Latest / Ready To Drink Podcast / MATE! Vodka Protein Water: Christopher Wolstenholme on Building America's First Protein Alcohol Brand

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MATE! Vodka Protein Water: Christopher Wolstenholme on Building America's First Protein Alcohol Brand · Ready To Drink Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_02: My name is Christopher Wollstenholm.
0:01
SPEAKER_02: Most people in this country call me Aussie for obvious reasons.
0:04
SPEAKER_02: It's just easier because I got that really long name.
0:07
SPEAKER_02: The company that I own is called Mate Beverage.
0:11
SPEAKER_02: What we sell is Mate Vodka protein water.
0:14
SPEAKER_02: So it is America's first and only vodka protein water with the only alcohol and protein combination on the market.
0:22
SPEAKER_02: Eight grams of protein, vodka, no bubbles.
0:25
SPEAKER_02: We use a pea protein, so it's gluten-free, dairy-free.
0:28
SPEAKER_02: It's actually vegan as well, if that's your jam.
0:30
SPEAKER_02: And then only two added grams of sugar.
0:32
SPEAKER_02: So it's not super sweet.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: And then we do it in four flavors: peach, pineapple, watermelon, and lime and mint.
0:38
SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
0:38
SPEAKER_01: So where uh distributed right now, anybody's listening or anything like that?
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Where are you guys on the shelf?
0:43
SPEAKER_01: And then do you have DTC for shipping in certain states and stuff?
0:46
SPEAKER_02: So we are in Georgia, North Carolina, special order, and then Iowa, because that's where my wife's from.
0:53
SPEAKER_02: So you always want to be distributed where the family is.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: Um, but uh we uh run through reserve bar for D2C.
1:01
SPEAKER_02: Um everything's on the website.
1:03
SPEAKER_02: You know, you can if you Google uh protein and alcohol, I'm the first thing that comes up for obvious reasons.
1:10
SPEAKER_02: It's always a nice feeling to be you know the first thing out of Google.
1:13
SPEAKER_02: Um and then with our distributors here in Georgia, we're within the beer network.
1:18
SPEAKER_02: So um Atlanta Beverage, Eagle Rock, uh Bib, there's a whole host of them.
1:25
SPEAKER_02: Basically, if they do uh, you know, the A B products, that's where you're gonna find me.
1:30
SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: And uh kind of let's go back to your personal story and everything like that.
1:34
SPEAKER_01: Let's uh let's fly back before you started the brand.
1:37
SPEAKER_01: Give me paint the picture for me.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: Where were you?
1:39
SPEAKER_01: Well, who was around you when the light bulb came and the uh the idea came for me?
1:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: So this company was born from failure.
1:46
SPEAKER_02: So basically, when I first got to America, turned around to my girlfriend now wife, uh, and I was like, something's missing.
1:53
SPEAKER_02: You know, I don't I don't know what's missing, but something's missing.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: And she was like, Chris, you're being an idiot.
1:59
SPEAKER_02: This is America.
2:00
SPEAKER_02: We've got everything, right?
2:01
SPEAKER_02: This is we don't we don't miss things in this country.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, we I was again, something was just missing.
2:09
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, we go back to Australia, mate of mine calls me up and he's like, Hey, can you go through the bottolo and you know, pick up a couple of cases and some ice?
2:16
SPEAKER_02: I was like, Yeah, no worries.
2:18
SPEAKER_02: So we drive through a liquor store, right?
2:20
SPEAKER_02: And Texas is the most well-known place to have the actual, you know, you drive into the building, they load up your uh your boot, and then you drive away.
2:30
SPEAKER_02: And my wife was like, my girlfriend, wife, was like, oh, we don't have these in Georgia.
2:36
SPEAKER_02: Like, this is amazing.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: And it dawned on me, I was like, Americans love to be in their car, they love pickup, they love to not have to do anything and go anywhere, you know, if it can come to them.
2:48
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I and I I took that idea from Starbucks, where you know, people would sit in their cars for 15 minutes to get two coffees when you could park, walk in and walk out in three.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: Um COVID hit.
3:01
SPEAKER_02: I've always been in restaurants.
3:04
SPEAKER_02: And obviously, I went from working, you know, 70 plus hours a week to 35.
3:09
SPEAKER_02: And when you are someone like me, you need to fill that time.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: You need to, you can't just watch TV and and you know, hope that your brain's gonna go quiet because it just doesn't.
3:20
SPEAKER_02: So I wrote a business plan, uh, ended up getting SBA funding, found a location, did the renovations, shelving stock, was starting to hire people, everything was all lined up really nice.
3:32
SPEAKER_02: And then the state gave me a call and said, We've made a mistake with your paperwork.
3:36
SPEAKER_02: You are too close to another liquor store, there's no changing it.
3:40
SPEAKER_02: You have to pull out.
3:43
SPEAKER_02: So that was exactly four weeks to opening on the day, four weeks.
3:48
SPEAKER_02: And uh, so we pulled out, uh, we sold everything off, sent everything back, you know, wound down everything, ended up losing just over 50 grand on that.
3:59
SPEAKER_02: So I remember the day, Friday afternoon, sat in front of the spreadsheet, calculated the losses, was by myself, had a five-minute cry, right?
4:10
SPEAKER_02: I was like, What have I just done?
4:12
SPEAKER_02: Right?
4:12
SPEAKER_02: We don't like it when we lose$10, much less losing 50 grand, right?
4:18
SPEAKER_02: So my wife comes home and she's like, What do you want to do?
4:21
SPEAKER_02: And I said, Look, I'm not happy, I'm not gonna be happy for a minute, but if I make you happy, that'll probably make me smile.
4:28
SPEAKER_02: So there's a place around the corner, it's called Generations Pizza.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: Um, they do a pizza there that is known in the Midwest, and it's called Taco Pizza, and it's very, very famous in the Midwest for some reason or another.
4:40
SPEAKER_02: You know, all the all the Casey's and petrol stations and and all the pizza shots do it, right?
4:47
SPEAKER_02: So we go there, we order a taco pizza, we order some cheese sticks, order a couple of beers.
4:52
SPEAKER_02: And we just got talking, and it was like, what do you want to do?
4:56
SPEAKER_02: What are you thinking?
4:59
SPEAKER_02: You're kind of in a great position to just restart, right?
