Latest / Ready To Drink Podcast / A Women's Functional Beverage Brand Made By Women | Justine & Taylor, SailWell Co-Founders
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_01: Hi, I'm Taylor Andreka, co-founder of Sail Well.
- 0:04SPEAKER_01: And I'm Justine Charmley, co-founder of Sail Well.
- 0:07SPEAKER_04: All right.
- 0:07SPEAKER_04: Well, I'm going to give the audience a little disclaimer.
- 0:10SPEAKER_04: Most of the time I'm meeting strangers, but every once in a while I meet people I know.
- 0:13SPEAKER_04: So I have a full context.
- 0:15SPEAKER_04: Justine and Taylor and I do know each other, and you are a client of mine.
- 0:18SPEAKER_04: So full context of why we're doing this, but this is not why we're doing it.
- 0:22SPEAKER_04: Because you guys are a new client and you're uh you're in that pre-launch, pre-revenue, pre-scale stage.
- 0:28SPEAKER_04: And I have yet to have somebody in that on the show.
- 0:30SPEAKER_04: And I really also thought this timing would be good to talk about what you guys have learned, talk about your story and everything leading up to what your prepared uh rollout.
- 0:39SPEAKER_04: So I appreciate you guys taking the time today.
- 0:41SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having us.
- 0:43SPEAKER_04: Awesome.
- 0:43SPEAKER_04: Well, real quick, let's give everybody like a geographic location of where you guys met and then let's go personally into your story and how this, how your lives kind of intertwine to create and sail well.
- 0:53SPEAKER_02: Sure.
- 0:54SPEAKER_02: Where we met first, or I'm sorry, where we live now.
- 0:56SPEAKER_04: Oh yeah, just go ahead, where you live now, like geographically, and then kind of let's we'll lead into the story of how you guys, how you guys did meet.
- 1:02SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and where you were and stuff like that.
- 1:04SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
- 1:04SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 1:04SPEAKER_02: So I'm in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and just seemed a little closer to Philly.
- 1:11SPEAKER_02: Malvern PA?
- 1:13SPEAKER_01: Yeah, outside of Philly, and we met at college.
- 1:16SPEAKER_01: We were roommates.
- 1:16SPEAKER_04: Awesome.
- 1:17SPEAKER_04: What school did you guys go to?
- 1:18SPEAKER_01: Kittstone University.
- 1:20SPEAKER_04: There we go.
- 1:21SPEAKER_04: So you guys were college roommates, freshman year or sophomore year.
- 1:24SPEAKER_04: So was it by choice or the universe put you guys in the same room?
- 1:27SPEAKER_01: It was freshman year.
- 1:28SPEAKER_01: No, I moved out of the dorms into their on-campus apartments, and Taylor happened to have um like an opening in her apartment, and we were on the lacrosse team.
- 1:39SPEAKER_01: So we met there and decided to live together.
- 1:42SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 1:43SPEAKER_04: All right, perfect.
- 1:44SPEAKER_04: And what were you guys studying when you guys were at Kutstone?
- 1:46SPEAKER_01: I was studying speech therapy.
- 1:49SPEAKER_02: I was studying political science.
- 1:52SPEAKER_04: Nice, nice.
- 1:53SPEAKER_01: I actually didn't remember that.
- 1:54SPEAKER_01: I barely do.
- 1:56SPEAKER_04: There's a lot of times, if for some reason in the beverage industry where a lot of people, the degrees never match anything to do with beverage, so you're completely in the big form.
- 2:03SPEAKER_04: Don't worry.
- 2:03SPEAKER_04: So when you guys were in the in the uh apartments and the dorms and stuff like that, was this ever, and I'm not gonna ask you how many years ago it was, but I'll tell you, you know, I'm I graduated college in 08.
- 2:13SPEAKER_04: So uh we're probably and I got a gray beard, so I'm gonna I'm gonna ballpark.
- 2:17SPEAKER_04: We're in the same area.
- 2:18SPEAKER_04: And uh what was this ever, you know, was there, you know, I sat around with my buddies drinking beers talking about starting a business and stuff like that.
- 2:25SPEAKER_04: We never did any of it.
- 2:26SPEAKER_04: I'm the only one that did it.
- 2:27SPEAKER_04: So, you know, did you guys talk about this?
- 2:29SPEAKER_04: We really didn't do this or no, yeah.
- 2:30SPEAKER_01: No, we had our own paths.
- 2:33SPEAKER_01: So no.
- 2:34SPEAKER_02: I think we talked about just traveling more, you know.
- 2:37SPEAKER_02: We after college just didn't move to California.
- 2:40SPEAKER_02: So a lot of our conversations, you know, before kids were just when are we gonna see each other?
- 2:45SPEAKER_02: When are you here?
- 2:45SPEAKER_02: When can I come there?
- 2:46SPEAKER_02: Really, no business came up for years.
- 2:49SPEAKER_04: So even as roommates, you guys after college, you stayed together and you were friends and everything like that.
- 2:53SPEAKER_03: Okay, did yes.
- 2:55SPEAKER_04: And so, Justine, you went where'd you get you went to California for for job, and then when did you come back uh East Coast?
- 3:02SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was out in California for geez, from twelve 2008 until 2020.
- 3:08SPEAKER_01: We moved back during the pandemic.
- 3:10SPEAKER_04: So nice, good timing for that.
- 3:13SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
- 3:14SPEAKER_04: All right, so what year, what year did this idea birth with you guys?
- 3:18SPEAKER_02: Like last year.
- 3:20SPEAKER_02: It might have even been January 26th.
- 3:22SPEAKER_02: I think we talked about it a little bit before that, but we can just say this year really it is it went from idea to product, you know, quickly, quickly, quickly.
- 3:32SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
- 3:32SPEAKER_04: And that's kind of what I wanted to talk about because I wanted to make sure that like that's when I heard about you guys.
- 3:36SPEAKER_04: It was in J around January, February or so.
