Today on the show we’re learning from Ashley Selman, one of the co-founders behind heywell. If you're in the beverage industry THIS is an episode for you.
We talk through how to approach a launch and some real game changing alternative channels to market through.
Ashley and Britt founded heywell on a mission to make wellness more simple and accessible for everyone every day. They found wellness solutions often prioritized function over flavor, and wanted to make something that was good for them, delicious and inclusive. Their line of functional beverages are made with adaptogens, antioxidants, and organic caffeine to help when people want a little energy, immunity, focus or help managing stress. Low in calories and sugar, their functional waters are refreshing, tart and sweet. As part of heywell's mission, they donate 1% of sales to nonprofits advocating inclusion.
The all female-founded functional sparkling water brand that’s taking on big players in the bev CPG industry like Recess, with heywell’s Ashley Selman
Today on the show we’re learning from Ashley Selman, one of the co-founders behind heywell. If you're in the beverage industry THIS is an episode for you. We talk through how to approach a launch and some real game changing alternative channels to market through.
Ashley and Britt founded HeyWell on a mission to make wellness more simple and accessible for everyone every day. They found wellness solutions often prioritized function over flavor, and wanted to make something that was good for them, delicious and inclusive. Their line of functional beverages are made with adaptogens, antioxidants, and organic caffeine to help when people want a little energy, immunity, focus or help managing stress. Low in calories and sugar, their functional waters are refreshing, tart and sweet. As part of HeyWell's mission, they donate 1% of sales to nonprofits advocating inclusion.
Some real game changing alternative channels to market through
We vetted it, we’re so excited, feeling good, expanding, signed up with a distributor, all of that in March. Pandemic.
Getting it in people’s hands was the single most important thing that we could do.
Simple plain speaking. Our name is a simple invitation to wellness. We sent it out to get it in people’s hands, and got nothing back in april. We had to pivot pretty hard. We had to go on a DTC chase, which turned out to be the best thing in the world for us. At the time it didn’t feel like that, it wasn’t our strategy. In a moment like that you have to be really creative and flexible and be pivoting. The whole world pivoted. Pivot with it, or lose your business.
We moved to DTC. Our own online and then really started looking for more progressive channels to meet people. In COVID, retail wasn’t the space to discover brands that it used to be. Get in and get out mentality. We pivoted. There was an explosion of all kinds of new DTC platforms. One we love: snack magic. Based in NYC. Went from food service for companies and meetings to all going online. Healthy snacks and beverages for companies to send to their employees at home. They went from 0-21M in a year. And our brand became the number one brand on their platform. This is where we spend our time and money. Really progressive emerging platforms where people that were going to like what we made were going to be going. Snack magic became an example of that. We did a tonne of samping that way. We invested in stuff like that. We made it really easy to say yes - we knew if we could get it in their hands they would be sold. Investing in sampling, helped us do so well.
Our strategy was more regional. Take a more geographical approach to it. Our whole plan blew up. You’re seeing the growth of those. Good eggs in CA. Thrive really exploded. Imperfect foods. Misfits. People had a bit more time and were discovering brands in a new way.
Creating connection to get into those platforms, and working within them to drive awareness and trial as much as we could is really where we spent our time and energy.