5:03
SPEAKER_02: You don't need to recalibrate.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: We're fine financially.
5:06
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna put this to the taxes, we'll get a bunch back, you know, this, that, the next.
5:11
SPEAKER_02: And you know, the the conversation just sort of got started.
5:14
SPEAKER_02: And it it, I was like, well, I'd always wanted to bring one of my favorite beers from Australia here to the US.
5:22
SPEAKER_02: It's called VB.
5:23
SPEAKER_02: We were gonna partner with a brewery here and kind of make as close to as we could, like, an Aussie Lager, right?
5:32
SPEAKER_02: I was like, well, the beer industry is not really quite in the greatest of places right now.
5:38
SPEAKER_02: So why don't we look at, you know, what is?
5:42
SPEAKER_02: And for me it was RTD.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: So had a big box of seltzers at the house.
5:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, so I did a bunch of, you know, because I was gonna open a liquor store.
5:51
SPEAKER_02: So reps had given me a bunch of booze and just basically wrote down everything that um I didn't like about them.
5:59
SPEAKER_02: But one of the conversations that we had while we were there is we were having a beer each, right?
6:04
SPEAKER_02: My wife's a Miller Light girl.
6:06
SPEAKER_02: She was like, why can't I get protein in this?
6:10
SPEAKER_02: She's like, I can't drink 10 protein shakes.
6:14
SPEAKER_02: It's like, but I can drink 10 of these things.
6:18
SPEAKER_02: It's just like, why can't I, why can't I do that?
6:22
SPEAKER_02: And it got us thinking, right?
6:24
SPEAKER_02: So the the big thing for me is, you know, we'd had enough drinks by that stage, you know, and I just got started, right?
6:31
SPEAKER_02: I I started drawing stuff out, started researching, started doing stuff.
6:34
SPEAKER_02: And instead of sleeping on the idea, you know, going, well, I'll think about it for a couple of days, I just started.
6:41
unknown: Right.
6:41
SPEAKER_02: I just I just got going.
6:42
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's where most ideas go to die is, well, I'll think about it.
6:48
SPEAKER_02: Well, when you think about it, the only things you think about are the negative component, right?
6:53
SPEAKER_02: What if it fails?
6:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but what if it succeeds?
6:57
SPEAKER_02: So I think, you know, we that's how that's genuinely how we got started was in a pizza shop, you know, born out of failure, out of a conversation, thinking if I'm gonna sell something, sell me, which is why all the Australianisms, you know, mate and um the koala and and all these other different things, and then just putting one foot in front of the other and just just moving forward with it.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it it truly was just born out of failure.
7:25
SPEAKER_01: How was it in the beginning when um like I brought a couple of different new category, emerging categories, to distributors and two retailers?
7:33
SPEAKER_01: How's been how's the reception been so far?
7:35
SPEAKER_01: And do you have obviously educational hurdles in the beginning uh explaining it now that you are such a unique product in the market?
7:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so it definitely started, you know, you gotta remember I was in restaurants.
7:45
SPEAKER_02: So I knew all the reps, I knew all the the distributing houses.
7:49
SPEAKER_02: I bought off them, right?
7:51
SPEAKER_02: I was the GM of the restaurant that that dictated what I didn't didn't get in.
7:55
SPEAKER_02: So I knew all these guys.
7:57
SPEAKER_02: Even then, even that problem, and even with the juice being really good, they were like, Chris, we just, you know, Savannah Distributing said it best.
8:07
SPEAKER_02: And they weren't being rude.
8:08
SPEAKER_02: I was with them, they'd tried it, they had done another tasting with me.
8:12
SPEAKER_02: We were, you know, conversing about the whole thing, and they were just like, Chris, it's it's really good, but we don't know how to sell it.
8:21
SPEAKER_02: Like, we don't understand how we're gonna go to a store owner and be like, guess what I've got?
8:29
SPEAKER_02: Now, two years later, this wellness adjacent space that is definitely growing up, that's what I call it.
8:36
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, you can call it the aid space or whatever, you know, you've got um Daylight, Superlight, Vodcade.
8:43
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, there's all these brands that are coming out with electrolyte alcohol.
8:49
SPEAKER_02: Um you as the first person through the wall, right, you're gonna take a couple of hits.
8:57
SPEAKER_02: And that's exactly what I was.
8:58
SPEAKER_02: I was the first guy through the wall, first guy to blend, you know, a wellness product with alcohol.
9:06
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it takes time, but you need to learn to get around that.
9:11
SPEAKER_02: You know, once you get a distributor on board, great, you know, then make sure that you've got a couple of stores, right?
9:19
SPEAKER_02: And I I tell everybody 10, right?
9:21
SPEAKER_02: Get 10.
9:22
SPEAKER_02: Whether they're on-premise, off-premise, get 10.
9:25
SPEAKER_02: Because you can do tastings in those 10 stores every couple of weeks so that they are constantly moving product.
9:36
SPEAKER_02: Right.
9:36
SPEAKER_02: Don't try and go to 200 stores, go to 10.
9:40
SPEAKER_02: Get 10 down.
9:41
SPEAKER_02: And that was basically what I did with the first store was they were like, yeah, you you shop here, we know who you are, but FYI, if it doesn't sell, it's gone.
9:52
SPEAKER_02: We're still in there two and a half years later.
9:54
SPEAKER_02: So it requires a lot of work on my side to generate, you know, that uh, and I'm trying to find a card that I've I you know, the other thing I did was I got cards printed with VistaPrint outlining exactly what it was.
10:10
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
10:10
SPEAKER_02: So that if you came into the store and was like, I think my wife would really like that.
10:15
SPEAKER_02: I go, hey, take this card.
10:18
SPEAKER_02: When she goes, what the hell did you buy?
10:20
SPEAKER_02: You show her the card, right?
10:22
SPEAKER_02: And what happens is people put it on their fridge, and then a friend comes over and is like, What's that?
10:29
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, Oh, yeah, it's this, we picked it up, it's in the fridge, you can try it, it's great, it's you know, this, that, the next.
10:34
SPEAKER_02: So I think, you know, this is one of those components for definitely that first 12 to 18 months that you're selling.
10:41
SPEAKER_02: Now you've got to remember we were doing research and development for 13 months to get the product even created, especially with the TTB and the FDA, because brand new, never been done before, wrapped up in red tape, the whole works.