- 3:38SPEAKER_04: And I I just I heard your concept, I heard where you were going, and I'm like, this is a home run.
- 3:43SPEAKER_04: So talk about what was the go really give us, paint that whole scene for me, like what was going on, what was the conversation when the first conversation started happening?
- 3:53SPEAKER_04: Like, what's the context of what was going on in your lives?
- 3:55SPEAKER_01: Well, I feel like so.
- 3:56SPEAKER_01: Taylor and I, we've stayed friends, but we since having kids around the same age and our families get along really well, we travel a lot together as families, and we noticed like the shifts just I don't know, as you get older, wellness became a little more important to us.
- 4:17SPEAKER_01: It was less drinking, more working out, what's working for you, saunas, cold plunges, all of the things.
- 4:24SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what supplements are you taking and things like that?
- 4:28SPEAKER_01: And we would bounce things back and forth a lot as as we did with our all of our friends our age.
- 4:34SPEAKER_01: And I think it really came down to uh stopping complaining and doing something about it.
- 4:42SPEAKER_01: So right, dude.
- 4:44SPEAKER_02: Definitely.
- 4:44SPEAKER_02: I think where you asked before if we talked about this during college and the answer was no, I'd say at least a year before the idea came, we were talking more about business.
- 4:57SPEAKER_02: So yes, and we both, I mean, full disclosure, just turned 40.
- 5:01SPEAKER_02: This I was the other month, Justine was a few months ago.
- 5:04SPEAKER_02: And Justine really in that year before her 40th put her wellness and health as like top priority.
- 5:11SPEAKER_02: And it was really inspiring.
- 5:13SPEAKER_02: I mean, she just wasted no time in getting in the best shape and wanting to just feel like her best self.
- 5:20SPEAKER_02: And that really kind of sparked the this specific business idea.
- 5:26SPEAKER_04: Well, I went, I went dancing around aging you guys, but here we are.
- 5:29SPEAKER_04: I'm I got a year on you then.
- 5:30SPEAKER_04: So you're getting 41.
- 5:32SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
- 5:32SPEAKER_04: So so it's I I let's let's connect on that because that's a big thing for me as well.
- 5:36SPEAKER_04: Like uh, you know, three and a half years ago I quit drinking, the weight started coming off, and now I'm in this place where like I've got the mental part down, I've got the control part, and now it's the body and the exercise and all that.
- 5:46SPEAKER_04: Like I'm 6'3, 250, fluctuate all over the place, you know?
- 5:49SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
- 5:50SPEAKER_04: But also I want to go back to your athletic, you know, career.
- 5:52SPEAKER_04: You know, I mean, you went to lacrosse, I was friends with a lot of lacrosse plays at Drexel and the female team, not so many on the men's team.
- 5:58SPEAKER_04: For some reason, I never really got along with men's lacrosse guys.
- 6:01SPEAKER_04: Shout out to anybody in the audience that is, I'm sure we could be friends at 40.
- 6:04SPEAKER_04: But when we were when we were in the late teens and early 20s, our personalities just didn't get along that well.
- 6:09SPEAKER_04: But I I really always I always respected the grit and resilience of of the of those that I was friends with on at Drexel as well as in high school and the girls' lacrosse team.
- 6:16SPEAKER_04: And I want to like talk a little bit about did any of that play a role in starting the business, like giving you the go-getting attitude, taking the initiative, setting the plan and building the goal, or did it, it's it's okay.
- 6:27SPEAKER_04: Also, it had no correlation at all.
- 6:29SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
- 6:30SPEAKER_01: I don't know because say it had, I don't know if I would be able to make that connection that had a correlation, but I do think in general, being on a sports team or any kind of team where you're pushed past where you're you think your limits are, and being forced that way, physically and mentally, definitely played a role in how both of me and Taylor are as people.
- 6:57SPEAKER_02: Even subconsciously.
- 6:58SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 6:59SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 6:59SPEAKER_02: And even after playing, you know, I got to go on in just different opportunities.
- 7:04SPEAKER_02: I got to coach high school across, like as an adult.
- 7:07SPEAKER_02: And then my daughter, you know, who's nine now, I got to coach her team a few years.
- 7:11SPEAKER_02: So still being part of, you know, that team mentality and kind of getting to teach what you just described to, you know, younger kids was is is really cool.
- 7:22SPEAKER_04: It it is a lot of fun.
- 7:23SPEAKER_04: I I I wrestled most of my life and I I went back and coached uh high school, and then I coached a boys' club team.
- 7:28SPEAKER_04: And it well, it was it was fun, but it was also funny because it was the same day.
- 7:33SPEAKER_04: So like I do the early afternoon before high school, and then I went into the boys' club and I my mentality didn't change always.
- 7:39SPEAKER_04: So like I had to get talked to a few times to tone it down in the boys' club uh matches, you know, because I was coming in with that varsity mentality right out of the and I'm like, you guys, it's your fault for putting the practices back to back in the same room.
- 7:49SPEAKER_04: I gotta leave the room and get my head straight.
- 7:51SPEAKER_02: Right.
- 7:52SPEAKER_02: But uh your own kid on that team and have to remind yourself we're not at home.
- 7:56SPEAKER_02: I can't talk to all these kids.
- 7:58SPEAKER_04: I had two.
- 7:59SPEAKER_04: I had my stepson on the high school team, and then I had my son on the boys team.
- 8:02SPEAKER_04: So yeah, it was exactly that.
- 8:04SPEAKER_04: And it was like, when I walk in the room, I'm coach.
- 8:06SPEAKER_04: And the first time my son got whiny, I called him out and pulled him aside, and that was it.
- 8:10SPEAKER_04: That was a one and done conversation, and he was like, Okay, I get it now.
- 8:14SPEAKER_04: Got it.
- 8:15SPEAKER_04: I was like, this is not the living room, you know what I mean?
- 8:17SPEAKER_04: But uh what you know, and then and then in college playing rugby, I I work with a lot of guys still this day that are, you know, in different aspects of this industry too.
