthusiasts.
With a background in venture capital and e-commerce, Jordan Bass CEO and co-founder of HOP WTR dives into the burgeoning non-alcoholic beer market, consumer trends favoring moderation, and the strategic decisions that propelled HOP WTR's growth in natural channels, crossover accounts, and mass retailers.
Discover the intricacies of e-commerce strategies, innovative packaging, and HOP WTR's retail focus. Gain insights into team dynamics, challenges faced during the early days, and the importance of mentorship. From the successful foray into on-premise markets to international expansion considerations, this episode covers it all.
Whether you're an industry professional or simply curious about the business landscape, this episode offers a unique perspective on building and growing a brand. Tune in, stay inspired, and raise a virtual glass to the future of innovative beverages!
Listen in as share about:
- HOP WTR's Origin & Innovation
- Consumer Trends & Opportunities
- HOP WTR Flavor Profile
- Launch and Market Strategy
- Driving Product Velocity
- Sales Strategies and Team Culture
- Reflections on Early Days and Learning
- Product Innovation and Long-Term Vision
Episode Links:
HOP WTR’s Website
Jordan’s LinkedIn
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
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- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Strategy Maven Agency Link:
- Visit www.strategymavenagency.com and mention “Startup CPG” for a free account audit!
- Find co-founders Amy Hage or Brittney Trahan in the Start-up CPG slack channel.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello, everybody. I am so excited to announce that startup CPG now has an official Amazon agency |
| 0:06.6 | partner we think is the best fit for emerging brands. They're called Daybreak Agency. They're led by |
| 0:11.6 | Leon Lewis, who has years of experience growing CPG brands. Based on recommendations from |
| 0:16.6 | the community, I personally actually worked with Leon and the daybreak team for my previous |
| 0:21.5 | beverage brand and I was super thrilled with the results. He is absolutely a great fit for brands |
| 0:27.0 | in the community. In my view, his team is the most affordable and most effective option out there. |
| 0:32.8 | They will fix up your listing and get you set up with the right creative. And they have a much more |
| 0:37.9 | reasonable retainer structure than most agencies I've come across. I've seen crazy retainers like |
| 0:43.4 | 5,000 a month and that's stuff that's just really not affordable for emerging brands. But his retainer |
| 0:48.1 | is super affordable and he does incredible work. He will manage your operations, advertising, |
| 0:53.2 | deal with the most challenging aspects of getting |
| 0:55.4 | you set up on Amazon. He actually also does other channels like Instacart and Crideo. Their team has |
| 1:01.5 | years of experience across all of CPG, and I'm super confident that you're going to love |
| 1:06.1 | working with them. If you want to reach out to him, you can message him on the startup CPG Slack, |
| 1:10.6 | Leon Lewis, |
| 1:11.2 | daybreak growth, or email him at Leon at daybreak. Agency. Make sure you mention startup |
| 1:17.3 | CPG to get $600 of free design credits. |
| 1:33.1 | Pop Waters is SparkFing. Hopwater is a sparkling water infused with hops. So we take hops, we extract the oils and the acids, all the flavor. |
| 1:37.4 | We infused that into a sparkling water. |
| 1:39.3 | So it's zero calorie, no carbs. |
| 1:41.4 | And then we've added a functional stack of ingredients, |
| 1:43.5 | ashylonda, L-theonine, as well as vitamin C. So you get a mood boosting benefit, |
... |
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