10:54
SPEAKER_02: But then when you're training people that first 18 months, it's all about education and achieving that next buy.
11:06
SPEAKER_02: And you know, now I did uh I did a table in total wine.
11:13
SPEAKER_02: We're not allowed to do tastings, wet tastings there in George here in Georgia, but we can do an informative table.
11:19
SPEAKER_02: The amount of people that walk past where a lady was like, I know you, my husband bought you, she met you in Canton.
11:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, it's amazing.
11:27
SPEAKER_02: We've got it in the fridge right now.
11:29
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I'm so glad he got to try it and he stopped you.
11:33
SPEAKER_02: We think it's fantastic.
11:34
SPEAKER_02: And what happens is in that very small space, right?
11:37
SPEAKER_02: People hear, because they're looking for something new to pick up off the shelf, that lady going, Yeah, we've got you.
11:43
SPEAKER_02: We think it's amazing.
11:44
SPEAKER_02: And then they're like, Oh, what have you got?
11:47
SPEAKER_02: Right.
11:47
SPEAKER_02: So it it takes that education time and it's not fast.
11:51
SPEAKER_02: So you've just got to suck it up.
11:53
SPEAKER_01: I I really respect and appreciate the way you just laid that out because uh as somebody that's been in this business a long time, it doesn't matter what brand it is, it takes time.
12:03
unknown: Right.
12:04
SPEAKER_01: And I think that the patience is something that newer founders that I I interview on here, they are very frustrated in that first 12 to 18 months because they don't have the ROI that they wanted right off the bat.
12:15
SPEAKER_01: And it's hard sometimes to step back.
12:17
SPEAKER_01: They want to be hunters, but they don't realize they're actually farmers.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: Right.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: And that's the that that pivotal mindset and that pivot.
12:25
SPEAKER_01: Like, I really I'm I'm very relieved to hear the what you just said.
12:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, there's plenty of times where brands will come to me and they're like, I only have 25 accounts.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, you have 25 accounts in your first 12 months?
12:35
SPEAKER_01: Like you should be working the hell out of those 25.
12:39
SPEAKER_02: If you have 25 accounts and they are buying, and they and you've got the staff behind it, and they are openly, you know, recommending it to people, and they are like all these things, that's winning.
12:53
SPEAKER_02: You know, and I think people forget like Gallo started high noon.
12:58
SPEAKER_02: Okay, Gallo is a billion-dollar company, billion, multi-billion dollar company.
13:05
SPEAKER_02: High Noon didn't do anything exciting for four years.
13:10
SPEAKER_02: So you're telling me as a founder who has a couple of hundred grand, who's made a whatever drink, congratulations, I'm so happy for you.
13:19
SPEAKER_02: I I wish whatever you're selling the biggest of success.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: But you're telling me you've got a couple of hundred grand and you're annoyed that a you you're not not nationwide yet, but Gallo, who has high noon, who has billions of dollars at your disposal, they still took four years before any of it took off.
13:39
SPEAKER_02: Like that's what people need to see.
13:41
SPEAKER_02: And I'm not um I'm not immune to it.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: I'm really not.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: Like, I I did a podcast recently with the Drink Up Boys, and you know, one of the things that I said to them was, you know, I'm kind of now following the playbook of Carbless.
13:57
SPEAKER_02: Now, in my mind, I was like He was one of the first guests on this show four years ago, by the way.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: So in my mind, because I'd heard about them, because obviously my wife's from the Midwest, so I'd heard about them years ago.
14:14
SPEAKER_02: But in my mind, I was like, and I I wasn't even in market, right?
14:18
SPEAKER_02: We we'd only just started um research and development, right?
14:22
SPEAKER_02: So I'm I'm way behind them.
14:23
SPEAKER_02: But in my mind, I was like, we're kind of side by side, timeline-wise.
14:27
SPEAKER_02: And then I realized they've been doing this for nine years.
14:34
SPEAKER_02: I've been in market for two and a half.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: I am four times behind them in timeline.
14:41
SPEAKER_02: And it was like that, it was almost like a deep breath.
14:45
SPEAKER_02: Like I could let go.
14:46
SPEAKER_02: I was like, oh, maybe I'm not doing so badly.
14:49
SPEAKER_02: Maybe it's maybe I'm maybe I'm okay.
14:52
SPEAKER_02: But I I think what happens is people, because you know, comparison's the thief of joy, but you try to compare yourself to something within the marketplace.
15:00
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I've I've had cabless, I've been in Iowa at Hawkeye Games, and every third person has cabless in their hands.
15:08
SPEAKER_02: Congratulations.
15:09
SPEAKER_02: I think it's amazing that they've managed to do that uh kind of thing.
15:14
SPEAKER_02: But as an example, for them to get to, you know, they're gonna do whatever, 140 million this year, it took them almost a decade to get there.
15:23
SPEAKER_02: And you're complaining that you're not there in 18 months.
15:29
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: I had one a couple years ago, and we he literally was that was when the beginning was, I think they were just in up in the Midwest, and they had not yet gone over to the East Coast yet.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: And he very much said exactly that.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: He's like, uh, because I had even said, I said, you think about Pennsylvania, Maryland, you know, DC, all this stuff.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: He's like, we are going very methodical.
15:50
unknown: Right.
15:50
SPEAKER_01: And I it was again, it was one of those moments where a lot of times we're in these interviews and it's like, well, we're going regional, we just signed with this distributor.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: It's like, and you know exactly what I'm gonna say is being I spent a I spent many years in the distributor side of things.
16:03
SPEAKER_01: I represented 32 brands, and one of the things is everybody gets excited the first month they're with the distributor, but they don't realize the work just began.
16:12
unknown: Right.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: And and I think that that's the I really I I respect what you're doing, and I want to I want to congratulate you on it because that's the sustainable model.
16:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, as somebody that's been in this a while, a lot of people get burned out mentally um because they're they're they're doing that comparison.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: And you know, you look at even take an example in the RTD space, you know, one would think, you know, high noon took four years to go here.
16:35
SPEAKER_01: One would also think that, you know, Sun Cruiser would be right behind it, being that it's Boston beer.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: Like let's say that.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: But if you look at the numbers that just came out, it's not Boston beer and it's not Sun Cruiser that's running the RTD market.
