The Story of a Brand Show

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

The goal of Wings & Arrow is to build an LLC brand house worth of brands that are the premier "beyond beer" beverage categories in the country, says Josh Landan, founder of the holding company.

It's been an unusual journey, says Josh, who insists he's not a brewer and knows nothing about beer. Instead, his career was filming documentaries specializing in making surf films.

Josh says that developing Saint Archer as a brand helped him develop into a leader who wasn't motivated by money, Josh says.

"You don't know if you're motivated by the money until you have the money, right?" Josh says. "If you want to keep going and creating and building new businesses, well, then you're you're an entrepreneur."

In that same regard, Josh says he doesn't believe in the concept of work-life balance. "You want to tell everyone you're an entrepreneur? This never turns off," Josh says. "That's just what it takes. ... I don't need a work-life balance."

In Part 1, Josh talks about:

* Gratitude toward his mother and wife for their support and encouragement. * The "craziness" of creating separate businesses, capital raises, and employees for his different brands. * Creating a group of brands in the alcohol business is relatively uncommon. * How becoming a part of the tight-knit community of surfing and skating industries gave him the confidence to tackle the beverage business. * How Saint Archer developed his leadership skills. * His feelings on "work-life balance" and how it works for entrepreneurs. * His opinion on the difference between an employee, a business owner, and an entrepreneur.

Join Ramon Vela and Josh Landan as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Wings & Arrow, visit: https://www.wingsandarrowllc.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This podcast is supported by Yotpo, the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands looking to drive customer loyalty.

As I’m sure many of you know, customer retention is the new acquisition. With Yotpo, brands can provide value through a strategic loyalty program — and ensure shoppers come back time and again.

Want to know more? Visit https://yotpo.com/storyofabrand 

And turn your one-time shoppers into lifelong brand lovers.

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Amanda McIntosh, the founder of Take My Face Off, says that at the beginning of developing her product, the key to getting good feedback is giving testers enough information to imagine the final product.

Other early hurdles included finding a producer, answering questions from retailers, and learning the industry terms, she says.

"I was a very, very lucky person who did some very brash things," Amanda says.

The entire experience taught her this: If you don't have a lot of buzz behind your brand, retailers won't have an incentive to make sure your launch is successful.

"I think it is a rude awakening for a lot of small brands to realize that just because you get into a retailer does not mean you've made it - far from it," she says.

In Part 2, Amanda talks about:

* How she struggled to test her product because colleagues couldn't envision the idea. * How an early breakthrough with a Sephora representative became a great lesson learned. * Why retail buyers are "deers in the headlights" right now. * Why small brands are in for a rude awakening when dealing with retailers. * The difference in customer acquisition cost in retail vs. your website. * Why some people giving advice are giving out outdated information. * Why testing the products to ensure they're genuinely green is essential. * Future plans, including waterless and powder-based products.

Join Ramon Vela and Amanda McIntosh as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Take My Face Off, visit: https://www.takemyfaceoff.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

The daily face washing routine - either using washcloths, facial wipes, or cotton balls - has become a "straight-up environmental disaster," says Amanda McIntosh, founder of Take My Face Off. So she decided to find a product that does it better.

"I actually don't like to guilt people into using my products. I like my people to use my products because they're delightful, and they're just better," Amanda says. "But there's something I'd like to tell people. There's a golden rule of being green. It's so complicated, and it changes so fast, but one thing is true any time you can use something multiple times instead of using a disposable, that is always better."

Developing the Take My Face Off product was another challenge because fabric manufacturers couldn't understand Amanda's needs. In the end, it would take experimenting with hundreds of fabric samples, sizes, and shapes to find the right solution.

In Part 1, Amanda talks about:

* Gratefulness for the support from her husband. * How her background in performing led her to explore the facial cleaning product space. * Why facial wipes - even those labeled eco-friendly - are a big problem. * Why disposable products aren't green. * The beauty space is challenging for a green product - it's a crowded space, and people are very loyal to their products. * Why cotton balls are suitable for absorption but not for cleaning.* In developing her product, she bought hundreds of "weird fabrics" to put through the tests.

Join Ramon Vela and Amanda McIntosh as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Take My Face Off, visit: https://www.takemyfaceoff.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

Entrepreneurs considering a startup should first make sure the economics of their business model work under different conditions, says Melissa Lush, Co-Founder of Force of Nature. Then "test, test, test" to make sure you're right.

