Founder Feature: Caroline Howard Walker Brothers
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 13 December 2024
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Grace Kennedy chats with Caroline Howard, one of the co-founders of Walker Brothers, a kombucha brand crafting both non-alcoholic and hard kombucha. Caroline shares the story behind Walker Brothers’ inception, including how a family scoby and a shared passion for beverages sparked the brand’s journey. She dives into the creative process behind their clean, modern branding, the challenges of scaling production, and the strategic decision to brew in-house for superior flavor.
Caroline also discusses the dual-pathway distribution strategy they’ve developed for their alcoholic and non-alcoholic product lines, how collaborations with brands like Rishi and Counter Culture Coffee have elevated their offerings, and what it takes to grow in highly competitive retail and regional markets. With Texas and Colorado on their radar, Walker Brothers continues to expand while staying true to their ethos of bridging kombucha culture and craft beverage communities.
If you’re curious about raising capital, the importance of grassroots marketing, and building a brand that resonates with today’s thoughtful consumers, this episode is packed with valuable insights.
Tune in now to learn how Walker Brothers is redefining kombucha!
Listen in as they share about:
- Walker Brothers Origin Story
- Product Details
- Distribution Strategy
- Branding and Packaging
- Marketing Approach
- Collaborations and Innovations
- Outlook and Vision
- Advice for Entrepreneurs
Episode Links:
Website: https://drinkwalkerbrothers.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinesessomshoward/
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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. |
| 1:08.4 | For us, like, flavor is absolutely paramount. |
| 1:09.4 | So you're exactly right. |
| 1:11.0 | We don't want the product to taste super venegrie and then also don't want to cover up the flavor of kombucha with sugar just from an |
| 1:17.3 | integrity perspective and then also from a health perspective as well. So we brew everything in-house. |
| 1:23.7 | We don't use a co-packer. And so all credit goes to Luke Walker, my co-founder on that front, for really just perfecting our house culture. |
| 1:32.2 | So he inherited the scoby that we started the business with from his aunt in Boston who had been brewing kombucha long before it was cool. |
| 1:39.6 | And with that, just started to experiment and ended up developing what we think is the best tasting kombucha. |
| 1:48.0 | Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of CPG podcast. This is Grace and today I'm talking |
| 1:55.0 | with Caroline Howard, one of the co-founders of Walker Brothers. Walker Brothers brews flavorful fermented beverages, |
| 2:02.7 | offering both non-alcoholic and alcoholic kombucha |
| 2:06.1 | in a range of unique and delicious flavors. |
| 2:09.3 | Caroline is one of three founders, |
... |
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