16:47
SPEAKER_01: It's Stateside, which is this brand and and and Surfside, which is a brand that just came out of nowhere years ago and and just hit the market running, but they went heavy on education, went heavy on sampling, went heavy on events.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: They own venues in Pennsylvania, like where they sponsored entire venues.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: That's money that people don't realize to be at the top, you got to do all these other things that don't even involve the shelf.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:12
unknown: Yeah.
17:13
SPEAKER_01: That's exactly what you just said.
17:14
SPEAKER_01: It's those ancillary ecosystem type things where it's like you need to be on the billboard and on the radio because it takes 17 million contacts to get that person to even see you on the shelf.
17:24
SPEAKER_02: Exactly right.
17:25
SPEAKER_02: And I think people forget, you know, the guys behind Surfside, and they also have uh Superlight, I think.
17:32
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
17:34
SPEAKER_02: It's light thing.
17:36
SPEAKER_02: They forget that their father has owned a vodka company for two decades before they came even remotely came out with an RTD.
17:44
SPEAKER_02: Like the timeline that people look at, they forget that it takes such a long period of time to be able to achieve anything, anything in any way, shape, or form.
18:02
SPEAKER_02: And it it when you when you really dive into it and when you really take a minute to look at how long some people have been doing stuff and how hard it was for them and how many mistakes they made in that first 12, 18, 24 months, then you realize you're like, hang on a minute, maybe I'm not so far behind.
18:24
SPEAKER_02: Maybe I maybe I'm not you know as bad at this as I thought.
18:28
SPEAKER_02: And I said this to so there's a um a friend of mine, uh, she reached out in the UK.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: She's coming out with an RTD.
18:35
SPEAKER_02: And she was like, Do you mind if I get in a call and just quickly chat with you?
18:39
SPEAKER_02: I was like, she's like, I don't understand how to get this thing to market into a distributor to be able to get it into the stores.
18:47
SPEAKER_02: She's like, it's a really cool drink, but I I just feel a bit lost.
18:52
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, make it very simple.
18:56
SPEAKER_02: Before you go to your distributor, have five on-premise and five off-premise locations around you that will say yes.
19:06
SPEAKER_02: We will get a case of each when it comes out for you.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: And then when they buy it, go and do tastings.
19:13
SPEAKER_02: When they buy it, go and drink it in the um beer garden.
19:18
SPEAKER_02: Generate those returns and only focus on 10.
19:21
SPEAKER_02: I said, and then only do 10 or maybe 20 for an entire year.
19:27
SPEAKER_02: Don't try to go to Ireland or Wales or whatever.
19:31
SPEAKER_02: Stay within your market, stay where all your friends are, stay where all the people that support you who want to see you succeed, who will drink your product because it's your product, and who will buy your product because it's for you, do that.
19:45
SPEAKER_02: And she was like, That sounds really clear.
19:48
SPEAKER_02: It's like, yeah, but we, we as founders, we think of this giant, enormous map that we want to be everywhere.
19:54
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, no, no, no.
19:56
SPEAKER_02: Start here, start down here, and then go from there.
20:00
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's what you know.
20:02
SPEAKER_02: I mean, if anybody from the podcast that listens today takes anything, it's probably that is the timeline's gonna take longer than you think, and you should really focus on your home market first.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's uh location trackers and store trackers on their different uh brand on their websites.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: And it's always a flag for me of concern and and empathy for them because I'll see they're in Michigan, Texas, California, and New York.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like, how I I get it.
20:33
SPEAKER_01: And then when you talk to them, most of the time they're very reliant on their distributor to push their product for them.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: And I think that they don't realize what the rate of sale means.
20:42
SPEAKER_01: And I think one time, you know, it's kind of like when you it's kind of like when you look at the internet, and now today I think the latest numbers was 50 or 60% of the internet is bots.
20:50
SPEAKER_01: And and so you think about it that way, it's kind of the same.
20:53
SPEAKER_01: And I was one that sold into thousands of places for people.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: If you don't have a rate of sale at every single at a nearly a hundred percent of the locations you're at, those are just vanity metrics.
21:03
SPEAKER_01: To be able to say that you have 1,500 locations across the country, but only 500 of them are actually reordering every two to three months.
21:11
SPEAKER_01: That's a big concern because you have you have things we call it having birthdays, where you have a lot of cans having a birthday on a shelf somewhere and collecting dust growing a beard.
21:21
SPEAKER_01: Really, what happens is eventually what happens is years later, that external radius begins to come inward because now those products are being pulled off the shelf and those people are stopped buying it.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: Those people then tell their friends they've then moved on to another product, thus the cycle continues with a new brand.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: And then all of a sudden, now three, four, five years in, the market forced you back into your home market, but also it forced you with a lot of people turned off with your product.
21:47
SPEAKER_01: Right.
21:47
SPEAKER_01: And so now you have a whole different problem in the future.
21:50
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I I try to talk through a lot of people with.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm happy that you don't have that mentality because they don't realize that the ripple, while the ripple goes out, the ripple comes back.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: And it's either gonna come back with good shit or it's gonna come back with like bank account breaking shit.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was funny.
22:07
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we so I I will be, you know, very transparent for people.
22:11
SPEAKER_02: I was copying essentially the mum water mentality.
22:15
SPEAKER_02: And mum water is everywhere.
22:17
SPEAKER_02: It's in like, you know, 45 states, and you can buy it everywhere, except they're only doing about 40 million a year.
22:26
SPEAKER_02: Carbless, right, which is now who I'm copying, stayed in that one little section in the middle of the US, right?
22:33
SPEAKER_02: North, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, um uh Minnesota, um and something else, right?
22:43
SPEAKER_02: They would they were just doing a hundred million a year because what they focused on was the colleges in their Midwestern town.
22:50
SPEAKER_02: They went to all the festivals, they did all the tastings, they did everything that they could focus on in that sliver of the market.
22:58
SPEAKER_02: And it's only this year, almost 10 years in, that they've made it to Georgia.
23:03
SPEAKER_03: Right?
23:03
SPEAKER_02: This is their first year.
23:05
SPEAKER_02: So we expanded to Florida, but I had such issues with my distributor.
23:12
SPEAKER_02: And it's not like people weren't buying.
23:14
SPEAKER_02: Total wine put us in three pilot locations.