- 8:24SPEAKER_04: Like one of the guys that was on our rugby team at Drexel who runs or started boardroom spirits over in Lansdale and ZM logistics and stuff like that.
- 8:30SPEAKER_04: So I also the reason I ask is because that Philly sports connection does tie into my life a little bit.
- 8:36SPEAKER_04: So I was curious about that for you guys.
- 8:37SPEAKER_04: Let's talk a little bit about the Sailwell brand and the four different products you guys have and what why you guys made them.
- 8:44SPEAKER_04: Now we got it, got the story of how, and let's kind of get to the why.
- 8:47SPEAKER_04: This was the choice.
- 8:48SPEAKER_04: There's a million beverage categories to choose.
- 8:50SPEAKER_04: Why did you choose the functional and uh and the certain specific path within functional?
- 8:55SPEAKER_02: Because that's what we wanted.
- 8:57SPEAKER_01: Well, I think like a little more background to it was as I said before, like just more complaining with like friends, like, oh, did you try this supplement?
- 9:07SPEAKER_01: Um, mixing in the collagen, mixing in the magnesium, which like I found magnesium is very helpful just from trying it for, I mean, a couple years I've been doing it and like totally proponent for people taking magnesium, whatever you're doing.
- 9:23SPEAKER_01: I think that we need it.
- 9:24SPEAKER_01: Helps my sleep for sure.
- 9:26SPEAKER_01: But I was just like getting not lazy, but yeah, pretty much lazy.
- 9:31SPEAKER_01: And also, I am a sucker for like buying anything that someone's like, this will help you.
- 9:37SPEAKER_01: I'm like, all right, sign me up.
- 9:38SPEAKER_01: I will take it.
- 9:39SPEAKER_01: So my husband would like open up our one drawer and be like, oh my gosh, Justine, you have like 500 supplements.
- 9:47SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I know.
- 9:48SPEAKER_01: And he's like, Do they work?
- 9:49SPEAKER_01: And I'd be like, I don't know, because I don't consistently take them enough to know because I forget.
- 9:56SPEAKER_01: But what I don't forget to do is just grab drinks throughout the day.
- 10:01SPEAKER_01: Like Taylor knows.
- 10:03SPEAKER_01: I say I have a drinking problem, but not with alcohol.
- 10:06SPEAKER_01: Just like I always have like three drinks like a water bottle, an iced coffee, a seltzer, an iced tea.
- 10:13SPEAKER_01: I always have something.
- 10:15SPEAKER_01: So it kind of came to like, why can't this be more similar, right?
- 10:20SPEAKER_01: Easier and just like fit into my day where like I know I'm gonna grab something.
- 10:25SPEAKER_01: So if I'm gonna grab something, why can't I grab something that I know's good for me and maybe helping me in some way?
- 10:32SPEAKER_04: So yeah, it's what it's it's definitely like when you say about the the the supplements drawer, uh, I'd be lying if I didn't say there's one of those that exists that comes out of the dresser, it gets laid on the bed, and then the tins, the little tins that are the that are the daily thing get get once a week it gets laid out.
- 10:48SPEAKER_04: So I see it.
- 10:49SPEAKER_04: And I I I admit that like when I first heard about your your product, I dove in hard on trying to understand it before we even had a conversation.
- 10:57SPEAKER_04: Because for me, I've been the outside of it.
- 11:00SPEAKER_04: Obviously, it's not directly affects me as my body, but it directly affects my home and my partner and things like that.
- 11:05SPEAKER_04: So I care about it and I got to dive a little deeper than I had before into it.
- 11:10SPEAKER_04: And what I'm seeing is everything, this testimonials of everything you just said is an everyday common thing.
- 11:16SPEAKER_04: It's making it in a ready-to-drink product that is easy and on the go and makes it as seamless as possible to get everything you need to kind of continue through the day.
- 11:25SPEAKER_04: And it's just phenomenal for that.
- 11:27SPEAKER_04: So walk through the different SKUs that you have and kind of those choices as well, as far as how somebody can navigate through the day, the week, the month, and with utilizing the four different products you have.
- 11:39SPEAKER_01: I'll start with one because I have it in my hand.
- 11:41SPEAKER_01: If I could show you so, like what?
- 11:43SPEAKER_01: It's like 10 in the morning.
- 11:44SPEAKER_01: So I'm having balance this morning, and it is our white peach ginger blend, and it is just for your overall feeling grounded and balanced, and it has magnesium, red maca root, ginger root, and ashwaganda.
- 12:00SPEAKER_01: So that's like our overall feel-good blend.
- 12:04SPEAKER_01: Oh, you can see it now.
- 12:05SPEAKER_01: There you go.
- 12:06SPEAKER_01: In a pretty can.
- 12:08SPEAKER_01: All right.
- 12:08SPEAKER_01: And then behind Taylor, go ahead.
- 12:10SPEAKER_01: You got glow.
- 12:10SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 12:11SPEAKER_02: Well, also to back up a second, we really what I really like about Sailbell and just how it has evolved is that we, I mean, definitely use market research and feedback on what four SKUs we would launch with.
- 12:26SPEAKER_02: These were the top four things that women in, you know, our age and before and after are really seeking.
- 12:34SPEAKER_02: So we really put our efforts into that exactly.
- 12:37SPEAKER_02: So I think you know, we wouldn't be here if we just threw darts at a board and thought, oh, this is what just we want or whatever.
- 12:44SPEAKER_02: So I think with that in mind, the next one we have is glow.
- 12:49SPEAKER_02: Um it's behind me also.
- 12:51SPEAKER_02: But this is our pineapple coconut blend.
- 12:53SPEAKER_02: Really, really refreshing.
- 12:55SPEAKER_02: Uh this one is so exciting to me because we've almost taken like skincare and put it in an easier format for you.
- 13:04SPEAKER_02: Nobody needs to stop what they're doing at home at night with their skincare.
