#175 - E-Comm Wizards: David Fudge of Aplós
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2024
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Daniel Scharff sits down with David Fudge, co-founder of Aplós, to discuss the journey of building a premium non-alcoholic spirits brand. David shares insights from his time leading brand at Bonobos, where he helped pioneer the direct-to-consumer model, and how those experiences informed his approach to creating Aplós—a brand redefining the cocktail experience without compromise.
They explore the growing non-alcoholic beverage market, the importance of thoughtful branding, and how Aplós balances innovation and tradition with the help of renowned mixologist Lynette Marrero. David provides actionable strategies for scaling an e-commerce business, including influencer partnerships, creative optimization, and leveraging AI tools to stay ahead in a competitive landscape.
David also reflects on lessons learned from both successes and missteps, offering actionable advice for aspiring founders looking to carve out a space in competitive markets. Whether you're interested in building a brand, excelling in e-commerce, or creating a product that stands the test of time, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways.
Don’t miss this engaging conversation with one of the most thoughtful minds in CPG —tune in now!
Listen in as they share about:
- The Vision and Product Development of Aplós
- The Evolution of the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Market
- Branding and Marketing Strategy
- E-commerce Strategies
- Notable Challenges and Low ROI learnings
- Tools and Recommendations
- Advice for Entrepreneurs
Episode Links:
Website: https://www.aplos.world/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwfudge/
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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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Beep! Did you know that the beep of a barcode scan is heard at the point of sale more than 10 billion times a day worldwide? |
| 0:10.3 | Make sure your product is ready to go beep in the store or when you're selling online with a barcode from GS1US. |
| 0:18.5 | It's trusted by trading partners across the world. |
| 0:21.9 | GS1US is a not-for-profit standards organization that helps you meet retailer requirements, |
| 0:27.6 | enhance customer satisfaction, and streamline your operations. |
| 0:31.7 | GS1US offers flexible pricing options to fit the needs of your business and product line. |
| 0:36.5 | To estimate how many barcodes you need and to learn more about how to set up your supply chain |
| 0:41.2 | for success, go to gs1.us.org today. |
| 0:47.1 | That's gs1us.org. |
| 0:53.6 | Music org. |
| 1:10.3 | We really wanted to elevate the non-outic experience to the same level of the world's best traditional |
| 1:11.5 | spirits and cocktails. |
| 1:13.3 | And so that was a big goal with us with Lynette as we were developing the product. |
| 1:17.5 | These are proxy spirits. |
| 1:19.1 | So you see some brands out there that are creating non-alcins, tequilas, vodka, things like |
| 1:24.1 | that. |
| 1:24.8 | That's not what we're doing. |
| 1:26.5 | We're trying to leverage the craft and expertise |
| 1:28.7 | in history and heritage of great cocktail making to create something new because we view the bar |
| 1:34.8 | the future as, you know, five, ten years from now going into a bar and really having maybe 20, 25% |
| 1:41.2 | of the options being non-out. We also wanted people to build brand equity in the liquid |
| 1:46.3 | flavor so that over time people understood, oh, that's Aplos, not like, oh, that could be a gin, |
... |
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