Jeff Church knows the highs and lows of brand-building like few do. 

A serial entrepreneur, Jeff co-founded cold-pressed juice pioneer Suja and led its development to a $100 million brand. Jeff also lost over $4 million of his own money in Rowdy Energy, a now defunct energy drink challenger he co-founded with NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.

Jeff’s experience and perspective on how brands succeed – and the reason they don’t – is why we asked him to join us for a live interview as part of an industry networking event in San Diego hosted by BevNET and Taste Radio on Sept. 25.

As part of an expansive conversation, Jeff spoke about how he navigated Suja’s early development and rapid growth and what he believes was the most impactful decision in determining the brand’s success. He also discussed the failure of Rowdy Energy, which launched in 2020 and shut down less than four years later. 

Jeff, who currently leads an accelerator program for emerging brands, also shared his take on the current landscape for early-stage food and beverage companies, weighing in on the value of innovation, high quality package design, profitability and staffing.

Show notes:

0:35: Jeff Church, Co-Founder & Former CEO, Suja – Jeff chats about his background in the beverage industry and why he has focused on building and working with startups. He also talks about the most challenging aspect of operating a food or beverage brand in the first two years of its development, why it’s critical to “over communicate” with family members about the hardships of entrepreneurship and why he crafts a business strategy by “starting from where you want to get to and working backwards.” He also talks about how skill sets of a brand founder are significantly different from that of a brand manager and why he encourages a “fake it till you make it” mindset. Jeff also discusses the problems that led to Rowdy Energy’s demise and why he believes that success is 25% luck and timing, before he answers a series of true or false questions related to early-stage entrepreneurship.

Brands in this episode: Suja, Rowdy Energy, Blueprint, Evolution Fresh, Pop & Bottle