- 13:08SPEAKER_02: But if you want to grab something that gives you a little extra help, this has collagen and hyaluronic acid in it.
- 13:14SPEAKER_02: It has vitamin C electrolytes, and we get five grams of protein from the collagen.
- 13:19SPEAKER_02: So it's not vegan, but um, that's almost an egg.
- 13:22SPEAKER_02: And everyone's trying to get their protein in, you know, that's not bad.
- 13:26SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 13:26SPEAKER_02: So that's that's one of my favorites.
- 13:28SPEAKER_04: Awesome.
- 13:30SPEAKER_04: Walk me through the other two as well.
- 13:31SPEAKER_04: That way everybody gets them.
- 13:32SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
- 13:32SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 13:33SPEAKER_01: The next one's Boost, and that one is our only caffeinated blend.
- 13:38SPEAKER_01: It is 80 milligrams of clean caffeine, so green tea extract caffeine.
- 13:43SPEAKER_01: It also has rhodiola and L-sinine, and it is an orange citrus flavor, and also one of our most popular.
- 13:52SPEAKER_02: Um everyone's favorite, I feel, is calm.
- 13:57SPEAKER_02: It's our black cherry vanilla blend.
- 13:59SPEAKER_02: It is called Calm.
- 14:00SPEAKER_02: I think all of the names really encapsulate what you know you should be thinking and feeling from these drinks.
- 14:07SPEAKER_02: Calm is not going to put you to sleep, but it's just for an overall calm feeling.
- 14:12SPEAKER_02: It has magnesium, glycinate, and Lthanine.
- 14:15SPEAKER_02: So you can just like have it as a wind-down drink, right?
- 14:18SPEAKER_02: Grab something different than maybe a glass of wine if you don't feel like that that night, or while you're making dinner and you just had a long day and you need to take a deep breath.
- 14:27SPEAKER_02: I think that's really helpful with that.
- 14:29SPEAKER_04: What uh what have you guys learned in the process in the past in the past uh eight eight to nine months that you didn't know going into this?
- 14:37SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 14:38SPEAKER_01: What did we not learn?
- 14:40SPEAKER_01: This is a better question.
- 14:42SPEAKER_01: Since neither of us have a background in this, it's been finding people that do know what they're doing and learning from them or asking them for a lot of help.
- 14:53SPEAKER_02: So I think we've learned though on that note, Justine, that even when you find people who do have a background and know what they're doing, it's it's still really important, I think, to remember what we were all told in school that there are no stupid questions.
- 15:09SPEAKER_02: Because to us, it feels like, well, we're with people who know exactly what they're doing, but I still don't understand it.
- 15:15SPEAKER_02: It's so important for us to ask those questions.
- 15:18SPEAKER_02: One, so we do understand it.
- 15:20SPEAKER_02: But two, I think what we found also is that somebody just because they have experience doesn't necessarily mean that they do know everything or that they have our best interests at heart.
- 15:32SPEAKER_02: So we really have to dig deep into everyone we work with, which we've been lucky enough to to do.
- 15:37SPEAKER_02: Uh and but we've learned a lot that way, just asking all the all the questions.
- 15:41SPEAKER_04: It's it's something that the, you know, you I'll be honest with you, like you guys are it's not the it's not the majority where somebody comes in as open and vulnerable like you guys are at asking the questions you ask when when we have meetings, or I'm sure when you have meetings with other people.
- 15:55SPEAKER_04: And a lot of times, let me rephrase, not say a lot, but there are many times in my career where people didn't ask those questions because they weren't humble enough and they were egotistical about their mission and their vision and only the way they were going to do it.
- 16:09SPEAKER_04: And they burn out, number one, and they disappear, or they they just they just don't get to where they need to go and they're in constant, you know, low confidence in their own self because they didn't achieve that goal when not realizing that that goal, the path to that goal that they created in a silo doesn't really match with the industry or the consumer.
- 16:28SPEAKER_04: So it was inevitably failure from the beginning.
- 16:30SPEAKER_04: So what you're doing, I want to compliment you guys publicly about it, because I I experience it more often than not in my specific line of work, where the people are not, they come to you saying, here's what I'm doing, how can you help me get there?
- 16:41SPEAKER_04: And that's really the gist of the surface superficiality in the conversation.
- 16:45SPEAKER_04: It's not as deep as this or the other conversations I'm sure you've been having as well, where it's no, tell us what to do and we'll figure out how to do it.
- 16:53SPEAKER_04: But also what I appreciate what you just said is the trust and knowing that the person giving you the advice has your best interest in mind, because that's where the wolves in this industry will get you.
- 17:03SPEAKER_04: Right.
- 17:03SPEAKER_04: And they will eat you alive and uh and and take everything from you.
- 17:07SPEAKER_04: So like not to scare you, but I mean, that's I've seen it.
- 17:10SPEAKER_04: And but it's but where I want to go with this is also what were you guys doing prior to this from uh from a like professionally?
- 17:19SPEAKER_04: I mean, obviously we talked about Cutz Town and then we just did a little jump.
- 17:22SPEAKER_04: What are there any transferable universal experiences that you guys had in your professional careers or your personal careers that have helped you build some confidence in these first couple months?
- 17:30SPEAKER_01: I think Taylor more than me goes.
- 17:32SPEAKER_02: I I think, yeah, that's a good way you phrased that question because I did go to culinary school after Cutz Town and I worked in restaurants for years.
- 17:40SPEAKER_02: I then made the total, you know, 180 flip and just went into like corporate real estate.
- 17:47SPEAKER_02: So just a corporate job.
- 17:49SPEAKER_02: I think, yeah, maybe a little bit of that confidence comes from having stepped into different roles like that and not necessarily knowing what I've been doing at the start in anything that I've started.
- 17:59SPEAKER_02: And then I think culinary school is tied into, you know, certainly flavors and you know, understanding creating experiences.
- 18:06SPEAKER_02: That's another big thing that we're trying to do with Sailwell, not just a product, but you know, a whole feeling and experience.