23:16
SPEAKER_02: They then expanded us to nine, right?
23:19
SPEAKER_02: Because they loved what was going on in those three.
23:23
SPEAKER_02: But they sat there and they're like, Chris, we can't take an order once a month.
23:27
SPEAKER_02: We want a full shelf all the time.
23:31
SPEAKER_02: So either you get a new distributor or we've got to drop you.
23:35
SPEAKER_02: So we pulled out of the Florida market to make sure that, okay, Georgia is doing its thing.
23:42
SPEAKER_02: We want 80% reorder rate.
23:44
SPEAKER_02: We want, you know, all these metrics that I've assigned myself to to then be able to go to the Florida distributor and go, okay, guys, this is working.
23:54
SPEAKER_02: And we're one state away.
23:56
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
23:57
SPEAKER_02: This is how we want to do it.
23:58
SPEAKER_02: We want to go one state, one state, one state.
24:02
SPEAKER_02: I love the idea of um, you know, I I will jump on my soapbox because not because I hate her, but because I think it is the most classic tale of time.
24:14
SPEAKER_02: And I put a LinkedIn post outer, and I've talked about it before on other podcasts.
24:19
SPEAKER_02: Kylie Jenner created Sprinter RTD.
24:23
SPEAKER_02: I created Mate RTD.
24:25
SPEAKER_02: We launched within three months of each other.
24:30
SPEAKER_02: She got distribution with the largest distributor in the US, obviously, because that's how that's gonna work.
24:38
SPEAKER_02: Went to hundred, you know, multiple, multiple, multiple states.
24:44
SPEAKER_02: She just folded her RTD company because there were no sales.
24:48
SPEAKER_02: So you can get that in a short period of time, but all those followers and people are only gonna buy it once if the juice is no good.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's uh it's perfect place.
25:04
SPEAKER_01: Unlimited unlimited funds, and even if all those funds tapped out, unlimited connections of unlimited funds on top of funds.
25:11
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: And you know, I've I do a tasting down the road, hop grain and vine, killer place, grabbed, you know, this couple walking past, and the girl was like, This is my mum's favorite.
25:24
SPEAKER_02: Actually, I need to pick some up right now for it.
25:27
SPEAKER_02: And the guy was like, Oh, yeah, let me have a taste while I'm here.
25:29
SPEAKER_02: Right?
25:30
SPEAKER_02: That's that is what you want to generate before you start trying to go nationwide.
25:37
SPEAKER_01: I um I want to talk to you a little bit about how important it is to engage with the consumers directly face to face.
25:44
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's uh I think that's it's it's an under I think it's I'm gonna call out some founders that it's the ego, it's the sitting behind the desk all day long.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: I what it how important is it to you to do tastings and do things where you just said exactly, I want to go back to what you're saying again, both the good and the bad, where you might get an idea of something you need to tweak or some way you need to present your messaging and how valuable those interactions are with the direct consumers as well as the buyers and stuff like that.
26:11
SPEAKER_02: So I would tell every single founder, every single one, to do three tastings a week for 12 months.
26:21
SPEAKER_02: That's a great metric.
26:23
SPEAKER_02: Three three tastings a week for 12 months because here's what's gonna happen you're going to learn what to say.
26:31
SPEAKER_02: You're going to learn what resonates with people to sell better.
26:36
SPEAKER_02: The first two months I did it, I despised it.
26:41
SPEAKER_02: I want to learn what it's fine.
26:44
SPEAKER_02: I'm used to talking to people, and I still despised it.
26:48
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
26:48
SPEAKER_02: But you learn what pulls people over, you learn what to say when they get there.
26:55
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
26:57
SPEAKER_02: Then on top of that, you start to get recognized.
27:02
SPEAKER_02: So my stepdaughter goes to Georgia Tech, I was walking down the street, and a guy was like, and I'm not I'm in a Georgia Tech gear.
27:11
SPEAKER_02: I'm in a blue shirt, a hat, I've got shorts on, like I'm just going to the football game.
27:16
SPEAKER_02: You're the mate guy.
27:18
SPEAKER_02: I am.
27:18
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
27:20
SPEAKER_02: Like, you're the mate guy.
27:21
SPEAKER_02: I am.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: I met you here.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: We bought your drink.
27:25
SPEAKER_02: It's amazing.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: It's in the fridge right now.
27:29
SPEAKER_02: And what I think founders forget and they need to pull from this is you above anything else.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: Somebody wants to support you, not the brand, but you.
27:45
SPEAKER_02: So people learn that it's my brand.
27:48
SPEAKER_03: Right?
27:48
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, it's really good.
27:52
SPEAKER_02: I wasn't coming in for it today, but I'm gonna pick up a box anyway because I got to meet you.
27:58
SPEAKER_02: It's you now there are times where people go, oh my god, I hate it, right?
28:05
SPEAKER_02: And then and then my my eat my poor ego is like, wait a minute, how does this taste bad?
28:09
SPEAKER_02: Right?
28:09
SPEAKER_02: I'll taste it.
28:10
SPEAKER_02: No, it's good.
28:11
SPEAKER_02: Okay, it's just them, right?
28:12
SPEAKER_02: Because we're in a liquor store.
28:14
SPEAKER_02: There are a hundred million products in this store.
28:18
SPEAKER_02: I don't like bourbon.
28:20
SPEAKER_02: I can't stand the taste of bourbon.
28:23
SPEAKER_02: I like tequila.
28:24
SPEAKER_02: So of course I'm not gonna like a bourbon if I try it, right?
28:27
SPEAKER_02: Same thing here.
28:28
SPEAKER_02: Maybe there's not enough sugar in there, maybe the flavoring's not right for them, maybe they prefer bubbles, maybe they can taste the fruiting.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: Right.
28:37
SPEAKER_02: There's all these elements I can't control with them.
28:41
SPEAKER_02: But then the very next lady is like, I'm gonna take one four pack of each.
28:46
SPEAKER_02: I want to show all the girls at the pool, and then puts a story on Instagram and tags me going, This is the best pool drink.
28:54
SPEAKER_02: This is gonna be my summer drink, right?
28:55
SPEAKER_02: So you've you've got to be able to get out there.
28:59
SPEAKER_02: And then when you have a buyer, okay, using an example, I'm meeting with a uh a copacker next week.