Part of the success of Force of Nature's product is that it cleans, deodorizes, and disinfects, Melissa says. And it works on any counter surface, stainless steel appliance, and even rugs.

The COVID pandemic was "very interesting," Melissa says, because of the array of businesses that began using their products because it's a "do-it-yourself" option that could be shipped. But once they realized the other benefits, companies couldn't go back to their old cleaning process.

In Part 2, Melissa talks about:

* Her joy of mentoring fellow entrepreneurs through the startup process. * How the Force of Nature appliance works. * The space and shipping savings you get when one cleaning product can handle multiple chores. * Video is an essential first tool for educating potential customers. * The pandemic opened up new verticals in the business. It was an unexpected opportunity.

Join Ramon Vela and Melissa Lush as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Force of Nature, visit: https://www.forceofnatureclean.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen to your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/ 

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

Force of Nature's mission is to put an end to toxic cleaning chemicals and single-use plastic bottles says co-founder Melissa Lush. To replace those, Force of Nature uses an appliance that converts saltwater and vinegar into a multipurpose cleaner that kills 99.9 percent of germs.

A head injury her son had in kindergarten sparked the idea for the business. A nurse used an antimicrobial on his forehead to accelerate his healing, and when Melissa took a closer look at the product, she saw it was made with electrolyzed water.

Melissa says that using the appliance - about the size of a wine bottle - is as easy as making coffee. "We wanted to make it as easy as making coffee because we knew that if you were going to make a habit change, it has to be an easy habit to pick up and keep."

The COVID pandemic helped raise awareness concerning cleaning chemicals. But skeptics still are a struggle to convert.

In Part 1, Melissa talks about:

* Gratitude for her husband's steady, unwavering support at the business. * The concept of electrolyzed water - using an electric current to change the chemical composition of salt in water. * The need for a safe cleaning but an affordable application also available in a planet-friendly container. * The challenge of educating potential consumers, which requires a habit change. * Why parents are easier to educate on Force of Nature's products than other consumers. * Why daily exposure to regular cleaning chemicals is as dangerous to your lungs as smoking cigarettes.

Join Ramon Vela and Melissa Lush as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Force of Nature, visit: https://www.forceofnatureclean.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen to your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/ 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Helping to convert a brand to more sustainable business practices starts with green warehousing practices, says George Wojciechowski and Jen Root, co-founders of Manifest Commerce.

"There are sustainable alternatives every step of the way, even down to end of life with upcycling and re-commerce," Jen says.

The process of converting a supply chain to a sustainable format is "comprehensive," George says, but the important thing is "to just start."

In Part 2, Jen and George talk about:

* How plastics can be used to recreate things ten times over. * How maritime partnerships can help with lowering carbon footprints. * The start of "shared truckloads," which works like carpooling for your inventory. * Despite the company's noble mission, it's still essential to be competitive in price and "hit the slots" that e-commerce business owners need. * Building a sustainable business from the ground up is essential. It's hard to pivot when you're going 100 miles per hour.

Join Ramon Vela, Jen Root and George Wojciechowski as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Manifest Commerce, visit: https://manifestcommerce.io 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Co-founders George Wojciechowski and Jen Root want to make merchants' lives easier. To that end, they started Manifest Commerce, which provides e-commerce merchants direct to consumer and omnichannel fulfillment for their e-commerce products.

"We ship everything from apparel to cosmetics to nutraceuticals to toys and video games, and we do it in a sustainable, carbon-neutral way," George says.

The goal is to look at everything from a sustainable angle with no additional cost to the merchant's bottom line, says Jen.

"It is inevitable that e-commerce moves in this direction," George says. "The current state of e-commerce is unsustainable."

In Part 1, Jen and George talk about:

* Gratefulness for having a partner for support when starting their venture. * How they took their knowledge of the fulfillment business and reimagined every step from a sustainable-first perspective. * The challenge isn't finding sustainable products - the challenge is finding sustainable fulfillment. * The importance of the 18-35 category of consumers who tend to be more socially and environmentally responsible. * How the COVID pandemic exploded the e-commerce business in terms of sales and strains in the supply chain. * The attraction of founding Manifest Commerce was to do something significant with our careers, George says. * The creation of "impact pages" lets companies share their good deeds by sharing the news with their communities.

