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I started a small beverage company focused on the athletic market in my local area. The main drawback to my product is that it's not shelf-life stable - it's o

I started a small beverage company focused on the athletic market in my local area. The main drawback to my product is that it's not shelf-life stable - it's only good for a few days (weeks if kept frozen). Some love my stuff and swear by it. However, one of my big issues when talking to investors, even health-obsessed ones is "well, Pepsi makes stuff that lasts years on the shelf, so why can't you?" or "I'm not even considering this as a product until I can buy it in bulk at CostCo". They don't understand that there's literally no comparison when you're comparing: 1. A product made in a lab with almost zero natural ingredients, and designed to last years on the shelf without refrigeration and be shipped all over the world. and 2. A product made in a local professional kitchen, with natural ingredients, designed to be consumed quickly by a very specific demographic of people. It's maddening, even though my sales are pretty damn good. Some people just have this mentality that "if it doesn't last long, and I can't buy it in bulk, it's not good". Because our entire food industry has been co-opted by profit-first corporations (who work from a profitability standpoint versus a health standpoint), nobody seems to want to understand that stuff that lasts long and can be kept in heat without going bad is probably not healthy.

tmaly 2y ago
What marketing channels are you using to get the word out?
- NickC25 2y ago
  The only marketing I really do is occasionally do table days and I also hand out drinks every now and then to trainers, front desk staff, and management. I retained a marketing firm last week to help me grow my marketing as I improve my production capacity. But my first year of sales were all word-of-mouth at a high-end gym chain (where I'm also a member, and was a member for nearly 5 years prior to starting the business). In such environments where people aren't usually swayed by traditional marketing efforts, monkey-see-monkey-do is usually the way products take hold. If the regular attendees see people whose bodies they want to emulate consuming my products, they tend to try them and often turn into repeat customers. That said if you have any thoughts, questions, comments, experience, etc - I'm all ears.
  - tmaly 2y ago
    Have you tried having those word-of-mouth people at the gyms write a google review telling their story of the gym with some nice pictures that include your drinks? Those google reviews get a lot more views than people realize if they are written right.
    - NickC25 2y ago
      I have! The only problem then is that some people leave reviews saying "my favorite drink is never in stock!". I'm working on upping my production capacity with the help of a professional bottling facility and private chef, so sometimes stuff is sold out when people want to buy it. I'm also developing a D2C platform to sell to people who want delivery, but that's a few steps ahead of me right now.
grvdrm 2y ago
I'd love to hear where or if you think there is an obvious balancing point between shelf-stable and not in solid food? I've thought of making my own protein bars, as I work out quite a bit and would prefer understanding exactly what I'm consuming. But I also don't want to throw away food that isn't getting consumed. Similar thinking around kid food.
- NickC25 2y ago
  >I'd love to hear where or if you think there is an obvious balancing point between shelf-stable and not in solid food? Not sure I understand the question - but what I will say is that the longer the shelf-life is (non-refrigerated) the more likely it is that it was made in a lab, not a kitchen. >I've thought of making my own protein bars, as I work out quite a bit and would prefer understanding exactly what I'm consuming. But I also don't want to throw away food that isn't getting consumed. That was the mentality the guys who created RxBar had. They were avid gym goers and wanted something better, so they made it themselves. Worked out for the two of them to the tune of a $600 Million exit. Making your own protein bars is actually surprisingly simple.

tmaly 2y ago

What marketing channels are you using to get the word out?

NickC25 2y ago
The only marketing I really do is occasionally do table days and I also hand out drinks every now and then to trainers, front desk staff, and management. I retained a marketing firm last week to help me grow my marketing as I improve my production capacity. But my first year of sales were all word-of-mouth at a high-end gym chain (where I'm also a member, and was a member for nearly 5 years prior to starting the business). In such environments where people aren't usually swayed by traditional marketing efforts, monkey-see-monkey-do is usually the way products take hold. If the regular attendees see people whose bodies they want to emulate consuming my products, they tend to try them and often turn into repeat customers. That said if you have any thoughts, questions, comments, experience, etc - I'm all ears.
- tmaly 2y ago
  Have you tried having those word-of-mouth people at the gyms write a google review telling their story of the gym with some nice pictures that include your drinks? Those google reviews get a lot more views than people realize if they are written right.
  - NickC25 2y ago
    I have! The only problem then is that some people leave reviews saying "my favorite drink is never in stock!". I'm working on upping my production capacity with the help of a professional bottling facility and private chef, so sometimes stuff is sold out when people want to buy it. I'm also developing a D2C platform to sell to people who want delivery, but that's a few steps ahead of me right now.

grvdrm 2y ago

I'd love to hear where or if you think there is an obvious balancing point between shelf-stable and not in solid food? I've thought of making my own protein bars, as I work out quite a bit and would prefer understanding exactly what I'm consuming. But I also don't want to throw away food that isn't getting consumed. Similar thinking around kid food.

NickC25 2y ago
>I'd love to hear where or if you think there is an obvious balancing point between shelf-stable and not in solid food? Not sure I understand the question - but what I will say is that the longer the shelf-life is (non-refrigerated) the more likely it is that it was made in a lab, not a kitchen. >I've thought of making my own protein bars, as I work out quite a bit and would prefer understanding exactly what I'm consuming. But I also don't want to throw away food that isn't getting consumed. That was the mentality the guys who created RxBar had. They were avid gym goers and wanted something better, so they made it themselves. Worked out for the two of them to the tune of a $600 Million exit. Making your own protein bars is actually surprisingly simple.