BIOLYTE - How Theater Skills Built a Top CPG Brand

The Story of a Brand

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5 • 145 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When your product is born out of love, necessity, and a mission to help others, it shows.

In this episode, I sit down with Jesslyn Rollins, CEO of BIOLYTE, the first medical-grade hydration drink formulated to deliver the benefits of an IV bag in a bottle. What started as a way to help her mom during cancer treatment has grown into a mission-driven brand helping people stay hydrated across healthcare, athletic, and everyday wellness settings.

We dive into Jesslyn’s inspiring entrepreneurial journey, how she leaned on her background in theater to sell products from the ground up, and how BIOLYTE’s science-backed formula is shaking up a legacy category. From packaging evolution to retail expansion and customer education, this episode is packed with lessons in resilience, brand building, and staying true to your mission.

Here are a few highlights from the conversation:

* How a doctor’s IV formula became a game-changing hydration solution

* Why improv, persistence, and performance shaped Jesslyn’s sales success

* The power of packaging: how “IV in a bottle” doubled sales

* Why dehydration isn’t just about thirst and how BIOLYTE goes beyond water

* What it really takes to scale a beverage brand with zero outside capital

Join me, Ramon Vela, in listening to the full episode and discovering how BIOLYTE is helping redefine hydration, one bottle at a time.

For more on BIOLYTE, visit: https://drinkbiolyte.com/

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Today’s Sponsors:

Compass Rose Ventures - Advisor for CPG Brands: https://compassroseventures.com/contact/

Compass Rose Ventures can help your CPG brand increase customer lifetime value, expand into the US market, create an omnipresent omnichannel footprint, optimize customer journeys, build brand communities, and more. Visit the link above to learn more.

Augmentum Media - Influencer Marketing for Consumer Brands: https://www.augmentum-media.com/story

What secret do fast-growing Health and Wellness brands like Xtendlife, Nourished, and Hunter & Gather share? They all outsource their influencer marketing to the experts at Augmentum. Augmentum is offering "The Story of a Brand Show" listeners a 30-minute consulting session AND a personalized influencer strategy plan built by their experts for you to implement either with them or in-house. Visit the link above to learn more.

Transcript

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0:00.0	what would I tell a new budding CEO leader, maybe entrepreneur, is a freaking go for it.
0:10.8	It is such a whatever weakness or hesitancy or negative that you can see is holding you back.
0:24.5	There is also an equal positive and strength that could propel you forward.
0:31.4	And for me, I got started with Violet when I was 25.
0:35.4	I knew absolutely nothing about beverage. People can look at that
0:39.5	and go, you should not go into beverage. That is not a good idea. But what was such a blessing about
0:48.2	that was I had no idea how hard it was. I had no idea where you should start what was quote unquote normal. And a lot of times
0:57.8	what's normal can hold you back from just even getting started. So whatever's holding you back
1:04.9	potentially change your frame of reference and think about what is the strength standing right next to that weakness?
1:15.0	And go for it.
1:33.0	Hey, everyone. This is Ramon Bella, and this is another episode of the story of a brand.
1:36.8	Like always, we have an amazing guest and brand that we're going to feature on today's show.
1:43.3	But before we do, hi, I speak to hundreds of founders and CEOs of consumer brands each year,
1:47.0	and they are facing unprecedented challenges. That's why the story of a brand has worked with the Compass Rose team,
1:52.0	my strategic partner, to provide relief.
1:56.0	We are offering a no-cost solution exclusively for consumer brand founders and CEOs featured on the
2:03.6	story of a brand show, as well as listeners, whether it's to help you map out your brand's
2:09.9	growth trajectory or prepare your brand in financials for investors or acquisition or more.
2:16.7	Simply book a one-on-one call with Rose Hamilton, the founder of the Compass Rose team.
2:22.8	This is a $500 value.
2:25.4	The calendar is limited, so book your time now.
2:28.6	Simply visit Compassroseventures.com forward slash Ramone,
	...

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