- 18:13SPEAKER_02: And that definitely comes from, you know, working in restaurants and around people for so long.
- 18:17SPEAKER_04: Many, uh, how many versions of the of recipes did you guys go through before you went through the final run?
- 18:22SPEAKER_04: I knew I knew I was gonna get it.
- 18:24SPEAKER_01: Is there even a number we could put to that?
- 18:26SPEAKER_02: No, it was a lot.
- 18:27SPEAKER_02: And that even, you know, what's interesting, we ended up choosing a formulator where we could go in person and try.
- 18:34SPEAKER_02: And that was really important to us.
- 18:36SPEAKER_02: I mean, one, we thought that would be a faster process than some of the other options out there.
- 18:41SPEAKER_02: But two, we were able to, you know, put flavors and adjust sweetness levels on the spot and, you know, taste something like, oh, that needs a little more coconut, and then like, no, that's shampoo, no more coconut.
- 18:53SPEAKER_02: So we could really adjust.
- 18:55SPEAKER_02: I mean, we went through so many iterations, but it it felt quick.
- 18:58SPEAKER_02: So, really, when we landed on flavors and then got samples, you know, we didn't have to go through so many samples.
- 19:05SPEAKER_02: Um, because we we really already had in the the tasting process.
- 19:09SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
- 19:10SPEAKER_04: How about uh from a financing standpoint?
- 19:12SPEAKER_04: Was that your first was all your both your first time raising funds, whether internally, externally, however it was you went about it?
- 19:19SPEAKER_01: Yes, and no.
- 19:21SPEAKER_02: Yes.
- 19:22SPEAKER_02: Or I what's the term?
- 19:23SPEAKER_02: It's like boot chathing.
- 19:25SPEAKER_02: So we haven't really raised funds.
- 19:28SPEAKER_01: This is like just money that yeah, that which is scary, but also I don't know, I feel like money comes and money goes.
- 19:39SPEAKER_01: And if you're gonna bet on something, why not bet on yourself?
- 19:45SPEAKER_01: You know?
- 19:46SPEAKER_01: And I feel like we're both at a place, maybe it is hitting 40s, where we're already done like a career path and like our comfortable and fine.
- 19:57SPEAKER_01: We're not 20 and like bootstrapping, trying to pay bills, you know.
- 20:03SPEAKER_01: We're comfortable where we are.
- 20:05SPEAKER_01: Could we always grow?
- 20:06SPEAKER_01: Yes.
- 20:06SPEAKER_01: But we like our kids aren't babies, and we have the time to invest in ourselves and this business that we're creating.
- 20:15SPEAKER_01: So I mean, we're we're betting on ourselves.
- 20:18SPEAKER_04: So absolutely.
- 20:20SPEAKER_04: How many of uh how many kids do you guys each have?
- 20:23SPEAKER_01: We each have two.
- 20:24SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 20:25SPEAKER_04: So what was uh how's that balance going?
- 20:28SPEAKER_04: The work-life balance of that.
- 20:29SPEAKER_02: Well, better now that they're in school.
- 20:31SPEAKER_02: Now that some but they're so fun.
- 20:33SPEAKER_02: I mean, I don't know four other people who are more supportive of us doing this.
- 20:38SPEAKER_02: They're so cool.
- 20:39SPEAKER_02: I mean, we both have our oldest our girls, and then we have uh boys second, and they're between 10 and seven, and they're just it's such a fun age.
- 20:49SPEAKER_02: I think the balance is, you know, a constant struggle.
- 20:53SPEAKER_02: It just is what it is right now, and we make it work.
- 20:56SPEAKER_02: But um, we definitely have some little cheerleaders in our corner, and that's really fun.
- 21:00SPEAKER_02: Yes.
- 21:01SPEAKER_04: It's it's uh they're cheerleaders, but also they're they're probably taking notes.
- 21:05SPEAKER_04: And and I I learned I learned uh the other day when a very direct comment from my 15-year-old daughter, about to be 16, that uh, you know, she I I started this 18 years ago and then I went full-time in it a month before she was born.
- 21:17SPEAKER_03: Okay.
- 21:18SPEAKER_04: So I chose like the craziest time to do this.
- 21:21SPEAKER_04: Right.
- 21:21SPEAKER_04: And, you know, I never ever once until a couple weeks ago when she started talking about it, like thought about the fact that that's been her whole life.
- 21:29SPEAKER_04: Like her she's never actually known me in any stability, let's say, of non-entrepreneurship.
- 21:34SPEAKER_03: Right.
- 21:35SPEAKER_04: And it was interesting to to talk with her through that.
- 21:38SPEAKER_04: So I I look forward to like, you know, you guys having those experiences a a year or two from now, and you're talking to the kids and stuff like that, and they can they can start to look back and be like, that was pretty awesome.
- 21:49SPEAKER_04: Pretty scary, pretty awesome, but pretty awesome, you know?
- 21:52SPEAKER_02: That's a great point.
- 21:53SPEAKER_02: I got to actually last year go into my daughter's then third grade class for career day, and it was springtime.
- 22:00SPEAKER_02: We didn't have product yet.
- 22:01SPEAKER_02: We had, you know, picture, we had design and I we knew flavors, but I just got to talk to them and it did feel really neat for as we know, right?
- 22:11SPEAKER_02: As an industry as saturated as beverage and CPG.
- 22:15SPEAKER_02: It really isn't in my local area at all.
- 22:18SPEAKER_02: So I got to talk to 30 little kids about something they knew nothing about and hadn't heard about.
- 22:23SPEAKER_02: And I got them a little fill-in-your own like can design so they could design their own drink.
- 22:28SPEAKER_02: And I think, I mean, I felt pretty school because they thought it was awesome.
- 22:32SPEAKER_04: That's a really cool idea to bring a little coloring book sheet.
- 22:34SPEAKER_01: Right?
- 22:34SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 22:35SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 22:35SPEAKER_01: What flavor would you pick?
- 22:37SPEAKER_01: Monster blue sour tat kids.