29:09
SPEAKER_02: They're based here in Georgia.
29:11
SPEAKER_02: Uh, they've got pasteurization, they've got everything I need.
29:13
SPEAKER_02: It's going to definitely reduce my costs.
29:15
SPEAKER_02: We currently copack in Colorado.
29:18
SPEAKER_02: Maybe I keep both just in case you know, we want to go out to the West Coast at some point.
29:24
SPEAKER_02: But they're like, what, you know, did you do a tasting recently and how were the sales?
29:28
SPEAKER_02: I was like, yeah, Friday, July 3rd, 4 to 7, Mars Hill.
29:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, the first store we were ever in, tiny.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: In two and a half hours, we went through eight, eight packs, and eighteen four packs.
29:43
SPEAKER_02: And that's not stopping everyone either.
29:45
SPEAKER_02: That's just stopping who I could.
29:47
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, Oh, yeah, that's good.
29:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: Yep, it sure is.
29:53
SPEAKER_01: So if you're doing if you're doing eight to fifteen uh cases in total of flats, you know, throughout the course of your event, that's perfect.
30:01
SPEAKER_02: Right.
30:02
SPEAKER_02: And I think you need to become that guy.
30:04
SPEAKER_02: Like when I do a festival, people love it when they find out I'm the guy, I'm the guy that owns it.
30:10
SPEAKER_02: Well, how big your team?
30:12
SPEAKER_02: You're looking at it.
30:14
SPEAKER_02: Like, this is amazing.
30:15
SPEAKER_02: Where can I buy it right now?
30:16
SPEAKER_02: And I'd go, and when I do a festival, I know I'm gonna be there, so I get a store to so I can go there.
30:22
SPEAKER_02: The amount of people I watch leave the festival or whatever I'm doing and go straight there.
30:27
SPEAKER_02: And then I go into the store.
30:29
SPEAKER_02: They're like, it worked.
30:30
SPEAKER_02: We're buying more next week.
30:32
SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
30:34
SPEAKER_01: Um, a little tip for everybody out there, too, when you're doing festivals, is also take all the retailers in a 20 to 30 mile radius of the festival and have a sheet with you on your desk on your with your so you can just hand it to them.
30:45
SPEAKER_01: And just even if it's just a single Google Doc, I hand it out all day long, and then I'll I'll let like the retailers have now caught on that like when there's a festival and all of a sudden people are coming in, they know that I'm handing it's just a word doc.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: I'll print it staples or on a home computer, and nothing fancy, no design.
30:59
SPEAKER_01: And just because that's what people people try it, and we don't realize.
31:03
SPEAKER_01: I as well in my beginning days, you don't realize when they try something at an event, they don't maybe they don't buy it in that moment because they were dead set on the certain brand that they had when they walked in the door.
31:12
SPEAKER_01: But you can linger in their head and they need deliverables, whether it's a sticker or whatever.
31:17
SPEAKER_01: But if you're at a festival and you can drive traffic to your retailer, now you're talking about a real cohesive two-way relationship, too.
31:24
SPEAKER_02: So for people at festivals, the uh this this is for a founder that doesn't have millions and millions of dollars to spend.
31:33
SPEAKER_02: The return on investment on something like that.
31:37
SPEAKER_02: Okay, I have three different types.
31:39
SPEAKER_02: I've got this, I've got GitA mate, and I've got actually mate vodka protein border, right?
31:45
SPEAKER_02: There is a much, much higher return because they stick that on their laptop or their Stanley Cup or um, you know, their their on the back of their phone, right?
31:59
SPEAKER_02: I've seen a bunch of those.
32:01
SPEAKER_02: People walk up when I'm doing a taste and they're like, eh, really good idea, right?
32:06
SPEAKER_02: One lady's put a I've seen a couple with my because I did big, big koala stickers, I've seen a couple on cars, right?
32:12
SPEAKER_02: They they because they think it's cool, little koala on their car.
32:16
SPEAKER_02: The return on investment for something that costs a couple of cents versus a hat, a hoodie, um, a stubby holder, um, something big, those hats just get thrown in with all the other hats.
32:32
SPEAKER_02: Those hoodies only come out once a week for four months.
32:37
SPEAKER_02: If that, if that.
32:38
SPEAKER_02: Right?
32:39
SPEAKER_02: Stubby holder, we just cleared out our kitchen the other day.
32:43
SPEAKER_02: We had bags and bags and bags of them, and they cost huge amounts of money.
32:49
SPEAKER_02: These things these things I I see at the gym.
32:54
SPEAKER_02: I see at Crunch Fitness, because we advertise there.
32:57
SPEAKER_02: I see everywhere.
32:59
SPEAKER_02: These things I see everywhere.
33:01
SPEAKER_02: As a if if hats and hats and hoodies are cool, get a first run, keep them for you and your people.
33:07
SPEAKER_02: But as a general rule, they're not worth it.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: I add on to that um is chapsticks.
33:14
SPEAKER_01: And people are always like, people are always like chapsticks, that's so weird.
33:18
SPEAKER_01: No, you would need to put it on stickers, anything that's on everything all day long, just like you said, or in their pocket.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: And keychains are cool, but like the again, you're only grabbing them when you grab your keys.
33:28
SPEAKER_01: Your brain is not thinking about what's on my key ring, it's going to the car.
33:31
SPEAKER_01: But the chapstick, you pull it out, you look at it, it kind of you look at it for a second, then you're using it.
33:36
SPEAKER_01: Most times, depending upon where you are in the country, you know, that could be a multiple times a day.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: But I'm I'm a number one advocate of stickers.
33:43
SPEAKER_01: I think stickers are underutilized and overcomplicated.
33:46
SPEAKER_01: And also it's just it's one of those things where you you're right.
33:49
SPEAKER_01: People go big on t-shirts and sweatshirts and hoodies and hats.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: And that's great for if you have a key account, you know what I mean, and you want that guy wearing it.
33:57
SPEAKER_01: But again, he's not gonna wear it every day.
33:59
SPEAKER_01: You know, he's gonna wear it once a month or something like that.
34:01
SPEAKER_01: Stickers last every day, they're all day, every day, they're on coolers, they're on backer registers, everything.
34:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome, man.
34:07
SPEAKER_01: Well, Chris, I really appreciate you taking the time, man.
