April 26, 2021

#289: Sandro Roco, Founder and CEO of Sanzo, an Asian-Inspired Sparkling Water, on the Ins and Outs of Building a Successful CPG Company and How They're Making the Industry More Inclusive

57 minutes

Sandro Roco is the Founder and CEO of Sanzo, an Asian-inspired sparkling water company on a mission to bridge cultures by connecting people to authentic flavors. Sanzo uses real fruit, not "natural flavors," and has no added sugar. Sandro, a Queens-born Filipino American, was walking through a popular Asian supermarket in Manhattan’s Koreatown when he noticed a huge gap between the modern, clean labels of the new-age “American” beverage brands and the preservative- and sugar-laden labels of the legacy Asian brands. His goal was simple: celebrate high quality Asian flavors that for decades have been masked by added sugars, artificial flavors and preservatives.

Sandro started out as an engineer at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, worked for two years on a trading floor for J.P. Morgan, and then became head of growth and later chief-of-staff for an online personal styling service. This unconventional career path equipped Sandro with a unique skillset that ultimately led to the founding of Sanzo.

Some of the Topics Covered by Sandro Roco in this Episode

What makes Sanzo sparkling water different and how Sandro came up with the idea
Getting Sanzo started and moonlighting for a year
Why Sandro is a solo founder
How Sandro was scrappy while approaching manufacturing for his CPG
Getting a "scheduled process," or food scientists' approval
The importance of developing relationships with distributors and retailers and being prepared before starting those relationships
How Sandro made the decision to leave his day job and go full time with Sanzo
How Sandro got his first sales
Deciding which retailers and distribution partners to work with
How distribution has shifted as Sanzo has grown
The impact being a child of immigrants had on how Sandro chose to finance his company
How he raised 1.3M (from a $600,000 goal)
The feedback Sandro was getting from early high profile investors
How Sandro has approached building community and how this was reinforced during the pandemic
Sandro's eye test rules for packaging design
How their packaging design shifted over time
Launching D2C during the pandemic
How Sandro has gone about product development regarding flavors
Sandro's hiring methodology and how the focus has shifted from pain to opportunity
What has helped Sandro as a founder and how he steps away from work
Why Sandro is passionate about what he does and what's next for Sanzo

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By Justin Gordon

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