- 22:40SPEAKER_01: You know?
- 22:40SPEAKER_04: That's exactly what it would be too.
- 22:43SPEAKER_04: What uh what made you guys go with the design on the cans?
- 22:46SPEAKER_04: I mean, immediately I think beach, picnic, you know, really relaxing kind of atmosphere.
- 22:50SPEAKER_04: Let me know if I missed the marks on that one.
- 22:53SPEAKER_01: I have a gift for liking nice, expensive things.
- 22:58SPEAKER_01: Whether my husband thinks that's a gift, I don't know.
- 23:00SPEAKER_01: But no, it just you know, sail well as in we're sailing through this season well.
- 23:08SPEAKER_01: It just fits our overall wellness theme.
- 23:11SPEAKER_01: And then it kind of makes you think more of like a relaxation trip, maybe a beach, like a banana stripes are our signature.
- 23:21SPEAKER_01: So uh I think it just works.
- 23:23SPEAKER_01: Like everything about it works, and it's a can that if I was walking past the cold beverage aisle, I would be like, oh, that's cute, and I would want to grab it as a woman.
- 23:34SPEAKER_02: So I think it's definitely eye-catching.
- 23:37SPEAKER_02: That's some of the the biggest feedback we've gotten being at an expo now, is like our branding people really like.
- 23:43SPEAKER_02: I think it still feels approachable and yet elevated, which is what we wanted.
- 23:48SPEAKER_01: And we we really spent a lot of time with our designer on it.
- 23:53SPEAKER_01: And that we put a lot of effort and money into making sure our branding was on point.
- 24:00SPEAKER_04: What are um, you know, I work with you guys uh just in the Pennsylvania market as far as that goes.
- 24:05SPEAKER_04: We have not really had conversations about out extra states and all kinds of stuff like that.
- 24:09SPEAKER_04: So talk a little bit about what are the aspirations 12, 24, you know, 36 months from now.
- 24:14SPEAKER_04: Uh, because we have a lot of the audience is about 50% founders, owners, and CEOs.
- 24:19SPEAKER_04: There's distributors that are that listen to the show.
- 24:21SPEAKER_04: There's retailers in various states around the country.
- 24:24SPEAKER_04: So kind of talk about what your plans are.
- 24:25SPEAKER_04: And if somebody's interested in in kind of what we've been talking about so far and wants to reach out and work with you, that way they know that they're a target or prospect for you.
- 24:33SPEAKER_02: Great.
- 24:33SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 24:35SPEAKER_02: Do you want to see?
- 24:36SPEAKER_02: Well, I can start.
- 24:37SPEAKER_02: We were just talking last night, Justine and I, and right now feels not slow at all.
- 24:44SPEAKER_02: That's not the right word.
- 24:45SPEAKER_02: But what we have going on is are like a lot of irons in the fire.
- 24:49SPEAKER_02: And so we're, I think, doing the correct groundwork.
- 24:53SPEAKER_02: And, you know, we aren't exactly sure what our next move will be.
- 24:57SPEAKER_02: We're weighing out a lot of different options.
- 25:00SPEAKER_02: We've had retail conversations.
- 25:02SPEAKER_02: We are really following up with hotel, spas, wellness resorts.
- 25:06SPEAKER_02: I think that would be a great fit for all of those areas.
- 25:10SPEAKER_02: As you know, and the people listening, retail's a big decision.
- 25:13SPEAKER_02: You know, it's not just like, let's, you know, give it a try.
- 25:17SPEAKER_02: It's how much money do we want to put in?
- 25:19SPEAKER_02: And actually, a lot of interest has come from California.
- 25:22SPEAKER_02: How much money and time do we have to really like nurture that development that would take to be in any stores, you know, that aren't really local to us.
- 25:32SPEAKER_02: So it's nothing is off the table, but we've definitely, you know, been kind of all around the country talking.
- 25:38SPEAKER_02: We have an exciting thing coming up in January.
- 25:41SPEAKER_02: We're in an expo, but it's a different style expo.
- 25:44SPEAKER_02: It's this company called Edit Hosts It.
- 25:46SPEAKER_02: And instead of being in like a conference center, it's on a boat and it's actually not CPG, but we're gonna go in and, you know, be able to bring our drinks and sponsor some maybe morning yoga.
- 25:58SPEAKER_02: Like those sort of opportunities are really exciting for us to get that exposure and you know, get more people to see it and understand what we have.
- 26:05SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I will piggyback on that and say I really think the next 12 months, six to 12 months is building brand awareness, going out there, sampling, going to whatever local retailers we get in to and being able to be there to sample to their customers.
- 26:24SPEAKER_01: Um, we do have a lot of events just with women that we're gonna be sampling at.
- 26:28SPEAKER_01: So it will be nice to say we will be at X, Y, and Z in a month, or besides just ordering from our website.
- 26:37SPEAKER_04: Are there any states in specific that you're like looking at as far as like geographically as a target or just kind of at this point putting it out there and then seeing kind of what's received well with what you guys are putting out there?
- 26:47SPEAKER_01: Both, but we had a lot of good feedback from California just because I do like living there, I know how wellness focused they are and how easy and attainable things are there.
- 26:59SPEAKER_01: So I know that we would do well somewhere like that in California.
- 27:03SPEAKER_01: And then also we're looking at a lot of places in Florida and uh Texas has a had interest, some Colorado places where I don't know.
- 27:12SPEAKER_01: I mean, we're open to anywhere, but those are the places right now that have seemed like would be a good fit.
- 27:19SPEAKER_02: We also have an opportunity coming up this fall where we'll be somewhere in New York City.
- 27:24SPEAKER_02: So, really to directly answer your question, we're pretty open to getting into New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, where we can get there very easily.
- 27:34SPEAKER_02: And then, yeah, just any other opportunities that come up, we are of the mindset of not saying no.
- 27:40SPEAKER_02: So we'll, you know, figure out how to make it work or in some way, you know.