34:10
SPEAKER_01: I this these are really good intros.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: I I got a great snapshot.
34:13
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you really taking a different lens on your go-to-market strategy, and and kudos to you because that's mine.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: Uh, so we are locking step in what mine is.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: And um, I I also have been through just lots of failures of projects with with over time where the expectations were higher than the actual operating budget and the reality of what's real.
34:33
SPEAKER_01: And I think the biggest thing today, and that was years ago, but even in today's world, the consumer has so many options and so many opportunities that we really do have to be like surgically laser focused on how we present ourselves to those consumers because we underestimate as founders how confusing it is as a consumer.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: We live and breathe this industry.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: We walk into the beverage section of a store or a liquor store or a grocery store.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: We know the brands, we know the colors, we we don't really have to look at the cans.
35:00
SPEAKER_01: We have to take ourselves out of ourselves, and then that's the goal at the end.
35:04
SPEAKER_01: Can you see the shelf?
35:06
SPEAKER_01: Can you see the business?
35:07
SPEAKER_01: Can you see the retailer from the consumer's perspective?
35:10
SPEAKER_01: And that's very hard to do when you're in it and you're ingrained in the business.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: But the second you do that, the second you have the competitive edge, because then you can be humble enough to realize, oh shit, I'm just one of the hundreds of other brands on the shelf.
35:23
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the number one wake-up call.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: And not to make that a depressive thing that you hide away from, make that an empowering thing that you have the opportunity to sit on these shelves with these hundreds of other brands.
35:33
SPEAKER_01: And how are you gonna differentiate yourself to that consumer?
35:36
SPEAKER_01: Because yeah, the buyer is one sell.
35:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you have sold to the buyer at and you rolled out a hundred stores.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: Congratulations.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: But did you sell to the consumer that's gonna actually grab that and pull it off the shelf to then let you be there two years from now?
35:48
SPEAKER_02: I think you know, the the one thing that I will probably leave with everyone is is this major thing here.
35:57
SPEAKER_02: This is this is the main thing.
36:00
SPEAKER_02: We as children growing up, our parents tell us, you know, we come running in, we're crying, we're kids, she doesn't like me, he doesn't like me.
36:09
SPEAKER_02: Your parents were like, well, just be nice and they will like you, right?
36:12
SPEAKER_02: So we intrinsically as adults, we try to make people like us.
36:15
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
36:16
SPEAKER_02: If a store turns around you and says, Look, it's cool, but it's not us, stop trying.
36:23
SPEAKER_02: Stop trying.
36:25
SPEAKER_02: The next store that is like, this is cool, yeah, we'd like it.
36:28
SPEAKER_02: You know, give us 10 cases.
36:31
SPEAKER_02: Go all in on those people.
36:33
SPEAKER_02: Give them stickers, give them cards, give them hats, give them go all in on those people that just bought 10 cases.
36:40
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
36:41
SPEAKER_02: Stop trying to make the person that doesn't want you like you and focus on the people that do like you.
36:47
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
36:48
SPEAKER_02: I don't justify it to people when they go, thanks for letting me try, but it's not really my thing.
36:53
SPEAKER_02: I don't try and get them to like it.
36:55
SPEAKER_02: I go, thanks for trying it.
36:57
SPEAKER_02: You had nothing to lose.
36:58
SPEAKER_02: I appreciate the feedback.
37:01
SPEAKER_01: That that is probably the most important advice anybody could take because I told you I've I've been doing this by myself for 18 years.
37:08
SPEAKER_01: I just learned that two years ago.
37:10
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: I just learned it.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: And it has changed every piece of my life, my sanity, my mental health, everything.
37:18
SPEAKER_01: And it's not a F you because you don't like it, and I don't take it personal.
37:22
SPEAKER_01: It's the abundance mindset of understanding there are thousands of retailers out there, but not thousands of retailers that are good for your brand.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: Right.
37:30
SPEAKER_01: And it has nothing to do with the retailer because they're being honest with you.
37:32
SPEAKER_01: They're saying it's not right for us.
37:34
SPEAKER_01: It's not you are a piece of shit and you've you developed a crappy product.
37:38
SPEAKER_01: It's no, they're being honest with you.
37:39
SPEAKER_01: Those no's are honesty a lot of the time.
37:42
SPEAKER_01: Now, granted, sometimes people blow you off and stuff like that, and that's fine.
37:45
SPEAKER_01: And you might want to pursue those, but most of the time they're really saving you a lot of time.
37:50
SPEAKER_01: 100%.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: 100%.
37:52
SPEAKER_02: Just go all in on those that want to go all in with you.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: And you know what?
37:58
SPEAKER_02: If you only focus on those people that really go all in, they're gonna the other stores that said no, they're gonna start losing money for not having you in there because people are gonna go in, go, do you have mate?
38:14
SPEAKER_02: No, we don't.
38:15
SPEAKER_02: Okay, I'll go buy it somewhere else.
38:16
SPEAKER_02: And they just leave.
38:18
SPEAKER_02: They just leave.
38:20
SPEAKER_02: So they're gonna start hearing, oh, we need to get mate.
38:24
SPEAKER_02: So the next time that person comes in the store, they're like, Oh, by the way, we got mate for you.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: Oh, perfect.
38:31
SPEAKER_02: I'll buy some right now.
38:34
SPEAKER_02: That's that if you do that as a founder, just focus on the people that want you.
38:39
SPEAKER_02: Everyone else will catch up.
38:41
SPEAKER_02: It's as simple as that.
38:43
SPEAKER_01: That's exactly it.
38:44
SPEAKER_01: Because if you're doing it right, you're gonna come, they're gonna be chasing you.
38:46
SPEAKER_01: So it's a and if you if they're not chasing you and they're not calling you, you you're not doing something right.
38:51
SPEAKER_01: Exactly right.
38:52
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
38:52
SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
38:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, real quick, uh, as we're closing out here, give everybody, you know, uh, social media handles, uh, remind them of the website and everything like that of where to find you.
39:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
39:01
SPEAKER_02: So um social media, um, mate beverage, uh, mate vodka protein water.
39:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, we're on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, that sort of thing.
39:10
SPEAKER_02: Uh, drinkmatebeverage.com.
39:12
SPEAKER_02: That's our website.