Join Ramon Vela, Jen Root and George Wojciechowski as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Manifest Commerce, visit: https://manifestcommerce.io 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

The mission of Golde is to make wellness easy and fun for everyone, says Trinity Mouzon Wofford, Co-Founder and CEO.

"Our products are all different superfood blends and powders that you can use to boost your daily routine, whether you're adding them into your morning coffee or your smoothie, or even doing a superfood face mask," she says.

Trinity believes there's a real balance to bringing superfoods to a new audience while making sure that consumers know that these are incredible superfoods that have been used for, in some cases, thousands of years.

Keeping the ingredient list short and simple is a guiding philosophy at Golde, Trinity says. Using their products should be enjoyable and sort of a ritual.

In Part 1, Trinity talks about:

* Gratitude toward the first investor and her belief in the brand. * How superfoods went from a niche to mainstream in the past few years. * The COVID pandemic accelerated the superfoods trend. * As the superfood market grows, there's a challenge to make sure you're communicating as a brand. * How to determine the quality of matcha. * The brand philosophy is to make wellness easy and fun.

Join Ramon Vela and Trinity Mouzon Wofford as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Golde, visit: https://golde.co/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This podcast is supported by Yotpo, the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands looking to drive customer loyalty.

As I’m sure many of you know, customer retention is the new acquisition. With Yotpo, brands can provide value through a strategic loyalty program — and ensure shoppers come back time and again.

Want to know more? Visit https://yotpo.com/storyofabrand 

And turn your one-time shoppers into lifelong brand lovers.

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Put yourself in your customer's shoes as you're building a brand. What problem are you solving for them? How are you making their lives easier or better? As a founder, you need to empathize with the consumer's journey, says Trinity Mouzon Wofford, Co-Founder and CEO of Golde.

When it comes to deciding on accepting outside investments, Trinity says Golde's decision to go it on their own for the first three years was a "special advantage."

"There's something very special about knowing that you have nothing to work with," she says. "And the only thing that there is, is you and your partner trying to figure out a creative way to get in front of people. And I think that is what allowed us to build such a strong foundation of a brand in the early days. You know, we had to do it from the heart because there just wasn't anything else to tap into then."

Thankfully, Golde had amassed enough of a following by the time of the COVID pandemic that the business wasn't impacted too much.

"People needed something to do," Trinity says. "They needed something to make themselves feel good, and they needed something to occupy the time. And so suddenly, the idea of making your matcha latte at home or doing a superfood face mask made a whole lot of sense to people."

In Part 2, Trinity talks about:

* Starting the business at a young age played to her advantage because she was optimistic and naive about everything. * The decision to take on outside investments. * The impact of the COVID pandemic on Golde. * Leading with the story of who the co-founders are and what they're all about helps the brand connect with the customers. * People want to be "in the orbit of Golde" because of its story and its community. * How the wellness market industry as it was didn't appeal to her. It didn't speak to her.

Join Ramon Vela and Trinity Mouzon Wofford as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Golde, visit: https://golde.co/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This podcast is supported by Yotpo, the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands looking to drive customer loyalty.

As I’m sure many of you know, customer retention is the new acquisition. With Yotpo, brands can provide value through a strategic loyalty program — and ensure shoppers come back time and again.

Want to know more? Visit https://yotpo.com/storyofabrand 

And turn your one-time shoppers into lifelong brand lovers.

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Launching a new product is difficult and a path full of obstacles, says Simón Sacal, co-founder and CEO at Solely Inc. That's why prospective entrepreneurs must have uncompromising and straightforward answers about how this product is needed by consumers.

Mango, one of the most consumed fruits globally, provided Solely with the perfect product to launch through vertical integration. That system involves working with the farmers right through the manufacturers.

Another unique product Solely recently launched is gummies made with just fruit and Vitamin C.

"We're offering whole, whole product, and people are liking them," Simón says. "And there's a need for those types of products in the market, and we're very excited and very honored to be chosen by people to take home."

In Part 2, Simón talks about:

* Advice for entrepreneurs considering developing a new product. * The advantages of vertical integration. * The need to invent new processes and machinery to accomplish the desired final product. * Aside from Soley's fruit products, they also have a dried spaghetti squash pasta that's shelf-stable. * Future plans include expanding the current Solely categories. Two completely different new lines are also in the works. * Why the clean food movement has been aided by the millennial generation, who have more access to information. * Why the hardest thing to do is make something simple.

Join Ramon Vela and Simón Sacal as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Solely, visit: https://solely.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story