- 27:44SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 27:44SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
- 27:45SPEAKER_04: Well, perfect, guys.
- 27:46SPEAKER_04: Well, hey, is there anything anything else you want uh guys want to cover as far as this goes?
- 27:50SPEAKER_04: I think this was a good condensed introduction to the world for you guys.
- 27:53SPEAKER_04: So anything else you want to put in there, yeah.
- 27:55SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
- 27:56SPEAKER_02: T, anything else?
- 27:57SPEAKER_02: No, but everyone should try this drink.
- 27:59SPEAKER_02: Okay, go to our website.
- 28:01SPEAKER_04: Actually, and with that, yeah, go ahead with with all the handles, social and website and everything like that, how to reach you guys.
- 28:06SPEAKER_01: We're at Sail Well Brand, is all of our socials, and our website is Sailwellbrand.com.
- 28:13SPEAKER_01: And yeah, there's four flavors, and we are marketing it to our women, but my husband does love the calm.
- 28:22SPEAKER_01: So I will put it out.
- 28:23SPEAKER_01: Sounds good to add.
- 28:24SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 28:25SPEAKER_04: Yeah, this is one of those products that that that definitely is geared towards the marketing to women and things like that.
- 28:29SPEAKER_04: But all of the con all of the supplements and the vitamins and different things that are inside of these products as well as others, I want everybody to understand.
- 28:36SPEAKER_04: Like it's not, it's kind of like the beginning of I'm gonna make fun of my own the male, male myself and the other males.
- 28:42SPEAKER_04: It's like when white claw first got popular and like truly and all that, where it was like, that's a that's a girls' can.
- 28:47SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
- 28:48SPEAKER_04: Right.
- 28:48SPEAKER_04: But two years later, you started to notice like the dudes are like putting koozies over it and all kinds of things.
- 28:54SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 28:54SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
- 28:55SPEAKER_04: I definitely see the functional and especially these types of things.
- 28:58SPEAKER_04: If you're making it and it tastes good and it's got all the same supplements, you're gonna start, you're gonna start seeing your gender demographics uh skewing over time as it gets adopted for sure.
- 29:07SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
- 29:08SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
- 29:08SPEAKER_02: I think maybe one last point and something we've been talking about recently.
- 29:13SPEAKER_02: You know, we are coming to the market as a women's wellness product or wellness product.
- 29:18SPEAKER_02: And that doesn't necessarily mean that, you know, our boost is like we're trying to go up against Red Bull or be the newest energy drink or, you know, rewriting any wheel.
- 29:29SPEAKER_02: I think we're in a category of our own.
- 29:31SPEAKER_02: And what's been interesting in some retail topics, and maybe to your listeners, if anyone has any comments on this, that it feels a little bit like we are in some uncharted territory.
- 29:42SPEAKER_02: And when we talk to distributors and they ask, where do you see your drink?
- 29:46SPEAKER_02: Sure, we can say like, well, we see it in a cold case or we see it here or there.
- 29:50SPEAKER_02: But there are some other products coming out that I think are going to help, you know, forge this space.
- 29:56SPEAKER_02: And we might be talking about a space that nobody sees right now, you know, and that's kind of exciting too.
- 30:02SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 30:02SPEAKER_04: 100% I agree with you on that.
- 30:04SPEAKER_04: And that's one of the things I wanted to kind of close out.
- 30:06SPEAKER_04: And in the one of the reasons I wanted to bring you guys into this stage is you're in the stage where there is not a category set on the shelf.
- 30:13SPEAKER_04: There's not a sign above it.
- 30:14SPEAKER_04: There's not a, there's not shelfing that's like this one's out, yours is in.
- 30:18SPEAKER_04: This is gonna be the most stressful part because you have to educate prior to sales.
- 30:23SPEAKER_04: Education prior to sales is very, very expensive.
- 30:26SPEAKER_04: And that's what the path you guys chose.
- 30:28SPEAKER_04: And I I know that you guys are gonna be successful in that path, but yes, in every state almost, this specific, everybody's gonna be like, oh, functional's over here, like, you know, the pharmacy's over here.
- 30:39SPEAKER_04: You know, for your product, the wild thing about your product that I love and that everybody in retail and distributors that are listening is this product is a product that can sit in if you're walking into a grocery store, for example, this product can be right above the produce, right where the olipop and everything like that is above the produce, where they're having the single serves right there next to the salad dressings.
- 30:58SPEAKER_04: You're starting to see them now in the grocery stores, it can sit right there.
- 31:01SPEAKER_04: It can sit warm back in the sodas and the waters and the ice cream and the energy drinks.
- 31:05SPEAKER_04: And the third point of distribution inside the store, it can sit in the pharmacy section right with the protein drinks.
- 31:11SPEAKER_04: So, like you have an opportunity for three facings where most brands have one opportunity for a facing in a store.
- 31:17SPEAKER_04: So, to be very blunt, that's one of the biggest draws for me as a business development and market development person, that if you can hit it, because that's the other part of education is you can't educate the speed you need to educate by having one facing in a sh in a building that's lost.
- 31:31SPEAKER_04: So you have to have that type of thing.
- 31:33SPEAKER_04: So getting those multi-spots inside of the store so that the consumer, you want that consumer to see you three times before they even walk out and regret not buying you.
- 31:41SPEAKER_04: That's what it needs to happen, is and then the ad's gonna hit them on social media in the parking lot.
- 31:46SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
- 31:46SPEAKER_04: Like that's how that's how that PR, you know, brand awareness ecosystem has to work.
- 31:51SPEAKER_04: And I'm really excited to see where you guys go with it.
- 31:54SPEAKER_04: And I appreciate, I appreciate you acknowledging the massive challenges that are there, but they're all achievable challenges.
- 32:01SPEAKER_04: They're all overcomable.
- 32:03SPEAKER_04: Like it just takes time, patience is the number one, because yes, everybody's, and I've experienced it myself where people are like, what?