39:13
SPEAKER_02: Very simple.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: It's got an outline of how we work, it's got the nutritional facts panel, it's got a map there, it's got ways to contact me if you want to chat to me about some stuff.
39:21
SPEAKER_02: And uh yeah, I mean, you can Google me, um, you know, vodka protein, and it'll come up with me.
39:29
SPEAKER_02: It's it's work so hard.
39:30
SPEAKER_02: You're the first, uh, you're the first on the first page of Google, and and that'll make you feel pretty good too.
39:36
SPEAKER_02: So uh if you want to follow me, I don't really post anything specifically about me these days because I'm obviously focused on the business, but uh yeah, you can find me under Chris Wollston home.
39:47
SPEAKER_02: Uh just make sure you choose me and not the bass player of the band Muse.
39:51
SPEAKER_02: So his name is also Christopher Wollstone Home, so go figure.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: That is that is wild.
39:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I have a I have a pretty good last name, and I recently uh ran into somebody that has the same name as me, and it was a weird experience, that's for sure.
40:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
40:03
SPEAKER_01: You're like, wait a minute, are we related somehow?
40:07
SPEAKER_01: It ended up we were two or three degrees, I think.
40:09
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
40:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there you go.
40:11
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
40:12
SPEAKER_01: But hey, uh I again I want to thank you for coming on and more so than your story and your mission.
40:16
SPEAKER_01: I want to thank you for coming on with no script, no agenda.
40:19
SPEAKER_01: A lot of times I get rejections for for reaching out to guests because they want to prep ahead of time, they want to have meetings, they want to know what's gonna be said because they think it's gonna be clickbait or anything like that.
40:27
SPEAKER_01: But I want to thank you for the blind trust.
40:29
SPEAKER_01: Um blind trust to have your story and to tell your story and to be able to put your story out there and help connect you with anybody.
40:35
SPEAKER_01: And I'm looking forward to a relationship with you.
40:37
SPEAKER_01: What you're gonna find is after this, you're gonna see me introducing you to all kinds of people that hey, I think you'd be good for this, or hey, this person's interested in your product.
40:45
SPEAKER_01: So uh just thank you for coming on as a guest and get ready to reap the rewards of uh of all the referrals that have come through and uh industry stuff that comes out of it.
40:52
SPEAKER_01: So we when people are vulnerable on the network, the network receives it well.
40:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
40:58
SPEAKER_02: Hey, you just make sure you send me your address so I can at least get a sample box to you, and that way you can taste what it is that we've talked about.
41:05
SPEAKER_01: Excellent.
41:06
SPEAKER_01: I'll be fully transparent.
41:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm three and a half years sober, but my girlfriend is my taste tester, so definitely send them.
41:11
SPEAKER_01: We have the same talent.
41:13
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
41:13
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
41:14
SPEAKER_01: I think yeah, exactly.
41:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we still sell alcohol day long and uh have it in the car and everything like that.
41:19
SPEAKER_01: And it's just it's it's part of uh I never wanted to leave the industry even when I quit drinking.
41:23
SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's an industry I love and I never want to get out of.
41:25
SPEAKER_01: So I'll close out with this for everybody.
41:27
SPEAKER_01: Uh everybody's heard this every week.
41:29
SPEAKER_01: It's a challenge.
41:30
SPEAKER_01: Five minutes of kindness to a stranger every single week is what I'm asking every every audience member, every founder that comes on.
41:36
SPEAKER_01: When you're walking down the street, put your phone in your pocket, look at the stranger as you're walking down the street at the gas station, filling up your cup of coffee, ask the person next to you how they're doing, and actually shut your mouth and listen to their story.
41:46
SPEAKER_01: All right, focus on somebody else for five minutes a week, 20 minutes a month.
41:50
SPEAKER_01: We talk about ROI in here all the time.
41:52
SPEAKER_01: If you spend 20 minutes a month with different strangers, the ripple effect that will occur, you might not always win.
41:58
SPEAKER_01: Some people might look at you like you're crazy.
41:59
SPEAKER_01: It's not about winning, it's about putting good shit out there and eventually it'll come back to you.
42:03
SPEAKER_01: And it's not for yourself.
42:04
SPEAKER_01: It's because this world is a crazy, beautifully destructive place.
42:08
SPEAKER_01: And while your life might be fulfilled, you might have your family and everything's good.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: There's somebody out there that isn't.
42:13
SPEAKER_01: And I bet you over those 20 minutes a month are going to hit a lot of people that aren't having a good life.
42:17
SPEAKER_01: They may not even want to be on this earth.
42:19
SPEAKER_01: And that human connection could give them another week, another couple months to think about things and really consider what's going on.
42:25
SPEAKER_01: So, Chris, thank you for participating in the show.
42:28
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being such a positive influence on this place.
42:31
SPEAKER_01: Because I know for a fact, being in this industry, your mission and your go-to-market strategy is unique.
42:37
SPEAKER_01: You're going to get a lot of people that are going to give you side eyes and everything like that, but keep your head on the grindstone.
42:42
SPEAKER_01: And I'll give credit to Adam and uh and his wife and everything like that, because they were on here years ago as well.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: People thought he was crazy when he got on the show and started talking about it.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: And years ago he said it and he they stayed on that path and look where it is now.
42:54
SPEAKER_01: So it's not a pipe dream because it's the difference in a pipe dream and the reality is the hard work.
43:00
SPEAKER_01: It's the grit and the resilience of calling somebody 25 times before they finally call you back, walking in the door 50 times before you actually sell one case.
43:08
SPEAKER_01: That's what this industry is.
43:10
SPEAKER_01: You might have flukes.
43:11
SPEAKER_01: You know, these is to the audience, not to you.
43:13
SPEAKER_01: You could have these flukes where a distributor buys 15 pallets from you and you all of a sudden you got a$50,000,$100,000 day, and you're excited.
43:20
SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
43:20
SPEAKER_01: The work just began.
43:22
SPEAKER_01: Because you got to get that can you got to get that market to accept your product, to love your product, and pull it off the shelf.
43:27
SPEAKER_01: Chris, this is this is a conversation that's not said enough in this industry.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: So you have a good rest of your day, buddy.
43:31
SPEAKER_01: Thanks again.
43:32
SPEAKER_01: You good.
43:33
SPEAKER_01: Bye now.
43:34
SPEAKER_01: Bye bye.