- 32:09SPEAKER_04: And then I go to explain it, and they're like, oh, well, that makes a lot of sense.
- 32:13SPEAKER_04: But it's that, it's that hurdle of getting their attention to get the explanation that then they understand it.
- 32:18SPEAKER_04: And that's it's just a natural thing.
- 32:20SPEAKER_04: We dealt with this in craft beer, we dealt with this in all kinds of different things where people are like, believe it or not, I tell this story quite a bit.
- 32:26SPEAKER_04: There was a time in when I was living in Philly and I was working at a beer wholesaler in 20, 2005, 2006, 2007, where we were laughed out of bars and restaurants in downtown Philadelphia because the craft beer was sold in a can and the price was so high.
- 32:40SPEAKER_04: Why would it be more than pap's blue ribbon?
- 32:42SPEAKER_04: Because pap blue ribbon is sold in a can.
- 32:44SPEAKER_04: Those are the idiot conversations.
- 32:46SPEAKER_04: And in 2026, we're like, that is insane.
- 32:48SPEAKER_04: That was a daily thing.
- 32:50SPEAKER_04: You know, we were laughed out.
- 32:51SPEAKER_04: We were told no.
- 32:52SPEAKER_04: Right.
- 32:53SPEAKER_04: And remember, remember those things because that's what it is.
- 32:56SPEAKER_04: And even the same with I sold Red Bull, and we dealt with the same thing with Red Bull, where they were not giving it the space it needed and the SKUs it needed, and all this stuff.
- 33:05SPEAKER_04: I mean, you guys go back to like when muscle milk first started.
- 33:09SPEAKER_04: We all remember muscle milk, they were the Lone Ranger, and now you look at it and there's protein everything, but muscle milk used to be this random thing next to the waters, maybe was with the iced tea.
- 33:18SPEAKER_04: It didn't know where to be.
- 33:20SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and then they and then now it's a category and it's taking over of the industry.
- 33:24SPEAKER_04: So just know that like being on the front end, I hate to use the term bloodiest to battle, but it's like the first ones always is, and you get to do all the education and curate it and stand at the end and plant your flag.
- 33:35SPEAKER_01: Yes.
- 33:36SPEAKER_01: So we're happy to lead the way.
- 33:39SPEAKER_01: Exactly, exactly for all to feel better in their life.
- 33:44SPEAKER_01: You get one life, you have to live it, okay?
- 33:47SPEAKER_01: Live it.
- 33:48SPEAKER_04: That's a great that's great.
- 33:49SPEAKER_04: That's really good.
- 33:50SPEAKER_04: Well, hey, excellent, guys.
- 33:52SPEAKER_04: Well, hey, I'll close out with what I do for everybody here is five minutes a week challenge to a stranger.
- 33:57SPEAKER_04: All right, every single week you guys hear this five minutes a week, 20 minutes a month.
- 34:01SPEAKER_04: When you're walking down the street, put your phone in your pocket, look at the strangers while they're walking by.
- 34:05SPEAKER_04: When you're at the gas station or the coffee shop, fumbling around with the sugar and the creamer, look to the person to your left or your right, ask them how they're doing, shut your mouth and listen to their story.
- 34:13SPEAKER_04: All right, five minutes of focus on a stranger.
- 34:15SPEAKER_04: You never know what's gonna affect their day, their week, their month, their year.
- 34:18SPEAKER_04: God forbid, they don't even want to be on this earth.
- 34:20SPEAKER_04: And that moment of human connection will make them pause for a little bit and think about things.
- 34:24SPEAKER_04: But as much as we talk about ROI in here, 20 minutes of everybody's time that's listening and watching, spent out there, you know, even if it's a hundred people spent a 20 minutes this month, you're gonna make an impact on somebody's life.
- 34:35SPEAKER_04: And I think that that's a guarantee that we can give in life when there's a lot of things we can't guarantee in life.
- 34:39SPEAKER_04: But the human connection does put out some positivity.
- 34:42SPEAKER_04: You're gonna have some awkward moments.
- 34:43SPEAKER_04: People are gonna be like, what the fuck's he talking about?
- 34:45SPEAKER_04: You know, but you push through it, you push through it for the betterment of the society.
- 34:48SPEAKER_04: So I wanna thank you all as well, because even though we know each other, you didn't have any questions in advance.
- 34:54SPEAKER_04: You knew nothing about what I was gonna ask you, and that's nerve-wracking.
- 34:56SPEAKER_04: I know what it is.
- 34:58SPEAKER_04: I can speak, I can now finally speak from a place of authority in it because I attend I was a guest on my on another person's episode a couple weeks ago, and it's being released today.
- 35:07SPEAKER_04: And my stomach is in nuts because I have no idea what we talked about.
- 35:11SPEAKER_04: I blacked out completely, and I'm just kind of waiting to see what happens.
- 35:14SPEAKER_04: So I now get a taste of my own medicine with this unscripted, un thing.
- 35:19SPEAKER_04: And but I really want to say the the courage to do it is something I have to publicly commend every guest that comes on here.
- 35:25SPEAKER_04: And I mean it from the bottom of my heart because there's a lot of scripted things today.
- 35:28SPEAKER_04: There's a lot of inauthentic, you know, funneling lines, things like that.
- 35:31SPEAKER_04: I've spent my whole career in PR and I've tried to create a media platform that is the opposite of the scripted manufactured world where the world can see and people, new entrepreneurs like yourselves, as well as others that have not taken the jump yet, can get the reality of what it is and not just the glossy pages on a magazine or on a screen that tells them you're gonna be a millionaire overnight, because that's not the case.
- 35:51SPEAKER_04: So let's wait.
- 35:52SPEAKER_04: The more reality we can give people, the more people we can inspire.
- 35:55SPEAKER_04: So thank you both so much for coming on today.
- 35:57SPEAKER_04: I really appreciate it.
- 35:58SPEAKER_02: No, thank you so much for having us, Nate.
- 36:00SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
- 36:01SPEAKER_04: All right.